Clairesallotment's Blog

Yesterday I brought some peanuts to go in my bird feeder and a half coconut with seeds attached. I’ve now got them outside and hanging from the shed. The local tits have been enjoying themselves, and one went in my nesting box this morning.
However you write this sort of stuff, it always comes out wrong.

There is a sale on! there is 20% off fruit trees and soft fruits. Have a look and quote code FEB13. It also gives you 10% off anything else they sell. Get in quick as this offer lasts until 17th February 2013. Happy Shopping.

Nothing to do with royalty I’m afraid, but I’ve been awaiting the last of my seed potatoes to arrive and they did today, 3kg of King Edwards. My kitchen looks like a seed potato factory at the moment. The tops of all the kitchen cupboards have potatoes chitting away on top of them. They can chit till their hearts content and I’ll start to put them in next month. Forgot how many I ordered, but there’s plenty of room in my plot, so that’s ok. I may be regretting how many I got when I start putting them in, but who knows.

I know when I wrote about the onions on 26th January I said I’d do the rest the following day, but things get in the way like most of the family being a bit poorly, but we’re all better now and I finally managed to get the rest of the onions started off. Better late than never I suppose. I’ve run out of loo rolls, so instead I half filled a seed tray with compost and spaced the little onions out in rows. I managed to get 24 in each tray. The greenhouse is nearly full, but I’ve got various plants that’ll go else where soon, so I’ll have the room for the next lot of sowing. The final lot of onions were “Centurion” (makes me think of Monty Python, welease Bwian). Watch Monty Python and the life of Brian if you’ve not already, great film.

Some husbands buy their wife flowers, or jewellery, fine wine or chocolates. But my lovely hubby brings home the Bungee Bird Feeder. He clearly knows that this is far more appreciated that all those other items (except the wine). I’ve just hung him up, now I need to watch the birds come and feast.

Yes I know it’s been on the planner for nearly a week, but I’ve only managed to catch up with it today. I know that many of you have commented on this programme, but I would like to mention a few items that caught my eye. Firstly, how can that lady Michelle (I think was her name) garden in those nails? I know they were most probably false nails, but even still. My hands get in such a state, along with the rest of me when I’m up the allotment. And isn’t a shed supposed to contain gardening equipment, or is that just me? Secondly the treatment of that young teaching assistant in Manchester was atrocious. I thought he was such a lovely young lad, but he was clearly being bullied off the site, and having to call the police on him, really, they should have been done for wasting police time. Finally I did find the competitive nature of those 2 elderly gents in Newcastle a bit beyond belief. Not having spoken to each other for the last 2 or 3 years, and they’ve got neighbouring plots. To me they’re behaving like 5 year olds. But the burnt out remains of his shed was going too far. I did chuckle when there were remarks about Bill and Ben, and the gentleman making tea. I know we only saw what would be regarded as “Good TV”, and I’m sure there are plenty of wonderful stories to be told. I’m sure that there is nothing like that happening on our site, maybe a few petty incidents, but nothing to that degree. Also I noted that all the Committee members were men, women are quite capable also you know. Well, that’s me piece said, I feel like one of those people who write to “Points of View” I should have started “Why oh why….”. Any way happy gardening and have a great year.

Just spent the last hour and a half in the greenhouse planting as many onions and shallots as I could. I’ve now run out of toilet rolls, so will have to plant the rest in small pots. It’s only when you’re doing this that you realise how many you actually ordered. Quite a lots as it happens. We do go through a fair amount anyway, so they’ll get used. The sun was shining today and the sky blue. Most of the snow has melted, so back to normal now. The varieties of shallot were “Golden Gourmet” and the onions were “Stuttgarter Giant” and “Sturton“. I’ll do the rest tomorrow.

Hands had warmed up, so I pootled back to the greenhouse to start my garlic off in half toilet rolls. I wasn’t able to get them all done as I ran out of soil in the greenhouse and the bag outside, the contents is frozen. I managed to dig some out, and have put it in a container in the greenhouse to defrost. I’ll go back to it tomorrow and hopefully it’ll be ok. I never order enough garlic and I use a lot in cooking, so this year I’ve ordered 6 bulbs. Hopefully that’ll be enough. I got the Solent Wight variety. I’ll let you know how they get on. I’ve still got onions and shallots to do, but until I can defrost the compost they’ll have to stay inside.