2023 - What I did today

Lucky you, Mark. I'm still waiting for the thunder and proper rain!

Went for a walk downtown Graiguenamanagh in the sunshine with the wife, the night it started to rain so into Doyle’s pub for a pint while the rain blew over, didn’t happen after the first pint so we had another and then another, ended up having to walk home in the rain but at least it was warm. When we got back to the camp site there was a guy playing guitar and singing so down to the van, grabbed a bottle of wine for herself and a few cans for me and back to listen to the signing. Happy days

Fed toms and cucs this morning then watered container potatoes. Still no rain here

Lucky you, Mark. I'm still waiting for the thunder and proper rain!

It was a good bit of luck. I kept watching the amount of rain we would get yesterday change between 0 and 30mm. When it darkened, a lot earlier than usual, I looked at some radar which showed us just on the edge of the action. The courgettes were smiling this morning.

Got a bit damp in the spitty/rainy/drizzle picking Golden Sweet MT. Picked a icecream tub full. Golden Sweet are very quick to get stringy, there's a fine line between just right and a little bit over, very prolific though. Then set out some busy lizzy bedding plants. The damp soil made my job a bit easier.

Planted out the final outside indeterminate tomatoes with some french marigolds for company.
I spotted a random bean when planting and wondered what on earth it could be doing there, then remembered that I'd grown Gigantes in that spot last year and had just clipped the tops in autumn leaving the roots in. Surprising it hadn't rotted away given the cold snaps we had over winter.

Rescued a big clump of chives, all the garlic chives and a very smothered oregano hot & spicy. Now in pots and up at the new garden. Mowing while Bob did the strimming. Tied in sunflowers & Bombay bronze cockscomb. Put the first 3 jam jars of sweet peas in the barrow.

Saturday cut & weeded the edges of the potager paths in between thunderstorms. MrPP cut the grass before the rain.
Sunday weeded and mulched with clippings the rose bank, the ends of all the veg beds where there's fruit bushes and strawberries planted and the root bed. Topped up mulch elsewhere in the veg garden. Yet more thunderstorms ended the day early.

Mulched the fruit trees with clippings.
Weeded the hugelkultur bed which was full of brambles; mulched with clippings.
Cleared à forest of nigella just leaving (more than) enough to set seed.
Planted out 2 more aubergines and another pepper.
Potted up 3 pineapple and one roma tomato, all spares. Plus a golden sunrise that I failed to put out in the frame. How they do in pots will depend on the weather.
And then the thunderstorms and torrential rain arrived again.

Weeded, planted, watered. Pottered about tending tomatoes.