HAPPY NEW YEAR

A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TO ALL

CELEBRATE WITH A DRINK

Rooko's January Top 10 Tryouts & Tips

1. Are you a pet owner? Dogs Cats Rabbits etc. When you have groomed them save up the hair/fur. This can be deposited around your garden/allotment so that birds can use it for lining their nests. If the birds don't use it up, it may well discourage slugs from the area.

2. Slugs and Snails will be loving the wet weather we have experienced in UK this year and know doubt their populations will have drastically increased. One good method of killing them off is to spread oatmeal around on slug infested areas. Cheap and effective this method it be! (thanks Yoda).

3. Some allotment holders say they have little work to do on the allotment during the Winter months. If your soil is dry enough digging and/or rotavating it and adding compost or manure, will add nutrients and structure to it. This will give you a head start by the time Spring arrives.

4. Apply some mulch to your garden plants before any permanent frost sets in. The contents of used grow bags can be re-used for this. Lettuce or similar veggies can also be sown in old grow bags in the greenhouse.

5. Make sure your houseplants are not drying out, courtesy of your central heating being on during the Winter.

6. Many shrubs and trees can be planted in January. Try adding some evergreens to your garden, for permanent colour.

7. January is a good month to start chitting your seed potatoes. Lay them out in trays in a dry frost free place. Discard any damaged or diseased specimens.

8. This is an old tip I posted many moons ago but I thought it was worth re-posting. When you discard your (real) Christmas tree this year, saw the trunk into sections just below each set of branches, leaving a few inches of trunk intact above the branches. The branches on most Christmas trees grow around the trunk at the same height. Cut the branches down to a manageable length. Drill a hole through the trunk above the branches. Screw the completed "hooks" in place in your shed for hanging tools etc up on. Or sharpen the trunk piece and use for pegging down netting etc.

Christmas Tree Peg

9. Cleaning out your shed, greenhouse/outbuilding now is a good idea. Get rid of all the unusable clutter, "that has been kept for later" before the sowing/planting season starts.

10. If you intend to carry out any Winter pruning, check the weather forecast first. Heavy frosts can damage recently pruned trees and shrubs easily.

Reindeers Make Good Compost

A Nice Christmas Present

 The continuing rain finally eased off during mid morning today. With my Christmas celebrations over for another year and the last of the minced pies eaten, I decided to visit my plots. It has become a post Christmas ritual for me to take the used, discarded Christmas wrapping paper, cardboard and kitchen waste down to the plot, before new year and deposit it onto the compost heap. Having checked over the mass of paper and cardboard for any none compost able materials it was duly loaded into the back of my car, along with the bagged up kitchen waste and I set off for the allotments.

Two of my fellow allotmenteers arrived at the same time as I did, with the intention of checking over their plots for flooding and wind damage. They remarked that not much work would be possible due to the saturated condition of the ground. Leaving my car on the allotment road next to Plot N2, (my grass parking areas were far too wet and soggy to park on), I unloaded the car and deposited the paper, card and kitchen waste onto the compost heap.

Not Real Reindeers On The Compost Heap Of Course

  All of the grass paths around the plots were sodden with surface rainwater, with several inches of standing water on the lower end of both plots. The weak Winter sun was by now just showing through the broken cloud, but not warm enough to dry out the ground. Jason, who's plot is next to mine was the fourth person in attendance. He was busy digging trenches along the length of his plot and installing a drainage system, so that the rainwater would run off down the sloping ground into the drainage ditch at the lower, southern, end of our plots. I checked out my sheds for water damage and any leaks, tidied up some paper and vegetation that had been blown onto my plot, depositing onto the compost heap. I then checked over the beds of both plots. The Rhubarb plants were growing well, each with several new stalks already well developed. The Chives and Welsh Onions and Strawberry trees seemed unaffected by the wet ground, as did the Senshyu Onions at the top end of N1 plot. My Spring Cabbages were just about surviving the wet conditions but by now they badly need thinning out. My overwintering Lettuces, under cloches, were at about the same stage of growth, as they were the last time I visited the plot. I shelled a few more Runner beans inside my shed then left for home, deciding that nothing else could be achieved.

Latest news flash from Sky News, Potatoes selling at approximately £12 per bag (Somerset).

Mud Splattered Leeks

Waterlogged

Lower End of N2 Plot 30/12/2012

Rhubarb Looking O.K. Top of N2 Plot 30/12/2012

Welsh Onions Chives & Strawberry Trees Looking O.K. Top of N2 Plot 30/12/2012

Waterlogged Alpine Strawberries 30/12/2012

There's always tomorrow.

