Thyme marches on

A day of mostly rain and even a little bit of sleet when we ventured out to do some shopping. Even worse weather tomorrow, they say.

On the plus side, the English thyme seeds I started off in the conservatory just a short while ago are starting to come through. Nothing else showing yet in the trays, but they will come. Of that I am sure

Hang on, we’re not there yet

I did it, I remembered to put the clocks forward by one hour. It has been a nice day here as we race towards April, although The Pulse radio station in Bradford was overdoing it a fair bit by claiming on Facebook that it was the first day of summer.

As a matter of fact, they are wrong. It is not the first day of summer, as others have pointed out on Facebook. In addition - and I don't know if it should be described as irony - we are forecast snow and sleet in our part of the country over the next few days. We've got some way to go before summer.

Making the most of today's good weather, I have turned my attention to our neglected flower borders and made a good start on clearing the dead wood from one of them. It was only just over an hour of work, but I felt I had achieved something. The car boot is full of stuff to take to the tip tomorrow.

I was pleased to notice that my rhubarb has sprung back into life after virtually vanishing over winter. I have two lots, one a crown which Kate gave me and the other which was a seedling I must have bought from somewhere. Both died back over winter almost to the point where you were left wondering if they had ever been there.

When I mentioned my concern over their disappearance, Kate suggested that I cover them with pots in an effort to force them. I'm delighted to say it seems to have done the trick and they are growing. The trouble now is knowing when to uncover them, but I think that I shall leave it for a bit if we are due snow and sleet.

Rhubarb is one of my very favourite things from the garden, its tart taste being much to my liking. The seeds I got from the Royal Horticultural Society included a recipe for rhubarb chutney, something I will definitely try if I get a good crop.

A gift is delivered

I realise that I don't know where the expression gift horse comes from, but I know one when I see one. In this case, it's free seeds from the Royal Horticultural Society which I sent away for recently.

They come courtesy of the RHS grow your own campaign and the pack I have received contains carrots (Nantes Frubund) and tomato (Gardener's Delight). I have no immediate need of the latter, having just set off my tomato seeds, but I shall probably give the carrots a whirl sometime.

The pack also includes a container growing guide & some recipe cards. Quite fancy the carrot cake with lemon cheese frosting. Sadly, I would have to use bought ingredients if I made it now.

I am glad to have had this pack. It's good to get something for nothing.

Getting stuck in

Spring is just around the corner, with the equinox this Saturday (17.32, to be precise) and the clocks going forward the following weekend. I am matching the seasonal change with a burst of activity in the garden.

Susan drove me to Kershaw's Garden Centre in Brighouse this morning to get the bags of manure I spotted the other day when I took a walk there. Five bags of J Arthur Bower's Blended Farm Manure, a snip at £20 the lot. As Susan says, this makes it the most expensive vegetables ever.

Two of the bags were dug in as soon as we returned and the remaining three are awaiting the plots being fully prepared. We later went to Wilkinson's in Brighouse to get two tubs of poultry manure which I shall use in the near future and five bags of potting compost.

I noticed with delight while digging in the manure that the white onions I planted last year are at last beginning to come through. There was no sign of shoots just a couple of days ago, but the sun really seems to have done them good. Hope they maintain their progress.

I started off some tomato and herb seeds in propagating trays - three filled with tomatoes and three with oregano, dill and English thyme. It was with some alarm that I noticed the tomatoes are called lightfruit, harbinger and yellow pear-shaped, hardly names to fill you with confidence. The lightfruit packet was from the Dig for Victory set which Dorothy gave me for Christmas and the other two were Thomas Etty packets I got for the knockdown price of 20p each at Oxfam in Ilkley last year. Looking forward to seeing how they turn out.

Chit chat

Met my mate Kevin in the shop this morning and went round the corner with him to look at the allotment he has with his wife Judith. I was envious of what they had growing, but I suppose it's only a reflection of their hard work and application. Puts my puny efforts to shame.

We got to talking about chitting potatoes, both of us agreeing that the jury is still out on whether it is a useful thing to do or not. Generally, the advice if you do chit is that it should be done in a place which is frost free and has light. Kevin told me he does his in the dark in the cellar, partly because that's the best place for him to put them. But he added that it's simply an extension of the chitting process when you do eventually bury the spuds in the ground, so what's wrong with starting them off in the dark? It sounded logical to me when he said it.

Enthused by what I had seen, I took a short stroll to the garden centre this afternoon to buy some more chicken poo, but there was none to be had. Good job too as I realised on the way there that my back was in a bit of a fragile state, although only in a minor way. Hauling a big tub back on foot wouldn't have done me any good. Talking of chickens, I have a bottle of Old Speckled Hen beer at home and will console myself with that.

Passed a lama in the field on my way to the garden centre. I had known the animal was there, but had never seen it close up. Not what you expect to see around our way.

I am born again

My Lady Balfour potatoes have been delivered from Thompson & Morgan and I have put them in an egg box to start the process of chitting. Experts may say I've started late in the day, but they do say everything has been put back at least four weeks because of the poor weather we have had.

Mentioning to friends about the potatoes, I realised no labelling had come with them (other than general instructions for growing potatoes) and that I could not remember whether they were maincrop or what. Turns out they are early maincrop, named after the Soil Association founder. They are claimed to have impressive blight resistance and to give huge yields, even in poorer soils.

Doing a couple of hours of overdue digging this morning, I was reminded of how poor the soil is in my garden and how very many stones there are. Hardly surprising really as our neighbourhood was once noted for its quarries and stone mines. I was surprised today to find three or four pieces of broken glass turning up as I dug the earth over. Where did they come from?

I was pleased that the Lady Balfour spuds are produced in Perth, not far from where my mother came from. Let's hope they live up to expectations.

The spuds are coming, honest

A stunning blue sky today gives the impression that spring must be here. Snowdrops are bursting to life on the field where the owners sprayed poison and then tried to persuade the council that their housing plan would help to encourage wildlife. Whatever was in that poison was good - the snowdrops are the only ones I have seen so far this year. Is irony the right word here?

Yet frosts persist and the ground is still very hard in many places. Digging and planting will have to wait awhile, but I must start chitting the bloody potatoes. Spurred on by an offer of free postage this weekend from Thompson & Morgan, I have ordered 20 tubers of Lady Balfour potatoes. The claim that they give huge yields, even in poorer soils, clinched it for me. 

We shall see if I can do better than last year with my spuds. 

I'm stalled

We're in the first few days of March now and still no progress in the garden. Come on, be honest, no activity at all.

I'm feeling less guilty after reading that the delightful people at Blagger.co.uk have only just started chitting their potatoes. If they can get so far behind, so can I. But I have made a mental resolution to get down to Wilko's fast and buy some spuds. Probably be a main crop this year.

Kate sent me some onion sets today. Will get them in when the ground is less sodden (another excuse).