Snow in the morning and no progress on Allotment but done some sowing in the Greenhouse

Today I didn't have to much time as I had work this afternoon. Due to the snow from last night I was unable to go onto the allotments, however I went into the Greenhouse and sowed some fruit, vegetable and flower seeds. Last night there was no frost as it was cloudy and there were some snow showers. There was also some quite heavy snow showers this morning at sunrise however it didn't all settle so it wasn't too bad and these mostly turned to light rain by the afternoon and the rest of the day was cloudy. The snow had mostly gone by this afternoon as temperatures lifted slightly however it was still very cold and a strong northerly wind. The weather is expected to remain cold with it remaining mostly dry however still the risk of some wintry showers.

Sowed Strawberry 'Florian F1 Hybrid' Seeds and Pea 'Meteor' Seeds

Today I sowed the following in the Greenhouse:

- Strawberry 'Florian F1 Hybrid' Seeds into a 7cm square pot which I have placed in a heated propagator. These were put into Westland Jack's Magic Compost mixed with vermiculite
- Pea 'Meteor' Seeds into 8 x lengths of guttering and these will be left in the unheated greenhouse. These have been put into New Horizon Organic Peat Free Multi Purpose Compost.

Also the Sweet Pepper 'California Wonder' seedlings appear to be growing very well as seen in the picture. Also the Cabbage 'Hispi F1' seedlings now appear to have germinated.

No Progress on Allotment but went into the Greenhouse

Today I didn't go down the Allotment as I have done quite a few hours during this week as well as it being very cold and the ground being quite wet from the snow we had yesterday. I did go down the Greenhouse for about 1 1/2 hour today in order to sow some Lobelia flower seeds and this has been documented in my flowers blog - www.myflowers2014-2015.blogspot.com. My Onion seedlings, (Alisa Craig, The Kelsae, and Bedfordshire Champion) are all doing well and appear to be growing. The cauliflowers, Broccoli and Cabbage that I sowed a couple of weeks are also still growing in the unheated propagator. These will all be moved down to my Nan and Grandad's Greenhouse at some point in the near future. I have also noticed that my Sweet Pepper 'California Wonder' seeds that I sowed on 26/12/2014 have started to germinate in the heated propagator as well as my Celery 'Giant Red' seeds that I sowed on 10/01/2015.  The weather today was mostly cloudy and cold however there was no rain or snow. There is another frost expected overnight tonight and it is expected to be another cold day tomorrow with sunny spells and a northerly wind and the chance of some more snow showers.

Brought Seed Potato 'Maris Peer' and Unheated Propagator

Today I brought the following from Doves Barn Nursery with 20% off:

- 42cm Unheated Propagator - £3.40
- Seed Potato (2kg) 'Maris Peer' - £2.60

Brought Pea 'Meteor' and Strawberry 'Florian' Seeds

Today i brought the following from Haskins with 50% off:

- Unwins Pea 'Meteor' (400 Seeds) - £1.24
- Strawberry 'Florian F1 Hybrid' (10 seeds) - £1.49

Brought 20 x 8ft Canes

This morning I brought the following from Wilko:

- 2 x 10 x 8ft Canes - £2.50 each - £5.00

Finished digging over vacant part of Allotment 1

Today I went down the Allotments and continued to dig the plot on Allotment 1 despite it still being quite soggy due to the frost that we had overnight. I have now finished the digging over of the vacant part of the plot however I will have to re-dig where I put the Brassicas in during the Autumn as these have died off and this will be done at some time in the near future. I also had a quick tidy up of the Greenhouse and went for a trip to the tip once again to take some more of the rubbish away however this is likely to need at least 1 possibly two more trips. I will need to get the items for the raised beds (doweling and straight links) in order to fit them together, so that I can then fill them with compost (some I am planning to take from the allotment site compost heap) and I will then weedliner and mulch this part of the allotment (possibly with bark chipping I have got from last year, currently sited in the greenhouse). Also I still need to prune the Gooseberry bushes as well as put some manure around them. I also need to put some manure into the ground that I have already dug over. I have still got about 40 feet to dig on Allotment 2 and this will be done over the next couple of months subject to the weather conditions. In addition to this sometime around March/April I will move the Polytunnel over to Allotment 2 in order to give more space on Allotment 1 and it will also be easier to put a cover on over on the Allotment. The weather overnight was a mild frost, and today it was a nice sunny day but feeling very cold in a cold north to north westerly, however this late afternoon we experienced our first heavy snow, and therefore has made the ground even further sodden than it already was so it is looking unlikely I will be over the allotment tomorrow. The forecast overnight is the possibility of more snow showers and another frost. Tomorrow's weather is expected to be showery in the morning (mostly of rain) before it drying up and being another sunny but cold day with a northerly wind and temperatures being a couple of degree's higher than today.

