Instant Allotment!

With the exception of one cold night recently, the frost seems to have left us for the time being – & daytime temps are up into double figures – although I realise that we are not into Spring just yet.

I bought some tool hooks in the week, so the first job last Saturday was to screw a baton to the inside of the toolshed & mount a couple so that I can hang up the fork & spade.

I dug over the last of the green manure in plot B (roots), & took two trays of BROAD BEANS (crimson flowered) with me & planted those out in plot D (legumes).

To take home for tea, I had some of the bolting PAK CHOI, a RED CABBAGE & a PARSNIP (white gem) which was massive. I’ve noticed that the ‘tender & true’ parsnip (sown a couple of months after the ‘white gem’) are a much more sensible size! Although whether that’s because of the variety, or they slightly shorter growing period, I’m not sure.

I’ve fallen headlong for this ‘instant allotment’ idea where you just plant stuff out! It all looks so neat, and there’s no thinning out and wasted seed. Of course, it’s also rather early for sowing seeds outside, so I’ve been busy ‘in the potting shed’. I sowed another 2 trays of peas in pots, a pot of LEEK (mrs D) seeds, and re-sowed 4 pots with LETTUCE (chartwell) – the last lot of which did absolutely nothing in the space of 3 weeks. I’ve also been saving loo roll inners, & sowed twenty eight PARSNIP (white gem).

The mini greenhouse has been earning its keep, & I spent an evening pricking CAULIFLOWER (all the year round) out into 8 individual pots, & another pricking out ONION (red Brunswick) into 32 individual pots.

It’s not all about the seeds, though – I bottled the parsnip wine – which looks utterly fab, if I say so myself! The celery wine is clearing nicely, but as it’s still MONTHS before I can drink any of the damn stuff, I’ve started some fruit juice wine, using a recipe from a friend on the GYO forum (thank you Shirley) – the real advantage here, is that it’ll be ready in eight weeks – hurrah!