A New Year on the allotment

After a fairly mild spell of weather, it has now turned very cold. We made our first visit to the allotment of the new year this week. It was a lovely day, although very cold. I needed veg so we went mainly to dig up some leeks--they are doing really well this year and are a good size. I cut some kale leaves too--those are not as good this year as in previous years. Next to the kale I noticed that the little cabbages which I had planted in the summer were growing well--still quite small but plenty of new leaves coming.  They should provide us with some nice early spring greens or small cabbages, as long as the pigeons and slugs don't get them first.

The plot was looking quite tidy and we were pleased with that.  We haven't been to do any work since the middle of October because I have been quite poorly with Rheumatoid Arthritis and was unable to walk properly or do anything with my hands.  On this last visit we had cleared most of the beds of dead vegetation, topped with home made compost and covered with membrane.

There's still work to done but nothing urgent:

• clear away the dead sweetcorn stems
• cut down the asparagus
• clear the old tomatoes and cucumber plants from the greenhouses
• prune the fruit bushes
• sweep up leaves from the paths

and as the weather improves and I get a bit more mobile we will work our way through the jobs.

 We sat awhile at the garden table with our flasks of hot tea  and slabs of Christmas cake, watching the birds and admiring the plot.

It was good to be back.

A few little jobs

On Saturday I popped down to the allotment  to do a couple of jobs whilst Richard was busy in the garden doing repairs to the fence. I went just to fill up the bird feeders, pull some leeks and the last of the cabbages. But once I was there, I decided to hoe and tidy the beds where I had been pulling up the veg. Then I decided to give the leeks a boost with some chicken manure pellets. I also noticed that the purple sprouting broccoli needed staking so I sorted that out too. There are always jobs to be done even in the winter.

When I arrived at the allotment site there was a pile of bark shreddings on the car park which had been left for the allotment people to take. I was quite pleased about that as I had been wanting to renew the bark mulch which I had put down on the path through the woodland wildlife area at the top of our plot.

The woodland wildlife area was originally made as a play area and den for the grandchildren. But they have grown a little older and have lost interest  in the allotment. Not me though, I love this little space. There is a bug hotel, a nest box on the big sycamore tree and shade and woodland loving plants. There's an old bench at the top, where it's good to sit and look down on the allotment. I found that putting the bark down has helped to suppress the weeds and it looks good too.

So another job I decided to do was to take a couple of barrow loads of bark from the pile on the car park. We both returned on Sunday to continue with the work, Richard barrowing the bark whilst I did a bit of tidying up and then spreading out the bark. The woodland garden is looking much better now.

More and more jobs

The heavy rain and blustery winds which we had last week changed to really cold, frosty days with snow in some places at the weekend--no snow here thankfully, it was dry and sunny so it was thermals on and down to the allotment to get more jobs done.

When we arrived at the allotment site there was a little bonfire on the car park, one of the plot holders had been burning some rubbish. We took advantage of this and added some rotting wood which we had been meaning to get rid of. I love an allotment bonfire especially in the autumn.

Richard then dug up and split the rhubarb plants on Plot 10b.  They have the most massive thick roots so I now need to find some really big pots to plant them up in.  There are far too many to plant on my allotment, but I hate to throw them away. I  did manage to give three of them to some new allotment neighbours.

This was the last big job to do on Plot 10b before we hand over to new tenants at the end of the year. The rest is just a bit of tidying up. The new tenants are lucky to be getting a good plot with beds already in place, and some fruit beds too.

Rudbekia coming to an end

On Plot 8 I  finally decided the annual flowers had to go.  I cut back the rudbekia, sweet peas, calendula, sunflowers and some wonderful scabiosa called 'Back in black'. I will definitely be growing the scabiosa again next year, it's a lovely deep, dark  red/burgundy which  looks good in a vase as a contrast to yellow, pink or blue. Most of my flower seeds were from Higgledy garden, they are really good value. Have a look at his web site if you like to grow flowers for cutting. Once I'd cleared all the flowers away, I weeded and we then spread some well rotted manure on the beds. Next year we will be growing peas and beans on this bed. The  flowers get slotted in where there is space, but they don't seem to mind.

Last of the rudbekia and scabious

You never get to the end of a jobs list at the allotment, there's always more to be done. As I was looking around feeling pleased with all the work I had done, I spotted the brassica bed, full of dead, yellow leaves lying on the soil surface. I knew I had to get rid of those before they spread any disease. Not only that, the bed needed weeding, the purple sprouting broccoli needed staking and there was a mulch of manure to be added to the areas where the cabbages had been. That done, it was getting colder and beginning to get dark.

