The great, good and not so good bits about growing your own dinner 2017

CAFCGirl

Good morning to all!
Are we all excited for a long weekend at the plot?

I've written myself a 15 item to do list - which frankly if I get half done, I will be impressed with myself. Ordered some weed membrane last night and visiting the community stores on site today for some compost (must remember to get some cash!). Membrane should arrive tomorrow so today will be focused on prepping those areas for the membrane to go down.

I was up at 5:45 to walk the dog, so that I could pack my bag and lunch up and get an early start at the allotment. Just having a chai and then is shoes on and off I go!

Good luck to everyone for their efforts this weekend!

Kantankrus_Mare

Have a great day CAFCGirl!! You sound full of enthusiasm and determination.

Work all day for me and then a night away for husbands 50th.

Might get for an hour tomorrow afternoon hopefully.

Jazee

Morning all. Priority for me today is to get the grass cut while it's dry enough. And then if there is time, some more planting.

I went to a garden club yesterday but it seems to focus on bushes and flowers rather than growing veg. Nice bunch though, so will probably go again.

Fruittea

Morning all
It's a fine, mild day here in Gloucestershire. Just right for me to put my spare tomatoes out for sale. See how I get on.
Everyone sounds very enthusiastic this morning. That's what growing does for you.
I won't be doing much but I'll do some potting on and seed sorting.
Have a great day.

determined_new_ms

Hi guys glad you got some allotment/gardening time in I haven't done an awful lot but it feels productive went to the lottie and sewed the mesh together and recovered my brassicas. Looking a lot better now! As I was leaving I saw a white butterfly trying to head their way and I got a smug satisfied feeling mwahahahahaha!

That took almost all of the time I had there but managed to also plant up the last 3 calabrese, planted a raspberry plant and pulled some weeds from the carrot patch & can see one has germinated! Hope the others are on their way!

Came home and potted on aubergines, sowed 4 more cucumbers - weirdly though 2 of the cucumbers seem to be hanging on! both have 1 leaf that is damaged but all the others look healthy sowed another crookneck courgette as a friend said he'd like one (his surname is crook)

picked up a grow bag and some more compost. Cut the bottom off of 2 pots and am going to plant cucumbers in these in the grow bag. Have asked oh to take a shelf down so I can move things around and build a trelis for them

Am hoping to get up early and go down the lottie for a few hours tomorrow. Would like to plant up sweetpeas & sweetcorn, sow beetroot, and turnips and rake over a bed. Might also investigate under the last bit I've covered.

It looks so great down there now lots of life and growth. Some of my baby strawberries didn't make it but loads have.

Question I have moles and they keep pooping up the soil. Is there anything I can do?

Fruittea

Morning all
It's a blustery day here in Gloucestershire. I've brought some of the tender plants in - so no sales for me today as it's gusting up to 31mph.
You sound as though you had a great day Determined you really seem to be cracking on.
I managed to sow 7 half trays of flowery things yesterday. I don't usually grow to many flowers but as the front garden is bare I thought I should make an effort.
Potted on the cucumbers and OH took them down to the greenhouse for me. So it's freeing up some space. I'm having a quiet day at home whilst OH is off to an event (no point in me trying as it's quite a bit of walking) so I'll get on with sowing some climbing French beans using th empty root trainers now some of the peas are in.
Happy sowing.

determined_new_ms

after son research I can see moles are a big problem. Will try some canes with bottles on and see if I can order some tomcat worm/poison thing. Man gutted about this!

I started this post this morning about 8 and I had been in the garden for about an hour. Have done loads! potted up 2 cucumbers in their final position and moved shelves around & built a trellis for them potted on tomatoes, sown sweetcorn & more beetroot.

I moved all the plants around in the gh so as to make it more accessible for my neighbour. Feeling a bit worried that it's a big ask of my neighbour as there is a lot!

A friend popped in and brought a bag of coffee because we were out. I exchanged it for 2 tomato plants, a courgette and squash so planted another courgette & squash as had only planted the amount I wanted!

Still need to go to the allotment. Might not get to allotment today. I hope to but the weather is set to rain shortly. Might have to go early tomorrow for a couple of hours.

Jazee

Only watering done here today.

zafiro1984

Jazee wrote: »

Only watering done here today.

Same here Jazee, I wish there were more hours in a day, I went food shopping and I'm still cleaning and cooking, probably the best day for it as it's been raining on and off most of the afternoon. Hopefully a drier and warmer day tomorrow.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I'll swap your moles in the garden for the rats that appear to have moved in under the shed. If nothing else, molehill mounds make great soil for pots. And moles definitely aerate the soil and keep it free draining, plus there's no chance of the !!!!!!s coming into the house and spreading disease or costing me £120 at the vets for inflicting bite wounds on the cat.


I'll have to establish for certain it's rats rather than mice tomorrow, as it was only a glimpse at it pelted back under there as the cat launched himself at it. But I'm pretty certain it was a pale tail. I hate the idea of poisoning anything, especially if the cat finds it before me, but I don't think principles count much where Weil's Disease or bites are concerned. My incredibly scientific method will be pointing the hosepipe directly into the gap under the shed from a distance and seeing if I can flush anything out. Or drown it. And then stumping up about seventy quid for the bloke from the council to turn up.


Plants are still looking OK, though. Will take advantage of the hopefully better weather tomorrow to use the new compost and topsoil to try and transplant some of the salad veggies into other pots and top up one of the raised beds/holes in the lawn.


All the time the garden was an utter mess of junk and rubbish, the only uninvited visitors were woodmice. Now I've slogged my guts out clearing it and making it all nice (and not disturbed one single rodent, even when clearing the mini greenhouse of old pots), the one bit I can't change (the builders dumped the shed down to hide some broken up concrete and it's gradually going to break in two over the highest lump :mad: - the garden isn't even big enough to warrant a full size shed, as it covers roughly a third of the entire space that should have been, according to the planning application, a tree) has acquired something I really don't want on grounds of health.