[Thrutchington]

Potter on some spinach seedlings, not a lot more today

[Luiska]

Hid from the frightful weather in the polytunnel, potting on tomatoes, peppers and such while it hailed and blew outside. A huge amount of drama and the soil wasn't even damp when it was over. Just very cold.

I don't like those cardboard modules after all. I had tried them on some of my tomatoes and when putting them in grow bags today it was clear that the roots had not penetrated them as they are supposed to. It's a bore because I have experimented with them on a few of my seedlings. Does anyone else have an opinion on them?

[Paul Plots]

I watered.... the seed beds.

Now we're in trouble for hijacking the thread and going off topic  but.....

I don't like those cardboard modules after all. I had tried them on some of my tomatoes and when putting them in grow bags today it was clear that the roots had not penetrated them as they are supposed to. Does anyone else have an opinion on them?

Expensive - had some for a Christmas pressie one year - used them - results ok as they decompose once in the ground and the roots do usually grow through them once they are moist and decomposing. Personally I'd use home-made paper-pots in preference... cheaper too.

[Luiska]

Sorry. I'll start a new thread.

[Paul Plots]

Sorry. I'll start a new thread.

We're not in trouble... yet

[miggs]

Just got home, that's approx 40 Sweetcorn transplanted. Strimmed all paths and weeded, not that there was many.

[paulusm]

Assessed frost damage. Some potatoes shriveled but mostly OK. Marigolds completely destroyed! Put up netting around redcurrents and goosies. Put up supports for peas. Pulled out lots of bindweed shoots as per usual 

[New shoot]

Didn't make it to the plot, but I have sown sweetcorn, cosmos, sunflowers, fennel and huaunzontle at home and planted out calendula, leaf celery and giant parsley into the raised beds.

Potted on aquilegia, linaria, verbena and some onions.  Also emptied the cold frame and got stuff ready to take to the plot tomorrow, then shuffled some greenhouse stuff out to the cold frame.

[Rhys]

Dropped by the other day to check on everything and take some fertiliser up. I've no idea what it is, but my dad got it from a farmer. He had to dilute a litre into about 50 litres, then that's diluted gain to use. I just put a glug in a watering can and that about does it (must ring the farmer up and ask him..)


Decided I'm going to pull up some bushes in the middle and use it to plant beans/caulies etc. I've got lots of garden canes so a Monty thingy will appear shortly I expect. I've bought some poly-tunnel things and the caulie seedling are coming along in the greenhouse and are ready for planting.


If my neighbour is up, I'll fetch 'Banty' the rotavator up for him. See how things go tomorrow

[Luiska]

Planted out the herbs which have been hardening off for about a week: tarragon, parsley, thyme, oregano, marjoram and a rosemary shrub and bay tree which have been languishing in the icy blast of a winter on my balcony.

Planted a double border of monarda inside a wobbly bean pole pergola leading from the orchardy part to the veg part of the allotment between the asparagus and strawberry beds. The climbing peas and french beans that will grow over the outside are sulking out of sight in their modules in the polytunnel.

Lovely afternoon - a lot of it spent drinking tea with various neighbours. It was Saturday, after all.

[New shoot]

Planted out Supersweet onions, Figaro shallots and khol rabi, all started from seed in modules.  Also planted some beetroot modules - these were sown with a few seeds in each and planted out as a clump.

Dug about 2/3 of my netting fenced squash, sweetcorn and bean area.  The last 1/3 was really solid, so I stuck the fork in here and there to break the surface and I'm hoping the rain we are forecast tonight and tomorrow might get in there and soften the ground a bit.  The joys of clay 

[snowdrops]

Took up 1 of the brassica areas & dug over enough of it adding chicken pellets & home made compost to it then planted the broad bean plants I had been & bought this morning( my seed sown ones failed) also planted 8 plugs of parsley I bought & 2 rows of ambassador peas to supplement the kelvedon wonder I sowed before I went on holiday last week

[miggs]

Another couple of hours earlier today. Sown a row of Sugar snap peas, 2 rows of different spring onions and 2 rows of different radish. Hoed all the beds.

[Gary Circuitt]

Weeded the onions, thinned out the carrots and gave everything a good soaking. The strawberry bed had a really good soaking as there lots of flowers on them. Sowed another half a dozen runner beans in the propagator, you can never have too many runner beans! Some of the Potatoes have been caught by the frost we had last week.   

[miggs]

Another few more hours today. Just a general tidy, strimming of the paths, and transplanted a few Beetroot as well.
I am on 6am-2pm for the next 2 weeks so I will be popping after work a few days a week to keep it tidy.