Kitchen Garden Forum

Now the long succession of feasts and Bank Holidays is over (well another of those in Scotland today) it feels like life is getting back into gear again. Out this morning to buy a new wheelbarrow and some food now we don't have our daily diet of leftovers. Then we need the hens and ducks to start laying again. And me to clear lots of weeds and brambles.

And in a couple of days it'll be light that wee bit earlier in the morning - lots to look forward to

Good morning Alan, now that's what i like to see, a good positive post for the new year.

We too, have just finished the festive left overs and need to restock.

And as you say, lots to look forward to, and some of that will be on here.

A very warm welcome to the forum, Charm25.

Over the last couple of days I have been getting on with the Winter digging here...
..and had great plans to do the same at work today...'cept down comes a good half inch of great big flakes of snow on top of ground frozen from overnight frost.......


Clive..

It has been a relief to remove the Christmas cards & decorations and get back to normal. I hate everything lingering until 12th night. Once New Year arrives, I'm eager to start afresh, although cards everywhere is a good excuse to avoid dusting for a fortnight!

I've got some manure to spread and some borders to dig, but frustratingly can't dig over much of the vegetable patch until all the leeks, kale and celeriac have been used up. I suspect a lot of veg soup of one kind or another will be featuring on a menus for a while.

Can't wait for some lighter evenings and mornings, although I suspect it will be another month at least before we notice much difference. But once the horrible month of January is behind us, my spirits start to lighten.

And had a good session in our new outdoor gym in our local park this morning to get my Keep Fitter resolution under way.

The ground is still a bit too sodden for more winter digging, but I am really looking forward to it. The grazing rye, sown as green manure, has survived remarkably well being covered by thick snow for about a fortnight and the ground having been solidly frozen but the phacelia has succumbed. It's all waiting to be dug in now.

We found a few beetroot which must have been completely frozen but I baked one on Sunday and it was fine!

We also took the Christmas decorations and cards down today and one windowsill now has two beautifully fragrant hyacinths and a deep red cyclamen on it, a touch of spring.

It seems everyone is taking down decorations today. We have just despatched the Christmas tree outside and hoovered up the needles left inside!
I was up at my new plot today (handing in the key to my old one tomorrow) and amazingly managed to do some digging as the ground wasn't too wet. Something tells me that that means that it will be very dry in summer. Have worked out that if I dig at the rate I did today I will need about 250 days to clear the plot
Anyway, Happy New Year everyone (belated I know but we have just finished partying here...) and roll on the light nights.

I bought some onions yesterday, thinking ours would have succumbed to the low temps. I looked at the few in the shed and they are OK, so ventured into the glasshouse to peep under the newspaper that in my innocence I thought would protect them....and they seem OK too. I thought a few degrees below would finish them.

Pine needles aren't just for Christmas.

This morning, with a poor forecast for later, I was out digging at first light, almost, and have thus got a part of yesterdays digging plan sorted. ....
In a parallel exercise another vegetable area for digging was Voluntarily cleared of spent bits and bobs, Fantasia the Blackberry pruned out, a top dressing of "manna" was added to Champagne Rhubarb bed...and the same for the 3rd Asparagus bed after I had banked it back up a bit.... Thank you Volunteer.
Forecast was spot on and sure enough it was raining after lunchtime...so Pelargoniums got a sort this pm.....but I managed to get out again for half an hour 'til dark and fork round some Gooseberries ahead of tomorrows hopeful digging.

Clive.

Think you might be better off getting the snow shovel out for tomorrow Clive!

..not again...

Clive.

Pongeroon, our onions, shallots and garlic were completely frozen in the unheated garage, but I have used them since they thawed out and they are fine to eat. We lost a few potatoes (those along the outside edges of the boxes, though they were all covered with sacking, card board etc), but the bulk has survived.

A couple of January sayings from round here:

Ionawr tyner - Duw a'n helpo If January's mild may God help us

Os bydd porfa las yn Ionawr dylset gloi ar ddrws dy 'sgubor

If the land is green in January you'll need a lock on your barn door

A good white frost out there this morning, hopefully this will counteract any green field worries.