Fantasy Allotment Plans For 2013

Many of the gardening/allotment blog posts I have read over this past Christmas week had a similar theme of either planning for next years sowing and planting, or re-capping on this years successes and failures. Despite the common factor of too much rain, all of them were interesting in their own way. One or two blogs mentioned the possibility that gardeners and indeed farmers, may have to grow different types of crops to the "norm", in future, to offset the effects of both flooding and climate change. 2 gardening magazines which I have read recently expressed the same opinions.

 Are you attempting to grow different crops next year? Leave me a comment, I would be interested to know what differences may be taking place into the future. I will publish a post in mid 2013, on the outcome, if enough people are interested in commenting.

As for my 2 plots, (If I ever get plot N2 cleared of weeds), I will be sticking to the usual crops, I normally grow, next year. I usually order larger quantities of seeds, from my supplier, than the common sizes found in the majority of retail outlets, therefor it would be silly to waste the seeds I have left from last seasons order.

 I also received news today that I will be having my current hip replacement, replaced, in mid January. I expect to be out of action, down the plot for at least 3 months after that. Of course that will be well into the new sowing and planting season. I now have just over 20 days to finish clearing N2 plot, if the rain stops, which looks unlikely.

 I visited my plots on Sunday last, when I lifted several Leeks, another batch of Sprouts for Christmas dinner and I also harvested my Oca, (see my post of 13/3/2012), from the surviving 4 plants, on my old plot. The Oca was cooked for boxing day dinner and wasn't up to expectations. Not so much tasting of Potato with a Lemony tang, as just a bland very soft (mushy) Potato taste. The amount of tubers I harvested from the 4 plants was greater than expected but not enough to justify planting out in 15 or 20 foot rows over a large allotment area. The original 6 tubers that I purchased panned out at £1 each. So for my money not a crop to bother with again. I maybe wrong but the Oca could have been adversely affected by too much rainwater over their long growing period, or my cooking method (same as spuds) was incorrect.

1 Large Bowl of Oca After They Were Cleaned

 Prior to last Sunday I managed 2 days down the plot, a week last Monday and Tuesday. The rain had held off for a while so another 2 foot of the central bed on N2 Plot was double dug and cleared of Dandelion roots and other weeds. I also managed to completely clear one of the smaller beds of weeds and double dig it, leaving one more smaller bed to complete from a total of 4. Heavy rain during most other days for the past fortnight has halted further progress. It was recently suggested to me that I should use the Dandelions to make wine from. I reckon if I did, I could supply half the country with Dandelion wine in the process?? (No checkout available by the way).

THE FOLLOWING PLANS ARE NEXT YEARS FANTASY LAYOUT

My Main Plot 2013

N2 Plot Layout for 2013

I will be sowing/planting the following vegetables next season, weather and time permitting of course.

Beans Runner (Scarlet Emporer & Enorma) - seeds from this years plants.

Beans Climbing (Cobra) - seeds from this years plants

Beans Borlotti - ordering later

Beetroot Bolthardy - from this years seeds

Brussels Sprouts - 3 varieties from this years seeds

Cabbages Derby Day - from this years seed

Carrot - at least 3 varieties as early as possible

Chard - Not chosen yet

Cucumber - 2 Ridge varieties (none under glass)

Khol-rabi - Balot - ordering later

Leeks Musselburgh - from this years seeds

Lettuce - several different varieties (especially the B&Q mixed variety)??

Onions Ailsa Craig - maincrop 

Onion Senshyu - already sown and growing

Onion Salad - White Lisbon & Ramrod - from this years seeds

Parsnips Gladiator - from this years seeds

Peas Feltham First, Kevedon Wonder & Hursts Greenshaft from this years seeds

Potatoes Desiree - Main crop only, to be ordered

Pumpkin Atlantic Giant - from saved seed

Radish - undecided

Swede Marion - from this years seeds

Sweetcorn Lark F1 - ordering later

Tomatoes - A couple of indoor varieties only to be ordered later

Turnips Purple Top Milan - from this years seeds

Although todays weather has been mainly dry, cold and breezy, I can hear the rain just starting again. Think I will have another couple of minced pies and a cuppa.

There's always tomorrow.

 

Don't Drink and Drive

Well after an extremely frustrating gardening year  for most gardeners and "allotmenteers" in UK, I would just like to wish all of my readers and followers a very happy and merry Christmas.

 

 Don't Lose the Plot at Christmas !!

Still Digging (Part 7)!! Restarted !

A Touch of Frost

I had fully expected the digging and removal of the Dandelions, Creeping Buttercups and other weeds, from the main, central bed on N2 plot to have been completed before Christmas. Up until Sunday last, the soil was still too wet to walk or work on. I finally managed to resume digging by late morning on Sunday the 9th, which was a cold but gloriously sunny day. By late afternoon, working across the bed, I had double dug, back approximately 2 feet of ground, removing roots, weeds and debris as I turned over the damp clay soil.

