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10 January
No visit to the plot so far this year. With thick snow on the ground even
if we managed to arrive at the allotment in one piece there would be little that
we could do there.
Our only outdoor garden related activity - if it can be called that –was making sure
our feathered visitors are well provided for. A fieldfare and redwing have joined
our more regular visitors in using the ice free part of our garden pond as a drinking
hole. Sadly the weather has taken its toll on our fish population. At least one large
fish has died – time will tell if more are to fall victim to the big freeze.
Our seed orders have now been completed and despite the poor weather are starting
to arrive. Our order from Plants of Distinction arrived this week. We order seeds
that are less commonly available from them.
Beetroot - Sunset Mixed which produces red, yellow, white and bi-coloured roots
Cauliflower
- Kaleidoscope Mixed which produces green, purple and orange heads
Tuscany and Provence
Baby Salad Leaves
Melon - Noir des Carmes - which is supposedly one of the easiest
melons to grow. I hope this is true as we haven't had a lot of success with melons.
Peppers - Jimmy Nardello's & Tequila Sunrise both are carrot shaped sweet peppers.
Jimmy is reported to be the best sweet pepper I will ever taste and Tequila is a
golden orange colour.
Squash - Potimarron & Crown Prince - we know Crown Prince is
a good choice having grown it for a couple of years now but Potimarron is new to
us
Tomato - Amish Gold which is said to produce huge solid yellow tomatoes.
We have also ordered a few flowers to give some extra colour and attract the beneficial
insects as well as provide cut flowers.
Cosmos - Versailles Palace - which is great for cutting. We always have a patch of
cosmos. It usually self seeds and produces some interesting colours but I guess this
may not happen this year.
Papaver - Ladybird & Cherry Glow, - we already have some
poppies that come up every year around the plot even though we haven't actually planted
any before. We have quite a variety of colour as they must cross pollinate. (Shown
in photo) If they come up in an inconvenient spot they are removed but otherwise
they are left to do their thing. Maybe we will have even more cross pollination when
we add these varieties.
We were also sent a couple of complementary packets of seed:
Sicilian Rocket Salad
Mixed - which contain seven varieties of rocket - I didn't know there were seven
varieties
Achillea - Flowerburst - we have several achillea on the plot again for
cut flowers and to attract the insects and they are really good 'doers' as well as
being really attractive so this variety will add to our colour palette and some may
even end up in the garden.
Each year we carefully choose our seeds bearing in mind what we have room for and
every year we end up with extra freebies either from seed companies or from magazines.
So far we have received a couple of varieties of Sweet Pepper - California Wonder
& Romano Mixed and three varieties of Tomato - Costoluto Fiorentino (a beefsteak
variety), Roma (a plum tomato) and Garden Pearl (a cherry variety).These freebies
are welcome but the couple of packs of chilli seeds that have come via magazines
will be given away. After last year's chilli experience we won't be growing any this
year!
My amaryllis bulbs still haven’t produced flowers although one of them has a cluster
of buds that are almost ready to burst. I can already see that this will be the pink
and white variety which I think is Appleblossom.
Used from store
Used from freezer
- Roasted tomatoes
- Peas
- Sweetcorn
- Stewed apples
17 January
No visit to the plot again as the big chill continued. Hopefully next week
we can visit to replenish our stocks of winter vegetables.
Parcels, envelopes and boxes of seeds continued to arrive so now we have everything
that we need to start the new season except favourable growing and soil conditions.
It’s tempting to start sowing but experience tells us that this would be a mistake.
With only a cold greenhouse, for us March is really the start of seed sowing in earnest.
Earlier experiments with seeds sown on window sills have rarely been completely successful.
Later sown seeds benefit from the improved conditions and soon catch up with and
overtake early sowings. An exception will be some early broad beans.
Not all seeds need to be bought fresh every year – many remain viable for several
years. Sow by dates are usually printed on seed packets – often on the part that
we tear off when opening! Many seeds are supplied in huge quantities that would keep
the average grower supplied for years. Throwing away seed goes against the grain
(pun unintended) but it sometimes has to be done. Parsnip seed for instance needs
to be bought fresh every year.
Each year we try to grow something a little different whilst keeping the best successes
from the previous year.
We always grow a variety of tomatoes but for the first time will include some Tumbling
Tom and Garden Pearl. Both produce cherry sized tomatoes and will be kept in tubs
in the garden. For the past two years we have lost all outdoor tomatoes on the plot
courtesy of blight!
In an old shoe box, we have organised seed packets according to the month in which
they are due to be sown to ensure that none are forgotten so now all that remains
is to sit tight, dream, plan and wait until it is time to start sowing!
