57 - Living with the seasons

 People in cities (and I lived in large cities for 10 years) tend to divide seasons according to "beer outside" and "beer inside". You can tell my time spent as a city dweller was in my twenties, right?

Spring!

These days I live by the season. Walking a dog helps a lot, because for one you realise that more often than not it is dry at dawn. You don't believe me? It is! And then by 07.30, when it is time to leave for work, it rains. What I mean is, dogwalking and gardening both immerse you in whatever the weather throws at you. If I would only garden when the weather is fine, my plot would be in a sorry state.

Thus I planted my perennials last October with rain pouring straight down my back into my jeans. My frog pond was dug when it was blowing so hard it was difficult to keep my footing. And this week I am struggling to get my earlies into rock hard soil. Hans next door used a rotary cultivator to get his potato patch ready, but since I plan to only plant 12 chitted seedpotatoes that seems a bit over the top. Still, that soil does worry me. What will my tender seedlings do when confronted with this stuff in a month's time? The only thing I can think of is to fork shop-bought garden compost through, by lack of my own compost, which I have only just started.

Still, it will not stop me from sowing even more seeds this afternoon.

Summer!

I had put two large plastic ground sheets down over the piece nearest to the ditch in October, and that has worked a treat! The soil underneath is black, crumbly, weed-free. Black gold, hahaha. So I've decided to put the potatoes there.

The plan was to make raised beds, but ...Plans can be changed. Those tatties need to get in the ground, it's a full moon and it is time!

I hope the three Artichokes I've planted (10 cm of stick with tiny roots on) will feel the pull of that moon and start to grow. I adore those plants, they are so architectural, and their large flowerheads are gorgeous.  There is something magical about huge leaves, don't you think? Gunnera, also on my wish-list, but I don't think this would survive my heavy clay. It's also a bit of a thug, and I need to keep friendly with the neighbours.

Tomatoes Summer '21

Someone asked me if I wasn't happy that the gardening season would start soon? Excuse me? My gardening season has not stopped from the moment I could drag my sorry old body back to the allotments in September! Even when the wind was screaming around the greenhouse and the rain was thundering on the roof, I was there, even if just to make sure that roof was still on!  And to talk to my salad leaves, garlic and broccoli, of course.🤗

Okay, at this moment, just when you have decided I am totally barmy (but harmless), it is a good moment to leave you. Have a great gardening week, enjoy the outdoors and why not try to talk to your seedlings? No harm done.

Read more about my gardens on Instagram@songsmith2962