Monthly Archives: December 2009

On the allotment in December 2009

On the allotment: Thanks to Andrew putting protective netting over the brassicas before the arrival of the pigeons, we are now enjoying good pickings of  cavolo nero and purple sprouting broccoli.

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In the Garden in December 2009

In the garden: I’ve been going round dealing with anything that might be vulnerable to the cold and snow.  The cold frame is closed tight with a layer of fleece over the plants, the outdoor lemon is now tucked up in a protective coat and, very importantly, the  mains feed to the outdoor tap  has been turned off and the tap fully opened to prevent a burst pipe scenario. On a more decorative note, the early  hellebore flowers I spotted a couple of weeks ago are showing colour.

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In the greenhouse in December 2009

In the greenhouse: I’m holding off doing any watering right now, even if some plants are a bit dry – if we do have a really bitter spell, they are more likely to survive if their roots aren’t surrounded by damp compost.

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A Moment of Reflection

As this is my final 2009 blog it seems appropriate to look back on the year. Without doubt the most dramatic event happened on March 17th when I became one of those ‘garden accident’ statistics. Walking down the steps below the greenhouse carrying a tray of seedlings I managed to miss my footing, fall awkwardly and break both feet!  Fortunately I had the phone in the greenhouse and was able to call an ambulance, but the result was that my right ankle had to have a plate attached with several pins to  hold it all together.  I was off my feet for six weeks just when the garden was most in need of attention. There’s nothing like a determined gardener though, so little by little over the months I increased what I could do in the garden and enlisted help and now I’m pretty well back on form with no long-term damage.  Which is a good thing because there’s an awful lot of catching up to be done next year. Happy Christmas and safe gardening.

Only four days to go to the shortest day and then the days will begin to lengthen and we will have turned the corner and be heading for the new gardening year.  Hooray!

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Thompson and Morgan 3 for 2 Offer

Thompson & Morgan currently have a 3 for 2 offer on many of their flower seeds, so it is worth putting in an order now.  Long gone are the days when the vast majority of seeds sold were ornamental – with everyone ‘growing their own’, flowers are taking second place and good deals like this are an encouragement to add some flowers to our seed orders. www.thompson-morgan.com/seeds

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