I love spring

Twenty One degrees yesterday!  My first beekeeping day of 2011 - I went through the 13 hives that went into the winter and the results were better than I had hoped for.  Eleven hives with a brood laying queen, one hive with bees but no queen or brood (I put a comb of eggs into the hive to give them a chance of making a queen cell) one hive dead - lots of food cause of death unknown.
Also the first broody hen - our bantam (a good reliable mother) now sitting on eight eggs.  And (would you believe it!!) our first courgette flower; on a plant under a large cloche made from recycled polycarbonate.   The tomato plants in the greenhouse and polytunnel are up to a foot tall and there is blossom everywhere, I love spring.

Spring is coming!

Now the winter solstice is past and the days are gradually getting longer I have started to think about spring.  I had a busy Christmas break but manged to fit in sorting our seed stock.  As we save our own seeds we always have lots (even one plat produces loads more seeds than we use in a year!)  And now is the beginning of the time to sow them.  Have sown in the poly tunnel - lettuce, rocket, radish, carrot, peas, spinach, red and white beetroot, pak choi and mizuna.  Next week I will sow (in a propagator) tomato, pepper and indoor courgette. In the poly tunnel will go spring brascicas and a few leeks.  Meanwhile in the wood the coppicing goes on and we are planting trees in the spaces opened up. I am starting to think the winter wont be long enough for all the jobs I have planned for it! (only joking)
Happy gardening (between snow)

spring is sprunging!

Yes, at last, the first real evidence of spring -- Our first frog spawn!  our first daffodils!!  and seed sowing begins in earnest.  Yea!!!