Kitchen Garden Forum

Lovely day here, blue sky's and sunshine, a light shower but the sun won through again.

Now thunder and lightning (right over head) and bucketfuls of hailstones

Visited my allotment for the first time in weeks today.
Brassica cage, to my surprise, undamaged by snow.
Picked some purple kale, yum with roast beef, spuds & yorkshires

There's still a lot of snow on the garden but all the paths are clear, so I've just had an enjoyable walk round.

There are lots of flowers out, a bit squashed but otherwise OK: Wallflowers, snowdrops, winter heather, winter honeysuckle, winter jasmine, sarcococca, viburnum bodnantense and tinus, a couple of red roses, and the mahonia media, and a lot of them have a beautiful perfume. The species crocus are up and almost ready to come out and the rhubarb is 6 inches high, so roll on spring. I don't think for a moment that we've seen the last of the cold weather, but can still hope.

Pretty much all the snow has gone from here now but the long range weather forecast seems to indicate another cold snap from mid to the end of February. Not sure if that includes snow though.

OH -I don't reckon I'll ever catch up with you (mind you, I suppose I could count the school seeds in with my own ones ...... but that'd be cheating )

VPM
x

been down to the allotment this morning to check on our chickens we have only had them for 3 weeks (ex blackpool zoo) one has been laying most days shes missed a couple but today i was surprised to find 2 eggs looks like spring could be early

robo - love an optimist! I am soo peeved w/- rain & cold! Just want a nice growing season - bit of rain of course but some nice sunshine as well! Critters though have a subtle touch & instinct about things - hope your chickens are right!

Westi

I've got 2 tons of well rotted manure being delivered either tomorrow or Thursday. Don't fancy barrowing it all over the garden in the rain, so fingers crossed for a fine day.

Just looking round the garden have you noticed how green everything is? The paths, the stones, the posts and the trees are all either mossy or covered in algae and lichens. I treated the main paths with algicide a couple of times last year, but it wasn't dry for long enough for it to work.

Just collected my onion sets, Centurion. Spent some moments in cutting the straw bit at the top with scissors. Helps to stop the birds pulling at the tops for nesting material. Roll on spring.

Westi wrote:robo - love an optimist! I am soo peeved w/- rain & cold! Just want a nice growing season - bit of rain of course but some nice sunshine as well! Critters though have a subtle touch & instinct about things - hope your chickens are right!

Westi

i cant believe it 3 eggs today who said spring is not around the corner

i cant believe it 3 eggs today who said spring is not around the corner

**** Whispers very, very quietly ****

The collared doves are nesting in the rowan tree

VPM
x

robo wrote:i cant believe it 3 eggs today who said spring is not around the corner

Dunno. But I'm saying it now. Sick of paddling about in a sea of mud in this perpetual rain. And, yes, my hens are laying a few more each day.

Whilst walking across the park Sunday to Church [well the Rugby Club bar ] I noticed the Hawthorn buds starting to swell. Sign of Spring !

lots of blackbird action in the garden the last week or so, a sure sign of spring???

I sowed my onion seeds, brussels, aubergines and peppers yesterday (the latter 2 in a heated propogator) in a couple of weeks, I'll pop in some broccoli, lettuce, spinach, parsnips and early carrots. I'm dead organised this year!

(I seem to have woken up on the 1st of Jan with a re-booted organisation system, no idea who or what is responsible for that, and no idea why it took 42 years to manifest)

Dear Retropants, make the most of it, as it will only be another couple of years, and you will be forgetting to do jobs, or if you have already done them.

OH, I'm sure you are referring to my mother???