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.

Some unwelcome visitors

 When we arrived at the allotment last Saturday we had a nasty shock--the plot had been broken into.   An attempt had been made to break the big padlock but having failed at this  a panel had been pulled out of the gate to enable the intruder(s) to climb over. As we walked up the plot we could see there was no damage to the vegetable beds but the shed door was open and various boxes and tins had been opened and left strewn about the benches. We don't keep any valuables on the allotment so there was nothing worth stealing and we know from past break-ins on this site that it's always the power tools which get stolen from plots. There were other plots which had been broken into on Saturday and some things had been stolen, so we were lucky.

So things could have been much worse and after a chat with our neighbour on the next plot we set to work on our jobs for the day.  Richard's job was going to be to put up a brassica frame which he has been making, but that had to be put to one side while he mended the gate.

We've been enjoying our time spent at the allotment these last few weeks. The beds are filling up and looking green. In the pea and bean bed the first lot of broad beans I planted are now starting to form some pods and the first lot of peas also have pods which are beginning to swell. We are so looking forward to being able to harvest them.

I have two other lots of peas growing in another bed, one of them is a purple podded pea. Unfortunately these two rows of peas have been nibbled by pea and bean weevils--more intruders but of a different kind! They don't look very attractive at the moment but I'm hoping that they will all recover.

                                                     

In the roots bed I am now picking beetroot and sowing successional rows for throughout the season. I sowed some fennel seed a few weeks ago but there is little sign of germination. Old seed perhaps?

Looking in the fruit cages I could see that there are plenty of blueberries which will be starting to ripen in a few weeks.  Fruit are appearing on the raspberries which I planted last year. In the other cage there are blackcurrants and the branches of the redcurrant bush are heavy with fruit. The gooseberries don't seem to have much fruit, but they have been moved this year to another bed and so might need time to recover. And the rhubarb just keeps on going. I freeze some and give some to friends.

Over in the brassica bed things are growing well. Weeks ago I planted two rows of cabbages--Kilaton and Greyhound and these are looking great. They've not hearted up yet, but could be picked for spring greens if we needed any. I do hope the slugs keep well away from them. I will be planting more cabbages next to them soon as well as cauliflower.  At the other end of this bed are kale and brussels sprouts. It's a big bed and needs to be netted against pigeons and cabbage white butterflies. So this is what Richard has been doing recently at home--making a wooden frame with netting fixed to it which can be put in place and then moved each year to another bed as we rotate the crops.

Well that's my allotment update for now, I'll be back again soon, and let's hope the intruders won't return.

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.

Allotment catch up

 It seems quite some time since I blogged about the allotment, but we have been so busy. At the moment we are sharing our time between making a new garden at home and doing essential work at the allotment. It's usually alternate days. We are still enjoying good weather and haven't had rain in ages. That of course means we have plenty of watering to do.

 A few weeks ago, we started putting up frames on the plot. Wigwam frames went up for the climbing beans (Blue Lake). My friend gave me the bean plants, they looked amazingly healthy, so I am hoping for good results from them.

The cabbages needed protecting from cabbage white butterflies so they got covered with a frame and netting.

The sweet peas were planted and another frame went up. The biggest frame project though was for the fruit. We moved the blueberries to another bed earlier in the year because they needed more space so Richard made a big fruit frame for them. Last year I lost a lot of blueberries to the birds, I'm determined to get my share of them this year. The other fruit frame needed repairing too. The building of all these frames involves a lot of recycling of wood which is stored behind the shed. We have bits of metalwork too which gets put to good use.

So frames done, the next thing was to sow some peas. The first lot which were planted a few weeks ago had been started off in cardboard tubes. A week or two later I sowed some straight into the ground. I did one short row of  Kelvedon Wonder and a longer row of  Onward. I covered the rows with holly branches to deter the mice. 

The Onward germinated well, but the Kelvedon Wonder only produced two seedlings. I don't know why that is but this week I sowed another row in a different bed of Hurst Green Shaft, so I will wait to see how they do. As the peas start to grow I put twiggy sticks in amongst them for support.

I planted some courgettes last week, along with some flowers--Zinnias and sunflowers.  This week I planted a few more courgettes. They are a round variety with a long Italian sounding name which I have forgotten. I always plant more courgette plants than I really need in case any get eaten by slugs. If they don't then I will have absolutely loads of courgettes, but this doesn't usually happen and I have enough but not too many. 

I also planted more climbing beans this week--Fasold and a purple variety called Blauhilde.

The rhubarb is very big now and I have harvested several lots of it. I freeze a lot of it otherwise we would be eating rhubarb crumble nearly every day. We are still eating the rhubarb jam which I made last year.

Weeks ago I sowed rows of radish and salad leaves and they are now being harvested. The radish were the best I have ever grown.

We have been cutting a few spears of asparagus occasionally, but I feel it is not enough to warrant taking up the space on the plot so I am considering giving up with them.

Hopefully soon all the harvests will get bigger. I can already see broad bean pods forming there are flowers on the peas where pods will soon form, the cabbages are getting bigger and the strawberries are starting to turn pink. That reminds me I need to net them, I have seen one or two of them have been chewed at by some cheeky birds.

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.