This has been an intensive allotment weekend. I have managed to persuade the tame photographer to come with me to the allotment on Saturday, Sunday and Monday - but we have had to curtail the length of time there as he seems to have lost his staying power.
The better weather and longer days have really brought on the crops. Everything looks good, and I was very glad I didn't give in last weekend and plant out my beans as the touch of frost on Monday and Tuesday nights got most people's beans and potatoes. Our potatoes seemed to unharmed and I earthed them up yesterday, pulling out bindweed as I went along. We harvested our radishes - French Breakfast - and they were the best radishes I have grown and we also had a bowl of mixed salad leaves for supper.
Other major tasks included quite a lot of weeding, preparing the soil and planting out a row of Greyhound cabbages, a row of calabrese, a row of brussels sprouts and four walking stick kale plants. I thinned out the salad bowl lettuce, iceberg lettuce and tom thumb lettuce and the tame photographer tidied the path edges and pulled up the purple sprouting broccoli plants while I dug up the remainder of the leeks, to make way for the brassicas. I also watered the strawberries with some tomorite to encourage nice fat juicy fruit.
Up at Lakey Hill the tame photographer laid 9 paving stones as a foundation for the shed on Sunday and today we erected the shed. We haven't put the windows in yet, and the roof is very makeshift, but apart from that it looks good. We are planning on a corrugated iron roof which extends four foot on two sides to create a veranda effect. The only problem is that it is very hard to come by corrugated iron - if anyone out there knows where we can source some close to South London - please get in touch.
The blackcurrant bushes I planted a week ago look fine - well two of them do and I have hopes the third one will perk up soon. The dahlias are no progressing very fast, but the potatoes look good. I had a real binge on the bindweed, but I'm sure it will all be back by next weekend.
Monday, 4 May 2009
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Goodness, how times flies! It's a month since I last posted an entry and lots has happened. The weather has improved, meaning I have been to the allotment a lot, and it has been the Easter holidays which has given me more time. Also, eldest son was home from university and encouraging me to visit the allotment.
Where shall I start? I guess, with the harvest. We have been eating purple sprouting broccoli for some time now, in fact I think today will be the last picking as it is all beginning to go to flower.
It has been quite delicious and a totally satisfactory vegetable to grow. We are still picking leeks
and spring onions but everything else from last year has finished, except for some spring cabbages which are still not ready to harvest. We have had the first rhubarb of this year - twice already so far, 
and the first thinnings of the radishes.
The two plots are both looking good - but Home Farm is really beginning to look like we mean business. I have sown red and green salad bowl lettuce and it looks almost ready to pick,
the leeks are growing well and so are the iceberg lettuce and the tom thumb lettuce. The parsnips have germinated and the spinach and swiss chard are coming along fine. The onions - winter, sturon and red and the shallots 
and garlic are all looking good and the beetroot and carrots are taking off. I have sown peas, and some have germinated and others have not - I shall have to fill in the gaps with more seeds. The broad beans are growing, but do not look nearly as good as last year. The strawberries are in full flower, so I am hoping for a good harvest there. 
The gooseberries have fruit developing on them and I have netted them against the birds - we might even get a bowlful!
In my greenhouse I have three types of brussels sprouts, calabrese, kale, kohl rabi, courgettes, pumpkin, marrow, runner beans, french beans, cucumbers, sunflowers, and cabbage all growing away nicely, ready for transplanting into the alloment as soon as I have prepared to the ground for them.
I also planted out my sweetpea seedlings so I'm hoping for a good show of flowers later on.
At Lakey Hill things are improving. Eldest son and I planted the potatoes just before Easter and they are now emerging and almost ready to be earthed up. 
This weekend I planted three blackcurrant bushes and four dahlias 
- an odd mixture, to be sure but it should look good. We are still digging and trying to removed as much bindweed as possible - but it is a neverending task. The grass at the top end of the plot had grown to knee height so the tame photographer and eldest son set to with a scythe and garden shears, and did a remarkably good job cutting it down. We will need to get hold of a strimmer, though to keep the grass at bay.
Today we acquired a second hand garden shed for Lakey Hill. A friend of mine had one she no longer needed so the tame photographer and I dismantled it this morning and took it to the allotment. 
Next weekend we will try assembling it and we will be a two shed family (that is excluding the four sheds we have in the garden at home!).
Where shall I start? I guess, with the harvest. We have been eating purple sprouting broccoli for some time now, in fact I think today will be the last picking as it is all beginning to go to flower.
It has been quite delicious and a totally satisfactory vegetable to grow. We are still picking leeks
and spring onions but everything else from last year has finished, except for some spring cabbages which are still not ready to harvest. We have had the first rhubarb of this year - twice already so far, 
and the first thinnings of the radishes.The two plots are both looking good - but Home Farm is really beginning to look like we mean business. I have sown red and green salad bowl lettuce and it looks almost ready to pick,
the leeks are growing well and so are the iceberg lettuce and the tom thumb lettuce. The parsnips have germinated and the spinach and swiss chard are coming along fine. The onions - winter, sturon and red and the shallots 
and garlic are all looking good and the beetroot and carrots are taking off. I have sown peas, and some have germinated and others have not - I shall have to fill in the gaps with more seeds. The broad beans are growing, but do not look nearly as good as last year. The strawberries are in full flower, so I am hoping for a good harvest there. 
The gooseberries have fruit developing on them and I have netted them against the birds - we might even get a bowlful!
In my greenhouse I have three types of brussels sprouts, calabrese, kale, kohl rabi, courgettes, pumpkin, marrow, runner beans, french beans, cucumbers, sunflowers, and cabbage all growing away nicely, ready for transplanting into the alloment as soon as I have prepared to the ground for them.
I also planted out my sweetpea seedlings so I'm hoping for a good show of flowers later on.
At Lakey Hill things are improving. Eldest son and I planted the potatoes just before Easter and they are now emerging and almost ready to be earthed up. 
This weekend I planted three blackcurrant bushes and four dahlias 
- an odd mixture, to be sure but it should look good. We are still digging and trying to removed as much bindweed as possible - but it is a neverending task. The grass at the top end of the plot had grown to knee height so the tame photographer and eldest son set to with a scythe and garden shears, and did a remarkably good job cutting it down. We will need to get hold of a strimmer, though to keep the grass at bay.
Today we acquired a second hand garden shed for Lakey Hill. A friend of mine had one she no longer needed so the tame photographer and I dismantled it this morning and took it to the allotment. 
Next weekend we will try assembling it and we will be a two shed family (that is excluding the four sheds we have in the garden at home!).
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Wow! It's a long time since I last posted an entry on my blog. Time seems to have sped past. The weather has not been kind, and we have been busy - however, I have managed to get up to the allotment most weekends so I will now do a fairly quick recap.
On Lakey Hill we have turned over the soil and weeds for about half the plot and begun to dig up any brambles outside the main patch at the back of the plot. I have been rather taken aback by the amount of bindweed root I have been uncovering - but hopefully, some serious digging will sort it all out eventually. I have also done a fine dig at one end of the plot and removed as much weed as I can find and it is now ready for the potatoes to go in next weekend! The rest still needs quite a lot of attention. Three of the trees on the plot are completely dead and will need to be pulled out shortly but the others are just about in blossom and hopefully will produce some fruit in the autumn. There is one bit of rhubarb which is looking a bit feeble at the moment. The tame photographer is planning a grand shed with a verandah around two sides for total sun catching - all he needs is the time to complete it.
Things on Home Farm are looking good as well. The purple sprouting broccoli is cropping really heavily at the moment. One neighbour told me last week that it was "Waitrose Quality"! What higher praise could you hope to achieve. And, incidentally, it is quite delicious as well as looking good. There are still leeks but not much else at the moment. The winter onions are doing well as is the garlic. I think the white onions are ok, but I can't remember seeing the red onions or shallots. I shall have a closer look next weekend. There are some spring onions ready to harvest that have been growing all winter. What else? The broad beans have not done well - only about half germinated but I have replaced the gaps with new seeds, so hopefully they will grow on. I have sowed radishes, swiss chard, spinach beet, leeks, parsnips and salad bowl lettuce, most of which has germinated. The parsnips and leeks haven't appeared yet, but they always take a bit longer. The spring cabbage I planted last winter is beginning to grow, so hopefully that will be ready in a month or so. My gooseberry bushes are looking good, the rhubarb is starting and the raspberries are also beginning to put on new growth - so all looks well.
Last weekend we turned the compost - and I was a bit surprised that it didn't look as good as I expected - but the turning and the warmer weather will probably bring it on quite quickly. We also tidied the shed as it was a terrible mess after the winter, and also a rodent (rat or squirrel) had helped itself to our bag of well rotted manure and spread it all over the floor of the shed. The manure now has to live in a bin outside the shed to keep it away from rodents and the shed has been left with an interesting aroma!
Well, that was a whistle stop tour of the last three weeks at the allotment - and hopefully the tame photographer will send me the pics soon so I can add them to the blog.
On Lakey Hill we have turned over the soil and weeds for about half the plot and begun to dig up any brambles outside the main patch at the back of the plot. I have been rather taken aback by the amount of bindweed root I have been uncovering - but hopefully, some serious digging will sort it all out eventually. I have also done a fine dig at one end of the plot and removed as much weed as I can find and it is now ready for the potatoes to go in next weekend! The rest still needs quite a lot of attention. Three of the trees on the plot are completely dead and will need to be pulled out shortly but the others are just about in blossom and hopefully will produce some fruit in the autumn. There is one bit of rhubarb which is looking a bit feeble at the moment. The tame photographer is planning a grand shed with a verandah around two sides for total sun catching - all he needs is the time to complete it.
