Chitting Nicely

It won't be long now until I plant my first early potatoes. I've decided that this year all the earlies will go in containers which will free up more space at the allotment for maincrop potatoes. The other advantage of using containers rather than the ground is that I don't have to wait for the ground to warm up, though I will have to make sure that they are kept free of any frost we have. As you can see, there are some great sprouts on the tubers already. Apparently, if you rub off all but two or three of the sprouts you will get larger potatoes, but I always leave all the sprouts on as I don't mind smaller potatoes.

I sowed my leeks - Musselburgh and peas - Hurst Green Shaft on Saturday. I've always sown my peas in toilet roll inners in the past but this time I've sown them in modules. I didn't have as much success last year with things which were sown in the toilet roll inners so I'm not using them at all this year. Once the ground has warmed up I want to sow some peas direct, something which I haven't done before.

The Goldfinches are back. I haven't seen any for ages but I saw a pair on Monday. I just wish I saw them more regularly than I do at the moment, they're such lovely little birds. We've also got some Coal Tits visiting the feeders, another colourful little bird.

Blackcurrant

We called in to Lidl at the weekend, a shop I rarely go to, but I know they sell fruit bushes at very reasonable prices so we thought we'd have a look. At the moment, the only fruit we have at the allotment are strawberries, though as we only have half a plot I don't want to give too much space over to fruit. There were various currants and a gooseberry to choose from and we came away with a blackcurrant bush for the princely sum of £1.49, bargain. I've also got my two rhubarb crowns, which are at present in containers, to plant at the allotment, and also my two blueberry bushes which will stay in containers in the garden, so that will do us for now.

After a sunny start to the week, the weather yesterday and today has been dreadful. We had rain and wind yesterday, and though it's quite sunny today, the wind is really bad. Half of my greenhouse is missing so I'll have to go and hunt that down. I think I'll wait for the wind to drop though first otherwise I'll be repeating the exercise within the hour.

Signs Of Life

At last, my peppers have started germinating. I don't have much patience when waiting for seeds to pop their heads above the compost, these have taken just short of two weeks to show any sign of life. I've now turned off the bottom heat to avoid the seedlings growing leggy, and I'll pot them on when they've put on some growth.

We finally saw some sunshine on Sunday so hubby was straight down to the allotment to put a bit of time in doing some digging. It won't be long now until the clocks go forward and the days are longer. I've always enjoyed spending time at the allotment on an evening, it always seems so peaceful at that time of day.

Just a reminder that Gardener's World is back on our screens on Friday with Monty Don coming back as the main presenter. The programme will come from Monty's own garden in Herefordshire. I'm looking forward to it.

Spring Days Out

I'm looking forward to some great spring days out at RHS Harlow Carr, I must remember to mark them in my diary so that I don't miss them. As a RHS member I'm entitled to free admission, as is one other family member, which makes it a cheap day out. On 26th and 27th March there is a Grow Your Own Weekend, 9th to 21st April is Eco Warriors - Half term family fun, which I thought my daughter might like as there are scavenger hunts, bush craft and the chance to learn survival skills. From 29th April to 2nd May is Harlow Carr Craft Exhibition, I might go on 1st May as there is also a Spring Plant Fair on then. If you're not a RHS member there is a FREE Open Day tomorrow, 4th March, where admission is free to everyone, the gardens are definitely worth seeing.

There's no sign of life in my peppers which I sowed eleven days ago. There's time yet, though I've usually had them germinating quicker than this on previous occasions. Perhaps I'll sow some more if they're not showing by the weekend.

We saw a kestrel in next door's garden earlier today. It was sat on their lawn as bold as brass eating whatever prey it had managed to kill. After it had left, there was a mass of feathers left behind, which indicates the prey was a bird of some kind. The circle of life can be very cruel sometimes.

Kent Blue

The generosity of bloggers will never cease to amaze me. Today I received some seeds for Kent Blue mangetout peas from Kath at Vegetable Heaven. Hubby had mentioned recently that he'd like me to have a go at some mangetout this year, and after the description of these on Kath's blog they sounded perfect. The flowers are a bicolour purple which fade to blue, and the pods are produced in abundance. I shall ensure that I save some seeds so that I can grow them again in future years. Many thanks, Kath.

