2023 - What I did today

Not feeling at all well today so haven't come close to venturing outside. Hoping I wake up feeling better tomorrow, but I have a few days of annual leave from the middle of next week so hopefully I can get caught up then.

Another trailer load of plants to the new garden. Weeded all the pots as they were unloaded. Sown seeds.

Planted marigolds and basil in my GH borders in amongst the Tomatoes.

Do you remember me discovering that a random brassica was actually a cauliflower? Each day I'd wrap the leaves over the head or fashion a little hat from dock leaves to keep the light from discolouring the curd. I was really looking forward to, probably, my first homegrown cauli.........but yesterday, the unthinkable happened, a plank of wood "fell" on the cauliflower and squashed it!! My dream was over.
Looking on the bright side, it meant that I could remove the fencing that was protecting it from the dogs and give the bed a good weeding. Out came the fence (lightweight wire, animal playpen stuff) and I started to dig up the buttercups.
Spud was lying down nearby chewing on something - the cauliflower! He delicately bit off the individual florets and ate them.
Bess, ever curious, came along, saw what Spud was doing, and grabbed a mouthful of the lower leaves to crunch on.
Ted wasn't tempted by the cauli, instead, he grabbed the stalk of a Black kale plant that I was leaving for seed and chewed through it! They do like to Pick their Own food and are particularly fond of brassicas.

Busy weekend trying to get everything planted out. Not done as much as i would like.
Planted in 110 dahlias (40ish more to
Do) , 6 tomatoes, 18 strawflowers, a dozen Nicotiana, a few more zinnis, a few setaria. 1 courgette - a swap for a few tomatoes.
Moved as much as I could out of the greenhouse...killed the slug that had been nibbling my dahlia cuttings!

Went to the plot with little one for her nap after bigger one roared during the home nap attempt. Par for the course and an honest mistake

Planted out a few pumpkins. Worked on clearing the mound of soil. Excavated about five more bricks and some largely intact felt type material. Brought a grumpy baby home after a short nap.

I also did a bunch of counting on my fingers and checking the calendar to see when some crops like Charlotte potatoes and elephant garlic would come out and if that left enough time to plant more pumpkins in their spots afterwards. I think yes. But my world's most giant pumpkin has come to nothing so far and needs an early start than that. Back to the drawing board

Planted out CFBs and gave a few toms away. Started to seriously dig out some 2 yr old home compost, it's lovely stuff.

Went to the plot during nap time again. Put in a couple of teepees and some canes and strings running up to an arch so I could plant out some CFB. Had to leave a few varieties in their pots as the nap wasn't especially long. A few varieties still in the GH too.

Watered friends' poly tunnel before I left.

Made a list of things to sow in the next few days.

I have been hoeing nearly all day getting those pesky weeds out.

Got some more plants ready to go. Weeded a big pot of bulbs. Cleaned out a bit more of the shed.