Ruby red potatoes with Blue and Yellow Leeks.

Mixed salad leaves and the glorious red of the Duke of York potatoes

Slowly but surely, the fruits of my labours in the garden are starting to pay dividends. Mangetout are becoming more plentiful with each passing day, much to the delight of the Mudlets, as they enjoy the crunch of the flat pods as a snack and are happy to find a handful in their pack ups. Thinning out continues in the first of the carrot beds and I can see from the size of the occasional exposed root top (which is then earthed up), that they love the bed they’re in this year and between the first two rows of carrots, the turnips are through – I need sow another row of those this weekend. The thinned out roots are still a decent baby carrot size and can be used as a much appreciated addition to our dinner plates.

A largesse of Leeks

Looks like a largesse to me!

There are certain words in the English language that I love to use whenever I get the chance because just the very utterance of them, evokes exactly what they mean. From small words like ‘splish’, ‘splash’, ‘splosh’ to larger words such as ‘glorious’, ‘abundance’ and ‘stupendous’, they are just ‘fabulous’ (see another one) words to use.

Planting out the Leeks

Newly planted leeks with their blanching tubes

Of all the vegetables I grow, I have to say that the leeks are the easiest to deal with, especially when they are ready to be planted out and so with the sun shining well into the evening on Wednesday but the temperature not overpowering, I decided to make a start at getting the largest of my leeks into the ground. I have quite a number of leeks this year, across two varieties but they should, if all goes well, see us into early spring next year, with the yellow variety ready in the autumn (but before the frosts) and the blue variety taking us through the winter months.

Leek and potato, with tomatoes and chillies

My lovely little seed chest

I had to nip into town yesterday morning to get the road tax for Thomas, the pick up truck, which is due Friday. However, I’m going on another school trip with the Mudlets that day and anyway, experience has taught me that leaving the road tax to the last day of the month is a big mistake, as it invariably results in me having to waste a significant amount of time, waiting in a unbelievably long Post Office queue with all the other owners whose car tax is due.

For those of you unfamiliar with the British Road Tax system, each year drivers of vehicles registered on or after 1st January 1973 (1974 from April this year I believe) have to pay a tax, the exact amount of which is dependent on engine size for cars registered before 1st March 2001 and the official CO2 emissions of a vehicle for cars registered on or after 1st March 2001, for the privilege of driving said vehicle on UK roads. So having cleared that up  …….

A different kind of pot to wash ……

Well today the sun is shining and temperatures have reached 14 degrees outside but, sadly the wind is blowing quite strongly, making it feel quite chilly and so my plans for digging in some more chicken manure have gone out of the window for now.

Four years ago the very thought of having to do a stint in the garden would have turned my blood cold. I hate ironing (definitely a chore invented by man – are creases really such a bad thing J ?) but given the choice, four years ago I would have tackled my ironing mountain with a great deal more gusto and enthusiasm, than I would have the gardening.

Not now though. I love my garden. I especially love serving my own salads and vegetables up as part of family meals for 6-8 months of the year and I have come to the startling conclusion that gardening is addictive – very, very addictive.