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.