Merry Christmas

Belated Merry Christmas to one and all. I haven't posted for a while due to flu, kitchen installation (keeping me busy with wall preparation and painting - not ideal when poorly) and having lovely people round for Christmas. I aim to get back to the plot today or tomorrow for some fresh air and digging. The mound of veg peelings will be taken over to the compost heap too.

It was a shame that the Brussels didn't work out on the allotment this year (bloody rabbits!) but it has made me determined to get them sorted this coming year. I'll sow them nice and early and will cover them as much as possible once planted out. I may sow a few small batches rather than a single large one so that any losses can be replaced easily.

The parsnips, on the other hand, were a complete success. The ones I dug up a couple of weeks ago for Christmas lunch were huge. On Christmas Eve, I heard on the grapevine that one of my neighbours was in need of parsnips but couldn't get any. I nipped over to the plot very briefly before darkness fell to get some for her. They were absolutely enormous and seem to be appreciated. Any chance for me to show them off. Apparently, their enormity caused a fair amount of giggling in my neighbour's house. In return, my neighbour brought me over a portion of yummy parsnip soup. I will definitely grow parsnips again. The trick is to keep the seeds moist in the ground before they germinate (pre-chitting didn't seem to work out). And they are very low maintenance once they have germinated.

It will soon be time to start sowing again. I need to write sowing dates in one of my new calendars so that I can keep up with it all.

Need some more photos on here...