Up And Running At Last(Well Limping About Really)

The weather was murky first thing this morning but I decided to drive down to the plots and finally start some serious work, for the first time since my hip op. I loaded up the car with some netting, cloches, 2 kg of oatmeal, various packets of seeds, oodles of cardboard and some kitchen waste and set off at about 10 a.m. The first task was to level off the soil on 2 of the beds on N2 plot, which had been dug and cleared of weeds last year during the Dandelion wars. The soil was damp and sticky if walked on but I was able to rake and level both beds from the adjacent paths, without too much effort. Two days of not heavy, but persistent rain on Thursday and Friday last, hadn't caused too much of a problem with only the lower lying areas of the plots, which are shaded by trees, being wet underfoot. By the time I had finished leveling the 2 beds off, a little sunshine was sneaking through the thick cloud and drying out the surface soil, slightly. The Senshyu Onions which were overwintering, from seed, on N1 plot were then thinned out and re-planted into one of the beds I had just finished raking over. The other bed will be used for planting Onion sets into, hopefully tomorrow, if the Arctic weather which has been forecast holds off, that is. I then cleared the remaining Sprout plants from last years Brassica bed on Plot N1, dispatching them to the bottom of this years new compost heap, along with a few weeds from the same bed. The remainder of the bed was then hoed over, ready for later sowing and planting. Two rows of Peas, (Hurst Greenshaft), were then sown into this years Legumes bed on N1 Plot and covered with cloches, due to the expected cold weather in the next couple of weeks.

Senshyu Onions Replanted

Peas Sown and Covered

The recent few weeks of dry weather with heavy night time frosts had stopped the growth of many plants, I was grateful to see that the Creeping buttercups which had become invasive, on the drainage ditch bank and into some of the paths on N2 Plot, had been severely checked by the frosts, giving me some time to eradicate them at a later date. My Rhubarb plants were looking in good condition despite the cold weather and I will be harvesting some stalks tomorrow. The remaining Leeks growing on Plot N1 are still in good condition. The Welsh Onion and Chives growing at the top of Plot N2 are growing well, showing no signs of stress from the recent frosts. By mid afternoon it was beginning to splash with rain and feeling a little colder so I locked up the sheds and toddled off home, pleased with some progress at last.

Welsh Onions/Chives Growing Nicely

Rhubarb Doing Well

There's always tomorrow!!