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.
