All the Plans...

...were thwarted by solid ground today. I was hoping that at least the raised bed would be protected enough to dig, as it wasn't frosted on the top. However, within a couple of centimetres the earth was full of frost - so not the time to be digging in preparation for garlic...

All this frost is good for clearing the nasties from the earth and it's nice to feel the Sun on your face, so, instead of working, we had a couple of hours on the plot chatting to our allotment buddy, Malcolm, and watching the wildlife around us. One particular thrush wasn't too bothered by our presence and seems to be making a good job of clearing the snails, judging by the many empty shells.

I did manage to break through the ground to pick two parsnips which I'm currently turning into soup.

There is some canker (Itersonilia pastinacae) on them, but plenty of parsnip left when that's chopped out. I think the canker is a result of the soil on plot 3, it's very compacted. Or it may be because of pest damage...

We're surprised to see that the Valerian has sprouted again on Plot 3. It didn't produce any flowers last year and we thought the Winter would spell it's demise, but it's looking quite healthy and pretty with pink foliage - strange, as the leaves were completely green on the plants last year. Will be interesting to see if it flowers this year..

I've now made parsnip and pea soup, with garlic and rosemary. Unfortunately we don't have any frozen peas, so I spent some time picking the peas out of a bag of frozen mixed veg! Not very satisfactory really. My soup wasn't as green as the recipe I saw online which put the idea in my head... Next time I definitely need more peas.

Starsailor are providing today's title...