I had intended to start this blog at the very beginning of the year, so that, if not every visit, every major change could be recorded. But the best laid plans, just like the best-built sheds, are liable to change and, in the shed's case, decay...

I made my first proper visit of 2012 to Plot 129 three weeks ago. The January-flowering daffodils were still showing their buds, but the blue iris had all but finished. My October-planted onions and garlic were all up and looking enthusiastic, and tiny buds were beginning to appear on the fruit trees. A new robin seems to have moved in - he's very wary of me, but hopefully will warm up once he's drawn the connection between me and newly exposed worms...

All looked rather good until I opened the shed door... A leak had sprung at the back, trickling through to the pile of books, down my List of Things To do, and right into a bag of compost! It couldn't have selected a better spot to Make Things Damp! So although my start to 2012 wasn't quite as I anticipated, it certainly reminded me of some of the challenges ahead this year!

I usually try to make sure there's a reasonable degree of crop rotation, and this year I'm trying to double crop - planting smaller numbers of plants a month or so apart to try to spread the yield. The weather has been so mild, and the ground reasonably well-prepared from the year before, that last weekend I decided to make a start and popped in several rows of legumes (haricot, runner, and butter beans, black-eyed and sugar snap peas) in the hope that the temperature of 15 degrees, light rain and sunshine would give them a good start. This week has been cold, dark and rainy. Of course :)