Allotments 4 All

Where did you sow your sweet-peas manicscousers? I wondered how much heat you have given them.

No heat, just sown in the cold greenhouse in old plastic drinks cups, under plastic covers.
Just transplanted 12 minibeltomatoes and a couple of garden pearls, sowed some corno rosso peppers and will be sowing some more tomatoes this weekend. Planted the smile seed potatoes in a pot in the poly 

Just come back from a wet lottie, I barrrowed some more compost and dug out brassica plants. 

Was at the lottie this morning and spread some bark on paths before the rain intervened and sent me home

Not done anything for days, too cold and wet.  Just been pottering about in the kitchen sowing a few seeds.  Will have to go on a parsnip raid soon.

More snow overnight so have just fed the birds.   i'm actually quite pleased it's still cold and snowy as I can't hope to get in my garden for at least another 2 weeks depending on foot recovery so I'm kind of relieved it isn't running away with me just now.  Huge list of jobs to do though - Cutting back all the old growth in the main garden, trimming back the clems and roses and in the veg patch we need to pull up all the frozen cavolo nero, Swiss chard and purple sprouting, hoe all the beds and cover with plastic for a week or two prior to sowing seeds and replanting the strawberries.

Not been near the plot since November, wont do any good walking on it till it drys out, prob make a start end of March with spuds and onions, broad beans and peas.

Cleared a bed in the poly and transplanted some pak choi, mixed leaves and oriental veg into it, covered with glass and plastic cloches, just need a slug pub in there now 

I tried to work out where I had sowed green manure (tares) last year, and where I had just put on the tare tops as a cover after cutting them down. Shouldn't do any sowing where I planted them, but alas, I did not make notes! I hope hubbie will help me tell the difference.
Annemieke Wigmore, Somerset UK: http://thoughtforfood-aw.blogspot.com

Hung out the washing...Looked at the weeds ,its still a bit wet out there so came in and filled loo rolls and pots with compost to warm up so I can sow tomorrow or Monday.. O joy the season has started

Barrowed some more compost and filled another small raisedbed with it     
Weeding and dug up some parsnips.       

Scrubbed my greenhouse and the staging with Jeyes fluid and pressure washed it yesterday, today laid it all out and stacked all the modules etc ready to start propagating....feeling very virtuous....

I managed to complete the frame, all the supports and storm ties and get one door made and installed on my 35 foot poly.

Nice work 69.
They don't go in for a whole lot of triangular support these days eh? State-of-the-art minimalism.

Good luck with it. Before long it'll be a jungle in there....

well i have made it out to the garden but the soil is just 2 wet and claggy so i don't think i will touch it today its all uncovered letting the sun dry it out however the weeds have still grown under the cardboard and black membrane around the edges and in the odd wind made gap so maybe tomorrow i might just get the shovel out and go for it :)

Secateurs have been busy...I get bit of sun shine and it gets the tools going  Garden is under serious hacking and it gets its 'short back and sides' in more drastic manner as it didn't get done last year..with all that bad weather to blame. Once the massacre is done I will empty the pond and get muddy..

I cut down the autumn raspberry canes, and offered some on Freecycle. Am pleased I did that, for had not been looking forward to the job. Didn't feel like gardening (!!!) but it was so nice outside, and quiet too.

Transplanted the rest of the mixed leaves, mizuna, pak choi and oriental veg into the poly border, found my peas in a gutter are through 

planted the first of the sharpe's express spuds in warmed soil, under cover in the polytunnel 

Put my nose out of the door and took it straight back in.   Brrrr   Gone back to hibernation. 

We have been down the lotty for three days in a row it was lovely weather,we did some  weeding and hoeing put some cabbage seeds away and cawli ,sprouts ,broad beans , we covered the with plastic polly tunnel sml one just to keep cold off I hope