chocolatelikesnow's Page

Potatoes Planted!

The potatoes are in the ground and raring to go (hopefully). We are currently running about 3 weeks behind previous years at the allotment, and I guess everyone else is in the same boat. The weather in the last week has been not too bad. It has been sufficiently warm enough to warm the soil enough to enable the weeds to make an appearance anyway...read more…See More

Apr 21

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chocolatelikesnow commented on chocolatelikesnow's blog post Pruning Autumn Raspberries

"Colin: I was wondering what to do with the canes - they are very prickly though. Stewart: I should have pruned mine earlier, but it kept getting put to the bottom of my very long "to do" list! This year I will follow your advice and…"

Mar 6

Colin Robinson commented on chocolatelikesnow's blog post Pruning Autumn Raspberries

"The old canes make useful supports for things like peas but make sure they are truly dead before sticking them in the ground as they have the annoying habit of taking root!"

Mar 3

chocolatelikesnow posted a blog post

Pruning Autumn Raspberries

The weather has been beautiful up here in the South Lakes. It hasn't rained for at least 2 whole weeks (the first extended run of dry weather since 2011) and on a couple of days it has been quite warm - according to my car we hit the heady heights of 12C on one day last week. I have a deadline to meet at the moment so am a little busy, however I have managed to squeeze in a couple of quick trips to the plot. After watering the seeds I have been sowing over the last couple of weeks, the first…See More

Mar 3

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chocolatelikesnow posted a blog post

Asparagus Update

So far, so good. It appears that my asparagus gamble is paying off. Yesterday I decided to take a look inside the cloches I had placed on top of the asparagus crowns that I planted earlier on in the month, and I was pleasantly surprised to find spears poking through the soil in 2…See More

Feb 24

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chocolatelikesnow posted a blog post

Sowing Seeds

I finally got my aubergine seeds sown. Well, 3 of them anyway - there isn't going to be enough space in the greenhouse for anymore sadly. This is a shame as the seeds above are from a packet of mixed aubergine, so it will be interesting to see what appears (hopefully)...read more.See More

Feb 18

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chocolatelikesnow posted a blog post

Asparagus Gamble

In the spring of 2011 I bought 10 crowns of asparagus (if I remember rightly Connover's Colossal) from a well-known mail order company. They went into a weed-free and well-prepared bed and I was very much looking forward to eating lots of asparagus in a couple of years. Unfortunately, only six of the plants produced any growth in 2011. Anyway, we left them to get on with their business, hoping that they may do a little better in 2012. Come mid-April last year I visited my asparagus bed on a…See More

Feb 10

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chocolatelikesnow commented on chocolatelikesnow's blog post Cutworm Prevention and Management

"Oh gosh I am sorry. I must have been half-asleep :) I will change it!"

Feb 10

Trevor Alun Davies commented on chocolatelikesnow's blog post Cutworm Prevention and Management

"You're very welcome to the ID and advice, but the name is Trevor!"

Feb 6

Trevor Alun Davies commented on chocolatelikesnow's blog post Bargain Insect Hotel

"£50!!! Does it come with a jacuzzi and an a la carte restaurant for them! I made one out of ground elder stems stuffed into the bottom half of a plastic bottle. not pretty, I grant you, but it works. Also, like Colin, I leave piles of rubbish…"

Feb 6

chocolatelikesnow posted blog posts

Feb 6

Colin Robinson commented on chocolatelikesnow's blog post Bargain Insect Hotel

"I just leave piles of assorted rubbish all over the garden and it's surprising what colonises them."

Feb 5

chocolatelikesnow commented on chocolatelikesnow's blog post Vine Weevil Larvae?

"Thank you for the ID and the advice. Much appreciated :)"

Feb 5

Trevor Alun Davies commented on chocolatelikesnow's blog post Vine Weevil Larvae?

"It's definitely not vine weevil, it looks like a cutworm which are moth caterpillars. They live in the soil, then at night they emerge and eat through the stems of your lettuce and suchlike, at ground level - which does your lettuce no good at…"

Feb 4

chocolatelikesnow commented on chocolatelikesnow's blog post Vine Weevil Larvae?

"I didn't think it was a caterpillar because I thought it was too short. I would rather it was a caterpillar though as the thought of having vine weevil larvae on the rampage throughout the plot (I found 3 in a very small patch of land) was…"

Feb 4