Are you crazy, it's frrreeeeeezing!?

The sweet peas have been sent out into the chilly, distinctly un-sweaty cubicle to fend for themselves. Again, germination has been patchy this year. So much for all that tediarse scarification and soaking . The first seedling had reached about 4 or 5 inches tall and was looking very skinny and drawn so I couldn't leave them indoors in the propagator any longer. The thermometer in the cubicle read 1°C this morning. This wasn't too bad seeing as it got down as low as -3°C driving into work.

We drove over to Charlton Park Garden Centre in Wantage on Saturday (24th) to buy the seed potatoes. They did indeed have loads of different varieties as promised! We bought Arran Pilot, Charlotte, Marfona, Picasso and Pink Fir Apple for ourselves. Alas, the BF15s weren't there. There was a label saying that they were still in testing with DEFRA and would be in stock at the end of January. We picked up Cara, International Kidney and Blue Belle for Laura and Jon and Arran Pilot and Picasso for Matthew and Bob respectively. We also picked up 2 bags of onions sets, Sturon and Stuttgart Giant and a bag of Golden Gourmet shallots. The sets look quite big so I hope they don't bolt. Much to Lee's disgust I bought a pair of 'cloggies'. They've already proved useful for quick trips out to the cabin and the bins - no more soggy, muddy slippers! Here's the spud plan for this year:

Chitting in progress

On the way back from Charlton Park we stopped off at a Farm Shop and bought some bits and pieces. A dozen lovely free-range eggs, some mushrooms, a big packet of bacon and a jar of fig jam. We visited the geese and chickens at the back of the shop but the geese went a bit mental, thinking we were going to feed them, so we made a hasty retreat! Lee needed to return a shirt to TK Maxx in Cowley so I took the opportunity to purchase a couple of warm sweatshirts for running and a wonderful wicker basket for a tenner for crop harvesting.

Watched 'My Neighbour Totoro' last night. Loved it! The cat bus lived up to my expectations. We decided that Toroto has carrot breathe though. I wish I could cling to his furry body and float among the trees and that he'd do his growing spells at our plot.