The snow has finally gone so a good chance to catch up on some jobs before spring. Most of the beds have now been manured and a couple more turned into raised beds. Lack of wood has stopped this for now. The new greenhouse from the garden plot is now in place and just needs finishing off

Plot in December

These are just some photo's of the allotment in December. The first picture is the sprouting broccoli, growing strong for next spring. They seem very large plants so i will see how much they crop to see if they are worth it. The next has the swiss chard and perennial spinach. Then its the kales, curly and black.

Most of the tender plants and pot are in the greenhouse for some added protection. I am hoping to bring one of the greenhouses form the other pen to fit on the far end to make a bigger greenhouse.

These next two picture just show what the pen looks like this time of year

Friday was another day of rain. Whilst always welcome for watering the plants it is difficult to be motivated. However my first attempt at pak choi was a good success as this picture shows. These went into a nice stir fry with sweet chili sauce.

Saturdays weather was a little better quite sunny in the morning but then the rain came back. I try to work outside in the good weather and inside when it is not so good. It sounds pretty obvious but i try to save jobs for inside when the weather turns. So in between showers i cut some new pieces for the staging from old pallets. This gives me more work space and frees up a section of staging to make a complete section for the back of the greenhouse. The bottom photo shows the salad tray pricked out into respective pots.

The next job was to make a large cloche for one of the salad beds. Both the beds are the same size so the cloche can move from bed to bed depending on requirements. These will be handy for protecting early and late crops. The design is similar to geoff hamiltons from gardeners world. A rectangular frame is made from 4"x1" treated timber. Blue water pipe is then fixed to the insides with screws. A ridge of timber helps hold the pipes and rigid and supports the polythene which is then stretched and stapled to the wood. The cloche can be propped up for ventilation and access. The crops inside really do grow better under protection. Next step a polytunnel i think! The smaller square raised bed has a similar cover made from a timber square with a polythene cover. Finally i planted out some lettuces between to strawberries. It's good not to be tied to certain crops in certain beds, with salad leaves etc they can go anywhere there is a gap without affecting any crop rotation.

Sunday was a good planting out day. I put the green calabrese and dwarf kale in their permanent positions 12" apart and covered them with netting to prevent cabbage white butterflies and other pests. The sprouting broccoli's (Italian, early and late purple) are put into the nursery bed for transplanting later. Apparently the calabrese not good for transplanting. I also started off the compost heap properly. I got a load of fresh manure, grass, cardboard and materials from last years heap and built up in layers so there wasn't too much of one material. The compost heap was filled to the top but a few days later it was starting to heat up and the heap has settled down. in a week or so i will turn the heap over and mix everything up so that oxygen can get in and rot everything down quicker. The heap needs enough heat to kill weed seeds etc but not too hot or it will kill useful bacteria and worms.

On Tuesday i planted out the peas, celebration, alpine strawberries origen improved and the second sowing of delphiniums. The tomatoes in the greenhouse are doing well and the first strawberries. These are aromel which are an everbearing variety. The last picture is the asparagus bed. Most of the crowns have taken and are sprouting. It's just a case of keeping them clear of weeds, a little feed in summer and patiently wait