18th January to 31st January 2015 on Plot 44

Firstly my apologies that my weekly update has taken two weeks but this has more to do with life and the weather getting in the way . I’d managed to fall ill which my wife said was caused by digging up at the allotment in the wind and rain which naturally I disagreed I said I must have definitely picked up the chest infection at work . After all everybody knows that once you get several plot holders together work stops and you end up having a social gathering in the shelter of somebody’s shed .  So I guess we’ve established I’ve been a bit lazy so far this year and on the days when I’ve been able to go outdoors the snow or hailstones have been falling. January is a very frustrating month in the gardening calender and yet I always feel I should be doing something and that what I have done is never enough .

As I write this it is February 1st (white rabbits and all that) and I did manage to sort out a tub of seeds to be sown this month . I’ve an impressive list of 85 packets which rather than listing I can break down in to the following groups 18 packets of flower seeds,  60 packets of vegetable/ salad seeds (which include peppers & tomatoes ) and 7 packets of herb seeds .  Now I realise just how little space I have where I can put propagators .

Elsewhere the Covington Sweet Potato continues to grow its roots but out of the 4 tubers only 1 has roots at the moment.

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On the plot I have been busy clearing paths from debris from the nearby trees . Apart from Jerusalem Artichokes I have been harvesting Spinach , Purslane , Mizuna and Swiss Chard despite the weather. With all the mention of Churchill these past 2 weeks it seems quite a coincidence that I’ve purchased some Winston seed potatoes which promise to be eelworm resistant – I’ve certainly got plenty of those still in the ground to put this variety that was launched back in 1992 to the test.

 

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For now , I thank you reading /returning and wish you all the best until next week, Paul

See also  Charm and the all year round cauliflower
Paul1sh
A little bit about me . I live in the NorthWest of England and have been sowing seeds and making jam since I was knee high to a grasshopper . I'm inspired by gardeners of the past and present and intertwine their methods with new ideas brought to my attention via Twitter, Google and the rest of the internet. I try combining my allotment with my tiny domestic gardens to service my kitchen. My interests besides growing, cooking and preserving include genealogy which explain the profile photograph which is that of my GreatGrandfather from 1870 who maintained his kitchen garden in Cheshire for over half a century. Thank you for reading and hopefully I can keep up with regular updates . All the best, Paul

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