Brought Rigger Gloves and Sharpie Single Permanent Market

Today I brought the following from Wilko:

- Wilko Essential Rigger Gloves - £1.00
- Sharpie Permanent Marker - £0.75

Brought Green Sacks and Gardening Set (1 Sieve, Dibber, Wedger and Seed Sower)

Today I brought the following from Poundland:

- Green Sacks - £1.00
- Gardening Set (1 Sieve, Dibber, Wedger and Seed Sower) - £1.00

No Progress on Allotments today due to Weather, and No Progress in Greenhouse

Today I didn't go down to the Allotments due to the heavy rain we experienced today. I also did not get time to go down to the Greenhouse as I went out to several garden centres to look round. The weather today was some heavy rain, and a much colder day compared to yesterday. It was also relatively windy. It looks as if there will be further showers in the morning but clear patches overnight which will allow temperatures to dip. There is a slight possibility of snow tomorrow however this is probably going to be rain, and there will be a strong wind so although temperatures will be a few degrees above freezing it will feel slightly below freezing. It is therefore looking unlikely I will be down the Allotments tomorrow however I hope to go into the Greenhouse tomorrow to do some jobs.

Amazon Order Arrived

The following arrived from Amazon today:

'The Big Allotment Challenge Book' - £6.99

Dug over more of plot on Allotment 1 and Rearranged raised beds to the right hand side of the Greenhouse

Today I went down the allotment for about 4 hours. As it was quite a mild and sunny day it seemed a perfect day to dig more of the plot which I done some more of. The soil is still quite sodden however I was able to dig a few more feet of it and should hopefully only take an hour and a little bit more to dig over the rest of the plot. I will also have to dig where the net is currently positioned over because the  brassicas which were planted here during the autumn appear to have not come to anything so I will take these up and re-dig this patch. I also emptied the long raised bed (to the right of the Greenhouse) of all the couch grass and other weeds and gave it a though dig which proved to be difficult to do but got out all the couch grass and roots of all the weeds.  I removed all the herbs and couch grass from the square raised bed in front of this and began to dismantle this in order to create a long raised bed which will be the same as the one I have created the other side of the Greenhouse. I now need to have a tidy up of this area and remove all the compost from where it is not needed and this needs to be placed into the raised beds as they are now. However I will need to purchase some attachments for the raised beds in order to make them more sturdy as well as make them both the same colour. Once I have made the raised beds up fully I will then start putting welding down to mark out the paths. I unfortunately have not had time to prune the Gooseberry plants at this time so this will need to be done at some point when I go back down to the Allotment. The weather today was a mild day with temperatures near to double figures and it was sunny however rain is expected overnight and this will bring a cold front with some wind tomorrow and temperatures falling again making it very chilly and bring the possibility of some wintry showers. It is then expected to remain cold for the remainder of the week.

                                                

Ordered 'The Big Allotment Challenge' Book

Today I ordered the following from Amazon:

- The Big Allotment Challenge Book £6.99

Nothing done in Greenhouse or on the Allotment today

Today I have had quite a lazy day so haven't done anything in the Greenhouse or on the Allotment. I was going to go to the allotments but due to the weather changing from cloudy to rain then back again I didn't manage to get down there today. We are expecting tomorrow to be dry so will hopefully go down there tomorrow. The weather last night was rain so it was quite a mild night and today it has been quite mild too. Overnight temperatures are expected to dip slightly but no frost in expected, before tomorrow being quite a mild day, and then temperatures are expected to drop once more from mid week.