Still more jobs to be done another time-- clear the pond of leaves,  weed and manure the asparagus bed, tidy up the strawberry bed of runners, empty the growhouse of dead tomato plants and dismantle because it's seen better days, put up the new greenhouse. More of all that on another blog.

Plot 8 looking better

Bad weather, lots to do

Heavy rain and strong winds have kept us away from the allotment recently. There's so much work I want to do down there still before the winter really sets in, so I watch the weather reports carefully and if there's any chance of a dry day I abandon any other plans and head off to get a few more jobs done. We had one dry but cold morning this week, so I packed up a bag with flasks and sandwiches--the house jobs would just have to wait.

Looking around the other allotments I could see that quite a few of our neighbours plots were looking very tidy, with beds manured and everything cleared away. I wished my plot looked so good. But then we are still in the process of moving stuff to my plot from Helen's plot which she is giving up at the end of the year. We have about six weeks left and as we never know how bad the weather may get--not just rain but frost and snow, we decided our first job would be to dig up the two gooseberry bushes which we want to replant on Plot8, my plot. It was not an easy job, as gooseberry plants are so prickly. Richard dug them out and I potted them up into large pots for the time being as the fruit bed on Plot 8 needs a tidy up before we can plant them. As usual it was a job which took much longer than I thought. The next job will be to dig up and move the rhubarb to my plot. I dug one plant up a few weeks ago and was amazed at how big the roots were. 

Gooseberry plants ready for potting up

Back on Plot 8 I looked at what needs to be done there. Some of the beds have been cleared and manured, but there's still a lot to do.

One bed weeded and manured

I cut back some of the asparagus foliage which has started to go yellow. As soon as it has all been cut back, I will weed the ground and cover with manure. The last time I was there I started to cut down the sweet peas,cosmos and other flowers which have now gone over, but ran out of time. Finishing that off is another  job for next time. The fruit bed is in a bad state with strawberry runners all over the place and of course there are now some gooseberry plants waiting to be rehoused there. 

The weather forecast says we could have snow at the weekend, I hope not.

Tackling the garden

 I've been so busy on the allotment recently that I've neglected the garden a bit.  The late spring flowers have all gone over now and it was all starting to look a bit wild and out of control, weeds were popping up all over the place.  In the last couple of weeks the work on the allotment has started to ease off a bit, so I've been able to start to give some attention to the garden.

When there's a lot to do in the garden I try not to let it overwhelm me by tackling too much all at once, so I work through the jobs at my own pace. I find it best to set myself a task of working on one small area at a time  depending on how much time there is. I try not to get distracted by the other jobs I can see need doing otherwise I end up up flitting about here and there like a butterfly.

So in the last couple of weeks I have had a few little gardening sessions, just working my way along the borders, cutting back the late spring flowers which have gone over, deadheading, weeding path edges, sweeping up, weeding borders. This is the time of year when I realise I cram too many plants into the borders, but at least they suppress a lot of the weeds.

As I've worked my way along the borders, I 've also made mental notes of bigger jobs which can be done in the Autumn. There are shrubs and trees which need a good cutting back and problem beds where I need to think about starting again and doing something different.

 A few weeks ago the predominant colour in the beds was blue. Now it's all changing and there seems to be a lot of yellow coming from alchemilla mollis, lysimachia and golden grasses. The hot colours of late summer are starting to appear. I can see red crocosmia lucifer, deep pinky red astilbe and knautia macedonica, a yellowy orange day lily and orange Kniphofia.

Although I haven't finished my clearing up of the garden it's looking much better and I'm able to spend time when we get a bit of sunshine, sitting and enjoying it, looking at all the lovely colours . That's what summer is about.

Getting the jobs done

Here we are in June and still waiting for summer, will it ever arrive? This week we've had some lovely warm days and maybe summer has finally arrived. But we've had some strong winds recently which have tested the stability of our allotment plastic grow house. Fortunately Richard secured it well to a strong base. This is its second year and probably its last. The zip has broken down one side and although we could probably buy a new cover I don't think it's worth it. It's served its purpose and Richard is making a base for another grow house or poly tunnel type of structure which he will build himself and will be much more stable. We don't buy things for the allotment if we can make them.

