HappyBobs 2013 Dairy

[HappyBob]

Yesterday planted out main crop spuds (Desiree), and sown Calabrese, Cauli, and for the 1st time Cape Gooseberries along with a few seeds of the bedding plant variety. Also waited around all day for an expected delivery of 40 scaffold boards that didnt turn up

[HensAloud]

Bad back today then !

[HappyBob]

Bad back today then !

Usually I would be suffering Angela, but these days I plant spuds using a bulb planter (hardly hard core gardening I know) Then when I get back home I tell a little fib , rub my back often, and generally act as though I,ve dug and trenched em for the sympathy vote, works out pretty well, and I usually get a hot bath run me, and a couple of tinnies to "help me relax"...

[HensAloud]

Bad back today then !

Usually I would be suffering Angela, but these days I plant spuds using a bulb planter (hardly hard core gardening I know) Then when I get back home I tell a little fib , rub my back often, and generally act as though I,ve dug and trenched em for the sympathy vote, works out pretty well, and I usually get a hot bath run me, and a couple of tinnies to "help me relax"...

I'm taking notes here now, i like a bit of the ol' sympathy tea and cake brought to me in me comfy chair

[HappyBob]

Things starting to move along a little bit now we have had a bit of warm weather. Broad beans sown in the greenhouse will soon be ready to plant out, onion sets planted last week are starting to sprout.

Been pricking out seedlings which include aubergine, tomato, celery, basil, lettuce. A lot of the brassica,s sown a few weeks ago in root trainers have already got their 1st true leaves. Still busy digging a little each day on new allotment and the new chicken shed/coup was started at the weekend.

Gave the spring cauli,s and strawbs another liquid feed of comfrey extract at around 20:1 mixture and have noticed that they already look happier from the last feed they had around a month ago.

Talking about strawbs, I had a few gaps due to a few plants not making it through the long cold winter. Luckily I had a dozen or so last year plants raised from runners housed in one of the greenhouses so these were used to complete the bed. All in all things are moving along nicely.

[A Duck Messiah]

Ooohhh what a lovely tidy allotment

blast you

[HensAloud]

I was thinking of you today Bob, when I was trying to dig up the new shoots of the ( insert appropriate swear words ) COMFREY

[HappyBob]

I know what you mean Angela, I noticed today that in the old comfrey bed, a few (swear words) comfrey shoots are starting to reappear. Thats when I found a second use for the long handle spade I bought, thats to use it as a giant hoe, it soon made short work of them. I,m hoping that if I can keep them down that they will hopefully run out of steam (although i am aware that this is only wishfull thinking lol)

[HappyBob]

The weather has been kind the last few weeks and this has had a positive impact on the allotment. I have completed the digging on the new plot I aquired although the soil is almost clay and will need some major work incorporating lots of organic matter over the next few years.

Onions seedlings are finally transplanted all 150 of them, sweetcorn seedlings are coming on nicely in the greenhouse. Also inbetween the gardening side of the allotment the new chicken shed is being built and hope to have a few chucks by the end of the month or just after.

The winter caulis have perked up after their comfrey feed and have started producing nice heads. Also seemed to have adopted two ducks that have been greeting me the last three or four days.

Cauli,s after a long hard winter, just before their Feed




And a few weeks all recovered and looking lovely.



Spring cabbage also ready for eating.



Digging completed on new allotment.



New chicken shed build started.



Mrs HappyBobs toning it down a bit with preservative.



Finished and away on her bike incase I find her another little job to do .



My two adoptive ducks from the local park I seem to have aquired.

[lancashire lass]

I'm impressed with the caulis ... if it was me, I might have ripped them out of the ground as rubbish LOL although ... having said that, I thought the kale on my plot was beyond recovery after the pigeon onslaught but a little TLC and fleece and all the plants came on well.

That is a very substantial chicken shed Mrs HappyBobs did a wonderful job

[LittleBrownFrog]

The caulis are looking fab

[HappyBob]

Thanks re the cauli,s. In the past I may have dumped plants that looked a little worst for wear after winter but as you have discovered LL a little experience tells us different. My kale also took a big hit with the stoggies this year as they were left uncovered. Mrs HB loves painting stuff, she really misses real creosote as back in the day she would of coated anything and everything with the stuff as she loved the smell of it.

[Spreckly]

Congrats on your caulies, Bob. We have abandoned our attempts to grow them.

[HappyBob]

Congrats on your caulies, Bob. We have abandoned our attempts to grow them.

It suprises me that you have problems growing cauli,s Spreckly as I know we have very similar soils. The soil that those in the picture are in is still very clay orientated. I dont do nothing speicial to them really except that I grow a F1 variety and that I give them a feed/good water just before the curds start forming. I also plant the young plants pretty compact using the leaf test to make sure they are firmed in enough.

[HappyBob]

Got my Broad beans planted out a few days ago and also a few spanish salad onions. Today planted out 50 beetroot plants and a dozen mixed heading lettuce.

Parsnips had to be resown as very poor germination, I mistakenley sown from an old pkt of seed instead of the pkt I bought last year. hopefully they should still make something before autumn. Tomatoes are making good progress too and today I prepared the greenhouse borders that will be their home in a few weeks time.

Also pricked out 8 Cape Gooseberries that i am trying for the first time. The pumpkins and courgettes are through and doing well as are the runner and french beans.
Potatoes are through, which is nice to see a bit more greenery.

Also work on the chicken shed is still on going between gardening chores and now have the mesh panals installed to the front and most of the roof installed, the door and what I call ventilation shutters are also completed but still require some thick mesh.

The 4 raised beds have been moved from the old allotment onto the new allotment. and tomorrow wil start planting out the brassica,s starting with the calabrese. Will hopefully put some pics up a little later this week.