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Weekend 7 December
On the plot
Another cold week, so just another short visit to harvest vegetables. Managed to harvest parsnips, carrots, swede, a few salad leaves, sprouts and a tiny cauliflower.
The cold frosty weather hasn’t affected the whitefly which seems to be thriving on the brassicas. I think shortly whitefly may well rule the world.
The winter onions still seem to be doing well.
In the garden
The winter jasmine is now flowering.
The fatsia flowers are looking spectacular too. Not that individual flowers are particularly attractive but en masse it creates impact at a time of year when there isn't much else.
Other shrubs such as mahonia and pieris are loaded with flowers buds. The mahonia buds can fall victim to the birds who pay us back for all the food and water by stealing the buds.
The bird baths froze over this week but as soon as I thawed them out the birds were splashing around in the freezing water. The coal tits and blue tits splashed around until they were absolutely sodden. They are tough little things.
Snowdrops are starting to push through as are the miniature daffodil and hyacinth shoots.
In the greenhouses
The plot greenhouse
One variety of garlic is growing well but the other one is showing no sign of growth at all.
The garden greenhouse
The greenhouse in the garden is in the process of being cleared out. It’s amazing how many pots etc have accumulated under the staging. These are providing hiding places for field mice which wreak havoc during spring.
Out and About
The deciduous trees are completely bare now. It’s a good time to admire the tree bark and the shapes of the trees. They really look good against a fresh blue sky. The only problem when the trees lose their leaves is that the litter that is caught amongst branches is revealed. It is just so annoying when plastic bags catch in trees and are just too high to remove.
Weekend 14 December
On the plot
This week the only thing of note that we have done on the plot is to do a little more preparation on what will be the shed base.
We have spent quite a lot of time browsing catalogues for seeds and plants. It’s really difficult to choose from the vast number of choices. We have had even more catalogues to agonise over this year which hasn’t helped. If it was just a case of deciding I wanted some sweet pea seeds then there would be no problem but that would be far too easy. Instead there are decisions, decisions – Are the flowers good for cutting? Are they perfumed? Which colour do you want? Which variety sounds to be the best? What about disease/weather resistance? Is the same variety offered in other catalogues? If so which catalogue is the cheapest? If the packet of seeds is the cheapest then is it still the cheapest if postage is added on? Which packet of vegetable seed is the most reliable? Has the best taste? Will we have the space in the greenhouse, garden or on the plot to grow everything that we have chosen?
In the garden
I made a batch of fat cakes for the birds to help them build up their reserves. Hopefully there will be enough for several weeks.
In the greenhouses
Just more tidying up really in the garden greenhouse and the plot greenhouse has just been left to itself.
Out and about
Another poor week weather-wise. Some days freezing cold and other days wet and miserable. We have had one or two misty mornings too. Really not much to report all round.
Last bit of December (not really enough to say to write an entry for each week).
On the plot
Not really much to say about the end of December other than that we have visited the plot to gather vegetables for the table. Seeds have begun to arrive including seed potatoes. We are going for more multicoloured varieties cauliflowers, peppers, tomatoes and carrots this year
In the garden
The bulbs continue to push their way through the ground. Can’t wait for the first flowers, snowdrops will be our first, as to me it signals that winter is really on the way out!
In the greenhouses
Garden greenhouse
In the garden the greenhouse floor is now fully renovated so hopefully the field mice activity will be cut down a little.
I may be mistaken but I think some of the wild primrose seeds that I gathered last year have begun to germinate. Ironically if this is correct, the seeds that are germinating are not the seeds that I bought but the ones gathered from the plants in our garden!
Plot green house
Santa visited our plot greenhouse and left us a jar of homemade marrow pickle so that was a nice surprise.
In and about!
Being confined to the house with runny nose and sneezes, I turned my attention to kitting us out for a return to gardening over the rest of the winter period and have knitted a couple of woolly hats and a scarf. No doubt someone will laugh when we wear them but if they keep us warm then we won’t care!!
