Life on the Weald - January 2026
 |
| 1 January - Last year's Amarylis |
Thursday 1 January
The year started with a clear blue sky and sunshine - and the heaviest frost of the year! Well obviously - but also the heaviest frost this winter. At home the Amarylis which we had brought out of storage a few days earlier was beginning to grow.
Friday 2 January
The clear skies had gone and we had cold, damp drizzle.
Saturday 3 January
There was a very heavy frost and the clear blue sky returned.
Sunday 4 January
The frost had clearly got to the broad beans
 |
| 4 January - frostbitten broad beans |
There was a clear difference between those that were in the sunshine and those in the shade
 |
| 4 January - broad beans: what a bit of sunshine can do |
And some good news - I was able to pick some purple sprouting broccoli
 |
| 4 January - purple sprouting broccoli |
Monday 5 January
A rare sight in Hove, but today we had a light dusting of snow
 |
| 5 January - Snow in Hove |
Wednesday 7 January
Another cold but bright sunny day. The garlic hasn't been damaged by the frost.
 |
| 7 January - garlic |
And the onions look a bit battered but are OK, although in need of weeding!
 |
| 7 January - Onions |
It was a good time to lay down some cardboard and spread some of the manure ready for spring planting.
 |
| 7 January - muck spreading |
The broad beans seem to be recovering from the frost, some better than others.
 |
| 7 January - broad beans |
 |
| 7 January - broad beans |
Thursday 8/ Friday 9 January
Storm Goretti , an extremely powerful and destructive extratropical cyclone had hit France and was due to reach UK. It brought 99 mph winds but fortunately for us they were confined to the west country. We did experience heavy rain though, with very cold winds.
I did venture to the allotment but only to check the arrival of the seed potatoes for our shop.
.jpg) |
| 9 January - potatoes have arrived |
.jpg) |
| 9 January - potatoes have arrived |
Saturday 10 January
I made a brief visit to the plot to lift some Jerusalem artichokes for a neighbour and to get my seed potatoes from the Shop - I had chosen First Early Red Duke of York (Do they need to be re-named Mountbatten Windsor? Or perhaps "the potatoes formerly known as Prince"?). I also bought some Second Early Nicola and Charlotte. It was cold and wet and sadly few customers in the shop.
 |
| 10 January - Jerusalem artichokes |
Sunday 11 January
Another rainy day with a very cold wind. Unfortunately I had to go to the site to change all the notices on the site Notice Boards. In a brief break in the rain, I did a bit more muckspreading. and raked the bed where the potatoes will go.
 |
| 11 January - a bit more muckspreading |
At home, I began chitting the Early ptatoes.
.jpg) |
| 11 January - chitting potatoes |
Monday/Tuesday 12/13 January
Another couple of days of very heavy rain, certainly not gardening weather!
Wednesday 14 January
Another wet miserable day, but pleased to see the Amarylis progressing, but no sign yet of a flower scape.
 |
| 14 January - Amarylis |
Thursday 15 January
Just when you think it can't get worse, there is more heavy rain and the Met Office issue a yellow warning of flooding.
Friday 16 January
There had been a delivery of woodchip to the central car park. I had put out a plea to fellow plotholders not to take more than a barrowload per plot and was very pleased to see that most respected the request. The tree surgeon had also left a pile of logs which were obviously too large for his chipper. I collected a few to add to my new Hugel creation.
I had bought a new metal raised bed, which I put together on site but before putting it in place; I dug a hole just deep enough to bury three logs just below the surface. Having covered them with soil from the hole, I spread some twigs and small branches from recent prunings topped with a mixture of semi-rotted compost and well rotted manure and covered with a layer of fine compost which had been delivered at the end of December.
 |
| 16 January - a log goes in my new Hugel bed |
 |
| 16 January - my new galvanised raised bed |
Sunday 18 January
I have a hosepipe connected to a water butt which I use to top up the pond but, with all the rain have not needed to use it. I have removed most of the irises and need to get rid of the couch grass that has invaded them. I left them on the edge of the pond so that any wildlife attached to them might have a chance of returning to the pond. I'll leave them for a few days before repotting and putting back in the pond.
 |
| 18 January - the pond |
I had a vist from a very healthy looking fox - its fur was fine and it looked well-fed, unlike my usual visitor. I suspect it is one which some plotholders feed (which I don't approve of unless an animal is sick and cannot fend for itself).
 |
| 18 January - a healthy fox calls by |
Monday 19 January
Having a tidy-up in the garden, I had a look inside the mini-greenhouse. I had completely forgotten that I had sown some sweet peas at the end of autumn, and was pleasantly surprised to see that they had sprouted and, despite neglect and not having been watered, were looking healthy. I watered them and will check in a few days and then pinch out the tips to encourage new shoots.
 |
| 19 January - Sweet Peas |
Tuesday 20 January
With a break in the wet weather, and a bright sunny day, I continued laying cardboard and wood chip to renew the central path.
 |
| 20 January - footpath renewal |
 |
| 20 January - footpath renewal and long winter shadow |
This is the second year that there have been no Pink Fir Apple potatoes available anywhere - none in the garden centres and none in the specialist potato suppliers' catalogues. The Weald shop had sold out at their Seedy Sunday stall in 2024, all but half a dozen poorly specimens, which I grew in a potato grow-bag. We enjoyed eating them later that year, but I kept back a few to replant, hoping for a tasty few for Christmas. But then I forgot about them once the foliage had died back and just came across the grow-bag behind the wormeries. With all the recent rain the bag was rather waterlogged and some of the crop had begun to show signs of rot, but the rest were fine, although some rather small.
 |
| 20 January - Pink Fir Apple potatoes |
We have eaten most - and they were delicious - but I have kept back a few for chitting and eventual replanting, so we may be among the very few enjoying this variety later in 2026.
Wednesday 21 January
I planted the onions and shallots that I had bought from the shop, Red Karmen onions and Biztro shallots.
 |
| Red Karmen onion sets |
Thursday 22 January
Yet more rain, but this time drizzzle. I ventured over to Roedale Allotments as they have regular deliveries of wood chip outside their plot. Tree surgeons prefer to deliver to Roedale as there is space outside and they don't have to negotiate narrow haulage ways as they do at our site. I managed to collect 3 large bags full.
Friday 23 January
At the allotment, dodging the showers, I directly sowed some broad beans in the gaps in the braid bean beds.
Saturday 24 January
We harvested most of the remaining Brussels sprouts.
Sunday 25 January
At home, I sowed some Meteor peas in trays in the conservatory.
Wednesday 28 January
It was time to harvest the remaining Brussels...
 |
| 28 January - Sprouts |
...and with a break in the rain, to continue relaying the central path with woodchip
 |
| 28 January - the footpath progresses |
The rhubarb was looking good but I need to find some larger covers if I am to force it.
 |
| 28 January - rhubarb |
Thursday 29 January
We removed the fleece tunnels from the latest planted purple sprouting broccoli and prepared to net them as they are intended to feed us, not the pigeons.
 |
| 29 January - broccoli |
Friday 30 January
Despite the very wet weather I decided to try directly sowing some early Meteor peas. I am also sowing some in trays at home for successional planting. We'll just wait and see if the directly sown ones rot or get eaten by the mice and squirrels!
I have covered them with a sprinkling of crushed eggshells to deter slugs and snails if they do sprout.
 |
| 30 January - Meteor peas sown |
We are just hoping for some drier weather next month. It has certainly not been dry January! It has rained almost every day and sometimes very heavily and the south east has suffered most having had more than 180% of average rainfall for the month.
.jpg)
.jpg)
