Wednesday, 30th January

What a smashing sun-kissed morning yesterday! I got quite a bit of digging done and I wasn't the only one; there was at least one rotavator going as well as several spades. Musn't overdo it though, so after a while I changed activities and engaged in a game of compost heap turning. Didn't quite finish that heap but thought I'd finish it today, and it has been another sunny day today but overnight it had rained so I decided to keep off the plot which was still a bit heavy yesterday. Couldn't waste that sunshine though so I went for a walk with our walking group this afternoon - very invigorating in that bracing breeze. In between, last night was Pub Night and a jolly time was had by all, well, not quite all as Mrs Ned was a bit under the weather and couldn't go. I usually rely on her to keep me in check so last night I had to borrow someone else's wife.

Monday, 28th January

It was the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend. During my chosen hour we saw one robin, one blue tit, one pigeon and two crows. How do they know you're watching? It's the same every year no matter how much stuff you put out. They just know when you're counting them and refuse to come out until you've finished.
This morning I was mainly sawing and cutting wood. Some of those pieces I removed from my apple trees earlier on were pretty hefty so today I was cutting them down to size. Then I had a look in the greenhouse and decided to do a bit of trimming in there where it was so warm I could leave the door open for a bit of ventilation. Trouble is you can get carried away and it's easy to lose track of time, especially when you've lost your watch at the weekend! Half past twelve already?! Sorry!

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Saturday, 26th January

Good grief, I was digging again on the allotment yesterday morning. Where's all this lovely sunny weather coming from in the middle of Winter? Mind you, it was a bit heavy going so I only did a couple of rows. I'm not sure I'm doing all that much good in these conditions but recently it's been a case of dig when it's not raining before it starts again. The soil must be warming up though because the weeds are putting on a bit of growth and there are some other signs of nature stirring so I've included a few pictures from my garden and allotment as proof.

Wednesday, 23rd January

Yesterday afternoon I took my wife for a romantic walk along the seafront, to look at all the washed-up timber. There's still a lot left (see Ramblings page). Afterwards we went for a cup of tea in the delightfully old fashioned Marine Garden café, complete with Union Jack draped over the pie display case.

This morning I actually did some digging on the allotment. It was a bit heavy but I'm glad I did before the rain returned. Guess who'd put a line of washing out before leaving home because it was fine and windy.

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Tuesday, 22nd January

Sunshine! It was such a lovely morning I decided to walk to the allotment. In doing so I realised what you miss in the car, such as noises and smells, not just the Indian and Chinese takeaways but shrubs like mahonia in people's front gardens wafting their perfume over the pavement as you walk by. It was still wet on the allotment but I'd gone there to prune my autumn-fruiting raspberries not do any digging and I can reach them from the path without getting too muddy. From my experience here's a few tips:

• Make sure you know which are the autumn fruiting canes as others should be pruned around October/November;
• Cut them right down to the ground;
• If your secateurs won't cut, don't force it as there's probably a foreign body jammed in there (a nail in my case);
• It's best to wear gloves as those little prickles get under your skin and are difficult to see, let alone remove;
• Dispose of the dead canes properly not like the idiot who dumped the 3-piece suite between our stores; (see picture below)
• Give a general feed

                                                              
                                             Before                                             After                                   Evidence of clearing up                   Evidence of a prat

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Monday, 21st January

It was lovely to be outside again this morning when the forecast rain failed to materialise apart from a bit of intermittent drizzle. I didn't go to the allotment as there's not much I could do there, so I concentrated on my own garden, tidying up a couple of borders and raking up some leaves. A lot of them were apple leaves probably full of nasty spores waiting to inflict disease on my next year's crop so they had to go. I also had a look in the greenhouse where I had put several things to bed for the winter but they're still awake! I removed the fleece and opened up the roof vent to give them a bit of fresh air and discourage mildew. I have got one of those automatic vent-opening mechanisms somewhere but I don't have the skill or confidence to fit it. I did have a look at the destructions but when it became obvious I would have to drill holes in the metal frame right next to the glass that was enough to put me off.
I could hear this unfamiliar birdie noise when I came out and there, high up in the elder, was a long-tailed tit. There was another one calling back from somewhere which I couldn't see but eventually it joined the first one and they enjoyed themselves chasing each other around the branches of the elder. Good job they flew off or I'd still be there watching them. It doesn't take much to captivate me.

Sunday, 20th January

I was quite surprised to see so many people on their allotments this morning. Just shows you what a pause in the rain can do. The ground was still like a bog but I'd only gone down to pull a few carrots and a cabbage and do a bit of tidying up. Yes, I'm still pulling carrots; I think I'll have to change their name from Autumn King to Winter King. However, I am now coming a poor second to the slugs and woodlice. It's quite easy to catch the slugs in situ and pull them out of the carrots, though they do stretch a bit first. Nice! One hollowed out carrot was filled with woodlice - I just chucked it on the compost heap and hope the birds find it.
It wasn't fit to do any digging and everybody was getting on with other jobs, putting in new glass in greenhouses, composting, clearing up rubbish, etc.

The talk was about the beach now being closed to the public because of all the wood which has washed ashore from the stricken Ice Prince. Apparently there's sawn timber all over the place but mindful of previous events in the West Country with locals scavenging all manner of things, the authorities have warned us all to leave it alone or face prosecution. Would have been just the stuff to make a fruit cage on the allotment.

