Wet,Wet,Wet!
Son Billy showing Callum his first snowfall!The pristine white landscape of the past few days has changed suddenly to wet and windy!The rain beating on the bedroom window woke me this morning around 6.30am.Yes rain..it was forecast yesterday that the south would be hit with gale force wind and heavy rain which would fall as snow on high ground and farther up the country.I drove out to Blarney to pick up the two girls who are off school today, the roads are flooded and we have a few waterfalls which appeared overnight, one in particular across from the Commons Inn is pouring down on to the roadway in torrents.
DIL Janice with Callum and puppy Rocco getting in on the act!Rocco is partial to carrots and ran away with the snowman's nose when nobody was looking!The ground is frozen solid which is why we have water now flowing across roads etc.A lot of houses around the city and country are without water,mainly due to frozen pipes but also because the water level in some of the reservoirs is very low?! I cannot understand this as we were under water a few weeks ago?!
Last night I decided to get out my stash of seeds to see what we had.I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of seeds we have. They are all usable apart from the parsnip seeds which are recommended to be bought fresh each year.This year we are going to concentrate on making the 2 plots pay as we are paying 200e for each plot this year.It is still very reasonable when I hear what other allotments are charging. We have running water on stand pipes between all of the plots, a tool shed and tea room, plenty of parking and toilets on site.WE did not grow enough of the staple foods last year like carrots,cabbage and salad leaves.We had runner beans coming out our ears which are still in the freezer. Nothing wrong with that but we could have been wiser with what we did plant, ie:vegetables we use on a daily basis all year round.
We won't be digging out on the plot anytime soon but I checked to see what could go in ASAP.
Mr Fothergill Contained garden: Carrots Amsterdam 3
Baby carrots with good colour and texture,fast growing with sweet flavour and good yields.Can be sown directly from Jan to June and harvested from April to Oct.These are suitable for growing in containers and small gardens too
Greyhound Cabbage
WE only planted summer cabbage last year, Derby day which was tasty and well worth growing but this year we will plant a few different types to stagger the harvest period more.Can be grown on a windowsill or propagator from Jan and outside when the weather improves.
Cos Lettuce
You can never have enough lettuce, this cos can be grown all year round outdoors or in a fairly cool greenhouse.
It is nice to have something to look forward to in the garden, this weather has to improve sometime!WE have heavy rain at the moment which is cold as temps are only about 5%C.Gale force winds which have just whipped the centre strip of felt from my shed roof here at home. I had to go out to bring my hedge cutter and drill indoors and cover the pressure washer with a black bag as that is too big to bring inside.Everything else is just going to have to cope with being wet for a while until I figure out what to do with it.
Comments
What fun it is to look at the seeds you will plant this Spring! I am sure that makes you happy!!!
Callum sure looks happy playing in his first snowfall!
Rocco sounds like my Jill. She loves vegetables and fruits too.
I hope your weather improves soon. I am ready to start planting and for warmer weather.
I planted a savory cabbage(for the 1st time) in late fall and it is still alive after this long period of below freezing we are having here in Ga. Hopefully it will make it through to spring.
Have a great day.
Pam
I do love how you talk about the plot. I'm gonna have a potager this year. Lots of veges. I'll have to learn how to store them all. That freshness will be good.
Your kiddos look sweet playing in the snow.
Our cousin in Donegal has said that
this is unusual weather. I bet it is! We
are getting the same here in Germany.
Stay safe and warm.. ~kimme
I'm still gasping at the price of your plot. Ours are $66Cdn - although I suppose you could argue our growing season is shorter. Enjoyed reading about your plans for 2010. Look at that snow, it looks like Canada everywhere! I had a giggle reading about the snowman and the puppy carrot thief. Hope the wind calms and it warms up for you soon.
Ann: We are back to wind and rain but parts of Co Wicklow are still under snow!We grew peas last year for the first time but The birds got the best of them. We will try them again but remember to cover them from the pigeons!
Jo:I don't know a lot about my seeds , I have to read up on them as much as possible and even then I get it wrong! We learn as we go along too, what may have went awry last year hopefully we can correct this year, that is the plan anyway!
Pam: Rocco is a bit of a scamp!Our weather has gone babk to wind and rain but it is still cold.It passes away some of the dark evening planning the garden and what we will (try) to grow.
Anna: here in Ireland we are renowned for getting all 4 seasons in a couple of days!You cannot beat the freshness of your own veg, I think we are all getting the taste for freshly pulled veg from our own plots.
Kimme,Hi and thank you for visiting and taking the time to comment. Donegal got much worse weather than we did down here, they had freezing weather from the middle of dec.
Barbarapc, I know the cost of plots here are high but we do not have government controlled ones and all of the allotment sites are on private land which have to then take out astronomical public liability insurance.We had two days of snow and the city came to a stand still.We have water rationing form 8.00pm to 8.00am each evening as the reservoirs are very low due to burst pipes from the severe cold.