Life on The Weald - April 2025

and sundry distractions including a trip down memory lane

1 April - Frog spawn in the pond

Tuesday 1 April

The first day of April was a warm clear day with a maximum daytime temperature of 15C.  There was some good news in the pond, as I spotted a large clump of frog spawn.

More good news. there was purple sprouting broccoli to be harvested

1 April - purple sprouting broccoli

At home I had sown next season's crop.  I normally grow Early purple sprouting broccoli  which is usually ready for harvesting in late winter or early spring, but this year I have also sown some summer purple sprouting broccoli  which should be ready for harvesting in late summer or early autumn.

1 April - summer purple sprouting broccoli

Last year, Sylvi had received a birthday card impregnated with wild flower seeds, and I thought it was time to plant this out. I created a seed bed close to the pond where I put the card

1 April - last year's birthday card

1 April - last year's birthday card

The "A" frame that I had constructed  for climbing beans a few years ago was now well past its sell by date and I decided that it was not worth repairing, so I set about creating a more traditional frame for the beans.

1 April - a new frame for climbing beans

March had been a particularly dry month and the plot was in desperate need of water and the water supply was due to be turned on this week.  It was, but unfortunately there was a fault in the northeast quadrant, where our plot is located so we had to rely on water that had been collected/stored in our water butts.

Friday 4 April 

I had a go at repotting one of the Blueberry bushes.  It was not an easy task to remove it from the pot as it was totally pot-bound.  I loosened the roots, shaking off much of the soil and repotted it with fresh ericacious compost.  There was not much time spent on the plot as later that day I took a trip down memory lane to re-visit Crossness Engines for its 160th Anniversary.  One of my last duties as Chair of the Trust had been to preside at the sesquicentennial (150th) Anniversary in 2015.

a page from the Crossness 150th Anniversary programme

It was good to meet up with former colleagues, including Sir Peter Bazalgette, my predecessor as Chair and a descendant of the engineer, Joseph Bazalgette, who designed London's Victorian sewerage system which survives to this day.

With Sir Pater Bazalgette at Abbey Wood

We met at Abbey Wood railway station and then journeyed to Crossness on a refurbished London Routemaster bus that the Trust has acquired.

The Crossness Routemaster

From the gates of the Thames Water sewerage plant we then travelled to the Engine House on the newly completed Royal Arsenal Narrow Gauge Railway which has been built and restored by volunteers at Crossness.

The RANG engine

RANG Railway

6 April 

One of the Achocha seeds that I had sown had germinated alongside 4 sweetcorn but only 1 meteor pea.  Another day of distractions as it was the Brighton Marathon. In typical Brighton style, the woman who came third, in the elite section, ran in fancy dress, after her hen night, carrying an inflatable doll.  And a Hungarian runner proposed just before the Finish line. 

6 April - 3rd woman home

6 April - a Finish line proposal

8 April 

I planted out some mangetout that I had sown at home and also some Early pea seedlings that I had bought at a garden centre.

9 April 

Still not much success at home with my Meteor peas as only two of twelve had germinated, so I sowed some more. 4 of the 6 sweetcorn that I had sown had germinated and I sowed two more in the empty cells

13 April

Sunday 13 was a fine day and we made a brief visit to nearby Truleigh Hill

13 April - A view of the river Adur across a field of Alexanders

13 April - a walk in the woods

The woods were full of wild Arum lilies (Arum Maculatum) also known as Cuckoopint, jack-in-the-pulpit or Lords and Ladies.  Later in the month they will prouce a flower stalk, spadix, partially enclosed in a pale green spathe or hood, followed in the autumn by a sea of red or orange berries. The "pint" in Cuckoopint  comes from the old English word "pintle" or penis and refers to the shape of the spadix or flower stalk.  The name Lords and Ladies also refers to male and female genitalia and the appearance of the spadix and hooded spathe!

You are advised to avoid smelling the flowers, which have a faecal aroma, which, apparently, is attractive to pollinators. The berries are poisonous to humans, but not to birds who disperse the seeds by eating the berries.

13 April - familiar leaves of the Arum Lily

After a bright sunny day, there was heavy overnight rain, much needed following dry March and the fact that we were still without a water supply near our plot.

16 April

In the garden, the three cornered leek dominated not only one of the flower beds but had also begun to take over the lawn!  Also called Snow bells (Allium triquetrum) it is an invasive plant with stems that are triangular in cross-section. All parts of the plant are edible and the flowers, with a taste of mild spring onions, make an attractive addition to salads. 

