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.

Arthur Bell

I have been looking for a yellow rose which can be grown in a container for some time now. On Saturday, we went to Homebase and found they were reducing many plants, as well as lots of other items. I was lucky enough to pick up this rose, Arthur Bell, which had started off at £9.99, then was reduced to £3.33 and was just being marked down to 50p as I passed by. The label states that it's a bush rose and can be grown in a container. It's a repeat flowering rose and is strongly scented. I thought the sales were supposed to start after Christmas but I don't seem to have done too badly here, a 95% reduction.

I'd just like to thank everyone who pops by my blog. I'm so lucky that I have many regular readers who comment often and who I class as friends, but there are many more readers who never leave a comment. Every visit and comment is very much appreciated. I'd like to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2011, and here's to a successful growing season too.

No Spuds For Christmas

I eventually managed to get back in to my greenhouse after the door had been frozen shut, but I wish I hadn't bothered after seeing the scene which greeted me. Let's just say that there won't be any home grown potatoes on our plates on Christmas day. The even more annoying thing is that I had bought these potatoes especially for later planting, they were delivered around July time. Last year I saved some seed potatoes from the ones planted in spring. I kept them in the salad drawer in the fridge until it was time to plant them later in the year and they grew fine, producing enough potatoes for our Christmas dinner. I now know that the risk doesn't justify the cost of buying extra especially for later planting, I'll either do as I did last year and save some from the spring batch, or else plant some of the potatoes which the spring sowing produces. I won't give up though, I'll definitely try again.

We managed a trip to the allotment yesterday, though there wasn't much we could do. The snow has melted and I expected the ground to be very boggy, but I'm pleased to report that the drainage pipe which hubby installed earlier in the year seems to be working as there wasn't as much water about as I expected. The chard has definitely been taken by the frost, it's completely blackened, but the curly kale and cavolo de nero is still looking good. There's also some purple sprouting broccoli and spring greens which seem to be doing ok.

Today, the mercury has risen to a whopping three degrees, but by the end of the week we're expecting more snow. Let's hope we don't get as much as we've just got rid of.

Icy Pond

Yet another post about the weather, which seems to be dominating this blog at the moment. My little pond is completely frozen. The ice is so thick that I'm unable to break it, even though the sun has appeared this afternoon, it's rays aren't strong enough to even melt the snow. This morning, I tried to check on the plants which I'm overwintering in my greenhouse but I couldn't get in as the door had frozen shut. I don't heat my greenhouse, but protect the plants inside with fleece. Somehow, I don't think that it will be enough this year, I don't hold out much hope for my Christmas potatoes.

It's a few weeks now since I've been to the allotment. There isn't a lot growing there at the moment so I'm not particularly worried, but I'll probably take a trip down with hubby at the weekend just to check on things.

On a brighter note, my Orchid is now back in bloom again. I've been really successful with this Orchid so far, chopping off the flower spike at ground level when the blooms fade, which prompts it to grow a new spike and flower again. It's been in bloom for the last two Christmas's and it looks like it will still be in bloom for Christmas this year.

Hanging Around

The snow is still hanging around, though we only had a small flurry yesterday and it hasn't snowed since. The temperature is set to plummet even further so it's highly unlikely that it will melt any time soon. The kids were sent home from school at 1.30 on Monday and they haven't been back since, much to their delight. Instead there's been sledging, snowballing and a few wintery dog walks, though we haven't ventured too far as Archie cries when his paws get cold. We've been advised to check the school website over the weekend to see if it will be open on Monday or not.

I've been really thankful that I bought some walking boots earlier in the year. I thought they would be good for dog walking, but also for wearing on the allotment. I have to say, they're fantastic for the snow. I always find that Wellington Boots make my feet cold, even when they've got those sock liners in them. My walking boots keep my feet toasty warm, the only problem is that the snow is so deep that it comes above the walking boots. I just make sure that I wear long socks and tuck my jeans in to them.

I mentioned in my last post that hubby had spotted a greenfinch in the garden over the weekend. Feeding the birds regularly seems to be paying off as I spotted a wren on Wednesday, something else which I've never seen in the garden before. I also saw a robin feeding from one of the seed holders yesterday. Robins are usually ground feeders so it's unusual to see them feeding this way. I suppose it's a case of needs must in this weather.

The White Stuff

The weather forcasters were right for once when they predicted snow. There's more forcast for overnight and it seems there's no let up for the rest of the week. I can't remember when it last snowed this early in the season, though some news reports suggest it's been 17 years, I just hope it doesn't mean that we're going to get a long winter, last year was bad enough. Don't forget to pop over to my Through The Keyhole blog to find out what Archie's first impressions of snow are.

Obviously, nothing got done on the allotment again this weekend. I'll be interested to see what difference the drainage pipe which hubby laid earlier in the year makes after the snow melts.

The birds are loving the food which has been put out for them. It makes such a difference to them in snowy weather to be able to find food easily. Hubby spotted a Greenfinch over the weekend, something we haven't seen in the garden before. Let's hope he returns with his family.

