Happy New Year!

I haven't posted in ages as I thought my blog was broken. It turns out it was just that one post that wouldn't work. This winter has been kind - there's been lots of sunlight and I've not got as down as I usually get. The mild weather has meant that I've also been able to catch up at the allotment and have done most of my digging. I haven't sown my broad beans yet and don't know whether to wait for spring or try doing them now. I'm gonna build a massive bonfire tomorrow as I need to get rid of piles of weeds I've been drying out.
In November I did some poetry with my daughter's class - I had six year olds explaining meanings that I'd missed in poems I'd read to them. Sunday I've got a poetry workshop in South London. I'm looking forward to it. In Feb I'm doing the Poetry from Art at Tate Modern and I'm really excited about that.
Saturday did some wild dancing at the Ukrainian club and spun my friend Rachel round. Her first taste of Ukrainian dancing. She managed not to fall over. We were the last ones on the dancefloor :)

A late allotment post

Here's the structure I build every year for my beans. At each corner I drive in strong posts of wood to which I attach the canes and then build up the frame. I like this shape as you can easily access beans in and out. Also you get a gorgeous green shady tunnel. I am growing runner beans and climbing french beans up it - I put string acrosss the top so they can carry on climbing across the top and form a roof.

This picture of the potatoes was taken about a month ago and it's amazing how much they have grown since. They are also flowering.

I'm having one of those days. Do you get them? It feels like you've been turned inside out and any sad news you hear feels like it is drawing blood. I know you can find reasons for wars but when you break it down to what it is, it seems so incredible that we behave in this way. I honestly hope they'll be a day when it will un-understandable.

Writing

I made it over to the allotment on Monday for the first time in weeks. I forgot my mobile and I don't wear a watch so I lost all track of time. I'm glad I did as it looks like it is going to have been the only sunny day of this week and I badly needed some rays. I dug out fists of bindweed from the compost heap on my newer plot. It was very satisfying removing them - though I can't help admiring their ability to rejuvenate. I planted some raspberry canes (Autumn Bliss)- but now I come to think of it I wonder if i was supposed to separate them. There was about 5 or 6 sticks in each pot- now is that one plant or lots? Help anyone? Either way I'm sure they are happier in the ground than in the pot. I chose those rasperries coz they sound easy to maintain-unlike other raspberries you cut the right down after fruiting and next years berries come on new growth only.
I have written a couple of short pieces but feel like I have an ingredient missing that stops them being short stories. Like bread without yeast. I want them to rise but maybe they are destined to be pitta breads-there's nothing wrong with being pittas but I was hoping for something else. Maybe I should just concentrate on making good pittas.
The novel is trawling along slowly. I think I have ten versions of the same scene and other scenes are completely absent. I keep moving bits around which is quite exciting as the tension of the story changes and yes it feels like I am kneading the dough and it's gonna rise.
All that bread talk is making me hungry. Off to lunch. Bye for now.

Happy New Year.

I can't understand why the year starts now when it it still so cold and nature dormant. Perhaps that's why it does - to break up the long cheerless winter. Yes it must be that. I'm not miserable I just like to slide into the new year, feel my way not jump in with too many expectations that I know I won't be able to fulfil while it is still so cold.

My god-daughter made this snow angel. It was lovely watching the kids wandering around in the snow as though they were exploring a foreign land

I've written a timetable. Now I am at home without the kids I find that unwatched a small task can swallow up the whole day. Not that I intend to religiously stick to the timetable - it's just there to stop my time going all flabby. I need to be stricter about writing. One day I can find it absolutely delicious coming back to an emty house and then the next day find myself wanting to go straight back out coz it feels so empty and lonely. So to fill the void I have started baking. The smell of baking bread brings the house alive.

Hubby at the allotment when it was still snowy. The water was frozen solid. The cancel don't switch off the supply till early spring (just when we need it). We used to get snow early spring so it's a hangover from then. Who knows we may have more snow in spring too!!

This plot intrigues me. It's completed enclosed and I've never seen anything growing there. Will watch this space in Spring.

