what next? a plague of locusts perhaps!

This long cold spring has been a bit of a trial for all of us growers but we've had some decent sunshine this week, even if it is still chilly. Plenty to be getting on with so I sowed some beetroot this afternoon. Before I could get them covered with soil the sky darkened, the lightning flashed and then a tremendous hail storm struck. End result: beetroot seeds buried under a layer of ice!

seeds under this lot!

Newly emerged seedlings of beetroot, parsnips and turnip were flattened and have leaves stripped from them. I know there's plenty of time for more sowings but it is a bit disheartening and you end up wondering what on earth is the weather going to throw at us next.

I'd fleeced over my potatoes in readiness for the expected frost this weekend and the fleece was weighed down with ice.

Managed to get rid of most of it but some very cold water must have dripped through on to the young plants.

We had a couple more hail showers so I decided that greenhouse work was the preferred option and transplanted about 50 leeks into deeper containers.  I have another tray of seeedlings to do then that should be it for leeks this year.

I can get any amount of these plastic produce trays from the shop in the next village and they are ideal for leeks, being about four inches deep. You can even grow a decent crop of spring onions in them.

For lunch we had tomato and pepper soup made from frozen fruit from last year's crop. Where would we be without our freezers?

Life gets in the way again..

It's been a while since my last post so in case anyone was wondering if I'd been abducted by aliens or dragged off to some sultan's harem I have to say it was that bane of all gardeners....life. It gets in the way of all of our plans, takes us from our beloved plants and forces us to 'look presentable'.

Anyway, with other commitments now mostly out of the way I can get back to where I feel most comfortable and where no-one cares if I've got muck under my finger nails.

Greenhouse potatoes are storming away after the recent sunny weather and should be ready to give the first crop in two or three weeks. That's a bit later than previous years but hardly surprising, given the cold spring.

All the outdoor potatoes are now planted in their tubs/polypots and some of the earlies are already poking through. This is the tricky period when frosts are still a distinct possibility but I have plenty of fleece ready to cover them. Last year's crop was set back as they grew well in April but were hit by frost in May. Then, of course we had blight. Best forget last year, I think.

We had our first pickings of radishes the other day. These were pot grown in the greenhouse, along with spring onions and salad leaves which are also now producing.

Parsnip germination has been excellent, as usual and I put this down to growing in deep containers started off the greenhouse. I'm sure many failures are down to sowing into cold wet soil. It might say on the seed packet you can sow in February but that's far too early for outdoor sowing in most areas, especially given the recent cold winters.

Had to take a family member to a hospital appointment in Keswick and got some pics of our local sheep breed. These are Herdwicks or 'herdies' as everybody calls them. They are supposed to have been brought over by Viking settlers more than a thousand years ago and are perfectly suited to survive harsh winters on the fells.

Cute, eh. The wool is coarse and hard wearing and the meat has a distinctive flavour not found in lowland breeds. 

progress report

Progress report

It seems like we've had bitter east winds for months on end and then the recent snowfall has put paid to any thoughts of getting much done to the veg plot for a while. Late March is usually the start of things getting busy but I've done very little apart from aimless pottering and thumb twiddling. Because I don't dig I apply thick mulches in autumn the plot has only needed a rake over and a bit of light weeding to get it ready and waiting for this year's crops.

Some things are moving in the greenhouse, but slowly as there is just not enough warmth in there to encourage growth. Potatoes were growing away nicely but they seem to have stalled so I won't be getting a crop as early as previous years.

5 spuds in a fish box

Container peas and beans are through, as are the first tubs of carrots and beetroot but I have very little room left for seedling trays unless I can get stuff potted up or planted out.

broad beans

broccoli seedlings

Checking back through my gardening diaries I note that in some previous years I was putting my tomato plants out into the greenhouse in April. Not much chance of that this year as I haven't even potted up the poor little things yet.

I really feel sorry for those new to growing who started last year and suffered the terrible summer we had only to find midwinter conditions at Easter this year. Still, there are few things in life that are easy. I guess it's  in the human spirit not to admit defeat and to keep hoping that things will get better. Roll on flaming June!

they're off

The potatoes in the greenhouse are poking their shoots above the compost and I have plenty of fleece handy should we get a prolonged cold spell.

Container peas and radishes are also shooting up and the overwintered spring onions are at the stage where they can be pulled for chopping up into sandwiches. Even though I've been growing stuff for donkey's years I still get a thrill from seeing the new season's life emerging.

pea shoots

The first sowings of tomatoes and peppers are now in the heated propagator but I'll hold off with the cucumbers till next month. Past failures have taught me that sowing cukes too early inevitably results in failure.

Almost three weeks of dry, if rather cold weather has allowed me to catch up with many of the jobs held over from last year. The veg. patch is looking pretty good and is ready for its new occupants when conditions are right. I have some shallots and onion sets in the ground but it's still too early for much else.

