2021 - What I did today

- Tidied / reclaimed the coalhouse, again!

- Picked the leeks at the plot. First time grown last year, went in late and not very big but I have 3 bags in the freezer now. This bed will now be used for my young rhubarb plants at one end and perennial leeks the other.

Emptied and moved my composter, as mentioned in the hot bin thread. I was going to do a lot more today, but my back was complaining after sieving it all so I took the afternoon off

Spent the day in the Prickly corner, cutting out brambles and pulling up Vinca. There are more gooseberry bushes than I remember in the jungle and they're in need of a haircut (aren't we all?). Going to leave the pruning until I can clear the area. May feel the urge to call the prunings, cuttings and grow more bushes.

I got very excited when I saw my first dahlia seedling sticking its little head above the compost. Thanks Scarlet. Then I got even more excited when I went in the little tunnel and found 4 of my baby asparagus have made it through the winter. Cut the dead out & weeded the herb pots & bed. Covered part of the herb bed that’s not in use. Tied back the spaghetti squash climbing frame (big metal gate). Tidied up all cuttings / young plant in pot. Got rained off halfway through cleaning paths.

Assembled a 5-shelf mini greenhouse on the patio, ready for hardening off the seedlings that are in the conservatory. I'm going to need the space indoors soon for the next batch, which will be salad leaves, leeks and herbs.

Haven't put anything in it yet (apart from a couple of bricks on the bottom shelf) as I want to secure it to the fence with a couple of vine eyes and some twine. The March winds may have died down for now, but we've still got a couple of weeks to go!

Filled 2 waste sacks with cuttings of jasmine and honeysuckle for someone on the local Gardening Swaps FB page. Hoping she'll take away a load of gardening magazines too.
Spent the afternoon cutting out raspberry canes in the area I've earmarked for my Winter Garden. The dogs managed to escape under the fence into next door's garden. I thought they were quiet, then I spotted them wandering round next door as if they owned the place. Fortunately, their dog was not at home at the time!

Had the dog with me on an exploratory walk to the allotment to see how long it would take? It took us 20 minutes to get there (downhill) and 35 minutes to walk back (uphill)
I know never again to take a short cut through the woods. The paths were like swamps and the white dog was mainly black when I got him back. It looked like he had black wellies on!

Anyway, I learned its very doable so maybe will Shankses Pony is the way to go in the future, but only if its a nice day and I stick to the street paths.

Emptied, cleaned & put away propagators. Did some pricking out, potting on. Dug up a clump of snowdrops , the 1 lonely crocus & some daffodils. Put them in pots. Because they’re moving house with me.

Potted on my salvia nemerosa and eryngium Planum from our seed swap/TMTT

Potted on phlox - cherry caramel, salvia superba, knautia, a couple of pelargoniums.
Looked at my beetroot seedlings
Potted up about a dozen Dahlia tubers

So sunny this afternoon I moved out to the garden and started on my large back border.

Dug up loads of ground elder and planted in half a dozen cornflowers, larkspur and orlaya plants. Put in a few alliums that I had missed!

At the front I added in a couple of geraniums that I had split and kept in the greenhouse as spares. If it's as sunny tomorrow as it was today I may be able to finish it!

Got a lot done today, despite a downpour around noon that turned the bare clay soil into a slippery death-trap!

• Put in a couple of vine eyes and attached the mini greenhouse to the fence in the corner of the patio so it can't blow over (unless we have a hurricane, in which case all bets are off!)
  
• Put my non-tender seedlings (broad beans, beetroot, various flowers) in the mini greenhouse to harden off
  
• Adjusted the position of one of the raised beds - because a path that narrows by 2-3" as you cross the intersection is a barked shin waiting to happen!
  
• Screwed down the coping on the raised beds, bc Mr E had drilled all the necessary holes but only put the end screws in 
  
• Levelled the path in front of the conservatory where I'd removed some terracotta paving slabs
  
• Placed paving slabs as "stepping stones" across future lawn area to get a feel for the layout
  
• Laid cardboard on the paths and put down the rest of the bark - need to buy more of the latter tomorrow!
  
• With Mr E's help, filled the remaining two raised beds with the compost that arrived at lunchtime
  
• Stacked the empty compost sacks behind the shed in case they come in handy later
  

I'm now all set to plant up whatever I want whenever I'm ready