Come in - we are ready to interogate you. - That's what it says to me anyway.

Have just booked our flights to Portugal in the summer yippee i need a beer. I don't tend to do grown up stuff like book flights. I'm always convinced I've got the wrong country, day or people.

Payment

Yipee - looks like one of my poems will be on EverydayPoets http://www.everydaypoets.com/ next month. Complete strangers will get to comment on it. I'm up for it!

Saturday had a good evening at a fundraiser at my son's school. It was a karoake evening and yes I'm afraid I did sing and dance a little. Would have danced more but my son was mortified. I was far too self conscious at his age to care what my parents were doing.

Went to the allotment today and sowed my parsnips. I used a dibbler to make holes 6 inches apart and put a soil and peat mix into the hole to provide a easier medium for the parsnips to grow in - did the same for my carrots as we have clay soil which makes it hard work for root veg.

Here's my kale. In February my mother-in-law told me that if you snap off the tops then you get lots of flowering shoots. Before they open into flowers you can eat them like broccoli (delicious). Just don't let it flowere or it will stop producing new shoots.

Potatoes came up a couple of weeks ago -wasn't expecting them so fast. My father-in-law did a grand job.

Daughter's forgotten dresses

danced all day and night

quickly drying under

the bright blue sky

let it grow

My friend and I left our kids to their own devices in the front room and this is what they got up to. It was so cute that they had made a bus for their 'mens' as they like to call them. They got round not being able to bend the red head to sit by giving her a side bed on the bus. Good improvisation.







Took new friend I met at poetry workshop to my allotment and she helped to hoe and said lots of nice things about my plot.

Onions and garlic are growing well as are the broad beans, strawberries and cabbages. It was so lovely to be at liberty to spend time outside in the sunshine in such a peaceful place.

potato planting

These are pictures of plot number two as they looked before father-in-law came and mainly did the potatoes. Very grateful for help as have to gradually build up strength in recovering broken wrist.

And after!!!

Bit sad can't say I did them this year but that is out-weighed with the relief I feel at having another job crossed off my list.

Potatoes in trench lined with horse manure then covered in soil. Soil pulled together over top to make long mound(as it pictures above). When stalk of about 9 inches stick up, draw more soil together to keep potaoes covered as in sunlight they gradually turn green and the green bits as poisonous.

one handed digging

Was feeling a bit sorry for myself yesterday as over did it using newly liberated hand. Also was suffering from sleep deprivation(poor daughter had temperature) so just could not motivate myself to do anything. Today kids were happy playing indoors so left them with hubby and went to allotment to have a look at plot and try and get my head round which plants were going where according to crop rotation scheme. I was quite reluctant to go as felt it would make me feel worse going there and not doing much. Slouched to my plot said hi to people on plot behind me then J called me over. Hadn't seen him in ages. He told be how he'd been doing up his shed at home and fallen into his pond- fortunately he managed to throw the electric drill he was holding onto solid ground before he reached the water. Then he showed me his new heater in his shed - all mod cons and asked what I was up to. Explained about my wrist and he said just say the word and i'll run the rotovator over your plot. What a lovely man! So with one hand and an extremely light fork I dug out the brussel sprouts and then cleared away bricks and bits of branches that had dropped off the magnificent oak next to my plot. I felt so much better after doing that - wished that I'd got there earlier and done more of it. Saw L on way out - he'd injured his leg so was good to see him up and about. I love chatting to him.


My broad beans (aquadulce)sown in November.

