Diary week seven Feb 11th - Feb 18th
2006
Saturday February 18th 2006. I have started to dig up and re-plant some of the autumn sown broad beans to fill the gaps left by those that the mice ate. By the time I'm finished I should just about have enough for the two rows to be complete.
The area under my seedling plum tree has the new strawberries and some gooseberries cuttings growing there. The strawberries looked happy and I took most of the afternoon the dig over and weed the area moving all but one of the gooseberries and about half of the strawberries further away from under the tree making a bigger bed.
I'm pruning the central apple tree bit by bit but it is hard to get at the center of the tree with the snowdrops underneath and the climbing rose around it's main branches.
Gave Adam a Taeberry plant that was a rooted tip the year before last. My original plant is quite large now was given to me by Geoff. Every year there are rooted tips in the grass around my original plant. It needs pruning, weeding, and feeding now.
Wednesday February 15th 2006 It rained hard last night but that has finished now and as this is the first sunny day we have had here for ages - I thought I would take a look at the bee hives and see if the bees were flying. I am glad to report that all the hives had some flying bees. Some hives did look stronger and more active than others - but all had some activity going on. However, it is too early to say that all of my hives have survived the winter because even at this stage a hive can fail for no apparent reason and all the bees in the hive die.
As the sun was out so too were the aconites and snowdrops and the bees were wasting no time in collecting pollen as the sun opened the flowers ready to receive them.
Sunday 12th February 2006. The day was dominated by a steady drizzle so working under a tree seemed like a good idea. One or two green spikes are beginning to appear in the pots where I sowed snowdrop seed last year and I've decided to put the pots under the first tree to flower on my plot - the red cherry plum near the bee-keeping shed. This is not a 'site' that I have used before so there was an afternoons work needed pruning the tree and clearing the ground underneath it from bindweed. It won't be the only time I will have to do that this year so I haven't sunk the pots into the ground yet as I reckon another weeding in early summer will be time enough to do that.
If the weather doesn't cheer up a bit it will be a struggle for this year's snowdrops to set seed in the same way as last year.
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 2002 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.
The North wind does blow and we shall have snow.
Saturday February 18th 2006. I have started to dig up and re-plant some of the autumn sown broad beans to fill the gaps left by those that the mice ate. By the time I'm finished I should just about have enough for the two rows to be complete.
The area under my seedling plum tree has the new strawberries and some gooseberries cuttings growing there. The strawberries looked happy and I took most of the afternoon the dig over and weed the area moving all but one of the gooseberries and about half of the strawberries further away from under the tree making a bigger bed.
I'm pruning the central apple tree bit by bit but it is hard to get at the center of the tree with the snowdrops underneath and the climbing rose around it's main branches.
Gave Adam a Taeberry plant that was a rooted tip the year before last. My original plant is quite large now was given to me by Geoff. Every year there are rooted tips in the grass around my original plant. It needs pruning, weeding, and feeding now.
Wednesday February 15th 2006 It rained hard last night but that has finished now and as this is the first sunny day we have had here for ages - I thought I would take a look at the bee hives and see if the bees were flying. I am glad to report that all the hives had some flying bees. Some hives did look stronger and more active than others - but all had some activity going on. However, it is too early to say that all of my hives have survived the winter because even at this stage a hive can fail for no apparent reason and all the bees in the hive die.
As the sun was out so too were the aconites and snowdrops and the bees were wasting no time in collecting pollen as the sun opened the flowers ready to receive them.
Sunday 12th February 2006. The day was dominated by a steady drizzle so working under a tree seemed like a good idea. One or two green spikes are beginning to appear in the pots where I sowed snowdrop seed last year and I've decided to put the pots under the first tree to flower on my plot - the red cherry plum near the bee-keeping shed. This is not a 'site' that I have used before so there was an afternoons work needed pruning the tree and clearing the ground underneath it from bindweed. It won't be the only time I will have to do that this year so I haven't sunk the pots into the ground yet as I reckon another weeding in early summer will be time enough to do that.
If the weather doesn't cheer up a bit it will be a struggle for this year's snowdrops to set seed in the same way as last year.
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 2002 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.
The North wind does blow and we shall have snow.