No Progress on Allotment or in the Greenhouse

Today I haven't done anything on the Allotment or in the Greenhouse and I will not be doing anything for the rest of the day due to work this afternoon into this evening. The weather this morning meant that I was unable to go down the Allotment this morning as the plot would have been to frozen to do anything. The weather last night was a light frost with temperatures just below freezing. For the rest of today it is expected to be cloudy and remaining chilly but slightly warmer than of recent. We are expecting some rain tonight before it clearing up again tomorrow leaving a cloudy day with day slightly warmer than today. It then appears like it will be slightly warmer until mid-week. I have been told that the Greenhouse down my Nan and Grandad's has been sorted now so I will start to move trays and compost down there at sometime this week to enable me to use it.

Got Charlotte seed Potatoes

Today I got the following from Crawley Horticultural Society:

- Charlotte Seed Potatoes  x 14 - £1.20 per kilo - £1.00 (owed from Sunday 18th Jnaury due to overcharged) let off £0.20

Brought Bulrush Professional Multi Purpose Compost and Levington's John Innes Compost

Today I brought the following from Doves Barn Nursery with 20% off:

- Bulrush Professional Multi Purpose Compost - £3.41
- Levington John Innes Seed - £2.59

Jobs for the week 25th January 2015 - 31st January 2015

Jobs for the week 25th January 2015 - 31st January 2015

- Move the raised beds on the right hand side of the Greenhouse into a straight line

- Dig out raised bed at the right hand side of the Greenhouse

- Buy doweling and other pieces for the raised beds

- Continue digging Allotment 1

Jobs carried over from 18th January 2015 - 24th January 2015

- Sort out the Greenhouse down Nanny and Grandad's house
- Find a heater for the Greenhouse down the allotment in order to use the Greenhouse during the winter and spring
- Continue planning out of both allotments
- Sow Onion 'Exhibition' seeds in a heated propagator

Jobs for the week 11th January 2015 - 17th January 2015

- Start to dig up fruit trees and bushes up from around Polytunnel (when weather permits)

These are carried forward from 4th January 2015 - 10th January 2015:

- Sow Melon ‘Sweetheart F1’ seeds in a heated propagator
- Sow Melon ‘Charentais’ seeds in a heated propagator
- Sow Watermelon ‘Sugar Baby’ seeds in a heated propagator

Sowed Strawberry 'Sarian F1 Hybrid', Alpine Strawberry 'Regina', Celery 'Marine', Cabbage 'Hispi F1', Cos Lettuce 'Vaila - Winter Gem', Sweet Pepper 'Colour Spectrum', Tomato 'Gardener's Delight' and Tomato 'Roma VF' Seeds, Planted Straberry 'Elsanta' runner's and a Greenhouse Update

Today I sowed the following in the Greenhouse:

- Strawberry 'Sarian F1 Hybrid' seeds into a 9cm square pot placed in a heated propagator (Empty Packet)
- Alpine Strawberry 'Regina' seeds into a 7cm square pot in a heated propagator (Seeds Left)
- Cabbage 'Hispi F1' seeds into a 7cm square pot placed in a heated propagator (Seeds Left)
- Celery 'Martine' seeds into a 7cm square pot in a heated propagator (Seeds Left)
- Cos Lettuce 'Vaila - Winter Gem' seeds into a 7cm square pot in a heated propagator (Seeds left)
- Sweet Pepper 'Colour Spectrum' seeds into a 7cm square pot in a heated propagator (Empty Packet)
- Tomato 'Roma - VF' into a 3 inch round pot in a heated propagator (Seeds left)
- Tomato 'Gardener's Delight' into a 3 inch round pot in a heated propagator (Seeds left)

I also potted up the 3 x Strawberry 'Elsanta' bare root runner's into 9cm square pots which I placed into a heated propagator. I also transferred the following into a unheated propagator: I moved Cauliflower 'All The Year Round' from the heated propagator to the unheated propagator as they have now germinated. The Sweet Peppers 'California Wonder' seeds which were sown on 26th December 2014 appear to have started to germinate however these will be kept in the heated propagator.

The weather today was quite sunny but still chilly. I did not get time to go down the Allotment though because of having work early in the afternoon, and having a long day at work.

