Wednesday, 7th April, 2004

That savage wintry blast of the last three days seems to have blown itself out - cold and bitterly hard rain.

Only had to dodge April showers today - but at least had a good long session, 6-7 hours' worth.   So - the onions are in (Stuttgarter and Turbo); and I've started the brassica seed-bed.   I don't intend to rely on memory, lost bits of paper, or neatly labelled tags which kids pull out!   I have sown:-

• Green Sprouting Calabrese
• Romanesco (x2 - yum-yum!)
• Cauliflower - All the Year Round
• Brussels Sprouts - Seven Hills
• Kale - Red Winter, and Nero de Toscano
• Kale - Dwarf Green Curled
• Brussels Sprouts - Noisette
• Cabbage - Minicole, and Cauliflower - Violet Queen
• Cabbage - Golden Acre
• Cabbage - Marner Early Red, and Stonehead
• Brussels Sprouts - Red Bull
• Kale - Nero di Toscana
• Broccoli - Rudolph
• Broccoli - Purple Sprouting Late, and White Sprouting
• Cabbage - Savoy (?)
• Cabbage - Savoy (January King)

One way of using up the odds and ends of opened packets from last year.   And there's a row of Willemberger and Marian Swedes down the back edge.   Must get back up tomorrow and put the mesh tunnel over them.

The gooseberry bushes all have blossom - I wonder if we'll have any fruit this year; fingers crossed.   The new strawberry plants have all taken, the raspberry canes are looking good.

A lovely surprise - a couple of my brassicas have turned out to be Late Purple Sprouting Broccoli, just putting out ready for a harvest on Easter Sunday, with any luck.   Last of the leeks, first of the rhubarb - now I just need to work out the rest of the meal!

Thursday, 8th April, 2004

Even better today!   Quiet, warm day.   All the beds are now ready for sowing - a bit silly really, as the weeds will get started before I get the later stuff in, but that's what I get for not bringing enough of my seeds with me!

First sowing of Alderman, Little Marvel, and Ezethas Krombek Blauschwok peas; worth growing the last for the name alone - but it is supposed to have beautiful violet flowers and pods as well.   Bunyard's Exhibition broad beans, and another packet of Green Windsor - I've got about four times as many broad beans as I've ever sown before.   And some more spinach, rocket, radishes, and spring onions - broke open the new (to me) varieties from last year.

Found my first slug eggs of the year - and by happy coincidence a hedgehog; you know where the slug eggs went then!

Friday, 9th April, 2004

And again!   More peas sown, salsify, scorzonera, parsley (curled, and two flat leaved), beetroot (Forono, Choggia, and Burpee's Golden), and chard.   Running out of things to sow ... almost!   And getting a bit worried about "sowing double" - with both half-plots, growing so much ------ I'm going to have some harvest if we escape the vandals!

Reclaimed the compost heap which got flattened last year by lads trying to catch the fox.   By now I was running out of things to do, so started to tackle the front of our newer plot - it's annoyed me from the beginning that there was this mound of soil, riddled with couch grass and dock, at least 18 inches higher than my plot; the remains, no doubt of a long-gone plot-holder's weed-pile.   I've shifted and levelled about a third of the area - just the old weed pile to move and add to the super new compost heap at the back.

And met a guy from over the road - he's taken a couple of beautiful photos of us having a picnic a couple of years ago on the plot.   I learned such a lot about the area - where the old "big house" was, the lake, the beck, the pear orchard, the bluebell woods, the old post office and the footpath through to it; where he used to go fishing as a lad; and the gales (in 1963?) which brought down 400 trees; and how the council drained the lake, piped the beck, and "landscaped" the area.   And how most of the green space, and the allotment site are now common land - and inalienable.

Magic!

Monday - Wednesday, 12-14th April, 2004

What did I say - "if we escape the vandals;" so each and every sown bed has been danced over by a couple of kids and their damned dog.   We'll see what survives - there's still time to resow if necessary.

Spinach and rocket are just popping through - first sign of green of the year, intimations of harvests to come?

Pink Fir Apple and Kestrel potatoes planted - with plenty of new mown grass from around the estate; anybody gets their lawn mower out, and I offer to use their mowings!

More brassica sown, and Leaf Beet; fruit bushes hoed, with nasturtiums and poached egg plant sown underneath.

Halla's sown up her beds, with all her chosen flowers - it was wonderful to see Tamanna get involved and help her out so proficiently, even though she's given up her own vegetable plot.

And today - had the kids making paper pots, so Halla's got her sunflowers sown, I've got the Potimarron, Butternut Squash and Courgettes sown - and they're sitting on the windowsill.   And a tray of lettuces in modules - I'm very late getting them started this year; I'll get the sweetcorn sown this evening, I reckon.

Monday, 26th April, 2004

Back where we were last year - 3 months earlier.   I'll not list the vandals' depredations - once more like this, and we walk away.

This site is impossible - thank you, Councillors Hyde and Selby.   Thank you, "parents" of the verminous little b*st*rds.

I'm closing down our diary, until we find another plot on another site - and, I hope, we'll start again, charting some progress!   Not wanton destruction.