Topic: What did you do in the garden today?

[manicscousers]

IAfter your post Manics, I had a look in my cupboard and found a Coco peat block thats been there for years will it be OK for Tommies when I plant them on into black buckits.   :-\     :D

Not on it's own, Kev. not enough feed, I use it for sowing seeds (large) but my instructions say add sand and feed to it to pot on. I'm using mole soil/vermiculite mixed with a little bfb this year, just done some lettuce so will see how they go

[jimtheworzel]

planted onion sets [ sturon ] in cell trays to plant out late march

[Sparkly]

Nothing today (boooo to rain), although have managed to do quite a bit of digging this week clearing 2nd plot. Also yesterday we put up a 2nd raspberry frame. The main plot is dug ready for planting with just a couple of beds with crops still in. The 2nd plot LOL - 2/3 of it is fine. 1/3 of it is full of weed roots left by the previous tennants lack of cultivation. Will get it sorted though this year before spring.

[irridium]

planted onion sets [ sturon ] in cell trays to plant out late march

i'm thinking of doing the same with my sets (piroska, sturon, stuttgarter and red baron) as last year (my 1st time) i had to re-plant them several times on my onion bed as those pesky birds just love my just-weeded soil that i was doing on a weekly basis ::) what's the consensus on this ppl, do you plant out or start them off first?

today on the lotti, got friend to fish out the v. big dead (v sad) frog that was found in my pond the other day. i couldn't do it myself as i'm such a scaredy-cat to all things dead and horrid mice/rats.. ::) ::) ::) and i was able to finish weeding the fruit bed that was too close to the pond for me to go near it... sounds embarressing i know! so beautiful the weather we've had in nott'm.. then, i noticed more and more of the fresh growth of nettle was up, so spent a couple of hours digging that. planted out Aronia and a freebie - gooseberry bush that i got from a nursery the other day, woohoo! my 4th plant this yr that i've planted... (5 more to go, but firstly have to clear/prep the space for it ::))

just seen the weather for tonight, gonna be a frost at minus 1 in my area.. just hope the new asian pear tree will be ok (better be, as it was quite an expensive purchase!) - well, should be as it's next to the sheltered part of the lotti next to the shed...

[gavinjconway]

I read somewhere that a person should always try to do 4 different things each visit to the plot so I am trying that now...

So ...
1.Yesterday I added my home waste to the compost heap along with a few bags of horse manure then gave it a bit of water and a half turning over.. oh and also added some BFB to activate it a bit..

2. Emptied the IBC so I could move it to cover all round with a couple of old builders bags to keep the direct sun away so the water doesn't go green

3. Started to dig up a heap of extra soil left by the previous tenant and moved 13 barrow loads to a lower depression part of the plot..

4. Sifted through all my ash piles from all my bonfires with a large magnet to remove all the screws and nails from all the pallets I have destroyed and the chicken coops that were left there.. Now I need to scrape some up to add some potash to my onion patch!!

[galina]

Irridium

sorry about the frog.  I don't like dealing with dead animals either, but it is ok with a long handled shovel if I have to ....  frogs are too useful but perhaps it was an old frog and its time had come .....

Don't worry about the Asian pear unless it is flowering.  The tree is fully hardy, mine has come through several pretty grim winters just fine.  The problem is the flowering period.  It flowers very early,  and this means that there are few other pollinator trees about (Williams aka Bartlett is a reasonable pollinator or another Asian Pear).  And frost gets into the flowers most years. 

My tree is now well established, nearly 20 years old and has been bearing well in the last few years.  It seems to space its flowering over a longer period and so some of the flower misses the frost.  It took a few years to get there.  My husband wanted to cull the tree at one stage, because it took years before it produced. 

Unless other pears are flowering in the vicinity with a time overlap, you may have to think about hand pollinating.  They are well worth a bit of effort.  Good luck with yours.

just seen the weather for tonight, gonna be a frost at minus 1 in my area.. just hope the new asian pear tree will be ok (better be, as it was quite an expensive purchase!) - well, should be as it's next to the sheltered part of the lotti next to the shed...

