On Sunday 21st Dec last, I took a fast trip to the plot (first in over 6 weeks - eeks) and it wasn't as devestated as expected. Harvested loads for bringing for Christmas - brussels sprouts, leeks, PSB and baby turnips. Mum and MIL both very pleased to see results!!

When we got back just before the New Year, I emptied my 2 potato sacks (an empty compost bag and a Lidl composting bag) and found just enough baby spuds for dinner for the 3 of us with a couple of leftover which were fried up for lunch on Sat. They were delish but tiny (bad frosts very early this year) so I may not try those again. I also emptied out the pot of baby carrots (again - titchies just enough for a dinner supplemented by a few frozen peas) and we had these with some lovely fresh sea trout (bought in the English Market in Cork).

On Friday, I brought the toddler up to the plot for another fast harvesting session (had to distract her from the chickenpox!!). Pigeons had been by and devestated it in the interim, so the PSB is now gone (net will be used thoroughly this year, from sowing to harvesting!!). I overdid harvesting baby turnips for the mammies, so there were only a few tiny ones for us (but they were TASTY roasted with some carrots, parsnips and squash). There may be a few more grow a bit yet though. Definitely growing more of those next year.

I also got 2 large tubs of brussels sprouts befopre the weather really got them (will freeze a good few tonight and gave some to my aunt when we went for dinner last night). And I dug another few leeks for ourselves this time - the first winter batch are starting to swell nicely and the second batch are well settled and should be ready in another couple of months so I think I've managed the successional thing successfully for a change!!

Apart from that, I am getting ready for a few quiet evenings in front of the fire with a couple of catalogues and my seed box, to decide on new purchases and plan the plot better this year. Lots more peas and beans, leeks, brassicas of all sorts, turnips, onions and garlic, and spuds (have to choose a "regular" boiling kinda spud yet, but definitely getting more Anya this year as they were GREAT and lasted months in the ground). A proper squash patch this year - with properly covered ground around it. And plenty more in the home garden too - salads and mange tout in particular, and a couple of courgette plants. I'll do a sweetcorn patch again, but I am giving up on carrots in open ground - going to get some large buckets for at home instead.

Haven't planted anything yet but I had a trip to the garden centre for their sale. Wasn't actually much on sale unless you wanted Christmas decorations, but I picked up bamboo canes whilst I had the opportunity, + wigwam plastic holder things to go with them. Got all my seed potatoes too.

And the one rather nice deal was buy one get one free on some 12" (I think) glazed ceramic pots - £3.50 each, bargain! Now I have a pot to plant up some of my cheap 50p for 2L daffodil bulb mix I got when visiting another centre during the holidays.

Too cold to do anything outside today, so concentrated on my early indoor sowing experiments: cherry toms, purple sprouting broccoli and purple podded peas (I seem to have some kind of purple veg fetish going on....) Keeping them on a bright windowsill during the daytime and moving onto the coffee table every evening as the heavy curtains mean the windowsill is abso-bloomin-lutely freezin' overnight!

Yesterday I finally got around to cutting down the Asparagus and raspberry canes (autumn bliss). A bucket of leeks were pulled and turned into leek and tattie soup and the heaps of leaves dropped off at the plot by the local council.

Today I pottted on a few chrysanthemum stools and put them in the cold greenhouse, these will provide lots of cuttings when the heat goes in on late February. Then it was off to the timber yard for loads of staircase spindles as finally, the old closed in bannisters are now fully spindled up as part of the great hall, stairs and landing decorating challenge.

Too cold, too damp, too messy outside - so I just read stuff on the grapevine.

I took the inch thick ice off the water butts; fed the birds as usual.
cut some pencil thick leeks, Chinese greens, sprout tops, kale and January King cabbage leaves for a stir fry.
The ground is frozen solid, but not frosty (too dry)

Yesterday I dug over the bed that runs the length of the back-wall in my plot and planted my new rasberries (Finally! They'd been heeled in since before Christmas!) 3 Autumn and 6 Summer fruiting canes

I'd already dug over the end of the bed to put up another bin and turn my compost into it. (Going to try and get some manure to rot down in the first, now empty, one) There's a fairly new strawberry bed at the other end which, like the rasberries, is dormant so I'm quite excited to see it all get going in the spring.

My next challenge is to weed and dig over my main big bed which I'll split into 4 for my rotation. I've already cleared my shed and planned my veg out so - all in all - I'm feeling quite excited about this year. It'll be my first full season on the plot so my new year's resolution is to be organised!

After pruning my currants yesterday (all 25 of them), I struck a score of redcurrant cuttings, ten to a big pot. These root very easily and will next year give me lots of young bushes to give away.