Kitchen Garden Forum

Glorious Day down here in Dorset - peeled back some of the black plastic & prepared the beds so ready to go! (Didn't put away the plastic will go back on when first weeds come up). Burned the last of the hedgerow, built my little enclosure to keep the quail out of the legumes, moved the weed membrane for the squash into it's new position & mulched the asparagus!

As much as I love it I always do too much on these sort of days - got an ice pack on my back as I type - but raining tomorrow so wil have a chance to recover!

(Does this make it very early or just early though? - new thread OH???)

Westi

Dear Westi, hope your back is a little easier this morning!

Regarding the new Bit and Bobs, i think we better give it another couple of days to see what happens. It was lovely yesterday, though.

Cloudy but warmish down this way today - didn't go to lottie, back is better but thought best not risk it! Was getting all cheerful about it warming up - then saw the weather report for next week!

Oh well back to the beanie & layers!

Westi

A wet old night here, and rain predicted for most of today. At least it will settle the 450 shallots i planted tuesday.

..and the 44 that I planted.

Clive.

Ah, but Clive, yours were probably planted with care and attention and a lot of love, where as, i just bung mine in.... A bit of old country boy talk there...

things are now showing their little heads in the greenhouse! I was going to sow parsnips this weekend, but then decided against it after seeing the forecast! -3 again!

We had things showing their little heads yesterday too - the froggies are awooing!

First frogspawn in our garden pond two days ago - hope it won't all get frozen off next week! And the heron dines every day at the pond in the nature reserve in front of our house, hopefully he/she will leave us a few frogs, toads and newts ...

Dear Monika, the Herons have all but wiped out the frogs in all the ponds here.

We came back home from Settle over the moors yesterday and there are still quite few patches of snow left in hollows and against dry stone walls. Now, some old country sage told me once that old snow will always be covered up by new snow, ie only when all the snow has gone will spring start. He seems to be right because there is certainly snow forecast for the next few days.

The garden and allotment are now all dug and manured, where required, but sowing and planting outside won't start for a bit yet.

Indoors, window sills are covered by pots and trays with sweet peppers, chillis, celeriac, sweet peas (second lot) and lots of leeks, backed by kitchen foil for light reflection. In the cold greenhouse, the first peas, broad beans and second lot of shallots and garlic are showing green shoots.

In flowers, there are lots of fuchsia, helichrysum and nepeta cuttings in pots waiting to strike.

Ooh, dad was a Giggleswickian, town and school.
My sister was born up at Malham Tarn.
Lovely part of England.

Hello, Peter, on our journey from Settle we actually came through Malham, having gone through Giggleswick on our way from visiting our lad at Clapham. My OH wanted to check on some of the dry stone walls which he built many years ago - still standing!
Yes, although I am not Yorkshire-born, I have lived here for nearly 50 years and wouldn't want to move anywhere else.

Dad was assistant warden at the Malham Tarn Field Centre and thick as thieves with Bill Wild the Malham blacksmith who was an artist of considerable skill in wood carving and shepherds crooks.
Dads sister stayed up there in Keigthley and I have a scattering of cousins in the area.

Your dad must have worked with Dr Disney - Malham Tarn Field Centre was always known as 'Disneyland' around here. My OH built lots of the walls along the paths leading to Malham Cove. Fancy you having such connections to the area!