Saturday 13th April 2013 – Must be getting warmer I saw 2 bumble bees this morning.

Posted on April 13, 2013 by clairesallotment

Well it seems to be warming up enough for the bumble bees to start flying. I saw 2 this morning at the alltoment. The first was on the lock on my shed, and I had to coax him onto a bamboo cane and popped him on the rhubarb. The second flew past me when I was putting my garlic in the ground. They both seemed very dozy, but then I am when I first wake up. Got all the garlic in this morning so that’s another job done. The soil is very clumpy as we’ve had a lot of rain in the past few days, but with the warm weather we’re now having, hopefully it’ll dry out soon.

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Monday 8th April 2013 – First lot of potting up.

Posted on April 8, 2013 by clairesallotment

Just come in from the greenhouse where I’ve potted up 30 Candisa F1 Cabbage. Not sure where they’ll all go, as I’ve sown quite a few more, but of other varieties. We do like sautéed cabbage, but there is only a certain amount of that you can eat…there’s also coleslaw I suppose. I’m sure if I have a glut of them I’ll find some wonderful ways of using them up. The kids have 3 friends over and are all playing down stairs. Not sure what they’re doing, but from the sounds that I can hear, I’m not sure if I want to know. This time next week they’ll be back to school and then I’ll have peace again.

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Sunday 7th April 2013 – Staring at the plot.

Posted on April 8, 2013 by clairesallotment

Makes me laugh every time. If you’ve not noticed it before take a look at what someone does when they first arrive at their plot. Most people, including myself have a quick look to see what needs to be done that day. I then take a walk up and down the plot to check that everything is in order, say “Hello” to it, and then I start work. When I was on my plots today, a plot holder came along, and stared at his plot for about 10 minutes then was gone. What was he thinking? He’s new to the site, so maybe he was a little over whelmed by the task ahead. Anyway I’ve got in the rest of my King Edward potatoes, so all the potatoes are in now. Next task, the garlic…and there’s a lot of it!

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Sowing shallots from seed – Claire’s Allotment part 187

Posted on April 7, 2013 by clairesallotment
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Victoriana Nursery Gardens – Helping hand discounts!

Posted on April 6, 2013 by clairesallotment

Victoriana Nursery Gardens

A Helping Hand To Catch Up In The Garden?… Discounts Up To 40%

It’s often said that the first rule of marketing is to never be negative; the trouble is, with a March like we’ve all had to endure we’re not quite sure how we can be 100% positive! Well, at least it would appear that it is finally on the turn – which means there’s masses to do in the garden in order to catch up.
And so we have put together some great offers to help you stretch you gardening pound to the max – allowing you to plant those last few fruits or that hedge you haven’t quite got round too (it’s still cold enough for bare root planting), or to start on those vegetable and flower sowings that you’ve been delaying until the weather cheers up…

20% Off Vegetable Seeds & Flower Seeds

20% Off Fruit – Tree Fruit, Soft Fruit, Grape Vines, Nuts – the lot!

A massive 40% Off the following Hedging Plants – Cherry Plum Hedging, Willow Hedging, Coral Pearl Hedging & Shrub Rose Hedging.

To claim these fantastic discounts simply use the offer code APRIL13 between now and the 14th April 2013.

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Saturday 6th April 2013 – It is here?

Posted on April 6, 2013 by clairesallotment

Well, I’m little shocked today as this afternoon the temperature got up to 11 degrees…I may have to go and have a sit down to calm myself. But the weather people seem to think that the weather is about to turn a corner and we’ll finally start to warm up, just a bit. Sounds good to me and hopefully they’re not going to be wrong like Michael Fish in 1987!  I was 13 when it happened and we all got a day off school. But back to the allotment. This morning was very busy on the allotment, loads of people on their plots digging away. I want to get the last of my King Edward potatoes in, so I spent 2 hours clearing a bed ready for them to go in tomorrow. The soil is drying out well. Fingers, toes, legs and anything else crossed that spring is starting.

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Microgreen herbs – Claire’s Allotment part 186

Posted on April 6, 2013 by clairesallotment
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Friday 5th April 2013 – Bracing on top of the tower.

Posted on April 5, 2013 by clairesallotment

Well this morning the kids and I put on an extra pair of socks each, thick jumpers and got our scarves, gloves and hats on and we visited Leith Hill. Yes it was a bit chilly, but nothing better than putting on your wellies and taking a bracing walk on one of the highest points in Surrey. There weren’t many people about, just the odd dog walker and the National Trust people hiding in their hut. It then started to snow, which was ok, but the change in temperature was huge. They had quite a lot of snow still on the ground it seemed to be isolated to that small spot. But we climbed the 70 odd steps to the top of the tower. “Not bad I thought” as we looked out towards the south, but then you turned to the north, and oh my!! We decided looking south was a better option, not that you could see much as the cloud was very low. No one else was brave enough to go up to the top, so after about 10 minutes it was time to climb down again. We had a good wander around for about an hour with the kids climbing trees (George anyway) and them running up and down the mounds. We found a little shelter which looked like Eeyore’s home from Winnie the Pooh. Then decided that it was time to get back in the car and go home. Nice warm lunch and a bit of telly, lovely.

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Thursday 4th April 2013 – What is going on?

Posted on April 4, 2013 by clairesallotment

Could someone please explain to me what on earth is going on with the weather? Since lunchtime it’s done nothing but snow. I’m not talking about a small flurry that lasts 2 minutes, I’m talking about large fat flakes and near blizzard conditions. We are in April, or has it gone back to February? The only good thing is that it’s not settling and the kids and I have been playing on Wii Fitness. I’ve got the fitness of a 26 year old…So I’m rather chuffed.

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Wednesday 3rd April 2013 – Cold and windy!

Posted on April 3, 2013 by clairesallotment

Well that sun didn’t last long, back to the cold, windy and overcast for us. I’ve just got back from hiding in the greenhouse sowing Shallot “Prisma” seeds and MicroGreens Herbs. As they’re new things I made a couple of films, but the shallot packet blew over and I lost a load on the floor. I think I uttered the word “Bugger” on film. Hope your not offended.

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