Leek leek leek!

My leek seedlings have been delivered from my supplier today. They come through the post so need immediate attention. First off I place them into a jar of water. Then I make up a potting on mix. This is simply sieved multi purpose compost with a decent amount of vermiculite and a good pinch of nutimate . Then each leek is popped into a small pot and watered in. I'll need to stake the blanch leeks but the pot leeks should be fine. Collars will also be used on the blanch leeks to help with blanching and to keep the plant growing straight. This is a very simple method of growing leeks and is pretty basic compared to the more experienced leek growers. In a day or two i'll put up my grow light.
I've also planted my onions for the 250gm class. I'm growing vento and globo this year. I may make a second sowing in a couple of weeks , we'll see. When these have germinated they'll be potted on and will go under the lights as well. As they grow I'll select the strongest seedlings at each repotting stage, until I have about 10/15 of each variety. These seeds went into the same mix as the leeks.
On the chair front, I managed to finish it just in time for my moms birthday. I think she liked the design and was impressed with how comfortable it was. However she was far more impressed with the cushions my wife made, which just confirms my theory that she hates me!
I've got to work Christmas Day so I'll be having my turkey dinner in the next day or two. I love Christmas and am looking forward to spending it at work with some great guys.
All that remains now is to wish one and all a Merry Christmas and to remind everyone that the only true wisdom is knowing that you know nothing at all!

Always Lead, Never Follow!

Well it's been another busy week, with several outstanding tasks completed.
Starting with the allotment, I popped in to see how things were progressing, particularly the broad beans and remaining dahlias. Our local area has been subjected to a number of fairly harsh ground frosts lately, which combined with strong winds could of spelt disaster.
Fortunately all seems to be ticking along nicely. The beans look relatively healthy and are still pretty vertical and the transplanted strawberries look ok. The dahlia’s have gone black due to the frost and I'll now try and find time to dig these up. The tubers will then be washed and any rotten or damaged pieces removed. After drying they'll be stored in boxes of dry peat. Doing this means I don't have to buy new stock and can also propagate my own cuttings early in the year. They can be left in the ground over winter and covered with compost, leaf mould or straw etc for protection. My experience of doing this has been a touch hit and miss, so I prefer the earlier method.
My onion seeds have arrived from my supplier so they will be sown in the not too distant future. I get the bulk of my seeds from :-
Medwyn Williams
Exhibition Seeds
Shelley Seeds
JBA seed Potatoes
Fothergills
Vegetableseeds.net ( very cheap).
I rig up a small light box over a couple of heated trays in the conservatory, which my wife thinks is superb. She understands, and after all, it's only for three or four months.
This last week I've also built my mom a garden chair for her 70th birthday. Helen is making a cushion to go with it. I think she's gonna love it.

Dilligaf Decking!

Well progress is going along steadily on the dinghy front. After a tortuous week at work I've been enjoying some well earn't leave. I managed a few hours work on Dilligaf, cutting the first couple of decking pieces. I'm using plain, straight forward exterior 6mm ply. There really is no value in using marine ply. It's considerably more expensive, and working on the theory that I don't expect this boat to be around for many more years l'll stick to the cheaper option.
I used the old deck as a rough guide to give me a line to cut to. I cut a fair way outside the line giving me room for error, and I can always sand down to the line later. These first few pieces have also now been varnished with a standard exterior polyurethane varnish.
I did make a mistake on the first cut piece of deck by going too close to the line.
But as they say, You can't make the same mistake twice, the second time isn't a mistake, it's a choice!