Life on The Weald - February 2025

and a few distractions

1 February

The first day of the month was a clear, dry day and I spent some time repairing raised beds and the pathways around them with layers of cardboard and woodchip. The cardboard will present a barrier to weed growth and will breakdown in a few months.

1 February - tidying around a garlic bed

2 February

Sunday was Seedy Sunday in Brighton, the UK’s biggest and longest-running community seed swap event - but it is now much more than that, with lots of community and gardening stalls. We were there with our allotment association stall selling organic seed potatoes, onion sets, garlic and shallots.

2 February - setting up shop at Seedy Sunday

2 February - looking the part as market traders!

3 February

Monday was a miserable day with fine mizzle all day, not one for working on the plot. About one third of the Meteor peas that I had sown a few days earlier had begun to germinate in the conservatory. Hopefully more will follow

3 February - Meteor peas

In the loft extension, the potatoes were chitting and hopefully the Red Duke of York will be ready for first planting at the beginning of March.

3 February - Red Duke of York potatoes

4 February

Another lost day for the allotment as I was in London for a Memorial gathering for a former friend and colleague, Doug Hoyle, who I first knew as President of my trade union, ASTMS/MSF when I was a lay representative.

4 February - Memorial for Doug Hoyle

6 February

Thursday was a bright, sunny day, but very cold. I did a lot of strimming around the area close to the eastern boundary with my neighbour, Louise's plot. She had cleared some of the overgrown area on her side to reveal daffodils that would soon be in flower so I thought clearing my side was long overdue. Nothing grows there, apart from couchgrass, lemon balm, dandelions, brambles and bindweed, because of the apple tree and several plum trees.

6 February - the eastern boundary

In tidying up around the shed, I found a grow-bag that I had forgotten about and thought had been emptied, but it contained some Pink Fir Apple potatoes from last year which looked really healthy. It was a good discovery as there are none of these to be found for planting this year. The entire UK crop appears to have failed. Our dilemma is, shall we eat them or re-plant them. I decided that we should eat two thirds and save one third for chitting ready to be planted out late March or April.

6 February - Pink Fir Apple potatoes

Homebase stores have gone into receivership and the Hove store is one that is closing. Most of their stock was being sold at 70% discount and I had bought some varnish and wood preservative at a very good price. I had also bought some sand and quartz pebbles which I can use to redesign the area around the pond.

As it was a dry day, it was a good opportunity to put my purchases to positive use and restore some of the garden furniture, especially the table which was looking old and tired.

6 February - staining and sealing the garden table

It was a definite improvement.

7 February

It was a dreadful day with high winds and pouring rain and I couldn't remember putting the strimmer away the previous day, so I braved the storm and found it leaning against the apple tree. Hopefully no damage will have been done.

8 February

And yet more rain!

At home a few more Meteor peas had germinated, up from 33% to almost half.

Getting there slowly.

8 February - Meteor peas

9 February

The initial weather forecast for Sunday was dry, and sunny, but that changed overnight and it was a damp, cold drizzly day. Nevertheless, I braved the elements and did more strimming along the eastern boundary and dug up brambles near the apple tree.

I also removed one of the plum trees that had grown from a sucker but think I need to remove more if we are to have any chance of increasing the growing area.

9 February - some more strimming

We can't do much this year with the area that has been cleared, but we will lay down cardboard and mulch in the hope of defeating the bramble, bindweed and couch grass and consider cultivating next year.

The cold frame, which I was given for free, is in need of repair, and may need to be moved eventually, but it was laid on cardboard and a pile of autumn leaves so might be usable this year as a hotbed.

9 February - the cold frame

The sides of the raised bed where onions are growing, have rotted or collapsed so I need to make a decision whether to replace the frame or just leave as a bed without sides. It is a kind of Hugel bed as I buried a lot of tree branches and other organic matter when I created the bed.

9 February - one of the Hugel beds in the foreground

At home, I made some spicy, pickled red cabbage, which I had brined overnight, and I sowed Sungold and Beef master tomatoes in trays and Damien’s chilli seeds Kung Pao (hot - internet says mild 7-10,000) Santa Fe (medium, milder than Jalapeños) and Early Jalapeño (mild 8,000 SHU).

