Very early Spring Bits and Bobs.

[Clive.]

A few weeks ago I was leaning on my cultivator by our garden fence talking to our new neighbour...he asked what was I going to plant....

Only a couple of rows of Bunyards broad beans, I said,...as no time for anything else.... Shame, he said, after all that winter digging you got done...

The other day I was talking to him again, he was leant on the garden fence...I was stood in the middle of the garden..

The other difference is that I now have a row of Foremost in with Duke of York to follow...haven't grown either for years...but as the clouds gathered, pre the lock', I realised a rapid change of plan looked sensible so I took a quick trip to the small local garden centre and went with what they had...and got a few Red Sun shallots too.

I sowed a row of Early Onward peas on the 14th and Radeo a couple of days ago.

On our very sheltered sunny side vegetable square which was, only a month ago, a lost mess and had been so for 3 years I have planted the shallots, a row of Boltardy and a row of Bright Lights chard. I have never grown chard at home before...and I am being a bit too keen with the timing but we'll see. I didn't do a seed order so I'm picking from KG magazine seed enclosures.

A little exercise yesterday evening re-activated Dad's old greenhouse....several panes were adrift and have just been pinned back in, no putty in stock ...and in reality the whole thing is very tired. In two places I have had to use vegimesh, in lieu of missing panes, held with screws and oversize washers. The propagator has moved location with a few tomato seed now sown, again KG choice.. Red Cherry and Alicante, I remember when that was Arthur Billets favourite..I hadn't got any seed in stock of Dad's tried and tested Shirley...

It's looking like carrots could be Royal Chantenay and sweetcorn Golden Bantam...both new to me...

Anyway, it has kept me focused this week whilst "working from home".

The first broad bean is showing through this morning...

C.

[oldherbaceous]

Glad you have got stuff on the move, at home again, Clive...all sounding very good and even touching on the daring, regarding the Chard... Hope it has given you a good feeling getting the veg plots back into production again

And of course, another lovely post from you, Clive.

[Cider Boys]

I lifted my leeks and parsnips a few days ago and thought I would plant the same seeds for next year's hungry gap. All went well with sowing the leeks but sowing parsnip seeds in gusty conditions is not easy, especially when the wind blew the whole packet away. I retrieved the packet and firmly placed it in my pocket and marched back to my plot. Took out the parsnip seed packet and carefully sowed them individually 4" apart. Unfortunately when I later emptied my pockets I found that the new packet of parsnip seeds were still there, I had sowed an old packet of parsnip seeds that I had previously stuffed in my pocket 5 years ago, so I returned and sowed the new seeds where I had sowed the old ones but they were not so carefully placed this time.

Barney

[Stephen]

I still have parsnips in the ground and will lift them as needed.
I rather liked the tip in the most recent (April?) edition of KG - just proving them between two sheets of wet kitchen paper in a sealed box. I'm going to try this for exactly the reason you say Barney - they are damn fiddly!

[oldherbaceous]

Barney, i'm so glad i'm not the only one that does those sorts of things ...and why does the wind always get up, when it's Parsnip seed sowing time....

[Clive.]

Here's a couple of photos ref my earlier post....with the knowledge that upon the next drop of rain it will try to revert, courtesy of the seed base that sadly circumstances over 3 years allowed to happen....hoe, hoe, hoe....

C.

[Stephen]

Stunning difference Clive - so is that three years work between pictures (or two & a half years neglect and some intensive work recently)?

[retropants]

Fabulous work there Clive! I've still yet to lift the concrete where my new veg patch will be. Job for next week perhaps?

[Clive.]

Stunning difference Clive - so is that three years work between pictures (or two & a half years neglect and some intensive work recently)?

Hello Stephen,
It was a concerted effort recently.. The main block of garden, out of shot to the left of photo, was kept partly running but fighting a losing battle, then with the wet last June and then the wet from September onwards and my energies being drawn elsewhere it fell in to a bad state too causing further despondency and further walking away from it...knowing how immaculate it used to be kept.
The photo section had potatoes left in for the duration as stated, the ridges are still in situ in the as lost photo.!
No bindweed but there was green alkanet," Australian lilac", herb robert, huge dandelion roots etc.....hence the seed base reality

[Clive.]

Turning the camera south east, over the fence....the back field, that was worked down last year after its cereal crop was harvested but not as far as I know sown, due to the wet conditions autumn and winter, is a panned down crust. However, the sprayer was round recently and yesterday a subsoiler and drag was pulled through the sprayer tramlines...so we expect some progress soon....to what level of cultivation and crop remains to be seen.

C.

[Monika]

What a lovely typical Lincolnshire scene, Clive! Just think what you sow and plant inTHAT space!

Not really gardening weather here today - very cold NE wind and even a bit of sleet in the afternoon. More of that to come tomorrow. But the tomatoes and sweet peppers are now in their individual pots, well wrapped up in the greenhouse, immediately above the heater for tonight.

[Clive.]

What a lovely typical Lincolnshire scene, Clive! Just think what you sow and plant inTHAT space!

Much as I like my digging...I think I will leave it to some tracked John Deeres.

The view, when it is clear, is initially across to Halton Fenside, Wainfleet and then over the Wash to Hunstanton.

C.

[oldherbaceous]

Been over and dug one of the last bits of allotments where the Winter veg has finished...while I was over there, I got a text from Cook saying, "why don't you leave the digging for today, as it;s so cold", I replied, "i'm going to get it finished, even if it kills me", well I nearly got my wish, I hit a .303 bullet with my spade...

[peter]

Good job you got the spade up in time to deflect the bullet

Shame Old Codger has turned that grudge into a blood feud.

[Shallot Man]

Had a beautiful sunny morning, though a bit windy. In less than a blink of an eye, hailstones, now sunny again.