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.

Getting ready for Spring

We've been going to the allotment a couple of times a week recently when the  weather has been fine enough. Some of the beds were cleared and  mulched in the autumn, so I have been sorting out the other beds. As winter vegetables were gradually harvested I have been able to clear any debris away, then hoe the weeds and lightly work the top surface of the soil. I don't dig the soil, just clear any weeds and then mulch with compost or manure. The worms do the rest of the work. Its been a few years since we have been able to get any manure for the allotment, so I have been using home made compost, which is as good. Sometimes we buy bags of manure from the garden centre and mix this with the compost.

Now the beds are looking tidy and are just waiting for the soil to warm up enough to plant or sow.  But there are other jobs which we have been getting on with. This time of waiting in the winter and early Spring is a good time to get on with  maintenance jobs around the allotment. Our allotments have been kept supplied with plenty of bark chippings from a local company. I have been using these to cover the non growing areas of my plot after weeding. They help to keep the weeds down and  make the place look tidy.

The pond has been needing a good tidy up and as soon as the weather improved I got my rubber gloves and a scoop and got rid of some of the mud and silt which was building up. I cut back some of the plants in the little garden around the pond and then covered the ground with some of the chippings. No sign of frog spawn yet, I just hope I didn't frighten the frogs off with all my work.

The greenhouses needed cleaning out and that's another job I leave for warmer weather. Once they were done I put the staging back in and I'm now ready to fill it with all the plants I'll be starting off from seed in the coming weeks. Already in there are sweet peas, broad beans, onions and peas sown in guttering. There are more seedlings at home which I'll gradually bring to the plot for growing on in the greenhouse.

Richard has been making a new fruit cage for the blueberries.  He bought a metal shelving system which he saw on offer and worked out that it would be cheaper than buying a proper fruit cage. He likes a project and this has kept him busy for a week or two. It's finished now and is great, its higher than the old one so I can stand up straight inside it which is much easier on my back.

The days are getting warmer now and work on the allotment will increase as I start to plant and sow in the ground. Its good to know that we are well prepared on the plot as we start the growing season.

Indoor gardening

No, I'm not talking about houseplants, I'm talking about garden jobs I can do indoors when the weather is too bad to be outside.  I think most gardeners are like me and are itching to get outside and start doing jobs in the garden or at the allotment. We have had lots of snow recently here in Lancashire, when it hasn't been snowing its been raining heavily and when it hasn't been doing either of those its been too cold to venture outside. Even Holly the cat hasn't wanted to go out.

First on my list of indoor jobs to do was to sort out all my seed packets and list what I need to buy for this year' s growing plan. I ordered seeds from Simply Seed and what I couldn't get from there I ordered from Seed Parade. I was very pleased with the service from both companies, seeds arrived within a few days. 

Since the start of  COVID and lockdown last year a lot of people have taken to growing their own flowers and vegetables.  This resulted in many seed companies being overwhelmed with orders, so I was thankful that I didn't have to wait long for my orders.

Along with planning what to grow this year I needed to work out my allotment plan and crop rotation. I have a very simple plan of the allotment, which I renew every year. Although it's too early to sow seeds outside, I have started a few off indoors in propagators on the kitchen windowsill. It can be a bit hit and miss as there isn't always enough light and seedlings can get leggy. 

I sowed some chillies, peppers, broad beans and sweet peas. So the kitchen windowsills are now taken over with seed pots and trays. I check them several times a day and never fail to get excited when they start to germinate. Upstairs in one of the spare bedrooms are trays of seed potatoes laid out for chitting.

One of the jobs which the presenters of gardening programmes often tell you to do in the winter time is clean up your plant marker sticks.  I have never had the time or patience to be bothered with this until this year when I have spent a few cold wet days sat in the kitchen scrubbing the marker sticks with wire wool and washing in soapy water. I know I will be pleased about all this preparation in a few weeks time when I'm sowing seeds or planting out and  can reach for a nice clean seed marker.

spring sowings and plantings

It's getting to be a busy time on the allotment now.  After weeks of tidying up and getting the plot ready for the new growing season suddenly everything seemed to burst into life in the flower areas bringing some lovely colour to the plot. The weeds are growing too, which is a sign that the soil is warming up and its time to start planting and sowing seeds.

