Rain stopped play

A wet Saturday afternoon, a paid a short visit to plot 68. The rhubarb is going great guns, even the old root has sprouted now so it looks like crumble will be coming my way in a little while.

Those daffodils are getting ever closer to flowering which means spring can't be too far away now.

Not a peep out of the second beans yet, did I plant them when it was too cold? but as you can see the other beans and garlic are doing just fine.

It's the calm before the storm, the potatoes are sitting dormant and the soil is still to cold and wet but in a months time we should have much more in the ground for the new season. This time last year I was just beginning to clear the plot which took a lot of time and effort, this year all I need is a quick dig over and then I'm ready to plant.

End of year one

I took home the last of the Parsnips today and still have a couple of small cabbages left but that's it for my first years harvest, just as well I don't have to survive on it. Nothing much new happens at this time of year, the rhubarb is doing really well and the early broad beans are perking up but there's nothing new to plant.

The winter seems to have gone on for ages because of that early freezing spell in November/December but in fact it's been milder during the early part of this year than last. The birds were all singing today after the rain stopped and although it's February I feel spring isn't too far away. There is some winter damage to the plot, I've lost a globe artichoke (there are still five others) and my rosemary plant is looking a bit dead.

I can see new buds forming on the raspberries and flowers are beginning to appear on those daffodils, well in advance of last year.

Potato season

Time to collect your spuds. I bought some Charlotte and some Desiree potatoes for this season. Still a little early to plant them but I've put them out in the greenhouse standing up in a seed tray so they will sprout.

The new rhubarb plants are by far out performing the original ones on the plot, of which I can see only one nubby pink bud. Stalks are beginning to develop as you can see from the picture above, perhaps I'll get a crumble or two from them this year.

The mild weather has done the daffodils no end of good, they're standing about 10cm tall at the moment.

Beans 2

A mild and windy day, my fears of the shed having been blown away were unfounded, it creaks a bit but was standing firm. It was so warm and spring like that I decided to put in a second row of broad beans, they fitted in snugly between the first row and the garlic.

The new rhubarb seems to taken well to it's new home and is busy pushing through leaves, it's a marvel to see the bright pink buds and red leaves when there's hardly anything else growing on the plot.
I also spent a little time sorting out the strawberries, replanting some of the runners and moving a few of the plants so they will be easier to cover later in the year when the fruit appears.