My robin in the flowerpot

Tidying up all my flower pots the other week in preparation for big time planting sessions ahead, I disturbed a robin sitting on a beautiful moss lined nest inside one of the big black plastic pots. I don't know who was more startled - her or me.
I was so afraid that with the fright I gave her, she would abandon the nest, and I have been giving it a very wide clearance ever since.

So what happened?

I am delighted to report that the eggs have hatched and two robins are now busily flying backwards and forwards with beaks full of grubs and flies to feed the young! 

What a week!

What a week it's been.After the false summer we had in March, enjoying temperatures up to 25 degrees, this week has seen sunshine and showers, wind and rain, hail and thunder, and temperatures little above 8 degrees during the day with slight ground frosts at night.
But I just had to plant my potatoes today. Legend says we should plant them on Good Friday, which seems a bit daft given that Easter dates vary significantly year on year.
So up to the plot I went, and whilst there picked some vegetables for the weekend; spinach, swiss chard, leeks and sprouts - plenty to eat for several days. And I looked across at other plots which are just bare soil, (below right - just a few leeks planted recently) compared with my "cottage garden" plot still full of produce. I still have parsnips to dig, and cabbages hearting up nicely, especially now I've covered them to keep the butterflies and pigeons off them!
And I did get the potatoes in! I first dug a trench and lined it all along the bottom with compost from one of my bins at home which I have just emptied. Last time I did this, I had a bumper crop of spuds. Let's hope history repeats. And I also wanted to use this strip of land which has been a strawberry row since the allotments opened, so the soil is not well worked, still full of stones and very heavy with clay. The potato row should do the trick in improving the soil here with all the earthing up that will be required - and the thick potato foliage will keep any weeds at bay.
All we need now is some warmer weather - no sign of the broad bean seedlings yet - I hope the field mouse hasn't dug them all up!

My Banana Tree is flowering!!

Huge excitement in this household over the last week - the banana we have grown indoors from a tiny plant is flowering - after 8 years!!

6 ways to keep weeds at bay

Have just spent a few happy hours at allotment and will pay for it tomorrow - back already twinging!
The sun was fierce - a sun hat was essential kit today.
Folks often ask me: How do you keep on top of your weeds so successfully?
The answer is really simple - just remember:

One year's seeding means seven years' weeding. 

It really is that simple!

Every time I visit the plot I walk around it and pick off any stray dandelion flowers etc. both on the plot and in the surrounding grass edging before they get any chance to seed. And I also, whenever I have a few moments, take a hand fork or trowel around the plot and dig out any perennial weeds such as dandelion, dock, etc. making sure the deep tap root is removed as far as possible. Leave any root in and the weed will spring up again.

I also never ever rotavate the soil with any kind of mechanical digger. Apart from being cruel to all those worms, that we should be encouraging, the digger shreds up any perennial weed roots so that the weed problem is multiplied many times over! Not a good idea!
The digger also produces a fine tilth that is as as good as any seed bed - perfect for encouraging germination. The problem is it encourages all the weed seeds to germinate as well - they've been lying dormant beneath the soil waiting for just this moment!

Then again - if I know I am going to leave a patch of soil bare for any length of time, I cover it with a thick layer of manure. If you don't have this readily available, then old carpeting or black plastic will do the trick - or why not sow some green manure seeds - such as annual sweet clover - and dig the resulting growth into the soil before it seeds.

So - just a few ideas. And I certainly seem to keep on top of those weeds without too much effort - valuable time and energy is best spent growing the vegetables, not fighting weeds!

