Update for Easter

There is a lot going on in all three greenhouses, at the moment but not a lot to photograph as seedlings are so small so I will make sure that regular updates are given. The little greenhouse is home to the brassicas - Kale, sprouts, broccoli etc, as well as dahlias in pots on the ground.





We are diversifying at the allotment as I have a pasion for basketry, I have planted a willow bed. I got the cuttings from Yorkshire Willow. There are a total of 17 varieties (listed below) so we have planted them in such a way that they will make an attractive screen for the ducks as well as being practical.

I am not convinced that I will be able to make anything worthwhile for Christmas 2009 but I am hoping that the willow and wine will solve all my Christmas and birthday problems for years to come.

I think a book on willow weaving would be a good birthday present if anybody is wondering what to get me.




One problem is that the ducks are walking all over the sticks and we are sure that they will nibble off the young shoots when they appear so a bit of duck defence building. Nick is always one for innovation so the netting was a bit that we scavenged and the posts were the frame of Katy's old bed (thank you Ikea).

I can hear you saying, this seems a larger area that the willow bed. A cunning plan here as the rest of this area is going to be for the vinyard. We found one grape reduced at Country Gardens this week so have one already. This is a red wine grape so we will be planting a red rose at the end of the row. We have eight roses in the nursery bed on the allotment. As well as the one red we have three pink, two white and two peach. We are not going to rush to get the others as we need to get appropriate varieties. It is OK for the red, but not sure that we will find pink or peach grapes so we may be keeping a rose bed at the allotment.


The fruit trees are coming out in blossom with the peach having lovely delicate dark pink flowers, but my favourite is the apple blossom with its delicate white flowers and yellow stamen.





Apple isn't too impressed and prefers to lie down amount the blackcurrent bushes. We had to do a bit of animal husbandry this week as she was limping and after close inspection we found a small cut on her foot. We will keep a close eye on here but if there is any fear of infection we mighty have to bring her home for a good clean and to get her some antibiotics if it gets infected.








The big greenhouse is only designed for short people at the moment (or those who can duck) as hanging baskets are started with plug plants. The have a mix of geraniums, coriander, frailing petunia, trailing alysum, and soon will have some tumbling toms added.








Good timing for going back to work on Tuesday as we have a lovely crop of salad leaves ready for cutting. We have done one full cut already and they seem to be growing fast. I have another lot ready to follow on. The boxes next to them have spring onions and carrots growing so we should have a green salad soon.







It shouldn't be long before we have some lovely new potatoes. I have planted two lots in the greenhouse, and the warm weather in the last couple of weeks has really brought them on. It should only be another couple of weeks before we see flowers. The only fear of growing in this way is that you get a lot of top and not much underneath i.e. not a good crop of spuds.








You might think that the whole week has been spent on the allotment. Well, this is not the case.

A couple of months ago we bought a chair at auction for £12. It is a lovely looking chair but somebody had decided that it would look better as a black and white minstrel's chair so there was nothing for it but to start stripping





Two hours and a lot a scraping and scrubbing later, it is starting to look fantastic. It looks like it is traditionally made with elm seal and the rest in Oak. There is still quite a bit of work to do but it should be a lovely piece of furniture when it is finished.

It only remains to be seen if its final home is in Hampshire or Kent.





Willow varieties


1. Salix Alba (White Willow) - White willow is a tall tree which generally grows to between 15 and 30m tall. The bark is greyish-brown in colour. The twigs are brown or olive, Buds are dark brown. Salix Alba is common by rivers and streams. It generally becomes scarcer westwards, especially in Wales and Scotland. Full sun to light shade; ample water; tolerates a wide range of soil and conditions.

2. Salix Alba Chermesina (Scarlet Willow) - Rich yellow to red rods giving excellent winter colour. Can grow to 7m, very attractive, yellow-red annual growth, with the colour improving the more pruning is done.
Full sun to light shade; ample water; tolerates a wide range of soil and conditions. Of all the many types of Salix alba, this is one of the best for winter colour. Great ornamental willow.