I popped in to Wilkinsons today and noticed that they'd got quite a few dahlia tubers in. I took a fancy to one named Arabian Night, a burgundy colour, so that came home with me. I grew a few dahlias from seed last year and intend to do the same again this year, though I'd like a few more this time.

The sun is out at the moment but the rain through the night and earlier today has meant that getting anything done on the allotment is out of the question. Perhaps I'll do some more seed sowing instead.

It All Begins Here

I've been saying since January that I'm going to start off my pepper seeds, well I've finally got round to it today. They're now all tucked up in the heated propagator, but they'll be taken out of there as soon as they push their heads up otherwise the extra heat will encourage them to grow leggy. I've decided to go for two varieties this year. The first is a bell shaped pepper, California Wonder, which seems to be a popular choice of pepper in the UK. The second variety is Corno di Toro Rosso, which is known as Bulls Horns in Italy due to it's tapered shape. It will be interesting to compare the two.

There's been so much talk of spring arriving just lately that it came as quite a shock yesterday when I got up and looked out the window. Everywhere was white, covered in a layer of snow. It was lunch time before the snow stopped falling, but it had turned to slush by evening. This morning there was no snow to be seen. We should remember that it's still February and this sort of weather isn't unusual.

At the moment I've got a renewed enthusiasm for the allotment after reading several blogs telling just how fast they're progressing with their allotments. I had intended to get cracking with my own allotment this weekend, however, with the snow covering it yesterday and the residual mud today, there was no chance. Fingers crossed for better weather next weekend.

To Bee Or Not To Bee

The spring bulbs have been slow to bloom here, I've only just started to notice snowdrops, but now that I have it seems that everything is blooming at once. Along with the snowdrops there are crocus blooming, and the daffodils and tulips aren't far behind. Honey bees will seek out spring bulbs to forage for the nectar, we saw this one today just leaving a crocus.

I've been very good and have so far resisted planting any seeds. It's always tempting to start things off far too early, in which case they usually grow leggy. I will be starting off my pepper seeds this weekend though. I've held off long enough now and if they do grow leggy there's always time to start off some more.

The high winds from last week returned on Monday, though they weren't quite as bad as they had previously been. The rest of the week was fine and the sun put in an appearance. It's been a glorious day today. The sun has been shining and it's been quite warm. I should have really spent some time at the allotment, but we took advantage of the lovely day and had a day out instead. Rain is forcast for tomorrow so we had to make the most of some fine weather.

Rhubarb Shoots

I noticed today that my rhubarb is starting to shoot. This will be the third year that I've had this particular rhubarb crown and it's been in a container all it's life. Each year I've intended planting it at the allotment, but still haven't got round to it. I'll have to make more of an effort this year.

We had some terrible winds here on Friday, so much so that two of the ridge tiles on the extension roof have come loose, and half of my greenhouse blew away. I've arranged for a roofer to come and sort the tiles out on Wednesday, and the greenhouse is now back in one piece. It's glazed with polycarbonate, so there was no breakages, but I found the door and two side panels in our garden, and one of the roof panels in our next door neighbour's garden.

The everbearing strawberries which I potted up last month are looking very healthy and have started to put on some new growth. I just need some decent weather now to get a new bed prepared for them, though there's none forcast for the next few days, it's supposed to be very wet.

Aiming For Success

This will be my third year growing on the allotment, and yet I haven't yet had any success in growing carrots there. There is such a difference in taste, as with most things, between home grown carrots and shop bought that I won't give up until my home grown carrots are on my plate. I'm not totally convinced that this will be the year of the allotment carrot though, so I've invested in a packet of Paris Market 5 - Atlas seeds, which are stumpy carrots. Before I had the allotment, I used to grow all my veggies in containers, and I grew stumpy carrots, though not this variety. I shall plant these in containers to ensure that I get at least some lovely home grown carrots just in case the ones at the allotment come to nothing again. Stumpy carrots are good for growing in containers as you don't have to provide lots of space for long root growth.

The purple sprouting broccoli at the allotment has been eaten by something, probably pigeons or rabbits desperate for food in the icy weather. It's the first time that I've tried to grow purple sprouting broccoli, and to be honest, I didn't put much effort in to it, it wasn't netted, I really didn't expect much to come of it, so I'm not too disappointed. The cavolo nero has died in the frosts, and the only thing left standing at the allotment now is curly kale. Hubby set to on Saturday and did a bit of digging. Anything done now is less to do later.

