The first visit of the year

I haven't been to the allotment for a while, December is a difficult month with all the build up to Christmas mostly related to the kids social lives. There is no time at all.

Wasn't too sure what was going to greet me today, the weather has been mild and weeds could be growing wildly, there is also the thought of a swimming swampland exisiting and I always fear vandals and thieves have visited me. I was pleasantly surprised. I need to hoe some of the small weeds in places and know which areas need to be dug again soon, I think I can have it looking presentable if I put the effort now; weather permitting. So it is cardboard and manure sourcing in the next few weeks. While the brambles have died back a bit, it is time to attack.

The wind has blown down the fruit cage poles and Huw's play house. Easily fixed I think, other people on the site lost their shed roofs.

My broad beans are up and looking good. The garlic and onions are holding up well. Thank goodness for my autumnal efforts I think they will pay off well.

I am amazed by my wallflowers they seem to have bounded forward (need to hoe here!) . I so hope to plant other flowers at the front of the plot this year as my cutting garden area.

My first produce is likely to be this broccoli - how exciting and the label said harvest from February, it is on track for that.

2014

Happy New Year everyone.

It is time to look back at a year and hopefully towards another year.

There are many things that I have wished were different in 2013 but I cannot change that. I wished it had been slower but how can you do that with out the power to control time itself. I did some great stuff which I never blogged about, often because the moment had past or I was a little too shy to share, artwork etc. That was one of my big frustrations with the year. 

I hope to change that in 2014, just to blog a little more. If I go to some good events or workshops then I will push myself to post about them.

Rather than have restrictive resolutions of restraint I'm going for things I would like to do in 2014.

• I would like to make my own frocks and thought it would be nice to have 5 for the summer. It means dusting off and servicing a old electric sewing machine and may be a tall order so 1 dress would be good.
• I would like to try time lapse photography.
• To grow some flowers at the allotment so I can have cut flowers indoors.

We can measure success at the end of the year but if I don't achieve it and have done other things then that will be fine too. However, all I need to do over the next few days is get a visit in to the allotment, fingers crossed that it is both dry and light when I have some time to do this. Must pay the allotment rent too.

What do grasshoppers do over the winter?

I think about a lot of random things when I am pottering at the allotment. Today I realised that I didn't know what grasshoppers do over the winter, do they hibernate? I came home and found out. Sadly all the little fellas that hop out of my way as I pull up weeds and clear old plants will die. They rely on their eggs hatching next year to keep the population going.

I have been working very slowly and steadily at the plot to keep it in order. I hope the plot inspectors will notice my efforts. I have see crazy internet weather scares of snow in October and here I was, hoping for an Indian summer. What ever is thrown at us I am hoping to get some onions, garlic and broad beans in over the next month. I think I might be able to achieve this.

My gladioli plants have only just decided to flower but they do give a little end of summer cheer. I also think my wallflowers have germinated which will be great for next year as they are flame red.

I have planted some sativus crocus today I think they are the ones that produce saffron but will have to wait till next autumn to know.

As for the grasshopper photo I am quite pleased with it as was taken with my mobile phone just a few weeks ago. It is a bit of a sport now for me trying to capture insect photos on the phone. Ever since we did a bit of a butterfly hunt in the borders of the walled gardens at Wimpole Hall in the height of summer. I can recommend it, the kids got some great shots (not that they have their own mobile phones yet)

Bluebells

OK, I haven't been to the plot since before the last bank holiday. So the weeds have sprung into action they are now capable of swishing around my armpits.

I managed to get some help from OH to strim with the petrol strimmer the one I have trouble with. Interestingly he has splurged some of his cash on a rechargeable strimmer which he feels I might be able to use more easily. Is he trying to get out of doing the strimming long term I ask myself. Still never look a gift horse and all that.
The other gift horse is that my bonfire (nearly as tall as me) has disappeared from the plot no sign of it being burnt. So a bit of a mystery and I am not complaining.

This week the boys and I are going to make a scarecrow for the allotment association competition. It is the open day at the end of the week and I hope to spruce the plot a little bit too.

My peas have begun to grow and I sowed the next succession of seeds today looking forward to eating some peas soon.

After three hours at the plot today I broke off to go to Pryors Woods in Stevenage to catch the bluebells before they disappear. There was an extensive carpet of them, so beautiful.

cabbages

I have not blogged much about the allotment this year. I feel like I am going to jinx it. Today was a landmark moment for the year we planted out our first plants, red cabbages. I had a little helper who was very good.

Slow progress is being made but I am scared that the weeds are likely to romp away any moment now and how will I keep up then? What looks like it is improving could be lost very quickly.

goodly spring of flowers

It was fitting that on the first day of spring I was going to a Cambridge Science Festival event  titled 'a goodly spring of flowers'. The event allowed us to have a peak at some of the oldest books in Cambridge University Library. I wasn't sure what to expect but I knew there would be some botanical illustrations and that it would be interesting.

Liam had selected the books for us to view and guided us through them with an extremely informative talk.

The 15th century herbals we so fascinating you could smell their age just oozing from the pages. The thoughts about who may have owned them and how expensive they were to have in your possession at the time (and now!!) made you think about who had had their hands on the pages. (Only Liam was allowed to touch them this evening with his clean hands). As for the contents of the books, the medical advice within gave insight into thoughts about life at the time. They also hinted at travels and life beyond English shores. How they came into the University collection was as interesting as any other part of their history. 

The books we saw spanned the ages to the 17th century and the development of ideas and classification of plants. How the books were printed and the way that they were bound was a surprise. I had not realised that books were bought unbound sometimes and bound at later dates, they could be bought in parts or rebound later with extra pages so each copy could have a very different individual history.

What I liked the most was the character that the owners added to their books with notes and annotation the best of which was a drawing of a foetus next to herbal treatments for helping in pregnancy.

Incase you want more information about the science festival and its varied programme http://www.cam.ac.uk/sciencefestival/ 

Spring is it?

I'm feeling the change the excitement of the possibilities that spring brings. The weekend has been definitely warmer, but we are not out of wintry bit yet, we will dip back into the cold days I am sure. However the glimpses of sun have been glorious. 

I would have love to have posted a spring photo of what I saw in the sunshine this morning. Silhouetted against the voile drapes of the living room  were the branches of the shrubbery and a long tailed tit perched within them. I have never known them come up so close to the house before. Despite quietly and swiftly reaching for the camera it flew off before I could press the shutter

Managed to get a bit of digging done at the allotment this afternoon. I want to crack on with the sowing but I still have a long way to go with the digging.

A windowsill of seeds are emerging into seedlings, oh the possibilities.