A year of two halves

AS I look back on the year, I wonder where it has gone, and how I managed to pack so much into it. It wasn't a year that I was particularly looking forward to to begin with, as it contained a rather large birthday milestone. I managed to make it through that though, with only one hangover and one week of nostalgic depression.

Not wishing to sound like a football commentator, it really was a year of two halves. The early part saw the continued rise in popularity and expansion of the eco centre I was managing. The main straw bale building was completed and the second one well under way.

The place was filled with all kinds of people on all sorts of courses, from limecrete flooring to organic gardening to cookery. The raised straw bale planting beds continued to do well, being sown with a wide range of vegetables. The number of beds had increased to 30 which gave me plenty of scope to grow sufficient produce to supply tasty, healthy sustenance for all those who attended the centre.

The polytunnel first housed trays and trays of seedlings, and then rows and rows of tomato plants, French beans, squash, cucumber and sweetcorn. The wildlife pond that had been traditionally puddled earlier in the year retained its water well, gave life to its first batch of frogs and had a fabulous showing of water lily blooms. It offered a safe drinking point for deer, badger, foxes, swallows and hedgehogs, as well as providing a good source of mud for the house martins and swallows.

THE early promise of a good summer never materialised, though, and many of the vegetables suffered as a result. Having had such a long hot year the previous year I was inspired to sow more squash, sweetcorn, aubergines and chillies and even a few exotics such as watermelon and okra.

Unfortunately, the cool, wet summer meant that the squash didn't really ripen, the okra never developed past the flowering stage and the watermelons stopped as soon as their heads peeped over the edge of the beds. The chillies flowered and formed small fruit, while the aubergines rotted off on the plant.

The sweetcorn did do well, though, but so did the rats. They completely stripped out each and every cob one night.

The tomatoes came on beautifully and filled with fruit in all shapes and sizes. I returned from two weeks holiday in the summer to find them all blackened and smitten with blight. No tomato sauce this year. The potatoes survived the blight, but not the badgers. Straw bale walls are no barrier to the night time raider.

On the positive side though, the beetroot was fantastic; bountiful, full of taste and not woody at all. The beans (runner, borlotti and French) produced profusely, the spinach crop was endless and the parsnips did well, being frosted at just the right time of the year in order to sweeten their flavour.

THEN a few coincidences fell into place which changed the make-up of the year. A company from Sheffield showed an interest in the eco centre, with a view to growing wheat and making bread on the premises, and I was offered another job at a well respected local college that specialises in agriculture, horticulture and all things outdoors. This not only meant a new job, but also the start of looking for a new home, as we had had the pleasure of living down on the 33-acre eco centre, amongst the otters, owls, deer and woodpeckers, for over a year and a half.

It was a tough task finding a house that would give us the same open views, tranquillity and privacy, but I am pleased to say that we stumbled quite by chance upon a warm and welcoming house in a friendly North Yorkshire village that gives us all that.

The only downside so far is that we can't sit and watch our lovely Wiltshire horn sheep in the evenings anymore.

The sheep have stayed at the eco centre.

The new job brings new challenges; a chance to assess the horticultural trends of the year to come and an opportunity to try and provide a wide range of exciting trees, plants and shrubs for people to play with in their gardens; expansion of the farm and coffee shop supplying a greater variety of home-made or locally reared produce to sell; an opportunity to share some of the secrets of the gardening world with students with young, open minds and undented optimism. Here's to 2008 and all the adventures that come with it!

JOBS THIS WEEK

* Now is the time to take up the spade.

Work off those extra puddings, chocolates and cheeses by digging over the vegetable beds and any new borders. This is the perfect time to be doing so as any subsequent frosts will break down the bigger clumps into smaller ones.

* If you have had any tree work done this year and have put the off-cuts aside to shred or cut up, then do so this week.

Don't get the chain saw out though.

Work those arm, back and chest muscles with a good old-fashioned bow saw.

* Give pathways a thorough sweep with a stiff brush. Not only will it instantly brighten up the house and garden, but it uses plenty of calories, tightening the arms, stomach, back and shoulders.

* Brigid presents the BBC Tees Gardening show on Sundays from 1- 2pm. Questions can be answered on the day by emailing brigidpress@bbc.co.uk anytime during the week, texting 07786-200995 or phoning 01642-225511.