[annie b]

check on my little lemon saplings after the couple of heavy nights frost we had, they looked snug as bugs under the double layer of fleece i put over them last week..

You have lemon saplings????Tell me more ! Very interested in where you got them ...have a new project (both personla adn fior work) and this could be very interesting info...

[gavinjconway]

Found more fence posts on my catalogue distribution round... loaded them in the car and off to the plot tomorrow to use for the greenhouse foundations.  More to be collected from another source tomorrow so hopefully by Sunday pm the greenhouse will be in.. but excluding the glazing!!

[kosh42|EFG]

Planted early peas and early cabbage in modules in the unheated spare bedroom. Will move them out to the poly tunnel once germinated then plant them in the tunnel borders once established for an early crop.

At least that's the plan...

[jmc1949]

Due to the dreadful rain and wind (yet again) and not being able to get into the garden or lottie, decided to replan the small area at the bottom of my garden which was looking quite dismal. It's a corner plot with 6 foot high fencing and trellis with a grapevine running along it (food for the birds in the autumn).  I took out several large shrubs which had overcrowded the 7x7 foot area last year.  It does get sunshine until about 3pm during the summer.
I have decided to go with colourful perennials this year,  such as Iris 'Sultans Palace (red), Geums Mrs Bradshaw (red) and Shasta Daisies (white) with a couple of clumps of drawf Soldago (Yellow).  Then next autumn I will interplant with spring flower bulbs. That should brighten the area up.

[AlaninCarlisle]

Braved the howling gale and frequent showers to cross the Somme-like mudbath to my polytunnel with a couple of dozen strawberry plants. Raised beds were dust-dry so, after planting and working in some Growmore, ran the sprinkler on them for a couple of hours.

Wind forecast to abate over night so tomorrow may start to dig over spud area and an onion/garlic patch - rooted garlic cloves in greenhouse are now 6" high and need to go out

[kosh42|EFG]

Planted out my sweet peas in the tunnel and picked salad for next week at work.

Later I plan to prick out my chillies to 3" pots...

[gavinjconway]

Busy busy today.. fitted my IBC 1000 Lt tank to harvest rainwater from the shed and greenhouse.. Also finished the foundations for the greenhouse to sit on - just to the right of the new tank. All going well tomorrow I'll fit the GH in it's spot.!!  

[brightgirls]

Today saw sanity return to our plot.  The roof of our shed which flew off and landed some 50 feet away in the storms 2 weeks ago, was fixed back on today by a nice man.  The broken window was also replaced.

We hoed and weeded around our garlics and onions and put up support lines for our broad beans.

All in all a perfect morning on the plot..

[stompy]

Hi gavinjconway,

I see you've been lucky enough to get an IBC, it can sometimes be difficult to keep the water sweet in those tanks due to the sun/light and their transparency.

There are a few guys on our site that have them and all of them have them covered with a tarp to keep the light out.

They do this to stop algae from forming in the rain water and they all have crystal clear water from them, i have seen others where there has been no cover and the water turns green and smelly 

Just a thought 

[Son of Steptoe]

Made the most of a fresh pile of woodchip donated by some kind soul and tidied all the front up of the parking area, also laid a layer all the way down the path to the shed and tap. Best 2 hours spent in the green gym ever!

[plot53b]

Collected my compost bins from the plot next door (even though they were pegged down )! Then I managed to strim all around my current plot and my new extension. Amazing how just cutting the grass around the edges makes the plot look so much better.

[DigIt]

A quick visit to the allotment today and it's surprising how much it the field has dried out since the last visit. No longer does it resemble a paddy field and yet we don't seem to have had a particularly dry spell of weather?

Found a hole in the netting cover on the garlic and signs of some soil being scraped. Damn rabbits. Must have jumped the chicken wire fence !!! 

Then set about applying a light top dress of sulphate of potash to the strawberries, raspberries, apples and pears.

[hereshoping]

We finally fitted a gate to the entrance so now its fenced off from the public! Even though our plot is right at the bottom of the allotment but still its nice to know its done!
I weeded and dug over 2 of the 3 plots we will grow on this year, so 1 more to go. Dug over the seating area, put a pallet in as we are trying to make a decking area, not sure how thats going to go. Still so much to do and yet we were up there most of the weekend!! Love it!

[AlaninCarlisle]

Planted a few more strawberry plants in polytunnel and worked in a bit of Growmore around them.
Removed some perennial weeds from potato patch in readiness for rotavator.
Lifted a few leeks to create a bit of space - cleaned them and left them in a bucket of water until needed.
Planned a fresh onslaught on moles as the mole-catcher seems to have disappeared.
Cursed the high wind when field gate blew shut knocking over wheelbarrow full of tools
Found a dozen forgotten wallflowers in a tray in greenhouse. Look to be still viable so planted then near the house
Swept up leaf and twig debris from front drive that had accumulated during gales

[sunshineband]

Moved a dozen strawberry plants into a new bed (more to follow) - didn't work using them as an edging to a bed as they roamed all over the place. Wonlt do that again

Mr Sunny emptied out two daleks and barrowed the wonderful crumbly brown contents to where the maincrop spuds will go... might help acidify the soil a bit more to avoid further scab attack

Moved all the wood stored behind the shed, to see what we have to construct post-and -wire supports for blackberries and logan berries: plenty luckily 

Picked /dug veg for dinner