Spring Forward

I hate changing the clocks. Spring forward means a lost hour’s sleep and getting up for work in the dark. Fall back heralds the get up/get home in the dark period.

Nevertheless, Spring is creeping up the North Devon hills. We even had a quiet, sunny afternoon yesterday (until 5.00 pm when a few drops of rain interrupted my planting).

All this means I’m behind on my digging and planting. The weather and my physical pains shoulder the blame. Losing Mum has left a whole in my life and in my allotment planning. Last week was taken up with the funeral and bonding with family. The grieving is not over, but life moves on.

Sunday was a day of cleaning and a little planting. I’ve gone a bit paranoid over garden diseases and pests. So I spent the best part of a nice sunny day with rubber gloves, buckets, a sponge and a brush washing down the greenhouse and plastic pots. A dash of Jeyes fluid helped the process. But, it has left me smelling of disinfectant.

Later on, I loaded up the wheelbarrow for a planting spell up at the allotment. I was anxious to sow the rest of the onions. It didn’t quite work out like that. Despite careful planning and measuring, I seem to have run out of space in my onion/garlic bed.

All the garlic is in and I have now put in 75% of the Sturon yellow onions. But, I had to delay planting more Red Baron sets as I ran out of compost and I need to figure out how to squeeze the rest of them in without overcrowding things.

All else is looking good up there. Garlic has sprouted nicely and the yellow onions are slowly rising.

Bill has kindly tilled the soil where his chickens have pecked for a month or so. The carpet has killed off a fair amount of the weed cover. Another month and I can dig that over too. When readjusting the carpet the other week after the umpteenth winter gale, I disturbed a little critter – I think it might have been a shrew. I’ll leave them to the owls and hawks.

Back at the homestead, my potato in a pot has been planted. Bubble wrap is keeping it nice and warm in sterilised greenhouse.

Finally, my raised bed onions have finally sprouted. They don’t seem to be faring all that well underneath milk bottles. It’s probably that not much water can get through the spout. I’ve got a plan to solve that.

Now, a quick check to see if all the clocks are set to the right time.

Sore and Sorrow

Gardening is taking a back seat. My mum will be buried this Wednesday. I always took flowers when visiting, the last two-and-a-half years in a nursing home. Mum liked roses and I’ll be looking for a rose bush to plant.

Hardly comparable, but a combination of poor weather and a very sore shoulder have limited work on the allotment.

Today was the first time in a couple of weeks that things progressed. Even in bad weather there are jobs to do. I bagged some compost and drained the reservoirs of ‘tea’. This afternoon I planted five red onion sets that decided to sprout before I could unpack them.

These are Red Baron variety, heat treated, organic and pricey. Thought it best to get them in as soon as possible.

Up at the allotment it was all quiet. Obviously most people have decided to stay inside and keep warm this Easter Monday. Still, it’s the earliest Easter in 90 years.

Some of the onions and garlic have come on despite the gales and cold weather.

Well, what do you know? Sales of vegetable seeds grew 7% last year.

…six towns [in Yorkshire] have a combined waiting list of more than 3,500 people. Sheffield has 1,400 on its list. Elsewhere, Manchester has 850 people on the waiting list for allotments, Edinburgh has 1,150, Plymouth 1,000 and Blyth Valley, in Northumberland, has more than 1,200. In Swindon, there is now a five-year waiting list.

And, I thought I had it bad waiting a year.

Pot in a Pot

Our village fete is running a ‘Potato in a Pot’ competition again this year.

Simple idea. For a pound, you get a seed potato – some unidentified type of first early – some compost and a pot. The idea is to grow the heaviest crop for the village fete in mid-July.

Last year, a 7 year old topped them all with 5lb 13¾oz. One of our allotmenteers took the wooden spoon with a paltry 7 7/8 ounces.

Pots were available at Thursday’s Gardeners’ Club meeting. My compost is sitting on top of the boiler to get nicely warmed before planting a nice two sprout chitted potato. Warmed soil apart, I have a few ideas on accelerating growth and increasing yield.

But, I think I’ll keep those to myself for the time being! Of course, I’ll share ideas offline.

Tarka!

An otter playing in the Taw as I walked from Barnstaple town centre back to my car.

Mum

Mum died peacefully at 7:45 pm on Friday 14 March. Much missed by Dad, my sibs and me.

File Under: Ephemera

The year 2008 is the International Year of the Potato and the United Nations is running a potato photograph competition. They don’t specify whether mashed or chipped will be acceptable.

Meanwhile, the village will once again be holding a charity potato growing competition. For £1 you get a seed potato, pot and some compost. At the village fete in July each crop of potatoes will be weighed. Last year, Bill won (under guise of his grandson). Bill wins every “biggest” vegetable prize, including the pumpkin competition.

This week’s gales brought down the price of electricity.

Rampant Consumerism, Part 2

I almost forgot to mention the stunning bargain I picked up last Friday.

Like most ‘bargains’, it’s not really a bargain because I never intended to buy it in the first place.

But, at £4.84 how could I resist a shiny new plastic coldframe? That was a saving of 60%!

I now have to figure out exactly how I’m going to use it. We did use a coldframe for the cucumbers last year, but that was a higher frame.

Rampant Consumerism

On the day of the Budget, possibly appropriate that part of my huge consumer purchase from Tamar Organics arrived in the post.

All £6 worth. Well, not quite. The red onion sets are not ready.

Today, then, came some chilli pepper seeds (Hungarian Hot Wax) and some special offer plant labels (for £1). A bit big those labels!

Damage Report

“Damage report, Mr Scott.”

“The warp drive is a pile of rubble, Cap’n. I can give you impulse power.”

“Scotty, I need warp drive. When can you get it fixed?”

“Cap’n! We’re no going anywhere.”

“I’ll give you twelve hours, Scotty. Kirk, out!”

A Word About Wind

Here’s a typical North Devon scene. Not the blue sky (especially today). No. The twisty lane with barely room for a car to pass a tractor, the hedgerows atop Devon banks and the aerofoil shaped tree.

The aerofoil shaped tree. Why is the tree shaped so? Is it a sign of age? An Olde English variety that grows so crooked? Is the camera holder perched on an odd angle?

Of course not. The simple reason is the wind.

North Devon’s landscape is dominated by cliffs, sand dunes and not so gently rolling hills, often called downs.

Those hills can be quite high. The tree pictured here is at over 150 metres (around 500 feet).

Therefore, the hills are exposed.

Geography plays another big part. Bideford (or Barnstaple) Bay lies barely 5 kilometres (nearly 3 miles) to the north-west. To the west, more sea is about 20 km distant. That bit of water just about qualifies as the Atlantic Ocean. And, there’s nothing but open water from Hartland Point to Newfoundland.

The meteorology is greatly affected by the geography. Often, like right now, we get the full force of the jet stream. We’re usually the first part of the UK to get Atlantic winter storms. Devon (and Cornwall) takes the edge of these beasts so the rest of the country doesn’t have to suffer too much.

This is a doosy of an Atlantic storm. I saw 955mb mentioned. That’s a very deep depression. With such systems you get a steep pressure gradient. Pressure gradient of the magnitude we are seeing means strong winds.

I would estimate that sustained winds are still in the region of 30 mph (excuse the mixing of imperial and metric) with gusts upwards of 50 mph.

Luckily, we are used to it. Or should I say resigned to living in an area with wind velocities that often reach these strengths.

And, that’s why the trees are shaped that way. And, that’s why I fear my onion protection may have blown away.