Monthly Archives: March 2025

The Anaesthetists Allotment – 20th March 2025

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Hello again! 👋

Welcome to this edition of The Anaesthetist’s Allotment. I hope you enjoy it.

Please feel free to follow, like or comment and I look forward to getting some of your feedback.

Disclaimer: I’m a professional anaesthetist, not a professional gardener. I do a bit of gardening and cycling in my spare time. I have grown veggies for many years and have learnt what works for me (sometimes!). These are my ramblings! I would be honoured to be corrected / advised by those with more knowledge than me!

General:

This is the 5th post of 2025 in this year’s series of

“The Anaesthetist’s Allotment”.

I’m heading off for a bit of much needed warmth and sun for a couple of weeks, so this is a very quick update before I head off.

I would normally have started sowing my seeds in the last week of March. This will have to wait until I get back now, so there will be a mad dash when I get back to get all of the seeds sown and started.

In the greenhouse:

Over the last few postings, I have detailed the emergence of the Acer Bonsai’s from their winter sleep. I am leaving those pictures in this week (for comparison purposes!) and adding the latest colour displays.

Last week, I described how the Acer Palmitum Atropurpureum (right), which I had turned into a Bonsai in January, was doing well. Tiny little buds (top) had developed along its branches had enlarged some more and were a bit more obvious at my previous posting (middle). They were even more obvious last week (bottom) and looked ready to burst into full purple leaf any time now.

The buds have now developed into a lovely purple-red coloured leaf across the plant. It’s looking great 😊

I also described how another Bonsai I had created at the same time, the Acer Palmitum Orange Dream, had sprouted leaves quite early on.

I wonder why it has that name? 🙄 😒!

It had gradually changed colour from red (top) to orange (middle left) then (middle right) and then to orange yellow (bottom).

Last week, it was an almost lime colour with orange edges (top)

This week, it has developed it’s full summer colours. A lovely lime green coloured leaf (bottom)

The display of fabulous colours over the last few weeks, from when it first started developing its leaves (above) to now, have been nothing short of stunning!

The Onions “Hercules” have mostly sprouted now, so I will plant them out into the allotment before I go away (see below)

Similarly, the Shallots “Longor” have also mostly sprouted now, so I will plant them out into the allotment before I go away (see below).

Unusually, they took longer than the Onions this year. Normally the Shallots are the first things planted out into the Allotment.

Veggie garden / Allotment:

The allotment is looking pretty bare at the moment.

The Onions “Hercules” from the greenhouse have been planted out into the allotment now (left)

A frame with netting has been put over the top of the Onions to keep the birds away (right). Otherwise the pesky devils pop all of the onions out of the soil whilst digging for worms and other delicacies in the freshly turned soil.

The Shallots “Longor” from the greenhouse have also been planted out into the allotment now (right)

A protective netting has been put over the top of the Shallots to keep the birds away (right). Otherwise the pesky devils pop all of the onions out of the soil whilst digging for worms and other delicacies in the freshly turned soil.

I will see you all in a couple of weeks with further updates. Things will really start kicking off at that stage.

I look forward to keeping you updated regularly on further developments in The Anaesthetists Allotment.

See you next time!

The Anaesthetists Allotment – 9th March 2025

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Hello again! 👋

Welcome to this edition of The Anaesthetist’s Allotment. I hope you enjoy it.

Please feel free to follow, like or comment and I look forward to getting some of your feedback.

Disclaimer: I’m a professional anaesthetist, not a professional gardener. I do a bit of gardening and cycling in my spare time. I have grown veggies for many years and have learnt what works for me (sometimes!). These are my ramblings! I would be honoured to be corrected / advised by those with more knowledge than me!

General:

This is the 4th post of 2025 in this year’s series of

“The Anaesthetist’s Allotment”.

It is officially Spring in the North of Scotland. The last three days have indeed been amazing! Lots of sun, very little wind and daytime temperatures up to 15’C!!!!!! “Have I somehow moved countries in my sleep?” “Is this really Scotland at the beginning of March?” Yes and yes, are the answers to these questions. Amazing!!!! I have been taking advantage of the fantastic weather and been out for two long cycle rides 🚴‍♀️ (well long for me anyway!!!).

There is a catch – isn’t there always?

Tonight ………………….. everything changes!

Winter is Returning!

The winds start up again – not a gentle breeze, but our usual 50 -60 mph winds. The winds veer round into the North and the temperatures plummet back down. And rain, oh yes, back comes the rain, and perhaps more wintery than that, perhaps some sleet and snow. Ah well, back to the more traditional Scotland in early March then!