9 February - spicy pickled red cabbage

10 February

Another overcast day with intermitent drizzle. I stayed home and sowed the remaining chilli seeds from Damien, Aji Limon (hot 30,000-50,000 SHU) Aji red (hot) and purple jalapeño (medium). I also sowed tomato, Ruby Falls, a new one for me. It’s a Thompson & Morgan, British bred variety and should produce a dozen fruits per truss each weighing 40g (1.51 oz). Well that's what the label says - let's wait and see.

14 February

I continued clearing the area on eastern boundary and laid cardboard on the cleared area, ready to spread with woodchip when it becomes available.

14 February and all quiet on the eastern front!

15 February

I cleared some of the area surrounding the pond and began to create a "beach" with the sand and pebbles from the Homebase closure, where I hope to grow some succulents.

15 February - the beach takes shape

At home, the mushroom kit had produced a couple more Oyster mushrooms.

15 February Oyster King mushrooms

15 February - Oyster King mushrooms

16 February

Whilst clearing the couch grass around the pond, I was pleased to encounter a large common frog, but we don't have any sign of frog spawn yet.

16 February - a friendly visitor

Clearing the area by the apple tree was a hard task as I had to dig deep to remove bramble roots.

16 February - bramble roots

I have cleared enough space for another bed. Rosemary bushes have been planted by Louise on her side of the boundary, which is great because the flowers will attract pollinators and the smell of Rosemary deters a number of pests including aphids.

16 February - a potential new bed

17 February

I had bought a number of Dahlia tubers for the garden but I think it's too early to plant them out, so I have potted them up and placed them in the mini-greenhouse ready to be planted out in a few weeks time when, hopefully, it will be a little warmer.

19 February

I continued work on the pond, carrying some very heavy stones from the front of the plot that had been given to me a few months ago. I also need to place some in the pond to ensure that any amphibians (and any other creatures) can get in and out.

19 February - the pond takes shape

I had arranged with a local tree surgeon for a free delivery of woodchip to the central car park for sharing with poltholders and I filled a couple of bags and advertised the availability on our allotment WhatsApp group.

19 February - 12.46 arrival of woodchip

I spread the woodchip that I had collected on the cardboard by the plum trees on the eastern boundary.

19 Feb - looking towards Louise's plot

I returned to the allotment a few hours later and all the woodchip in the central car park had gone. Everyone is desperate for more but we get few deliveries because some tree surgeons find our site difficult to access.

19 Feb - 17.46 woodchip all gone

20 February

The tomato seeds sown on 9th February had germinated, but no sign of any peppers. My son thinks my conservatory is too cold and that chillies need at least 22C, so I have moved them into the dining room close to the radiator.

20 February - Sungold & Beefsteak tomatoes

23 February

I turned my attention to the western side of the plot and continued to remove raspberries and bind weed which had invaded an earlier bed.

23 February - removing bindweed roots

The soil was in good condition as the area had been a "no dig" raised bed previously, so I thought it was ready for sowing/planting, possibly with some beetroot

23 February - new bed ready for planting

I continued weeding around the pond, and then had a rest admiring my handiwork.

23 February - time for a rest

24 February

It seems a long time since I planted my Kalettes, but it has been worth the wait. Sadly the Kalettes that I had originally planted, grown from seed, had all been eaten by the hordes of invading slugs that we had last year and I only had three plants for a second planting. I must grow more this year. The ones we have picked, however, are superb in flavour.

24 February - Kalettes

Kalettes are a cross between Brussels Sprouts and Kale, and grow similarly to sprouts but produce open florets.

We also lost a number of Purple sprouting broccoli plants to the slugs last year. Thankfully the few which we saved are looking healthy but no sign of any florets yet.

27 February

Damien's advice was sound and the chillies that I had moved into the warmer dining room had now germinated. I hope it's not too much of a shock but I will need to move them back to the conservatory as there is insufficient natural light in the dining room.

27 February - The chillies have germinated

28 February

Now all the chillies, except Kung Pao have germinated and they are now back in the conservatory with the tomatoes.

There have been some pleasant days this month but it has been very, very wet and the soil is heavy as a result and not very good for working or planting. Well tomorrow is the first day of meteorological spring, so I'm hoping for some drier, warmer days.

John's Blog

Monday, 10 March 2025