What I did today - 2015

[Bacchus]

and a big view of everything...

[Valleyman]

I made a terrible, terrible mistake.

I decided to dig out a tree trunk 18 inches in diameter. I now have a two foot deep, 6 foot across hole in the middle of the lawn. With a sturdy tree stump still in the middle. And blisters all over the palms of my hands.

I'm not sure how I'm going to explain this to my wife.

I did it! 1 week of hacking with a mattock for an hour after work, 5 hours on Saturday, and a solid 4 hours on Sunday morning and there was a satisfying snap and the stump fell over. By yesterday afternoon the hole was filled in and turfed (from a flower bed extension), and it looked like nothing had been going on for the past week.

I'll miss that stump. And I feel like I've run a marathon.

[kris1960]

Very busy over weekend so time to catch up here, these are the highlights :

Saturday-finished bed I started on Friday and planted with red cabbage and lettuce and the odd African Marigold. Dug another bed in 'root' section and sowed some short rows of parsnips and carrots. Moved Sweetcorn and zinnias and other bits and pieces to derelict greenhouse to slow them down and harden off until they are old enough to go out! Planted dying kaffir lime tree in greenhouse in last ditch attempt to save its life. Watering and weeding.

Sunday- Dug another bed in onion section and planted module sown ones. Mulched with straw as I did with other new bed I dug for summer broccoli. All other brassicas have outgrown collars so I netted those beds. Put up canes in the three long beds I have prepared for beans,sweetcorn and gourds.

Today- very wet and windy after work so after a significant ammount of procrastination I went to allotment and had a happy hour and a half visiting tadpoles, picking veg, watering greenhouses and weeding asparagus. So glad I went!

[Stan79]

Similarly busy weekend:

Planted out leeks, sweetcorn, French beans, runner beans, last spud for one that rotted, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, more peas and the parsnips in their loo roll straight jackets.

Sowed some more peas and more sweetcorn.

Potted on courgettes, kale, purple cauliflower, spikey green cauliflower.

Moved peppers back inside as they're doing nothing in the potting shed.

Finished the fence along the stream to keep the nipper out of it. Built and hung a gate for said fence.

Finished building the brassica cage out of an old gazebo frame, blue water pipe, cable ties, a knitting needle and ball of wool, a block of wood, some screws and 5 clothes pegs!!!

Dug over the farm manure in the fruit cage and piled some up in the raspberry beds.

Fed the strawberries, earthed up the spuds.

Had a picnic in the garden on Saturday afternoon. Considered cutting the lawn and decided to have another glass of homemade and very alcoholic ginger beer!!!

[Bigmallly]

Finished building the brassica cage out of an old gazebo frame, blue water pipe, cable ties, a knitting needle and ball of wool, a block of wood, some screws and 5 clothes pegs!!!

Was you doing a spot of knitting in between building the cage Stan?..........

[bario1]

Potted on three types of kale - Cavolo Nero, Reflex and Hungry Gap.

[Lumpy]

Shifted my dalek compost bin and gave the contents a bit of a mix up then dashed in to avoid yet more rain.

[Snadger]

Potted on some sage seedlings. Watered pumpkin and courgette in polytunnel. Too cold and miserable to do much else.

[Snow]

Planted out a few flowers (marrigolds, calendula, something else I forgot what it is) along the edge of the veg bed where it meets the lawn. Hope they survive the slugs.

[rustylady]

Mopped up yet more sick Hope tomorrow will be a better day

[Snadger]

Planted our some beetroot I had started in modules.

[Snow]

Sowed some french beans with my daughter

[bramble]

Planted up my window boxes, planted out my bedding dahlias which i grew from last years seeds and potted on some herbs and mixed salad leaves which i also sowed from seed.
know its a little early to be planting out but theres no more room in the greenhouse.

[Nannysally99]

First jam of the season, strawberry and rhubarb.
Rhubarb picked straight from garden, strawberrys out of freezer from last year
My house smells gawjus

[ndever]

Today I earthed up the first potatoes coming through, plus checking the volunteer spuds from previous owner! Red onions are sprouting nicely, trying to keep it hoed and neat. Leeks have also settled in well, bar a couple. Transplanted sweetcorn and brussels. Was tassling with pipe and netting when a very nice allotment neighbour took pity. I feel I am learning so much, not least engineering skills. Squash is not as green or vigorous looking as I would like! Continuing to dig up and clear couch grass. Pulled up a really long intact piece, plus a weed with an intact, really long tap root. I felt proud and took pictures.