This is our first January on the plot. There isn’t much growing activity this time of year, so we have used this time to try and prepare the plot for the upcoming growing season. This has been a lot harder than it should have been, due to the excessive rainfall over the last few months. It has turned parts of the allotment into a bog. Some of the plots may as well be a pond. Naturally, more rain followed after we started turning the ground over so we will now leave that task until some time in February.

There have been no hard frosts this winter, in fact, it has been quite a mild winter. Meaning that none of the little critters have been killed off. White fly have been our main nemesis; they have decimated our over wintering cabbage and ate the pumpkin seeds that I had left in the shed. Luckily, I still have three pumpkins left so I’ll have plenty more seeds for next year.

With it being so mild, spring bulbs are starting to sprout much earlier than usual. I’ve even seen rhubarb poking out of the ground without the need to be forced! You can force your rhubarb crowns over winter to get an early spring crop.

With all of the items we would like to make over the coming years, a vice has made a nice addition to the workbench.

A cold frame is one of the first items on the list, we are being given some old greenhouse panels which will be perfect for it. We don’t have room on our plot for a full size greenhouse unfortunately.

There are signs of life everywhere, spring is knocking at our door.