Frozen Raspberry Bed N1 Plot

 Heavy overnight ground frosts have been a feature of our local weather, for a week or so recently. Any newly dug soil is breaking down nicely thanks to the effects of the frost, although the weak Winter sunshine has left the grounds' surface fairly damp and sticky, as it melted away the frost. I spent most of last Monday continuing the work on the central bed. Many of the large Dandelion roots were slightly easier to remove from the soil encasing them, due to the fact that the combination of frost and sunlight had made the soil less sticky and more friable, across most of the bed. I continued with the digging and weeding on Tuesday and by the time it was getting dark, I had progressed back down the bed another 2 feet or so.

About 15 Feet to Complete

There was a particularly heavy frost on Tuesday night and as it melted on Wednesday morning, it left the soils' surface slippery underfoot so I decided to move my digging efforts to one of the smaller beds. These smaller beds seem to have a greater depth of top soil on them, as opposed to clay, thus making the digging easier and removal of weeds slightly quicker to do. By Wednesday evening this bed was almost fully dug over and weed free, with only a couple of feet of ground left to deal with. One and a half good sized barrow loads of roots and weeds were removed from this bed alone. It has been very noticeable, (and probably due to this years wet weather), just how many Slugs, Earwigs and Cut worms, plus their eggs, have been apparent within the soil, whilst I have been turning it over. I expect there will be a large rise in the number of these particular pests next year, with an upsurge in their efforts to attack various vegetable crops at will. I was glad to see a few Cut worms, still encased in their tombs of soil, where they had been frozen to death, by the recent frosts.

First Barrow Load of  Roots from Small Bed N2 Plot

 Yesterday was a none starter due to the fact that someone told me it was only 12 days to Christmas, (that's funny I thought, I haven't seen any Partridges in my Pear tree lately). I decided it was time to get some shopping done. Having eaten a host of mince pies, already, since yesterday, it was time for my favorite shopping experience again today, (the local supermarket). Just as well as its been raining heavily for most of the day, making more digging etc out of the question, except for digging into some more mince pies that is, love em!

  There's always tomorrow!

1 Creeping Buttercup Root

Frozen Leaf & a Few Snowflakes

      

Baahh Humbug!!

I ventured down to my plots again, last Saturday in the hope that I could achieve some constructive work there, after a dry cold week with most days being breezy and sunny. Not a bit of it. The ground was still incredibly wet with even the grass paths squelching underfoot. After a quick perusal of the situation I deposited more kitchen waste on the compost heap and left for home in my car which skidded in the mud, as I reversed out of my parking space at the top end of plot N2.

Last Wednesday night I attended a regular pub quiz at one of our local rural pubs. Four of the regular teams couldn't make the quiz, due to the fact that their villages were still cut off from the rest of civilization by the recent floods.

At present 16 huge extra pumps (along with 20 other pumping stations) are pumping excess rain water from the Somerset levels (3rd time this year) at a rate of 10 tonnes per second, into the local rivers. If there is no further rainfall, it will take a full month to bring the water levels down to acceptable levels. Guess what, it's been raining here again since about midday yesterday.

Several villages around the levels area are still cut off by the flood waters. As of last Friday repair crews were still working to clear some of the 13 landslips from the rail lines between Exeter and Plymouth.  One statistic I heard recently, was that Somerset was subjected to 280% more rainfall than it "normally" gets in November. What were the figures for your area??

This is a link to the BBC's article about the pumping operations CLICK HERE.

UPDATE TO THE ABOVE POST 

5 more pumps have recently been added to the ones already pumping rain water from the Somerset Levels and surrounding areas. 20 Tonnes of water per second are now being pumped out. The main Taunton to Glastonbury trunk road is still under water as is the A361 between East Lyng and Burrowbridge, along with other areas in between. Muchelney is still badly affected by the flood waters. It is estimated that it will take at least until Christmas to deal with the estimated 43 million Tonnes of water, currently swamping the Levels.

FURTHER (LOCAL) UPDATE (31/12/2012)

 
 The River Yeo at Pen Mill and Ilchester peaked in the early hours of Sunday morning, and has now fallen to safer levels. High river levels remain further downstream where the River Yeo and River Parrett meet, near Langport. The risk of flooding remains in these areas, particularly to low lying land and roads near Muchelney and Thorney. A band of persistent rain is forecast to arrive on Monday morning. This will be followed by more showery conditions on Monday afternoon, and Monday evening. Total accumulations of 12 mm of rain are expected on Monday. We may well see river levels in this area rise for a time again on Monday in response to this rain. Pumping will start at Huish Episcopi pumping station as soon as the level of the River Yeo drops enough to safely allow this.

  “Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency and database right”

On the upside I've almost finished decorating my house, throughout, this year thanks to the rain.

There's always tomorrow??