New year, new diary, new plans, new look.

I'm a happy man today. The Christmas decorations have come down so that's that nonsense over and done with for another year. The holiday period has been one of total inactivity as far as the veg plot has been concerned but I'm feeling quite smug about that as experience has taught me that there really is no rush. I managed to get my Pendle Improved leeks potted on at last but time will tell whether the check in growth will bite me on the bum later in the season.

The next task will be to get a few onions sown and my shallots potted up. I saved my best shallot bulbs from last season meaning I have about 30 to replant plus a few picklers. I shall use the compost from last season's spud bags with some Vitax Q4 and Nutrimate added to keep them going until planting out time at the end of March. I shall fill 3" square pots with the mix , water well and nestle the shallots to about a third of their depth. They will then be left to their own devices in a cold greenhouse and not watered again until the roots are well established or we get some unseasonally hot weather. If we get freezing temperatures again it won't bother the shallots as last season the compost was frozen solid at times during January and February and they still went on to become my best ever.

A few weeks ago I cut the neck of the bulb back to just above the growing tip which you can feel between finger and thumb. This helps stop the emerging shoots getting tangled up in the dry neck tissue and the new shoots can emerge quickly without hindrance. Dave Thornton scratches the base plate and dips them in Rovril fungicide which he says helps prevent losses due to soft rots later in the year after harvesting. My bulbs seem nice and solid and I have only lost a few during the Winter so I shan't be bothering with that.

I have also been filling in my 2011 RHS diary with the season's sowing and planting dates with the various shows in mind, working back from each one, for things like globe beetroot and french beans. My stepmum gets me the RHS pocket diary every Christmas and I now have a dozen or more to refer back to and alter my dates accordingly. In this age of computer spreadsheets and online blogs I still find these dairies invaluable and there's nothing quite like checking back on your own written words and seeing what worked for you in a particular year. It's also interesting to see the variety names that have come and gone and those that still rule the roost.

And finally I have grown something over Christmas that will hopefully help me to get amongst the cards at Llangollen with peas. I noticed that the last two National champions the two Ians, Stocks and Simpson both sport beards. Now, whether my newly acquired facial fungus will attract the mildew away from my pea plants only time will tell but i'm prepared to try anything that may increase my chances. So, not only do I talk like a fanny but from now on my face also resembles one.