Highs and Lows on the Allotment

Last time I blogged about the allotment was when I was making plans for the year and buying seeds. Well, the allotment has now changed from empty beds and bare soil to looking like an allotment should with rows of vegetables growing. How it all changes in just a few weeks from bare soil to showing green.  For a while it was quiet and relaxed on the plot as we got on with all the preparation jobs and then suddenly it seemed like everything was happening at once with so much to be done--sowing, planting and weeding.

We haven't had much rain the last few months and last week the weather was really warm with record breaking temperatures. Its been too hot to do much allotment work except to harvest fruit and veg and do watering.

In the greenhouse the tomatoes and cucumbers are doing well and we have been picking some lovely little cucumbers.  There are so many of them we pick them while they are small to encourage more to grow. There are tomatoes appearing but not ripe yet. 

I thought I would try growing aubergines this year, I've never grown them before. I did read that they are hard to grow, so I have just got two growing in tubs in the big greenhouse. They have looked very healthy so far and produced plenty of flowers. I was really pleased to see that the first flowers on each plant have now produced tiny aubergines. However it looks like something has been eating them as there are  holes in them, one being very badly affected. I got rid of this one and decided to cut the other one while it was still small before any more holes appeared.

The onions are flopping over now so I will be pulling them soon. The cabbage bed is full of big cabbages, and they are looking great as the cabbages start to form hearts.  Also in that bed are Kale and Swedes. 

I was disappointed that the peas haven't done well this year.  The first lot were started off in lengths of guttering and there were three varieties.  They seemed to get weevil damage early on and some recovered but others didn't. The best ones were 'Onward' and I have been picking those recently. The second lot of peas sown straight into the ground also suffered from being nibbled by the weevils-or I have wondered if it was pigeons. So I had one last attempt to get some decent peas and sowed purple podded peas in guttering, then planted them out and they look ok so far.

Another disappointment was the broad beans. I don't usually have any problems with blackfly on broad beans, but this year I was amazed to see some of the plants totally infested with them. I pulled up the affected plants which was actually only two, then sprayed the rest with soapy water and pinched out the growing tips of them all. I hope this will keep the blackflies away now. I have been able to pick some of the beans and there are plenty left still.

The ground has been looking very dry and cracked with the lack of rain and I was thinking some of the seedlings might  not  survive. I have been watering as best as I can.  But in the last couple of days we have had some rain.  It may not have been enough to get deep down into the ground or fill up the water butts, but the soil now looks damp, the seedlings have perked up and everything looks much fresher.  

So although there have been some low points, the high points are that I  have plenty of crops to pick and I am buying less veg from the supermarket each week now.

Getting busy on the allotment

Its getting busier on the allotment now with plenty of planting and sowing jobs to do.  I have planted out two rows of broad beans  which were started off in the greenhouse in cardboard tubes. One row is 'Super Aquadulce' and the other 'Bunyard's Exhibition'. Once they were in the ground I sowed a double row straight into the ground of 'The Sutton'. They take two or three weeks to germinate and I always get impatient thinking they are not going to grow, but last week I was so pleased to see one poking through the soil. Then at the weekend the full two rows were almost through.  Never give up on plants!

The first lot of peas 'Douce Provence' were also started off in the greenhouse. These I do in lengths of gutter.  When they are ready to plant out and the soil is warm enough I make a shallow channel in the soil and ease the peas gently out of the guttering into their new home. As with the broad beans,  I sowed another row of peas straight into the ground to follow on.  This time it was the variety 'Kelevdon Wonder'.  

We have had all sorts of weather this April, very little rain, plenty of sun, but also some cold nights with frost. On the allotments people use different ways of keeping their greenhouse plants protected as most of us don't have any heat source. Some put mini growhouses inside their greenhouse, some make tents with fleece. I use bubble wrap or fleece. I try to keep very tender plants at home in the kitchen until they are strong enough or the weather warm enough to move them.  But space at home can be a problem. I had moved the tomato plants to the greenhouse and then we had frost so unfortunately I lost a few. Luckily I had grown more than I was likely to need and some had survived. It was also not too late to sow some more.

Most of the onion sets and shallots are now planted, just a couple more rows to get in. I have to do it in stages as all that bending down planting is not good for my back. These are in a big bed, the rest of the bed will be for the leeks which are growing on in the greenhouse.

All the potatoes are planted now in bags. This year I am growing Rocket, Charlotte and Estima. The bags are in various places around the plot wherever I could find space. Richard filled up the water butts at the weekend from the tap on the lane outside. We haven't had rain for ages and so I have been doing a lot of watering. When some of the fruit and veg are grown in containers they need more water.

There is a lot of planning and preparation and thinking ahead to be done when growing vegetables. So although some of the beds are looking quite empty at the moment, I have plans for what will be growing in them later.  Richard has put up new frames for the sweet peas which will soon be planted out. Next, the climbing bean wigwams will be put in place. At the weekend I took the membrane off the bed which will be growing brassicas.  There were still some weeds on the surface of the soil, but they were soon removed with the hoe. 

