2023 - What I did today

Lots more lugging of compost/manure up the garden on my head. The compost is heavy, but the manure is wetter and even heavier. I have managed to add more compost to the beds I've started and also extended them by about two feet by gathering together every remaining but of cardboard that I have. I have used old compost bags for paths to save cardboard for the actual beds. It looks unsightly (sorry neighbours) but I'll replace it with mulched cardboard as soon as I can.

I've finally got my potatoes in - only about a month later than intended!

The compost shifting and then breaking it up by hand to spread it is pretty tiring. I was relieved when it started raining, even though I hadn't finished! Last year, I tried to break up the lumps with a rake, but I just ended up dragging my base layer around with the prongs and leaving gaps for the weeds to come up. Doing it by hand is overall better, but hard work!

Weeded the herb bed.
Sowed lots of flowers in modules.
Started chitting various squash, beans and sweetcorn.

I'm really into chitting larger seeds lately, it's so quick and you don't waste compost on duff seed.

Took a chance and planted out runner beans and climbing french beans.
Weeded my overwintering onions bed.
Pricked out some salad endive.
Potted on some half-hardy annuals, not quite ready to plant them out yet.

Chopped the cutdown brambles and holly and packed it into 2 garden waste bins. Shredded half of the cut down hazel branches. Seven big tubs of chippings.
Topped up the tadpoles' pond which is shrinking by the day. I can only net a few at a time as it stirs up the sediment and I can't see them.
Collected a FREE nectarine bush and did a tour of the donor's garden. She asked if I knew anything about gardening as she needed advice on pruning some shrubs (Olearia, I think). Hope it survives the hacking I recommended.
I raided her garden waste bin for some ?Bowles Mauve wallflowers that she'd cut back this morning. They're recovering in a bucket of water.

I've moved my two salvia hot lips out front from the raised bed to in the ground along the path directly in front of the house.

I planted pelargoniums and fuschias in their place. I dug out all of the holly plants along the fence (bloody spiky hateful things) and offered them for free to the village FB group (no takers for the bloody spiky hateful things)

Planted some thunbergia and clematis around the bottom of the electricity pole in the front garden.
Shifted a whole stack of paving slabs to the back garden.
Strimmed some grass around the edges in the back garden.

Took a chance and planted out runner beans and climbing french beans.
Weeded my overwintering onions bed.
Pricked out some salad endive.
Potted on some half-hardy annuals, not quite ready to plant them out yet.

Hello Martin

Where do you live? I was thinking of putting my beans out next week.

I planted DFBs on 5/4 but they've suffered with the cold. However, the CFBs that went out on 20/4 look OK. I might risk a courgette outside this week.

Planted out half a dozen runner beans about three weeks ago.(Gloucestershire)
Have smothered them in fleece on predicted frost nights.
They are still (touch wood!) doing pretty well.

Took a chance and planted out runner beans and climbing french beans.
Weeded my overwintering onions bed.
Pricked out some salad endive.
Potted on some half-hardy annuals, not quite ready to plant them out yet.

Hello Martin

Where do you live? I was thinking of putting my beans out next week.

I live in North Manchester. I'm taking a risk putting them out this early but they are getting too big and I've run out of greenhouse space. I was too impatient to wait to sow them at the proper time.

I managed to get outside for a bit before the rain stopped play. I finished breaking up compost/manure clumps and spreading it over the new beds. Then trampled it down and tested the depth - not bad in some places but only a couple of inches in others! I've then hauled lots and lots more bags up the garden on my head, cut those open and started breaking up those clumps. I've used the empty compost bags and some rocks to create bed edges to try and stop grass from growing into them before I have plants established. Not quite done with the clump breaking when the rain got too heavy to stay out, so I have come inside to eat crumpets (as an aside, I don't recommend crumpet 'thins' - I'd rather just eat one proper crumpet than have two that are unsatisfyingly flat).

Hopefully tomorrow, I can just finish breaking up clumps, then rake the compost/manure into beds/paths and the beds will be deep enough to start sowing. I am *so* behind on sowing, so lots to get done tomorrow. I've got lots of on-calls coming up, so I really need to make as much progress as I can now.