Ted's green fingers

After the excitement of a day in the city, Ted and Bobble decided to spend today at the veg plot. Like any good gardener, Ted spent a bit of time in quiet contemplation of the land before he started work.

Ted felt confident that his newly acquired knowledge (last Friday's episode of Gardeners' World) would come in very handy. Having seen Monty turning over the soil in preparation for the winter, he was eager to give it a go himself. Bobble looked on in a self-appointed supervisory capacity: Come on Ted, put your back into it!

After spending 5 hours digging over the entire plot with the world's smallest trowel, they headed into the greenhouse to have a nosy around. Yes Bobble, the chilli plant is very tall but I really don't think there's a giant living at the top of it.

Ted, meanwhile, was entranced by the sweet pea seedlings. He said he could see them growing but I think it was more likely the hallucinatory effects of low blood sugar and exhaustion. Come on you two, time for a cup of tea and some honey on toast.

winter prep

I'm finding that winter gardening is not so much about growing than about preparation for the upcoming season. My weekend potter around the garden is predominantly about checking on the small selection of crops in the ground - leeks, overwintering onions, garlic and broad beans - before tidying pots, cleaning tools and planning the veg plot for 2010. The leeks are really coming on well now and we're harvesting them regularly for heart-warming leek and potato soup, or griddled leeks with cheese sauce. Mmmmmm...
I'm also experimenting with sweet peas - again. I've not actually managed to grow these from seed yet. My mum donated first a whole pot of them (which are now residing in a border and grew well this summer) and now a bag full of saved seeds. I'm trying the loo roll method of sowing them, which has worked well for me with broad beans and peas - and also threw a handful of them in the border vacated when I pulled up the runner bean plants. I'll let you know what happens with all that in the springtime.
I need to find the time to give the greenhouse a good clean out sometime before Christmas - it's recommended to fully clean down the inside to get rid of any diseased leaves or lurking insects so as to reduce the risk of harbouring anything nasty for next year.
My seed box overfloweth and I really think my plans for next year exceed the space I have available, but only time will tell..