As well as lots going on there is lots gone. The strong winds finished off the cover of the small greenhouse that served us so well last year.
At least I can keep an eye on Nick weeding. The peas have survived very well and seem to have benefitted from exposure to the elements.
We decided to take advantage of Homebase having a 20% off weekend and splash out on a new cover for the grand price of £10.40. It is lovely and cosy and having strengthing threads throughout means than it should survive better and will also act as a sun filter when summer comes. The great fear is that the guy rope tabs done seem as strong but we shall see.
After the warning last year of the smell of Comfrey Tea, I have discovered, the hard way, that Nettle Tea is almost as bad in a highly concentrated form.
I will quote from organicgarden.org.uk who say:
Nettle sprayBio-dynamic gardeners and growers have a very high regard for the common stinging nettle, using the leaves in sprays of several kinds. As well as using nettles as an activator on the compost heap (page 27) the organic gardener can use them as a liquid manure and as an aphicide.
Gather 224g (l/21b) young nettles and soak in a bucket of water for a week. Strain and use undiluted as a control of aphids on roses and celery leaf miner. Add the mushy nettles to the compost heap.
Although they do head the page with:
Please Note: Under UK and EC law it is illegal to use any preparation as a garden spray, or treatment, that is not approved for such use. This information is for historical reference only and its inclusion here does not imply a recommendation for use.I think the big problem was that they have been steeping for two months which will have added to the strength and also the smell although once bottled is does look like good stuff.
We had a lucky find last week, when Ted told us about a load of rhubard crowns that had been left on a deralict plot. I don't know the variety but they are now on the bank in front of 53. We planted 8 in total so should have a good crop in 2008.
The visiting allotmenteers were with us again this weekend and thankfully the sun shone, although it was very cold so after moving 15 barrow loads of manure and a lot of digging Rebecca decided that valuable work needed doing in the greenhouse. The second batch of broad beans have been sown ready for successional planting at the end of February.
The boys toys were out again, I couldn't even lift the sledge hammer never mind swing it, and it is amazing how quickly the posts went up for the duck compound, with Nick holding and Matt swinging the sledge hammer. It was very scientific and a great relief that they were wearing the same size boots to be able to measure accurately between the posts. The back and side posts are up so the wire can start to go on which hopefully with help keep the rabbits out. The compound looks a bit like the OK corral and with sturdy 8 foot posts (with 2 foot of that buried in the ground) I don't think they should blow over.
The latest produce from Pyotts Products is vegetable crisps. A combination of potatoe, parsnip and beetroot. It is a shame I didn't think of them earlier as I am sure there is someway of making courgette crisps. This is the prototype and it received mixed reviews such as 'more chewy that crips' and 'different' but I like them.
We were devastated to find that the gate on 51 had not coped with the wind over the last couple of days and had been blowing open at night leaving a perfect opportunity for the rabbits to get in and decimate our remaining crops. They must have thought it was Christmas and Easter all rolled into one. The stems on the purple sprouting broccoli was stripped, the sprouts had been eaten off the stems as far as a rabbit can reach and the celery was vertually non existant.
They even had a go at the swede. The only thing they hadn't touched were the walking stick cabbages.
I managed to salvage some leeks but they had had the tops nibbled.
At least we had plenty of tea to lift our spirits but I forgot to take cups so we had to improvise with the bottom of lemonade bottles. The hot tea softened them so tghe final shape was not how it started. You can also see from this picture why was are called the owl people.
We also bought some artichokes at the potato day. The large two are Jerusalem Artichokes that have gone straight into the ground and the smaller ones Chinese Artichokes. I have put them in pots as instructed but haven't got a clue what I do with them after that expecially how to eat them as they look more like maggots than vegetables.
We forgot that the gladioli from last year were still hanging to dry in the small greenhouse at home. I stripped back the old corm and the dead stalks and we have 92 large corms ready to plant. The advantage now is that you can tell what colour the flowers are going to be by the colour of the corms.
We decided to take advantage of Homebase having a 20% off weekend and splash out on a new cover for the grand price of £10.40. It is lovely and cosy and having strengthing threads throughout means than it should survive better and will also act as a sun filter when summer comes. The great fear is that the guy rope tabs done seem as strong but we shall see.
After the warning last year of the smell of Comfrey Tea, I have discovered, the hard way, that Nettle Tea is almost as bad in a highly concentrated form.
We had a lucky find last week, when Ted told us about a load of rhubard crowns that had been left on a deralict plot. I don't know the variety but they are now on the bank in front of 53. We planted 8 in total so should have a good crop in 2008.
The visiting allotmenteers were with us again this weekend and thankfully the sun shone, although it was very cold so after moving 15 barrow loads of manure and a lot of digging Rebecca decided that valuable work needed doing in the greenhouse. The second batch of broad beans have been sown ready for successional planting at the end of February.
The boys toys were out again, I couldn't even lift the sledge hammer never mind swing it, and it is amazing how quickly the posts went up for the duck compound, with Nick holding and Matt swinging the sledge hammer. It was very scientific and a great relief that they were wearing the same size boots to be able to measure accurately between the posts. The back and side posts are up so the wire can start to go on which hopefully with help keep the rabbits out. The compound looks a bit like the OK corral and with sturdy 8 foot posts (with 2 foot of that buried in the ground) I don't think they should blow over. 
The latest produce from Pyotts Products is vegetable crisps. A combination of potatoe, parsnip and beetroot. It is a shame I didn't think of them earlier as I am sure there is someway of making courgette crisps. This is the prototype and it received mixed reviews such as 'more chewy that crips' and 'different' but I like them.
A break from gardening to join Christmas at the funny farm.
Katy was quite concerned when everybody turned into poodles but........ 
..........Aaron, Matt and Rebecca drew lots as to who was going to save us. Matt seems to have them under control.
Meanwhile, the after dinner frog walk seems to be attracting quite a crowd.
In the bed, that was the potatoe bed this year, the garlic is taking up half but the other half is for the winter broad beans and peas. Nick is finishing off digging for the plants to go in while I am shifting muck. I moved 28 barrow loads and don't seem to have made much difference to the pile.
The parcel that was delivered was in fact our Christmas present to ourselves, a selection of fruit trees and bushes. This means that No 53 has finally become the focus of our attention. It is amazing how quickly the space was used up, we have planted 5 apple, 1 pear, a cultivated blackberry, 1 tayberry, another whitecurrant and another blackcurrant. Next time I will make a list and plan of all of them so that we have a record of what is where just in case we lose the labels.
