GARDENING BLOG

Week ten - March 4th - March 11th

2005

Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th March 2005

After a weeek of snow and ice there wasn't much one could do in the allotment other than pruning this weekend. There was still a good covering of snow on the ground.

2004

Saturday March 6th and Sunday March 7th 2004

The cold spell continues with short spells of sunshine breaking through occasionally giving a faint promise of a spring not yet sprung.

In the middle of the day I quickly opened up the four bee hives in the allotments and inserted chemical strips to help control the Varroa mites. I also gave three of the hives some honey feed - lets hope the weather warms up a bit and the bees will be able to get out and feed themselves.

I am still planting out shallots and preparing ground for planting out potatoes. I haven't finished punning all of the gooseberries yet, although I did more this weekend and now have a complete row of Geoff's red gooseberry 'Whithams Industry' as a results of punning his bushes for him some years ago. Prunning the bushes is important if mildrew is to be kept under control.

The hand weeding has begun again and now my garlic are standing like a row of green soldiers in a brown zero tolerance weed free zone. The self sown lettuce are a little more random. The fancy kale that Elka gave me last year didn't like the dry summer - but those that came through look good now and I will let one plant flower and keep some seed from it.

I gave the spring cabbage a final feed of liquid feed and then emptied out the dustbin ready to start again with an empty bin that I will fill with weeds and comfrey leaves covered in water making liquid feed that can be watered down and used as a foliar feed.

2003 Sunday March 9th

A warm sunny spring like day with winds from the south west.
I planted the first potatoes of the year today and pruned more gooseberries.

2002

March 9/10 The whole weekend was dominated by gale force winds. Managed to plant out onion sets and dig first stretch of ground for new potatoes. Planted an apple tree (that Geoff didn't want). Next job - dig ground for runner beans and more ground for potatoes. Bought new raspberry canes and cabbage plants that need planting out.

March 7th . The first sunny warm day and although it was a little windy it that it seemed reasonable to open up and inspect the bee hives. Fortunately all of my four hives have come through the winter months intact and each has a laying queen. The apiary has rabbits but fortunately they don't seem to like eating snowdrops and aconites. My stocks of these two early flowering plants (for the bees) are gradually increasing and the larger aconites have three generations of seedlings around them.

2000

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