At the allotment, Feb 2023

It's good to get out into the garden and allotment after the winter.  I always need that few months of break time, and when the days get longer and the spring flowers start to bloom, I feel refreshed and ready for a new year.

This past weekend the whole family visited the allotment to sow the pre-sprouted broad beans and snap peas.  The son and I made two large trenches and then we put down the seeds somewhat evenly;  I knew roughly how many seeds there were, so I put down a divider in the middle of the trench and we counted out half for each side.  After we finished sowing we covered the trenches with insect mesh (weighed down on all sides with more soil);  hopefully this stops the mice/rats/birds digging the seed out.  I'll take it off once the plants are up.

While digging at the allotment, I discovered two large-ish overwintered beets I'd missed in my last harvest;  the woodlice seemed to have overwintered with them as they were pretty holey--I decided to compost them.  I also found a dozen or so overwintered onions;  these I grew from seed last year and were pretty pathetic at harvest time.  I didn't bother with these smallest ones, still growing now.  They actually look like they might go on to produce something worthwhile this year!  I'll let them carry on.

My garlic patch too is growing strongly, though the grass is coming in pretty strongly as well.  I've given up on eradicating the grass.  My new strategy is to knock it back long enough to get my plants up and growing (using sheet mulch).  Well to be honest that's my old strategy too, but it was in the hopes that the grass would actually be defeated.  

The leeks, planted out last spring, are in a patch that will need a solid sheet mulching again--very thick luscious grass.  The leeks managed to get a good foothold when I planted them, and are of acceptable size;  the last one I harvested had an amazing root ball which I replanted in a new spot after cutting off the leek to eat.

Finally, I picked some kale from my two year old plant, still going strong.  I picked some last week too, and discovered a fat green caterpillar on it--how did it survive all that prolonged frost we had?  That kale just keeps on giving;  I'm hoping to get it some friends growing this year too.

A whole week of gardening

Wow, our family had a week off school and work and I spent almost every day gardening!  As luck would have it, it was dry and warm-ish:  good weather for being outside.  

I still have battle wounds from cutting down the brambles at the very back, despite the leather gloves;  as we have no loppers I used my hand sickle.  I bought the sickle from ebay, never having used one before;  after experimenting it seems to be a left-handed one.  It's still useable for this righty, after altering my technique.

The son and I managed most of the winter/spring pruning, both of edibles and ornamentals.  After cutting back the apples, I tied down a few branches to keep them 2-D against the fence--they aren't properly espaliered, but I don't let them grow out from or above the fence.  We saved all the long, straight trimmings for use as garden stakes.

The daughter helped me collect yet another basketful of almonds from around the tree.  I can't believe how many there were--about a hundred.  I hope they're still good from having spent the winter on the ground;  I'm keeping them in a separate tray from the main harvest, but they look fine.  We also tidied up the little patio under the almond tree and put a couple of chairs back out there;  it's a mostly private spot with a nice view of the Perennials section.

I got through all of the small trimmings for the woodpile;  the narrowest diameter (pencil thickness) I made into kindling bundles, tied with a yucca leaf (our large yucca constantly sheds leaves: fibrous and strong).  A bit time consuming to make, but hopefully worthwhile for next winter--they're a lot more convenient to use than a pile of twigs in a box (my usual kindling storage).  The husband also sawed the last large trunk pieces into stove lengths and the son and I split some of these.

The son and I also dragged out the chicken tractor and persuaded the chickens to start work.  Four went in willingly after corn was involved;  the fifth was conscripted forcefully.  But they all seem a lot happier to be on some fresh ground with greenery and maybe a few bugs, despite the smaller living quarters.  We have been moving them every day, starting with the empty veg beds.  

What a busy week--and that's only a sampling!  I sowed a few more seed trays, worked at the allotment, started some new duck yard fencing, and more.

The first seeds of the year

It's not till March that I get the main bulk of my seeds started but that doesn't stop me getting a few things going in February.  This month I've begun with:

Broad beans and snap peas.  These get chucked into a plastic bag with a handful of wet soil/compost, and placed in my unheated garage to sprout in situ.  I prefer to pre-sprout them before I sow them in the ground, to give them a better chance of actually coming up (and I do them in the garage so I don't have to acclimatize them to cold temps like I would if I'd done them in the house).  Direct sown, mine usually never even appear.  Mice?  Slugs?  Both, no doubt.  I started 150 broad beans and 200 snap peas last week.  When they are sown, I'll pre-sprout one more batch.

Onions.  Today I broadcast a small handful (maybe 100 seeds) onto a small tray on my kitchen windowsill, to be pricked out individually once they pop up.  I don't have a good track record with onions.  The only year I got a decent harvest was the year the rest of my garden drowned (that was one soggy summer).  So I presume they need a bit more water than I usually provide, but to be honest I'm probably not going to water them any more than usual this year either.  We'll see how it goes;  they'll be planted out into well-manured soil at the allotment, at least.

Tomatoes.  In the past I've sown tomatoes a bit later, but last year I sowed them early and was much happier with the resulting harvest.  These I did today and they are next to the onion tray on my windowsill, both wrapped in plastic bags to keep a little more warmth in.  Unlike the onions however, they'll be potted on once or twice after pricking out, and not planted out until May.  I have cherry toms, salad toms (a variety I've been saving myself for years), and plum toms from a free packet--I mean, why not?  Maybe this will be the year of the tomato.

Eating from the garden in February

Is there anything to eat from the garden/allotment still?  Yes!

• Self seeded winter greens such as lambs lettuce and miners lettuce.  Throw in a little chickweed and I have a nice little green salad.
  
• Newly sprouting perennials:  chives and garlic chives, daylily shoots (these are so yummy they rarely make it all the way to the kitchen).
• Some veg have overwintered successfully, including a few stray kohl rabi, kale, leeks, a cabbage or two--although sadly quite a few of the cabbages decided it was too cold during our prolonged frost and have bit the dust.
• We only just finished eating my precious single squash of 2022, which was proudly displayed on my front windowsill until then.  It was perfectly sound and very tasty.  Not to mention several bags and jars of various frozen, dehydrated, and fermented/brined veg (for example: frozen beets, dehydrated tomatoes, garlic/rhubarb pickle)

What else is coming up?  More of the above (except my prized delicious squash that is).  And a lot of work, to get the new crops started for this year's harvest.