Damn weather

More snow is falling as I type, there have been a couple of flurries so far today but it is now giving a good dusting of the sheds and pergolas as I look out of the back window. One of my favourite Christmas presents was my wireless thermometer which we are currently using in the back room to try and figure just how much colder it is in there than the rest of the house. At the moment we're pretty certain its freezing each night and so haven't tried to put it outside!

The broad beans i planted in October have given up but they get an A+ for effort, when the deep snow melted it became obvious their lower leaves were damaged but now most have shrivelled or fallen over. I will plant up a second batch in early February. The shallots are looking spindly but have survived and even though I had to look pretty hard yesterday when I went to check on the compost bin I think that at least one of the 12 garlic cloves I planted has germinated. The green Manure which I sowed has done brilliantly and I am looking forward to digging it in. However the winter peas get a -E for effort with none of them germinating, having sown them under our fleece tunnel i am quite shocked that these have done so badly.

The earthworms have taken refuge in the compost bin now, each time i lift the lid up then its a wriggling hive of activity which is great. I think one of my first spring jobs is going to be to lift up the bin and gradually extract the proper composted material from the bottom and dig the rest in. I am not certain what has encouraged our bin to start working but i suspect the worms and the increasing amount of 'woody' material we've put in has helped.

So the Thompson & Morgan + Marshalls catalogues are open on the table and I have a cup of tea and slice of cake to help me work out what to grow this year. We are now thinking of moving house so my beloved garden will quite obviously not be coming with me, although the chance to have a proper shed/greenhouse/compost stack/vegetable patch is tempting me. I don't want to spend too much money on seeds because I can't take the plants with me if (when) we move, however i do need to plan ahead in case we don't find anything we like. I think the list will go something like this, peas, runner beans, courgettes, tomatos, carrots, onions, early potatos in tubs and spring onions. And lettuce.

I might not be able to take the plants with me but I can take the slug protection copper tape, the fleece polytunnel and maybe even the tomatos in baskets. We'll have to see. Overall the idea of getting dug into a new garden thrills me but the idea of leaving my little garden I made with the help of a few friends does make me a bit sad.