2025 - What I did today

Started clearing a strip of ground (about 3' wide) in front of a 6' high chickenwire fence. My cunning plan is to stick some soft fruit cuttings (red & black currants) in the ground and create a new fruit bed. I'll be able to attach some bird netting to the wire and drop it down, over the fruit bushes. It won't stop the small birds but should stop the pigeons and blackbirds from pinching all the fruit - as they have this year.

I found a way by mishap of saving my redcurrants and blackcurrants from the birds on a previous allotment plot I had........nettles! I wasn't fastidious about the weeding and huge 6 foot high nettles grew through my currant bushes! Once I had pulled the nettles out, I had the best crop of soft fruit I've ever had!

Weeding VP 4 which is going to become the perennial veg plot. Already home to rhubarb, Taunton Deane perennial kale and a few 7 Star broccoli. Plus some fruit trees - a peach, 2 pears, 2 plums, and a blackcurrant bush.
Planted some potatoes in a tub.

Planted out some gasping dahlias. Harvested.

I've not been doing much in the garden this week as I've been working a fair bit, but I did get some flowers planted out, and I've been cutting slugs up. I might have been gloating I've not got many slugs here, but oh my goodness, the Spanish slugs are multiplying like mad! They eat absolutely everything, the ruddy things. So, I go out armed with a pair of scissors as often as I can, especially when it's raining. I must have cut 500 in the last two weeks. Persistance is key, right?

Me and Jay have been out splitting firewood today. Thankfully we have a pneumatic splitter, but it seems the power button is somehow stuck, so we didn't dare finish the last few bits.

Planted the small pot of Oca into a 30ltr pot as I knew that if it was planted in the ground I'd lose it!. Want to bulk up my stock of Oca for next year so wont be harvesting these. Also took cuttings off the foliage - now in a jamjar. Sowed carrot seeds around the Oca.
Planted some Arava melon seedlings and Dragon's Egg cucumbers in pots in GH1. Sowed "Oakleaf" lettuce with these.
Still light rain so not a day for outdoor work.

Work and cutting flowers

Walk round Torosay gardens this morning. As stunning as ever. This afternoon sown seeds, pricked out lavender seedlings, potted on a couple of young avens. Harvested lots of things for tonight’s roast.

Did some opening up of the area around the plum trees. Years ago, I planted 3 plum trees and 3 pears in the same patch and this is the first year that there have been any plums, so I thought they deserved a treat! I've been cutting down a forsythia, buddleia & some hazel bushes that have closed in on the fruit trees. Will need a chain saw to cut down the large branches but, its progress. There are yellow plums on one tree and I've found some reddish ones on another tree. Can't tell yet, whether the 3rd Plum tree has any fruit, as its still a bit swamped.

Called in at Poundland to get some grass seed for Helens grave and also some weed & feed as grave is quite bare and weedy. I got the grass seed but there was no weed & feed so I bought a trowel so I could flick out the weeds (being organic ,you see!)

At the till the checkout girl had to wait for her supervisor (Mr green mohican hair cut!) to verify the trowel purchase!!!! Now a knife or scissors I can understand, but a trowel??? I don't think I have ever read of anyone ever being stabbed witha trowel?
What is this world coming to? Queue was held up for five minutes while Mr green mohoican verified it was ok to buy a flippin trowel!