[galina]

Not much, biting wind, still can't get warm.  And it is sad because this harsh frosty period has destroyed a lot of my winter salad garden.  But a couple of black winter radishes and the last parsnips got dug, a bit of florence fennel too (surprised this thrives in the cold ...) and Babington leek.  Checked on the garlics and shallots and weeded a little and dug a bit too until my fingers just hurt with the biting cold.  Don't know why my finger tips get so bad these days, not just cold, but really painful despite gardening gloves.  :(

Then I collected up muddy gardening gloves and capillary matting sheets for a gentle wash on the delicates programme, short wash cycle without washing powder.

Watered the seedlings in the conservatory, lettuce, peas, broadies, leeks and onions.  Conservatory is unheated but got very nice and warm for a bit in yesterday's sunshine.

[cornykev]

1. Mixed dalek and council compost in a bed
2. Planted Shallots in the bed
3. Emtied one tub and one black bin of Spuds
4. Drank a can of beer
Well I got my 4 in

[cornykev]

On Sunday
1. Sowed Tigerella
2. Sowed Yellow Bell Peppers
3. Planted 4x Shallots in pots
4. Washed plant pots.
 :D

[gavinjconway]

On Sunday
1. Sowed Tigerella
2. Sowed Yellow Bell Peppers
3. Planted 4x Shallots in pots
4. Washed plant pots.
 :D

Have I started something with doing 4 things each visit..??    ;D

[elvis2003]

think can only be a good thing if you have!
1.said hello to our neighbour aka Albie,our chum and guru
2.admired the woodchip paths I laid on Sunday
2.admired the decorative stone path I laid around the pond on Sunday
3.checked the greenhouse,had a brew and came home  ;D

[irridium]

Irridium

sorry about the frog.  I don't like dealing with dead animals either, but it is ok with a long handled shovel if I have to ....  frogs are too useful but perhaps it was an old frog and its time had come .....

Don't worry about the Asian pear unless it is flowering.  The tree is fully hardy, mine has come through several pretty grim winters just fine.  The problem is the flowering period.  It flowers very early,  and this means that there are few other pollinator trees about (Williams aka Bartlett is a reasonable pollinator or another Asian Pear).  And frost gets into the flowers most years.  

My tree is now well established, nearly 20 years old and has been bearing well in the last few years.  It seems to space its flowering over a longer period and so some of the flower misses the frost.  It took a few years to get there.  My husband wanted to cull the tree at one stage, because it took years before it produced.  

Unless other pears are flowering in the vicinity with a time overlap, you may have to think about hand pollinating.  They are well worth a bit of effort.  Good luck with yours.

well, when i discovered the frog on Fri. whilst wanting to weed the fruit bed, i noticed it's v. white underside floating on the pond surface.. i just let out a screeching "aarrrgghh!" and couldn't bear to go near that vicinity. in fact, i was that shocked that i wanted to leave the rest of the jobs till another day.. I'm v phobic off all dead animals, can't help myself. when my then partner was working abroad for 7mths the other year, my norty, norty cat brought home live mice, sometimes 3 times a week. i couldn't hang around the 1st floor of the house, till a friend came over the next day to deal with the offending item (imagine me not going being able to use the bathroom there as well :o :o??!!)

i didn't anticipate the pond being too deep as i thought with with being a preformed (if that's what they're called) pond i didn't think it needed a 'ramp' to aid any wildlife to climb out of it as it as it has 3 differing levels. the pond at home is just a sunken plastic storage box with straight sides that has a ramp with bricks in one corner, and noticed that the baby frogs were getting in and out regularly. tomorrow, i use the precious few bricks i have lying around the lotti and sink them in... atm, i put a piece of wood anchored on the diagonal as a make-shift.