16 April - three cornered leek

16 April - Lady among the Snow bells!

In some areas it is erroneously referred to as wild garlic but, although in the same family, wild garlic is a different plant (Allium ursinum) which has a much stronger garlic taste. Three cornered leek has long slender leaves whilst wild garlic leaves are broader and oval shaped.

When they have finished flowering, I will need to dig up and remove as many bulbs as possible (they can be used as leeks) otherwise they could take over the whole garden.  It is an offence to plant or dispose of it in the wild.

At home the dining room table had been taken over by seedlings o someting had to be done if we were ever have guests for dinner!

16 April - The dining table!

We cleared the conservatory to find a new home for plants. It is unheated but gets a lot of sunlight and does benefit from residual heat from the house.

16 April - clearing the decks

16 April - a new home for the seedlings

17 April

Whilst clearing brambles and bindweed from around the apple tree, I came across some wild garlic that I had planted last year and thought it had not survived.  I was pleasantly surprised and it was about to come into flower 😊  The photo shows that the shape of the leaves is ver different from those of the three cornered leek.

17 April - wild garlic

It was a day for more smiles at home as some of the more spectacular tulips were in full flower.

17 April - Tulip "Belicia" 

17 April - Tulip "Swan wings"

18 -21 April

Easter weekend, when many are busy on their plots, traditionally when industrial workers, especially miners, would plant their potatoes and other crops - Good Friday being the only day in the year when they might not be working - but for us it was a non-gardening  weekend with a visit from my eldest son and partner.  The weather was reasonably good so we did get out for a leisurely walk from Beachy Head to Birling Gap, passing the Belle Tout Lighthouse on the way.

19 April - the start from Beachy Head

19 April - Beachy Head Lighthouse

19 April - Belle Tout lighthouse in sight

19 April - arriving Birling Gap with view towards Seven Sisters

21 April

I will wait until they have stopped flowering before removing some of the three cornered leek, but I dug up a few which we could use as leeks.

21 April - Snow bells (3 cornered leek)

21 April - three cornered leek harvested

22 April

At home more exotic tulips were in flower

21 April - tulips "Eyelash"

21 April - tulips "Eyelash & Belicia"

22 April

Up on the allotment, the wild garlic was now in flower.

22 April - wild garlic  in flower

23 April

I planted out the rest of the dahlias which had sprouted in pots. Three of the twelve tubers bought from a reputable supplier have so far failed to produce any shoots - I feel a refund claim coming on.

24 April

I sowed some borlotti and cobra beans in trays indoors and as it was a warm sunny day put the tomatoes outside to harden off, bringing them in at night. This was a routine I would do daily with the tomatoes and peppers and other plants sown indoors until I feel it is warm enough, and not too windy, to leave them out overnight

25 - 27 April 

More excuses to be away from gardening as it was the London Marathon weekend, where I met some surprising guests, including chef, Gordon Ramsey who is also a marathon runner and at 3h 30m twenty minutes faster than me at my best!

26 April - with Gordon Ramsay

28-30 April

The Serbian Quince tree in the garden is now in its third year and is beginning to blossom, so I am hopeful that we may get some fruit this year.

28 April  Quince, Serbian Gold

The wild garlic,  also known as Ramsons, is now in full flower under the apple tree on the plot.

28 April - Ramsons (wild garlic)

The broad beans (Aquadulce) planted in October and November are also in flower and fortunately there is no sign yet of blackfly.

28 April - Broad beans in flower

And in the garden the Ceanothus was delighting us with its rich blue flowers.  I don't know what variety it is as the shrub came with the house.

28 April - Ceanothus

And the tulips continue to bring colour at the front of the house.

28 April - Tulip "fireworks"

I am now leaving the tomatoes and peppers out at night, hoping that the risk of frost has passed, although I'm still worried about the strong winds. We are still without a water supply on our plot.  A 1000 litre water tank has been supplied on the North East quadrant where we are, and which can be re-filled with a very long hose from the next quadrant but it is still a very long way from our plot to be carrying watering cans or buckets and my water butts are now empty!  Despite the occasional showers, the ground is still very dry, so not a good time to be planting out - just hoping that the water supply will be restored soon. Little was done in the last few days of the month and a further distraction was a community day out at the races at Brighton Racecourse on 30 April - great fun, but not a winner between us!

