Tuesday 17th March 2009 - Weather: Sunny, blue sky, warm and bright

Amazing....I had 2 hours going begging, and I could have come home and done the housework, but I decided a much better use of my time would be on the allotment. So I have now dug right up and under my tomato house so over half of plot 2 is completely finished. I then raked and raked to a lovely fine tilth and sowed yet more parsnips, can't remember their name but they are a smaller variety, carrots 'flyaway', radish 'French breakfast' and celeriac 'alabaster'. I normally start the celeriac at home in the greenhouse, so we will see if this works. I also fear I might have jumped the gun as I was told this evening that we are execting a cold snap next week, but time is always an issue with me and so often I miss the sowing boat.

Last job I mananged to squeeze in was digging my runner bean trench. I alternate the side my runner beans grow every year, alternating them with tomatoes, so I dig a trench, a spit and a half deep, filled it with dripping newspaper, then a thick layer of soggy stable manure and then backfilled with the soil. It has raised the level but this will soon settle before it is time for the beans to go in. I won't sow the beans until the Easter hols so they are ready to go in at the start of May.

All being well I will be back on the plot for a few hours on Thursday and I hope to get at least 2 rows of my early taters in the ground.

Here are a selection of pictures taken over the weekend.

Sowings and germination to date in conservatory/greenhouse

Germination from earlier sowings:

Chilli/Pepper:
Picante
Cayenne
corno di torro rosso
Jalapeno

Tomato:
Roma
Striped German
Chadwich Cherry
Golden Sunrise
Costoluto Genovese
Ferline
Black Cherry
Legend
Santa
Tamina
Great White
Gardeners Delight
Cherokee Purple

Aubergine:
Viserba
Moneymaker

Flowers:
Coleus
Purple Bell Vine
Sweetpeas
clematis
Anchusa
Morning Glory

Herbs:
Basil Neopolitan
basil Sweet
Thai Basil
Russian Tarragon
Oregano
Parsley
Corriander

Sown in March:

Chilli/Pepper
Fish
Noire de Cumee
Jolly gallo
Big Banana
Evil baby
Habanero

Tomato:
Green giant
Buamma
Amamas
Picardy
Striped Stuffer
Jersey Sunrise
Gardeners Delight
Brazillian paste
Togo triple red
Mexico
Gartenperle
St Pierre
Saucey
Zhong Shu
Berkelely Tie Dye
Beauty King
Oregon Star
Siletz
powers heirloom
Italian Gold
Ildi
Beauty Queen

Squash:
Cantaloup
Golden Nugget buttercup squash
Edonis melon
Courgette Dundoo
Courgette Golden Dawn
Charentais melon
Watermelon Congo
Tiger Cross Marrow
Courgette Parthenon
Marrow long green bush
Cucumber (can't remember name, a gift from an american chum)
Cucumber red
squash di Chioggia
Watermelon cucumber
marketmore cucumber

Sunday 15th March 2009 - weather: ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!!

What an absolutely fab day! Not a cloud in the sky, such blueness. Joy of joys, so I was up and out by 7am - no lie in for this chick. Carried on digging plot number 2 and am now down to the tomato house, so another hour or so's digging and both plots will look as good as new! Hopefully over the next 2 weeks I will be able to get my spuds in - there beds are okayish....some weeds which I will oik out as I plant, but I sorted them in the autumn. Once I have planted them, I shall cover the beds with the last of my home made compost to try and give them some love. Cleared the red cabbages that came to nothing, and the last of the brussel sprout plants - the guinea pigs, tortoise and locust (lizard food) will be enjoying fresh greens for their lunch.

I have taken some pics, but am pressed for time at the mo as we are off to the inlaws for lunch, so will add them this evening. Fingers crossed I will be able to steal an hour here and there over this coming week to get the digging finished and sow some carrots, salads, radish, spring onions and turnips. You can tell how happy I am can't you!?

Saturday 14th March 2009 - weather: windy but bright and dry

Glee and joy! Hubby is home, nothing planned, so I was up by 7am and at the allotment before 8am. It is a lovely place at that time in the day, so peaceful, only the birds and bees for company.

No pictures, forgot the camera - dunce. But then not a lot of new stuff to see at the moment. Finished digging plot one, so that entire plot is now looking fab! Sowed a double row of Broad Beans - Long exhibition, half a row of cut and come again salad leaves and a triple row of Peas - Greensage. Lovely to actually be sowing again.

Then, at around 10.30, the family arrived. Now this can go either way. Either the kids and hubby get bored within the first 20 minutes, a row breaks out and some, or all, go home, or, peace and tranquility rule, the kids play wonderfully, hubby busies himself with the 'manly chores' and I can carry on tending to my allotments. Glad to say it was the latter and the kids delved in the stream, made magical animals and took them for walks and adventures around the site, gathered stones to add to my stone paths, and raked the ground level where I had been digging. Hubby meanwhile repaired the broken window in my shed, checked the shed was secure for another season, then repaired my fruit cage as the wind had rocked loose one of the uprights and it needed rebedding, plus the net was saggy, well, I am only short and could never reach the top to pull it tight, so he also did that for me. By the time we left, plot number one was looking rather dashing.

Whilst he was playing in the fruit cage, I started digging plot number 2. Not such a mammoth job as I did do it late summer and sowed mustard, so it is only a matter or turning it over and raking level. Half completed by 1.30, but the kids were hungry, as was I, so we packed up and came home.

At home, after lunch, I got on with sowing some seeds, loads more done, and the toms all pricked out now. Marrows, melons, pumpkins, squash, courgettes, sunflowers to name but a few. I will write a proper list later and post how the seed fest is going.

Tuesday 3rd March 2009 - weather: blustery and damp

At last, no rain, so off to the allotment for some serious digging. And that was pretty much all I did. I have worked from where I finished last visit down to the apple trees. I just have one small patch left to do, probably about an hours digging, but I was knackered by about 1.30ish. and I wanted to do my front garden, so I called it a day. However, during my coffee breaks I did do some picking, and of course, where I dug, I did clear a few crops. So I came home with leeks, spring onions, jerusalem artichokes, spuds, beetroot, carrots and parnsips. There are greens on the plot also, but as I didn't want them for dinner, I didn't pick them, but I have kale, cabbage, chard and winter hardy lettuce. There are also a few sprouts and brussel tops and hopefully, in a couple of weeks, plenty of purple sprouting. YAY!