A late start to the February garden

Today it finally stopped raining, and I was able to potter in the garden without being quite so aware of my ankle twinges. So a good day.

The really hard frosts we have had have taken their toll.  A few of the broad beans have died, but probably still enough survive to make good use of the extra space.  Some of Mrs C-H's sage cuttings have died, but there are a few left.  The plan is for our baking hot, sandy front garden to be turned over to Mediterranean plants, particularly herbs and hopefully an olive tree. It is always well drained even in the winter that has been.

Harvest was one lemon from the greenhouse.

I'm still waiting for the ground to be able to hold my weight before I try to do anything in the garden! We're still slipping and sliding on the 'lawn' as we go to see about the chickens.

My excuse for a late start on all things garden and allotment is the repaired/replaced right knee. Done 2 days before Christmas but now only just sort of useful round the house. Have amused the village going to the shop for a paper on the crutches cos the physiotherapist said to practice using them.

I've been out and cut the old leaves off the hellebores. That's all.

First time on the allotment since late October for me. Dug some leeks, and cut down the old raspberry canes - they should be autumn fruiting. New shoots are emerging already, some rather far from where they should be !

Lots of jobs to do. My espalier fruit trees didn't get pruned properly last year - I think maybe they put on new growth after the summer prune. Have to figure out how to recover.

A large number of plots have been cleared by the council. Looks dreadful, sprayed off and still littered with rubble of paving slabs and brick, bits of polythene etc. Glad I don't have to start from that.

There's a whole story there of tenants doing a runner and leaving the plot in disarray. Some councils ask for an upfront deposit that is returnable if you leave the plot in good order and used for clearing if you don't. Trouble is that most of the world won't deposit up to £100 before the annual rent for an allotment. And the result is what you see. Mind you - pavings are useful.

Off to prune the vines and wash the greenhouse glass ...

I've promised myself a stint in the garden every day that it's not pouring with rain to clear away the winter leftovers and get it looking half decent. It's no helped this year by ongoing building work. There are scaffold poles in the big bed and general building debris all around. I had to rescue a new last year hellebore which was in direct firing line from diverted rainwater from the gutter as the downpipe can't be put in place yet. I've just about finished cutting off last year's growth from the perennials and will go round again and start the ongoing weeding. I usually weed round the plants that are coming up next as I don't have time or energy to do the whole lot. I'm never too sure what to do about moss which abounds this year. Some of it I can easily pick up by hand and that goes in the compost bin but some types come up with a load of soil attached so I just turn the clumps over. There are no daffs out yet but they won't be long and at least I will be able to see them now.

Any chance your daffs. will greet you on St David's day, Ploshkin? My ex OH was Welsh and I used to send him off to work with a daffodil in his buttonhole - sometimes there weren't many to choose from but, over the years more early varieties became available.

Anyone who needs a daffodil can ask as mine are busy in the back garden.

Tomatoes and chillies sown this morning. Now the anxious wait begins ...

A few new varieties this year. Chillies "Machu Pichu" and "Holy mole" - the nearest I could buy to pasilla. I hope they do ok, I have some saved field maple to smoke some with if they do.

Trying tomato Black Brandywine this year. Sounds like not the easiest to grow.

Macaroni long peppers sown; have appeared and are sitting on a sunny window ledge. Tried a packet of rosemary seeds but as expected nothing happened (given to me but they'd been stored in a damp shed - you can't tell some people) so have put an old packet of tomato seeds which should have been used last year in instead. Usually tomato seeds are good mannered and stand a bit of being kept over.

Waiting for some window sill propogaters, unheated, to turn up so that I can sow a few herb seeds of different varieties to fill in spaces. Also want to try some cape gooseberries and have another go at caulilfowers. All can be started at home and taken to plot later on. Rest of stuff will wait till later on in March (peas, beans, lettuce that sort of thing). As there is still kale and purple sprouting broccoli for the picking by the minions on the plot, no rush to fill up spaces.

There are 3 daffs out in my garden Flobear. They are close to the house so must have benefited from the warmth.
I've had a day of seed sowing today. I've got several tomato varieties and peppers in the propagator. They will all go in the polytunnel. I've started some peas, mangetout and sweet peas in containers also destined for the tunnel. I've also started some cabbage and brussel sprouts which will be planted out in the garden. I've already sown carrots, broad beans and chard and planted potatoes and shallots in the tunnel.
I should end up with some plants out of that lot.

Chilli-head wrote:

Trying tomato Black Brandywine this year.  Sounds like not the easiest to grow.

I tried Yellow Brandywine a few years ago, and had zero germination.

That's not too encouraging DL. I have grown the red Brandywine before, and it was hard to make them happy ...

I've sown enough tomatoes for me and the Aged P, but I gather he has actually remembered to sow his own this year, so I may be in a position to cherry pick the plants.

The propagators are supposed to be here in the next two or three hours! Yodal permitting. A late afternoon of sowing then.