There is no education like adversity.

Well , finally the snow and freezing weather seems to have left us for a while. I'm under no illusion that it'll be back but we can keep our fingers crossed. I dropped into the allotment today to discover that the broad beans sadly didn't manage to withstand 12" of snow and temperature's down to -8. I'll probably pop another pack of seed in which should catch up weather permitting.
 On a positive note the fruit bushes that I moved seem to have survived the winter and have buds starting to develop. I'm thinking of constructing a fruit cage this year which makes protection and picking infinitely easier. I just adore gooseberries. Especially gooseberry fool.
 At home the chillies have been potted on into larger pots with a pinch of nutrimate.  The pot and blanch leeks have also been potted on and seem to going ok. I have them under the lights for about 12 hrs a day. If this is enough or not, time will tell. The Vento and globo onions are looking ok. I've potted a few on and left the rest to see if here's any noticeable difference. Next up I'll be planting tom seeds and thinking seriously about sorting the parsnip drums ready for planting in mid Feb.
 Hopefully we'll have some drier warmer weather now allowing some digging on the plot, and getting rid of some of the standing water in my garden.
  Anyway off to work now for another 14 hrs of hard collar and pure graft. Wish me luck.

Well not much is going on with regards the garden. I've sown a couple more trays of Vento and globo onions. Also I popped in a tray of chillies just in case the early sowing fails. The blanch and pot leeks and ticking along nicely under the lights and it'll soon be time time pot them on into bigger pots. I keep the lights on for 12 hrs a day, I'm not sure if this is enough or too much so we'll see.I have given all the plants a weak feed of maxi grow (seaweed feed).
I have filled the long carrot bed and sterilized the sand. I'll now leave it to settle before scoring and boring.  This week I'll try and sort the parsnip drums.
 I've started to sift, sieve and shred the compost ready to knock up my mixes. Haven't decided on my final mixes yet, it'll probably be based on last years which even with the dreadful weather we're the bedtime ones I've grown. ( esp parsnips)

 I popped into the plot this week just to cast my eye on any progress but as expected things are pretty stationary. The weather forecast is very poor with either snow and frost expected.

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!

Choices are the hinges of destiny!

Things are progressing steadily on the dinghy front. HMS Dilligaf has now had the decking beams secured and made solid. After replacing any rotten timbers, I've varnished all around the areas which will shortly be inaccessible . I also put some epoxy and glass tape on the wood joints and areas which I consider will be subjected to the greatest stresses. All this hasn't been done for any great aesthetic value and could be deemed as a bit of an eyesore, but it's merely structural and won't be seen.
Next up is the decking, so I'll be sourcing suitable timber in the near future. I was recently offered some mahogany timber free of charge. Usually bargains like this aren't something to be ignored, but as the donator of this " mahogany timber " has attempted to dupe me before, I didn't get excited. Turns out it was total garbage, only compounding my theory that you should never confuse thoughtlessness with malice, and the guys just thinking of himself as usual.
C'est la vie.
In the garden the recent terrible weather has continued to keep me tied up in the house. I will shortly be sowing the first of next years crop which will be the 250gm onions. Ive generally grown vento in recent years but last year I grew some toughball which are a proven show bench winner, and was hugely impressed. The skin finish was super and they were relatively easy to match up.
More on this at sowing time. I've been busy preparing the conservatory ready to put the heated mats and grow lights in to supply supplementary daylight to the onion seedlings.

Success comes in cans, not cant's!

I've been progressing steadily with my Enterprise Dinghy project. The deck beams that were a little dodgy have been reinforced or replaced. Some of these may look a trifle basic, but this project was always about building a cheap practical sailboat and not a fine crafted, beautifully turned out classic.
I've decided to put on a gunwhale next to shore up the top edge of the side planking. I've also decided to complete the decking before I turn her over. This will give the whole dinghy a lot more stability and rigidity. Then I can crack on with the hull.
Not much will get done this week as not only am I going to the tip ( as previously mentioned) I'm also fitting a door for a pal who doesn't own a chisel! Simply marvellous .........

Compost bins and greenhouse's

Well i managed to build my compost bins down on the allotment. I went for a system where i can add and remove the front slats depending on how high the compost is at the time. This will also make it easier to remove when the time comes. I managed to get 20 pallets delivered for £20, saved me loading them up in my hire car.

Ive also been busy in the garden. I managed to get a 8x6 greenhouse off ebay. I set the frame up and have almost installed all the glass. I have a few panes to order before its complete. At least its a good time of year to be doing these building projects.

I brought my new car a few days ago, its the same as my old one, renault megane estate, so my projects are all go again...

Dilligaf Update

Work on the dinghy has progressed somewhat slowly due to work and family restraints. All the decking has now been removed to the workshop ready to be transferred to the new 6mm ply. I've started to reinforce the decking beams and secure any loose timbers. Any softening wood is being treated with a rotten wood hardener. I've bought some epoxy and glass tape which will also be used to strengthen her up. I've noticed a couple of the hull planks have gone a trifle soft, but this shouldn't be too much of a task to sort out.
When all the decking timbers are sorted and ready to receive the decking planks I will turn the boat over and crack on with the hull. I'll resist the urge to fix the decking so it doesn't get damaged when upside down. The hull will be stripped, repaired, epoxied and painted. When that's done it'll be turned again for work to carry on, on varnishing the thwarts and decks. Then all the running rigging can be reattached. Altogether I am anticipating the whole project to take approx 4 months. This time scale largely depends on how many people pester me into going to the rubbish tip for them because they have completely impractical vehicles, good for very little other than giving them something to polish.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity!
On the garden front I did manage to dig over the tomato greenhouse and incorporate a good two barrows of well rotted manure. From the polytunnel I harvested 2lbs of black grapes. These will go into my wife's terrific grape jelly. Damn she can cook.

It's Always Too Early To Quit.

Well today saw me taking a break from stripping bits and pieces off the boat and begin to craft a few new ones. I used the old bits as a template, marking out the new shapes on the 6mm ply for the deck and the 9mm ply for the transom. I used a jigsaw and cut very slightly outside the line, leaving a little wood which can be sanded down when I come to fitting.
These pieces won't be fitted for some time, as before I do, I'll sand and fit in place then remove and coat with epoxy/varnish. That way all areas, inside and out, will be protected from the elements.
I've noticed a couple of hairline cracks on the main frame so I'm going to epoxy some battens in place to strengthen it.