Jottings on a windy day

The weather here has changed markedly since the end of last month and we are very rapidly descending into autumn, to be followed by the long winter months.

There's a bit of a breeze in the air today and I've taken the opportunity to hang out the washing and do some gardening. A good day for both. I wonder how many more there will be like it this year?

The crops are nearing their end, but I scarcely think that the produce I've gathered today counts as a good harvest. In short, a few beans, a courgette that just about does, a kohlrabi and some dwarf beetroot (they weren't meant to be small, but that's how they have turned out).

My two remaining courgette plants have come to the end of their life, I decided, so out they came. I shall definitely plant more next year.

The scene is set for winter and I have planted out some onion sets given to me by Kate and four spinach beet plants I have been growing in the conservatory. They join another six already in the ground, sharing the same part of the garden as the onion sets.

We had one of the kohlrabi the other day in a stew, a first for us, and thought it neither good nor bad - not having much of a taste at all. The one I dug up today is in the fridge now and I must look up some recipes. Another four plants remain in the garden, but seem very slow at coming to anything. Likewise with the broccoli, which I have left in the hope they will sprout.

Fewer and fewer beans have been available to pick over the last few days and I guess the two wigwams will be dismantled very soon. The runner beans have been very successful, the french beans less so. They climbed up the poles very well, but haven't really produced that much for eating.

My thoughts are turning to green manure. Must get some.

Weather alert

One minute we are talking about a drought and a possible hosepipe ban, the next minute it pours down with rain.

As I write, I am sitting with a pullover on in bitter cold weather, listening to the sound of some quite harsh rain. Not like June is supposed to be, but it means I don't have to do any watering this evening.

But - and there has to be a but - I did a lot of sowing yesterday in the conservatory. Let's hope the cold doesn't have a great impact.

More delay (but a good reason this time, at least that's what I say)

Well, it's only been and gone very chilly here.

Just as I was thinking I ought to be transferring some seedlings from the conservatory to the outside, the temperature takes a sharp drop.

I'll have to watch the weather forecast later. Ah well, this is Yorkshire. What do you expect?

Weather report

We woke up this morning to a very light powdering of snow, belying thoughts that winter is over. This follows persistent and very heavy frost over a couple of days last week. Who said there were signs of spring?

Last week's frost stayed all day in parts where the sun didn't reach, one of those parts being my garden. The whole lot remained frostbound for two or three days, demonstrating the difficulties I am under in its situation.

The garden is at the front of the house, facing south and some very tall Leylandii trees border it at the far end. Not mine, I may add, but belonging to the neighbouring property. We're a through terrace, but we don't have a back garden due to the awkward configuration of the houses around here, so I'm stuck with what I've got.

I've already written about the vegetable patch at the furthest end of the garden which I have been considering giving up due to the lack of success at growing anything there. The fact that we had frost long after it disappeared from most other places highlighted the fact that our garden is not ideally placed.

Ah well, we battle on

Izzy wizzy, let’s get busy

The garden has remained untouched after a bad back and tiring flu-type illness laid me low in health and spirit. Mind you, there was also snow for perhaps a week or more.

One gardening website - I forget which - reckons one should rule out January altogether for any outdoor work. But Susan, my weather oracle, believes it won't get bad again. She bases that on her gut feeling and seeing two huge flocks of geese flying in a north-west direction the other day while she was out walking the dog in the woods.

Whatever the outcome, there is a definite feeling of spring in the air and I have even got some produce to get started.

I mentioned the possibility of shallots in a blog posting last year and have finally got round to buying some from Poundland. They'll be going in the ground soon on a spot near the compost bin where crops have not really done well. Maybe this will finally be the year when something takes there.

Good friend Kate has given me some onions and first early potatoes called Rocket. She got hers from Wilkinsons, another fine store patronised by those on a tight budget.

You don't have to spend a fortune on seeds and bulbs, but I don't suppose a purist would approve.

Expansion plans unveiled

There'd been no jump racing in Britain for almost a week until today because of the snow and not a lot of other horseracing activity, yet Racing Post newspaper managed to keep going. So I feel I must make a new entry in my blog, even though gardening has been non-existent on account of the weather.

The good news is that I'm hoping to get an allotment. The bad news is that I've prevaricated over ringing the secretary and have failed to raise him now that I have finally rung. We'll get there in the end.

I've been told an allotment will do me good in that it will get me away from the house and chatting to people and give me more space for growing. Not being naturally blessed with green fingers, I hope to pick up a good few tips from seasoned gardeners.