John Austin

Hove, April 2025

 Life on The Weald - March 2025

and sundry distractions

Spring at The Weald 2025 - My neighbour's plot

1 March

The first day of (Meteorological) Spring and St David's Day, but none of our daffodils were flowering yet! But my neighbour's were! It was a fairly warm day and, at home, I risked planting some Echinacea.  I had bought a bare root plant ("Rainbow Marcella") from a garden supplier. I added some compost and gravel to the planting hole and applied some organic mulch to protect from the cold.  The flowers are popular with pollinators and I'm hoping that by the summer this will become a buzzing social club for bees and butterflies.

2 March

Visitors staying for the weekend, to celebrate a family birthday, so no time for the allotment!  But a stroll along the Prom and a trip to Marrocco's with my granddaughter were obligatory.

Hove Promenade with Tilly

The best pistachio ice cream

3 March

A very frosty morning with clear skies but I managed a brief trip to the allotment and  replanted a gooseberry bush I had lifted a few days previously. I spent some time removing bindweed and couch grass roots from the ground where it had been growing and think I managed to remove any bindweed and couchgrass tangled among the bush's roots.  The bush is quite old and woody and has not produced much fruit in the past but I'll give it one more chance before deciding whether to remove or replace it.  This was one of four, so three more to tackle.

3 March - the transplanted gooseberry

A rare sight!  A bramble growing over the shed had fruited but the blackberry had not been picked, or eaten by the birds, had gone to seed and was rather beautiful.

Blackberry gone to seed

The sun was shining and the temperature around 10C in the afternoon - but it felt much warmer, so , at home, I planted some Gladiolus ("Red Ruby") corms in the back garden close to the Echinacea. I have also marked out an area, on an extended flower bed, to plant some Dahlias once the warmer weather arrives.

4 March

There was a heavy morning frost but this soon disappeared and it was a fine sunny day. Unusually for me I was out in my shirtsleeves, listening to a loud chorus from Blue Tits, Great Tits, Wrens, a Robin and some rather noisy Magpies.  There doesn't appear to be any frog spawn in the pond, and I know that purists suggest you shouldn't introduce it - a fellow allotmenteer says I should make my pond conducive to frogs and let them decide whether to come.  But another plotholder had a plentiful supply in her garden pond, not too far from the allotment, and I succumbed and introduced some.

4 March - arrival of frog spawn

5 March

Another dry day and the Hellebores in the garden were wilting, but happily they revived after a good drenching, but the soil is so dry despite having a lot of organic material.  Our problem is that we are overlooked by large trees - cherry, yew and bay laurel whose roots extend into our garden on the north side.

5 March - Hellebores

Thursday 6 March

It was a glorious sunny day everywhere in Brighton and Hove - except for the end of our road and the sea-front which was experiencing a very localised sea fog known as fret  (advection fog) which results from warm air passing over a cold sea surface.

6 March - the coastal road at the bottom of our street

6 March - kids on the BMX track

6 March - a lone skater on the roller rink

I took advantage of the sunny weather inland and sowed some radishes and Boltardy beetroot and dug a shallow trench for planting some First Early potatoes.

Saturday 7 March

The trench dug the previous day was ready for my first early Red Duke of York potatoes.

7 March - trench for potatoes

Before planting, I laid pieces of torn up egg boxes at the bottom of the trench, watered well and covered with a light layer of compost. The egg boxes will rot down, aided by the worms and help to retain moisture which will be essential if we have a dry period.  The trench was now ready to receive the chitted Red Duke of York.

7 March - 1st Early potatoes planted

The temperature reached around 13C but there was no wind, despite the weather forecast, and in the sunshine it felt much hotter.  I created a new temporary, decomposable seed bed from an old cardboard supermarket vegetable tray and I repotted one of blueberries in some fresh ericaceous compost.  I laid cardboard and woodchip mulch either side of the asparagus (which was yet to appear) and picked some of the forced rhubarb.

Sunday 8 March 

It was another dry sunny day and there was the first sign of the broccoli sprouting.

8 March - first sign of purple sprouting broccoli

We also picked some more forced rhubarb which had been grown under an inverted recycling box.

8 March - forced rhubarb

8 March -cover removed from rhubarb

8 March - a compostible seed bed

Sylvi continued work on the greenhouse, removing brambles and plum suckers on the south side.  I sowed wild flower seeds that had been given out at Peter Gorbach's funeral in my recently created cardboard seed bed.

8 March - seeds sown In memory of Peter

At home the crocuses were still flowering and providing food for bees.

Indoors the tomato and chilli seedlings seemed to be doing well.

