2026 - What I did today.

Went to the plot two days in a row. First day worked on cutting away the edge of the beds along the path. Not quite done but I think I've run out of hidden path under the soil.

Today I mostly did hand weeding. Feeling creaky but satisfied. Transferred some strawberry runners from the path to the bed. Dug out some brambles in a perennial problem area. Discovered that what I thought was a sticky Willie invasion is actually a fluffy white achillea coming back. Also spotted some (probably) pastel achillea coming back. Cut more bedraggled knocked down daffodils.

Sowed my tomatoes.

Dug up some Alexanders/Scots Lovage which are encroaching on the fruit bushes. They have a big tap root - a bit parsnip-like and are edible - although I don't fancy eating them. I think they'd need a lot of scrubbing and whittling before cooking them and they look tough.
Scattered some Calendula Arvensis (Field Marigold) seeds under an apple tree and some normal Calendula under a rosebush.
Spotted some tiny red buds on a plum tree that has never flowered. Hope that it does something useful this year!

Continued digging up the Alexanders. Put the roots in the garden waste bin and chopped up the leaves as mulch. Don't expect to eliminate these plants as some of the roots are breaking off as I pull them out - so will probably grow again. Last year I cut off all the seed heads to stop them self-seeding - don't think it worked very well as some of the plants are very small and must be in the first year.
Pruned the fruit bushes while I was there.

Sowed some tenderstem broccoli. Weeded a bit then got called away. P is looking to sell our Lawnflite ride-on mower. We haven't used it for several years, so it has to go. To that end he unearthed it from under the 'rubbish' intending to make sure it still started (which it did on the bit of residue fuel). He then put some petrol in to give it a wizz round the garden and found a fuel leak. Petrol was peeing out of an undiscovered something. I happened to turn up at the stage he was trying to pump out the fuel from the tank and at the same time collect the leaking fuel. A second pair of hands was quite welcome. Then, in order to discover where in the carb the leak was we had to remove it. It's a Briggs and Stratton engine , supposedly simple to work on but not when its installed in a bloody lawn mower! My small hands and greater mobility came in handy and I now know how to remove a carburetor from a ride on. Another life skill on my CV. Having got it off, its down to P to figure out how to repair it, I'm not even sure what a carburetor does.

Went to the allotment and continued weeding the very great bits where the paths and edges have gotten out of control. Helped a friend put her IBC up on breeze blocks. Family met me there and my husband took down the torn fruit cage netting, buried a former rat, and emptied our bokashi bin. Gave a now huge self-rooted boysenberry to another plot holder. Cleared up a surprising amount of space which is nice.

A carb mixes air with petrol and feeds it to the engine! The float chamber within could be stuck if it's dribbling petrol out of it.

Today I walked down to my OH's grave with flowers and a new container for them. It's a good job I had the new container as the high winds we have been having blew the other contaier over and smashed it.

This afternoon, it's off to another graveyard to put flowers on MY  Mothers grave, the only time I usually visit it each year!

Kato is getting quite a bit of walking today!

I did call at allotment earlier but apart from next doors shed being blown over, everything was as-was lasrt time I was there.

A carb mixes air with petrol and feeds it to the engine! The float chamber within could be stuck if it's dribbling petrol out of it.

Today I walked down to my OH's grave with flowers and a new container for them. It's a good job I had the new container as the high winds we have been having blew the other contaier over and smashed it.

This afternoon, it's off to another graveyard to put flowers on MY  Mothers grave, the only time I usually visit it each year!

Kato is getting quite a bit of walking today!

I did call at allotment earlier but apart from next doors shed being blown over, everything was as-was lasrt time I was there.

Thanks Vinny, I've looked at a YT video all about B&S float chambers, needle valves,  and whatnot, and I'm still no wiser (nor really want to be). New fuel pipe tomorrow from Halfords and a trial run to see if it was a bit of debris, if not, then its dismantling the float chamber nonsense. I prefer gardening and cooking   but I'm a useful second mate.

Another wet and miserable day so I filled modules and pots in the GH and brought them into the kitchen. Sowed tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes and potted on some tomato seedlings.

Excavated a struggling hydrangea from under a self seeded foxglove. Repotted the hydrangea and took the foxglove and some sweet peas to the plot. Weeded and scraped back the path to the underlying weed membrane. Added some wood chip to the paths. Last year we had a load of wood chip dropped on the top of our actual plot for communal use and lots of it is still there. Made a good dent in it and uncovered some play area for the kids.