Starting planting

We finally seem to be getting a little spring weather. The days are sunny although the nights have still been frosty.
At the weekend I planted my shallots and onions, covering them with twigs to try to stop the birds "un-planting" them!

On my windowsill the potatoes are chitting nicely but I'm not putting these out quite yet. I'll keep them inside until the soil warms up a little - maybe next week.

We have had so many warm mild winters and early springs recently that it seems strange that I am only just beginning to start planting at the allotment. Some years I have sown leek seeds in February but even in a mild spring I seem to get better results if I am patient and don't start too early. This year I will have to be just that little bit more patient.

According to data collected by the National Trust, spring this year is between two and four weeks later than usual. This seems to be true around here. There are still lots of snowdrops in the banks by the road and by March they have usually finished. I noticed a few daffodils showing yellow in the village, again a few weeks later than usual. When spring is late all the spring flowers flower together over a shorter time period so it looks as if we could soon be in for a few weeks filled with flowers.

The spellcheck on my laptop doesn't like the word "chitting" and suggest chatting instead. It made me smile the thought of my potatoes sat in egg boxes on the windowsill chatting away to each other!