Over the last few weeks my kitchen has been full of pots of seedlings and propagators. I started in February with chillies, then tomatoes followed by cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and leeks. Now I am sowing flower seeds for a cutting bed in the garden or for filling in gaps in the other borders. Also for the allotment to attract the pollinators.

Down at the allotment I have two greenhouses but they are not heated so seeds which need warmth in the early days are sown at home where I can give them some extra care in the kitchen. Once they are potted on I then take them down to the allotment greenhouses.

Weeks ago I sowed broad beans and pea seeds. I planted the broad beans and peas out in the ground last week. They are looking good and its great to see something growing in the allotment beds at last.
Over the Easter weekend I sowed another lot of broad beans directly into the ground.  I shall be sowing peas soon too.

There's so much too do now. The greenhouses are filling up with seedlings. After weeks of bare soil the allotment is beginning to look like its coming to life and soon my kitchen will be clear of pots and propagators.

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.

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.

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.

Sowing seeds and planting out

 

We had some lovely days down at the allotment recently.  The weather has been fine, dry and sunny.  It was surprisingly quiet over Easter, I thought there would be more people down there working on their plots.  Although I like to chat to our neighbours, it was good to have that time of peace and quiet. I could have stayed there just listening to the birdsong and enjoying the tranquillity.  But there was work to be done. 

My daughter Helen and I have done lots of seed sowing and transplanting of seedlings. It's a job which I find really relaxing and on warm days I set the trays out on the outside table to work in the sunshine. The polytunnel and new growhouse are filling up with seed trays and each time I go down to the allotment I excitedly check for signs of new growth. The early sowings of brassicas which I started off at home were a bit disappointing so I've done another lot in the polytunnel which are growing well now. The salad bowl lettuce are nearly ready for planting out. I must not make the same mistake as last year by planting too many. We had some tomato plants given to us a few weeks back--Roma and Golden Sunrise. I have also sown some seeds myself. These are Moneymaker, Ailsa Craig,  Sweet million and Red Cherry.

We've planted and sown out in the ground too--broad beans, peas, parsnip, radish and lettuce.  The onions are all planted and most of the potatoes are now in their containers.  There's so much to do now, making sure everything is planted and sown at the right time, it can be hard to keep up. But gardening is to be enjoyed so that's what I'm doing.

We seem to have been adopted by a robin on plot 8. He's a very happy robin who follows us around as we work. We're keeping him supplied with plenty of worms. As long as he leaves some for the soil we don't mind sharing.

Salad growing

As I  review my salad growing  for this month for the salad challenge, I'm feeling that I'm making progress. I have a raised bed which I am using for growing salad and there are some neat rows of crops coming along nicely. I'm also using the cold frame to grow salad.

There are some  radish  now  ready to pick from the first sowings I made. The tom thumb and little gem lettuce which I transplanted into the raised bed have taken well.  I had so many of the little gem lettuce that I also planted some in between the broad beans and peas. In the cold frame I have some tantan lettuce which is a little gem type. I have planted out the watercress which has been a bit slow to grow, but hopefully the warmer weather will bring it along now.

I have been sowing more crops this week. I sowed  watercress,                              mizuna, and lollo rossa.  I also planted some beetroot seedlings.  We had planted most of them at the allotment and these were left over. Couldn't bear to throw them away.

I bought some herb plants a few weeks ago. There are ginger mint, basil mint and lemon mint, sorrel, hyssop and three sorts of sage. I potted them up into terracotta pots and left them next to the raised bed whilst I decided where to put them. I the end I left them there because I thought they looked quite good. I have other herbs around the garden, different types of mint, thyme, oregano, marjoram and chives. Today I sowed seeds of borage and dill. I have parsley and basil seedlings too.

I've been trying to grow outdoor cucumbers, the seeds germinated but the seedlings eventually died off. I've sown more seeds and if these don't work then I might buy a couple of plants from the garden centre to grow in the cold frame.

There's lots of salad growing, I just can't wait to eat it!

  

     

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