Tatties!!!!

Have done nothing but digging for the past month - except for pricking out chillis a couple of weeks ago - not that anybody would have noticed anyway. (Is there an award for the blog most ignored by everyone in webland?) I blame Dom's moon calender thingy which seems to have very little going on in it at the moment!!

Today though, as well as digging, I put in a mixed row of first earlies - 10 Swift and 10 Pentlan Javelin from Focus and 15 Homeguard from the lotty association. So the season has well and truly started - let's hope it's a good en.

Sown Celeriac today. Thanks to Dom's calendar, I am well ahead this year than before. And I have a serious shortage if indoor growing space. I am hoping that my Dad has some room for seed trays in his greenhouse.

I sowed some peas (Meteor) in guttering yesterday. I can't fi the guttering in my small growhouse so they are outside. Hopefully, the seed won't rot during this cold spell.

Middle England Moaners

People who moan about how our country 'grinds to a halt' at the first sign of snow and how it never used to be like this, and they cope so much better in Germany, Denmark, Sweden etc really get on my nerves - sorry - too much listening to Radio 5.

We get snow so rarely in this country, why should tax payers be asked to fork out millions on us being better prepared. The countries they always cite, have a lot more snow than us so it is financially worthwhile being better prepared. Also, the schools never used to close when I was a kid argument is because there weren't so many cars and property prices were slightly more sane. Teachers etc used to live near the schools they worked in, not like today where most drive considerable distances. It's the same where City centres grind to a halt. Traffic driving in from outside has concertinaed causing bottle necks. What's wrong with the country grinding to a halt for a day or two anyway?

PS - my school was open btw.

PPS - today was Broad Bean and Pea day so I sowed some Aquadulce Broad Beans

I haven't been to the plot today - guinea pigs and footy got in the way. But as per Dom's instructions, I have sown some cabbage and put them in the prop - two types so I don't have do to much successional sowing - Greyhound for early summer and Wheelers Imperial for later summer. Never sown them this early before - I may do a second sowing March time too.

Yesterday, following Dom's Lunar Calendar as an experiment, I sowed 3 types of Aubergine - Half Long Violette, Versaba and the standard Black Beauty. I also sowed 11 varieties of chilli and some from a mixed (Hot & Spicy) pack. The eleven named varieties are Habanero Peach, Habanero Orange, Hot Lemons, Cherry Bomb, Large Jalapeno, Scicilian, Thai, Thai Dragon, Grilling (unknow var), Numex Twilight, Cayenne.

Harvest up the allotment has been quite good this year - lots of Kale and Cabbage. My sprouts have once again been disappointing - I will grow good sprouts - the trench method has not stopped them blowing. I think I will have to get some wood to make good heavy duty stakes this year.

I have had less parsnips but some of them have been massive so swings and roundabouts. My leeks are small but I have loads.

It is looking like I might get some PSB this year - unlike last.

Sorry for the long absence - have had problems fitting my life into my life - hopefully will be back soon.

PS - sorted out my strawberry bed today.

Update

Time for an update. My squash are rampant - will definitely be bottle cloching them next year and will set them a couple of weeks earlier too so they get a head start. The only one that isn't is the butternut - both I set were very very sluggish then one died and the remaining one is still way behind the other squash. All the plants have set fruit - one of my Jack o'Lantern pumpkins is already the size of a grapefruit so I am very pleased as I have always struggled with squash. The summer squash are producing fruit too and I already know which marrow is going to the cossetted to hugeness!

Runners are nearly at the top of their 8 foot canes and are starting to set beans - so are my first sowing of French beans. My sweetcorn is doing very nicely as are the underplanted French beans - I gap filled those today.

I now have all my summer and winter brassicas in except for calabrese and swede - those shall go in soon.

Today, I put in my leeks. The ones sown at the plot were much bigger than the ones sown in trays at home so this is the way that I shall do most of them in future.

We are now digging potatoes - much better than last year but the shear size of the tops this year has stopped me getting in to do as much earthing up as I would have liked so not expecting massive yields. My spring broad beans are yielding nicely but have now peaked so hopefully the summer beans will be ready before they finish. I am also picking red russian kale which appears to have gone mad.

My maincrop carrots have started germinating this week - at last. No sign of the spring onions that were sown with them though.