Wednesday 29 February 2012

February Round-Up

As you can see from the photograph the allotment crops have just about all gone.  Half a row of perpetual spinach has survived, a couple of cabbages and the psb which didn't weather the winter very well at all.

The bottom leaves have dried out completely but there are a few flower heads

not enough for a complete meal though - I am seriously considering not bothering to grow it again - for the amount of time it is in the ground and how many meals you get from it - I don't think it is value for money.


This is the last Savoy cabbage

and this is the last January King - when they have both been eaten, that's it - nothing left.  What you might call  the 'hungry gap' has begun.

I did pull the last of the Parsnips and Carrots at the weekend as they were starting to regrow I will store them in dry earth till needed or maybe even cook and freeze them for later.

The last crops from 2011 - altogether I am quite pleased with the harvests from last years' sowings - because of this blog I now have good records of what did well and not so well, I will learn from the mistakes made, over-sowings, under-sowings etc. and adjust quantities accordingly.  In previous years before I started this blog about veggie growing I had to rely on my memory, which isn't very good at the best of times.

Hopefully, this year I will remember to do repeat sowings at the right time and try to extend cropping where possible.  I haven't had too many disappointments - most crop failures have been down vagaries in the weather.  This year I must try not to be too impatient and sow too early - waiting for the soil to warm up, planting out into cold soil doesn't make things grow any quicker.
As the temperature rises there are signs of spring - the rhubarb is slowly emerging from hibernation, there are buds on the fruit bushes, and before long I will be panicking because I am running out of freezer space - and so the veg growing season begins!

19 comments:

  1. We enjoy sprouting broccoli (more than calabrese) but all these plants do take up so much space for the amount of food. What would you plant instead? Your end of season veg look very impressive!

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  2. My memory isn't what it was either, but I blame my kids for that! LOL. Glad you have a few bits left, all I have now are two Kale plants. Happy growing this year hun!
    Teri x

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  3. And so it all begins again...lucky you having an allotment, I have an 'allotted' space in the garden, just wide enough to swing a small cat. But I do like the challenge of growing crops in pots. Just need some proper sunny days x

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  4. You have done well to get this far and still have something left! I would love to be a good gardener but herbs and tomatoes are the only things I grow apart from flowers and I have had some success with garlic. lol

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  5. Some of our rhubarb has 'bobbles' too and we also have buds on fruit bushes - welcome sights!

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  6. Is'nt it great to be back at the garden again. I've just dug the last of the root crops. Lots of Beetroot which will be juiced and used to make Beetroot Chutney. Let the gardening begin in earnest now!

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  7. Just like you, I have found the blog very useful for comparison purposes. I have a complete record of everything I have grown, and usually at various stages in its lifecycle.
    I'm going to persevere with PSB, because I think 2011 was an aberration. For years now I have successfully grown good PSB, so I'm not going to be put off by one bad performance.

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  8. I love purple sprouting broccoli, it's worth the space it takes up even if you don't get much of a harvest from it. I'm going to dig up all the parsnips which are left and freeze them, I don't want them going to waste, they're one of my favourites. You've done really well still having things to harvest at this time of year.

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  10. The hungry Gap...only just heard that term recently, but will remember it! Here in Nova Scotia Canada, just picked off the last few Brussels sprouts, but under hoops, beets await and carrots. Have you tried extending your season with some methods like cold frames? Was all new to me a few years ago but it has worked. Now as to your Savoy cabbage...wonderful and certainly one veg I don't have a lot of success with. Thanks you for sharing your great photos.

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  11. A good round up on what is pretty much a nothing much happening on the plot month! I must have a look to see if my rhubarb is emerging. Flighty xx

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  12. I fear for my rhubarb its not looking healthy at all, my sprouting brocoli got pulled up as it was covering in white fly even after the snow!.
    i found 1 solatary parsnip when i was digging over the bed the other day but appart from that is all pretty much gone now.

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  13. Hello Elaine ~~ Well I think you did quite well, as gardeners there will always be hit and misses, that's the fun of it! That cabbage looks mighty tempting. Rhubard sprouting already? I keep forgetting your location. I will see nothing until late may.
    Hugs Rosemary...xoxo

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  14. The veggies you have left at this time of the year are pretty good especially considering the all round unpredictable weather. February is drab and lifeless usually but Spring is near so that's a bonus. Good luck with the successional sowing this year. Apart from crop rotation & seed types I've dispensed with record keeping relying on my blog text & pictures as a reference.

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  15. Seems like you have had a good year. I find the blog useful for keeping track of things like sowings & harvests etc. Great to see what others are doing too!

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  16. In a way i like to see the soil bare again, time to start over and decide what youll be eating this year - new beginnings! looks like you've still got a decent about of food to eat though :)

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  17. There is always so much to remember. I, too, hope I remember to do everything necessary for a good and successful crop. Each year, I want to do more and more...grow more and more. Your savoy cabbage looks so healthy and delicious. I am looking forward to eating my cabbage from the garden. The flavor is so much better than from the store.

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  18. Well Elaine....How did I miss not replying to this...Sorry :(
    You seem to have done well having some veggies that you can now store over the Hungry Gap!
    I love your Savoy cabbage and I am trying a few of them this year, I have put 4 in the tunnel and the other 8 may go out under a cloche next weekend :)
    This is my first year with a blog and it is great to look back at what you planted and when. I also love looking at others and see what they are doing and getting good advise too :)
    Happy Gardening, Catherine C.

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  19. I'm with you on the PSB, the pigeons got mine (I don't net for wildlife reasons) so it has been a bit of a waste of time and room!

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