2 February 2025 (Sunday)

Up pretty early and after some toast and yeast extract it was off to the allotment to pick up a wheelbarrow.

I’d decided some months back that I'd buy premium compost this year, particularly to do our seed sowing. The erratic germination that we had last year and also poor germination was, I think, down to the compost either being too rich and burning the seeds, it having some type of weed killer in it, or something that impeded the growth of seeds... Or a mix of all three. So, after looking online and also going to our local garden centre and a DIY store, I decided to buy some online that had been recommended to me by a fellow YouTuber. The bags arrived on Friday, and sat by the side of our house waiting to be taken down to the plot.

I spent a good three hours or so at the plot, doing the final segment of A Week at the Plot which in the end turned out to be sowing into module trays the two types of broad beans that I have left - Aquadulche Claudia and an own saved seed given to my by our plot neighbours. I SO hope that these do well as I need them to replace the ones that have been eaten by mice. Also, due to the significant numbers of mice that we seem to now have, I’ve put the sown modular trays into the greenhouse, as the greenhouse is mice-proof where the polytunnel isn't!

After lunch, and editing A Week at the Plot and uploading it to YouTube, I sat down and watched an episode or two of The Serial Killer's Wife (a Channel 5 drama I’d recorded; I thought it was pretty good even though I guessed right from the start sort of how it was going to end.

Our evening meal came straight from the freezer. It was the cabbage dish and Boulangere potatoes that I’d made a few days ago, all mixed together and topped with some grated cheese and then baked in our combination microwave. It was rather nice, and had with some tinned baked beans.

All in all, a productive and also rather relaxing day.

Weather: Sunny from the outset, though quite a frost to begin with. High of 7°, overnight forecast to be 0° again.

Breakfast: Lidl German Rye Bread, Butter, Yeast Extract
Lunch: Blitzed the leftovers of the Black Quinoa & Vegetable Stew (which were given to us after the meal by our friend down the road) into a soup.
Supper: Baked leftovers of Cabbage in the Troo Style, Boulangere Potatoes and peas mixed together, topped with a little cheese. Had with a tin of Baked Beans.