Hello everyone!

I have just realised how long it has been since I have posted to the blog.

It was such a wonderful summer last year, I think I just forgot!

Well, winter is almost over, hopefully, and we are preparing for spring. First into the pots this year has been an old packet of sweet pea seeds - a little test to see if they'll grow - if they do - brilliant - if not - no loss but a little time.

I also sowed some dahlia seeds in trays that I had collected from a public garden near Paris last year. I have no idea if they will grow - or what they will turn out like - but that is all part of the adventure.

As usual I have been clearing the beds at the plot. Gradually returning them to a nice healthy tilth for this year's growth. It is a waiting game now.

Today was lovely. Bright, sunny and calm. reasonably mild too, for the time of year. I was hoeing a bed when the little robin above joined me. He didn't leave all afternoon and was so relaxed in my company he stayed within a foot or two of the digging.

I notice that in my last post, over three weeks ago, that I commented on how the weather had changed for the worse. It certainly did! As you will know from the news, we had a bout of very extreme and unusually cold weather for the second half of March. Blizzards swept in and counties Down and Antrim were severely hit. The farmers will have a very difficult year, twelve foot drifts at lambing time. Poor creatures.

So, as you might imagine, nothing at all has happened on the plot. It has been under snow for almost two weeks now. Thankfully, apart from some onion sets and garlic, I had nothing out early this year. A thaw set in today.

My potatoes have been chitting for so long now, that I wonder will they be ok. There will only be one way to find out, I suppose!

I also have some large broad bean seedlings in my little greenhouse that could do with going out. I will start to harden them off in the thaw, then get them put in an about a week. It will feel good to have a few plants out!

Apart from that, I used a spell of not so cold weather today to sow a few trays of seeds for the mini greenhouse. Nasturtiums (easy, edible flowers); Turnips in modules (to give them a head start); Red Cabbage (did ok last year) and chives. That'll keep me busy!

I checked on everything else. The melting snow has topped up my water butt nicely. In the mini-greenhouse, I have some fairly decent Greyhound Cabbage seedlings now. Lettuce seem a bit leggy and slow. Marigolds ok. Cornflower ok. Hopefully we get a little heat now during April, so that everything gets some strong spring growth!

Pot, or English Marigolds are known by the name Calendula. I remember reading that they acquired this name because they can remain in flower on every day of the calendar year.

Well, here is a great example - after a couple of weeks of freezing January weather, a single flower remains. A little, brave reminder that spring will come.

Calendula are easy to grow, and look great sown freely in rows or swathes. I like to pop in a row or clump here and there to brighten up the allotment. Bees, our freat pollinators, also love them.

A winter's evening at the allotments

I have been busy with some of the less obvious tasks that can be done around the garden during winter. These are Calendula (pot marigold) seeds. They have been drying on the plant. You can collect a huge number of seeds completely for free. I also intend to keep some mallow seeds this year. I like both calendula and mallow - they are not difficult to grow here and they provide a lot of beautiful, unashamed colour for many months. All I do is wait until the seed heads have dried on the plants. You can also cut and hang them to dry. I store the seeds in cheap brown envelopes with the name of the plant and a date of when I collected them. I then keep them in a cool spot indoors in a large plastic container.
An added bonus of the Calendula is that the seed can produce all sorts of different flowers - from yellows to oranges, and even different shapes and sizes of flower. You never know what you will get!