Sunday 14 March 2010

Shallots are in!

This is one corner of my alium bed, on the right is the garlic - doing quite well, further along are the overwintered onions, not quite so perky. I have scattered a few chicken manure pellets among them so with any luck they will start to green up and get going soon. A row of shallots has gone in next, to demarcate the spring planted onions from the autumn ones.

Here are the still rather small and puny leeks, in last year's alium bed, this year's potato bed. Below is the purple sprouting brocolli, which seems to have been about to sprout for several weeks, but still hasn't. I'm seriously wondering whether it's worth growing any psb this season. Because I may have a new allotment by this time next year, I don't really want to plant anything I may not be able to harvest. And it needs so much looking after for such a long time. Maybe I'll just do a couple of the early sort and it can share a row with the brussels sprouts. I've never done sprouts before but I have set myself a goal to grow all our own veg for Christmas dinner. I'm doing some parsnips as well, also a new departure for me.

These are the stevia seedlings, sown on the 8th February! I've never known anything grow as slowly as these are doing. They are about the size of a 5p.

Even the celeriac, sown only a week before, are romping ahead in comparison!

Somehow I don't think I will be using stevia to cook my rhubarb!

I have sown my chilli seeds, they are in the heated propogator, and also some leeks and some Greyhound cabbages, in the greenhouse. Everything else will have to wait until the week after next. I have a very busy week coming up - it's the last week of term at work, which means putting in extra hours to get the reports/end of term mailing out; our house is now on the market, with the first viewers coming tomorrow morning, which means constant cleaning and tidying from now on, plus I have just taken on two big curtain-making jobs. That and the start of seed sowing frenzy should keep me busy over the Easter holidays.

Anyway, I have just had a phone call from my mother to say thank you for her Mother's Day card, and to ask how my Mother's Day had gone, to which I was able to say: I received two beautiful home-made cards, with some very touching words inside, a bar of chocolate, and some lovely hugs from my two lovely boys. My husband is now cooking the supper while I amuse myself with blogging.

6 comments:

Jo said...

Aren't home made cards the best? I can never bare to part with mine and end up saving them. It looks like you've been busy, and that you've got a busy time ahead too. I still haven't got my shallots in, but I'm romping away with the sowing. I understand about not wanting to spend time on things that you aren't going to be able to harvest. Do you know where you will be moving to so that you can get your name down on the allotment list before you actually move? It might give you a head start on the waiting list.

Rachael said...

I put my name down as soon as our offer on the house was accepted! I was told the waiting list was about a year, so by the time we move 6 months of that will already have passed!

Kella said...

Homemade cards, homemade bouquets and a homemade shopping tote was my surprises, all lovely and dearly appreciated.

The stevia reminds me of lemon grass golly that grows slowly too.

goodluck with the house viewers.

Amy said...

Wow you are certainly going to be busy! I'm pretty impressed by how much you already have on the go, I'm feeling rather slow off the mark this year.

I'm wondering if you might be able to grow PSB in containers? The actual plants don't get too big so it might be possible if you're really keen.

Anyway good luck with the house viewings.

Soilman said...

Celeriac looks good!

Damo said...

you've got a lot done, very impressive. The girls made cards at nursery and my wife was made up, definitely the best ones to receive.