GARDENING BLOG

Diary week five January 28th - February 5th

2005

February 3rd 2005 As Bernie commented today you wouldn't have complained about the weather today in the middle of summer. It was warm. The bees were flying and visiting one snowdrop and aconite after another. My crocus are not out yet -- I'm not quite sure why, maybe I still don't have the earliest varieties planted. I have a mixed collection of snowdrops some taller and earlier flowering than others but I don't feel at all confident in identifying them. Apart from sorting them by size and single and double flowers I'm stumped. The Sam Arnott are growing in a separate container so I can identify them.

Sunday 30th January 2005 It was warm enough for the bees to be flying this Sunday and some of the bees in most of the hives took advantage of a chance to get out.

I sowed the first carrots of the year.

The allotment shed opened for the first time this year and I bought four sacks of seed potatoes, although I wasn't very adventurous in my choice and bought the same as last year. I also bought the first packets of seed (carrots, radish, cabbage) both red and white onion sets and a bag of blood fish and bone.

I am looking forward to seeing my new 'Sam Arnott' snowdrops in bloom. The first one has started to flower already.

2004

We have had a thick fall of snow since last weekend although the weather had turned much milder by Saturday and not sign of snow was left. Fortunately the snow came down fast and the small lettuce planted out last weekend seemed to have survived the cold

All four hives in the two allotments had flying bees this weekend - a very good sign that they all could have come through the winter OK and all have laying queens at home.

I have purchased yet more seed potatoes and now a 3kg bag of Maris Bard - early, Wilja - mid season, Kestrel mid to main, and Romano a red main crop. I have bought a bag of red onion sets and some more shallots.

John was working on the greenhouse when I arrived at the end allotment and between us we have now put in the glass. It just needs some staging at the end and that will then be ready to move into.

Moved scaffolding poles with Fergle to make a runner bean support across his plot.

Continued the once a year cleanup along the bramble boundary - the snowdrops put in last year by the greengage tree seemed to have survived the long hot summer. I will put some more in next to them in the coming weeks.

Fed the spring cabbage with liquid feed

2003 Everything is under a thick coat of snow

2002 Feb. 4/5th

It is, I know, mainly laziness that has prevented me getting up to the allotment until this weekend for the first time this year, although I blame it on the pressure of work - of course.

The weather has been so warm just recently that again it is not at all like winter. The work that is awaiting me on the plot is plentiful. I have yet to prune the fruit trees and gooseberries and as the weather is warm there is plenty of digging to do. On this occasion I dug up some remaining potatoes cleaned the area of spear grass (when it goes through a potato you can see why it called spear grass) and planted out some shallots in the clear area.

I know that by the book I should have dug the potatoes up well before Christmas and it is true that I have lost a small percentage to frost damage. We had a hard frost around the Christmas break that managed to penetrate where there wasn't a covering of grass keeping the potatoes warm. If my soil wasn't so light and sandy leaving potatoes in would an open invitation for slugs eating them underground. Fortunately that isn't a problem.

Where I had dug the potatoes up in the Autumn and cleaned out the weed gave me space to plant out the shallots on the traditional shortest day of the year. To be pedantic I actually put mine in the day before because the weather was so fine. You can't see the benefits of this early planting without digging one of them up and inspecting the root system. Those planted before Christmas have a well established root system as compared with those that have just been planted that of course have none. It pays to plant shallots before Christmas.

The allotment shed was busy selling seed potatoes and onion sets plus the usual packets of seed and all the other gardening sundries. I bought some blood fish and bone to feed the spring cabbage, some onion sets and a packet of carrot seed. The potatoes will have to wait until next week.

Next week will be the time to get seriously busy on the onion front. Not only do I have a bag full of onion sets to plant out but two rows of Japanese seedlings as well. I made the mistake of leaving the Japanese Onion transplanting too late last year so I am remembering the great crop I had in the 2000 and intend to get them moved in good time - next week!

2000