The lovely weather last week meant that we managed some long afternoons on the allotment as well as in the garden. We almost were tempted to think that spring had finally arrived and the bad weather was behind us. Then over the weekend the weather took a turn for the worse and the strong winds were back to batter any young plants that we managed to get planted.
As well as planting it was a chance to tidy and also clear beds. We cleared the bed containing the remains of our leek harvest.
Our final harvest of last season's leeks coincides with the sowing of this season's leek seeds.
The bed containing a few remaining carrots was also cleared and provided us with a few remaining jumbo roots.
I also managed to pick a few daffodils that have been filling our living room with a beautiful perfume.
Other than a few red cabbages our last season's harvest of fresh vegetables has come to an end. Fortunately we have quite a lot of vegetables in the freezer to keep us going until we can start harvesting this season's crops.
I am linking to Harvest Monday over at Daphne's Dandelions.
At least the poor weekend weather has meant that I have caught up with my computer work and my summary March gardening diary is now complete here and my April entries are up to date!
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Your crops have lasted you well in to the year, it won't be that long now until harvesting season is upon us once again. We've got some better weather again today, at least the wind's dropped.
ReplyDeleteWe did, Jo so I was out on the plot planting onions.
DeleteThe weather was grotty at the weekend wasn't it? We woke up to a frost this morning. Your leeks are looking good x
ReplyDeleteIt was a lovely day yesterday. Jo and today has started iff well,
DeleteYour winter crops have lasted an amazingly long time. And the daffodils are lovely. I keep waiting for the first of mine to bloom.
ReplyDeleteWe usually have winter crops until about now, Daphne. Our daffodils are past picking quality now.
DeleteYour photo of frog spawn is beautiful and so is your leeks. Here we had some nice parsnips last week, but they were the very last things till later on in the season.
ReplyDeleteOur remaining parsnips had started to regrow Alain.
DeleteI hope one day to be able to produce a giant carrot like that! How come they get so big? Is it just the variety, or do you have some magic carrot-fertiliser stuff that makes them huge?
ReplyDeleteNo special variety or fertiliser, Mark. It's just that they have been in the ground for a long time.
DeleteI saw my first tulip today. Hope that is a sign spring is really here. Your leeks over-wintered beautifully.
ReplyDeleteWe have lots of tulips out too tpals.There seem to be far more on the plot than I remember having last year.
DeleteWe eat huge delicious 'dirty carrots' all the time - well July to end of April. We buy them at the local farm shop! They are locally grown on our wonderful silty/fine sand soil!
ReplyDeleteI am trying a few early baby carrots this year and they will remain under my environmesh to keep the carrot flies away. I have sown them near the hose pipe and will water them if it goes dry. I am determined to get some decent ones this year....?
Ours grow fine in our clay soil Roger but we dig a shallow trench and fill it with compost to get the seed going and then keep the mesh on until late autumn. Good luck.
DeleteHi, Sue!
ReplyDeleteNice daffodils! I've seen the video and remembered that soon will have same frog spawn in pond too. Or some dead frogs in ice...
Love leek soup!
The fish have found the frog spawn in the pond Nadezda so that will cut down the number of frogs. The tadpoles in the tank seem to have all died for some reason - maybe the change in temperature.
DeleteLovely daffodils - I don't have any in my garden but did purchase a pot from a school fundraiser. Unfortunately, they didn't last that long, only a few days (and I did keep them moist, so my brown thumb when it comes to indoor plants had nothing to do with it this time!) How long do your cut daffs last in the vase?
ReplyDeleteI try to cut the daffodils as buds as much as I can as they last a little longer Margaret but generally they last for just under a week, If the flowers are fully open just a few days,
DeleteSpring cabbages (especially Durham Early type) fill our crop gap from late Feb to late May (loose leaves to start and then hearted cabbages form later). They are planted in the traditional way - in the ground previously used to grow the early potatoes. Chard or beet spinach is also useful. Both are sown late (Aug/early Sept and planted out late Sept/early October in the SE) and apart from netting against the pigeons, neither crop needs much attention until picking time.
ReplyDeleteDue to the mild winter, our overwintering cabbage and leeks continued to grow and mature, so that they were reaching the end of their lives in Feb (both bolted by the end of Feb). This year, we really appreciated the spring greens, which luckily were early due to the mildness. My re-sprouted parsnips have gained several feet in height this week in the good weather.
Unfortunately for us we don't really like chard or spinach, SandD. We did used to grow a spring cabbage but for some reason that I can't quite remember we had a problem - maybe we need to give it another go.
DeleteOur parsnips were only just starting to grow leaves, Whereabouts are you?
Down in the south east of England - so our seasons are probably a little ahead of you in the north.
DeleteThose are some mighty fine, bulbous carrots and leeks! Your harvest has certainly provided for you all....and to still have frozen veg too! Marvelous!xxx
ReplyDeleteWe can't complain, Dina.
DeleteStill got leeks over - and Purple Sprouting Broccoli. But that's it!
ReplyDeleteNever mind, Mal the new season will soon kick in.
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