What do you do on an allotment when it is snowing and freezing to boot? One of those days that make your eyes water, nose run and ears sting. Most people would stay at home. We didn't. The greenhouses were dark with snow laying on the roof - surprising how something so white can restrict the flow of light so much. So we swept the greenhouse roofs and in the time it took to do a few other bits and a cup of tea in front of the gas fire in the shed, the roofs were covered again.

So far only minor losses in the greenhouse from the cold spell. Hollyhocks don't like the cold and an odd sweet pea is RIP despite a paraffin heater that we set up over the weekend. Some of our radish seedlings have died but a lot in the pot remain alive so we will see what happens with them. We are potting up the onion seedlings sown at beginning of January along with summer broccoli and cabbage into twelve cell trays. The January sowing list is complete and we are waiting to start February's list which is longer.
Our stored butternut squashes have started to go rotten so they are now chopped up and frozen ready to make butternut squash and apple soup. The onions in store are doing well although we were unable to get anything out of the ground to eat because it was frozen. Thankfully all thawed out now.
Back to buying potatoes from the supermarket. We left a lot in the ground and they have rotted. We are going to buy the first lot of seed potatoes tomorrow from the spud fair. Early spuds going in big pots in the greenhouse for our first new potatoes in June. The rest will chit in the shed well wrapped up in fleece.

In an attempt to reduce our manure bill for next year we have begun collecting stable manure to rot down over summer. 4 car loads and approx 100 bags later we have two large compost bins rotting away. In true dedication to the cause we are hoping to keep up the fortnightly trips and to build another couple of bins to accommodate it all. In the coldest of last week's weather our manure piles were steaming away, testimony to the good stuff within.
Outside bulbs continue to grow and snow drops have flowers on them. The bellis flowers were the only colour in the snow last weekend along with an odd pansy flower. The sedum is budding and tree buds are getting fatter slowly but surely. The promise of better things to come - better get on with those jobs then ....