October snow

Can you believe it, snow in October and it seems that Basingstoke got the worst of it. By the time I had got to Winchester on the train there was not sign of any and from out weather watchers in Tonbridge none in Kent.

I must admit, I wouldn't stand where the ducks are as you can see the roof sagging under the weight of the snow. With the sun shining it is soon going to start dripping or even worse suddenly collapse on top of them.















It is a good job we didn't get the netting on the circus tent as I am sure that would have collapsed. That is now a job for the spring as the birds and ducks have done a good job of getting rid of all the bugs around the fruit but we don't want a repeat of the last two years when the pigeons have got to the berries before we have.



It is amazing how warm the greenhouse keeps under the snow. We still have a regular supply of salad leaves and more germinating so it should keep us going for a while.













The whole allotment actually looks better in the snow as you can't see how shoddy we have been in keeping it tidy. We should have all the digging done by now but so far there are only two beds, one has been planted with garlic and the other is ready for broad beans but at the moment a bit to sticky to get at it. Still, this will do the parsnips good and the Jerusalem artichokes don't mind a bit of frost.















All the dahlias have gone black so we need to get some time to cut them back and cover them for the winter. Last year we dug them all up and stored them but without great success so this year we are going to leave them in the ground and give them a good mulch of duck bedding which should keep the frost off and give them a bit of home made manure.