Both my amaryllis have now produced flowers. I was supposed to have bought a white
variety and a pink variety but I seem to have a pink and white (Appleblossom) and
a deep pink variety. Another conundrum is that I thought that each flower stem usually
had four flower heads, however one of my bulbs has three flowers to a stem and the
other has five!
Used from store
- Potatoes – Juliette
- Broad Beans – Witkiem Manita
- Squash – Crown Prince
24 January
Amazingly we managed a couple of visits to the plot this week. The first
was to gather some vegetables as our stocks were much depleted. Thankfully although
netting and environmesh had been weighted down by heavy snow, most of our winter
vegetables had survived the big freeze.
On the second trip, winter wash was applied to plum, greengage, cherry and some apple
trees. This would have been done earlier if the weather had been more accommodating.
Another application will be made before the buds start to burst in an attempt to
keep the aphids at bay. In the past these destructive creatures have devastated our
plums and gages. Originally tar oil would have been used as a winter wash but nowadays
the wash is made from vegetable oil. This treatment has proved really effective although
as the trees have grown it has become difficult to ensure that the entire tree has
been sprayed.
We also managed to burn a few of the perennial weeds that have been trying to dry
out on our weed pile. The ash from these will be added to the compost heap and the
fire provided a little warmth to fend off the chill.
Newly shooting rhubarb provided one welcome sign that the new season is beginning
and the grass paths that were sown last year a looking very lush.
The Glen Moy, Glen Magna & Glen Ample raspberry canes that were delayed due to the
bad weather arrived this week along with some blackcurrant bushes – Ben Connan &
Ben Lomond and a quince tree – Meeches Prolific. This is the first time we have ordered
from Keepers Nursery and we are really impressed by the plants. They are much bigger
than we had expected – especially the quince which only just fits in the cold greenhouse.
All the plants have been potted into large pots until soil conditions on the plot
are suitable for planting.
Also potted up were some perennials that we bought from a local nursery – at only
£1.99 each they seemed a bargain. They were packaged in small amounts of compost
and sealed in plastic bags which isn’t the ideal method but at that price we decided
to give it a go. Most of them had signs that they are beginning to shoot so these
will hopefully add some colour to the garden.
Bulbs that have been so long hidden under a blanket of snow are also continuing their
upward growth so I look forward to our first snowdrops and crocuses of the season
Harvested this week:
- Cabbage - Tundra
- Parsnip - Gladiator
- Carrot – Yellowstone & Autumn King
- Leek – Autumn Giant 2
- Swede – Marian
Used from store
- Onions – Red Baron & Fen Globe
Used from freezer
- Stewed apple and blackberry
- Stewed gooseberries
31 January
The last week of January continued to be a lean time as far as gardening
was concerned. The ground was either too wet and soggy or too frosty and solid. Both
conditions signal that the garden and plot are best left alone for now. Trudging
on soggy or frosted soil does nothing to improve neither the soil structure nor any
lawns or grassy areas.
Not even one visit to the plot to harvest any vegetables having gathered plenty last
week. The nearest to gardening was a wander around our garden where I found that
nature is obviously far tougher than we are.
Shoots are gallantly emerging from the bulbs and many early flowering plants are
in bud. Snowdrops and hellebores will soon be flowering which is always a treat as
they are planted close to the house window so the view can be enjoyed without venturing
outside. A particularly determined pansy is managing to produce a few flowers. Looking
closely, the hostas are just beginning to shoot and so we will soon need to be on
slug and snail alert. I hope the couple of thrushes that are now seen regularly in
the garden will repay us for looking after them during the winter by adding these
pests to their menu.
Another welcome bit of bird activity was the appearance a couple of years ago of a daphne bush. The bird responsible for sowing the seed didn’t quite get the positioning right and so I had intended to transplant it but it is easy to overlook when not in flower. At the moment its plump buds drew my attention reminding me of the oversight.
Some of the perennials that I planted up last week are showing very tiny shoots. I noticed some similar plants in a local garden centre were at the same stage so it’s a case of so far so good.
The last weekend in January was the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch so we knew that the birds would be making
themselves scarce for the duration of the count and sure enough the bird feeders and bird tables were unusually quiet. We don’t behave in anyway differently so I can only assume that many more people put food out on this day than others, the only other explanation is the bird population is far more intelligent than we give them credit for and know what we are doing and decide to thwart us.
One couple of birds - a pair of blue tits - that didn’t desert us were busy over the weekend showing much interest in our sparrow terrace and hopping in and out of the entrance holes checking out the accommodation. Ever since we put up the terraces they have been occupied by blue tits or great tits and never a sparrow. The boxes put up especially for the smaller birds remain empty. Just goes to show you can’t control nature so at times like this it’s best to give in and just go with it!
Harvested this week
Used from store:
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Onions – Red Baron & Fen Globe
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Used from freezer:
