Alexander Keith
Spring is a laggard in the North, and most amateur gardeners do not get really busy until April. T-hey will, of course, have dug their patches at the end of October or in November, and perhaps forked them over in February or March if conditions were suitable. They have spent long but pleasant hours by the fireside imagining the colour that from the end of June will ripple over the black soil.
Some people sow seeds in the open in March, but probably the experience with most people has been that no great advantage is gained. As a rule the soil is not warm enough and there is almost certain to be a cold spell. This spell is called by different names in vmrious parts of Scotland, the 'Teuchat's Storm ', for example, or ' The Gowk's Storm '.