Seeds, Plants, Potatoes and Gardening Information

Week seven

February 11th - February 18th

2003

The cold spell continues. I have now pruned the blackberries, pruned the autunm fruiting raspberries and started on the gooseberries. Although the weekend was cold it was bright, dry, and sunny with north eastery stiff breeze. Ideal for the first bonfire of the year to burn the prunnings on.

2002 17th February

Bought a bag of blood fish and bone and two bags of early potatoes (Swift and Concorde no Maris Bard left). Planted out Japanese onions in ground prepared with blood fish and bone. Pruned Autumn raspberries down to the ground. Pruned gooseberries. Planted out a row of goosberry bushes rooted from last years two year wood prunnings. Dug up more potatoes and cleaned out spear grass putting them on a bonfire of prunings. I have joined (after many years of resisting the temptation) the bonfire gardeners. Most of my allotment neighbor's have regular bonfires. In the past I have always tried to compost rather than burn. Burning is certainly a much quicker way of getting rid off prunings etc. although I still think that composting is the better, if more time consuming, practice. I must now start getting into digging gear. I need ground prepared for onion sets, broad beans, peas, carrots, etc.etc.

2000

Weekend 12/13 Good weather for gardening. Although the wind was cool the sun shone. I've now finished planting shallots after buying yet more from the allotment shed. The apple trees still need some pruning but not so much after this weekend. Last years crop was so heavy for one of the trees that it broke two of the branches, one of them surprisingly large. The weather was warm enough and the ground dry enough for seed sowing. Although I'm probably going to regret sowing sprout seed so early the Early Nantes carrots should be OK. The row of garlic is now making an appearance above ground and will need hoeing next week. Hoed the beans again after giving them a dressing of wood ash. The asparagus bed has been under carpets since last autumn and now has a layer of mulch from the compost heap emptied at the beginning of the year. It's like the filling in a sandwich. Harold gave me several climbing (or rambling?) roses one of which is now planted under the apple tree. A move that I will probably regret in years to come.

1999

February 14th

After a week of ice and snow we are still suffering very low night temperatures.
Although some patches of snow refuse to disappear most of the ground is clear. The Autumn sown broad beans have so far stood up to the ordeal well and the garlic is beginning to break through the surface of the ground despite the weather.
The soil is still frozen and unworkable for seed sowing.
Pruned gooseberry bushes.