re. the asian pear. it's a 2yr tree with lots of side branches and 5' tall - Shinseiko. What's your variety? I got inspired to grow one as my mum has hers growing for the past 5yrs or so (no feed, no weeding - shock, horror!) she's been cropping hers for the last two, and last yr's she didn't bother thinning the fruitlets, and got about 60 from two trees. of course, they're prone to bow with the heaviness of all that fruit that she's propped the branches with poles. not a good sight for one in her front garden, tho'!

as mine will be on the lotti, there is a new pear tree that was planted in autumn, but i'm not sure if it'll flower this yr or not as i think it's too young (an heirloom that i got from the lotti community orchard) i've recently bought one from Aldi last week - Doyenne du Comice which is actually bigger than the other one, so maybe that'll flower for me, and thus pollinate the Asian one. Do you think that they might flower at the same time, methinks not...  ???

[galina]

Irridium,  well you have certainly done everything you can to make the pond safe and this may not have been the reason for the frog's demise anyway.  Healthy frogs can jump well clear I would have thought.

Anyway, my Asian Pear is Kumoi.  The tree (which is on a dwarfing rootstock) is larger and the branches are more expansive than my other pears.  Yes there is a small overlap with my Comice too, not as long as with Williams.  The problem is that a young tree only has a few flowers, an older tree with a lot of flowers has a longer flowering period and bigger overlap.  With two other pears in the vicinity you should have flowering overlap covered, at least in the long run.

ten minutes later ...
Scratch all that - have just read up on your Asian pear variety - which is self pollinating!  :)  Kumoi isn't but Shinseiki is.  No problem, sorry if I have worried you there.  Frost in the flower is the only issue and possibly lack of pollinating insects at flowering time.  You can help with a small paintbrush and transfer pollien manually.  When I bought mine, Kumoi was the only one available.

Good that your mum got fruit quite early.  With a self pollinating Asian pear you are very likely going to enjoy the same.  They are delicious, juicy sweet and still very expensive in the shops. 
 

[Lottiman]

Planted raspberry's today 6 x Joan j and 6 x malling jewel .

[Aden Roller]

Sowing time seems to have started already in some places so....

I put in one large deep tray of leek seeds (Musselburg, Giant Winter and Prizetaker) as well as a 1/2 tray of Swiss Chard.

The sweet peas have been up for weeks and weeks but look very healthy and ready to toddle into place anytime now. My climbing beans are snoozing in cells but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll put in an appearance in a week or two.

[artichoke]

Four things is good. Something to aspire to.

I cannot get car out to go somewhere without at least 3 objectives.

This morning (apart from shopping, returning grandchildren's DVDs after half term) I visited plot for first time in several weeks.

1. Dug 5 fat leeks

2. Repaired nets over purple and white sprouting broccoli (too young to pick)

3. Placed 4 bamboos and some netting over a huge rogue purple sprouting from last year - it has sprouted again and attracted pigeons, judging from the droppings and bare top....

4. Weeded onions and shallots and broad beans (not all of them)

5. Noted with astonishment huge paw and hoof prints and sheepswool all over the place. Sheep must have got into the site, and great heavy dogs must have galloped around on my plots to get them out!

6. Plan to start off early peas but have not yet.

[katynewbie]

First trip the the lottie to actually DO something this year! Dug the Onion patch, weeded around asparagus and admired the crocus which are out!

[manicscousers]

Transplanted sweet peas, sowed fuego and kalibos red cabbage, uncovered my son in laws birthday presents, everything is showing now. Moved some of the herb cuttings outside and potted up some oregano cuttings  :)

[compostbin]

 ;D ;D.......got a raised-bed,...built,......only got half an allotment,...but got about 7 or 8 raised-beds.,......& seems like,.......this year,.........gonna get an awful lot more,......out of me half a plot,.......than i've ever been able to,..thanks to the raised beds ;D

[Ninnyscrops.]

Finally made a start with sowing:

Peas
Pansies
Tomatoes
French Marigolds
Shoo-fly plants

We're off........................... ;D

Ninnys