I'm not holding my breath on being allocated a plot any time soon, but I need to put a marker down with the secretary. Could be years, could be next week (oh no, not in this snow and frozen ground).

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.

Latest weather

A heavy dollop of snow last night has quickly turned to vile slush today, although I fear the bad weather is not over yet. All this follows a report last week that spring has been delayed by four weeks because of the cold weather. Ah well, hot chocolate all round! 

We live in troubled times

More confirmation that growing is a difficult business this year, this time from my former work colleague Hilarie.

She emails that she is having a disastrous gardening year on her allotment about three or four miles from me. Half the seeds they planted haven't germinated and everything that did is looking a bit sickly. Only the strawberries are doing well and if the dampness continues they'll all get eaten by slugs, she says.

I tell her that I've had problems with my peas and she replies she is kind of glad to hear that. "We thought we must have bought some bad seeds," she says.

Looking at the TV news today, I see film of flooded streets and people having a miserable time because of the downpours. Where I am, though, the weather continues to be dry and there is no let up in my trips between the garden and the kitchen tap for "copious" watering.

Serious stuff

Among the websites I like for inspiration is Blagger, a blog which documents a move towards a self-sufficient lifestyle. I find it interesting as a read in itself and as a source of ideas.

I've previously complained about my peas not germinating and ditto the first batch of lettuce and salad leaves. Now comes the latest posting from Blagger complaining about a hard year on their plot and a succession of crop failures. The writer cannot understand it and hopes it is not an indication of wider global problems.

One person who has responded to the blog posting reckons recent weather changes have played havoc with bringing crops on for a lot of people. I reckon that if that is indeed the case, all the more reason for persevering. We're going to need all the food we can get.

Springing forward

A couple of days of good weather and I have sprung into action in the garden, rather like an animal emerging after hibernation.

Armed with my new tool, a hoe bought for me in lieu of an Easter egg, I have done some overdue weeding. My trouble, I have found, is that I cannot tell a weed from a plant so it became an experience fraught with anxiety. Was I grubbing up something that should live and be food for me? Also gave the plots a good watering as it doesn't seem to have rained for a long time.

I have also cleared another piece of ground for some raspberry canes given to me. Susan told me it was OK to dig up whatever was there, providing I left a rose bush. I've got rid of the debris and will return to it tomorrow to give the ground another digging.

While I was doing this, I was panting and sweating in the heat, not being a person who takes too kindly to a lot of sun. Daughter Dorothy was listening to my strange sounds and said I was a very unfit person. Not news to me.

When I was young I was always fascinated by Adam the gardener in the Express (yes, we took it in our house, but it's never influenced my grown-up thoughts). He seemed such an ancient man, contentedly digging all his days, no words (or at least speech bubbles) ever coming from his mouth, always alone in his garden.

We've recently acquired an old compendium of his stuff and interesting reading it makes. I've been thinking in the last few days about the french beans and broad beans given to me by my friend Steve. Adam the gardener recommends, in the case of broad beans, soaking the seeds overnight in a mixture of paraffin and red lead. Did people really do that? Is red lead still legal? I think I'll forget Adam the gardener's tips.

Green shoots of recovery

Now that the snow has finally cleared, I have given the vegetable patch a perfunctory inspection. Lo and behold, garlic is sprouting! I'm really pleased as I thought everything had been killed off by the bad weather. They must be resilient little things. My task now is to find out what to do with the garlic, when to pick it etc.

The birds are eating again now that we have changed the seed we put out for them. The stuff they didn't like turned out to have been from Wilkinson's rather than Lidl, as I had said earlier. We have bought Bill Oddie seed instead and they like that fine. The mealworm seems to be a particular favourite.

Next week I shall get out and do some digging. I feel as though spring has come, although I realise there is a long way to go yet.

More talk - no action

I sit here on a chilly Saturday morning, gazing out of the window at the frost outside. The intensity of it surprised me and I suppose it will linger on here until gone noon.

It has gone horribly quiet on the vegetable plot project, partly because of the weather, partly because of life in general. I leave work on Friday, having taken voluntary redundancy, and will have more time to devote to the outside.

Oo-er missus! This new life is going to be a momentous step for me.

More frosty thoughts

I've had the monthly email newsletter from the splendid allotment advice website run by John Harrison and he has something to say about the cold snap.

He writes: "There's a really hard frost on the ground, which is good news. A good cold winter is just what we want to kill off those slugs and other beasties that think we grow our crops for their benefit."

A positive way of looking at the weather, I feel. Hard on the slugs, though.