What did you do in the garden today?

[rugbypost]

Still windy ,but dry today did a spot of cleaning around the garden.Sowed some swede, cabbage, and cauliflower , and leeks in doors soon as they are up they will go into greenhouse. The local school has a lot so sow early incase of any misshaps : :P Sowed  Bogonia seeds it said sow in January fingers crossed with these says fill pot with best compost firm to the touch water ,sprinkle seeds on top firm seeds into the compost cover with cling film and keep moist O/H Said whats for lunch thought I was cooking Will sow broad beans tomorrow in 3 inch pots they can go into greenhouse as soon as they are up to ;D

[rugbypost]

[Number Six]

Dug and manured (is that a verb?) the last of the veg beds yesterday. Looking at today's frost, I think it may have been good timing...

[cornykev]

First time I've been on the plot for over 6 weeks properly
Harvested parsnips
Cleared up
Weeded
A bit of Winter digging
Me mate Robin came looking for worms.
:D

[vague]

took the afternoon of work and slumped off to lottie.  beutiful sunny day in hastings, weeded fruit, dug another bed, listened to the birds.....if only all winter days were like this I'd be a very happy gardener!!!!
;D ;D ;D

[gavinjconway]

I fitted planks to the bottom of my greenhouse today and started leveling and laying concrete fence posts down for the GH to sit on.. should finish tomorrow hopefully..

[Ninnyscrops.]

Had a look in the greenhouse, more happening outside with the tete a tetes emerging  :)



Amongst some stray ivy that the birds have set too! Thankfully none of the bulbs flowering around the garden yet  but the primroses are making a splash of colour.

[claybasket]

Went down yesterday with OH and got stuck in clearing nets and hoops ,got manure into the leek bed ,this year we will cover it up with net curtains to stop that moth getting them, OH clear old cabbage patch and nearly over done the digging he got carried away just a bit stiff :) I started cutting the rasp canes the Autum ones got one row done, my wee hands were aching  will be taking my mean loppers today to finish the job!

[gavinjconway]

A few things done at the plot today... Got some of the greenhouse foundations sorted... I'm using concrete fence posts laid on top of a layer of blocks to raise it up 12" or so..

Then I made 2 runner bean climbing frames 8' high and 8' wide.. should get a good crop growing on those..

Also collected and spread 12 bags of horse manure that is given free to the site on occasions..

[cornykev]

Shifted some council compost
Harvested carrots and the last of the Hamburg Parsley
Sorted out some spuds and parsnips to take home
Met new lottie neighbours and they gave me a can of beer
:D    ;)

[Lottiman]

Putting in a new path and creating a bed for raspberry's.  :)

[claybasket]

Got my rasp all cut down with my the mean loppers ;D gave them a fed to got over the shock ,saved the long canes for peas later on :) dug out a strawberry bed ,oh was digging in manure and weeding we met up for soup and coffee :D also got large bag of carrots .will plant seeds Tomorrow I need a wee fix ;)

[Pescador]

Re-covered my 4 shelf "greenhouse" with bubble plastic in preparation for some sowings next week.

[Aden Roller]

On Sunday while I fiddled about with jobs inside the new bungalow for my parents my OH disappeared down the new garden.

Then my son joined her..... so I had to investigate as the woodwork had come to a standstill.  ::)

A few hours later, despite the cold, the three of us had managed to top four fairly tall fir trees that grew on the boundary of the garden. The neighbour (92) was quite happy to give me permission to "lower the trees - chop'em down if you like" when I said I wanted to grow veg at the end of the garden but it was very shady.

All the other neighbours were amazed as, in the past, no one has been allowed to even trim a little from his trees let alone "lower / chop'em down".

Net result - more light and a huge pile of long tree trunks as well as lots of branches.

Bonfire called for before he changes his mind!!!  :o

[gavinjconway]

Not in the garden  but for the plot...

I finally found a 1000 Lt. IBC storage tank for collecting rain water.. I have been eyeing it out for over 4 years now so today I knocked on and asked the occupier if they were ever going to use it..  The guy was only too pleased I could make good use of it. So peeps  - my motto is as always "If you see something you could use lying around and looks unwanted ... just knock and ask". The worst thing that can happen is that they say no!

[winecap]

I've been riddling. Perfect activity for a cold day. I now have about a builders bag full of riddled compost and this is where my carrots will be sown in a couple of months. They love it, unlike the rest of the soil on my allotment which is too heavy for them.

[steve76]

Council dropped LOADS of leaf mould at the plot today so i helped myself to 5 loads ( the 1 ton builders bags )of the stuff ;) not sure where best to use it on the plot  ??? was thinking about using some of it to mulch the potatoes in a couple of months and dig the rest in where the carrots are going this year ???  any ideas never had leaf mould before..

[cambourne7]

Council dropped LOADS of leaf mould at the plot today so i helped myself to 5 loads ( the 1 ton builders bags )of the stuff ;) not sure where best to use it on the plot  ??? was thinking about using some of it to mulch the potatoes in a couple of months and dig the rest in where the carrots are going this year ???  any ideas never had leaf mould before..

Steve its good stuff is it still in the bags??? If so i would just stack 3 of the bags up and cover and let it rot down a little more for summer mulching.

But you can pop it onto the beds to protect seedlings, dig it in :) pile it on thick as it will break down.

BUT DO CHECK WHAT TYPE OF LEAVES AS SOME ARE NOT SO HELPFUL 

[steve76]

Thanks cambourne7  ;) will take you advise and let it rot down more, not sure of the types of leaves i have seen some conifer trimming in there...

Thanks Steve.

[cambourne7]

conifer is quiet acidly i used mine on my plot for paths as they also take a lot longer to rot down mine were popped into a cage made of rabbit wire which let the elements get to them and over time the full cage decreased in size to about 1/5 of the original. Another plot holder did the same but fitted it over a couple of baths he then had his water butt constantly drip though it to help filter the water into the baths - never saw the point but it did make a good wind break and helped him create a constant supply of water for his greenhouse.

Suggest you check the PH of a couple of samples before incorporating... that said i would follow this bit of advice i found

It doesn't matter what tree they are from if they are fresh.
You should only mulch with proper rotted old smells-like-compost gubbins.
Fresh plant matter as mulch invites nasty fungi & does little good for soil nutrients.

[Robert_Brenchley]

The fresh stuff is good for mulching, though it blows about a bit. If it's dug in, it produces good crops of fungi, and takes far longer to disappear. There's not much nutrient in autumn leaves anyway, but it does boost the humus content.