Things on Home Farm are looking good as well. The purple sprouting broccoli is cropping really heavily at the moment. One neighbour told me last week that it was "Waitrose Quality"! What higher praise could you hope to achieve. And, incidentally, it is quite delicious as well as looking good. There are still leeks but not much else at the moment. The winter onions are doing well as is the garlic. I think the white onions are ok, but I can't remember seeing the red onions or shallots. I shall have a closer look next weekend. There are some spring onions ready to harvest that have been growing all winter. What else? The broad beans have not done well - only about half germinated but I have replaced the gaps with new seeds, so hopefully they will grow on. I have sowed radishes, swiss chard, spinach beet, leeks, parsnips and salad bowl lettuce, most of which has germinated. The parsnips and leeks haven't appeared yet, but they always take a bit longer. The spring cabbage I planted last winter is beginning to grow, so hopefully that will be ready in a month or so. My gooseberry bushes are looking good, the rhubarb is starting and the raspberries are also beginning to put on new growth - so all looks well.
Last weekend we turned the compost - and I was a bit surprised that it didn't look as good as I expected - but the turning and the warmer weather will probably bring it on quite quickly. We also tidied the shed as it was a terrible mess after the winter, and also a rodent (rat or squirrel) had helped itself to our bag of well rotted manure and spread it all over the floor of the shed. The manure now has to live in a bin outside the shed to keep it away from rodents and the shed has been left with an interesting aroma!
Well, that was a whistle stop tour of the last three weeks at the allotment - and hopefully the tame photographer will send me the pics soon so I can add them to the blog.
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Spring is in the air
Finally, the weather has improved enough for some serious allotmenting.
On Monday, I met up with the allotment manager and he showed me where the boundaries are for the new plot. It is all a bit hit and miss, but when we did some digging this weekend, we did find several posts hidden the grass that were probably the original boundary markers. I started doing some digging, but I have to say it is very hard work. There is a horrible amount of bindweed in the ground, but most of it is large whitish roots quite near ground level so not too hard to see and remove. The one advantage of digging at this stage is that there is nothing in the ground to get in the way - you can just dig and not worry about other plants being disturbed.
This weekend the tame photographer joined me and together we managed a goodly chunk of digging - about half of the area we want to cultivate this year. I must say, without the tame photographer, the digging would take forever - once he gets going, he is a real power horse! This is only a preliminary dig - just turning the ground over. I will do a finer dig and weed removal later on.
The only other major work was planting two gooseberry bushes I got for Christmas. They have been installed at Home Farm as the ground at Lakey Hill (new plot) is not quite ready - also there is already one gooseberry bush at Home Farm so it seems sensible to keep them all in the same place. The existing gooseberry is showing some good buds and I hope the new ones will follow this one's excellent example and produce buds soon.
I also managed quite a bit of weeding during the week. Home Farm is looking very spruce at the moment. We are still eating January King cabbages; they are delicous and I shall be growing them again next year. 
We still have leeks and it won't be long before we start on the sprouting broccoli. I really need to get the onions and shallots in, but it will have to wait until next week. We bought the onions and shallots from the allotment shop a couple of weeks ago.
We also got our seed potatoes from the shop - which we didn't last year.
Also, I think I need to sow a row of broad beans to go with the aqua dulce broad beans that are just beginning to grow. The garlic is growing nicely now after a winter of very little action.
The tame photographer brought me home a large bag of compost so that I can get started on sowing seeds ready to plant out as soon as the weather improves. I can't wait to start using my new lean-to greenhouse - it will be a treat not having seed trays all over the house this year. I have just checked the potatoes and they are all beginning to chit nicely.
I have just realised that I never posted any pictures of the great snow we had at the beginning of February. The pics are mine and not the tame photographers - so please excuse them!
The rest of the photos of this week's work will follow as soon as they arrive.
On Monday, I met up with the allotment manager and he showed me where the boundaries are for the new plot. It is all a bit hit and miss, but when we did some digging this weekend, we did find several posts hidden the grass that were probably the original boundary markers. I started doing some digging, but I have to say it is very hard work. There is a horrible amount of bindweed in the ground, but most of it is large whitish roots quite near ground level so not too hard to see and remove. The one advantage of digging at this stage is that there is nothing in the ground to get in the way - you can just dig and not worry about other plants being disturbed.
This weekend the tame photographer joined me and together we managed a goodly chunk of digging - about half of the area we want to cultivate this year. I must say, without the tame photographer, the digging would take forever - once he gets going, he is a real power horse! This is only a preliminary dig - just turning the ground over. I will do a finer dig and weed removal later on.
