Owwwww!

Post keyhole surgery last Thursday I am just about able to supervise a single offspring picking strawberries. My wounds are bloomimg though, purple and yellow.

Steaming.

A really busy weekend.
Friday evening I planted out the rest of my Pigletwillie banana shallots seedlings, should have done them sooner as the earlier planting has romped away compared to the pampered potted ones.
Saturday I did what should be the final two hour session of lawn mowing at my late mothers place, should exchange contracts on it by Tuesday, leaving just the inheritance tax bit to do. It was really hot and sunny. Liberated the last cowslips I'll have from where they had seeded themselves in the front lawn from the haymeadow section.
Went back home and after planting out hald the cowslips I took a couple of hours break from the sun, before I got stuck in at the allotment later on in the early evening, when I strimmed the car park / wild flower meadow. Ideal time of year for this as the hay making allows the hay meadow flowers to drop their seeds and discourages the rank weeds like nettles. From July onwards it will be regularly mowed. Then went and topped the weeds on plot 18 and edged both 17 & 18. Finished the evening with the first strawberry picking of the year with my daughter, sad to say none went home.

Sunday got on the plot around ten am and finished at four thirty to go and swap my offspring at father in laws boat, traded lovely daughter for the rhino, as she has an inset day Monday and he does not, nice way for her to spend it, sailing with Grandad.
On the plot I:

• planted out most of my squash after arranging my carpet mulch.
• hoed and weeded my :

1. flower patch.
2. onion bed.
3. banana shallot bed
4. sweetcorn.
5. french beans.
6. fruit terrace.
7. strawberry bed.
8. empty ground.

• planted out most of my sweet peas after building a "tent" for them to climb over.
• mowed the main path and my side paths.

Reading the above it does not sound like much, but it took a long time, I have a blister on my right hand from the end of the hoe handle and all the exposed bits of me are showing signs of sunshine.

So I left a largely weed free plot 17 and gained a largely empty greenhouse bench, it is too hot in there for pots now, the squash got scorched and had to be dunked to survive. I think that when I get electricity fitted to my greenhouse I will, as well as getting a larger heated propagator, get an automatic watering system. Shorter term I can feel an order to NH Kays coming on for two more vent openers.

During the week I hope to plant some more seeds, now the soil has some moisture I may be more successful than my miserable showings of earlier in the year.

Might not be much gardening action after Thursday for a few weeks as I am having my gall bladder out on Thursday afternoon.