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.

A sunny start to the new year

January is a rather dreary, dark, and depressive month and I often feel that way myself. We hadn't been to the allotment since November and I hadn't felt inclined to do so, but motivated by a few sunny days, we got down to the plot to start work.

Not having been there since November meant there were quite a lot of jobs to be done. It was quite cold so we took soup and hot drinks to keep us going. I set to work weeding beds whilst Richard followed on topping the beds with manure. It looked much better once we'd finished--all covered up and snug for the winter. The leeks are not looking very big yet, they might need a boost of chicken manure pellets which I usually do at this time of year. I was pleased to see the garlic which I planted in November is coming through now.

My next job was to clear some weeds and cut back the dead comfrey leaves growing under the hedge. Once I'd cleared these I was pleased to see daffodils shoots coming through.

Another job which needed doing was to clean out the shed. This was a job I had been putting off as it had got quite untidy and dusty over the summer and I know that there are some really big spiders which live in the shed. But first I had to sort out the onions which were being stored in there and taking up a lot of space. I decided it would be better and more convenient to store them at home in the garage. There's nothing worse than running out of onions at home just as I'm preparing a meal. So I trimmed the onions and put them in net bags ready to take home.

It was hard work cleaning the shed but it looked much better once I'd finished. It had a lovely fresh disinfectant smell too. I only found a couple of spiders which I swept outside, but they always seem to find their way back in even though there is a step.

I filled up the bird feeders which hang from the conifer hedge. This  hadn't been done for weeks and within minutes of me filling them and putting  them back, the sparrows and blue tits were there pecking away. We sat watching them whilst we warmed up with our soup.

In the last week the weather has turned cold, wet and snowy, so I was glad we managed to get the jobs done. We never know when the next spell of fine weather will be.

Pulling up the onions

The onions have had a lot to put up with this year.  Soon after planting the sets, the moles moved in, that must have been a bit traumatic for them being pushed up out of the soil before they were ready, but they seemed to recover and carried on growing.

Then as time went on the weeds arrived and took over. Now I know that onions don't like competing with weeds, they like their own space, but we were busy moving house and so the poor onions got neglected, but they continued to grow.

At this time of year it's now time to harvest the onions. All around me on the neighbouring allotments I can see racks of onions drying out in the sunshine. So I decided it was time to pull my onions up. I have to say that although I did try to do a little bit of weeding in the onion patch over the last few weeks, the weeds won. So when it came to pulling them up, I had great difficulty in finding them amongst the weeds. But I managed and I was amazed to find big onions.

I laid them out to dry in the sunshine on the greenhouse staging which we dragged out from its summer storage behind the shed and also in the cold frame.

And so, despite all the trauma of bad growing conditions, the onions have done well and seem as good as in previous years. I'm pleased with my harvest.

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.

Slowly

Slowly things are starting to happen down on the plot. For a few weeks there's not been much going on and I've tidied up as much as I can, in readiness for the Spring. I've enjoyed pottering about, there's always something to be done.  It's good to be down there, it's a good place to switch off from things at home, or think things out.

We have just a few little areas with bulbs and flowers and now we can see there's new growth. The spring bulbs and primroses are gradually starting to come through.They will soon be seen as little splashes of brightness.

The rhubarb is growing and there are buds on the fruit bushes. The strawberry tubs were looking a mess, they were full of leaves from the tree which overhangs the tubs. I removed the leaves, cut back the old leaves from the plants and got rid of the straw left over from the summer. I can now see the new growth and today I put a layer of compost around the plants. I have some new plants in the cold frame which are from the runners. I'm thinking of planting some of these up in troughs to put in the greenhouse for an early crop. 

Once my seed potatoes and onion sets arrived I felt things were really starting to happen. The potatoes  are now chitting in the back bedroom and the onion sets have been planted in cell trays to start them off. 

My seed order arrived too. There's always the dilemma of when  to start sowing seeds. My greenhouse is unheated and in the last couple of weeks I have started off chillies, sweet peppers, tomatoes, leeks, lettuce, and broad beans. The chillies and tomatoes I brought home to keep in warmer temperatures. This week the chillies, tomatoes and lettuce seedlings have started to come through. As usual it is so exciting to see those first seedlings germinated. 

And so little by little things are getting done. Soon in March there will be the mad rush of more seed sowing and planting. But in the meantime I am enjoying slowly pottering about.

Harvesting the onions

 

It's now that time of year when all the allotment holders are harvesting onions. As we walk along the lane to the allotment we can see onions strung up in greenhouses, laid out along benches or left lying on top of the beds. They are everywhere.

I spent an afternoon last week harvesting my onions. The tops had started to bend over so I knew they were ready to be pulled up. Not only that, I could see that they had grown amazingly in the last couple of weeks. Then came the annual problem of where to put them to dry out. The first lot went on top of the brassica net frame, another lot went on an old growhouse frame which Richard dragged out of storage.

A couple of days later when the roots had dried out I moved them all to the cold frame which is not being used for seedlings at the moment.  There is no room in the greenhouses to store them and not much space in the shed either.  They will be fine in the cold frame until they have dried out completely and I can clean them up and put into onion bags.

With the onion bed cleared and weeded I made use of the space to plant some lettuce seedlings and sow some more radish and beetroot.

Richard has been doing some work on the fence down one side of the plot recently. Our neighbour on the other side does not look after his plot and the weeds get out of hand. There are some really bad weeds growing there--nettles, Himalayan Balsam, bindweed, hogweed to name just a few. So Richard has put some black weed suppressant membrane along one section of the fence and a length of bamboo fencing along another. These are just materials which we had to hand. They will not stop weeds from growing under  the fence into our plot, but they will help to stop them growing through and will hide the ugly view we have of a very neglected plot.

A busy time down at the plot

It's been a busy few weeks down at the allotment, getting seeds sown and plants in the ground.  We've had some lovely weather too which has made our time down there much more enjoyable. Gradually the beds have been filling up as plants have started to grow and it's started to look like a proper allotment full of produce. I love to see rows of vegetables and peas and beans climbing up frames.

climbing beans

The onions got planted early on and the leeks were put in a couple of weeks ago. We still have another variety of leeks which I would like to plant but there's no space left. I might have to find some big containers to plant them in. I particularly wanted to to grow these as they are supposed to be rust and bolt resistant and those are the problems we often have with leeks.

The brassica bed is looking very neat and tidy at the moment with cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, swede and five sorts of cabbages. The whole bed is covered with a netting frame to deter the pigeons and cabbage white butterflies.

brassica bed

There are two double rows of broad beans, three rows of peas and two wigwams with climbing beans. The first lot of carrot seeds I sowed in April and put a fleece cloche over, but not a single one germinated. We don't give up easily though so another lot has been sown, along with parsnips and beetroot. Courgettes and sweetcorn are also in the ground now.

sweet peas, sweetcorn, beetroot and more

It gets to the stage at this time when there's the mad rush to get everything in the ground and just when I think I have it all sorted, I remember that there is still fennel to sow and celeriac to plant and where am I going to put them.

As well as the vegetables, I have been planting annual flowers which I grow for cutting. There is no space for a separate bed for them, the fruit and vegetables take priority, but I always manage to squeeze a few in  various places, between crops, at the end of a row or in amongst the fruit bushes. The sweet peas though are allowed a special place with a big frame. I love sweet peas and so do the bees.

Now I am hoping for our work to ease off a bit with just the odd row of salad leaves or radish to sow every couple of weeks.  I'm not sure it will though, there's always plenty to do on the allotment and as I write this we have had a day of drizzly rain which wasn't enough to fill the water butts but it was enough to get the weeds growing.  I know what my next job will be.

What's growing on your allotment at the moment?

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.