This weekend was the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch where you record the number of each species of bird which visits your garden over the period of an hour. I had intented to take part, but in the end I ran out of time. Why is it that my weekends are always so busy? I did see a Red Kite on Saturday though, but I wouldn't have been able to include it in my results as it wasn't in my garden. At one time Red Kites were quite rare but following a reintroduction programme in England and Scotland, they can be seen in many parts of the country.

All Sorted

A job I usually do over Christmas is to sort out my seeds, work out what I still need to buy, and arrange those I've already got in to months in which they'll be sown. I'm a little late doing it this year, but at last I'm all ready to go. The only seeds I need to buy are parsnip, which should be bought fresh every year, and sweetcorn. All the seed packets are now stored in a cardboard box, which has been divided up in to months. The packets stored under January and February are a little sparse, but come March and April I'm going to be very busy indeed.

I've recently bought a packet of Sweet Pepper - Corno di Toro Rosso, which is a long variety of pepper. Sue from Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments doesn't live too far from me, and she's had success growing the elongated varieties and getting them to ripen quicker in our climate, so I thought I'd give them a go too. Last year, my daughter won a grafted pepper plant. These grafted plants are supposed to be quick to ripen, but I didn't find them ripening any quicker than those plants I have grown from seed in the past. Let's hope that these long peppers do their stuff.

I can't remember the last time I visited the allotment. I wanted to go this weekend but found I didn't have time before it was dark. I've got some purple sprouting broccoli which I want to have a look at. I'm sure if the weather hasn't finished it off, the pigeons will as it hasn't been netted.

Another Potato Post

This time it's about potatoes to come, not ones which have already been harvested. At last, I've made the decision about, and actually bought, the potatoes which I'll be growing this year. As my allotment is only a half plot, and there's plenty of other things I also want to grow, there's only going be a 10 foot x 10 foot bed allocated to them, so I've decided that I'm going to grow my earlies in containers to free up more space at the allotment for maincrop. We went to our local nursery to see which varieties they had on offer and found that they only sell the tubers in 3kg quantities. I had hoped to grow a few varieties, however, when I checked the prices at other retailers, the smaller quantities were nearly as expensive as the 3kg bag, which were £3.30. I also get a 10% discount from this particular nursery as I'm a Gardener's World subscriber, so this brings them down to less than £3.00. I decided that it would be more cost effective to grow only one variety of earlies and one of maincrop. The earlies I settled on are Arran Pilot and the maincrop I chose are Maris Piper. I've read good reviews on both of these varieties so I hope they do well for me.

I was thrilled to bits when I visited My Life Diet blog and discovered that I'd won a Stylish Blogger Award. I'd like to thank Nellilou very much, it's always nice to know that people enjoy my blog.

I'm supposed to divulge seven facts about myself, however, I've recently been awarded the same award on my other blog, Through The Keyhole, so I won't repeat myself. You can pop over there to have a read if you like.

I now have to pass this award on to fifteen other blogs, so I'd like to nominate:-

Two Chances Veg Plot Blog

Green Tapestry

Allotments4You

Slow Growing in Scotland

Vegetable Heaven

Moj Vrt

Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments

Pam's English Cottage Garden

My Garden Diary by Kelli Boyles

My Little Garden in Japan

Down on the Allotment

Living On The Edge

Mark's Veg Plot

Raising Seedlings

Plot 66

I know not all of you accept awards, but I just wanted to let you know that I enjoy reading your blogs. Please don't feel under any pressure to accept the award if you do not wish to do so.

All that's left is to thank you all for continuing to read my blog. It really does make my day when I receive a comment on my posts, so thank you very much.

Not Quite A Washout

As you know, I tried growing some potatoes in containers for Christmas, but even though the containers were placed in a cold greenhouse and wrapped in fleece they still got frosted and the plants died back. I didn't empty the containers before Christmas as even the compost they were growing in was like a block of ice, but hubby got round to emptying them yesterday and this is what he found. It's not a huge harvest but there would have been enough to put on six plates on Christmas day had we managed to empty them then. The best performer was Carlingford, and the other two varieties are Vivaldi and Maris Peer. The seed potatoes were sold later in the year especially for planting for Christmas, however, the yield certainly doesn't justify the cost so this year I'll plant some of the first earlies I harvest to try for a Christmas harvest again.