The only other major work was planting two gooseberry bushes I got for Christmas. They have been installed at Home Farm as the ground at Lakey Hill (new plot) is not quite ready - also there is already one gooseberry bush at Home Farm so it seems sensible to keep them all in the same place. The existing gooseberry is showing some good buds and I hope the new ones will follow this one's excellent example and produce buds soon.
I also managed quite a bit of weeding during the week. Home Farm is looking very spruce at the moment. We are still eating January King cabbages; they are delicous and I shall be growing them again next year. 
We still have leeks and it won't be long before we start on the sprouting broccoli. I really need to get the onions and shallots in, but it will have to wait until next week. We bought the onions and shallots from the allotment shop a couple of weeks ago.
We also got our seed potatoes from the shop - which we didn't last year.
Also, I think I need to sow a row of broad beans to go with the aqua dulce broad beans that are just beginning to grow. The garlic is growing nicely now after a winter of very little action.
The tame photographer brought me home a large bag of compost so that I can get started on sowing seeds ready to plant out as soon as the weather improves. I can't wait to start using my new lean-to greenhouse - it will be a treat not having seed trays all over the house this year. I have just checked the potatoes and they are all beginning to chit nicely.I have just realised that I never posted any pictures of the great snow we had at the beginning of February. The pics are mine and not the tame photographers - so please excuse them!
The rest of the photos of this week's work will follow as soon as they arrive.
Sunday, 1 February 2009
A New Plot
This week I signed the contract on my second 5rod plot. I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew, but I am really excited about the extra space so that I can have room for more crops. This new plot is at the other end of the site from my existing one and is situated at right angles to it, so that it gets the sun all day. It also seems to be less sheltered. It is slightly uphill and I know for a fact that there is no mares tail at that end of the site. However, a very brief dig today revealed plenty of bindweed root. At the moment about half the site has fruit trees on it, and there seems to be some rhubarb, and asparagus, I think. We shall see. It is quite overgrown, so it will be a challenge to bring it up the standard of our current plot. From the pictures below you can get an idea of the state of the plot.
This is looking up the hill from the main path. Our plot is the one in the distance. It begins where you can see the shed on the left (that is not our shed but belongs to the plot next to ours). 
This is a more close up view, showing the state of the weeds - quite some digging to be done, me thinks!
These weird logs have been "planted" at the end of the site. They have holes drilled in them at intervals and some of them are filled with a wax plugs. I have no idea what they are for, and suggestions include some sort of insect haven, or a mushroom log - does anyone know? Please let me if know if you have any ideas. Otherwise, I'm afraid they will probably find their way onto the fire.
And finally, a view from the end of the plot looking towards the path which is just the other side of the sheds that you can see in the distance.
My plan for the new plot is to use it for more permanent crops like artichokes and asparagus and more fruit - some currant bushes and perhaps a grape vine. I also thought it would be a good place to grow pumpkins, marrow and squash as they need so much room. I want to use Home Farm (existing plot) for most of the veg growing, not least because it is is better nick and I have an emotional attachment to it.
The allotment shop was open for business today following it's winter closure and I got my seed order. It feels as though spring is just around the corner. However, the weather is certainly doing its best to belie that! It was freezing there today. There was ice on the water tanks and at one point it began to snow. It was far too cold to do any work on the new plot (the wind was whistling straight up there) but back at Home Farm we did manage a little. I picked that last of the brussels sprouts and pulled up the plants. I then dug over the patch and the tame photographer collected some manure to mulch the bed with, to prepare it for potatoes later in the year.
I then cut down the raspberry canes and the tame photographer collected yet more manure to mulch them. You can see the pruned raspberry canes on their way to the communal dump as I felt they would take too long to compost. Also, there is a lot of bindweed amongst them, including quite a lot of bindweed seed which I really do not need. 
Again, a very cursory dig revealed vast quantities of bindweed root. I really am going to have to make it my mission to curtail the stuff. I also dug up a parsnip. By this stage the cold was beginning to infiltrate every part of me, and some hours later I am still not completely warm.
An update on the state of Home Farm is as follows: the sprouting broccoli is almost ready to harvest, there are several healthy looking January King cabbages ready to harvest, as well as plenty of leeks and still a few parsnips.
Above is one the beautiful January Kings. The onions are growing, but looking very chilly and the garlic looks fine (see below) and the spring onions are just about holding their own. 
The little spring cabbages are hanging on in there as well and I think there is some corn salad ready to be picked.
The broad beans have germinated and we have covered them with this shop bought netting. It looks a little poncey for the allotments, but it does the job, and in about half the time!
Below is today's picture of Home Farm! Not bad for a freezing February day, if I say so myself. 
For Christmas I got two more gooseberry plants, but the weather has been so cold and wet I haven't been able to plant them, but maybe I shall get it done next weekend.
This is looking up the hill from the main path. Our plot is the one in the distance. It begins where you can see the shed on the left (that is not our shed but belongs to the plot next to ours). 