3. Salix Alba Fragilis (Flanders Red) - Basketry willow that is wonderful to work with due to it's slightly waxy skin. The red autumn colour dries to an orange. Great ornamental willow. Changes from the green in summer to red winter. Full sun to light shade; ample water; tolerates a wide range of soil and conditions.

4. Salix Alba Vitellina (Golden Willow) - Golden willow is a tall graceful tree which can grow to 30m. The year old twigs are its most distinguishing characteristic as they are bright yellow or orange making them very conspicuous in winter months. Thrives in wet conditions and variety of soil types, full sun or part shade. The strong flexible rods are excellent for basketry. Coppicing yields 2m stems with little branching. Ideal for hedges or to enhance winter landscape with colourful stems.

5. Salix Candida - Very attractive willow with thick stems, growing 1.5m per year in sheltered locations, having large “furry” leaves, with large yellow catkins. Salix Candida is from North America, a very ornamental willow which grows into a small shrub up to 2.5m in height. The hairy rods remind of deer antlers. A further feature of this willow are the very large buds.

6. Salix Daphniodes (Continental Purple) - A hardy daphnoides, taller rods can be used as uprights in living willow sculptures, with the smaller rods being pliable enough for basketry. Great winter colour with new growth.

7. Salix Fragilis Decipiens (White Welsh) - A basketry willow with a very light bark colour, giving a good contrast when used together with darker rods in coloured basketwork.

8. Salix Nigricians (Black Willow) - Fabulous willow with wonderful pitch black bark which has a purple sheen to it. Young growth is a lovely black and green. Grows to 10m. Shining ebony coloured stems throughout winter. Prune hard annually in spring for best bark effect. A lovely ornamental willow. Full sun to shade and will tolerate a wide range of soil types.

9. Salix Pentandra (Bay Willow) - A large willow shrub or small tree usually growing to 5-7m high but exceptionally known to reach 17m. Salix pentandra is frequently found by streams and rivers and on wet ground. Bay willow appeals to gardeners because of its attractive foliage and catkins and is said to have fragrance like Bay leaves.

10. Salix Purpurea (Purple Willow) - Can grow up to 5m high or make a lovely shrub or hedge. Stems are slender, tough and flexible, tinged with purple. This is a traditional basket making variety, producing medium-fine rods up to 2m long. It has lovely blue/green leaves, and very attractive foliage with colourful stems which stand out in winter especially. Ideal for basketry, hurdles, or furniture. Full sun to part shade, thrives with regular watering, will tolerate range of soil types.

11. Salix Purpurea (Cohu Blue) - Slender leaved variety, can grow up to 5M. It has lovely blue/green leaves, and very attractive foliage with colourful stems which stand out in winter especially. Full sun to part shade, thrives with regular watering, will tolerate range of soil types.

12. Salix Purpurea (Green Dicks) - Produces a fine rod with a pale green/yellow stem, which changes to a whitish green in the winter. Can grow up to 5m. Bright olive green new growth, vigorous, especially with an annual pruning. Full sun to part shade, thrives with regular deep watering, tolerates a wide range of soil types

13. Salix Sachalinensis (Sekka) - Rods curve round and can be used fresh or dried in flower arrangements. Catkins appear in February, turning first pink and then golden as they mature. Sekka will grow to around 4m height and makes a lovely feature in a garden. Excellent ornamental shrub. Can grow into huge tropical shrub. Very distinctive shaped leaves not found in any other willows.

14. Salix Tortuosa (Corkscrew/Contorted) - A fast growing, spreading deciduous tree which can grow up to 10m with narrow tapering bright green leaves. The corkscrew effect in the stems being most evident after leaf fall. More drought tolerant than most willows. Contortion increases with vigor so pollarding enhances it. Thrives best in moist soil conditions and prefers full sun.