The everbearing strawberry plants, Flamenco, which I ordered have been delivered so I will spend this afternoon planting them in pots. I'll leave them in the greenhouse until later in the year when I've prepared the bed they will be residing in. It should give them some time to establish some healthy roots before being planted out.

I'm also going to plant my shallots in to plantpots rather than straight out at the plot. The allotment is very boggy at present so they may rot if planted out now, but starting them off in pots will give them a head start.

Ladybird Towers

This is the latest in des res accommodation for ladybirds. I have been meaning to make a bug hotel for such a long time and still haven't got round to it, so hubby bought me 'Ladybird Towers' for Christmas. There's lots of little holes drilled in to the wood for the ladybirds to hibernate in, and it comes with a pole to stand it on so I'll be able to site it in my wildlife border. The little ladybird decorations are so cute. Ladybirds are gardener's friends as they help keep the aphid population under control. The ladybirds eat the aphids and also produce larvae which will eat aphids too.

There was a return to snow here last week. We got quite a covering on Friday but it rained during the night turning it to mush for Saturday, so it didn't hang around for long. It was very wet over the weekend though so there was no trip to the allotment. I really need to get down there if only to check on my purple sprouting broccoli, it's the first time I've grown it and I want to check how it's doing.

It won't be long now until we're buying our potato tubers ready to chit before planting. I still haven't made a final decision on which I'll be growing this year so if you have any last minute recommendations I'd be happy to hear them. I'm going to grow my earlies in containers to free up extra space at the allotment for main crops. Varieties I've tried before have suffered from slug damage so I might be better looking for a variety with some resistance.

Eagerness

I'm always eager straight after Christmas to start sowing some seeds. Last year, my daughter won a pepper plant in a gardening competition and I enjoyed eating the resulting peppers so much that I decided I would grow a few pepper plants this year. Pepper seeds will be the first seeds I will sow as they need a long growing season to allow sufficient time for the fruit to ripen, though they can still be eaten when green. I'm trying to hold out a little longer yet though as the low light levels at this time of year makes the seedlings grow leggy.

So, as it's too early to start sowing seeds, what else can I be doing towards the coming growing season? I've still got all my seeds to sort out. I usually divide the packets up in to the months they're to be sown and store them between dividers in a box. Those seeds which need to be sown successionally are popped back in the box after sowing, either in the same month's compartment for sowing again later that month, or in the next month's compartment.

I've also got to sort out an allotment plan. My four main beds follow a crop rotation, brassicas, roots, potatoes, legumes, but there's also other things such as sweetcorn and squash which need to be slotted in. I use other areas of the allotment for these, but make sure that they're not grown in the same position as they were the year before.

I didn't get round to finishing the winter dig on the allotment before the snow fell so that still needs to be finished, though I don't fancy doing that at the moment. We've had lots of rain overnight and the ground is very boggy, but we'll have to continue with it at the first opportunity.

There's lots of enjoyable reading to be done. The books I wrote about in my last post are still waiting to be started, and there's a new six part series starting on BBC2 on Friday at 8.30pm, Life in a Cottage Garden with Carol Klein. This should give me a weekly television gardening fix whilst Gardener's World is absent from our screens.

I'm sure you'll agree, I've got plenty to be getting on with before I have to start sowing.

Reading Matter

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas. My mum and dad came round for dinner on Christmas day, but apart from that it's been very quiet here. Amongst many wonderful presents were these books, some of them are reference books and a couple of them are people's personal experiences of allotment life. I'm looking forward to getting stuck in to them once everything is back to normal.

Earlier in the year, I won a £10 gift voucher to be spent at Thompson and Morgan which had to be spent by the end of the year. With time running out, I scoured the website yesterday and decided up on some everbearing strawberries, Flamenco. They were offering free delivery yesterday so I only had to pay £3.99 myself. These will hopefully extend the strawberry season next year. I just have to get a bed ready for them now.

We're having a quiet evening in tonight, through I'm sure we'll still be up when the new year dawns. I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope 2011 brings peace, happiness and health, and of course a good growing season.