down at the allotment and in the garden what are you up to

[Cornelian]

Cockies = rascally sulphar crested cockatoos. Here's one helping himself to one of my walnuts! They come in every year in great swarms. They beautiful but NOISY birds - they shriek like nothing you have ever heard. They also love playing dive bomb the cats, and will grab a walnut, shuffle up and down the branch until they are in just the right spot, then bounce a walnut off one of the cats - then they jump up and down and shriek in great excitement!



Also see this image for a few more of them (might be a bit much to put up here).

[ina]

Thanks for the explanation! They are beautiful, aren't they... But a nuisance, I can see that. Can't you net the tree, or at least part of it?

[Cornelian]

The tree is very old and absolutely huge and would be a nightmare to net - I don't mind sharing. The birds take what they want from the top branches and there is lots left over for me from the lower branches.

This year they came in too early and ate them too green - after what I imagine to be considerable tummy upsets they stayed away for almost 6 weeks until they dared to come back.

[Millymollymandy]

But what colour? Pink?

Pink, Blue and Purple

So people can find you at the BGG?

[Millymollymandy]

Like your photos and description of what the cockies get up to Cornelian!

And pskipper, come on, what are your strange sounding veggies?

[pskipper]

They are a member of the exploding cucumber family (pictures here http://www.realseeds.co.uk/cucumbers.html ) which taste like sweet peppers and don't explode (they do sell ones which do )

[Millymollymandy]

Gosh! Exploding cucumbers with a hazard warning! Would there be anything left after they'd exploded though?

And cucumbers that taste like sweet peppers, whatever next?

Sounds like an interesting site that I need to bookmark and read more of.

[mithril]

Ohh, I like the sound of those cue's! Hmm, might have to get some of those.... but not the exploding ones!
mithril.

[pskipper]

An easier day today, cleared weeds from the beds with the self seeded parsnips and planted bean plants which a nice man gave me. Also got some tomato plants from a nice lady :)

[the.fee.fairy]

Planted out the sweet peas, and the lavender. Watere everywhere - its so dry here! Watered the greenhouse.

Dad mowed the lawn, which was good, it meant i don't have to!

[Cassiepod]

I've started Only moved over this weekend but purchased 4 grobags to start off salads crops and herbs 'cos I think it will take long time to create a veg garden, rabbit proof it and make it productive.

Grow bags are ensconced on a piece of corrugated iron about 3 feet off the ground welll away from our garden inhabitants.

The only seeds I had in the house have gone in short rows and will be augmented by other salad crops later tonight

Pkus the garden ahs a beuatifl old apple tree and a HUGE blackcurrant bush flowering away to augment my pot specimens... It's all so exciting.

[pskipper]

Put in chard, perpetual beet, broccoli, some broccoli plants a nice man gave us, calabrese, sorrel, lettuce (various varieties), sweetcorn and dwarf runners.

Very exciting, my first onion set is poking it's head through the soil.

[Millymollymandy]

Harvest time! I have already eaten my first strawberry (yes I know, I was very surprised!) and today I am going to pick the first 4 or 5 french beans! There is some benefit to sowing (some) seed very early.

[Welsh Girls Allotment]

I'm harvesting cabbage and onions from the plot - I was chuffed tosee flowers on my strawberries - never mind picking them !!!

[the.fee.fairy]

Got more Peter pepper seeds today - i'm going to put them in the greenhouse and cloche them with a plastic bottle to stop that slug eating them again.