This is a more close up view, showing the state of the weeds - quite some digging to be done, me thinks!
These weird logs have been "planted" at the end of the site. They have holes drilled in them at intervals and some of them are filled with a wax plugs. I have no idea what they are for, and suggestions include some sort of insect haven, or a mushroom log - does anyone know? Please let me if know if you have any ideas. Otherwise, I'm afraid they will probably find their way onto the fire.
And finally, a view from the end of the plot looking towards the path which is just the other side of the sheds that you can see in the distance.My plan for the new plot is to use it for more permanent crops like artichokes and asparagus and more fruit - some currant bushes and perhaps a grape vine. I also thought it would be a good place to grow pumpkins, marrow and squash as they need so much room. I want to use Home Farm (existing plot) for most of the veg growing, not least because it is is better nick and I have an emotional attachment to it.
The allotment shop was open for business today following it's winter closure and I got my seed order. It feels as though spring is just around the corner. However, the weather is certainly doing its best to belie that! It was freezing there today. There was ice on the water tanks and at one point it began to snow. It was far too cold to do any work on the new plot (the wind was whistling straight up there) but back at Home Farm we did manage a little. I picked that last of the brussels sprouts and pulled up the plants. I then dug over the patch and the tame photographer collected some manure to mulch the bed with, to prepare it for potatoes later in the year.
I then cut down the raspberry canes and the tame photographer collected yet more manure to mulch them. You can see the pruned raspberry canes on their way to the communal dump as I felt they would take too long to compost. Also, there is a lot of bindweed amongst them, including quite a lot of bindweed seed which I really do not need. 
Again, a very cursory dig revealed vast quantities of bindweed root. I really am going to have to make it my mission to curtail the stuff. I also dug up a parsnip. By this stage the cold was beginning to infiltrate every part of me, and some hours later I am still not completely warm.An update on the state of Home Farm is as follows: the sprouting broccoli is almost ready to harvest, there are several healthy looking January King cabbages ready to harvest, as well as plenty of leeks and still a few parsnips.
Above is one the beautiful January Kings. The onions are growing, but looking very chilly and the garlic looks fine (see below) and the spring onions are just about holding their own. 
The little spring cabbages are hanging on in there as well and I think there is some corn salad ready to be picked. The broad beans have germinated and we have covered them with this shop bought netting. It looks a little poncey for the allotments, but it does the job, and in about half the time!
Below is today's picture of Home Farm! Not bad for a freezing February day, if I say so myself. 
For Christmas I got two more gooseberry plants, but the weather has been so cold and wet I haven't been able to plant them, but maybe I shall get it done next weekend.
Friday, 9 January 2009
My birthday card
I have wanted to post this card that was made for me by my mother-in-law. My birthday was a couple of months ago, but this card was so wonderful that I had to share it. 
The pictures to go with the last post
Here, finally are the photos that go with the previous post. Below you can see a recent harvest and the parsnip in all it's glory!
This was almost a perfect specimen, only one straight root, and very tasty it was too. And the January King Cabbage and very fine it was!
I forgot to mention in the blog that we spent one Saturday removing an old water tank from behind the shed so that we could use the space for our enlarged leaf mould collection. The water tank, albeit rather attractive in an old metal sort of way, was extremely heavy to shift, not least because it was full of soil, but move it we did, and the wheelbarrow even survived the experience. 
You can also see the new leaf mould container, which is now full to the top since our trip last weekend. 
Now for some Christmas presents; the edging shears in action and the pitchfork, both in silhouette and in action at the manure heap.
And finally, the storm kettle in action. You can see the Christmas present trug with a collection of twigs for the storm kettle, and if you look carefully, the new pair of green gardening gloves!
This was almost a perfect specimen, only one straight root, and very tasty it was too. And the January King Cabbage and very fine it was!
I forgot to mention in the blog that we spent one Saturday removing an old water tank from behind the shed so that we could use the space for our enlarged leaf mould collection. The water tank, albeit rather attractive in an old metal sort of way, was extremely heavy to shift, not least because it was full of soil, but move it we did, and the wheelbarrow even survived the experience. 
You can also see the new leaf mould container, which is now full to the top since our trip last weekend. 
Now for some Christmas presents; the edging shears in action and the pitchfork, both in silhouette and in action at the manure heap.
And finally, the storm kettle in action. You can see the Christmas present trug with a collection of twigs for the storm kettle, and if you look carefully, the new pair of green gardening gloves!
Wednesday, 31 December 2008
Happy New Year
Christmas has happened since I last posted and there was an excellent garden related haul. I got a lean-to green plant house (green house) which I am going to install in the garden so I can get seedlings ready for the allotment. It has been too cold recently to put it up, but as soon as the weather warms up a bit, I will do just that. I also got a pair of long handled edging shears so I can keep the grass path tidy, a new pair of gloves, two netting tunnels and the tame photographer got a very handome pitchfork (shit shoveler!).
