Late Winter Bits and Bobs.

[Stephen]

So nice to have a dry day today. I lifted some Jerusalems today

[Stravaig]

Snow and ice warnings as cold snap predicted to continue.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64284255

Chucking it down with rain again here in Medway. Miserable weather.

[oldherbaceous]

Better get the fur lined under-garments out….

[Stravaig]

LOL!

We did actually wear fleece-lined underwear in the Ukrainian winters. I liked Heat Holders brand.
https://heatholders.co.uk/products/ladi ... gs-4-sizes

I bet they'd also be good on an icy allotment. They do men's as well in case you're not into wearing women's underwear.

[Clive.]

Chilly one today, but hard enough frost to walk on the ground to access some jobs above.
...and it was still just workable light at home time

C.

[oldherbaceous]

No i’m not Stravaig….

A bit chilly on the old fingers this morning, Clive!
The evenings certainly are starting to move for the better….

[Westi]

I went down today but couldn't proceed as the ground was frozen, along with all the puddles down the main path which would have been a bit dodgy to avoid. Quick retreat home into the warm without any complaint!

[oldherbaceous]

Are you still head chef, Geoff?

A lovely bright day here but, was working in the shade most of the day, and the frost refused to go….

[Geoff]

Yes still at it, I'm told I'm getting better. I've been telling everyone my black eye was caused by lumpy porridge, actually a bit of careless kindling chopping (lucky really). Staples out on Tuesday then first physio on Wednesday but already she says the pain is less than pre-op so well pleased.
Been frosty most of the day here and still white from the snow last night, it did manage a brief 3° mid-afternoon though.
Thinking of going for my seed potatoes tomorrow or Friday. When I first started cooking I told her to change her supplier because of all the holes in them so I have been trying to research wireworm resistance without a lot of success, any ideas?

[Clive.]

My father always used to quote that growing a green manure mustard crop would end the wireworms, no doubt gleaned from his times allied to the older farming methods.
I note though on my route in to work that mustard is once again being grown on some fields belonging to a local potato grower. It was growing well up to the last set of hard frosts and indeed was in flower, now looking rather sorry for itself, soon ready to cultivate in.

..and like Old H' we found ourselves working in the shade...standing within a shrub rose bed, doing a little "light" pruning... to the east end of the bed was sunshine and likewise to the west end the same...where we stood in the shadow of some yews, rather cool but the ground under our feet was hard and not sticking to our boots

C.

[Geoff]

I've often read about the benefits of caliente mustard for getting rid of all sorts of nasty beasties. Always been reluctant to try it as my beds are full of club root and I like to rest them from brassicas as much as possible, I even have issues with some salad crops like rocket. We have bought some seeds of Mexican marigolds this year but I haven't quite worked out how to use them.
I can no longer grow the onion family because of white rot, I have to manage brassicas very carefully and buy resistant varieties as much as possible because of club root and now my potato problems despite a six year rotation. If I could get the mower into that area of the garden I might be grassing it over!

[retropants]

I'm not bothering with garlic this year, as last year's was tiny. I did everything right, and it was not playing ball. Leeks are very small and scrappy looking, may be down to moths. I used to grow fabulous garlic and leeks at my allotment.

The kalettes are pretty pathetic this winter, last year's were incredible, huge plants with load of sprouts, kept us fed for months. I think the hot summer stunted them and they are only 18" tall with no sprouts at all.

I think I may get a sack of 6X, but we do have bothersome foxes and it may entice them further. I applied a watering can full of 'SCOOT' yesterday to the shared drive area and around the front door, as they are shrieking in the night and keeping me awake. The marking smell is pretty bad too!!

[oldherbaceous]

Afternoon Geoff, I was just wondering if your soil ph has got a little low!
A few years ago, I was starting to get a lot of club root, and that was down to me putting huge amounts of compost on the allotment and this in turn lowered the ph, causing my club root….so I gave the ground a heavy liming and things improved greatly.

[Geoff]

I do lime every year for the brassicas but I haven't tested for ages. Used to take samples into work and test them with the pH meter in the lab but coming up to 16 years of retirement have stopped that. Reading all the stuff about brewing beer with my new kit there seems to be an argument for getting a meter, I'll have to see how much they are.

PS : Seed potatoes were the same price as last year, £1.99 / kg loose. Bought Swift, Charlotte, Nadine, Manitou, Maris Piper, Harmony and Setanta.

[Westi]

I was also seriously reviewing my planting choices after the fails last year. I have club root but find the resistant varieties usually stand up well to it but they succumbed. Looking on other forums there was lots of brassica fails even on pristine plots so I don't think club root was the issue, but probably the heat wave. Reflecting on that I did water as per usual but to my normal regime so I think they needed more water. My plan is to give them each a bottle underneath on planting, which I will use if a heat wave but they will just get their normal regime into the little trenches I make around each plant if a normal summer.

My garlic & onions were pants as well with only the elephant garlic loving the weather, so popped in more than normal this year. They are not as strong as garlic so I just use more. I am growing my onions from seeds this year that I got from a French farmer not a big boy seed supplier, so different varieties & strangely the sowing information suggested planting some of these much earlier than normal (way before Xmas), but they popped up & growing well so I will be hardening them off a bit & planting them out soonish as the weather report is not just showing rain for a bit. (Sorry should have put a warning on that as you were probably shocked that you might just be cold but not wet)! The garlic has got one more chance but I stayed clear of IOW ones as they have never really performed well on my site. I also have taken down fresh batteries for my PH soil tester, it was not overly expensive & accurate tested against the little test tube thing I had which cost more as only good for one test then you need more of the fluid.

Anyway at the end of the day it is Mother Nature that will dictate, so it will be a suck it & see year ahead & I'm sure you will all offer any advice & hints that you find works.