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Old 08-08-2012, 10:45 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Christina Websell Christina Websell is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,869
Default Serious weeding required


Haven't been able to get down to the lottie for over a week due to
thunderstorms and other parts of life intruding on my time.

I had to do nearly 3 hours of weeding! Managed to get a few cabbages
transplanted, intended to put the leeks out but ran out of time (and
energy). It's an open site and it was hot.

Was glad to see my brother had managed to get some horse manure and put in
on the compost heap, there is now a mountain of weeds on top.

Surprisingly, I've had very little trouble with slugs and snails, just a bit
of outside leaf damage on the lettuces.

The first courgettes have got away from us just with a week of rain and not
being picked. Stuffed marrow coming up.. every day.
Runner beans doing well. We did an experiment - my brother's beans would
have a trench dug for them filled with newspaper, chicken manure etc to be
transplanted out on top of it, and mine would be transplanted straight into
the ground with bfb scattered on top. No contest. His are romping away and
already have some beans on. Mine are doing OK, have plenty of flowers on
but are definitely not so..luxuriant.

Had my first completely homegrown salad today. New potatoes, iceberg
lettuce, cucumber and radish. Just added a tin of tuna.

I found lots of ants in the salad beds, when I weeded I kept disturbing
their nests. I was going to transplant the leeks out in there, but decided
not to as I think they might stop the leeks settling their roots down.

Sweetcorn looks OK. We've never grown it before. Landcress (never grown
that before either) doesn't look quite ready otherwise I would have added it
to my salad today.

Spinach has been a disaster. I've sowed it three times, it either does not
come up, or comes up and bolts when only two inches high. I won't try it
again, I'll plant leefbeet.
Beetroot was also a disaster.

Peas didn't do that well but I didn't plant enough. I know better for next
year and I will probably sow full sized peas rather than dwarf.

Tina