The asparagus has started to grow, I cut the first spear, there was only one, but we shared it carefully. Next time there will be more.

The flowers in the wildlife area are making the place look colourful. I also planted up a few pots with violas and  now that the daffodils have gone over the tulip tub is in flower.

Looking good on the allotment

 It's quite some time since I last did an allotment blog. So much has happened since then, but although things are not good in the world at the moment we have been able to spend a lot of time down on the allotment. In fact it has never looked as good as it does at the moment.

We have prepared all the beds and started planting and sowing. The potatoes-- Swift and Charlotte are planted in the containers.  Richard has been cutting some height off the privet hedge which runs down one side of the plot. It takes a lot of light off our plot. It has been hard work sawing through the branches but he has finished that now and it has made a big difference.

My kitchen has been full of seedlings for weeks now and it will be good to be able to see the windowsill again soon. I start most of the seeds off at home, then gradually the seedlings move out to the greenhouse at the allotment as they get stronger. It is filling up now, tomatoes and chillies are in there, flowers and leeks.

The allotment beds are starting to fill up. Peas and broad beans are in. I started broad beans ( Bunyards Exhibition) off early on in cardboard tubes and planted them in the ground in a double row when they were big enough. After I planted them I then sowed some more broad bean seeds (Super Aquadulce)  straight into the ground. I have been watching for ages to see signs of them coming through and last weekend there they were all through. I never fail to get excited by the sight of seedlings poking their heads through the soil.

The first lot of peas (Douce Provence) to go in the ground were started off in the greenhouse in lengths of guttering and as with the beans, once they had grown enough to be planted I then sowed another row straight into the ground.

This second lot are Onward. I'm hoping I will still have room for another row of beans and peas. These are vegetables which we really love so I try to grow as much as I have space for. We put three cane wigwams in place at the end of the bed for the climbing beans. I have started some off at home in the shed in cardboard tubes. I have done two varieties--Blue Lake and a purple bean Blauhilde. These will be ready to plant out in late May.

In another bed I planted the onions a few weeks ago--Sturon and Stuttgard. These were started off in cell trays and planted out when they had formed a root system. I find them easier to plant this way and they get a head start so are stronger and less likely to be pulled out by the birds.

In the brassica bed are two rows of cabbages--Kilaton and Greyhound. I covered them with netting as there are a couple of pigeons which keep coming on the plot and eyeing these cabbage plants up.

So things are starting to happen on the plot, it is all looking good. We are enjoying the time we spend there, it is a good place to be at the moment and we are happy that we are still allowed to go to our allotments.  It is quiet and we are well away from other people, we feel quite safe.

Getting back to work on the plot

The allotment has been really neglected the last few weeks whilst we have been busy moving house. Our time has been taken up with so many other things. I have been to the plot to water and check over things and every time I've been so aware of all the jobs which needed doing but I didn't have the time to do them.

This week, feeling more settled in our new home, we finally managed  a couple of sessions on the plot to do some much needed jobs. There was the greenhouse to sort out. The tomatoes needed side shoots removing and then staking. I had plants to get in the ground, some Savoy cabbages and flower sprouts. As this is the first year I am growing flower sprouts I wanted to make sure I got them planted.

Arriving on the plot we could see that the moles had been at work in the onion bed. The onion bed also needed a good weed. In fact the weeds were growing in abundance all over the plot. But it was good to see other things doing well. The Sweet Williams are full of flowers and the sweet peas are just starting to flower. The peas and broad beans have got pods on now and we will soon be picking them. 

And the brassicas are growing well too, although I did spot a couple of caterpillars on one cabbage even though it was covered in netting. Those cabbage white butterflies are very good at finding ways to get under the netting.

We set to work, Richard weeded the onion bed and sorted out netting frames for the cabbages whilst I planted courgettes, cabbage, flower sprouts, cauliflowers and swedes. The tomatoes got a good tidy up and it was good to see some fruits appearing.

I decided not to get too stressed about the weeds, it's more important to get the food crops looked after, the weeds will get sorted eventually.

Rushing around

There's lots going on at home at the moment as we continue with the house moving process.  And when the days are busy with sorting and packing, getting stressed over why things aren't proceeding quicker than we want, it's good to get down to the allotment for a break. This is where we find peace and quiet. It's our retreat place, a place where we can take ourselves away from the stresses and strains that are getting to us at the moment.

We haven't been able to get down to the plot as much as we would like, but I don't want to let things go and miss out on all the lovely veg which we look forward to. So it's a busy time trying to keep up with all the jobs. The allotment is looking good though. The second lot of peas and broad beans are now showing through. The French beans I sowed in the greenhouse have germinated and will soon be ready to plant out.

