Tag: brassicas

It’s Got To Be Prefect TWTW # 87

On By tontowilliamsIn books, Garden / Allotment, The Week That Was, work

On Wednesday morning I wrote in my diary that work was a bit sparse. That afternoon I was asked to do something at short notice. A few hours work, but a few hours of paid work. Funny how things work out.

Other than that little work blip my week has been split between sorting out things at my Mum’s house, doing chores at my own house and a little bit of creative time, dog walks and the allotment. That said I’m not sure where the week went Monday morning quickly became Sunday evening.

I found my old Prefect and Librarian badges in a matchbox in a draw at my Mum’s house. I thought that they’d probably been lost years ago, and in truth I probably haven’t laid eyes on them since about 1988. It was a bit of mixed emotions that I found them and some other papers and things from my time at school and university. These are items that I will keep and treasure and others that I will let go. I’m pretty sure that I don’t need my lab record books anymore, and reading through them didn’t really spark any memories for me.

By coincidence my friend @Documentally also came across his Prefects badge when he was tidying his “shed”, he wrote about it in his newsletter.

I’ve been reading more Maigret – Maigret and the Informer – and Austin Kleon’s – Steal Like an Artist & Keep Going – also some other bits and pieces but not really completing anything else.

We’ve been watching  some old films including the old James Bond movie – You Only Live Twice – as well as continuing to avoid watching too much news and getting sucked into Doomscrolling.

I had some brassica plants delivered and I planted them out onto the allotment on Sunday. They’re plants for late winter or early spring harvesting so I won’t be eating them anytime soon. For now I have to stop everything else from eating them – slugs, pigeons and caterpillars in particular – I’ve netted and put out slug traps with beer and salt.

I don’t think I’ll be up for any bathtime ballet anytime soon.

Well that’s it for this last week. Have a good one and stay safe out there.

 

Allotment After The (Snow) Storm

On By tontowilliamsIn Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Self-sufficient

2017-01-14-08-37-35

Although our snowmageddon turned out to be a slightly cold and damp squib, we did have enough to make me go down to the allotment to check things out. Snow will weigh down netting and other structures and if there’s enough cause them to collapse or tear. This then means that your crops underneath get flattened.

I’ve got some brassicas still under netting (and enviromesh), so I wanted to make sure all was well.

The snow (which had melted and turned to ice), had push down both cages a little. Not enough to cause them to collapse but enough to pull out some of the anchoring pins that secure it to the ground. I pushed off the remaining chunks of ice, tightened up the netting and re-secured the pegs. Job done.

The forecast at least in the short term is for fine, cold and dry weather. So now more snow, at least for now.

Planting Leeks

On By tontowilliamsIn Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Self-sufficient

I went down to the allotment this morning to plant out some leeks. I’ve recorded a little video, see below, because I thought it might be useful to someone. As with many things, this is just the method I use and there may well be other better methods.

While I was there I took an opportunity to weed the brassica bed. It wasn’t too bad but it felt good to be on top of weeding that area. There’s a little slug damage to some of the plants, but otherwise they seem to be doing well, so hopefully we’ll get a good crop again this year.

Frosty Start, Sunny Finish

On By tontowilliamsIn Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment

 

After a busy weekend on the allotment, with my early spuds going in the ground as well as shallots, radish, lettuce, parsnip and a complete set of brassica plants that arrived last Friday, I was hoping for them to escape any significant frosts. Knowing that to be unlikely I did make sure that they were all under cover. I made good use of the cloche that I built a week or so ago.

 

  

This morning I woke to a proper frost however. The roof of our house was white, as was the ground, I hoped that my preparations were enough. 

After work this evening I walked down to the allotment with the dogs to check how my new plants were. By now the sun was out and the Mercury had risen. Everything appears well, all of the brassica plants that went in only a few days ago seem fine, my cloche has done a good job. I’m sure they’ll be more frosts to come, but it’d good to know that my preparations seem good.