Thompson & Morgan Seeds Arrived

Today the following that I ordered on Monday 19th January 2015 arrived:

- Tomato 'Romello F1 Hybrid' (6 Seeds)
- Courgette 'Black Forest F1 Hybrid' (4 Seeds)
- Sweetcorn 'Swift F1 Hybrid' (30 Seeds)
- Sweet Pepper 'Gypsy F1 Hybrid' (10 Seeds)
- Broccoli (Calabrese) 'Belstar F1 Hybrid' (50 Seeds)
- Broad Bean 'Robin Hood' (35 Seeds)
- Squash 'Walham Butternut' (8 Seeds)
- Asparagus Pea - (35 Seeds)

Pruned Blackcurrant bushes and tidied up

This afternoon I went down the Allotment for 3 hours. I was planning on doing some pruning of the fruit bushes, digging some of the plot and sorting the raised beds out but due to the hard frost from last night the ground was still quite frozen so I was unable to do any digging or sorting of the raised beds. I did however do pruning of the Blackcurrant's using sacateurs and loppers and this helped to thin them out slightly. I was going to do the Redcurrant's and Gooseberries today but ran out of time after needing to do the tidying up before dusk. I tidied up by cutting all the wood up and putting it into the compost bin along with the raspberry canes and loganberry prunings. I gathered the rest of the rubbish up and bagged it up in order to take to the tip. Last night we experienced a very hard frost with temperatures about -5 this morning. The weather today was dry and sunny and overnight tonight we are expecting rain once again before it turning slightly milder again over the weekend.

Pruned Raspberries and Loganberries and made a couple of trips to the tip

Today I went down the allotment for about 2 hours. I pruned the Raspberry and Loganberries plants in order to tidy them up and thin them out. In doing this though, I found out that I have a bit of a gap in the middle of the Raspberries so I will take some of the raspberry canes which are in the wrong place and move these into the gaps. I also took some of the rubbish that was sorted out on Tuesday to the tip in order to get it away from the Allotment. I was also planning on pruning the Blackcurrants, Redcurrants and Gooseberries but due to the time it took to do the Raspberries and Loganberries I ran out of time so hope to do these tomorrow. While pruning the Raspberries and Loganberries I made a mess but I will clear this tomorrow when I do the rest of the fruit. We had another frost last night but it wasn't as major as other nights. The weather today was sunny once again but still very cold.

No Progress on Allotment or in the Greenhouse today

Due to the rain overnight and this morning I did not get a chance to go down to the Allotment and take some of the rubbish to the tip nor move anymore of the raised beds. I also did not get a chance to go down to the Greenhouse once again so this will also need to be done at some point. Tonight we are once again expecting another frost, not quite so hard though, and tomorrow is expected to be a sunny day with temperatures lifting ever so slightly so hopefully I should get down to the Allotment tomorrow as well as into the Greenhouse.

Brought Permanent Marker Pen

Today I brought a Permanent Marker pen from Sainsbury's:

- Permanent Marker pen - £0.50 - FREE

Brought New Horizon Compost and Westland Organic Manure

Today I went to Country Gardens Garden Centre, Handscross and brought the following:

- New Horizon Peat Free, Organic Compost (56 Litres) - £2.49
- Westland Organic Manure - £2.49

I had a £3 voucher which I used

Went back down to Allotment 1 - Had a tidy up

This afternoon me and my mum and my nan went down to Allotment 1 and started to tidy up for about 2 1/2 hours. After the morning where I was unable to do any moving of the raised beds, by the afternoon the frost had cleared and it was relatively sunny, but still very cold. We went down to the bottom of the Allotment and started to clear out all the clutter that I have built up over the years and tomorrow I will start to take it to the local tip to get rid of the stuff I don't want/need anymore and all the rest is in the Polytunnel at present. We also fixed the long box as the back had fallen out so the water will no longer get in as well as the animal that appeared to have been in there at some point last year. The black bags which I had put round the allotment edge appeared to have mostly composted (including the couch grass) and when picked up fell apart so the soil has just been spread out. The wooden cold frame that I have not used I have decided will be broken up and taken to the tip however the glass and metal framed one that was behind the Polytunnel covered in couch grass (I had forgotten about it), I will keep and repair the lids so that I can use it later on during the year and I think I will put this outside the front of the Greenhouse. The large tall shed at the bottom of the Allotment has been put over because of a crack in the top which is allowing water in, which is beginning to rust my tools so this will be repaired at some point in the foreseeable future. Also the Compost bins which can be seen in the pictures may be moved at some point to allow easier access to them however currently I am unsure where to put them. As from the photos below it now shows a lot more space at the bottom of the Allotment.