Things are starting to grow and it's looking nice and green with rows of broad beans, peas, salad leaves, onions, garlic cabbages and Brussels sprouts. The pea and bean frames are in place and so is the brassica frame.

This week I have planted out celeriac. I love celeriac but haven't quite mastered the technique of growing it.  Last year's crop was very small, but I will keep trying. I have also sown fennel, swede, more peas and more climbing french beans.  It always seems a mad rush at this time of year to get everything in the ground at the right time.  I don't want to miss out on any vegetables because I forgot to sow the seed at the right time.  But I feel I am getting on top of things and ticking off the jobs on the list in my allotment journal.

The strawberries are looking healthy.  They have had some lovely flowers and are now starting to form the fruit.  I have put some straw underneath the strawberries in the bath and still have to do the ones in the fruit bed. This year I must remember to net them before it's too late and the birds eat them all!

Watching and waiting

There's a lot of watching and waiting going on in the garden and the allotment  at the moment. I'm watching the weather each day to see if it's OK to dig or hoe the soil. Can't do that if the soil is frozen. I'm watching the weather reports --waiting for the weather to warm up, planning the week ahead--can we go to the allotment? Is it going to be dry? We 've actually had some really lovely dry days this last week . Cold but not enough to stop us working, and sunny too. There's so much I want to do but it's too early. But there are other things I can do while I'm waiting.

I've been watching for signs of Spring--new shoots emerging . And I've seen them! In the woodland garden at home the crocus are there almost ready to flower, the hellebores are flowering and the daffodils are poking their heads through the soil. So are the bluebells, but that's a few months away yet. At the allotment the primroses are flowering under the big tree and the bulbs pots I planted last year are emerging again--mini daffodils, crocus, snowdrops.

I've been watching the birds. There are lots about in the garden and the allotment. I have put up some bird feeders on the allotments. Plot 8 is just so full of birds it's wonderful to watch them in the hedge and on the feeders. There are sparrows in the privet behind the shed--so much activity there. There are birds in the shed roof too, we can hear them. I joined the RSPB after I'd done the Big Garden Bird Watch and I got a bird nest box as part of my new members pack. Richard fixed it to the big tree so we will be watching for signs of activity in there.

Watching and waiting. The allotments are quiet at the moment but there is a feeling that something will happen soon. The weather will warm up and work will begin. This waiting time is good in a way because it gives us chance to catch up with other jobs which sometimes get neglected when there's a lot of sowing, planting and growing to do. This week I have been cutting back a spirea which grows  against the fence in different places around the plot. In some places it's a bit of a nuisance, it seems to have taken over and gets in the way when we are working. So I've cut it right back and I'm going to plant something like a clematis or honeysuckle which will scramble along the fence between ours and the next door plot. I've also done some work in the woodland garden at home, clearing up debris, cutting back and planting  snowdrops. My next job is to clean out the growhouses.

Soon everything will burst into life and all the hard work will begin, in the meantime I'm enjoying the peace and calm that the watching and waiting brings.

 

Autumn jobs on the allotment

As we move into Autumn, the work on the plot changes. No more is there a rush to get things in the ground, no more sowing, planting, staking and netting. Now we are harvesting our produce, clearing the ground, tidying up and manuring. Now is the time to start thinking about those jobs we didn't have time to do in the summer, like laying paths, cleaning out the shed, clearing that overgrown patch of ground.

The leaves are starting to fall from the big sycamore trees which overhang both our plots. Soon I will be gathering up the leaves. That's reminded me that I need to sort out the leaf bin. I recently found bindweed growing in it coming from the plant which is growing along the fence between ours and the plot next door. After I have cleared out all the bindweed roots, I will give the bin a turnover to see how well composted it is. I hope to be able to use the leaf mould to cover some of the beds over the winter. Then I will start to add this autumn's leaves to the bin. The compost bins need turning too and the manure bins will be topped up.

This week I have been pruning the gooseberries and blackcurrants. I managed not to get too many scratches from the gooseberries.  Before I tackled the pruning I first pulled up the nasturtiums which had been planted behind them to climb up the fence. They had given a lovely display through the summer but it was time for them to go and they were getting tangled up in the fruit bushes. They were easy to pull up but left a lot of seeds behind, I think we will be seeing them again next year! Having got rid of the nasturtiums and as many seeds as I could get hold of I could then see how well the climbers were doing which we had planted last year to try to cover the wire fence.  The honeysuckle, ivy and clematis are scrambling away along the fence,  the cotoneaster has berries on it which is providing both food for the birds and some welcome autumn colour. Once the fruit bushes had been pruned I weeded the fruit bed. It looks very tidy now.

There is plenty of autumn colour from the apple tree on plot 8. The tree has done really well this year after it's re staking and pruning last year. The cut flower beds are also providing colour to the plots, but they are coming to an end now. Soon we will be pulling them up.

I'm always sad to see summer come to an end, but once we are into autumn I love the colours and changes that the season brings. I love the clearing away of all the dead plants, preparing the beds for their winter sleep and having a good tidy up  It's still a busy time yet as the autumn clear up continues, but soon there will be time to slow down,  time to rest and reflect, time to think ahead and plan for next year.

July on the allotment

Well here we are in July, halfway through the year, how time flies. There’s no let up in the jobs on our two  allotments at the moment. It’s a race to make sure seeds are sown at the right time and plants are got in the ground.  But everything is looking good.  I love to see the rows of vegetables starting to get bigger and I always think that once the bean frames are up in place then it starts to look like a proper allotment.  After a long dry spell of weather, we finally had some proper rain which has given the ground a good soaking and filled the water butts up.

We've been picking lettuces and radishes for a few weeks and last weekend we picked the first of the peas and broad beans.The brassica beds have been planted up with white cabbages, red cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale and purple sprouting broccoli. In the roots beds the parsnips and beetroot are coming along nicely.  Also in those beds  are fennel and celeriac. These are both fairly new to us crops. I tried growing celeriac a few years a go without success so I am giving it another go now on our new plots.

In the fruit beds, the gooseberries are ready for picking, the blackcurrants need to ripen yet and the rhubarb is enormous. I've already got a few pounds  bagged up in the freezer.

The weeds are growing fast. We try to keep them under control in the beds, but around the rest of the plot they grow at an alarming rate and I keep hoping I will soon have time to tackle them but there are so many jobs to do. I have a list of allotment jobs to do which never gets any shorter. As I cross jobs off, more are added.

This weekend I emptied the containers of  the first early potatoes (Rocket), picked more gooseberries, thinned out some of the flower seedlings in the cut flower bed, planted a pumpkin, fixed up some supports for the cucumbers and tomatoes in the growhouse and made up some comfrey feed. I was really pleased to cross all those jobs off my list.

Next week I hope to plant out  leeks and  celeriac, pot on basil and parsley seedlings, sow fennel and cabbage for the winter and do lots of weeding. 

Catching up

Life has been a bit busy lately. It is all due to having a new kitchen fitted, which has meant the rest of the house has been turned upside down. I've been falling over kitchen worktops and boxes of pots, brewing up umpteen times a day and trying to persuade the cat not to leave home. Then there was the cleaning up every day after the kitchen fitters had gone home and trying to cook a decent meal in a makeshift kitchen on the dining room table. But whilst the house was in such a mess, and fortunately the weather was good, I could at least escape to the garden and catch up with some jobs out there.

It's been good to have that time to appreciate the garden instead of dashing off to the allotment. I feel that I've made friends with it again. I've tidied the borders front and back, sown seeds for the allotment beds and tackled one or two projects. Last year when we had the big conifer cut down we saved some big pieces of tree trunk to do something with.  I wasn't sure what the 'do something with' was going to be at the time but I finally got around to 'doing something' with them.  I've also found two plants which I must have planted last year but I've no idea what they are and have no recollection of where I got them from.  They are growing very well and I'm looking forward to seeing them flower so I can identify them. Must remember to label plants.

The rest of the garden is looking good, as it always does in May.  There is lots of lovely fresh green foliage and blue, yellow and purple flowers--aquilegia, euphorbia, forget-me-not, brunnera, golden grasses, purple honesty.  Everything is growing really well and the borders are filling up at an amazing rate.

Finally the work is finished and I now have a beautiful kitchen, a spotlessly clean house and I'm back on speaking terms with the garden.

Happy Christmas

This time of year is so busy and I have done so much but not blogged a lot. I get so busy and everything has to be perfect for Christmas. Well it's now Christmas Eve and I have done all my jobs, baked loads, decorated the house, and that is it. Later on tonight I will be going to the midnight service at church. Then tomorrow and for a few days  it's family time.

I hope you all have a lovely time this Christmas, thank you for reading my blog  and for the lovely comments.

May the peace of Jesus be with you this Christmas time.

