Its done!

   It has been a busy week. The weather has been good with early frosts most days but once that sun comes over the ridge it is very pleasant indeed.

  So with the nice weather l have taken the opportunity to pretty much finish my bulb bank. In fact I did not have much choice as my grand children bought me boxes of bulbs for Christmas that to have any chance of surviving needed to go in. Believe you me a few beers were consummed over the time of clearing, preparing and planting this area! The most important tool I had once the brambles were removed was a mattock. Used for digging up stones and believe me there were lots of those, breaking up soil and chopping through tree roots it is ideal. I am now eargerly awaiting to see what the bulbs I planted earlier will look like when they flower.

  What else? Well I decided to risk sowing some peas after my youngest grandson asked me if I was going to grown peas. He likes picking and eating peas! I put up some pea netting and sowed a row. I also transplanted a number of Sanquine beetroot plants from the polly tunnel to an outside bed again hoping they will survive any frosts. They should. They are pretty tough!

  Chickens are being chickens with nothing unusual to say about them.

The start 21st November 2020

After clearing and planting 27th February 2021

The Mattock the tool of choice

So changeable...

    The weather changes again! Still a morning frost but the sun is shinning and its warm! Temperatures have hit 19C! So with the better and warmer weather I have more desire to get on with the work in the garden. It has been a busy week. I wonder if I will soon be moaning that the ground is getting too dry?

    My planned onion and shallot bed was cleared, forked, weeded and planted! Stuttgarter Risen and Sturon onion along with Red Sun shallots. A spill over bed was also prepared and planted up with Sturon onion, Champeau banana shallots and Champeau Violet garlic (called Champeau as the sets are the harvest of sets bought last year so are now home grown rather than bought!). I have never planted garlic in the spring before so this will be an interesting experiment. My over winter garlic bed is doing well as are the early purple sprouting which is  now ready to pick. The rhubarb is showing and I have covered it up with manure and some wire to stop the chickens from scratching in it!  The broad beans are growing well and I have hoed and weeded inbetween one half. The other half bed the beans are still small but they are coming along. The early purple sprouting is now ready to pick. The last of the Brussel sprouts are being eaten and all in all I am pleased with the crop. In the poly tunnel Great Lakes lettuce and 18Jour radish sowed and put under a cloche. I have found that early sown lettuce works later I need to buy in plants. Also sown in the poly tunnel Greyhound cabbage.

  I have now more or less completed my attempt at a "no dig" bed and look forward to expanding my population of stawberry plants from runners. Another bed has been forked and weeded and will probably have some early peas sown in it.

  I have bought a new toy! An electric propagator. Never had one before but this year I am determined to grow sweet peppers and probably chili's and so I needed to get them off to an early start. Another interesting experiment!

 Chickens are being chickens and normal maintenance done and an average of 3.25 eggs a day being laid!

Main onion and shallot bed

New toy...electric propagator

Second onion banana shallot and garlic bed

Its freezing!

   The weather has once again been dominating the week. It has been very cold and most mornings there has been a frost. Several days of frost is probably not a bad thing as it will kill off the bugs I do not like! I have been feeding the birds and they really like sunflower seeds. 

   So what have I managed to do? Not a lot but I have managed to do some more work on the bulb bank. The piles of stones on top of the bank have now been moved and added to the path at the bottom. A little more done on the rest of the bank and yes yet more stones some quite big! I speculate that there was some sort of enclosure probably for animals on this patch of ground a very long time ago as there was a very large conifer growing over one part of the wall that I had cut down. Looking ahead to the next few days the weather is warmer, a lot warmer, and dry. This is going to be my opportunity to plant the onion sets and shallots I think!

   Chickens are being chickens with egg productin remaining at an average of four a day.

Clearing the other half of the bulb bank

My helper

Dull, grey and yes rain

    The weather continues to be wet. Little done again this week. Moved a few barrows of stones to complete the initial laying of the path at the bottom of the bulb bank but that is it! 

At least one layer of stones along the lenght

   I would like to say the weather is getting better but the weather forecast for next week has one day without rain. Hopefully the forecasted rain will be little and maybe just maybe I can get out and get on. Soon be time to plant onions and shallots and the first sowing of carrots and parsnips. Still need to prepare some ground and I will probably sow seeds under clouches to try to protect them a little from the rain. 

   The river is very high and I guess will remain so. Chickens are being chickens and nothing  unusual  going on with them. The bulb bank is now showing a lot of sprouting bulbs so the promise of a really good display is on the cards. Other narcissi are in flower with many more soon to open up. Ought to be picking a bunch in the next few days.

   Here is hoping for some drier weather!