15. Salix Triandra (Black Maul) - Salix Triandra or ‘Almond Leaved Willow’ is a small bushy tree or robust spreading shrub that can reach 8m. The bark is smooth and dark grey. The twigs are olive-brown, the leaves are regularly serrated and dark green above and green below. One of the most attractive and fragrant willows and is being used more frequently as a garden shrub. Owing to it’s dark maroon-black new growth and very bright autumn colours it is highly ornamental. Triandra is a traditional basket making variety and has deep brown stems. It is also ideal for hedging, and living willow structures. Full sun to part shade, thrives with regular watering and will tolerate wide range of soil types.

16. Salix Viminalis (Common Osier) - Fast growing yellow/green variety, long shoots but lower number of shoots than other varieties. Hardy vigorous variety, producing long straight stems with growth up to 2m a year, traditionally used to make baskets for fishing and agriculture. Other uses include living structures, furniture, drawing charcoal, wind-breaks, soil stabilisation, waste filtration, and fuel. The stems or ‘Rods’ are very tough and flexible, ideal for construction of living willow structures. Happy in full sun or part shade and thrives on regular watering. It will tolerate a wide variety of soil types.

17. Salix Viminalis Tora - Hardy fast growing yellow/brown variety (cross between Salix Viminalis & Salix Schwerinni). Long shoots and a somewhat lower number of shoots than other varieties. Its yield is the highest of all varieties available. Very hardy vigorous variety, producing long straight stems with growth up to 3m a year. Similar in properties to Salix Viminalis, traditionally used to make baskets for fishing and agriculture. Other uses include living structures, furniture, drawing charcoal, windbreaks, soil stabilisation, waste filtration, and fuel. The stems or ‘Rods’ are very tough and flexible, ideal for construction of living willow structures. Happy in full sun or part shade and thrives on regular watering. Will tolerate a wide variety of soil types.

Full house

Today was a full 10 eggs so it really must be Spring

This was also confirmed by the fact that I got home late and we sat, in the dark, drinking tea, with a herd of ducks who wouldn't go to bed, foraging around us. I really did think that life is great and a good way to escape from the rat race (no sign of them either since the rat catcher has been putting boxes down).

Unfortunately, Emily is her own duck, as opposed to the others who share a brain cell, and also camouflaged when it gets dark. We eventually got all the other ducks to bed only to turn round and find her standing on the path looking at us.

How many eggs?

How many eggs in the bedroom



How many eggs in the living room



Bedroom



Living room




Total - a dozen eggs to anybody who got it right from the first two pictures.

Red nose day 2009

All things red today. Except that is for my red sport relief top which has been adopted by Star as his bed so it is now red on the front and white on the back as it is the start of the moulting season.

Talking of seasons, it is the laying season, so we starting with going up to three eggs last weekend to 6 on Wednesday and Thursday and eight today. Anybody who would like some duck eggs please e-mail ird@sky.com and I will deliver. In the spirit of the day, you could make a small donation to Comic Relief in exchange.

Nick did a fantastic job rattling his bucket at work today and raised over £100.

Still on the red theme, the first pulling of rhubarb last Sunday was a treat and a reminder to get the cookery books out.





I worked hard at the weekend to get the second greenhouse up to the standard it should be in March and I must admit it was looking a bit sad after a neglected for months. It looks lovely now and thanks to the coffee sticks I will actually know what the seedlings are when the appear.

Just a few days later, I notice today that I have some leeks, red cabbage and peas - at least that's what the sticks say.

It must be spring

The weather may be cold but the ducks think it is spring - we had the first blue egg of the year this morning and that must be a sign that spring is here.

Sadly we lost Spikey today

Busy in the kitchen

Today was fine but bitterly cold. We had to take Spikey to the vet this morning and really didn't expect to bring him home but came away with a more perky cat, having had a anabolic steroid injection and with a prescription for human heart tablets to take as well as his cat heart tablets, diuretic and laxative. He is spending most of his time sleeping but seems a bit happier. I suppose we will sleep a lot when we are 147 years old.

