Author Archives: james

Swimming, 22nd December 2020

I wasn’t able to get to the pool yesterday, so today was my first swim of the week. I stuck with the same set as last Thursday and Friday. I didn’t really feel on top of my game — for … Continue reading

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Veg plot 2021: More preparation

I happened to be chatting with a friend a few weeks back who said that if I was thinking of buying some fleece for the veg plot then he’d be interested in getting some at the same time. It’s getting … Continue reading

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No dig polytunnel #3

It’s been a while waiting for the peppers to finish so I can remove more of the edged beds from the polytunnel, but I’m finally there and that’s what I’ve been doing over the last couple of days as time … Continue reading

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Polytunnel garlic is go!

A month ago I planted a second batch of garlic in the polytunnel. There were two reasons for doing so: first because I couldn’t get hold of the variety I wanted when I was looking to plant outdoors (that variety … Continue reading

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Preserving polytunnel pepper plants

Prior to a couple of months ago I’d never really thought about peppers (sweet peppers and chiles) as perennials. In the main in the UK they seem to be grown as annuals. Since they are perennials, trying to keep them … Continue reading

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Veg plot 2020: Multi-sown radishes

I mentioned recently that I sowed some spare radish seeds in modules right at the end of September, four seeds to a module. A month later I transplanted the modules into the first new no-dig bed in the polytunnel. The … Continue reading

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Dib! Dib! Dib!

Well, ok, just the one will do. Inspired by Charles Dowding’s long-handled dibber that he uses for planting out module-grown plants in his no-dig plots, I decided I’d make one of my own. Unfortunately the only broken fork/spade handle I … Continue reading

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So, apparently deer like beetroot?

Or the leaves, at least. Whilst I was wandering through the veggie plot a couple of days back I noticed that all the leaves had disappeared from the beetroot. We have a few regular visitors, but none that could make … Continue reading

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Veg plot 2020: A fistful of leaves

The menu for this week required some salad leaves and whilst my wife was prepared to (horror!) buy something, I was determined to see what I could pull together from the winter salads even though it has only been ten … Continue reading

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Swimming, 18th December 2020

Same set as yesterday for today, but fortunately my lane was a little quieter and I was a bit more on the ball with the timings. I managed to get through the 50m set with no failures though I can’t … Continue reading

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