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Friday, 18th January

This little chap sums up just how I've been feeling this week what with all this wind and rain. I haven't been able to get any gardening done and have had to resort to clearing out the loft and taking stuff to the tip. Great! I have got some produce still in the ground - carrots, cabbages, leeks - but when I go to dig them out I sink in up to my ankles. The only garden related activity I've undertalen is looking at the seed/plant catalogues that have been dropping through the letterbox. On the plus side(?) it has been mild so there are flowers out that maybe wouldn't be otherwise but I think a good spell of cold kills off a few bugs. And there's the Association dinner to look forward to; over 60 people have bought tickets so it should be a good do. There's something going on at the end of this month (31st) at Wakehurst Place too about composting, mulching and recycling. I might go to that, if the weather's decent. It's organised by the West Sussex Green Club and it's free (I think!) but you do have to be a member. If you're interested visit their site at www.wsgreenclub.com.

Sunday, 13th January

Had to go to the dentist's the other day. £15.90 just to look at my teeth! And I was only in there for between 5 and 10 minutes. That works out about £100 an hour! What's worse is I've got to go back because one of my fillings is cracked. How much is that going to be? As if that wasn't enough my car's just had its service and MOT; it had to have a new water pump and new cam belt. I haven't been sent the bill yet. If you want to contribute to the "Help Ned to get to the end of the month" fund, just send me your credit card or bank account details. At this rate I shall have to give up my Wine Club membership.

Thursday, 10th January

This morning I pruned my apple trees. Don't you just love being up a ladder with a pruning saw working your way through 3" to 4" branches? Oh, and did I mention the wind? Still at least I finished just before the heavens opened.
So no gardening this afternoon then. Instead I went to an illustrated talk on "Countryside Curiosities of Sussex", arranged by Goring Garden Club and delivered by Mr Ray Fox at The Barn in Goring Way. At £1 a head it had to be good value and apart from the talk there were lots of Wildlife Trusts leaflets and refreshments. I enjoyed seeing slides of and hearing about many Sussex delights such as The Seven Sisters, the Long Man of Wilmington, Cissbury Ring, Kingley Vale, the Ouse Viaduct, Smugglers' Cottage (the smallest house in Sussex, near Great Dixter) and architectural wonders like Pevensey Castle, Bramber Castle, Castle Goring, various wartime fortifications still in evidence including a tank trap in somebody's front garden and curiosities such as toad crossings and slightly ridiculous road signs. All in all, a very pleasant way to spend a rainy Thursday afternoon.

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Wednesday, 9th January

Had to make another journey up North for a few days, to proper Nedland this time, Yorkshire. It was nice to renew relations with relations and see old haunts again but after 35 years I think I'm beginning to get used to the South so, as Mrs Ned gets a nosebleed if she goes North of Winchester, I think I'll stay down here. There was one thing I would have liked to bring back with me from the farm I was staying on though but I don't think the Nedwagon would have managed to tow it back down the M1.

The M1 and M25 were remarkably clear apart from roadworks and speed restrictions at our end of the M1 where they are widening the motorway. Is that the answer to our traffic problems rather than rail improvement? I don't know. I don't have a definitive answer but I'm sure if I did the powers that be would reject it, probably on grounds of health and safety or detriment to the economy.

Monday, 7th January

I went to the allotment yesterday, admittedly not to do any serious cultivation. What with rain and frost, it was crusty on the top but sloppy underneath - well, that's my excuse anyway. I just went down to dig some veg for dinner. Given the conditions I was quite surprised to see people about but then it dawned on me: word had got round that there had been another delivery of manure and allotmenteers were frantically shovelling and wheeling, making the place look a bit busy. "Might as well while I'm here," I thought so I just took a coulple of barrowloads in my new freebie wheelbarrow (new to me, that is). That's when I noticed the front wheel was flat again. Oh, dear! must have a puncture and I haven't a clue how to fix it.
The rest of the day was spent delivering dinner notices to people who have only joined recently, until it got too dark to read street names and house numbers. Why do so many of our members live right at the end of closes and cul-de-sacs or in weirdly numbered houses? It doubled the length of time I'd set aside for the task, so if it's you, move - please. Bookings are going very well, over 50 now, I understand, but there's plenty of room at the Berkeley so no panic as long as you get your order in by the end of this week.

Saturday, 5th January

A food shopping trip to Tesco's today represented something like a return to normality after going away for Christmas and having visitors over the New Year. I seem to have done very little over the past couple of weeks apart from eat, so I think I may have to add another New Year's resolution to my list: lose a few pounds. I need to get back to some gardening too; I haven't been to the allotment for ages and I haven't got round to pruning the apple trees in my back garden which I normally do over Christmas. The trees must be about 20 years old now so we're mainly talking removing dead, diseased and crossing branches and a bit of spur pruning. I can't be doing it right as they all seem to bear every other year now. Must put out some more bird food as well to help them survive the winter so they can attack my apples later on in the year.

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Tuesday, 1st January 2008

If there's anyone out there reading this, a Happy 2008 to you all. Have you made any New Year's Resolutions? I would but it's difficult to think how I could improve. Green issues seem to be all the thing at the moment so perhaps something from this list would help:

• I will compost all my green garden/allotment waste rather than bin it
• On occasions I will walk to the allotment rather than drive
• I will try not to use those little blue slug pellets
• I will use fleece to try and keep the bugs off and not resort to chemicals
• I will not leave the telly on standby

I'll give them all a go but I think I should make a special determined effort to walk to the allotment more often as I could do with the exercise especially after eating so much recently. If you have any bright ideas send them in so we can share them with everybody out there.