Spring has arrived!

With the clocks going forward this weekend, it’s officially Spring! Not very good weather though, this week as the nights have been frosty & there has been a really cold northerly wind.

It wasn’t too bad yesterday, though, & so with a thought to fitness & saving the planet, I got the bicycle out the garage (checking the brakes still worked & the tyres hadn’t disintegrated in the six months since I last rode it!) & wobbled off to the Hill.

I was absolutely knackered when I got there & had to have a little sit down before I could do anything! I was surprised not to see Jane there as she’d phoned from the Hill earlier & we discussed where the asparagus was to go.

No matter, when my legs had stopped being all shaky I looked around to see that Jane has planted the ASPARAGUS, & had a look at what had come up (or not!) then got on with putting in the second early POTATOES (nadine).

We have a lovely row of radish from a sowing two weeks ago – so I guess that they will be our first crop from the plot! How exciting!

After a while, Jane arrives from the direction of the Club – turns out she’d been looking out for my car whilst enjoying a sandwich in the warm. Bit of a communication breakdown there – but she sowed a short row of SPINACH (hector f1) & SPRING ONION (white lisbon) whilst I finished the potato planting.

There’s been an interesting discussion on the Grapevine with regard to lunar planting (i.e. seeds do better if they are sown at their best time according to the lunar calendar) – which may or may not come into the ‘hippy old nonsense’ category. I’ll give it a whirl with regard to planting the next lot of potatoes – half on the full moon and half two weeks later, and see if there is a difference or not.

We met our other neighbour, John, who was making a magnificent job of a brassica netting enclosure – I’d like to see the pigeon who can get through that! No sign of Reg-next-plot, David-other-half or neighbour Ted, but we did have a chat with retired Maureen who has a half plot about three down from us.

We had a wander round some of the other plots to see what everyone else is doing (this is educational – NOT nosey!) & we discussed sheds – we’ve already got the slabs for the base, after all (for a small one). I think that a shed is a better idea than a greenhouse which would be better at home – perhaps we can find a cheap one at the end of the season, & by that time we’ll have a better idea of what we want out of a shed.

Billy Scarecrow continues to look rather sad & in need of a makeover, but he could hardly ride pillion home with me yesterday, so I might pick him up later – or in the week being as it will be light in the evenings now – hurrah!

No sign of the carrots in the trough at home STILL – it could be the ancient & second hand compost that I sowed them in, so I went to Homebase later & bought a new bag – I used it to pot up some herb plants that I bought on Friday into a trough, & to sow a tray of leeks which a kindly member of the Grapevine sent me (Thank you, Mrs D). I’ll start again with the carrots, I think, if there’s still no sign of them by next weekend.

Also at home I sowed a few TOMATOES (balcony yellow) in the week for the hanging baskets, & COURGETTE (black beauty) which I think will be much better off in a tub at home where I can keep my beady eye on it – checking that we actually grow courgettes & not whacking big marrows!