Final prep & sneaky sowings!

We’ve finally had some cold weather & frosts this week, & there has been some snow in the south, but this morning was sunny & warmer (about 6 degrees) & off I went to the Hill with a spring in my step.

Before I went, I checked on the CAULIFLOWER sown in peat pots & was thrilled to see 2 or 3 little seedlings just poking their heads up.

To further our seed bed aspirations, I wanted to rig up a cold frame of sorts. I selected a patch of land near the line of RHUBARB plants (which was going to be our ‘fruit garden’, but that’ll have to wait it’s turn), & whizzed over it with the fork ‘to form a fine tilth’ as all the books say.

Using a dozen bricks & a 6’ by 3’ polycarb sheet – which had started life with the intention of becoming part of a conservatory roof – I settled the bricks down in a row, laid the polycarb on to form a slope, secured the other end with a couple of bricks & a heavy plank & voilà! Cold frame!

It did strike me that there is only the height of one brick (i.e. about 4 inches) so seedlings will soon hit their heads – & that’s at the tall end – but for the time being the row of LETTUCE (little gem) seeds that I couldn't wait to sow can appreciate the luxury of modern conservatory living.

There’s no sign of the BROAD BEANS that I put in last weekend (‘didn’t you soak them overnight before you sowed them?’ said Reg with surprise) but undeterred, I’ve sown half a row of CARROTS (adelaide) & covered them with fleece in plot C, this year’s Root Bed.

I asked Reg when to put the onion sets in (‘when the ground’s at the right temperature’ – not helpful!), & about potato spacings (‘15 per row, rows are 2’3” apart for earlies & 2’6” for main crop’) & realise that with 60 earlies alone, I’ve more or less used up all the potato plot just with these.

Reg suggested that you can buy potatoes pick-and-mix at Hirons so you get exactly what you want. So I went over there this afternoon & have bought a row (i.e. 15) second earlies ‘Nadine’ with seem to be resistant to just about everything nasty & are supposed to taste lovely & waxy.

The Plan was to have 2 rows of earlies (Rocket), 1 row of second earlies (Nadine) & 3 rows of maincrop (as yet unspecified), but with 60 of Rocket upstairs, I may have to palm half of them off somewhere (I seem to recall that cousin Wendy has an allotment & I’m seeing her in a couple of weeks – a slightly odd present for my hostess, but it’s a thought). Serves me right for buying potatoes by the bag from Wilko - as Reg's expression clearly said.

That just about wraps up January – it’s been very mild in the main, & not as wet as December. The plot is looking ready, & so am I – raring to go for February!