Wind, rain and wreckage. All part of nature and gardening I suppose.

It has been a while since I have updated my blog. A lot has gone on since my last post and not all of it has been good news.

The new year started like any other with great anticipation for the coming growing season that lies ahead, but one thing that I did not think would happen would be the event that are about to take place. Since the new year there had been a few days where it was cold wet and windy and other days where it was dry and gales outside. Then came Thursday 18th January 2007. I remember that day very well. I was working at the computer whilst outside it sounded like a hurricane was sweeping through the country. The loft hatch was banging up and down with every strong gust. I was thinking to myself I don't think I will be seeing much of my shed which was on the allotment. The shed had been on the plot for about 6 years. I acquired it of a previous plot holder who gave up his allotment and had left the shed on his plot. I telephoned him and asked if it was ok if I could use it for storing my pots and to act as a shelter should it start to rain whilst I was working on my plot. This shed was a rickety old thing but I decided to have it any way and thought to myself when putting it up that it will not last very long, the first wind we get the shed will be in the field opposite. I put up the shed and made sure it was well secured to the ground. This was six years ago. It had stood up to very high winds and very heavy storms and I had thought to myself blooming heck this shed which looks as though a hamster could blow it down has stood up to everything that mother nature could throw at it and a little more. Well that was until we had the strong winds on Thursday 18th of January.

On Saturday 20th of January 2007 my father and brother went down to the allotment to pick some sprouts to have with out tea on the Sunday. When they came back they broke the news to me that the shed had finally been claimed by the weather. This was not a surprise to me but I was a little disappointed that it had been destroyed. I decided to go down and inspect the damage to the shed and to make sure the site was safe and that there was not more damage to any other plots. I was feeling a little tipsy as I had a lot to drink the night before and not a lot of sleep, but still I put my coat on and my hat and scarf, found the camera and we set off to inspect the damage. When I got down there it was apparent that I was not the only person who had experienced damage to his plot. A lady who had a very nice greenhouse had her glass completely smashed by the winds and another tenant had a few of his panes blown out. Also a large tree had been blown down in the field opposite to the allotment. Luckily it had blown down right by the hedge to the allotment site and had not fallen on or damaged the hedge. Looks like I will have to rebuild like a lot of other people who have lost sheds and greenhouses because of the bad storm.

Since the storm there has not really been a lot to report with regards to gardening because the weather has been rather wet and cold. Today I have spent some time in the greenhouse tidying up some chrysanthemums that I have been over wintering so I can plant them on the allotment plot later on this year. I have also sown some Rhubarb seeds as I tried to grow some last year and the germinated great I potted them up and grew them on in the greenhouse only for the vine weevils to invade and lay there eggs and then the rest is history. So this year I will germinate them grow them on until the end of March in the greenhouse then plant them directly on the plot to grow on. Also I am going to try allot harder to keep this blog updated.

The_Snail