2022 - What I did today

Shift at work again today, and my last shift of floor walking in this roll out and thank goodness for that. It's been exhausting, exciting, exercise for both my body and my brain. I'll be glad to work from home sat down all next week lol

When I got home today, I went to pick up eggs, and spent an hour putting glazing rubber onto the greenhouse. I got one side of the roof done, and one of the lengths. Now I must go write my last essay of the year of study, which is, of course, why I am sat here posting on a gardening forum haha

I have done a lot of potting on today: cucumbers (lots!), tomatillos, larkspur, passion flowers, an aubergine. I've also sown most of my chitted beans, but have run out of pots despite shuffling some things around.

I've also planted out some cowslips and violets that my Grandma sent from her garden a few weeks ago, and the Cerinthe that I took yesterday.

Did some planting:
Gaillardia
Rudbeckia "Marmalade"
Dahlia "Bishop of Llandaff"
Nicotiana Sylvestris

So nice to get something planted so I have less to lug around each day. I might even plant up the container tomatoes this weekend.

Watered all the new planting before the heat kicked in, but it stayed mostly overcast so hopefully everything will have got their roots in a bit deeper!
Planted out romanesco cauliflower, purple sprouting broccoli (weird to be thinking of next spring's harvests already! ), cabbages coeur de boeuf pointu, sweetcorn, yard long beans.
Sowed mangetout peas.
Cut back the wisteria growth trying to get in the window.
Weeded palm bed & arch bed. For the first time the perennials are big enough to out compete a lot of the weeds, making life easier!

Planting yesterday and today.

Basil,
Coriander
Camomile
Spinach
Chard
Mustard spinach
pansies
Nasturtiums.

Yesterday I moved lots of plants into the cooler polytunnel in preparation for the outside world. Potted on my new camellia lady Campbell. Tidied my house. It looks like a building site again now and not like Bobs workshop.

Mowed for an hour yesterday and used the clippings to mulch round all the fruit trees. I've not bothered in previous years but I noticed a big improvement in yield and growth last year. Also strimmed for about an hour all the tall weeds, nettles and buttercups that were thinking of setting seeds.
I also risked emptying 2 waterbutts into the pond as it is quite low. I have feeling the liner might be leaking which is annoying as it was supposed to last a long time. No idea how you would check for a leek though. It has quite a few inhabitants now: newts, frogs and a lot of smaller stuff. I saw a grass snake in it once.

I have just ordered a lot of compost from Wickes as my parents are going to have too much on their plate to pick any up for me in the next few weeks.

Since I was ordering, I thought I'd also get some manure to try (though when I checked back over my order, I realised I have ordered twice as much of that as I intended - whoops) as well as some bark chippings for my paths.

It's going to be delivered on Thursday. I hope not too late in the day as I'm going to have to somehow drag it all up the drive so it doesn't get nicked. Thankfully the compost/manure is in 50L bags, which I can easily carry. The bark is 100L bags, but they will hopefully be okay too, as long as they aren't too damp.

It's going to be 67 trips up the driveway in total! My carport is going to look like I'm selling the stuff!

Will you be at home for the delivery Pros? They may bring it on a pallet and, if you ask nicely, they might trundle it down the drive for you. I've always found delivery people very helpful with big loads of stuff.

I should be home, bar a disaster. It's supposed to be coming with a crane (presumably on a pallet) so I can ask them to plonk it as far up the drive as they can to shorten my trips!

On an unrelated note, I am completely swamped by seedlings indoors. Is it too early to move climbing/dwarf french beans, cucumbers, and squash out to the greenhouse? My tomatoes are very happy in there.