4 jobs at the plot today

It's tempting to be lulled into a false sense of spring during this extraordinarily mild, indeed warm, week at least down in the South East of England. 17 degrees C it might be during the day, but there are still frosts at night sometimes, albeit not the really deep hoar frosts of mid winter. But they can still damage tender plants.
I spent nearly three hours at the allotment this morning. First thing, there was a thick fog and it was quite spooky down there. Later as the sun burnt through the fog it became quite warm by 11 ish.
What was I doing?
First I wanted to dig out all the strawberry plants that had spread far and wide across the plot during the autumn and early winter. They had to come out - I need the space.
So out they all came - and onto the compost heap.
Then I raked out all the dead leaves and runners - all brown and crackly now - from the two rows of strawberries I want to retain for fruiting this summer. These dead remains contain toxins that inhibit fruiting if they are left to rot around the strawberry plants. Mixed with all the other compost material, and plentiful farm manure, and left to rot over the summer, the resulting compost will benefit the rest of the plot no end.
Then I looked at the other compost bins and forked through them to turn the material a little in each one, to promote faster rotting down. In a couple of them I noticed the tell tale little runs of field mice - no harm there - they like the warmth and no doubt the vegetable peelings etc brought from home. Now rats I would be more worried about - but no trouble with those so far. The biggest problem with vermin at the allotments comes from wood pigeons. They will strip bare any sprouting broccoli, cabbage, and other brassicas unless the crop is completely covered with netting to keep them off. Some plotters have covered their whole plot with a fruit cage to tackle this problem.
So - to carry on - I then lugged umpteen barrow loads of manure from the communal pile and spread this all around the plots - except for that part where I plan to sow root vegetables this year. Fresh manure and root vegetables don't go well together, unless you want to see how grotesque you can grow your carrots!
All in all a good morning's work. The other day I bought some Broad Bean seeds and must sow them soon! Also the seed potatoes need chitting and planting - more about that later. Traditionally potatoes are planted on Good Friday - I don't off hand know why - but this year that will be 6th April so I have a few weeks in hand yet.
Good gardening!

First signs of spring?

Sorry for the absence from this site. It has just been too cold and frozen to even contemplate going to the allotment. But today I did, and picked a good number of lovely Brussels Sprouts. The freezing cold has taken its toll, and the Swiss Chard looks decidedly sick, but now that the ground is thawing I shall go back to dig some Parsnips and Jerusalem Artichokes, and pull a few leeks, ready for the weekend. Soon I shall have to think about what what I want to grow again this year and decide what seeds to order. I hope it's not too late to put some garlic cloves in. They really benefit from cold weather, which they need to stimulate division into smaller cloves. Since a cold snap is forecast again in the next few days, I should be OK if I don't waste any more time!
I just really hope it warms up soon though!
Listening to the news today it seems that we are in for a serious drought this year, so I must cart as much manure as I can over to my plot from the communal heap so I have a good supply of mulch to spread around plants in due course to keep any moisture around their roots.
Spring must be just around the corner - the daffodils are breaking into bloom on the church bank, blue tits seem to be preparing to nest in the box, the green woodpecker is enjoying digging for ants in the lawn and I have heard the drilling of the greater spotted woodpecker somewhere in a nearby tree.
Hooray!!
At home I must make sure all the water butts are properly connected up to drainpipes so I save every drop I possibly can of any rainfall we have.

Incredible Edible

I've just come across a fantastic idea - one that started in the UK but is gathering interest from other parts of the world. I was listening to BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme today and pricked up my ears when I heard mention of food sustainability. Vegetables are being grown in a graveyard, I heard, and then came another snippet; that our food production accounts for 23% of our carbon footprint. So I stopped my noisy food processor and started to listen properly.
Todmorden is a an old Victorian mill town on the Lancashire/West Yorkshire border. 3 years ago it set out to be the first town to become self sufficient in food, with a target set for 2018. They call it the Incredible Edible campaign. And whilst the founders do not feel that the target date is totally achievable, nevertheless they are doing well - and they have a wonderful website to prove it, full of amazing resources to support those already in the loop, and to encourage others to start in their own localities.

The idea is that veggies and edibles are grown in public and unused spaces for the common plate, and it is now being put into practice in Wilmslow for example, and in Totnes, the original Transition Town.
And it's not just about growing fruit and vegetables - at least in Todmorden. It's also about educating residents on what to look for in sustainable meat supplies, and in how to pickle and bottle summer surpluses for winter consumption.
Now here's something I could start rolling in our own town! Just give me a little time! We've already started encouraging our local school to grow vegetables, for example, and we have a community orchard, but this is one huge step further. If there are any hints and tips out there as to how to start (in addition to the online resources mentioned), I'd love to hear.