Out with the old...

‘Out with the old, in with the new ‘ and once that mother of all hangovers has disappeared who can resist that optimistic thrill the new year brings. The bright, cold new year’s day banishes any fugginess and it seems right to christen the first day of 2010 with an allotment visit. Clad in my brand new Xmas wellies the soil is crisp underfoot and we look ruefully at the parsnips– we can’t see ourselves prising those out of the frozen soil. There’s little to do here which makes the visit even more pleasureable – and even if it is the dead of winter there are always subtle changes  taking place. It’s like looking through a kaleidoscope: the elements are always the same but a brief twist of the dial can alter the patterns and colours so the scene becomes transformed. Today the monochrome view is punctuated  by the rosy hues of the remaining apple windfalls, the bright green of broad bean shoots and the muted colours of kale and cabbages. All is still and wintry, on the surface nature is quiescent, biding its time. But what’s this, buds on the blackcurrant bushes; under the soil things are stirring, awakening. Mmmm if I think about this long enough it all starts getting a bit spooky!

The bracing air of January certainly stirs us from our post Christmas torpor and I start thinking about new year resolutions. What are my gardening goals this year? Well firstly not having eyes bigger than my stomach when it comes to ordering seeds. I can’t help it I’m a sucker for all those pictures and exotic names promising plentiful harvests of myriad varieties. The snag is, to achieve aforesaid harvests, you do actually need to plant the seeds in the ground. As I speak I’m guiltily looking in our seed box at all the unopened packets, what’s this – mizuna, pak choi, amaranth. I bet they would have been brilliant given their chance in the sun. Oh dear! Then of course there is the seed box itself – a motley collection of torn packets some with nothing in them and a variety of foil squares with ‘who know what’ variety of seeds in them. This year the seed box will be arranged with military precision – in alphabetical order and this is the genius idea: I’m going to make a calendar of seeding times. So all I have to do each month is look to see what I should be sowing rather than exasperatedly riffle through all the packets. As for the planting itself I resolve to be more disciplined …. Each year we draw up a plan of action. It is a thing of beauty – an A4 sheet with areas marked out and illustrated showing exactly what we are going to plant and where. We are always very pleased with it – it looks like a finely worked piece of Victorian tapestry. It ensures we plant rotationally – avoiding sowing plants in the same areas and gives pleasing symmetry and design. Do we follow this plan of action throughout the year? Do we hell! The drawing is shoved into a drawer never to see the light of day again and when we are on the plot – we scratch our heads and say ‘where did we plan to put these?’. After a few minutes ‘discussing’ also known as  ‘arguing’ we just find an empty patch of ground – plant and hope for the best. The resulting hodge podge looks nothing like our beautiful drawing. As Robbie Burns said ‘the best laid plans of mice and men, gang aft agley’. Now I’m not sure what ‘gang aft agley’ means but I have a feeling it means ‘all gone to hell’. Ah but this year it’s going to be different the best laid plans will be strictly followed, every weed will pulled and seeds will be planted at the appointed time. Hang on, what’s that I see? How strange it looks like a flying pig!