Just wondering what if anything anyone is sowing or planting this weekend.
My heavy clay is far too wet to dig and looks like staying that way for a while yet.
It's far too cold and wet to start sowing or planting yet and there's really not enough light for seedlings before the end of Feb or even late March in some areas.
After the big freeze I see that all my Japanese mizuna, Swiss chard, broccoli and white sprouting plus salads under cloches are frozen to a mush so if it stays fine I'll get those out of the way and ask OH to turn the compost heaps ready for spreading on beds and covering with black plastic to warm up the soil so that when I do sow, things will get away fast. Given recent long winters here I may not be sowing anything outside till mid April.
my fruit order arrived - two pears, a damson, peach, plum, raspberries and tayberry. So busy getting them all in. I dug some holes before the big freeze - so between that and a bit of compost hopefully they will all go in ok. Need to buy a pot for the peach, although wondering if an old chicken manure tub will do for now....
Still have tullips to plant but probably wont get to that.
I have some more strawberry plants to pop into my new fruit cage, then I will be playing in the polytunnel!! It currently stinks of rotting seaweed - but there are patches that I can work on - plus I will be putting up the baler twine supports for the beans, tomatoes etc which I use in the tunnel!
Chickens will be helping me in that they have the largest dust bath in christendom in the tunnel and they will be enjoying the dry warm'ish earth!
Outside I will also be staking and tying in my new fruit trees which I am going to train into espaliers!
A fair bit to do then at the weekend!
Happy days!
Old Bird ;D
Have to go down to decide what to take when I move.
Going to dig up my sapling pear,cherry and plum and put them in my sons garden.Whoever has my plot after me may not like them and I have babied them so don't want them lost.
Going to take the good quality raised beds as the wood cost me a bit,son will have those too.
Don't think my shed will survive a move so that is staying.Still a good shed so think new tenant should be pleased with that.
Going to pot up some raspberries and gooseberry,not sure how well that will work.
Luckily got the tenancy till March so hopefully will have it all sorted by then.
So many things I don't want to part with but I know I will have to. :)
Crying, well almost. The heavy snow and ice have flattened our tunnels.http://www.citychickens.co.uk/
Quote from: worldor on January 22, 2010, 11:34:28
Crying, well almost. The heavy snow and ice have flattened our tunnels.http://www.citychickens.co.uk/
your blog is wonderful- very inspiring and lots of interesting pictures :) thank you for sharing the link to it!
Hope to take a dustbin load of green waste for the compost heap - haven't really been able to get down there lately cos of the snow. I'm part of the manure team and we collected many bags of fresh horse manure on Wednesday - hopefully there will be some left and I'll put some bagfulls in one of the compost heaps too. Will probably dig up some parsnips, pick some sprouts, maybe some perpetual spinach if it hasn't been mushed by the snow. See how the broadies are doing. Cut the Autumn Bliss canes down to ground level (two patches), bit of mulching around them. Mulch a bit round the rhubarb, maybe a bin on top to force some. Mulch asparagus bed too - am I too late for mulching things? Looks like I've got two weekends work there, oh dear! Also got my spuds this week, will lay them out for chitting this weekend too. Have a look at my seed box - see what I need to buy. In other words - lots to do and think about doing!
Just looked out the window and decided on swimming.
I have more strawberry runners to plant out and need to build the 6 cheepie arches to support the raspberries - that will be in between the rain showers >:(
It is too wet here to do much in the garden. The snow has gone and the chicken run is a puddle. So I will dig that part of the garden as soon as possible. Digging up parsnips and carrots, they are great but thats all.....
Thank you detailista. My enthusiasm will come back. It always does as soon as Spring appears.
Quote from: betula on January 22, 2010, 11:09:23
Have to go down to decide what to take when I move.
Luckily got the tenancy till March so hopefully will have it all sorted by then.
So many things I don't want to part with but I know I will have to. :)
Hope this means you are only moving and not giving up veggie growing completely betula.
Glad to see enthusiasm to get out there as soon as possible and the beginnings of spring fever arriving :)
I think as the sun is venturing out today I will get out and wash the pots and containers that got left when emptied them in December.
QuoteHave to go down to decide what to take when I move.
So many things I don't want to part with but I know I will have to.
You're moving then, Betula? It's hard to leave a garden. Will you have to wait long for a new allotment in the new place? :(
I was feeling a bit behind with things. Potatoes and shallots arrived and I was so busy I left them in a box for a week. But they were all fine.
I've drawn up my sowing calendar, and I'm going to go for quite latish indoor sowings this year. And clearing new ground on allotment, but there's room ready for shallots, onions and potatoes now!
I feel quite contented! :)
I planted some shallots today and started digging out a trench for runner beans.
Are moving far B?
ive got an nsalg meeting tmrw,then im going the plot to have a general tidy up,first this year! have convinced myself there isnt that much that needs doing,but know there is really
started raking some of the raised beds, lovely, crumbly soil, dug up some leeks, tidied up the polytunnel where the chickens scattered the soil and looked at my oriental leaves which are all up ;D
nothing tomorrow as rellie visiting
A lot of the site has standing water but managed to pot up loads of bulbs and repot the pomegranates... :)
We cleared the remains of our blown sprouts from the brassica bed. Rearranged the covers that we have over our raised beds. Lifed some leeks and parsnips. Started cleaning out the shed.
Duke :)
Still fat too muddy here to do much without damaging both ground and boots! I went up this afternoon and there were a few sturdy souls doing "tidying-up" tasks, but no digging or planting.
I put up a couple of notices on the board, saw a couple of guys about admin things, walked the site, admired how efficiently the main drainage channel that we started to re-vamp last spring was working, got rid of some of the seed potatoes that had just arrived from Kings, pulled up a few leeks and came home.
