Well, I do not know where the time has gone. I just noticed today that I had not updated my blog for over two weeks. Shame on me.
The weather has not been particularly kind. There has been more rain but there have been one or two really nice days and I have managed to get on.
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| Violet Garlic |
The field beans and garlic are looking good. I am really pleased with the garlic.
Winter leeks are standing well but the parsnips and swede are now done. I have left a couple of parsnips to hopefully go to seed.
The narcissus are growing well and the crocus are a nice splash of colour. On the warmer days the bees have be active.
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| Crocus pot |
Since the beginning of February seeds have germinated and grown. I have just transplanted fifty Roma tomato plants into pots and placed them in the poly tunnel fleece cloche. More tomato seed has been sown, Latah, Ethel Watkins Best, Millefluer (home produced!) Irish Gardeners delight, Stupice, Galina and Champeau Yellow Giant to name some. This year I will plant grape tomato's in the poly tunnel and all else outside. I continue to try to find a cabbage that will grow reasonably well. So far little success, however, I have sown early Louvier cabbage sown which have now germinated. This variety looks promising so maybe I will have cabbage! It looks a bit like a primo. I have some I over wintered in the poly tunnel and they look good. Some spring cabbage in the outside garden also looks good so fingers crossed there maybe some cabbage from the garden this spring! Cauliflower, aubergine and celeriac are growing and the cauliflower will soon need to transplanted to pots. Spring onions have been a hit and miss crop with last year the only success was with ones sown in the autumn. It was too wet to do that last autumn and so this year I sowed them outside under a cloche. Yes! Success! They have germinated under the cloche. I have dared to sow parsnips. Two varieties. Tender and True and de Guernesey (french seed). I have put some fleece over these to keep the chickens off and I am sure the fleece will also help warm up the soil a little.
I dug up my Jerusalem artichokes and got a large amount of tubers. Not so sure as to whether or not we like these.
I have also been splitting up the felled oak tree and moving the wood to the wood hanger. One barrow full a day is as much as I want to shift from the river to the house! What I need now is more dry days to enable me to get on with preparing the vegetable beds.
There is warmth behind the sun! As has been the case in previous years once February turns up one can really feed the warmth in the sun when one gets it! Seed potatoes are bought and are set out in seed trays to chit. Rosebelle (red), Desiree (red), Belle de Fontenay and Franceline. Franceline (french for Frances) would seem to be a newish variety. More seeds have germinated - Little Gem lettuce, Roma tomatoes, Ambition shallots, cauliflower and celeriac. In the "bulb bank" a lot more crocus's have flowered. Fruit buds are showing the early signs of swelling.
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| Seed potatoes chitting |
Maybe I should eat my words? The weather has turned wet and windy although it is still mild. Long may the mild weather continue. The ground being very wet I have not been able to do much on the veggie plots. I have managed to turn over an area in which I will be sowing parsnips. The soil is saturated. There have been a couple of days where I have managed to get out and do some winter clearing up. The house garden now looks a little tidier but still more to do. I have been climbing up the plum and apple trees pruning away and allowing light to get to the centre of the trees. I do not think anything has been done to these trees for a good number of years. I am happy with what I have done this year but more needs to be done with them and will now have to wait until this autumn. I now have another pile of wood to burn! A quiet week really. The vegetables that are still left in the garden are now really coming to an end. Turnips, a swede or two, spinach and a few carrots. My late sowing celeriac look like they will give us something, better than nothing I guess. Still to dig up Jerusalem artichokes and oca.
In the poly tunnel the potato's continue to survive and the French shallots look good. I have peas growing and they are going to need to be supported despite the fact they are dwarf ones! No sign of the spring onions yet. Winter leaves are hanging in there as are the few salad bowl lettuce plants. Time to tell the rain Gods to switch off!