November jobs

As the growing  slows down in the garden, there's still plenty of work to be done. One job which I love to do at this time of year is to clean out the shed. (Yes really!)   That's what I did at the weekend when it was too damp to do much else in the garden or allotment.

I moved out all the big tools, like the mower, shredder and hedge trimmer and gave the floor a good sweep.  I tidied and swept the dust from the shelves and the workbench.  Everything got shuffled around and reorganised. There are always a lot of cobwebs and big spiders, that's the scary bit, but I managed to evict one or two.  I know they will return though.  I'm always a bit wary of what I might find under the workbench. I once found some gardening gloves and knee pads which had been chewed at by mice. Finally I cleaned the floor and bench with Jeyes Fluid. It now smells really clean and looks much tidier

Another job I did was to sweep up the fallen leaves. There are lots and I quite enjoy the clearing up.  It's a job which continues throughout the winter.   They are all over the drive and paths and this is the main area for clearing as they can get very slippy.  I don't worry too much about them collecting on the borders, they can act as a mulch if I don't have time to clear them up. They are all put into the leaf mould bin to make lovely compost.


Other jobs I will be doing this month are:

In the garden

• Cut back in the flower borders as foliage gets untidy. I leave attractive seedheads for winter interest and wildlife
• Trim the lavender. I think I should have done this some time ago
• Lift and store the dahlias
• Bring pots of tender perennials into the front porch or cover with fleece to protect. I often forget to do this and then lose plants
• Sow winter salad leaves in the cold frame and micro leaves on the kitchen windowsill
• Half prune the roses so they don't get blown about too much by strong winds
• Clear up all the summer bedding containers and plant up with autumn and winter arrangements

At the allotment

• Move the fruit bushes from our old allotment to the new one (blackcurrants, gooseberries and raspberries)
• Spread manure on the raised beds to rot down over the winter
• Sweep up leaves and bag up.  (We haven't made a leaf mould bin yet, or even decided where we will put one)
• Harvest cabbages from the old allotment and tidy the beds ready for the new tenants 
• Plant daffodil bulbs in the wildlife area

I'll be amazed if I get all those jobs done!

Making lists

I have to admit to being an obsessive lists person. When my mind is all jumbled up and I need to feel organised, I like to sit down with a notebook and pen and make a list. Whether it's making a shopping list , working out how I'm going to do a job, or making plans, it always helps to calm me down.

I make lists for everything, shopping,  jobs to do, holidays, Christmas.  And Christmas has sub lists, like cleaning jobs, things to make, things to bake, things to buy, who to send cards to.  I also do gardening lists.  That's another one with sub lists. There are allotment jobs lists, garden jobs lists, things I need to buy. I even made a list recently of jobs for my husband to do. He didn't mind and he's already done some of them.

When I'm reading garden blogs and magazines, I love the bits which say 'jobs to do this month'. I do find them helpful, especially when they appear the same as my list. Then I can see that I'm doing all the right things. But  sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed by the amount of work which needs doing. That's especially so at this time of year as the growing season gets underway.

This week I've been working on the flower borders, tidying up the dead foliage and fallen leaves, weeding and mulching with compost.  I thought I was doing really well until I remembered there were still all the other borders yet to sort and then there's the front garden too. *Sigh*. And as I worked I could see other jobs which would need doing like perennial clumps which need digging up and dividing, roses which need pruning,  the vegetable plot and seeds which I needed to get on with sowing. 

You never really get to the end of a gardening list. The list grows and grows. As you cross jobs off there are others added to it.  Ah well, I'll plod on, but first I'll update my garden jobs list.

Do you make lists?

Too much to do

One day last weekend I had a bad moment whilst in the garden.  I decided that I was fed up with gardening. There were so many jobs needing doing I just felt totally overwhelmed by it all. Every time I turned round I would see another job which needed doing. And then there was more to do at the allotment too.
I should be enjoying the garden, I thought, not working myself until I dropped.

Well, a week later I'm feeling better about it all. I've had a good week, lots of jobs done.  I've even managed to sit in the sunshine and enjoy being in the garden, (not for long though).  Chatting to a couple of gardening friends the other day and comparing notes made me realise it's not just me who spends huge amounts of time working in the garden.  I've also done some garden visiting (that's for another blog post). Now those people who open their gardens to the public really have their work cut out. That would really stress me out, I'm sure.

So I will continue to garden because I know that you never get to the end of a garden jobs list and for the garden to look good I have to work hard. But I will try to find more time to enjoy the results of all my work.