New year on the plot

Our first visit to the allotment since early December was on New Year's Day. Well that's a good start to the new year, but it was very cold and  too cold to do any work. Nothing much had changed since that last visit in December.

But we didn't go to do any work, we went to dig up some leeks and cut some parsley. 

It was a good chance to check around and make sure everything was ok. The rhubarb is showing signs of new growth.

The fruit bushes need pruning and weeding needs to be done in the cages.

We had cleared most of the beds in the autumn and spread compost then covered with membrane, so it was looking fine.  

There are winter jobs to be done, repairs and cleaning, but they can wait for warmer weather.  The cold frame collapsed last year and needs repairing. The greenhouse and shed both need cleaning out.

Since that visit we have had plenty of bad weather, snow, rain extreme cold, so still not gardening weather.

A New Year on the allotment

After a fairly mild spell of weather, it has now turned very cold. We made our first visit to the allotment of the new year this week. It was a lovely day, although very cold. I needed veg so we went mainly to dig up some leeks--they are doing really well this year and are a good size. I cut some kale leaves too--those are not as good this year as in previous years. Next to the kale I noticed that the little cabbages which I had planted in the summer were growing well--still quite small but plenty of new leaves coming.  They should provide us with some nice early spring greens or small cabbages, as long as the pigeons and slugs don't get them first.

The plot was looking quite tidy and we were pleased with that.  We haven't been to do any work since the middle of October because I have been quite poorly with Rheumatoid Arthritis and was unable to walk properly or do anything with my hands.  On this last visit we had cleared most of the beds of dead vegetation, topped with home made compost and covered with membrane.

There's still work to done but nothing urgent:

• clear away the dead sweetcorn stems
• cut down the asparagus
• clear the old tomatoes and cucumber plants from the greenhouses
• prune the fruit bushes
• sweep up leaves from the paths

and as the weather improves and I get a bit more mobile we will work our way through the jobs.

 We sat awhile at the garden table with our flasks of hot tea  and slabs of Christmas cake, watching the birds and admiring the plot.

It was good to be back.

A new year on the allotment

In the last week the weather has been quite mixed. We've had frost, rain and also a mild spell. As there is always much to be done on the allotment we thought we had better take advantage of any fine weather at the weekend. We managed a couple of short sessions and as it was very cold, wrapped ourselves up in several layers of clothes.

Plot 10b was in most need of attention and I cleared the old cut flower beds of dead plants and weeds. Richard then topped both beds with manure.  The two other beds next to them still have parsnips, swede and beetroot in them.  I pulled most of the parsnips and some of the swede then weeded. I intend to make some spicy parsnip soup soon. As these beds get cleared they will have the same treatment of manure.  These four beds will be used to grow peas and beans this year and maybe courgettes too.

On Sunday Helen and I went down to plot 10b for an hour or so. It was a bit frosty although the ground wasn't too frozen. But we decided to prune the autumn raspberries which had died back.  These are sprouting all over the place now in places where we don't want them, so we are trying to control them and keep them in the bed, rather than the paths and the allotment car park.

That work done we ambled over to plot 8 which was looking quite tidy.  We didn't have time to do any more work so we just filled up the bird feeders. Plot 10b looks much better now  for that little bit of clearing up.  You can see here what the beds looked like before.

We need to sit down soon and make our plans for the year, they're all in our heads at the moment and I do like to make a proper list.

Getting myself together

I've been finding it difficult to get back into blogging.  It all sort of fizzled out in December. But then December is such a busy month and the time just after Christmas is a time when I get a bit lazy, eat too much, drink too much, get up late and seem to lose my energy.

I'm also aware that having been blogging for nearly two years now I am in danger of repeating myself. So I've been running out of ideas of new things to blog about.

But now the decorations are down at last and Christmas has been banished to the attic for another year. The red candles and vases of holly have been replaced with pots of white hyacinths and tete a tete narcissi. I'm liking them a lot, they are so simple and fresh looking after all that sparkle and colour of Christmas. They make me think of spring and give me lots to look forward to.