We then had to do our stint in the OBAGS shop from 11-12 so by the time we got home really weren't in the mood for planting shallots so they are still in the box.

We did make a new batch of bird food and finished the first batch of ginger beer. The plant has been brewing away in the kitchin for the last week and it was time to boil up a syrup add lemon juice and bottle.

It made three litres with a little bit left over. Having tasted this, I can confirm that the recipe is correct when it says to leave it for a week for the yeasty taste to go.

I am a bit concerned whether the bottle tops will hold as it is still fizzing and we may come down tomorrow morning to find ginger beer all over the kitchen ceiling so maybe they will be assigned to the shed for a week.

Yesterday's news

Firstly, I must show you the temperature in the greenhouse at 10am yesterday. By midday it had reached 80 but the battery had gone on the camea so you will have to take my word for it.















The other great news from yesterday was that we were on the route of the Valentine day tour from Waterloo, which passed through Basingstoke at 11.40. It was a fantastic sight but we were too amazed to grab the camera, so here is a picture taken from their official website.

A treat for bird watchers

Yesterday was a great day for birdwatching. The heavy snow didn't seem to deter them and the blackbirds especially were feeding throughout the afternoon.


Robins are supposed to be very protective of their part of the garden but these two seem to have a mutual respect for each other.



There was one mystery visitor who looked a cross between a female blackbird, a thrush and a cuckoo but the latest concensus is that it is a juvaline something. Suggestions welcome.


Close up for detail.

No place to hide in the snow

.We got to the allotment today and had the first opportunity to have a good walk around in the snow. I can't believe that this time last week we were digging and also that the snow has been here for so long.

It looks lovely on 51 and 52 and for the first time in our allotment history - not a weed in site






Looks like we are going to have to give up on the idea of any more greens this year as the rabbits have found their way in and destroyed every remaining plant. Not content in eating it all, they also recycled into rabbit droppings and left a lovely trail.
We found the entry point in the back fence where they seem to have chewed their way through the wire. Will nothing stop these pests?


It is not only us with problems, Teds netting over his sprouts is weighed down to the ground with snow. I just hope that he can get it cleared before the netting rips as we lost loads to snow two years ago. It is amazing how heavy it is. We have made sure that we have kept the ducks netting cleared as I would hate it to all come down on top of them.

Snow again

It is so British to spend so much time talking about the weather but what do you expect when we spent the day digging on Saturday, too cold to even get a fork in the ground on Sunday and a thick covering of snow on Monday. What a difference two days makes


I did make good use of my time stuck in doors yesterday and made a new bird feeder.

Instructions: Take one empty plastic bottle. Cut a hold large enough for a bird to get its head in (size depends on the type of birds you want to attract). With a hot skewer make a hole one inch below the hole on the back and front of the bottle. Insert a chop stick through the holes ensuring that it fits snugly. Tie string around the neck of the bottle and screw the cap in place. Melt a block of lard in a large pan add enough bird seed to soak up all the lard. Fill the bottom of the bottle with the seed mix. Hang in a tree in a convenient position.

By the time I had finished the first one, it was too dark to photograph so here it is in the snow. A cheeky blackbird soon found it and has spent all morning back and forth feeding itself.

I will have to make sure that the next report is allotment related and not an update on the weather.

I was considering getting some shallots in at the weekend(having bought a bag at the potatoe day last Sunday) but just as well that I waited.

The potatoe day was as usual a great event. We made it a family event with Matt and Rebecca having their first experience now that they are great gardeners. We got a bag of Red Robin for Katy (who couldn't make) and a wide selection for ourselves. Red Robin was the particular choice as instructions from Katy were good bakers.

We also got some Ambo and Valor which are also good bakers but white.

We couldn't leave without some Pink Fir Applie and we also got, Presto, Nicola, Royal Kidney, Galactica, Rocket and Ratte.

