The Time Is Nigh!!!

The Changing Shape of Dr B.

Somehow I think this may be my last log before ‘the big event’. Kath is definitely changing shape – and I mean visibly before my very eyes. Bump has dropped in a dramatic plummet over the past few days and now, it’s just a matter of time.

I know I was ranting before about not rushing nature, but at the end of the day, I’m a very impatient person. Not only that, but I've finally run out of space in bed. It's like sleeping in a very well padded coffin. For those of you running a sweepstake on the maximum number of pillows in the bed, we're up to 8!

Only a week to go – what can I do? Psychology! Obvious. So I planned a trip to Glasgow overnight, during some of the worst snowy weather we’ve experienced for some years. 300 miles away, the chance of being snowed in. It had everything. But on my return, bump was still there waiting.

I was however met with an order for a take away curry. Umm – Aagrah – my favourite. With Pauline being up, Kath had ordered a selection of Vegetarian dishes for a change. But instead of the usual mild and mediums, she had gone for a range of Extra Hot chilli dishes. An old wives tale, I know, but what the hell – lets give it ago. Not that I’m complaining – I love hot curries, even if they are vegetarian. In this instance, of course, vegetarian means replace the chicken with extra chillies. And this did have an effect – but not the one that I desired.

Later on in the week, and in a similar vein I cooked a Chilli and ginger Chickpea Daal. Something of a two-pronged attack, you could say. For some hours I was convinced that this had done the trick. At last, had I beaten nature? No. In the end it just turned out to be indigestion.

Running out of options – only a couple of days to go. More psychology. I arranged to play a game of Poker with friends on Sunday evening. But the only effect that this had was to loose me $2.

Oh well, I suppose I’ll just have to accept the inevitable. Tomorrow’s the big day. Will she be on time? Women’s prerogative and all that, but I suppose there’s always a first time.
Watch this space…



Kath & Dune

February Visitors

Meg on Holiday


February has been a busy time for visitors. People popping in to see us, or just Kath, before the addition arrives and our time is no longer our own. Many thanks to all of those who have ‘donated to the cause’. Contributions are always greatly appreciated.

Pauline has just left for home after a few days making curtains. No doubt hoping to catch an early drop, I imagine it must have been more like stitching mail bags. Anyway, it was not to be and she returns to Southampton with Meg for a few days of rest and recuperation before she has to turn around and do it all again. Billy and Dune are always pleased to see Meg. We still see this as part of their therapy – Meg is their mentor, showing them how good dogs interact (although we could do without the barking at the postman).



Ellie & Dune


It was good to see John, Julia & Ellie again as well. And Julia - thanks for the essential purchase advice - I'm still struggling to convince Kath that I need a digital camcorder, but I'm working on it. This is also part of the dog’s continued tuition, providing contact with children of all ages has proven to be very successful over the past couple of years (and just as well…). Despite attempts to pull their tails, ears, legs, neck, etc, they just take it all in their stride. Oh, and thanks for the travel cot – I’m sure I’ll have worked out how to take it down before it’s too late.

In fact the only person we didn’t see was David. Due to a sprained wrist and a broken toilet, a planned visit was postponed until after the birth. He’s had to go off to Kenya to recuperate, but David – you can’t put it off forever. There’s a flowerbed waiting to be dug, and it’s still got your name on it.

Spring Arrives In The Garden

Spring arrives


And finally it arrives. Spring is here. The gardening year can start again in earnest. Well, I’ve been caught out like this before. One bunch of snowdrops does not a springtide make. I know full well that there’s every likelihood by the end of the month we’ll be covered in snow and sub zero temperatures, so I’ll be sticking to my carefully developed plan and not jumping into a knee-jerk gardening mode like some of my neighbours. Just because the sun is out doesn’t mean that it’s a good time to sow your tomatoes. Just because the ground is dry, it isn’t a good enough reason to shave your lawn to within a millimetre of its life. Getting the jump on nature is a very dangerous game, and one that you rarely win. Don’t even try.

But even so, it is nice to see the snowdrops out, and the bluebells and daffs pushing through.

There’s a limited amount to do around the garden at the moment. Things are starting to move, albeit very slowly. Most of the activities are the tidy up and preparation exercises that were not carried out at the end of last season. Cut back the vegetation in the pond. Dig over and compost the vegetable beds. Sterilise the Greenhouse. But it’s not all mundane housekeeping.


Rhubarb Triangle?


At last my new fruit arrived. Enough rhubarb to force, 20 new raspberry canes to replace the ones that mysteriously died last year, and 3 apple trees to train as Espaliers along the vegetable garden fence. The raspberries are still bugging me – I think they were my only unexplained failure last year. Before we started to renovate the garden, it was overrun with wandering raspberry canes. Raspberries are quite particular about their soil requirements. Not too wet, not acidic. The fact that we have an abundance of canes growing out of control across the garden implied that we had good raspberry conditions. I purchased 4 varieties – 2 summer and 2 autumn.

I had gone for relatively new varieties, with good yield and flavour, forgoing the more traditional varieties specifically because of increased disease resistance. They were planted in a newly prepared bed and cut back hard. Last spring, every cane sprouted and started to grow away vigorously. And then, without any kind of warning, 3 of the 4 varieties started to die back. With no obvious sign of infection, I had assumed some kind of pest attack, but nothing could be found. The ground was moist but not waterlogged, and the variety that survived completely, although a little more sheltered than the others by the greenhouse, was growing in identical conditions but appeared unaffected. One variety, ‘Tullameen’, was hit hard on the right hand side of the row, but the left side survived (so these were retained).

In the autumn I ripped out the affected plants. I’ve now replaced them with 3 all time classic varieties – Malling Jewel, Malling Admiral & Autumn Bliss. If these don’t survive, then I have a serious problem.


Broad Beans Survive!


I was amazed at the number of emails coming in on one specific topic. They would all say the same thing: “James, how are your Broad Beans? Did they survive?”. If you recall, they were planted a little too late in the autumn and struggled to germinate. I brought them indoors where they germinated very quickly and started to grow away. Then the weather closed in I was concerned that the green sappy growth wouldn’t be ably to withstand a frost attack, so they stayed inside until the cold spell had passed. By this time they were very lanky and there was no guarantee that they would last the distance in the greenhouse.

Well, with a bit of TLC they made it through. They were hardened off in the cold frame, and planted out into their final positions a couple of weeks ago. Amazingly, with all of the abuse they have suffered, I had less than 10% attrition rate. So we’re still on for the first crop of the season, probably sometime in mid May.


Potatoes Chitting

We’ve got potatoes chitting, Basil and early lettuce germinating, summer cabbage, Kohl Rabi and Beetroot sown, and early peas planted out in strips of guttering, as recommended by the Great Geoff.

With all of the February tasks completed, it really does feel like the gardening year has started to kick in again. Next month will be busier than ever. I continue to learn from previous years and made a conscious effort to gradually build up the sowing rather than forcing a lot of crops in as early as possible. Many early crops failed last year and had to be resowed, or just got stuck in the greenhouse for too long a time. As I say, you can't rush nature – but with one thing and another next month, I don’t know where I’ll find the time…