Now we are into the new year I'm feeling more enthusiastic and want to be doing things. I want to be working in the garden or on the allotment, it just needs to stop raining so I can get out there without slipping and sliding about in all the mud. So I'm starting to get myself together and think about our plans for the allotment this year. I'll tell you about those on another blog.

A New Year

I've read so many blogs recently on new year resolutions that I thought I should do one myself. But I don't do new year resolutions. I do make plans though. Sometimes plans have to be shelved for a while because other things get in the way and that's OK by me. Resolutions can be hard work and you can be so disappointed if you don't keep to them.

I looked back on last year's plans and some I didn't manage to do because I was too busy with other things. I managed to do more walking and keep up with my healthy eating to maintain my weight loss. We finally made the decision to have a big tree cut down in the garden, which gave us more light and I was then able to redesign the border around it. I'm pleased with that. We were going to have a new kitchen and redo some of the paths in the garden, but none of that happened because we were offered a 'proper' allotment after having a small starter plot for the last three years. This new allotment needed an awful lot of work doing on it, so all our spare time and energy was focused on this. We didn't mind, it's been hard work, but we've enjoyed doing it.

My plans for this year will include the allotment which continues to take up a lot of our time. I'll blog about those plans soon when we've worked out what they are.  I definitely want that new kitchen this year and the garden paths still need doing.

Anything else? Well I just want to enjoy life, and my family.

What are your plans for this year?

Plans and projects

This week we're back to normal with everything. My husband is back at work after taking a longer than usual Christmas holiday, the grandchildren returned to school and so I am needed again for grandparent duties.  Holidays are great but it's good to get back into a normal routine. Not just with domestic duties but with eating, exercise, shopping etc. It's like the new year has just started for me this week, and I can now make plans and get more organised.

I'm not one for making resolutions. But I do think of the year ahead as a fresh start, to make plans, think about new  projects.  Some of these plans and projects I might not start until later in the year, some things which I abandoned last year I might pick up again. But I don't think I've failed miserably if I don't do some of these things.

So first of all I'm planning  to get back to normal with my  healthy eating and my regular walking exercise to regain some energy and lose those extra pounds I gained over Christmas. These are things which got put on a back burner for a few weeks. We are hoping to have a new kitchen this year (about time, I can hear some of my family saying!), so there are plans to be made there. A project I want to tackle is to tidy up and declutter an old chest we have which is full of family memorabilia.  That will also lead to another project --to sort out the family photos.  I'll probably blog about that later in the year if it gets done. There will be knitting and sewing projects, I know, but I've not thought those out yet.

If it ever stops raining for long enough (it's doing a lot of raining here in the north at the moment), I want to get out into the garden to clear away leaves and tidy the borders.  Then I will go round with a notebook and pen and make some plans for the garden.  I'll decide if any plants need moving or dividing. I've got a dry shady corner which needs redesigning. Some trees need cutting back and I need to decide what to do with the raised beds at the top of the garden. I also want to go down to the allotment, dig, put down manure and plan again. But one thing I want to do is visit the allotment more often.  My husband retires at the end of March so we should have more time together to be able to do this.

What are your plans for this year?

Looking back, looking forward

I'm not a great fan of New Year's Eve celebrations. I prefer to slip quietly and gently into the new year.  I'm not sure why I feel that way, perhaps it's because I'm not a party person and can only tolerate being with large numbers of people for a small amount of time. But that's the way I'm made and I'm quite happy being like that.

I also get a bit tired by all the looking back that goes on just before the new year.  You open a newspaper and it's a review of the year.  You watch TV expecting your favourite programme and again it's a review of the year. But then I suppose we need to look back in order to be able to move forward. Looking back at how we've progressed in the past year is good for our self esteem. Looking back at mistakes we've made might help us to make improvements.

So as the fireworks go off around our house and we move into 2012 I will perhaps look back on the past year and think about all that I have achieved, enjoyed and loved.  I will think about my successes and failures and I will thank God for the many blessings he has given me. I will also look ahead and make some plans. And I might share those plans with you.

May you have a happy, peaceful and blessed new year.