Looks like we weren't the only visitors as they had a total of 1,988 visitors although I suspect that there were not many more than two who came all the way from Kent for the event.

http://thewhitchurchweb.org/potatoday/

I have discovered that there is only one blackbird that has discovered the seed bottle so I have just made another one to hang at the other side of the garden where the great tits, blue tits, coal tits, robin and other blackbirds gather. This one has the last of the peanuts, although I was reluctant to put them in as my birder friends tell me that you should stop using peanuts when there may be young so this is their last.

I also put a dish of warm water out and this robin loves having a scandanavian experience of a bath in the snow.

New Year, New Snow

It was a surprise to get up this morning, having listened to the weather forcast from both ITV and the BBC, which told us that it would be milder today, to find it was snowing. Stepping outside made me exclaim (not a quote) that it was colder than I expected and far too cold to snow. Shows what I know about the weather.

Strangely, yesterday we though it was going to be a nice day, as we got up to what appeared to be promise of a clear day. We were stunned to find a covering of snow at Basingstoke station and at the ducks. It appears that it had snowed on Basingstoke town but stopped once you got outside. I can only assume that snow is post code related and as we are RG24 we didn't qualify, whereas RG21 was on yesterday's list.


It did make the circus tent start looking like a tent as it was evident that there had been no wind with the snow as every single upper surface of the chicken wire (or fruit wire in our case) was coated with snow. The ducks were a bit reluctant to go out as the same had happened to their compound.


Maisy and Daisy are very confused as to why they can't swim or why there is no foraging. Roll on spring when the slugs are back, is what they must be thinking.

it is fantastic walking around the allotment when it has been snowing and working out what bird and animal tracks there are. There is a fantastic absence of rat prints but a scarily large amount of rabbit prints and rabbit droppings. Of course, they have wonderful fur coats so are not bothered by the snow. Sadly, there is a shortage of water for the brids as evidenced by the prints in the water trough where the brids have been trying to get at the water.

We have, for the last week, been glad that we are wine makers as we have used the lightweight plastic demi-johns to transport water for the ducks. We haven't been able to take enough for their pond but have kept two plastic boxes and one cat litter tray topped up. Today must have been the coldest day this week as the water we put in in the mornings was frozen by the time we went back in the afternoon so it obviously didn't get above freezing during the day.

It is OK for people who got welly warmers for Christmas as it really was bitterly cold.





Also OK for people who got new Town & Country fleece lined gardening boots for Christmas.......



... and lovely for people who got rabbit slippers for Christmas, to put on when they get home.



Which takes me back to bunnies and the slightly unfortunate side of allotmenteering. We, rather strangely, based on the fact that the ground was like concrete, went to dig some of Katy's parsnips. Again, rather silly as the covering of snow meant that we couldn't find them, but we found that the rabbits had decided to do major excavation from the field behind her plot into her allotment. There is going to have to be some serious filling in and defence building in the spring. Thankfully, when Len gave up his allotment, he gave us some galvanised sheet, which will be ideal for building a defence, if we bury it three feet in the ground. Don't tell Matthew but it is on his list!

Christmas breakfast

Christmas breakfast if you are a duck (and your owners had prawn cocktail the day before)















Christmas breakfast if you own ducks (and remembered to get salmon from Tesco)

Winter harvest time is quite different from the summer and where we have always had disaster with parsnips as our ground is so shallow, Katy is quite different. They are our leeks, onions and artichokes but we cannot even match her on parsnips as ours are about as thick as the leeks and about as long as the onions.





Following on from previous posts, the rest of the sleepers have been moved to our allotment. A rather unusual technique of tossing the sleeper was adopted but.....




they have been piled along the path, carefully avoiding placing them on raspberry canes ........






.. and they make lovely seat for a well earned rest.












I am thinking about starting a spot the difference competition as there seems to be growing similarities between Nick and Matt.

We garden by organic methods so there is no risk of genetic modification.