The greenhouse is a busy place. The tomatoes are ready for planting into their final big pots or growbags, I must do that soon. There are also flower seedlings to be transplanted. I love to grow flowers on the allotment, I am behind with that job but I have at least got the sweet peas planted.

At the weekend I planted out brassicas into the borders, cabbages, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohl rabi, calabrese. As I was planting, Richard was setting up frames with netting to protect against the cabbage white butterflies and pigeons.

We  have had what seems like  weeks of dry weather, the ground has been so dry, but this week the rain came and hopefully, the newly sown seeds of radish, carrot and spring onion will have the moisture that they need to germinate.

As I rush around trying to do jobs, although some things may not get done, I know that the allotment is looking good and if things get bad it is still a place where I can get some time out to relax and enjoy.

Planting time

After what seemed like weeks of continuous rain, the weather finally perked up and it was so good to get down to the allotment at last to get important jobs done. April is a busy time on the allotment and it's important to get seeds started off and plants in the ground.

The first job I wanted to do was get the early peas and broad beans planted. I had started these off in the greenhouse weeks ago. The broad beans were grown in cardboard tubes and the peas in lengths of guttering. They were both looking really healthy and strong. Last year when I did the peas in gutters I had quite a poor germination. So this year I sowed  more seeds in the guttering. The variety is Douce Provence, one I have not grown before. As you might expect, this year it looked like 100% germination, so there were an awful lot of pea seedlings!  They were sown in three short lengths of guttering which fitted easily in the greenhouse. 

The pea and bean bed had been well prepared in the autumn with a layer of manure. A few weeks ago I weeded and hoed the bed and applied some blood, fish and bone fertiliser.  So I was all ready to start. I made a trench about a couple of inches deep and six inches wide, slid the pea seedlings out of the guttering directly into the trench, then tucked them in carefully. In past years I used long lengths of gutter and found it difficult to slide them out, but using the shorter lengths was much easier and because I had sown so many peas they had rooted well together.

Next was the broad beans which I planted about four inches apart still in the cardboard tubes which will rot down in time. I had enough to plant a double row, about ten inches apart. There are two  varieties, The Sutton and Express, which I also grew last year. The peas and beans will need some support and I will do that soon before they start growing properly.

That was enough work for one afternoon and there's still plenty to do, but it's good to see things growing in the ground again.

Growing

With the coming of Spring and warmer weather everything is coming to life at the allotment.  The weeds are growing fast now, those little sycamore seed pods which fell on the plot in the autumn are now sprouting all over the place, the Himalayan balsam which grows all over the lane and explodes its seed pods everywhere is now germinating all over the plot.  They're all easy to pull out but they are a nuisance and it means I have to spend a lot of time on my hands and knees or worse still I'm constantly bending down to pull them out. No wonder I have back problems!   The sight of these weeds seeds tells me that the soil is warming up and I can now start planting some things outdoors.

We planted the first early potatoes last weekend--in bags and pots.  The onion sets which we started off in cell modules weeks ago have now been planted out. I sowed broad beans direct into the ground a couple of weeks ago and this week planted out some which I'd started off in the polytunnel in cardboard tubes.  We also sowed salad leaves, radish and spring onion last weekend.

I've been sowing seeds under cover for weeks now and I'm watching them carefully every time I go to the plot to see if any have germinated. Some take weeks to come through and when I've  almost given up hope there they are with their little green shoots emerging.

I never fail to get excited over seeing things grow, this is such a lovely time of year.

A busy bank holiday weekend

Whilst we have been digging and clearing rubbish over on plot8, there has also been a lot of work going on over on plot10b. We were very busy over the bank holiday weekend.

We now have two cold frames, one is a cheap one from Aldi and the other a quick build made by Richard with some bricks which were lying around the plot and an old shower screen which we had been storing in our garage for a time when we might want to build a cold frame.  It's only temporary but at the moment we are needing somewhere to harden off our plants.

In the roots bed we have sown parsnips, carrots, beetroot and radish and planted more beetroot and some  spring onion.  We have planted all our onions, garlic and shallots which were started off in cell trays. The peas and broad beans which were started off in the polytunnel have now been planted in the raised beds outside.  We also sowed another row of peas, a purple podded variety.

peas supported with twiggy sticks

Cabbage, brussels sprouts and cauliflower were planted in one of  the brassica beds and these were covered with some netting frames to keep the pigeons and cabbage white butterflies off for the time being. We have a plan in mind for a better system of netting them as they get taller.

One of allotment neighbours gave us some little gem lettuce plants which we planted in between the peas and broad beans as catch crops.

Plot 10b is not a big allotment and we are carefully planning our crop rotation scheme.  There is so much to plant and sow at this time of year that we are in danger of running out of space. We are glad we took on plot 8 . Even though it's not finished yet it will help us with any overflow of plants.