Kitchen Garden Forum

Anyone starting to get that feeling of eagerness, at getting the new season under way.
Although very cold out there today and lots of snow still about, it is lovely and bright, and i keep popping in and out of the house trying to think of outdoor jobs i can do.

I think it is going to warm up next week, smashing....

Only the faintest of tinglings......

Ooooh...I just can't wait for planting time. The ground is frozen at the moment so I'm just looking at seed catalogues and planning. The broad beans that I planted in the greenhouse last autumn are looking very sorry for themselves.

I have, however, got some monkey puzzle tree seeds potted up, in the bedroom, and two are showing green shoots. I think I may have departed this earth by the time they are anything like trees ....but I can always leave them to someone in my will

I washed a load of pots and 330 labels today. Planning to start the propagator early next week.

I put 3 seed pans in the propagator the other day. I "found" 3 envelopes of own saved seed, Salvia sclarea, Colutea..and another ??
I thought I would sow a few and keep a few and make that the start of this years sowings.

I was tidying up in the back greenhouse a few weeks ago and there was some seed on some Agapanthus heads...so I sowed a pan of them as a bit of interest...up in no time and now standing on the gravel tray with the heating wire in.

...and with ref to sap rising...several years ago I was doing some tree tidying, standardizing....and whipped a few branches off a Maple...it bled like crazy. ...that's when I learnt all about how Maples are purposely syrup bled.....on a warming day following very cold.

-7C at work at 1pm today...but really lovely in the sunshine and very warm in the front greenhouse.
Garage roof at home was "steaming" in the sunshine at lunchtime.


Clive.

Just been playing hunt-the-parsnips in the garden. Son number two called in, and when he mentioned making some soup, I stupidly offered him some parsnips, forgetting that they were hidden under the snow! Once we'd found them, there was a couple of inches of frozen soil to get through before we could lift them. It was well worth it though - from the look on his face, you would have thought he had found a stash of hidden treasure.

Dear Bert, you have just summed up why we all enjoy gardening so much, even when the weather is SLIGHTLY against us.

Bert, thats lovely, it always makes me very happy when people appreciate our produce as much as we do.

I am feeling the tingling. But I have two weeks leave soon and have decided to make good use of the time by tiling the kitchen (have been wanting new tiles for the last 6 years). So I'm hoping for continuing poor weather, or I will be itching to get outside...

I have just sown my peppers and chillies & have got them on the warmest windowsill I can find as I always find they take quite a long time to germinate. Planted some shallots a couple of weeks ago under cloches but ground currently frozen & it would need a pickaxe to dig up my leeks which I'm determined to use up more quickly this year. I usually have them still occupying space in which I need to sow the current year's crops.

I've the same problem with growing a few too many leeks, but usually clear them and have a soup making session with the last ones.

Nothing in the propagator yet, but I'm going to transplant the pak choi and other Chinese greens and rocket into the greenhouse border this afternoon and make sure I've plenty of cloches and fleece to cover them up if/when the frost comes back. I make a late sowing of these greens and they sit in their modules until the light levels are enough to start them into growth again - usually the third week in Feb.

And I've had the final pruning session of the fruit trees and copiced hazels so I've that to clear up.

It is lovely and mild today, relatively speaking, after two weeks of sub zero and snow, and the sun has just come out. I can't wait to get out there again I feel as though I've been hibernating.

Have been waiting for the tingle, it has finally arrived. Have been sorting out pots and trays, completed seed order and brought some seed compost into the house to warm up. Don't have a propagator (that spelling doesn't look right, but spell checker likes it better than my version!) so may wait a little longer. I used to put seed trays on top of our large aquarium but that has gone now and the little one doesn't stay consistently warm over 24 hrs.
'Won' 2 plastic chairs on Freecycle yesterday so can go over to the plot tomorrow and spend a couple of hours musing/planning etc. and may even get around to doing something useful.

Dear Jude, hope you find the chairs very comfotable.

Thank you oldherbaceous, they are indeed very comfy, not that I did much sitting today, spent almost 3 hours weeding onion and garlic and now have a broken back, looks good though, ( the bed, not the back!)