A Little Surprise

I was quite surprised today to find the alpine strawberries are still producing fruit. We've had a few frosts now so I thought they would be finished. Alpine strawberries have a very intense flavour and they produce for a long period too so they're well worth growing.

I've got quite a lot on at the moment so I haven't made it to the allotment this week. Hubby has taken a days leave from work on Friday, but as snow is forcast in some parts of the country for the end of the week, I don't hold out much hope of getting there this weekend either. We've dug over more of the allotment already this year than we dug last autumn so I'm quite happy with that even if we don't get any more done.

I always enjoy reading about people's experiences of allotment life, I think that's one of the reasons I enjoy reading blogs so much. On my Christmas list this year are a number of books on this theme, One Man and his Dig-Adventures of an Allotment Novice by Valentine Low, Digger's Diary-Tales From the Allotment by Victor Osborne and Allotted Time-Two Blokes, One Shed, No Idea by Robin Shelton. I hope Santa's taken note.

Feed The Birds

I try to feed the birds all the year round, however, during the summer months I'm not so bothered if I forget to fill up the feeders as there's more food around for them to find themselves. Now that the colder weather is here I try to make sure that there's always something on the bird feeder for them. These suet blocks are great for the winter months as it helps to build up their fat reserves which they need in cold weather. The suet is mixed with insects, berries, mealworms etc. You can also make your own fatty treats easily and there's many recipes on the web. One thing to remember though, you should never feed fat to the birds which has been cooked as it blends with the meat juices and it's prone to smearing which is bad for the birds' feathers. Of course, clean fresh water is also important, and as the freezing temperatures arrive don't forget to check the water supply first thing in the morning as it will probably have frozen over. There's some great tips about what to and what not to feed birds on the R.S.P.B. website.

We visited a couple of garden centres at the weekend. From their insides you wouldn't think that they had anything to do with gardening. They were completely adorned with Christmas decorations and any gardening related products were few and far between. This is one of the reasons I much prefer nurseries to garden centres. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy looking round the garden centres at all the Christmas ware, just not when I'm looking for something for the garden.

I gave the allotment a miss at the weekend. The weather had been so bad last week that I'm sure it will have been too boggy to get anything done. The colder weather has definitely arrived and with it has been rain and strong winds. I think we'll have to snatch allotment days when we can from now on.

Gardeners' World Magazine

I let my subscription to Gardeners' World magazine lapse in the summer as I found I didn't have time to read it properly. I've decided that now the winter months are approaching I will renew the subscription as I'll be glad of some reading material whilst I'm sat by the fire on the cold evenings ahead. I know that they recycle some articles, what needs to be done this December will need to be done again next December, and there are lots of pages of advertisements, but there's always something of interest to read in each magazine. I always take out the subscription through Tesco Clubcard Deals as the vouchers are worth four times their value, so a years subscription only costs £10.50 in vouchers. You've got to be quick to get it at this price though as the value of Tesco Reward vouchers is lowering to three times their value from the 6th December so the subscription will then cost £14.50 in vouchers.

I managed to get to the allotment again on Sunday whilst my daughter was at her drama group. My son didn't want to come with us this week so it was just hubby and I. I set about the strawberry bed, which is now almost finished, whilst hubby cleared a bed which was covered in weeds and dug over another bed. I'm really pleased with how much we've got done already this year. Of course, if I hadn't been so lazy and cleared the strawberry bed after they'd finished fruiting we'd have had much more done by now, but I didn't. It's been a real job tidying up the bed, I won't let it get in this state again.

It was a terrible day here on Monday, I don't think it stopped raining, even for a minute, all day. There was nothing for it but to make a roast chicken dinner which we ate with the first lot of runner beans taken from the freezer. How lovely it is to have some stored for winter use. The weather was much the same yesterday, though it did brighten up a bit in the afternoon, but it's been a gorgeous sunny, crisp autumn day today. It's forcast heavy showers again tomorrow so let's hope the rain is out of the way for the weekend.

Making Use Of The Runners

At last, I managed to get to the allotment at the weekend. The strawberry plants haven't had any attention since they fruited, even the netting was still in place, so I thought I should tackle that bed whilst hubby and son got on with digging over the plot. I didn't have as much time as I'd have liked there due to having to pick up my daughter from her drama group, but I managed to get about half the bed cleared, which was very time consuming due to the mess it was in. There were lots of runners, some of which had escaped in to the next bed, and new plants had set roots so I gently lifted them and potted them up. They will stay in their pots inside the cold greenhouse until spring when I will create another strawberry bed for them to reside in. This is a great way of increasing your strawberry plant stock for free.

Hubby and son got lots of digging done and the plot is looking much tidier than it was, though there's still lots more to do. The winter dig is already further on than it was at this time last year.

There's very little still in the ground at the allotment now. We're still harvesting cavolo de nero, curly kale and chard, and there's Savoy cabbages and spring greens growing.

My daughter is at her drama group again this Sunday which should free up some more time for me to spend at the allotment again. Fingers crossed for a fine weekend weather wise.