As it has only been a week since my last update, and things do not really move that fast in the Anaesthetist’s Allotment at this time of year, I do not really have a huge amount to share this week. Just a couple of wee updates:

In the greenhouse:

Last week, I described how the Acer Palmitum Atropurpureum (right), which I had turned into a Bonsai in January, was doing well. Tiny little buds (top) had developed along its branches had enlarged some more and were a bit more obvious at my previous posting (middle). They were even more obvious last week (bottom) and looked ready to burst into full purple leaf any time now.

The buds have now developed into a lovely red coloured leaf across the plant. It’s looking great 😊

I also described how another Bonsai I had created at the same time, the Acer Palmitum Orange Dream, had sprouted leaves quite early on.

I wonder why it has that name? 🙄 😒!

It had gradually changed colour from red (top) to orange (middle left) then (middle right) and then to orange yellow (bottom).

Last week, it was an almost lime colour with orange edges (top)

This week, it now has a lovely lime green coloured leaf across (bottom)

The display of fabulous colours over the last few weeks, from when it first started developing its leaves (above) to now, have been nothing short of stunning!

Veggie garden / Allotment:

The allotment is looking pretty bare at the moment.

Between cycle rides, I decided to take advantage of the amazing weather we have had over the last few days.

I got the hoe out and gave all of the beds in the allotment a good work over. I have managed to keep the beds pretty weed and grass free this winter. This hoe-ing episode was another opportunity to get rid of any weeds, grass, etc which had dared to intrude into my precious allotment! As well as to aerate the very top layer of soil.

Before my attack (right)

Looking much better after the work-over (below)

Part of the clean-up process involved taking the winter covers off the Cabbage Spring Hero, removing the weeds and gently hoeing the soil around the plants. These cabbages were sown in Autumn last year and have been out in the allotment all the way through winter. They have started to come on really nicely over the last couple of weeks as the days lengthen. Looking really good now (left). They are my favourite cabbage, with the best flavour of all the varieties I grow.

Once the maintenance tasks are over, the protective netting goes back on (right) to protect them from the pigeons, ice etc.

A few weeks ago, I described how the Garlic (Granny’s) (on the right of the row of sticks) had appeared after being planted in autumn.

At that stage, there was no sign of the Garlic Provence which I had planted to the left of the row of sticks. I had thought that perhaps something dreadfully horrible had happened to them and that they had demised. However, I was very pleased to see them appearing through the soil this week.

All is well in the Anaesthetist’s Allotment! 😊

Last year, I bought some Allium fistulosum (Welsh Onion; Bunching Onion) from a garden centre. This is a sort of “perpetual” spring onion which just keeps growing and dividing. I had thought that I would be able to crop a spring onion or two every time I needed / desired one. This proved almost impossible to do as the bunch was held together very tightly. So, I left the bunch to grow away and expand through the summer. At the end of summer, I dug it up and split it into individual “onions”. Each of these individual “onions” I then planted separately, such that I now had (hopefully) 10 to 12 individual plants which would bunch-up and develop over time. The theory being that I could then harvest bunches as and when crops were needed, and that others could serve as future parent-plants to produce more.

Good thinking 🤔!

But, they all seemed to die off as winter approached.

A miracle! Each of the Welsh Onion’s, which I had planted, has now started growing and have already started bunching up, even at this very early stage. 🙌

Again, all is well in the Anaesthetist’s Allotment! 😊

I look forward to keeping you updated regularly on further developments in The Anaesthetists Allotment.

See you next time!

The Anaesthetists Allotment – 2nd March 2025

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Hello again! 👋

Welcome to this edition of The Anaesthetist’s Allotment. I hope you enjoy it.

Please feel free to follow, like or comment and I look forward to getting some of your feedback.

Disclaimer: I’m a professional anaesthetist, not a professional gardener. I do a bit of gardening and cycling in my spare time. I have grown veggies for many years and have learnt what works for me (sometimes!). These are my ramblings! I would be honoured to be corrected / advised by those with more knowledge than me!

General:

This is the 3rd post of 2025 in this year’s series of

“The Anaesthetist’s Allotment”.

Winter still holds sway in the North of Scotland. The skies are clear (well they were yesterday!) and there is no rain. Temperatures are also a wee bit better with minimum’s of -2 to +3’C and maximum’s of about 8’C. We had two days of balmy heatwave at 14’C – in the North of Scotland in mid-February. Pull the Other one! But it did happen – seems like Global Warming is indeed a thang!

The Snowdrops – are still going strong.

Lots in flower now and spreading out through the flowerbed from the original little clump very nicely.

