The merest hint of spring.

We are not even half way through February so winter is far from over and we could well have a dose of cold wet weather before spring arrives. Non the less, at least here in the Soft South, there is a feeling in the air of the growing season not being that far off. The bulbs are coming out in the garden, if you get out in the country you will see that some farms have already started lambing, and this year's seed order arrived in the post today. I'm pretty well up to speed at the allotment. The muck was all spread in the autumn, the broad beans have survived the cold December under a cloche made out of old secondary double glazing, and the plot is pretty weed free. I tend to be a bit conservative when it comes to growing and in the past have looked down my nose at "no digging" systems and the like, but the soil on our plot is so light and sandy that I have cut back on the digging this year and am just giving the ground a light forking over. We shall see how it goes. The main thing with this type of soil is to incorporate plenty of muck into it because it sure is hungry and at the first hint of being a bit mean in the fertilizer department yields will start to drop off. Growing stuff is like that; a constant learning process with never ending adjustments and fine tuning. Bit like life really.