2023 - What I did today

Watered polytunnel, fed and watered greenhouse. put supports round my dwarf french beans that are flowering now. Fed courgettes. Harvested some garlic but only a mediocre crop this year as badly affected by rust. Some of the garlic looked immature even though most of the top had died so left in a while longer to see if they improve a bit.

Went on a mission to eliminate all the dock plants that are setting seed. Needless to say, I haven't even finished one strip yet. The good news is - it started to rain while I was pulling dock so I just stood there enjoying getting wet.
Did the usual round of watering and tying in, in the GHs.

Went on a mission to eliminate all the dock plants that are setting seed. Needless to say, I haven't even finished one strip yet. The good news is - it started to rain while I was pulling dock so I just stood there enjoying getting wet.
Did the usual round of watering and tying in, in the GHs.

Problem is there is plenty of time for them to flower again - at least once unless, by eliminate, you mean to dig up..

Watered containers and seedlings.

Put net bags over autumn raspberries that are almost ready, I don’t bother netting once all the canes are fruiting it’s just a few at one end that I only cut down half way.

Darned the holes in the fruit cage net where some rodent or other has chewed its way in to eat the strawberries. Set up a teepee to grow yet more beans.
Picked more strawberries and MT.

Planted out my third attempt at sweetcorn to fill in the gaps in my "grid" that was more like a random sprinkling by this point. Planned out five dahlias and four echinacea. Watered in the new stuff and took some photos to upload next time I get a chance with the computer. Took full leave of my senses and ordered more seeds and 12 bargain bare root roses and four patio fruit trees. I nearly resisted but was abetted by my husband.

Darned the holes in the fruit cage net where some rodent or other has chewed its way in to eat the strawberries. Set up a teepee to grow yet more beans.
Picked more strawberries and MT.

It's squirrels that make holes in our cage, mainly in the roof. This time I've blown up some balloons and Chris has drawn faces on them. I've stuck these in the holes hoping they may be a deterrence or at least prevent the blackbirds following through for the red currants that are ripening now, 6 balloons so far.

Watered polytunnel, fed and watered greenhouse. put supports round my dwarf french beans that are flowering now. Fed courgettes. Harvested some garlic but only a mediocre crop this year as badly affected by rust. Some of the garlic looked immature even though most of the top had died so left in a while longer to see if they improve a bit.

Rust has behaved strangely in my garden this year:

Solent Wight interplanted in the strawberry bed, only just started getting rust, not progressing quickly.

Messidrome grown in a raised bed, quite bad rust, not very big bulbs. Messidrome grown in another raised bed 4 metres away, very little rust, excellent size of bulb. Both grown at the same spacing and given the same fertiliser (plus extra potassium sulphate). The major difference is the quality of the soil, in the bed with bad rust it's quite dense and dries out quickly whereas in the good bed it's very loose and high in organic matter.

Iberian Wight grown in the greenhouse borders, two metres away from the badly affected raised bed, no rust at all.

Leeks in a pot waiting to be planted, kept away from any rusty garlic, quite rusty. Spring onions next to a rusty garlic bed, no rust. 

Went on a mission to eliminate all the dock plants that are setting seed. Needless to say, I haven't even finished one strip yet. The good news is - it started to rain while I was pulling dock so I just stood there enjoying getting wet.
Did the usual round of watering and tying in, in the GHs.

Problem is there is plenty of time for them to flower again - at least once unless, by eliminate, you mean to dig up..

The smaller plants can be pulled up but the older ones have to settle for having their heads chopped off until I can find time to dig them out (probably in about 3 years time).

Darned the holes in the fruit cage net where some rodent or other has chewed its way in to eat the strawberries. Set up a teepee to grow yet more beans.
Picked more strawberries and MT.

It's squirrels that make holes in our cage, mainly in the roof. This time I've blown up some balloons and Chris has drawn faces on them. I've stuck these in the holes hoping they may be a deterrence or at least prevent the blackbirds following through for the red currants that are ripening now, 6 balloons so far.

I like the idea of a squirrel nipping a balloon and it going bang in its face. Not that bangs deter our squirrels.  Not sure any drawing of a face I could do would scare anything away.