Even some Heather is flowering. This is obviously not native wild heather as that usually blooms spectacularly on the hills around here in August.

More of the Crocus’s have made their presence known down the side of the driveway. Purple and Lilac colours are now starting to join the orange ones which seemed to be the first to show!

The Lilac Crocuses are also out in a magnificent display round by the greenhouse at the back. This is quite an achievement because this area is in the shadow of the house all winter and gets virtually no direct light.

I love the way that they have self-seeded into the lawn under the apple trees.

Similarly, in the pots at the top of the driveway, the purple and lilac Crocus seem to have swamped the early orange varieties.

Daffodils in the pots are growing nicely and have even burst into their lovely bright yellow flowers. It always brings some joy to this time of year.

It is so interesting how these Daffodils are flowering whilst those at the bottom of the garden have not even started poking their first leaves through the grass yet. I suspect that this is due to the sun-trap effect at the top of the driveway, together with the 20ft altitude difference which seems to make all the difference.

I have planted some Pansies in the pots to provide a bit of spring colour

At the top of our driveway we had a bed which had “done its own thing” over the years. It had become very over grown, with grass invading everywhere and was a real mess.

Eventually I summoned up the courage and attacked it. The shrubs were given a major haircut. The grass and weeds were trimmed right back to ground level. A weed preventative membrane was pegged to the entire area and a bark layer added to make it look a bit nicer.

Three full days of hard work. But it was worth it. Oh my! What a difference!

In the greenhouse:

Potatoes – Picasso were set out at the end of January to start chitting. This is a process whereby they develop tiny shoots in response to light, much as old potatoes do if you keep them in the kitchen for too long! This allows them to grow quicker and better when they are planted. It’s a sort of pre-conditioning.

I planted a few of these seed potatoes into two grow bags within the greenhouse. Hoping to get an early crop from these. But there is no sign of any growth in either grow-bags yet!

Last time, I described how I had bought a couple of Acer’s from our local garden centre in late autumn. In mid-January, I had given them a massive root trim and repotted them into proper Bonsai pots. They had seemed to have survived this radical assault at the time of my last post.

The Acer Palmitum Atropurpureum (right) is looking fine. The tiny little buds (top) along its branches had enlarged some more and were a bit more obvious at my last posting (middle). They are now really obvious (bottom) and look ready to burst into full purple leaf any time now.

The Acer Palmitum Orange Dream (left) sprouted leaves quite early on.

I wonder why it has that name? 🙄 😒!

It gradually changed colour from red (top) to orange (middle left) then (middle right) and then to orange yellow (bottom).

It is now an almost lime colour with orange edges (left)

Within the greenhouse there is a separately heated mini-greenhouse with artificial lighting.

This mini-greenhouse shelters my most tender bonsais from the harshness of winter. Even the frost-free greenhouse is too cold for them.

There are two Jacaranda Bonsai trees (top left), and a Ficus (Fig) (bottom left). Thanks to the mini-greenhouse they have survived winter, so far. This method has worked well for the last 3 years, so I have every reason to believe that they will survive.True, the Jacarandas look a bit tatty, but they will produce new leaves as soon as it warms up a bit more.

My other bonsai is a hardy Juniper (right). It is looking great after its winter in the normal greenhouse. It’s moss, well, not so much!!!

There is another heated mini-greenhouse within the main greenhouse (right). It also had additional artificial lighting. Within this are several salad crops. These have been pretty much dormant all winter, despite my efforts at heating and lighting 😔!

They are now starting to grow. I’ve sown some additional seeds recently which are also starting to sprout (left)

The Shallots have now started sprouting. I will wait another week or two to let them all shoot and get a bit stronger before planting them out into the allotment. They better hurry up as it is only 3 weeks until we head away on a wee sun-break.

Funnily enough the Onion Sets have sprouted quicker than the shallots. It’s normally the other way around. They are coming along nicely.

Veggie garden / Allotment:

Today’s wee harvest. I still find it amazing that we are still getting delicious fresh veg from our Allotment at this time of year and in the harshest of conditions.

This will probably be our last beetroot! The rest are still tiny after my disaster with them last year. I dont know that the rest will ever grow now!

The Brussels Sprouts are still looking and tasting a-maze-zing. They are soooo much better than shop bought ones!

Sadly the Winter Cabbage (Tundra) are now finished. The last one is halfway finished in the fridge. I will still get a couple of delicious coleslaws out of it.

I also had to take out the Kale today and relegate it to the compost heap. RIP 🪦! It had done well!

I look forward to keeping you updated regularly on further developments in The Anaesthetists Allotment.

See you next time!