Strawberry Sunday 18th August 2013

Surbie100 and I have exchanged seeds in the past but finally we have met, and it was very nice putting a face to the writings, seed exchanges and telephone calls.

I popped over to her allotment this morning arriving about 8:00 (she is another early riser) to pick up a her excess strawberries, that she wanted to find a new home for not wanting to compost good plants, and who can blame her it would be a crime against nature.

We had a natter about life the universe and everything, She gave me the 2 bob tour of her allotment, very different to the small allotment I'm on that only has 14 full plots, some divided into half plots 

There is one plot holder on her allotment who has a dressed mannequin sitting at a table as a scarecrow.

Finally after the tour, we loaded up the car boot.

Surbie then asked if I liked golden purslane, I had never tasted it before, Jen is the salad queen, I took it on the understanding that if Jen liked it I would grow it if not it would end up and compost, I asked Surbie to post the name of the plant because  I would never remember it (short term memory loss) and then I bid Surbie a fond farewell, and made my way back home. Surbie Jen did like it and it will live to grow another day.

One cup of coffee and a breakfast later, Jen and I were off to the allotment to drop of the strawberry plants 

and to:-

Water the toms on the mini greenhouses
Pick a couple of cabbages
Pick Runner Beans
Pick Radishes and Spring Onions

Ho Jen what a lovely pair you have 

 

Back home and dug up the last of the concrete paving blocks that are going to be used in the back garden, under the plinth for the vast collection of Jens garden ornaments and those we inherited from Mums garden when she passed away last year.

A Sunday Roast dinner  of, chicken with peas and parsnip with home grown runner beans, cabbage and roast potatoes. We are on the 2nd Early's so not the best for roast potatoes in the world but still enjoyable and tasty.

After dinner,  I attacked the kerb edging in the front garden and managed to get up eight edgings using the pneumatic drill with chisel attachment and we dropped them off to the allotment. We came back and started on the next batch and it started to rain, so I pulled the extension lead and the drill indoors and made a cup of coffee whilst waiting for it to stop raining so I could get out there again.

I had a quick look at freecycle and found that someone had answered my wanted post for a gazebo frame! The sprouts are pushing the netting up off on the water pipe hoops and I don't want the butterflies getting their eggs on the leafs because they are in contact, so Jen had the idea of trying to get hold of some old gazebo frames. 

A quick phone call to the lady in question and we popped round to dismantle the frame, by time we go home the rain had stopped and the concrete was once again dry so the next eight edgings came out and with the gazebo were taken down the allotment.

Home a final quick tidy of the front garden and I was done (in) about 8:00ish