Something new for 2009

I like to try something new most years and i have started to get ready for next year a site for growing a couple of Marrows, it is on the area where i have previously grown my Gooseberries, i am in the process of digging them up and moving them to a different position near to where i have some Raspberries and the hope is i can put up some caging over both to see if i can keep the birds from pinching most of the fruit, as this year they went with 90% of the crop.

The Marrow i,m hoping to grow is Table Dainty as i believe it can be grown of the ground and not take up quite as much growing space as some types, the ground will get a good covering of FYM and compost dug in by the end of the year and we will see how it goes if i can get a few good sorts it will give me a chance to try it at some shows next year where they are quite a popular class. I have been trying to find out how high they grow and how much support they will need of the Internet but as yet i haven't had much luck so i will just have to use some strong rails to be on the safe side

United march on

Grays Athletic 0 United 2 . No problems with Grays floodlights this time and a good professional performance putting us through to a second round tie with Crewe, and a special mention is deserved to near neighbours Barrow for a good cup win over Brentford, in my book that's Cumbria 2 London area 0

Is this the start of winter

This is the sight that greeted me this morning looking out from the front door when i was about to go to work, it was quite a shock allthough the forecast had said their was a chance of snow i was still suprised just how much of it their was. Luckily it hadn't frozen before snowing so the roads were no bother. I had fortunately taken the chance on Saturday to get on with some digging on the veggy patch and managed to get next years Onion and Leek bed turned over incorporating a lot of the compost that i made this summer as i went along then i gave it a splash of magnesium lime which i consider to be better than straight lime it seems as though the magnesium helps plants utilise N P and K more efficiently and then a bit more compost on top, hopefully the cold weather and the worms will do their bit and it should just need a quick forking and be ready to go without much work come spring. It is my intention to have a soil test done about end of February just to check how things are, the P H i suspect may be still be a bit on the low side after the 2 wet summers we have had so if i get the results back by beginning of March there will be plenty of time to get it sorted. It was inside work today and i have been trying to knock up a growing box i have a soil warming cable so if i can get some lighting sorted i may try starting some leek seeds of nice and early (first week of December?) to see if i can get them a bit bigger come August, i know most folks who show leeks start with bulbils but they seem quite a price for someone who is just learning so i think if i grow them from seeds, i might learn a bit as i go on and maybe next year if all goes well i might buy bulbils. The leek variety i have got is Windermere F1 from Medwyns it seemed an appropriate choice considering it's where i live.

Our Abi is off to Australia

How do you fancy swimming 2.4 miles then cycling 112 miles and just for good measure finishing off with a marathon 26 miles 385 yds. In just 6 days time our eldest daughter Abi and her husband are off to Australia where she is to compete in the Western Australia Ironman or should that be Ironperson competition on the 7th December at Busselton near Perth, we are all quietly proud of her here at home for having a go and wish her all the best. This is the second time Abi has done one and i know that she is really wanting to beat her previous time of 14 hours 50 minutes. I haven,t told her but i was thinking of getting in to training for it, but you know how it is just when you get ready to go for a run something crops up like my runner beans needed watering or onions need weeding so unfortunately I'll just have to pass on doing it. So best of luck Abi, if anyone wants to look at her training blog click on the link Mustrunfaster . if you do take the time to look drop her a line to give her a boost.

United are on a roll now

United 3 Brighton 1 things are looking up should be back in the promotion hunt by Christmas, well maybe playoffs, and Leeds got stuffed by Huddersfield as a Bonus.

Blow those leaves

I finally got fed up with raking leaves up and treated myself to a leaf blower, it's not new of course I'm to tight for that, I spotted it on eBay for sale locally and managed to get it for £72 as it was just up the road i picked it up last night saving a hefty postage cost. Surprised just how well they clear ground and it took me less than an hour to fill a couple of wheelie bins ready for the council to collect, that's 8 bin's full of leaves I've sent them in the last 3 weeks and i put some in our own compost bin as well every week, it's handy that our local council collect green waste now as the amount that we seem to produce was always a bit of nuisance at this time of the year, just about makes me feel a bit better about how much council tax they take of us every year.

Graeme Watson on Shallots

Had the chance to get to the local NVS meeting last night were the guest speaker was Graeme Watson of Whitby on his method of growing and showing Shallots at National level. His level of care is quite meticulous with the timing of splitting and lifting being absolutely crucial to success, although surprisingly he didn't seem to mind as to when they were started having had top level success with dates varying from end of December to first week of February. One key fact that struck me was the need to grow them hard with very little if any feed so as to keep them healthy and not risk them getting to lush and leading them to being prone to disease. Once they are lifted they are dried out side on chicken wire mesh and he didn't seem to mind if the got a bit of rain on them in the first week or so in fact he thought it did them good helping to give them a nice colour. So in a nut shell their you have it and as a bonus if anyone fancies trying showing at the top level He is packing in growing Shallots for the next few years so as to concentrate on Leeks. All in all a very interesting meeting that gave me something to think about how i will grow Shallots next year, and just for good measure i won a packet of his Long Carrot Seed in the raffle so rounding off a good night.

On the road back

I haven't mentioned United for quite a bit preferring to suffer in silence but today after a ten game losing streak we managed a impressive draw in the cup against Grays Athletic whoever they are. Is this the start of a great fightback under our new manager Greg Abbott, lets hope so. Our new stand must have been rocking, that stand is all we have to show from the days when Micheal Knighton was in charge, were is he now i wonder ?

Dahlias lifted for another year

Following the sharp frosts we had early in the week i took the opportunity to lift my Dahlias and put them in the garage to dry out a bit before giving the a good fungal dusting just prior to packing them away in a couple of weeks time. The variety is that good old favorite Bishop of Llandaff which is supposed to have been around since the 1920 and is still very popular. Some other varieties i have decided to not keep over winter this time as i think i will try some different varieties allthough I'm not sure which they will be yet. What i am looking out for is a type that will not grow more that a couple of foot tall so as not to need a lot of staking.

Scary Halloween

Scary Halloween pumpkins courtesy of my to very special granddaughters.