Perfect! Just perfect!

   I just love this time of year. The change from winter to spring to summer. It is just lovely. The air is cool, the sun is warm on your back but not to hot to stop one from working in the garden. So it is crack on time! The ground is just about perfect for weeding and forking. The forecast is for a couple of weeks of fine weather so here is hoping that I can get on top of things. There is generally a frost in the morning but by mid-day it is time to get out there and get busy!
   So having waxed lyrical what have I been up to? Trying to get ahead of the weeds  that is what! Weeding and forking. My little chicken friend has been keeping me company and has been virtually under my fork gobbling up the worms as soon as I turn over the soil. She is not afraid at all! Beds are now all but ready for the planting of onion and shallot sets. Still have not bought those but I will this week. It is a must!
    Look who came to visit....

The sun is shinning the ground is WET!

   Well almost another two weeks has passed and nothing much done in the garden. The ground is still very wet but is improving. I have rescued my early purple sprouting from the chickens but I fear it may be too late. Still no seed potatoes in the shops despite people in other areas saying that they have theirs. Hopefully end of next week will see them in my local shops.
   The chickens have  take a liking to my broad beans! Honestly I do wonder sometimes as to whether or not it is worth having the chickens. Talking of chickens Mrs. Buffy (a Buff Orphington hen) has gone broody!  Stupid bird. Anyway we were planning to incubate the seven Ixworth eggs I had so they will be incubated naturally! It will be interesting to see how many hatch if any.
   Looking forward to getting on with sowing tomatoes and maybe some other stuff in the next couple of weeks.

That time is creeping closer

   What can I say? The last week weather wise has been abysmal! Snow, rain and wind one after the other. The ground is now well and truly saturated. My daily log shows...nothing. Chickens are laying well and my daughters pair of dogs are enjoying sitting and laying in front of the wood burner.
   End of next week should see the seed potatoes and onion/shallot sets in the bricos and garden centres (Bricos are hardware shops of various sizes and they sell garden stuff). So I will plan a trip to see what is on offer. A fellow contributor to a gardening Facebook group is sending me some Crown Prince squash seeds and I am looking forward to growing them.

First snow of winter in my neck of the woods

Up and ......

   Ok I finally feel like I am getting going! Over the last week the weather has been reasonable, that is, not too wet, not to cold, not to frosty! So, what have I got done? Well I have started to tackle the poly tunnel and I have sown some early peas and some 18Jour (18day) radish!. Outside I have sown a small number of broad beans. More as an experiment that anything. It is really too early or too late depending from which end of the season you look at it. Anyway if I do not try... As long as the ground does not freeze or it pours with rain I will be out there over the next week getting some plots ready for onions, shallots and potatoes. By the end of next week I fully expect onions, shallots and seed potatoes to be in the shops!
   Garlic, broad beans, onions all doing nicely. Chickens destroyed the early purple sprouting. Really my fault as I did not repair the hole in the netting quickly enough. 
   On the animal front the Ixworths are laying and I am putting the eggs to one side. We intend to try to incubate them and raise them either for the freezer if coqs or to increase the flock if hens! The other chickens are laying well and the sheep..well are being sheep.
   So on I go. Spring is around the corner. Unfortunately for me the worst of the winter is yet to come! February and March tend to be the worst winter months. 


   

A new season begins

   Well,  yes a new season does begin. What have I done? Nothing. Oops. I cannot even blame the weather. Yes, been damp but not impossible to garden and yes it has been on the cold side but again not that cold. Must be getting old.
   So that is Christmas and New Year over and done with once more. It has been a good Christmas with just about the right amount of food and to honest to much to drink although if you looked at the collection of bottles for recycling you would not think so.
    Winter vegetables this year have been a complete disaster. No leeks, no cabbage, no carrots, no swede, chicken devastated early purple sprouting, very few sprouts and only a few parsnips. Must do better! It is time to turn to thinking of getting those early radishes sown in the poly tunnel and maybe some peas? Umm. I have some beetroot in the tunnel that looks good so I am hopeful for early beetroot. Outside the poly tunnel there are good looking broad beans, about an inch or so high. I reckon that is perfect for this time of year. My experiment with over winter onions is looking  good with all the sets having grown leaves. The garlic looks good but I suspect it will be a mediocre crop. So I am set up well I guess. Another couple of weeks and it will be onion, shallot and potato purchasing time. How the year flies.

Growing garlic

Over winter onions

Broad beans

Devastated purple sprouting

Short and sweet!

    I took a look at my garden log since the my last  published blog. It is blank. That is not good. What excuses can I find? Run up to Christmas, Christmas celebrations, run up to New  Year, New Year celebrations? Well yes but not really. Just have not got out there! Really need to. What is doing ok are the French broad beans, garlic, over winter onions and the Egyptian (walking onions). All have benefited from the mild and damp weather. The chickens got into the early purple sprouting bed and mind you, I really did not do much to stop them! Shame on me!

    The chickens are laying well despite the short days when they are supposed to pretty much stop and the sheep are being sheep. Over 1500 eggs this year compared to over 1300 eggs last year. So where have those eggs gone? Ok, I have also sorted out my seeds and I have in mind what I want to grow and where. So I guess that is something. Anyway anyone reading this blog I hope you have had a good Christmas and I wish you a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

All quiet....

   I have twice sat down to write this blog. Twice I have now looked at my gardening log and all I see is virtually blank entries! Weather, short days, other things to do have ganged up on me to stop me from getting out there and pressing on with stuff that really needs to be done as soon as possible. Hey ho! Now Christmas will get in the way! So, what is in the log? Cleaned out the chicken coops and cleared some brambles (not many I might add!!).
   I did notice on my trip to feed the sheep and Ixworth chickens that some of the garlic has sprouted and also some of the over winter onions. Just shows how mild it is. Also it has been damp, by that I mean showery weather and mild. The forecast is for that to change next week. The last of the apples are falling and that is another job on the list! Clear up the apples. Even the chickens have decided that there are just too many to eat!
   Well is is hoping to some dry but probably cold days and maybe, just maybe, I can get off my bum and move away from my nice warm comfortable home and get some jobs done outside!

Golden Apples. The leaves have fallen.

Red Apples. The leaves have fallen.