11/1/26 - Winter Jobs and Checks
Good day to you. We've had a glut of colder weather this week, but fortunately we have avoided the worst of it though temperatures in the tunnel did reach a low of -5. That's quite welcome though as it should help bulb development in the garlic and also help kill off any lingering pests like the whitefly that have plagued us in 2025. Come the weekend though, we were forecast one good and clear day, so it was an obvious choice as to which day I needed to spend some time up the plot.
I've got several lists of jobs to do over the Winter and if I don't get on with them, it will be planting time before I know it. One of the jobs I've been meaning to do is to sort out the lid to the IBC tank. To increase the water collection area, when I first put it in place, I stretched some UV stable plastic in a wooden frame, made a hole in the middle of it to line up with the hole on the top of the tank, and then weighted it down in the centre to make a low point for the water to run through the hole into the tank. I then run the guttering from the shed onto the lid and hey presto. It's worked well over the 18 months or so that it's been in place, but this Summer I noticed it was starting to look a bit worse for wear. Especially as the local cat population seem to have taken a liking to it and started to use it as a bed. On closer inspection, I could also see that they'd started using it as a scratching post too! Cheeky blighters!
Job number one. Remove the lid and fit the filter in the top of the tank. Tick. I had my drill with me so while I was there, I removed the wooden strips that hold the plastic in place, and re-stretched the plastic. The weight of the cats had stretched it somewhat, so it was probably not gathering as much water as it could have been. After stretching it out, it was out with the polytunnel repair tape to tape over the various slits and hole in the plastic made by the cats before putting the lid back on top. Then, I had an idea. Why not use some of that old chicken wire and attach it on top of the lid to prevent cats from getting back on there again?
This weekend has also seen the last of our parsnip harvest. They have once again been excellent. The final 3 came up and were washed ready to take home. I was surprised to find the top of another, but it appears to have totally rotted. There had been some sort of tunnelling rodent activity in that bed, so perhaps something had a nibble and killed it off, leaving it to rot. With that half bed now clear, I took a barrow of digestate, spread it over the bed and then covered it over with membrane, ready for the Spring.
It was a glorious day, and despite being just above freezing, it did seem to get warm in the sun at times. I was in no rush, so obviously had time for the obligatory brew!
The main job for the day was still yet to come though. Over recent posts, I have written about the new raspberry bed, and how I have been preparing that ready for the new season. There was one thing left to do for that bed, and that was to install some wires to help the canes keep in place as they grow taller and to stop them flopping over the paths either side. My original plan was to have standard garden wire and a few eyes. In truth, that all it would take, or even some string. But when I started looking, by the time I found the right sized screw in eyes, and the right gauge wire, I found that I could buy what amounts to a set of catenary wire and fixings for the same price, or cheaper. So, in a way, the solution is now way over engineered for what's needed, but it's done the job good and proper.
Though the job looks complete, it still needs a little tweak, but that needs a small spanner which I didn't have with me at the time. I had to make do tightening up the cable clamps with an adjustable spanner, whereas a 4 or 5 mm spanner will be much better. Also, I didn't have anything to hand that could be used to crimp the swages into place around the cable. For now though, jobs a goodun!
Other than a bit of watering, that's been about it for this week. The sweet peas sown last week haven't shown any signs of germination yet, but that's to be expected. I did add a bit more water to them though as they were starting to dry out a bit. Also, the flower seeds ordered last week have also arrived so when the time is right, I'll be sowing the marigolds and calendula ready for inclusion on the plot.
We're back to wet and milder weather for the week ahead, so hopefully the IBC tank will continue to fill. There's not much left to harvest now. Just some broccoli and lettuce. The red cabbage and cauli probably won't be ready for a little while, along with the sprouting broccoli so maybe I can ease off for a few weeks??? I doubt it though....
