Topic: What did you do in the garden today? (Part 2)

[lottie lou]

Bought another bag of 50 daff bulbs half price in Aldi.  I know its late but what the heck.

[galina]

Picked and stored apples and pears before the storm 2 days ago.  Fruit is so late this year.  Today I put windfall apples and pears to good use by preserving them in jars.  The pears had a few autumn olive fruits added (shiny red fruit the size of redcurrants) - looks pretty and as the autumn olives are quite sharp a nice flavour contrast too.  The apples just got cinnamon stick added for a bit of extra flavour.

Still loads of windfalls left.  Will make apple sauce and also juice some in the next few days.  Ah and harvested some yummy Golden Chasselas grapes from the greenhouse, also a month later than other years.   

[Froglegs]

Planted out broad beans,and in the glasshouse planted out me pea plants....hope they do as well as this year.  

[Robert_Brenchley]

Harvested a few beans to dry out for seed. All but one variety are still green, but I'll need the seeds for swaps in a few weeks.

[manicscousers]

Found a new, full bag of broad bean seed that our special needs group had left on the plot 10 days ago. Well, with all the rain the pack had split open and half the seed had sprouted so, I've potted up 28 beans for them as they're not here until monday, hope they'll be ok 

[Froglegs]

Dug in a bed of buck wheat,weeded round me savoys, emptied a compost bin and spread it over three beds. The best bit was as it got dark sitting round a fire made from a load a pruning's having a beer 

[Robert_Brenchley]

I got to the plot to harvest beans a couple of days ago, and had a little (very little) go with the fork on one of the raised beds. My back's still aching.

[Digeroo]

Everything is very squelchy.  Just hoping the worms are working hard.   

[galina]

Everything is very squelchy.  Just hoping the worms are working hard.

Same here.  And to think you were looking for that moisture all summer to no avail ...............
Loads of worms here at the moment, but digging is very awkward.

Harvested Rocoto peppers from the greenhouse (the plants grew extremely tall 6ft plus) and tomatillos this weekend too.  Still a few tomatoes left.  Must get in before any serious frost.  We just picked and ate the last few grapes from the greenhouse, which were very late this year.  Turned over a couple of compost daleks that had been 'brewing' since last autumn and spread contents over dug areas as well.  The not yet composted stuff all went back into the daleks, in layers with nettles and rotting apples and torn cardboard.  The rest of the daleks can stay until spring.

Last grass cut (we think) for the year and clippings spread on dug areas. 

[Paul.and.Lynda]

This weekend we planted a further 40 strawberry plants. Dug over 2 beds and cleared a 3 foot x 3 foot x 3 foot pile of soil/rubbish so we could build a chicken wire cage to do leaf mould in.
So far we have planted 80 strawberry plants and cleared/dug over 6 out of 14 beds on the allotment. Not bad seeing as we have only had it for 4 weeks lol
Next weekend we are planting 200 onion bulbs a well as continuing with the digging.

Paul

[marcofez]

Went out to the allotment for a walk and some fresh air. Bought a box of veg peelings and leaves with me to chuck on to the compost bins. Had a nose around, surprised I was the only nutter there Went back home got in car and went to garden centre for some compost and perlite to sow my onion seeds in. That's tomorrow's job before going off to work nights!

[manicscousers]

Going back to the plot today, wondering if the other half of the tree is fallen and hoping it has landed in the field insteead of on our site 

[gavinjconway]

Happy new Year everyone - hope is a bumper year for our veg and flower gardens.

Yesterday just had to tidy up my house roof where we nearly had a disaster... a firework fell on my flat roof where I keep my old long plastic troughs (that I used to grow onions etc on the roof) and ignited them... Thankfully we saw the flames it in time and although most were burned we saved the house and roof!! Could have been nasty had the roof caught fire!!

And now as its raining its a in house day so I am busy making finishing touches to my light growing box to start of some show onions..

[pumkinlover]

Yesterday just had to tidy up my house roof where we nearly had a disaster... a firework fell on my flat roof where I keep my old long plastic troughs (that I used to grow onions etc on the roof) and ignited them... Thankfully we saw the flames it in time and although most were burned we saved the house and roof!! Could have been nasty had the roof caught fire!!

Crikey that sounds nasty, sometimes I wonder about the wisdom of fireworks.

[marcofez]

Took household composting material to lottie and put on compost bin. While there, I pruned the raspberries down. Let out about 100ltrs of water from the lbc tank onto the polytunnel soil. Dug some carrots and parsnips out and was quite happy with some mooli I grew. Then off home for a cuppa!!!!
Just looked in the garage and.........a bag of daff bulbs i got half price, forgotten about!!!!!! Need planting asap

[claybasket]

To-day was lovely and sunny so oh and me planted 20 bare root climbing roses into pots hope they will be all right ?we raked all the oak leaves up in half the garden until the poor old rake broke(died) oh said it was dead this time! and we had to go out and get another one, I was sad to see it go it was 20yrs old  but we got a nice one from Wicks £6 99 all metal I'll test it tomorrow

[goodlife]

Its been harvesting day..getting 'stuff' together before the 'big freeze'.
Cut some kale, collards some cabbage into storage, lifted last of the swedes, bucket full of leeks. Put all Yacon 'roots' in 'bed' after cutting all edible bits off..and brought them home for eating.
Dragged several big pumpkins and squashes home...more to eat...YUM!
Picked last lot of apples from tree that still has loads on...rest of them is now for birds and we shall start eating from storage after these.
Not very nice day for it..but had to be done..now it can freeze and we are 'stocked up' for time being..

[antipodes]

goodlife I am amazed that you can still pick apples! thought they would all be rotting by now.

I feel quite virtuous as I worked pretty hard yesterday (and the shoulders are telling me so today!) - I moved the rose bush, several raspberry bushes to the "new plot" (the top half that I am keeping on), and the irises (a few of them at least) and the grapevine. I also got quite a good harvest - several leeks, some salad doings (mizuna, rocket, parsley), enough perpetual spinach and swiss chard to have a meal, the last little cabbage and over a pound of brussel sprouts which look absolutely wonderful.
I also started to redo the path (which was lost under soil and grass!) and started to move useful things from teh bottom half up the top (wood, old shutter lengths that serve to delimit the plot, big rocks, posts etc.). Although I will not actually dig over the bottom half I do want to leave it as empty as possible for the new person. For now I have left in place a gooseberry and several raspberries, in case they would like to have some. If they don't I will have to dig them out and find a new home for them :-)

[marcofez]

Finally started clearing and tidying the lottie shed. Looking a lot better now. Still need to make more shelves for everything, but at least I know where most stuff is!!! Lol
Plus result from Freecycle. Not one but 2 compost bins acquired
Still have'nt planted those darn bulbs!!

[manicscousers]

Bought some lidl living lettuce and planted up a couple of troughs in the poly. Started some primecut carrots in a big pot with a large bottle cloche over, they were free seeds from DT Brown last year and they can be sown in jan and they did well last year so finishing off the packet. Took the sprouted long red florence to the plot and put them inside the poly to gently grow