2017 Calendar

January photos (taken on New Year's Day)

The house end:



The big fern, which was behind the fern in the foreground, has been removed, and hopefully things will now be visible from this angle. Strawberries in the self watering planter on the seat and a bucket of spinach under the cloche near the hotbin.

Near the apple tree:



All looking very bare at the moment. The fence and archway have been recently painted.

Behind the garage:



Plenty of carrots still to eat. Brokali against the garage wall is nearly ready. Calabrese on the raised beds and some rather tatty spring cabbages near the wormery. Strawberries and osteospermums overwintering in the growhouse.

Behind the fruit cage:



More calabrese, strawberries and PSB against the fence. The blueberries put on loads of growth last year and are now nearly as tall as me. Mibuna in the trough on the shelf in the fruit cage with carrots under and various empty pots littered about. Chinese celery is just visible bottom left.

The veg garden:



Looking towards the fruit cage, with a bucket of corn salad on the path near the strawberries, beetroot in the green planter next to a bucket of caliente mustard (which will eventually be dug into the area near the hotbin in an attempt to remove fusarium wilt), mizuna and namenia in the saladgrow planter and buckets containing winter spinach, calabrese and the gooseberry bush. The tops of leeks in another saladgrow planter are just visible at the front.

January's Blank Canvas.

The plot is in need of a general tidy up once we get a bit of drier weather:

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The Cucurbit Structure with Tattie containers behind:



Pond:

Plot 28 January 2017




All looking very bare...

Beautifully tidy though

Thanks Penellype, strategically taken photo! you don't get to see the state of the fruit cage or the "stuff" hidden behind it!

February photos:

The house end



Pretty much the same as January, with strawberries on the seat and spinach under the cloche.

Near the apple tree



One of the square pots has been put where the old pieris bush was - I may grow beans or possibly a tomato in this. Its more a case of where to put the pot than not being able to use the soil, but I am trying to avoid having to move these pots around so much as I am finding them too heavy, particularly when I have to do it bent double underneath insect mesh.

Behind the garage



The saladgrow of mizuna and namenia has been moved here to make room for the onions. The mizuna is starting to bolt. Carrots, brokali and swedes under the frame, which has been extended slightly towards the compost bin. Calabrese and cabbages on and near the raised beds, calabrese, strawberries and osteospermums in the growhouse. I really must remove those dying flowers at the front of the picture!

Behind the fruit cage



Not a lot of change here - strawberries, PSB and blueberries in the fruit cage.

The veg garden

I've gone back to last year's angle for this because from the other end you can only see half of it.



Strawberries on and under the shelf, onions under the fleece, some rather pathetic leeks in the saladgrow and calabrese and brokali against the fence (where they can get a little sun now when there is some). There are more strawberries in and near the cold frame and a bucket of winter spinach on the path to the left of the onions. The greenery that looks like it is part of the blueberries is in fact the euonymus growing up the trellis beyond the archway.

Let's hope they don't go AWOL Pene & that Jans' can be found.

Yes - I do have copies of the January ones, but I'm waiting to see if they can be retrieved for now.

February

Plot is already for planting up, 18 MFB's filled & in place for my experiment:

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Squash bed has a few Broad Beans & Peas in at the moment:



I knocked up some spud cages this morning all planted up in layers with compost & leaves:

They look brilliant BM!

Ok so not veg related but just to see how far I get with it this year. Turning the pig paddock into a cutting patch for next year and just to top it off I will only be using green manures (that will be new to me) so you may get some numpty questions.

Jan



Feb

March tomorrow I better pull my finger out

March photos

Does anyone else think February has taken forever this year? So glad to see the back of it!

The house end



No noticable difference from last month, although the pulmonaria has one flower open (it was covered in flowers this time last year) and a few daffodil and crocus leaves are showing under the wiegela. The spinach under the cloche is growing slowly.

Near the apple tree



2 buckets of 1st early potatoes (Lady Christl) well insulated with bubble wrap under the cloche. The flower bed has been tidied up a bit.

Behind the garage



The dead flowers have gone so you can now see into the growhouse - still calabrese, strawberries and osteospermums. Mizuna and namenia are flowering, which gives some nice, fresh, soft leaves for salads. Brokali now in full flow, carrots being harvested. The swedes in the nearest square pot are very small. The raised bed near the compost bin has been made into a small hotbed and planted with potatoes (Charlotte - some I found from last year that had sprouted), currently under polythene. Although this gets no sun, it should be quite warm with the heat from the horse muck and the walls acting like a radiator. The garden was white with frost yesterday morning but the water on the polythene wasn't frozen.

Behind the fruit cage



Buds starting to break on the blueberries. PSB nearly ready, last year's summer calabrese still valiantly producing small edible shoots. Strawberries, some rather scruffy spring cabbage and a bucket of chinese celery.

The veg garden



Not much change - some of the strawberries have been moved into the fruit cage where they will eventually get more sun. Spinach under the plastic cover on the square pot. No sign of growth from the onions under the fleece yet. Leeks looking increasingly scruffy and the chinese cabbage in the planter behind them is bolting.

Ok it is actually getting worse rather than better, especially after Doris. Hopefully I will get a couple of other areas sorted in the next couple of months so I can get properly stuck in. Just in time to get a couple of children free days (I love my girls but my youngest is growing up so much quicker than what my oldest did at that stage)