All together now....rain drops keep falling on my head..

   What can I say? This will be a short blog as really nothing much has been done. Some thinking about sowing what and where and oh my seed order from Real Seeds has arrived. This week the ground has gone from workable to liquid mud. I have managed to get some forking and weeding done before the rain came but now the ground is impossible again. I have removed two barrow loads of liquid mud from my front drive. It is the disadvantage of being at the end of the road. If the ditches have not been cleared I get the washed down mud in my drive. Fortunately the ditches had been cleared for this last lot of rain but its a continuous battle considering my drive is not metalled or gravelled very well.
   Continue to pull carrots, swede and parsnips. The last of the savoy type cabbage went to feed the rams. They enjoyed them. Not many carrots left. A few white cabbage, small, but still big enough to eat. Plenty of leeks still. Note to self. Eat leeks.
   Spring is around the corner. If this mild weather continues I reckon spring in my neck of the woods will be about a month early. Crocus's are in flower as are snowdrops with daffodils in sheltered places already showing buds. 18Jour (18Day) radish sown in the poly tunnel on the 7th January have germinated. 
   Withing the next couple of weeks I will have to go and purchase my seed potatoes, onions and shallots. I am hoping soon for a few dry days so that I can sow some parsnip, hopefully at the beginning of February.
    So as the rhyme says
Rain, rain go away
Come again another day.Rain, rain go awayLittle Rodger wants to play. 

Steady as she goes!

   All right! The pace quickens to get outside jobs done before it either rains or freezes! I have  finally been able to get out into the garden for a reasonable amount of time. I have been busy tidying up. Jobs that should have been done last autumn are finally getting done. Gusts of wind have taken down my bean poles so I have cleared them away. I need a new set. They should have been removed before now. The weather has been kind enough to allow me to fork and weed so I have been busy. The soil in places is on the heavy side but it is workable. Lots still to do but if I can  get on top of it now then I might be ahead of the game. I continue to pull carrots, swede, beetroot, leeks and cut cabbage and pick sprouts. The cabbage is coming to an end but they have been a good crop. Certainly the sheep like them! The carrot critters have returned for another year attacking my carrots. They are very clever. They attack the carrot from underneath and hollow it out. When I go to pull the carrot all  I get is the top and a hollow carrot!
   No change on the animal front. Three chickens are laying quite regularly now which is welcome. It is good to get eggs with deep yellow yolks rather than those pale ones bought from the supermarket. The rams are having to be feed hay twice a day as there is little grass for them. The ewes are managing in the big field.
   The river overflowed its banks last week. I have never seen it so high but of course it could have been as high in previous years. I just would not have seen it!
  Fingers crossed for continued drier weather and mild temperatures. I can then crack on with preparing the vegetable plots.

Normally you would see standing stones here

Critter attacked carrot

Blown over bean sticks

Here we go....prepare your engine!

    Here we are into January 2018. I have ordered my seeds from the Real Seed catalogue with a couple of new varieties to try. A new squash, Volskay Grey, a new chili, Alberto Locoto (I resisted the temptation to buy a hotter variety!), a new cucumber, Gergana and just for fun a mixed variety of lettuce which the Real Seed Catalogue calls Morton's Secret Mix.
   The weather continues to be wet. Some more heavy rain and wind along with an almost continuous drizzle. The ground is saturated. Even in my field that is sloping towards the river the water is settled on the service.
   January. Time to decide whether one takes a chance in the poly tunnel. I have prepared a small bed to sow coriander and 18Jour (18Day) radish. I have had good success in the poly tunnel with sowing 18Jour radish early. I need to resist sowing tomatoes too early and to have the patient to wait until the second week of February!
   Fingers crossed the chickens are starting to lay again. Our Limousin and Mrs. Chick (she lays very small eggs) are laying and I discovered eggs in the Ixworth/buff orpington coop. We could be up to four eggs a day! Hopefully the Buffy's will start laying soon as they are coming up to a year old. Total egg production for 2017 was in the region (have to say that as I was away for a few weeks and records were not kept!) of 1356 eggs. That includes broken eggs (not that many really) and duck eggs. 2018 total was 1480 and really that is not a big difference considering we lost three hens in 2017. The female duck did really well. It will be interesting to see how see does in 2018.
   Still pulling, cutting and picking winter vegetable. Carrots, cabbage, sprouts, parsnips, beetroot, leeks. They need to be eaten up to be honest! With the wet weather it is a sorry task digging up parsnips and carrots I can tell you. The critters that hollow out the carrots are back. It is so amusing to pull a carrot to only have the top come off and underneath a neatly hollowed out carrot. Annoying but amusing.
   So here we go then. A new season is starting. Wonder how my over winter peas are gong to do? Umm.