The First Day of Spring

Today is the first day of spring and the weather did not disappoint.

This week I have potted on my seedlings and popped them into the greenhouse. I got quite a shock when I woke up on Saturday morning, to see quite a hard frost had visited us in the night. I feared the worst and imaged my little seedlings had perished in the night but I need not have worried because they were still hanging on in there. I think they had had a little shock but soon recovered when the sunshine warmed the greenhouse up.

Because this year I have a greenhouse, I have started my seed sowing earlier without realising it, hence I wasn't quite prepared for the frost. The seedlings had been kept in my utility room, which isn't heated but it is warmed up from the heat of the house, so I think going out into the greenhouse, was quite a change for them.

Since this fright, I have been tucking my seedlings up in fleece, just to give them an extra layer of warmth, at night.

It still is a bit early to be doing lots, so I have been nourishing my vegetable bed with a nice thick layer of well rotted manure.

I adhere to the no digging style, when it comes to the vegetable plot. I just fork over the soil lightly, before adding the manure and over these past three years, the soil has improved enormously. I know this because my once sandy poor soil, is now dark and delicious and full of worms. Oh I am so happy to see those little souls squirming about in the soil.

After adding the manure, I covered a small area of the plot with my two cloches, just to warm up the soil, ready for my first batch of seeds.

Rows of Garlic with cloches behind warming the soil ready for planting

I have been adding ericaceous compost to my two blueberries in pots and trimming them to a healthy bud, where necessary and they are looking lovely and healthy.

Blueberry plant surrounded by ericaceous compost

After first deciding not to grow potatoes this year (apart from my sweet potatoes) I have changed my mind but opted for potatoes which you can't buy in the shops.

The last couple of years has found me growing Charlotte which I love but those are now available in the supermarkets, so instead I have gone for a variety, which I grew a few years ago and that is Pink Fur Apple.

This knobbly pink beauty, is so tasty, so this year they are going into the potato sacks again but I intend to be more vigilant and water more frequently, in the hope that I get a better yield.

But for now they are chitting in the utility room, whilst I dream of simply boiling them and smothering them in butter........hmmm