About Me

Hi I'm JAMES 60 and married with three daughters all left home now, daughters that is not the wife.I enjoy Gardening /Football and working on my Farm.The picture above in the header slot is where i live and work.

Sunday 22 February 2009

It feels like spring today

Wow it's been nice and mild this weekend and I have taken the chance to get on with some catching up with all those jobs that needed doing, top of the list was getting the last of the digging done where the last of the leeks and parsnips were. I did have to lift the last parsnips so I could get on with it but there wasn't many left so it was no big deal and the conditions were to good to miss, I covered the ground before i started digging with some dried cow manure that I bagged up last May when we turned out our cows for the summer and then dug it well in. It is the plot that i am growing Peas and Beans on this summer so it should give them a good start when they go in around mid May time.


Most spring plants are are starting to come in to bud know and i had a good look at the Rhododendrons because last year they were a bit light on flowers but this year looks like it could be a bumper spring for them, they do like a cool damp spell in summer to help them set flowers so last year must have been about right, even my potatoes are starting to put on some strong shoots i have them in the greenhouse where it is cool and light there is just a couple of dozen of them but they do take up quite a lot of growing room during the summer so I'm not tempted too grow to many as i like to have lots of different vegetables, the ones to the left are Kestrel and the ten on the right Winston Most of the Kestrel seem to have 5 or 6 shoots each so i may have to remove some so as to leave them with only 3 shoots each to give them the best chance of growing a good even showy crop.

My onions (Vento) that i potted on about 10 days ago seem to have got over the shock and are now starting to get their act together and putting on more leaf, I had expected to get some large Kelsae Onions from Medwyns this week but so far they have not arrived hopefully they ain't lost in the post and will arrive this week, my last lot of seeds (not from Medwyns) for this year came, Pablo Beetroot and some Chanson Carrot seeds that were sent instead of the Sweet Candle that i ordered seemingly Sweet Candle are out of stock so i hope Chanson turn out OK. I could order some Sweet Candle from Medwyns but at £6 pound with postage it seems a bit expensive as i was only needing 20 to grow for showing and all the rest would have gone in the open ground for the kitchen.

Saturday 14 February 2009

Rugby

Wales 23 England 15 just when football results were going well. It's enough to make you chuck your Leeks out.

A Nice Trip To the Seaside

United had a nice 730 mile round trip to the seaside today beating Brighton 2 0,and collecting 3 valuable points, it's the longest distance to an away match that United have in the season, mind our nearest away games are against Hartlepool and Leeds and they are 180 and 240 mile round trips.

Sunday 8 February 2009

Snowdrops


It's been a strange sort of week most of the country seems to have been suffering heavy snow and up here in Cumbria their's hardly been any snow at all, though it has been a bit on the cold side and as a result things are looking a bit behind this year with all the cold days we have been having since Christmas in fact the Snowdrops have only been through since the beginning of February and that's at least 10 days behind where we were last year, the ones that i have taken the picture of are about the most forward and have still not yet opened fully.



I have had a chance to get on with some more digging these last 2 weekends as the ground is quite dry for the time of year, which should save me a bit of time in the spring, with a bit of luck i might get the last of it done next weekend. The Shallots that i started just before Christmas are at long last just starting to move forward some are still to put out some leaf though they are all putting down strong roots so i am confident that they will soon romp away when things get a bit milder and catch up. The onions (Vento) that i planted about four weeks ago seem to be growing steadily although some seem slightly elongated which may be because of a lack of good light, i haven't pricked them out just yet as i am expecting some large Onions plants from Medwyns around the middle of the month and they will need to be kept warm when they get here so if i had potted all the Ventos up in to small pots i might be a bit to pushed for space, hopefully it might warm up a touch and the leeks will be able to moved on next weekend and that should give me enough room for everything, Later on tonight i will chit up my Potatoes they will stay indoors on the Kitchen window sill where i can keep an eye on them.