Martyn watched a video that he posted last March of the state of our allotment and it showed an incredible difference between the stage we were at last year at the beginning of March and this year. We also posted a video of how our plot is looking at the moment. Last year we had hardly done any work preparing the plot, this year most of the beds have now been dug over and last week Martyn went over many of them with a rotovator.
Once weed control fabric is in place many beds will be ready for planting whereas last year we couldn't get beds ready quickly enough for planting.
This year we are even managing some tidying up. Last week I weeded a long flower bed and also the blueberry bed.
One of our grass paths alongside the apple hedge became very difficult to cut once the apples started to grow and so I have covered it with weed control fabric and chippings in an attempt to keep it tidier.
I also clipped the lavenders in order to prevent the plants from becoming straggly and leggy.
The onions and garlic which were planted last autumn are still growing well.
One surprise in the garden greenhouse is that the peach tree is in full flower. Last year it didn't start flowering until the end of March. This has meant that I have already been on pollination duty.
The apricot that is usually the first of our greenhouse fruit trees to flower, has leaf buds but no flower buds, It fruited really well last year so it is obviously having a rest this year.
The third tree, the nectarine, I fear is dead. It became heavily infested with scale bugs last year which I think was in some way to blame for its demise.
We ordered some new raspberry and strawberry plants last week which came very quickly and so have been potted up until we are ready to plant them out on the plot.
The strawberries are Honeoye and Elegance and the raspberries are Cascade Delight. We haven't had any of these varieties before so we are hoping that they prove worthy choices.
We're not the only ones busy in the garden as we watched one female blackbird stripping the hairy covering from the trunk of our Trachycarpus Wagneriana.
She then took her load into a nearby camellia bush where she is obviously building her nest
We are still harvesting according to need and so again last week's harvest was minimal but a highlight was the first small purple sprouting broccoli shoots.
I also decided to pick some of the tiny sprouts to see whether I could get anything worthwhile from them.
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We're way ahead too with the allotment, the fine weather has been great for helping us to get working early. My purple sprouting broccoli hasn't got any shoots on it yet
ReplyDeleteThose were our only two sprouts, Margaret. It feels good to be ahead for a change doesn’t it?
DeleteI do envy your fine weather. It's very soggy here and I'm so far behind in the garden that I may never catch up.
ReplyDeleteThat’s usually our state at this time of year, Michelle, I don’t think March is forecast to be as good so it’s as well that we are ahead.
DeleteHand pollinating the peach tree, a very worthwhile job. It looks like a lot of your beds are prepped and ready for planting. You must've had a glorious February to get so much work done.
ReplyDeleteMartyn, my husband collates weather records on his gardening blog, Phuong and this February was the warmest February out of the last ten years and it was dry too
DeleteI too am somewhat envious of your weather but I am happy you are getting so much done. I'm sure it is a relief to be ahead of last year, and your beds look great to me. It is bitter cold here today, the ground has frozen up and when it thaws it will be soggy wet and unworkable for some time still. Thankfully I have the greenhouse which at least stays dry inside.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a good feeling to be on top of things,Dave Being heavy clay our ground soon gets soggy when it is wet which is what usually delays us.
DeleteYour garden is WAY ahead of mine. ANd you have birds trying to nest. We did have birds singing in our garden this past week but not now. Much too cold and we got an accumulating snow yesterday. Still awaiting spring.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the birds will come to regret the early start, Lisa. We still haven’t reached the point where we can be assured of no snow. None yet this year though in our part of the UK.
DeleteIt does feel good to have the garden tidy and to be "ahead of schedule." How I love PSB. The plants grow well and very large but only about half of the plants produce sprouts. I've wondered what the problem is.
ReplyDeleteFor a few years our PSB failed to thrive, Sue. Maybe in the past we didn’t plant them early enough to develop into strong plants before winter set in. Not sure why some of yours aren’t flowering maybe some of ours won’t. Are all your plants the same variety as there are early and late varieties,
DeleteThe buds and the flowers are so promising!
ReplyDeleteI hope that they live up to their promise, Endah
DeleteI bet most gardeners are ahead of the game this year after having such a lovely February. It sure beats playing catch up.
ReplyDeleteLooking around our allotment site, you wouldn’t think so, Jo
DeleteIt is certainly milder this year. You are certainly ahead of the game! Lovely to see your peach tree in bloom already, my nectarine is about to blossom. Loved the blackbird pictures, the birds are busy here too.xxx
ReplyDeleteI think the recent weather has put a bit of a halt on blackbird activity here, Dina
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