We ate our own produce for Christmas lunch - along with the turkey (not ours!) we had brussels sprouts, parsnips and butternut squash - all delicious, needless to say!
We haven't done much gardening in the last couple of weeks - Christmas shopping taking up far too much time and then, of course, the festivities themselves. But we did get down there on the day after Boxing Day. The new pitch fork was christened by moving a couple of loads of manure to our holding heap - and, amazingly enough, it really is better for the activity than an ordinary garden fork. We also baptised our new storm kettle. This is a fabulous device that we got for our birthdays. It involves making a small fire with twigs in a dish at the bottom of the kettle, which then heats up some water. It was fun to do and will be perfect for warm drinks and even soup on cold winter sessions. The great thing is that it only uses tiny twigs and the like, which are easy to collect round and about the site. I also used my new edger to great effect, and wore my gloves.
At the allotment the onions are beginning to grow nicely. They have almost all sprouted and the first broad beans are just beginning to show above the ground. The garlic has just started to grow and the spring onions and spring cabbages look good. We are currently harvesting leeks, parsnips, brussels sprouts, January King cabbages, spinach and the sprouting broccoli is just about to start cropping. It's quite something that we are still eating so much from the plot and I haven't had to start up the organic box delivery since I stopped it last spring. I do have to buy potatoes, carrots and the odd veg here and there, and I have just used the last of the onions.
Last week I put in my order for next year's seeds - it will cost about £30 or so and I have chosen a mixture of veg that did well last year and completely new ones for this year. I am still hoping to get another plot, and I really would like to have more space for all the crops I would like to grow. I still haven't done anything about flowers, but I would like some dahlias, sweet peas and sunflowers.
We ate our own produce for Christmas lunch - along with the turkey (not ours!) we had brussels sprouts, parsnips and butternut squash - all delicious, needless to say!
We haven't done much gardening in the last couple of weeks - Christmas shopping taking up far too much time and then, of course, the festivities themselves. But we did get down there on the day after Boxing Day. The new pitch fork was christened by moving a couple of loads of manure to our holding heap - and, amazingly enough, it really is better for the activity than an ordinary garden fork. We also baptised our new storm kettle. This is a fabulous device that we got for our birthdays. It involves making a small fire with twigs in a dish at the bottom of the kettle, which then heats up some water. It was fun to do and will be perfect for warm drinks and even soup on cold winter sessions. The great thing is that it only uses tiny twigs and the like, which are easy to collect round and about the site. I also used my new edger to great effect, and wore my gloves.
At the allotment the onions are beginning to grow nicely. They have almost all sprouted and the first broad beans are just beginning to show above the ground. The garlic has just started to grow and the spring onions and spring cabbages look good. We are currently harvesting leeks, parsnips, brussels sprouts, January King cabbages, spinach and the sprouting broccoli is just about to start cropping. It's quite something that we are still eating so much from the plot and I haven't had to start up the organic box delivery since I stopped it last spring. I do have to buy potatoes, carrots and the odd veg here and there, and I have just used the last of the onions.
Last week I put in my order for next year's seeds - it will cost about £30 or so and I have chosen a mixture of veg that did well last year and completely new ones for this year. I am still hoping to get another plot, and I really would like to have more space for all the crops I would like to grow. I still haven't done anything about flowers, but I would like some dahlias, sweet peas and sunflowers.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
The weather has been unremittingly awful since I last posted an entry - almost a month ago. We have been along to the allotment every weekend, just to do a couple of things. The ground has been far too wet to do any digging, but we have tidied up the area behind the shed and a couple of other small jobs. The tame photographer has been collecting manure from the communal heap and stacking it up in our third compost bin so that it can rot down for the coming year. Last year that worked quite well, so we thought we would try again. I have done a bit if weeding, and sown the broad bean seeds - two rows of aqua dulce. They haven't emerged yet, but maybe next week.
It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I got a garden shredder, so I have been doing a bit of pruning at home, shredding it, and then adding it to the compost, which all means the compost heap is getting to be a good size.
The brussels sprouts are still being harvested, the original cabbages are finished, but I picked the first of the January Kings this week. The spinach is doing fine, still and we are eating delicious parsnips. The purple sprouting broccoli is just about ready to start harvesting, but the rudolph is not quite ready yet. All the winter onions look good as are the spring onions so there is still quite a lot going on. Oh yes, and there are still plenty of leeks.
As I went to the allotment last week in the wind, rain and freezing cold, it did dawn on me how lucky we were with the weather last year. For the first couple of months, the weekends at least were sunny and not too cold. If it had been weather like we are experiencing this year, I'm not sure our enthusiasm would have been as great. However, such a brilliant first year started us off on the right track and this year the dreadful weather doesn't seem to be deterring me one bit. And hopefully it is killing off any horrible pests that might be lurking.
