WoooooooooooHooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

WoooooooooooHooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! WoooooooooooHooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! WoooooooooooHooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Should have known it - they painted new white lines on the school field on Monday - they came to mow it today (need rolly eyes smiley!!!!) Anyway, fetched grass rake from plot - and did some hand weeding. Got "Big Hands" in my boot. Got black plastic bags. Tomorrow pm, before I come home for PPA, gonna rake the field and fill me bags!!!!!

PS - me shallots are starting to show signs of life.

Blogging for bloggings sake!!!!!

Gotta keep up the pace - seems somebody out there is keeping track!!!!

Curly Kale, Pablo, Forellenschloss and Bresson Rouge have all germinated - just waiting for Grandpa Admire now but as he such an old geezer, he may be a bit behind the others.

Broadies on my shed still looking mighty fine. Had something dig in one of my leeky washing up bowls - which are at the top of the growhouse so not want of the cats looking for a leak. Hope I haven't got rats again!!!!! The leeks outside are a bit sluggish but the ones inside (that are now out) germinated very well - did not sow as thinly as I thought so will be pricking out from there into the other two washing up bowls containing the outside sluggish leeks.

Gotta sow some toms at the weekend - and probably a ton of other stuff.

Need a ton more grass clippings - anybody got any??????

Keep up boys and girls!!!!

Following on from yesterday am, yesterday pm I got another 5m row of Home Guard in. Have Arran Pilots up me passage (ph-nar ph-nar) desperately trying to get out. As Icy puts it, the chits are so long, they will soon be developing potatoes.

After the calabrese poked its head above the parapet with 100% germination, the red cabbage followed (100%) again along with Kohl Rabi (also 100%) and the All Year Round Cauli (good germination). The sprouts and swede are coming up in dribs and drabs (older seed) and I have resown where nothing has shown just in case it doesn't. This year I am using the windowsill propagators more as they have handy modules that come in sixes. Sowing a bigger variety of things in smaller unit sizes. For instance - not a huge call for red cabbage, so only have six of them whereas have 12 each of the sprouts, cauli, calabrese etc.

Today, I have sown sweet peppers, some curly kale (only six at this stage, more to follow) and four types of lettuce - Grandpa Admire's, Pablo, Forellenschloss and Bresson Rouge. Trying to grow varieties of salad that aren't available in the shops - although Little Gem, Salad Bowl etc will probably find themtselves up at the plot at some point.

Spring deffo here

This morning I got a 5m row of Home Guard in (only 5m I here you say - but it is in the most difficult of this years tattie area having developed a nice covering of weeds over this mild winter, and I also dug out a compost heap). Bit experimental - trench dug, lined with shredded paper, potatoes in (33cm apart) another layer of shredded paper, a generous layer of grass clippings and then a generous layer of home-made compost (tis why I dug out my compost bin) Finally, a thin covering of soil. Hopefully that should get them through any dry spells alright. Will let you know how they do.

Calabrese poked their heads above the compost today - sharp little buggers they are. Only been in since Saturday night. They are now sitting on a coolish windowsill in the hope that they will not get as leggy as the Greyhound that were sown about 4 weeks ago.

Dig, dig, dig, dig, diggin - dig a little bed for me. Jeez me back hurts - more roots like below but the soil is looking good and at least I have done more than I had done last year. Now I just need to pull me finger out and start sowing some things to go in the lurrvely beds I have dug. Just had a look at Max's blog though and it looks like he has a bigger couch problem on his than I have on mine. And that rock will take some moving.

This evening I shall be sowing sprouts (Evesham and Seven Hills), dwarf curly kale, cauliflower (All Year Round), Kohl Rabi, Red Cabbage and Calabrese - finger well and truly pulled out.

Right - for Andy this the cheeky blighter. Got all me onion sets in, decided there wasn't enough so bought some more so have about 360 onions, 160 garlics, and 15 shallots (slight imbalance methinks). Now concentrating on digging bits that have not been dug in the two years I have had me plot. Tis a bugger. Tree roots, raspberry roots, bramble roots and bastard couch thistle roots. Need space for me parsnips (White Gem) and me cabbage (Greyhound) so that is what I will be doing this weekend. Just taken me last leeks out - spring onions me OH called them. Kale is going over but the sprouty bits are delish. PSB is heading up nicely so may have some of that Sunday.

Ooooooooooooh!!!! T'as been dry for a few days now and the sun has shone. Think I might get up the plot tomorrow and get my onion sets in. Bit more action on the plot equals a bit more action on the blog.