[Christine]

Went up to the plots on Friday for greens (brussels, leeks, cabbage) and to feed the compost heap. Well frozen. Best left alone then except for crop picking. Happy new year to the slugs.

[Urbanite]

finally finished installing wood burner and chimney in the shed...bring on the winter

[gerpsych]

Digging and more digging. We have heavy clay soil so I am hoping the frosts will come soon and give me a hand in weathering this soil before I give up and take up pottery.

[Jackypam]

Just jiggled the roof of the fruit cage with a brush to shake the snow through, then came home. Yesterday I cut a load of bits off the overgrown Hawthorn hedge that I've ignored for three years, then tried to burn it, but it wouldn't burn. Will wait a month or so and try again. 

[Eblana]

Spent 4 hours up at the plot yesterday - I am sore but oh so happy today (it is amazing how spending time with your hands in the earth lifts your spirits).

Weeded the four beds with my fruit bushes in them, they didn't take too long as they had been done when the leaves fell in the autumn but with the mild weather we have been having weed growth is higher than normal this year.

I then set about tackling the back bed which was very badly overrun with weeds as the plot behind me isn't let out to anyone.  It took me 2 and a half hours to get it cleared but boy does it look great now. I have some debris netting which my OH has promised to staple to the fencing to try to cut down on the amount of weed seeds getting into my plot and we have permission from the site owner (private site) to strim some of the plot behind and put weed killer on a strip along the back of our plot to try to reduce the amount of weed invasion while he is trying to let it out.

I am much more organised this year and have a maintenance plan mapped out on the calendar, weather permitting I am going up tomorrow to weed the bed that runs between my existing plot and the new plot I have taken on this year, like the back bed the plot next to me hasn't been let out for two years now so the weeds have been seeding in my plot but we have started work on it so I shouldn't have a problem with this bed next year.

I sowed a row of perpetual spinach in the PT.

[Lardman]

It finally stopped raining this morning and I managed to get an hour in the garden. Dug over the strip on tier 4 where the honey suckle was and Im planning on putting my fruit trees. Most of it was bind weed and nettle roots though, I imagine its going to need a few years of spot treatment with the weedkiller. Forked in some BFB and I'll let it settle for a few days.

I am sore but oh so happy today (it is amazing how spending time with your hands in the earth lifts your spirits).

You're not wrong, even though everything is absolutely sodden, heavy and slimy with algae.

[Trikidiki]

I cut scions from my apple trees and some from a few neighbours trees ready for my great grafting projects. All wrapped up with some damp kitchen roll and in the bottom of the fridge. How long before the wife notices them and flies of the handle like she did over the onion seeds in the spare room.

[Aled]

Put on more wood ash!
Cheers
Aled

[snowdrops]

Tootled off to the Lottie about 12. Came back at 3 having turned my compost from bin 2 to 3 & 1 to 2, so plenty of exercise there to keep me from freezing as they're all about 1 cubic metres of black gold. Harvested more parsnips & carrots, Then I chopped down the raspberry canes & sunflowers,loaded them onto the wheelbarrow & brought them home to shred along with 2 climbers Mr S cut down last week when he helped J next door replace the fencing. After a revitalising coffee I went out & shredded it all ready to take for DDs choose to enhance their run, hoping to emulate Beeskissed deep litter run on the dark side.

[Mattgregory27]

Managed to get the ground prepared where my polytunnel is going, strimmed the grass, had a fire in the incinerator and got rid of loads of stuff. Pulled up loads of weeds, had a really good tidy up and got rid of all of the rubbish that I have been meaning to bin for months. 9 rubble sacks went to the tip  Just as I was about to leave one of the plot holders came over and told me he had just given up his plot and that Icould have what I wanted, so I collected enough decking planks for a strawberry bed, some wooden posts and I re-homed an apple tree which is now planted and staked on my plot. Shattered now but I feel like I am getting there!! Polytunnel construction and rotavating on my next visit!!

[Beekissed]

I checked on my worms in the bin and they were procreating, as they should be.  Then I watched the snow sparkle on the garden, adding minerals to the soil as it melts and insulating the compost so the microbial life there can get on with its business. 

Dreaming garden dreams and making seed tapes.....

[AnneB]

Spent a few hours at the plot today.   Did a fair bit of harvesting winter veg.  Weeded the cabbage bed.  OH had bonfire with the prunings from the apple tree.

The plot is still very wet, with standing water in places. The garlic, overwintering onions and broad beans are coming along nicely.

[Trikidiki]

Connected a new(ish) battery to the solar panel, I think I had a dead cell on the other one. Can now pump water into the oil drums in the propagating greenhouse for my solar heating project.

Dug up the last of the Christmas new potatoes in the big greenhouse.

Cleaned the glass on the cleared side of the big greenhouse.

Started putting up the netting for the melons.

Potted up some apple rootstocks.

Bees were out and about which was nice to see.

[Lardman]

Planted out this years winston / kids orange and last years james grieve I'll prune them back in a day or 2. Still not sure where to put the gladstone as it's a partial tip bearer. 

Braved the slope and the brambles to cut some scion wood from the damson and plum trees, much Anglo Saxon as I don't think the brambles have stopped growing this year at all and they're all interwoven into the trees.

[Christine]

Went up for sprouts, broccoli, leeks, cooking apples from the store. Turned over a corner of the newer allotment which hadn't been done last year in the first clearing. Got out an amazing number of deeply rooted dandelions. Will have to turn again and clear properly when it has dried out a bit but it wasn't going to improve till turned as it was on a slope and the rain was running off. Oh and gave someone a bag of red kale for his grand children's rabbit.

Tidied up the rubbish bags on newer plot - must organise getting them removed. Cleared the beetroot bed and composted it.

Started the clearing up of the strawberry plants but more to do there - very chaotic they were despite work in early October. This mild weather not good!