THINGS have been a little bit busy on the allotment front, and on the home front the chickens and ducks have also started to produce their little packages of goodness!

The chickens are getting on a bit (at least four years old for three of them) and they're still laying regularly. I was under the impression that after a couple of years, production started to falter. The same with the ducks, they are now three years old and are still providing gorgeous tasting eggs. The ducks I bought from the Smallholder show, so I shall have to go back and see what other little beauties are available. I definitely prefer the taste of duck eggs to chicken eggs but then I find my chicken eggs are a lot tastier than free range supermarket eggs.

Planks disappearing

The beds have nearly been finished on the plot though I have a sneaking suspicion that planks of wood I salvaged from work, have been disappearing. I was sure that I had enough to do 16 8' x 4' (2.4mx1.2m), but 2 of the 8' (2.4m) planks have gone missing. One of my compost bins has also disappeared along with my wheelbarrow. I've managed to get the wheelbarrow back (hidden behind someone's shed) but the bin has completely disappeared. I was given a can of silver spray paint so now all the wood, watering cans, pots, in fact anything movable has been sprayed with my plot number and or a silver spot.

I hate having to do things like this but I can't afford to have the items taken, so you can imagine how annoyed I was when I turned the corner only to find that the 6'x4' (2mx1.2m) cloche I'd bought the week before, had gone (complete with a great big silver no 10 written on it as well!) The culprit was quickly revealed as the high winds from the previous day. However, I couldn't get the cover back on the frame as the winds were still fairly high and it was belting down with rain and hail, so the poor little peas that I had placed in the cloche for protection the previous week (Tafila from Unwins) had to face the wrath of Mother Nature. They did end up with a protection of fleece though just in case!

Bumper year?

Even at this early time of year there is a lot growing. Broad beans, onions, garlic, spring cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, radish, spring onions and peas are all going well. I'm still waiting for my Jerusalem Artichokes to start poking their heads out. These are a first time veg for me and I must admit that Carol Klein's Grow your own veg' programme did inspire me. I just wonder if mine will get as big as hers - photos later! Let me know how yours have got on in previous years and are they really as windy as their reputation? My early potatoes will be going into grow bags shortly with the maincrops going into the ground. Beans (both French and runner) will be started in pots of compost in time for putting in the ground in a month or so and saladings will also be started in pots. I really can't wait for the growing season to get going properly, so roll on summer. Though I have heard that it's supposed to be a very hot year this year, so does this mean that us fruit and veg growers are going to have to change our crops? Melons are very welcome but I can't stand the thought of losing my beloved parsnips. What do you think of these possibilities? I can be contacted at Urbansmallholder@aol.com.