Shopped! Bought two half-price clematis plants, and an ex-display slatted compost bin for a fiver. Put the compost bin together, cleared up loads of leaves and tidied the wood pile, and then it was dark. Tomorrow really must tidy up the old bean canes and measure up an area to put my polytunnel on.
Got a seed order come through the post, checked it was all there. Too wet to do anything else. :'(
Bubble wrapped the greenhouse,and tried ot the heater.Got my potatoes so wil set them al l out tomorrow to set them offPlot still to wet to d anthing else.Bilt three compst bins last Sunday very please with myself.
;D ;Dsorry about spelling put my glasses on now ! ::)
Pruned grape vines - essential to do this before it warms up - now I can relax and I'm free to hope for an early spring!
Pushed some grape cuttings into sheltered soil to give away later (10% should root OK).
Dug up a rogue patch of chinese artichokes - still got half a pumpkin in the kitchen (threatening to rot) so need these to use for crunch in pumpkin slaw (now all my chard stems have frosted to mush).
Pruned blackcurrants and a mad jostaberry that was threatening to swamp a dwarf Ashmeads Kernel apple. Pushed the prunings in next to the grape cuttings.
Cut/dug some suckers from apple rootstocks and planted them for grafting later - in same row as a grapevine so they will grow to act as living supports.
More of the same tomorrow if the weather holds - maybe more in the garden and less at the allotment if it doesn't.
Dug up the last couple of parsnips, some jerusalem artichokes and some leeks which had been very badly chewed by some critter. Even got three medium carrots (grown in a dustbin) and a few sprouts although the stems had been compeltely chewed too. As I'd expected, pumpkins left in the shed had succumbed to the frost but I rescued two of four - need to make some soup quick!
Noticed one row of garlic has started sprouting. :)
Went for a walk to the allotment (like ones does). Put my fork in the soil but it was very wet, so had a chat to a new allotment owner and then came home. Roll on the Spring/summer. Put a few sweet peas seeds (from last years plants) on wet kitchen paper on the window cill (have loads).
Harvested Kale, carrots and parsnips
Dug out some old plants
Put away some wigwams
A bit of weeding
Emptied home compost in the daleks.
;D ;D ;D
Walked over to the lottie, stuck fork in soil a few times, removed some weeds picked some leeks and enjoyed the lovely peace and quiet and just looked out over the fields, then thought damm have sowing to do and walked back home. In the greenhouse, i planted some modules of leeks and alpine strawberries.
Nothing ... :'( Since fracturing my ankle at Centre Parcs, Longleats on 6th January) I am out of commission. I am already having to bribe dear hubbie and son to go down and feed my ladies (chickens) daily and collect eggs. Hopefully I will be able to start doing things once out of the cast.
But have already managed to get hubbie to promise to take me to the potato day in Whitchurch week-end 30/31 January. Yippee!!!!
Jitterbug
Hmm, yes I recognise the itchy fingers symptoms! No planting or sowing yet as such, got potatoes chitting and was toying with the idea of putting some chillis on windowsill above radiator, or maybe a few leeks in cold frame. Have been doing tidying though mostly, cut down brambles, covered plots with manure and black plastic, made pile of stuff for skip, tidied greenhouse etc. Won't be long before I give in and sow something though!
took the newly sprouted oriental greens to the polytunnel, cut back all the herb cuttings , just in case any are still alive after freezing, pulled some leeks for leek and potato soup , cleaned the chickens out and Ray put it in the compost heap.. ;D
I haven't done anything either, but at least I'm recovering from my accident.
I did not know you had an accident Robert.What happened??
I slipped on some icy steps and gave myself a right wallop on the tailbone. It incapacitated me for a couple of weeks, but I've pretty much got over it now, thanks.
We're hopping up there this weekend to re-dig it all, to cover the back half and to build a surround for our manure and of course to give our toddler a chance to get filthy!
After a weekend of redecorating the lounge (wife decides to buy a new sofa and wants it redecorating) I will be glad to get down to the allotment for a weekend of digging and tidying. Erecting a new fence (flipping vandals) but most of the work is at home. Already chitting potatoes (pink fir apple and rocket) and just planted some butternut squash seeds in pots. Will plant chilli seeds, basil and coriandor and keep indoors.
Please, please, please warm up.
Not doing anything other than ordering my seeds etc ( it's pay day at last :) )
Need to go up and start getting things in order ready for the warmer weather.
Got my seed potatoes and am chitting the earlies. I can't wait for my 2nd season.
Sharon
Hope to finish digging the other half of the potato bed and maybe, just maybe weed the strawberry bed (still getting lambs tail lettuce coming through ::))
Ninny
Just had a freeby 6x4 shed given to me, so I will be fixing it to my other 6x4 allotment shed to create a shed 8x6 that's if the weather permits this weekend, :)
goin to build my new greenhouse which buying tomorrow cant wait ;D
Me to, I'm getting to grips with my new garden and this week i ordered a new greenhouse (14x8) so have been trying to make a level area and dig out tree stumps and work out how many bricks and how much sand i need to make the foundations.
It's very exciting but very sore back!!
Had a rubbish week at work so have been sowing seeds in my propagator as comfort(well it beats scoffing the cakes in my fridge!)
I sowed saved sungold seeds (anyone else finding that the f1 offspring are just as yummy?) helichrysum, delphinums, leeks, sweet peas, and aubergines.
Cant beat that feeling of waking up in the morning and seeing those little shoots that promise the spring and summer to come.
x sunloving
sweet peas, thank you, sunloving, knew I'd forgotten something ;D
On a mission this weekend: going to clear out the shed so I can set up my seed table in the window. More digging to create beds, hopefully some sowing on Sunday as my reward for all the donkey work. ;D