Say It With Flowers

Hubby's uncle called round this morning with a lovely bunch of Chrysanthemums for me. He always keeps my vases full at this time of year as he grows so many that there are always some which are surplus to requirements. Sometimes I get mixed colours and other times, like today, he brings all yellows, which are my favourites and look stunning en masse.

I didn't manage to get down to the allotment last weekend as other things cropped up, but hubby went and dug up the last of the potatoes as well as clearing some of the beds. My next job is to get the strawberry bed sorted out, the runners are escaping all over so they need to be contained and the whole bed needs weeding. The bean wigwams need to be dismantled and the plot needs digging over.

The weather has warmed up again over the last few days, though we did have our first frost last Sunday night. I haven't seen the forcast for the weekend but I hope it's dry so that I can get some jobs completed.

Too Chilly For The Chilies

I think it's only a matter of time now till we get a frost so I have taken all the chilies off the plant. As you can see, they're in different stages of ripeness but they can still be used green. These are Serrano chilies and my daughter bought me the seeds for Christmas last year so I felt compelled to grow them even though we don't eat chilies. These will be given away to someone who can make use of them. I only grew one plant which I think has done very well.

I only realised last weekend that there are still some potatoes in the ground at the allotment, I had forgotten all about them. I will make sure that they get dug up this weekend. The potatoes I am growing in containers in the hope of new potatoes at Christmas are doing really well. They've now been earthed up to the top of the container and they're residing in the greenhouse. I will make sure that they also get a covering of fleece before we get a frost just to give them a little extra protection.

As well as digging up the remaining potatoes, I'm hoping to get some more clearing and digging done at the allotment this weekend. It's certainly worth digging the allotment over in autumn if at all possible as the frosts break down the clods of earth and it really is much easier to work the following year. So fingers crossed for some fine weather this weekend.

Neighbours...Everybody Needs Good Neighbours

Our next door neighbour has quite a few apple trees in her garden and yesterday she gave us a dozen baking apples. I don't know what kind they are. My daughter made a delicious apple pie with some of them and I ate more than my fair share of it. I'm going to make some more pies to pop in the freezer.

Hubby gave the greenhouse it's final tidy out over the weekend. The remaining tomatoes have all been brought inside to finish ripening on a windowsill and the plants have been disposed of. I never add tomato plants to the compost just in case there's any blight around, perhaps I'm just being over cautious. The potatoes which have been planted up in containers for Christmas have now been moved in to the greenhouse to protect them from any frost we might get, though we haven't had any yet.

I had a trip to the allotment yesterday and harvested yet more French beans. I was still picking them late last year too. Even the courgettes are still producing, I brought four home with me and there's more growing and yet more flowers still to open. I don't think it will be long before we get a frost though and that will finish them off. I cleared the flower bed, bringing home the sunflower heads to dry in the greenhouse. They will then be put out for the birds.

Still More To Come

I've just picked another few tomatoes from my plants, but there's still more to come if I can get them to ripen. My greenhouse is only four foot by six foot, not big by any stretch of the imagination, but it holds enough tomato plants to keep me supplied throughout summer. I'm reluctant to plant tomatoes at the allotment because of the risk of blight, I hear so many stories of people losing their whole crop to blight that it's much safer to keep tomatoes to the greenhouse. On the whole, I've been very pleased with my tomatoes this year, and will definitely be growing some of the same varieties again next year. In the past, I've always tried some new varieties each year, but I've been so happy with the varieties I've grown this year that I don't know if I'll bother next year.

Earlier on in the year, my daughter won a competition run by Wyevales and one of her prizes was a grafted pepper plant. Grafted plants are supposed to be less prone to disease and more likely to produce a good crop which will ripen outdoors. I had high hopes of harvesting lots of peppers, but the plant has only produced six, three earlier on in the year and three which are still ripening on the plant. I think I'll stick with growing from seed, though I think I'll grow more plants next year as I've become quite partial to peppers this year. I'd be interested to hear which varieties have grown well for you, and if you've grown them in a greenhouse or outdoors.

I didn't manage to get to the allotment this weekend, though we had a gorgeous day here on Sunday. Instead we took a walk at Newmillerdam Country Park, you can read about it on my other blog, Through The Keyhole.

Decisions, Decisions

It's that time of year again when the seed catalogues are dropping through the letterbox, and we're deciding what we want to grow next year. I've also had a trip to Wyevale Garden Centre at York, where they were selling off packets of seeds for 50p, so I couldn't come away empty handed. I always tend to buy a packet of cucumber seeds when the sale's on as they're always so expensive to buy otherwise. This time I've gone for Prima Top which is a F1 all female, mini fruited greenhouse type. These should have been £3.99 for the packet which only contains five seeds, so I consider 50p to be a bargain.

I bought a packet of marrow seeds in the Wyevale sale too. I've never grown marrow before, but this year, I used some of my overgrown courgettes as marrows and stuffed them with minced beef, tomatoes and feta cheese and they were delicious, so I decided I would grow the real thing next year.

It's very damp and misty here today but there's a couple of sunny days predicted for Sunday and Monday. I'm hoping the forcast is right as I need to put in some serious work on the plot, I'm so behind with everything.