Very early Spring Bits and Bobs.

[robo]

I have to go to the plot to sort the chickens out each day ,every afternoon I spend with my wife at the nursing home apart from a couple of Carers and shouting hello to a few people I don’t come into contact with anyone , after having 3 daughters and a wife all living together I find it a lonely life as it is ,to lock myself away for a month would be impossible

[oldherbaceous]

I know it certainly isn't anywhere near the same, Robo, but we will always be here for a chat....

Managed to get a 30 foot row of Swift potatoes in and a double 30 foot row of Broad beans in, too..really pleased, as it looks as if we have got rain on and off for the next 24 hours.

[tigerburnie]

Had a busy afternoon in the greenhouse, my window boxes that I grow Mara des bois French strawberries in have been emptied cleaned and re-filled with new compost, sowed some tomato seeds that are now in the heated propagator.

[Geoff]

Optimism for the future today - planted two apple trees!

[robo]

It’s not stopped raining here all week

[Monika]

The peas are coming up in their roottrainers, the broad beans (also in RTs) will be planted out soon but netted against our rapacious house sparrows, brassicas, leeks, tomatoes and sweet peppers growing well in pots in the (now heated) greenhouse, potatoes Swift planted in pots, the other potatoes chitting and a pile of other seeds eating to be sown. And the forecast is for cool but dry and sunny weather for the next few days!

[Westi]

I actually am Colin as still kinda in the hungry gap period, but weather better than expected so I'm making the most of the land & under cropping some of the big guys that are still producing but desperate to flower! Let me know if you find the loo roll seeds!

[Stephen]

Cant think of a better place to self isolate than the plot

Absolutely. Gardening doesn't have to be solitary but it is easy to have social distance.

Meanwhile, I'm certainly going to grow as much food as I can. The undergardener and I are trying to add an additional half-plot to our existing space (one plot). Fortunately, the one we want is contiguous with ours. It wasn't cultivated last year and hardly the season before. We have been pretty annoyed (there are other applicable words) that it has been allowed to run wild. (One year's seed = seven years weed)

[Colin2016]

Alternative to toilet paper..

Corn on the Cob
Didn’t you know? Corn husks were the earliest toilet paper! The green husks are soft enough for toilet use, and they don’t spoil quickly after husking. If you can, aim for the middle layer of husks rather than the first outside layer. The outer layers are harder and the layer near the corn is too thin.

Mullein Leaves
For years, backpackers have dubbed Mullein Leaves as “nature’s toilet paper” because they feel like they were made for butt wiping! They’re soft and woolly in texture but also large and water absorbent! You can find this type of leaf almost everywhere.

Banana Leaves
These bad boys have to be one of the most flexible leaves out there, perfect as a toilet paper alternative. Banana leaves are smoother and softer than normal paper, which can be dry and rough. And these leaves are usually pretty big, so you get a lot of surface space to use. Just tear each leaf apart to get a reasonable size for cleaning.

[tigerburnie]

Glorious morning here, but we are still getting a frost at night, 1.2 degrees inside the greenhouse last night, I doubt much will grow in there with such a huge temperature swing, it got to plus 22 in there yesterday and that's with one pair of the auto vents connected up on the roof.

[robo]

The first dry day here in a long time, been down to the plot to sort the chickens did a bit in the poly tunnel not a soul in sight

[Elmigo]

Expecting -2°C frost up here in a couple of nights. Hopefully all the spinach survived, just like the last time they got frozen!

[oldherbaceous]

That sounds low enough to catch things in the greenhouse too, Elmigo!

[alan refail]

Looks more like spring today after all the wet weather. And fine weather is forecast for the rest of the month

Sowings of tomatoes and onions and herbs are through in the propagator as well as cabbage and lettuce on the bench.

Twenty-two out of twenty-five Welsh Harlequin duck eggs are developing well in one incubator and grandson has candled the Embden goose eggs in the other incubator and has at least seven good ones (beating heart visible!) out of the nine in there.
Now we are just waiting for a couple of hens to go broody and the season will really have started.

[Monika]

Expecting -2°C frost up here in a couple of nights.

Nighfrost forecast here for the night Sunday to Monday - beware!