2022 - What I did today

Heeled in some hedging plants. And 6 hours strimming
Some before & afters for you.

         

         

Still got to strim the front garden.

Did some emergency repairs to my new hardening off bench. The legs I’d made for it were perfect, however the interior door they were attached to didn’t cope well. So belt & braces later and a bit of luck. It’s fixed and will handle the weight of well watered ( it’s raining again! ) plant pots.
I also planted my very first crop in our new garden   .



5 Runner beans & 3 Lima beans. They’re planting in the little woodland area because that’s the only bit fenced.

I like the idea of the covers around the runner beans  SC. With the winds we are having just now I put mine in the greenhouse to save them, but they should really be planted out so i might steal your placcy bottle idea. I still can't get over what a wonderfully scenic area you have chosen for your new house. Breathtaking!

Did some emergency repairs to my new hardening off bench. The legs I’d made for it were perfect, however the interior door they were attached to didn’t cope well. So belt & braces later and a bit of luck. It’s fixed and will handle the weight of well watered ( it’s raining again! ) plant pots.
I also planted my very first crop in our new garden   .



5 Runner beans & 3 Lima beans. They’re planting in the little woodland area because that’s the only bit fenced.

I like the idea of the covers around the runner beans  SC. With the winds we are having just now I put mine in the greenhouse to save them, but they should really be planted out so i might steal your placcy bottle idea. I still can't get over what a wonderfully scenic area you have chosen for your new house. Breathtaking!

Thanks Vinny, I still have to pinch myself sometimes. It’s a view I’ll never get board of or take for granted 
The plastic bottles are more for protection against voles. They have been known to chew through the stems just for fun. The bottles might work as wind protection while the plants are young. Let me know how you get on.

I spent yesterday trying to get some plants in the ground. My new beds have very variable depth, and I'm not sure about planting much over the curtains as they won't break down fast enough to let the roots through (if they break down at all - I'm not certain they are all natural fibres!) I have therefore cut some holes in the curtains, so may end up with some very grassy weedy beds.

I also made some tripods out of wired together prunings. Let's just pretend that I was going for the rustic look... They'll look better once stuff has grown over them, but there's also a high risk of them blowing over at that point!

My poor plants are a bit stunted. A combination of the rubbish woody B&Q compost I started out with, and having left them in pots for too long. Hopefully they will still come to something. I did manage to thoroughly upset my courgette plants by failing to harden them off. Based on previous experience, most things don't need carefully hardening off, but it seems the courgettes may be an exception. One snapped in half in the wind, one looked too pathetic to plant out right away and the two that made it into the ground are looking very sad.

I have a lot more to plant out, and then lots of seeds to sow. Sadly, I don't have prunings to make many more tripods, so I'm trying to work out if I can cut anything else down!

Took cuttings of golden and purple sages, rosemary, lavender and variegated thyme. Then dug them out as they were old and woody and I want to use the bed for vegetables. I'm thinking of using the cuttings around the bed to make a short, varied stepover hedge.

Did some further weeding, then emptied out the compost bin all over the bed. Hopefully I'll get planting tomorrow. I was too tired after all that!

Visitor came and went. The living room didn't know what hit it, it hasn't been this tidy for eons To be fair visitor was very considerate (even brought his own slippers to avoid outside shoes indoors) and extremely interesting. He's allowed to come again. I fear he may bring his wife though.

Dug up old chard and trenched where it was, filled thrench with manure and compost to plant peas and beans eventually. Set up bean/pea net in anticipation. Planted out some aster pinnochio. Then it started to rain, or more precisely spit, by the time I rushed under cover, it had stopped. I wouldn't mind a downpour.

Built a bamboo A frame for the beans and planted out the beans and tied them in. 

   

Built a bamboo A frame for the beans and planted out the beans and tied them in. 

I wish I had enough long sticks for one of those! Very impressive

More chopping down of unwanted "trees", mainly ash, oak and hazel. All piled up ready for shredding. Remind me next time I see a baby tree, courtesy of the squirrels, to pull it up immediately instead of thinking "What a sweet little tree. I wonder how big you'll grow.". You'd think I'd know by now!

Panted out the last of the straggly CFBs and some chitted saved bijou seeds. I just chucked all my last year's rather manky seeds into a tray with some spent compost and to my surprise they all popped. It took over an hour to pick the strawberries. Then set out some of the gasping bedding dahlias. I'm going to have to water the strawberries tonight they were drooping in the heat.