It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and I got a garden shredder, so I have been doing a bit of pruning at home, shredding it, and then adding it to the compost, which all means the compost heap is getting to be a good size.
The brussels sprouts are still being harvested, the original cabbages are finished, but I picked the first of the January Kings this week. The spinach is doing fine, still and we are eating delicious parsnips. The purple sprouting broccoli is just about ready to start harvesting, but the rudolph is not quite ready yet. All the winter onions look good as are the spring onions so there is still quite a lot going on. Oh yes, and there are still plenty of leeks.
As I went to the allotment last week in the wind, rain and freezing cold, it did dawn on me how lucky we were with the weather last year. For the first couple of months, the weekends at least were sunny and not too cold. If it had been weather like we are experiencing this year, I'm not sure our enthusiasm would have been as great. However, such a brilliant first year started us off on the right track and this year the dreadful weather doesn't seem to be deterring me one bit. And hopefully it is killing off any horrible pests that might be lurking.
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Latest pics
I've just got the latest set of pics from the tame photographer so I thought I would post one or two of them.
This heap is the well rotted manure which has been maturing for the last year - and it looks pretty good. Just behind you can see the row of sprouting broccoli which looks really healthy. The next pictures shows the start of next year's well rotted - but that is all we have been able to collect (see previous post for the sad state of manure following the credit crunch!) Hopefully some will have been delivered this week so we can continue the good work.
Below you can see the strawberry bed which I spent a good deal of half term weeding and tidying. I find it takes about three sessions to completely weed it - and it is backbreaking work. It looks better in real life that this photo, I think!
Last weekend, as I think I mentioned was wet. This picture show the brussels sprouts in remarkably stormy conditions, but I didn't stop our robin from visiting and looking full of it on his perch.
This heap is the well rotted manure which has been maturing for the last year - and it looks pretty good. Just behind you can see the row of sprouting broccoli which looks really healthy. The next pictures shows the start of next year's well rotted - but that is all we have been able to collect (see previous post for the sad state of manure following the credit crunch!) Hopefully some will have been delivered this week so we can continue the good work.
Below you can see the strawberry bed which I spent a good deal of half term weeding and tidying. I find it takes about three sessions to completely weed it - and it is backbreaking work. It looks better in real life that this photo, I think!
Last weekend, as I think I mentioned was wet. This picture show the brussels sprouts in remarkably stormy conditions, but I didn't stop our robin from visiting and looking full of it on his perch.
Monday, 10 November 2008
Rain, rain, rain
Nothing doing this weekend, I'm afraid. It has rained all weekend. I did collect some sage leaves and a cabbage but that was all. Also there has been no delivery of manure recently, which is what I really need to start next year's heap. Maybe it will arrive next week.
My neighbour, who is the eternal pessimist, suggested that the credit crunch would affect manure deliveries because people would not be able to afford to keep horses any more and so there would be less manure. Well, my view is that unless they actually kill the horses, which is unlikely, they will exist somewhere and if they exist they will no doubt produce manure. The only difficulty is if they decide to move to the country - then we are stuffed!
My most recent bit of manure spreading, next to the newly planted onions.
My neighbour, who is the eternal pessimist, suggested that the credit crunch would affect manure deliveries because people would not be able to afford to keep horses any more and so there would be less manure. Well, my view is that unless they actually kill the horses, which is unlikely, they will exist somewhere and if they exist they will no doubt produce manure. The only difficulty is if they decide to move to the country - then we are stuffed!
My most recent bit of manure spreading, next to the newly planted onions.
Monday, 3 November 2008
Birthday photos
The tame photographer has just sent me the latest pics from the allotment, so here they are, without a lot of text, as I posted the main blog yesterday.
A birthday view, with the plot looking pretty good for this time of year.
As you can see, the weather has been changeable recently, to say the least. 
Runner bean seeds for next year.
Supper - and they taste as good as they look.
Our first leek.
Late Tom Thumb lettuces, which are doing well under fleece. It's quite exciting having home grown lettuce at this time of year.
The winter onions, planted in ridges to keep them dry and warm, and under netting to protect them from birds. If they don't produce a decent crop it won't be for lack of effort!
The french window cloche - not quite finished yet. 
And, finally, my most used tool - often lost and rediscovered some weeks later in the compost!
A birthday view, with the plot looking pretty good for this time of year.
As you can see, the weather has been changeable recently, to say the least. 
Runner bean seeds for next year.
Supper - and they taste as good as they look.
Our first leek.
Late Tom Thumb lettuces, which are doing well under fleece. It's quite exciting having home grown lettuce at this time of year.
The winter onions, planted in ridges to keep them dry and warm, and under netting to protect them from birds. If they don't produce a decent crop it won't be for lack of effort!
The french window cloche - not quite finished yet. 
