Dishing the dirt

This year I'm doing something new. I'm sterilising my pots and trays. It's one of those things that we all know we should do...  Last time (about 10 years ago to be honest) I used Jeyes's Fluid  -and boy did it STINK.  A truly horrible experience. Never again.  This time I've filled the trug with a solution of Milton Sterilising Fluid. This is what is used for sterilising baby feeding equipment. I recall spilling some on my clothes and it bleached them good. The smell is more like a public swimming pool, much better than the tar like smell of Jeye's. Everything gets a soak of a few hours in the trug and then a good scrub with that brush before being dried off. That should remove any dirt!

For anyone who thinks this is a boring topic...  I have to agree. But boring can be the basis for all the excitement that follows.

I can't resist mentioning a reference to dirt that amuses me. Residents of the town of Wick in northern Scotland  are proud to be known as "Dirty Wickers". Adopting the local parlance the Wick Heritage Centre proudly sells "Dirty Weeeker" T-shirts  Why?  First of all you have to be aware that the linguistic  heritage in this area is more Norse than Scots or Anglo Saxon. The word "Dirdie" means (or used to mean)  busy, industrious, hard working. Wick had a justifiable reputation as a centre of industry during the herring boom which thrived 100 years ago. A "dirdie" Wicker was a "true"  Wicker and proud to be so. Times have changed but the language has yet to catch up!

C for chives

I don't think there is any more dramatic herald of spring than chives. I thought they were dead, but the "green shoots of spring" are shooting away:

Something else sprouting: rhubarb.  I covered one of the crowns with a bin today. A bit tardy I know, but it should still make a difference.

Rhubarb emerging

Now can you guess what inspired  my fleece cloches?

Here's a clue - or rather the answer!

B is for Broad Beans


The next thing to sow outdoors after artechokes is Broad Beans. I like to give mine a head start by soaking them for 24 hours before sowing. Of course I could have given them more of a head start by sowing them last autumn. Last season I did, and the spring sown beans did just as well if not better than the autumn  sown ones. (They were hardly any earlier but some disappeared)  So this year it's just spring sown.


Soaking Broad Beans


My chosen variety is The Sutton. "Good for exposed sites" the books say. Aside from being hardy this variety is short, so you can get away without providing support. Now that's what I call canny!






The Sutton



Bicentenary (or Third Birthday)

This is my 200th post and the third anniversary of starting this blog. Here's some of the most visited topics.
My 100th post was in the height of summer when I was spoilt produce at the plot. It still gets lots of hits, mostly by people googling "Red Kidney Beans"

Red Kidney Beans

Another big hit is "Brick Raised Beds"

Brick Raised Bed

"Edinburgh Snow" has lots of visitors too.


Edinburgh Snow

Now I've set up a separtate blog Edinburgh Album for non gardening pictures. I've also made a blog just for bread too ryesmile  as my interest in breadmaking threatened to take over my allotment site!

One of the earliest and most popular topics was Forcing Rhubarb:

Forcing Rhubarb

Another big "pull" is carrots!



Carrots

 Although there is the danger of blogging instead of gardening, keeping a blog really does wonders for productivity. By having a "conversation" with others you not only learn some really relevant tips but also are putting yourself on your metal. Of course I am a boaster, forever hiding that messy corner out of camera shot. Wide angle and macro shots are both forgiving in their own ways.  But I'm also honest enough to learn from my mistakes. I've enjoyed the journey and really appreciate the help and the company along the way. So thank you for joining me on this vegetable odessey.

A is for artichoke

Like starting over

I'm fed up waiting for spring so I've decided to start the clock with some Jerusalem artechokes. These will happily be sown in January or February. I thought they were indestructable but last year I had a crop failure for the first time, so I'm not so blasé now . I forked out 70p for these. Half a dozen should be more than enough (Iggy).



French Artechokes

 Ideally they should have been organic UK grown artechokes but rather than delay another day I went to the greengrocers that's open on a Sunday and just got on with it. Whatever does grow will be gourmet quality. 6 inches deep and 18 inches apart I pampered these with a liberal dose of compost mixed into the planting hole.

artechoke planting

I feel better now my gardening year has started!

Brick Beds - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme





Clockwise from the left: Strawberry (Marshmello), Herb bed, fleece protected pelargoniums, parsley plus sorrel stalks (which will grow back) and tarragon which sadly will not. 

At this time of year you can understand why these herbs are the ones that are on sale at Scarborough Fair


Parsley



Sage

Rosemary  1 yr old cuttings



Thyme



A quick trot by

Foxtrot

 Got around to doing some real gardening today.  Digging compost into what will be the carrot patch this year.  Home made compost, not manure as that would be too rich.


Carrot preparation

 I had to clear away the Brussel sprouts to do this, so we've got lots to eat this week. Otherwise all that's left are leeks...


Leeks

...and the very aptly named "Hungry Gap" kale.


Hungry Gap Kale

This year we ate all our potatoes, carrots onions before Christmas arrived. Now we've picked our last brussels and turnip. I've set myself a target of lasting longer next year by growing and storing lots more carrots and potatoes.