And a few clear, sunny days have done wonders to lift the spirits. It almost feels like spring, though I may be getting a bit premature there.
Seed sowing is almost upon us. At this time of year there is a great feeling of anticipation and a temptation to rush into the new growing season. Most seeds, however, benefit from a little patience so they can grow when conditions are actually much better for them rather than having to struggle against poor light conditions, cold weather and wet soil.
The flip side of this is that some more Mediterranean and tropical crops need a long season and only start to produce crops late in the summer. An early start gives a much higher percentage of ripening and cropping time.
In reality it is a balance and very much depends on conditions from year to year. Last year looked good until June, but them summer failed to properly materialise. Blight came quite early and hit the potatoes hard. It hit the outdoor tomatoes just as we were starting to get a crop. Chillis and peppers never had time to ripen either, even in the polytunnel. Beans and squashes didn't get enough autumn sun to dry out properly for storage. I can't squeeze the timing of these any more as they can only be planted out after all risk of frost has passed. We may not get many frosts these days, but a late one can still cause havoc, and let's not forget the Beast from the East and not get lulled into a false sense of security by mild winter conditions. Onions and leeks never reached their full potential either and I will definitely be starting them earlier this year.
The answer with most crops is not to put all your eggs in one basket. Seeds are cheap and there are often way too many in a packet, so there is no harm trying for an early sowing but with a later one as insurance.
So with this in mind I do actually have a list of seeds to sow right now. Things have been delayed a little by the oiler finally giving up the ghost. We spent two weeks with no central heating.
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To say the least, I was not impressed with this Worcester Bosch boiler which only gave us about 6 years of service.
That black smoke should be clear steam.
So it was a relief to finally get a new boiler fitted.
Most exciting though, look at that big bit of cardboard which should be enough to cover one of my weedy veg beds!
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Now that we have warmth in every room again, I will be able to give some early seeds the right conditions to get a start in the house. Once they have germinated, most move to the conservatory which is cooler but has good light. From there it's into the polytunnel with the added protection of a mini greenhouse and a propagator cloche if needed.
I have found this system generally to give me really strong seedlings for more hardy outdoor vegetables and for those which will grow in the protected polytunnel environment.
Of course, the race is still on to prepare all the beds. My back still seems to be on the mend, so compost turning is still very much a priority. I have used all of the compost from the ready pile and it has covered not 20% of my beds. However, at the bottom of the huge heap which has not been turned since mid August there is a large quantity of usable material. This will mostly be reserved for covering my seed potatoes in about ten weeks time. This weekend is Cambridgeshire Self Sufficiency Group's annual potato day in Huntingdon. I help out here and will be purchasing this year's crop of seed potatoes. I am planning to grow eleven varieties of potato this year.
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Above: Any help greatly appreciated. Boris does his best to shred any sticks he finds in the compost, plus a bit of digging.
Below: Once the beds are covered with a thin layer of compost to exclude the light, I lay fleece over the top. This is to stop the chickens and ducks displacing all the compost. After a while the compost settles and I can remove the fleece.
When I plant seedlings' out, the fleece will be used to protect them again and once the plants are big enough to remove the fleece, the ducks and chickens will be excluded from the veg patch.
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