Pentland Javelin In..................

Unable to do much today due to the bad weather, but I did manage to plant my first row of early potatoes (Pentland Javelin) before the rain started.

Pea Up The Fence !..................

I finally took the plunge and planted out my Early Onward peas. They have been in the cold frame for a few weeks now and I just hope we don't have any bad frosts or I might regret doing so. I was unsure what method I was going to use to support the peas, but in the end I decided to use plastic fencing which seems to be working quite well.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme !............and Mint & Oregarno

I planted some herbs in one of the small beds at the front of the plot over the weekend.

1 x Flat Leaf Parsley

1 x Purple Sage

1 x Green Sage

1 x Yellow Thyme

1 x Green Thyme

1 x Rosemary

1 x Oregano

1 x Mint

I have Basil and Coriander growing in the greenhouse and hope to add them to the herb bed later on.

My First Aubergines

At last ! the Aubergines are starting to show,It seems such a long time since I sowed them, I was begining to think they never would.

Raspberries

I planted six Autumn fruiting raspberry canes today (3x Heritage & 3x Autumn Bliss varieties ) along side a row of existing summer fruiting ones. I don't know what variety they are as they were given to me by another plot holder. The double row of canes are now supported by T-frames and wire.

War !.........

I have been considering my strategy for the forthcoming battle against the enemy known as the Gastropod Mollusk or the SLUG to you and me. I have looked into the organic method of dealing with these retched things and according to the literature I have read a barrier of sand, grit, or egg shells around your produce is enough to deter them, but a feature on TV recently proved otherwise. I could go around my plot and physically remove them, but I have better things to do with my time. Then there is the trap method where you fill the traps with beer, the smell attracts the slug who then enters the trap and drowns in the beer. Thinking about it, this method is a NO NO, due to the fact that I have recently stopped drinking so there is no way I am going to buy beer for some slimy mollusks to enjoy.



Having taken all this into account it looks like it will have to be slug pellets.

Rhubarb Showing.......

The Rhubarb ( Timperely Early ) I planted out a few weeks ago is starting to show, I have been told not to harvest any the first year which is a pity as I just love Rhubarb crumble. I will have to scrounge some off other plot holders.

Potatoes

Checked on my potatoes today, I have my Early's and second Early's on egg trays chitting but due to lack of space I haven't got enough room to lay out the main crop spuds so they are still in sacks in the shed. Hopefully I will be able to get them out when the first lot get planted in a week or so.

How to chit
Chitting simply means encouraging the seed potatoes to sprout before planting. Start chitting from late January in warmer parts of the country or in February in cooler areas, about six weeks before you intend to plant out the potatoes. Each seed potato has a more rounded, blunt end that has a number of 'eyes'. Stand the tubers with the blunt end uppermost in trays or old egg boxes, with plenty of natural light. The potatoes are ready to be planted out when the shoots are 1.5-2.5cm (0.5-1in) long.

Although unsprouted tubers can be planted, the chitted ones benefit from their flying start. Early cultivars will crop earlier and more heavily if chitted. You can help the process by rubbing off all but the four strongest sprouts so that the tuber's energy is diverted into a few really strong shoots that form new potatoes as early as possible. Second early and maincrop potatoes also benefit from chitting but they don't need thinning of sprouts. Chitting later cultivars results in earlier foliage before blight or drought strike and they mature earlier and can be gathered before slugs damage the tubers.

Good Intensions.....

When the wife and I got to the allotment this morning the sun was shinning, the birds were singing and we were both in the mood to get stuck in and get some digging done. Well that's what we intended, within about 15 minuets the sky went black and the heavens opened. We retreated to the shed made a cup of coffee and waited for the rain to stop, and waited and waited and waited, had another cup of coffee before giving up and coming home.

Cold Start................

I went down to my plot early this morning as I wanted to get a few things done. There had been a frost overnight and this was still evident when I got there. I had a look around, the Cabbage, Cauliflower. Leeks and Garlic all looked cold but seemed OK, more than I could say for the Broad Beans, the frost had got to them and they looked limp and very worse for ware. But to my surprise after a couple of hours in the sunshine they had all picked up again and stood bold and upright.


















I spent some time in the greenhouse this morning checking the seedlings and watering. I also started off some Parsnips in toilet roll tubes. I only did a few just to see how they get on.

The other stuff is coming on well...............












Leeks














Primo Cabbage




















All Year Round Cauliflower






I placed out my new Raspberry canes to roughly were I want them and hopefully I will get them planted tomorrow.

No More Seeds!..............

I took a few minuets last night to sort out my seeds, because to be honest I wasn't sure what I had, and as I am not one to pass up a bargain, whenever Ive come across special offers on seeds in supermarkets and garden centers Ive been buying couple of packets, and this has resulted in me having a container full of seeds, far too many for what I need.

Spring Is Just Around The Corner

It's the 1st of March, spring is on its was, the weather is changing for the better, the sun is shinning, temperatures are rising so you would think its a perfect day to be working down the allotment, Wrong!...... I have come down with "Man Flu", and feel C**P! and didn't feel like doing much . I did manage to drag myself down to my plot and checked the seedling in the greenhouse. The leeks, cauliflower, primo cabbage and lettuce are all starting to show which is good news. I transfered the early peas into the coldframe which has made some room, so now I can sow something else next week.