And, finally, my most used tool - often lost and rediscovered some weeks later in the compost!
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Happy Birthday
It's eactly one year since we got our allotment and I feel it is a good moment to sit back and take stock.
I can't quite believe a whole year has passed, but as we start to tidy up for winter and the beginning of a new year we can, I feel, look back on a very successful year.
The amazing thing is that we have had so much success. We sowed, or planted, or took advantage of, at least 35 different crops - broad beans, french beans, runner beans, onions, shallots, leeks, potatoes, beetroot, carrots, radish, lettuce, spinach beet, swiss chard, brussels sprouts, cabbage, sweet corn, kohl rabi, broccoli, pak choi peas, turnips, parsnips, rocket, courgettes, butternut squash, coriander, sage, corn salad, tomatoes, rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries. Most of them have produced quantities of delicious veg (or fruit) with a couple of exceptions. The pak choi germinated and started well, but rapidly went to seed before we could eat it, the carrots were a complete failure, the tomatoes suffered from blight and nobody liked the turnips, even though they grew well. Apart from that, the rest has been fantastic. I haven't brought a veg box from Able and Cole since May, and we are still eating our own grown veg, except for salad stuff - although currently I have some lettuces doing very well under fleece.
It would be hard to say what was most successful - possibly the strawberries and raspberries but in fact almost everything else was good.
From an all round point of view, I have been very pleased with the way we have kept the allotment neat and tidy. On the whole, I have kept the weeds at bay (even the bindweed and mares tail) and it still looks pretty much as it did when we took it over. Given that I am not a tidy person by nature, this is quite remarkable. The shed needs a winter tidy, but it is still usable, the compost looks good and the manure seems to have rotted down well enough for us to use it.
As I now settle down to the seed catalogues to try and decide what I want to grow next year, I look back on the last 12 months with enormous satisfaction. I have grown vegetables and fruit good enough to eat and to keep a family of four going, I have had a lot of excercise and fresh air and I have made new friends by the bucketload. The tame photographer and I have found a pastime that we both enjoy together, taking from it different aspects, (although I suspect I enjoy it more than he does!) My one regret is that we only have 5 rods of space. I have so many other plants I want to grow, I really need more room - artichokes, asparagus, pumpkins, more potatoes, currants, dahlias, sweetpeas, more peas, to name just a few. I have put my name down for another plot, but the waiting list is long, and to be fair, those without plots should have first choice - but more space would be top of my wish list at the moment.
Well, Happy Birthday Allotment, and here's to the second year and all that it brings!
I can't quite believe a whole year has passed, but as we start to tidy up for winter and the beginning of a new year we can, I feel, look back on a very successful year.
The amazing thing is that we have had so much success. We sowed, or planted, or took advantage of, at least 35 different crops - broad beans, french beans, runner beans, onions, shallots, leeks, potatoes, beetroot, carrots, radish, lettuce, spinach beet, swiss chard, brussels sprouts, cabbage, sweet corn, kohl rabi, broccoli, pak choi peas, turnips, parsnips, rocket, courgettes, butternut squash, coriander, sage, corn salad, tomatoes, rhubarb, strawberries, and raspberries. Most of them have produced quantities of delicious veg (or fruit) with a couple of exceptions. The pak choi germinated and started well, but rapidly went to seed before we could eat it, the carrots were a complete failure, the tomatoes suffered from blight and nobody liked the turnips, even though they grew well. Apart from that, the rest has been fantastic. I haven't brought a veg box from Able and Cole since May, and we are still eating our own grown veg, except for salad stuff - although currently I have some lettuces doing very well under fleece.
It would be hard to say what was most successful - possibly the strawberries and raspberries but in fact almost everything else was good.
From an all round point of view, I have been very pleased with the way we have kept the allotment neat and tidy. On the whole, I have kept the weeds at bay (even the bindweed and mares tail) and it still looks pretty much as it did when we took it over. Given that I am not a tidy person by nature, this is quite remarkable. The shed needs a winter tidy, but it is still usable, the compost looks good and the manure seems to have rotted down well enough for us to use it.
As I now settle down to the seed catalogues to try and decide what I want to grow next year, I look back on the last 12 months with enormous satisfaction. I have grown vegetables and fruit good enough to eat and to keep a family of four going, I have had a lot of excercise and fresh air and I have made new friends by the bucketload. The tame photographer and I have found a pastime that we both enjoy together, taking from it different aspects, (although I suspect I enjoy it more than he does!) My one regret is that we only have 5 rods of space. I have so many other plants I want to grow, I really need more room - artichokes, asparagus, pumpkins, more potatoes, currants, dahlias, sweetpeas, more peas, to name just a few. I have put my name down for another plot, but the waiting list is long, and to be fair, those without plots should have first choice - but more space would be top of my wish list at the moment.
Well, Happy Birthday Allotment, and here's to the second year and all that it brings!
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