8 March - tomato and chilli seedlings

Monday 9 March

There were self sown aquilegia plants appearing in the newly dug patch for the dhalias which would be disturbed when I plant the dhalias, so I dug these up and put them in pots ready to be replanted later. Otherwise known as Columbine  or Granny's bonnet they are a short-lived perennial but usually appear through self seeding.

9 March - Columbine

There was still a good supply of kalettes  to be picked.

9 March - Kalettes

I planted a row of 2nd Early Nicola potatoes alongside the Duke of York and some Gladiolus corms in large pot.  I had bought a few plants for around the edge of the pond, Saxifrage, sedum and woolly thyme and planted these,

13 March

The tomato seedlings had all acquired true leaves and they were a bit congested in the seed trays so I began potting up the Beefsteak, Ruby Falls and Sungold.

13 March - Ruby Falls  tomatoes

13 March - Beefsteak and Sungold tomatoes

The following day we set off for Staffordshire for a family birthday weekend, travelling up in our campervan and had a leisurely drive home stopping off in the Cotswolds for a couple of nights.

19 March - River Windrush at Witney

Thursday 20 March 

The seedlings at home and the plants on the allotment had survived our absence but everyting was very dry as there had been no rain.  We picked some purple sprouting broccoli and rhubarb...

20 March - purple sprouting broccoli

...and there was much more yet to be harvested.

20 March - purple sprouting broccoli

20 March - forced rhubarb

At home the crocuses  were past their best, but still providing food for the bees.

20 March - Buff-tailed bumblebee on crocuses

Friday 21 March 

At home I sowed Kalettes and Summer purple sprouting broccoli. Summer broccoli was a first for me - I usually sow early purple sprouting broccoli which is usually harvested late winter and early spring.  The seed packet for the summer broccoli says I should get a crop in August/September - we shall wait and see!

I also potted on some of the remaining tomatoes and some of the chillies - Aji Limon, purple jalapeño, Santa Fe and early jalapeño.

21 March - chillies ready for potting on

21 March - chillies potted on

Saturday 22 March 

We spent an interesting morning on an organised foraging session at Whitehawk.

22 March Whitehawk Hill and Brighton Racecourse

We made a variety of infusions, herb vinegar, flower infused honey and pesto, mostly using freshly picked wild herbs and flowers.

21 March - Burdock, Dandelion & ginger tea

22 March - Flower infused honey

Sunday 23 March 

There was no real rain, just a persistent drizzle and it was very cold! We should have been celebrating the spring equinox with the Organic Gardening Group but they decided to postpone the event.  We did make a brief visit to the plot and picked some Purple Sprouting Broccoil, Kalettes and Chard.

Sunday 24 March

I planted two rows of 2nd early Charlotte Potatoes.

Tuesday 25 March 

On Tuesday there were signs that the summer purple sprouting broccoli seeds, sown at home on 21 March were already germinating.

25 March - summer sprouting broccoli

Wednesday 26 March

A day later and the Kalettes had germinated.  

26 March - kalettes

This put me in sowing mood and a sowed some seed trays with Calendula and Pansy, both plants having edible flowers.  I also sowed some Early purple sprouting broccoli and Cavolo Nero 

Thursday 27 March 

The sowing continued with some Boltardy beetroot directly in a bed with the radishes and I cleared all the existing crop of Cavolo nero as it was going to seed.

27 March - Boltardy beetroot sown between the radishes

Saturday 29 March 

I sowed some Meteor peas and sweetcorn in trays inddors at home.

Sunday 30 March

Up on the plot the Duke of York potatoes were sprouting and I gave them a light mulch of straw.

30 March - 1st early Red Duke of York potatoes

There was more couchgrass to be cleared from around the pond.

30 March - tidying around the pond

At home, the Cavolo nero, purple sprouting broccoli and calendula which had been sown on Wednesday had already germinated but there was no sign of pansies yet!

I sowed Achocha seeds that I had saved from fruits given to me by a neighbour last year. Achocha  is native to Peru and is in the cucumber/courgette family.  It has a climbing habit and the fruits taste a bit like cucumber and a bit like green pepper.

March had been a very dry month with little or no rain and my water butts are now very low.  Thankfully the mains water is due to be turned on in a few days time.

Monday 31 March

Another excuse not to visit the plot as my granddaughter is moving to Brighton and was collecting the key for her new flat in Kemptown - another DFL! (down from London).

John Austin

Hove, March 2025