It was my local Horticultural Society’s Annual Spring Show on Saturday which provided lots of colour on a lovely afternoon at the Village Hall.
I picked up a couple of 3rd places in the five Daffodil classes I entered. And received the Arthur Symns Trophy for most points in the Photography section. Chloe won the Children’s Cup for her Easter plate and drawing of a princess – she ended up with more prize money than I did with £7, and there was no buying raffle tickets, it all went straight in her money box – very wise indeed!
Click here to see a selection of photos from the show.
And what fantastic weather we’ve been having recently. Back on the plot I’ve been making the most of it. I’m pleased to report the long parsnips are up – Stage 1 complete! And they were Linford Christie parsnips in the germination stakes – sowed on February 20th they took around 30 days to come up (I’m not sad enough to be checking daily, yet!). Just waiting for the long and stump carrots to emerge now. I also sowed a few rows of parsnips direct in the bed.
Then I re-assembled my two plastic cold frames to cover some lettuce seedlings and carried on with some more digging and sowing. All the brassica seedlings are coming on well in the cold greenhouse and the chillies and tomatoes are doing OK on the bathroom windowsill. I’m going to sow a second batch of tomotoes this week to see how they compare. Then next month I’ll move onto the tender veg, cucumbers, squash, courgettes etc. A very busy time!
Hope you had a good weekend and are making the most of the extra hour in the evenings. Doesn’t it make a big difference?
Update – I managed to win Craig’s competition over at Dyke’s Edge Allotments. Thanks Craig! I must remember to get that Euromillions ticket, they say things come in three’s!!
Two Chances Veg Plot Blog 
Hi Damo, don’t forget to get in touch with me bud re: competition. I have goodies to send you 🙂
Cheers, Craig.
Hi Craig, will do thanks, I’ve not been spending as much time online in the last few weeks so need to catch up!
Parsnips look really good mate
Cheers mate long way to go though!
Congratulations on your prize-winning efforts, Damo.
Are those plastic coldframes any good? They look very lightweight. Can they survive a gale OK?
Thanks very much. The frames are quite flimsy. I picked them up in B&Q for a tenner each a couple of years ago and keep them in a sheltered spot, dismantling altogether over winter. So they do a job but I plan a more permanent arrangement – one of those jobs on the list………
Congratulations to you and Chloe. Well done. I know where you get the extra hour from, It comes from the southern hemisphere, I’m sytarting to feel like we have lost an hour in the evening as the days are getting cooler and shorter.
Good luck with the parsnips etc.
Thanks very much Tracy, our gain is your loss, I’m hoping we have a decent summer this year but I bet we don’t export our traditional Bristish weather to anyone else!!
I love the extra hour – I love pottering around outside in the evening after the meal, and ideal time to sow more stuff. Like your cold frames. Congrats on the prizes, though I did smile to read that your daughter netted more dosh 😉
Thanks Janet yes I think she’ll always get my money!
Hi Damo, you are an inspiration ! always doing something in your garden or on your plot. Well done on the prize cup for the Daff’s.
I must get my parsnip seed sown. I still have quite a few to dig up, I’m hoping they will be OK.
Thanks very much Maureen, I still have a few parsnips left they are a bit long in the tooth I suppose but I can’t be choosy at this time of year, still nice in the roasting pan!
The daffs look great – congratulations on winning!
http://greenfingersmum.blogspot.com
Thanks very much!
Congratulations to both you and Chloe, it won’t be long before you’re taking gardening advice from Chloe. I love the lighter evenings, I tend to get so much more done once the clocks go forward.
Thanks Jo I’m sure she’ll be a keen gardener one day.
Well done on the wins for both you and Chloe. Are you going to post the winning photo?
Thanks Sue I had two firsts and a second out of six classes – my favourite photo was the huge outdoor laundry in Mumbai which I entered under the class “Washing Day” but that was stretching the theme “Home and Garden” slightly although I’m sure there are 100s of people who live there!
Congratulations to you and Chloe 🙂
A busy time, as you say. We use the extra daylight to some tidying up done, unless it’s a sunny evening in which case we’ll be sat with the chickens 🙂
Thanks Mo, it’s great to have some extra daylight to get some chores done.
Well done to Chloe and you!
Good to see that your seeds are showing, and look forward to seeing how they progress.
As it gets lighter and warmer we’ll all be getting busier!
Thanks Flighty yes lots to do now Spring has arrived.
Wow, well done Damo! The slideshow shows there were some beautiful flowers and displays at the show, you did very well. Love the fact that Chloe won a prize for drawing, you must be a very proud Dad!
Thanks very much Carolyn, I am very proud indeed!