Potatoes

The potatoes arrived last month..... So time to get chitting! Already they've developed some nice dark chits, having been kept near a window in a cardboard box, so things are going well. The first will go out in March/April time. Most of them will be in the new bed but I'm also going to put a few in containers so we get as much as possible.

We've got five varieties this year, as follows, although please note that these are not my descriptions:

• Mayan Gold - rich, golden flesh and a "gourmet" award winning potato;
• Rocket - first early, white skins and firm flesh;
• Charlotte - classic salad potato found in the shops with light yellow flesh;
• Mimi - a salad potato suited to container growing, cherry sized and red skinned; and
• Harlequin - a cross between Charlotte and Pink Fir apple potatoes resulting in part reddish skin and pale yellow flesh. "Delectable eating"...!

We've gone for types we wouldn't normally be able to get down the local supermarket although, I have to say, that home grown potatoes always taste miles better than those in the shops. I can't wait to eating the first harvest.

Cloches

Now it's our third year of gardening, so we're thinking "time to get professional". Which is why we've now got cloches. After a bit of research and internet shopping, we've decided to fashion a large one, big enough to cover one of the brassicas bed, out of polythene and water piping plus bamboo for supports. We've chosen the brassica bed because they aren't insect pollinated (so will not mind being covered) and last year they were attached mercilessly by cabbage flies etc etc. The polythene will be replaced with fleece as it warms up and finally with a net cage once we hit summer.

The large cloche was constructed quite quickly - cutting long lengths (approx 2m?) of water piping and pushing into the ground to form hoops at regular intervals. The hoops were secured by linking them with bamboo canes and garden wire then covered with the polythene, which was held in the ground with tent - like pegs. The idea will be that we can then easily roll up the sides when we need access. We didn't secure the cloche to the actually beds as some do, because we want to be able to move it around. Finished product is pictured.

I've also built a tiny cloche in the side bed to house my early red cabbages. This was a much more simpler and smaller affair (about 3ft by 0.75ft wide) and the hoops made of flexible branches off a tree pushed into the ground. As it's only temporary, I'm not too concerned about how sturdy it is although it did survive the snow last month!

February

It's February and the sun is shining outside! I've got soil under my finger nails as I have planted out some fern plug plants (freebies) and covered them with fleece in the vain hope that they will survive the next bout of frost.

It's also a busy month for sowing seeds - so far I've got the red cabbage, peppers, strawberries and foxgloves planted. Unfortunately there isn't quite enough sunshine so the cabbage seedlings have grown too tall and "leggy" - hopefully I can recover them (there are only two as I'm succession sowing this year).

Outside we've got a couple of new additions - cloches. A giant one over one of the main veggie beds and a small one in the side bed (pictured - I'll use it for the red cabbages going out early).

We've also got a fourth veg bed - fashioned out of old book shelves and bits of the defunct garden shed. This year, it'll be hosting the potatoes (more of that later).

January - things to do

It's January and it's cold. The ground outside is frozen solid as are the neglected buckets filled with rainwater and the pots of dead plants with wrinkled yellowing chillies dangling in the wind. Many parts of the garden haven't seen the sun for months so pockets of ice and snow are hanging on in the shade.

Today was a relatively warm one (in a winter which is the coldest we've seen for thirty years apparently) so we went outside. Tucked away behind the garden hose, I found an old plant pot with green shoots poking through - I planted these bulbs a while ago and they've now multiplied. I look forward to spring when I'll know what they are.

I also collected some compost for indoor use , after hacking it out of the bag as it had frozen into little lime - sized lumps, as I look to complete the first task of the year as per my schedule. Hurrah! I have been desperately researching all the vegetables that I can start sowing now as I really want to get started. It's a great way to take my mind off the stresses of the world, thinking about rows and rows of little seedlings at the start of their journey on the way to my stomach.

Task for January: sow two seeds of red cabbage. I'll be doing so in peat pots within a propagator and keeping it in the spare room. I'm sowing two and will plant one outside once it's big enough. This is my first attempt at succession crops as I'll be sowing more in future months. That's it for January. Nothing else to do.

New year, new resolutions

It's only just the start of 2009, and we're already turning our attention to the gardening calendar ahead. So far I've ordered the seeds, drawn up the plans, measured the beds and carried out an audit of the pots so I know what we've got.

A fourth bed has been dug already - to allow us to have a bed dedicated to potatoes. Last year we tried planting carrots and nips in the same bed (a mistake as they were swamped) and had little success in growing anything after lifting the tats.

So that's four veggie beds (the domain of Mr - I don't get involved!) plus all the pots and the side bed (which is my domain and used for slightly more exciting varieties).

I'm also turning my attention to the rest of the garden to see if we can get the flowers up and running for some colour - perennials mainly as I wont have to worry about raising plants year after year.

So, for my sections of the garden, I plan to grow:

• Alpine strawberries in hanging baskets (smaller and much sweeter than normal strawbs plus easier to grow)
• Borlotti climbing beans (grew pretty well last year although not enough sun I think).
• Broad beans in pots (a new venture but should be easy)
• Butternut squash (slug attacked when plant was young - I think I put it in the wrong place too)
• Calabrese (broccoli to you and me)
• Patty pan squash (I love the shape of these, like UFOs)
• Peppers - Razzamatas and Romano (grow really well every year although not managed to get peppers big enough or any colour but green)
• Pumpkin - Baby bear (grew last year although crossed with a courgette!)
• Red cabbage
• Tomatoes from hanging baskets - I'm trying a heritage variety "Green sausage" for a bit of fun
• Thyme
• Courgettes - Soleil (yellow)

We had three trees chopped down last year which should mean better crops as more sunlight gets through. My fingers are crossed especially as this is our third year of growing so we're much more knowledgeable than before. For once I'm being pretty organised and I have drawn up a monthly plan for each of the crops listed above so I know what I need to do and when. The only thing is that July - December 2009 is without activity so I'm going to be researching the winter and spring crops that would be planted then. I planted some garlic out last November which should be ready this year, so if it works I'll try it again.

Shed

Well it was only a matter of time.... We've finally got ourselves a new shed! Mr has spent quite a lot of time painting, planing and hammering to get it looking just right. It's a lovely green and smells woody and cosy in a strange sort of way. We've yet to try sleeping in it, but it is tempting! I've drawn the line at installing electricity.

The old one was on its last legs and quite pathetic really. It was being bullied by next door's climbing plant. Its tendrils has grown through it's walls and roof, letting in water (we lost a strimmer after it had rained). A thousand spiders had moved in, happily spinning their webs all over the bottles of weed killer and plant food. Plus it was miles too small!

A bit of a harvest...

It's July (?!) and I'm wondering where on earth our summer has gone... Not that we've had much of one to start with. Although that hasn't done the veg too much harm, it just means things are a bit later than last year. We've already had some courgettes and peas plus a load of yummy potatoes. (I've convinced myself that home grown tats are miles better than any others). We were worried about the potatoes as the vegetation went mental, but they were fine. We've also managed to escape blight on those in the veggie patch - although one plant in a pot did succumb as did a tomato plant. The give - away was the yellowing leaves with brown spots on them. Once it starts, it's pretty much unstoppable so they had to be bagged up and binned.