I had a shredding day and made a start on the pile of prunings that I keep as a winter home for critters. I've no idea what lives in there but we seem to have a healthy population of hedgehogs and frogs round here so if I can help them out it seems reasonable to do so. Ended up with a sack of chipped wood which I'll mix with grass clippings and chicken manure to give me some reasonable compost for next year.With all the scares about contaminated manures it seems sensible to produce as much of your own stuff as possible. 

The geese which overwinter on the marshes here are now gathering in huge flocks before setting off back to their home above the arctic circle. The sight of several thousand large birds all taking to the air at once is really impressive and more than makes up for the fact that our nearest supermarket is fifteen miles away.

more new shoots

Late last summer I took some cuttings from gooseberry bushes, inserted them in sandy compost and then basically forgot about them, apart from sticking them in a corner of the greenhouse for the winter. Today I noticed that three of the four cuttings have fresh green shoots so it looks like they've taken.

Two well-rooted layers I severed from the blackcurrants are sitting happily in large pots waiting for some warmer weather when I can put them in their new homes. That will give me six black currant bushes and should ensure an adequate supply of vitamin C for the winter months.

And on the subject of new shoots the potted shallots are spurting into growth, as are the container-grown onion sets. The onions will be used small as I space them only about 5-6cms apart which does restrict their growth. They will give an earlier crop than those on the plot which will be the main crop for storage.

pot-grown shallots

It has been cold today but I've kept myself warm by sieving compost and making up tubs of potting mix for the first lot of carrots and parsnips of the year. By sowing a fast-maturing carrot like Early Nantes or Amsterdam Forcing and giving them some protection you can be pulling baby carrots in June. Parsnips, of course, take much longer but I never wait for the first frost before starting to lift them. 

Caldbeck Potato Day tomorrow and I don't really know why I'm going because I already have over 100 tubers chitting but I guess the sight of all those different varieties will inspire me after last year's disastrous harvest.

digging the dirt

After a covering of snow on Wednesday, the last two days have been almost wall-to-wall winter sunshine so lots to be getting on with. First job was to uncover the main compost heap. This is about eight feet by four by four and was covered with thick cardboard weighted down with more waste last autumn. All the loose stuff was scraped off the top to reveal all this gorgeous crumbly goodness. This, to me, is what compost should look like, not the sticky, smelly mess than some people manage to produce. The secret is getting the mix right and you'll notice the stringy bits which are the remains of clippings from our privet hedge. These do a great job of aerating the heap as they keep it open and they can be easily raked out before use and put back in to rot down.

As well as an ingredient in potting mix I spread this compost across the beds and rake it in to give a really nice sowing and planting surface.

Because I practice no-dig the soil is like this for a good way down. Considering it started as heavy clay that's quite an improvement.

With daytime temperatures in the greenhouse up to 17 degrees by mid afternoon it was time to risk some early sowings. One tub of broad beans (Sutton) and one of peas (Meteor) for the first crops of the new season. I also put four spuds in a big fish box, a bit risky but, nothing ventured. The containers are kept covered until shoots are well up in order to conserve a little heat and keep out the mice. More sowings will follow on a regular basis until the greenhouse is full, by which time I'll be ready to fill it with tomatoes!!

a busy weekend

Reasonable weather over the weekend has enabled me to get quite a lot done. Much potting compost has been mixed and containers filled but these will just sit in the greenhouse to warm up for a week or two before anything goes into them. Germinated leeks, onions and cabbage have been moved from the propagator to a window sill and another lot will follow them, along with some Winter Gem lettuce. It's still too early for a lot of sowing but I've risked a tub of radishes which I'll keep under glass once germinated.

My main seed potato order arrived from JBA last week and thankfully it included the Lady Christl, my favourite earlies, but no Markies due to last year's weather. Not a great loss as they were just one of the new varieties I fancied trying. Lady Cs are now sitting in egg boxes in the spare bedroom but I've run out of space so the maincrops will have to stay in their bags for the time being.

I know it's not much but my first true harvest of the new season went into a lunchtime sandwich. Mustard and cress grown indoors and some fresh green shoots from the chives. Don't you just love watching things grow, even in the depths of winter!

Every year the entire population of barnacle geese from Svalbard in the Arctic fly south to spend the winter on the Solway marshes. There are tens of thousands of these birds and the noise they make when large flocks take to the air is unbelievable. Here's a pic of a few of them in a field just outside our village.

I did get a break from gardening activities and we had a drive round 'the island'. This is  a bit of land sticking out into the Solway surrounded by sea on three sides. Much of it is taken up with peat bog and salt marsh but there are settlements round the edges of it. This is a view from near Port Carlisle looking to the remains of the old pier with Annan on the Scottish side in the distance.

I sometimes think I should have been a geography teacher!!