Daffodils on my recently acquired second plot. One of my predessors planted a thousand bulbs. It's going to look gorgeous -can't wait. The lovely shed isn't mine unfortunately. Mind you I already have a lovely shed on original plot so can't complain.

allotment fix

Our allotments run a small shop open on Sundays between 10am and 11.30am. I usually remember that I want to buy something from there after it has shut but today I made it! I bought half kilo of red onions called Red Baron and half kilo white onions(Must look up name). Along with your purchases you can get free advice from the retailer (allotmenteer volunteers). He told me that the onions I bought will store well and should last me till spring next year. The japanese varieties I planted in autumn can be used as soon as they grow to a reasonable size as they will not store. The general feeling of spring in the air galvanised me to sort out the potaoes I had harvested last year. We harvested them in July - Mid August and are still eating them. However quite a lot of them have sprouted and gone rubbery. So I dragged the sacks out and chucked the ones that were too far gone into the recycling(no point putting them on my compost heap as will start growing there) and took the sprouts off the ones still relatively firm and kept them. If the potatoes have turned green beware -never eat green potatoes as the green is poisonous. Sometimes I just cut out the green but not sure if that's what you are meant to do so can't advise you to do that. After the shop I popped into the allotments - dug up three leeks for tea, chatted a bit and felt dejected that I couldn't dig yet like everyone else is doing. Still it was lovely to be there in the fresh air. Going to hospital on Wednesday to have plaster off and to check bone has healed so fingers crossed....

snow, prints and vegetables

So lovely to make it to the allotment yesterday. kids weren't keen to go but once we got in there they loved it. the snow on the pavements and roads near us had turned to grey slush so they (and us) were so excited to see the allotment still blanketed in white snow. round the trees the snow was pockmarked with zillions of dots and then the kids found some alien and animal footprints. Here are the pictures from the allotment:-

I've still got leeks (in foreground) they are brilliant coz the cold doesn't bother them at all and you can just harvest a couple as and when you need them through the winter to early spring. Behind them the dark green plants that look like they've got tens of mad waving hands are Black Tuscany kale. Unfortunately I have found out i prefer curly kale so will grow that next year instead. Fortunately my neighbours guinea pigs like it and again just break off some leaves as and when required.




This picture looked a lot better in my memory than it did when i downloaded it. Anyway it's one of my brussel sprout plants given to me as seedlings by another plot holder. With brussels you harvest them from the bottom up breaking off leaves as you go. As you can see we are near the top now so not many left but still nice to have some veg off plot.

I love brussels even the shop ones and these taste much better.





Some rosehips.








Think these are monkjack(?) deer prints but not sure. Drop me a line if you know what left these tracks.






Couldn't see how the broad beans were doing as they were buried and didn't want to damage them looking for them. Garlic stalks were sticking up on plot number two -forgot to take photo. Snow had left onion stalks buried.

If we don't get another load of snow I've got to go to the allotment tomorrow. I have been missing it but has been too treacherous and icy to risk with my broken wrist. My friend said it was really magical over there with snow everywhere. The allotment is surrounded by huge trees and is a really lovely peaceful place even without snow . Time always slows down when I go over there. I want to go and check on my broad beans that i sowed in November and the garlic and japaness onions i planted about the same time. They have all sprouted but i want to make sure my broad beans haven't been nibbled. My neighbours had his got at but he didn't know by what - nothing usually bothers the broad beans at this time he said. I'm not an old hand at growing vegetables so don't know. The japanese onions don't store well so will be using them as soon as they are ready(May?) and will plant some types that do store in Spring.

3rd February

The two things I love best(not counting my family or dancing) are gardening and writing. As I've broken my wrist ice skating at gorgeous Somerset House I am reduced to writing about gardening while I heal. I am one of those sadists that love digging. It fills me with calm and sweeps out all those annoying conversations that swill round my head endlessly. Writing is another way of dealing with them but is harder work.

Anyway vegetable growers -this is what I've got round to so far.

1/Have ordered seeds.

2/Started some peas off inside lean-to in toilet rolls filled with soil.

3/ Have started chitting potatoes in readiness for planting in allotment in March/April.



Chitting potatoes.

Incase you've never heard of this(I hadn't before I got the allotment) it's when you put potatoes in egg boxes in a light frost free place and leave them to sprout. They need to be rose side up so just look at either end and see which side has most eyes (like dots) and put these at top. If you've got loads of potatoes ask at butchers for egg trays. Chit them starting January or February. The jury is still out on whether potatoes do better chitted or not so don't stress if you don't get round to doing it. Will try and post picture of this tomorrow.