Allotment planting and clearing

The allotment is coming along well. We have planted leeks, swede, kale, spring cabbage and fennel in the last week in the new raised beds.  It's good to see it's starting to look like an allotment in some ways.  In other ways it's still looking a mess. But I have to remind myself that it's only 3 months since we took on this plot and when I look back on photos from the beginning then I can really appreciate how well we have done so far.

Fennel

Last weekend as well as planting vegetables,  Helen and I tackled the top end of the plot where there are a mass of brambles, nettles and much more.  It was very satisfying to attack these weeds and make our way up the plot into this jungle like territory.  We found some good things like a buddleia bush and a variegated holly.  We decided to leave these in place because we want to have an area for flowers which will attract wildlife. We'll probably leave some of the brambles at the back of the fence too. We're still not sure what our plans are for this top end of the plot, but when it's all been cleared we'll have a better idea how much space we're dealing with.

The top end of the plot

Meanwhile  Richard has been constructing what will be a poly tunnel/growhouse using the wooden framework from the old cabin which was taken down from the front of the plot. The framework was finally in place this week and next we have to buy some polythene covering. 'Buy?' we cried. 'Oh dear we will have to spend money!' But having been able to do so much so far by using materials we have found on the plot it seems hard having to go out and buy something.

Our homemade growhouse

This weekend Richard and I started clearing the area where the old cabin was. Here we plan to have some raised beds. Although the area is fairly weed free having been undercover from the cabin, there is an amazing amount of rubbish. There were probably about a hundred bricks which had been used as supports. Those have been stored in another area. Bricks are always useful for building paths, walls etc. There was lots of wood, some useful, some too rotten to be of any use. Lots of stones too, boulders and smaller stones all which can be used around the plot.  It was hard work moving all this stuff out of the way and there was just so much of it we didn't seem to be getting anywhere. We haven't finished but we've made progress.

What a mess!

There is a drainage problem on the plot as it is on a slope so Richard is building another drain before he puts  the raised beds in place.

 I ended the day by walking down to our old plot and picking some cabbage, beetroot and climbing beans. I also picked blackberries from the lane along the way. 

September flowers

Since I started taking photographs of the garden throughout the year I've found it really useful to see how the borders change with the seasons. Early on in the year when there isn't much in flower, I can look back on last summer's pics and see how full they will get.  That helps to curb my desire to fill up all the spaces with more plants. It helps me to see how new borders have progressed since the previous year and it also helps me to identify plants. A green shoot which appears in the spring may not be a weed after all but a plant which lost it's label after planting last year.  I've destroyed many a new plant in my enthusiasm to tidy up a border of weeds.

This week I have been looking back at my photos of  last September in the garden to see how it compares to this year. They looked to be more colourful last year. But I have moved plants around this year, so that will have made a difference.

I wandered round the garden last weekend trying to spot the good bits in what I felt were rather dull looking borders. And I did spot some bright areas.  I noticed there were lots of butterflies and bees about. If there are bees and butterflies then there must be flowers.

I planted some dahlia plants earlier in the summer, but some of them got eaten by slugs so I bought a couple more last week to brighten the borders up with late summer colour. The ones with the open centres are more bee friendly than the cactus type

This year I planted some more plants in the yellow border.  This helenium is looking very bright now. I didn't realise how tall it grew though.

Some time ago I made a 'wish list' for garden plants and amongst them was helenium and echinacea purpurea. I bought three echinacea at a plant fair in the summer and was pleased to see they've settled in.

The sedums are starting to flower, the bees and butterflies love them.

 This clump of marguerites is still looking good, there are others around the garden which have not done so well.

Persicaria takes on some lovely autumn tints.

It is still only the middle of September so I'm hoping that over the next couple of weeks the garden will take on some more late summer colour.

What's looking good in your garden at the moment?

Making leaf mould compost

After the really wet summer it was good this week to welcome the sun back and to enjoy some gardening. At the weekend we had an allotment day and a garden day. We've been spending a lot of time at the allotment this summer and the garden and house jobs have been piling up. So my husband spent Sunday afternoon cleaning out the gutters whilst I caught up with garden jobs.

I had to start with my least favourite of gardening jobs--weeding and sweeping the drive. There are a couple of borders either side of the drive which look fine in the spring with snowdrops, daffodils, muscari, followed by bluebells and aquilegia. Later on when the overhanging trees come into leaf and overshadow the borders, nothing much will grow there. One border is full of ferns which completely take over. I've tried various plants but they don't survive in the dry shade conditions. So for the rest of the year this area is quite dull looking.

There were a lot of leaves on the drive and as I swept them up I thought that this was the start of the autumn leaf clear up. Leaf sweeping is an ongoing job throughout the autumn, not just on the drive but also in the garden as there are lots of trees around We have a big leaf bin next to the drive made out of an old wire compost bin. It provides us with lots of leaf mould. All we do is chuck the leaves in and hey presto months later it turns into wonderful compost. As I tipped the leaf sweepings in I noticed how much compost there was in there which was ready for use. That would be useful for the allotment on the raised beds.

Leaf compost is good for improving the structure of soil, it can be used as a mulch or it can be made up into a potting compost mix. It is really easy to make. Collect fallen leaves from the garden or even from the streets. It's best not to use evergreen leaves as these take a long time to rot down. A wire bin is ideal to use, you can make one out of chicken wire. Or the leaves can just be put into bin bags. Make some holes in the bags with a fork, water the leaves if they are dry, tie up the bag then store in the garden in an out of the way place. The leaf mould is usually ready to use in about a year.

I think some bagging up of compost needs to be put on my jobs list for this week.

Foraging

At the top end of our allotment there is a jungle of weeds.  We are working  up that way in our clearing sessions, but as yet it is a mess. Amongst the mess are blackberries ripening daily. There aren't very many, I've only picked about 6 so far, that's not enough to make a pie with. We're going to let them ripen and then pick them before we finally cut the mess down.  There will still be blackberries to pick though, because I've found some more nearby.

The allotments are situated along a lovely lane, full of wildlife and I went foraging along this lane last week. There I  found an abundance of blackberries. I was in blackberry heaven as I picked. I was dreaming of blackberry and apple pies and crumbles using the apples from our apple tree in the garden, blackberry jam, blackberries mixed with the raspberries from the garden and blackberry gin.

I need to be quick though because other people know of this blackberry place, I've seen them walking down the lane with carrier bags. But I think there is plenty for everyone and I mustn't be greedy.

The down side of this blackberry picking is the scratches and nettle stings to my arms, so I have to remember to wear long sleeves when I go there.  I've also found that the best ones are always just out of reach.  So I take a small rake with me to pull the branches down.

I'm doing well, I've picked lots now and they're in the freezer ready for when I  have a baking session. If  I don't bake soon I may just have to go out and buy another freezer because I'm running out of blackberry space.

What's going on at the allotment?

There's a lot of team work going on at our new allotment. My husband is working hard on the construction side of things, whilst my daughter, son in law and I with a little help from the grandchildren have been doing other things.

We've been digging, weeding and clearing areas. There have been bonfires to get rid of rubbish.  The first one got out of hand and nearly burnt the fence down. It burnt one of the bushes but we were glad about that, it had to go anyhow, so it was helped along.  The grandchildren thought it was great fun.

At our old allotment we are still growing crops, but we are starting to clear things away ready for when we move at the end of the year. The manure and compost bins have been emptied and all the stuff has been wheelbarrowed over to our new allotment and put in the bins there.  Fortunately it's only just along the lane, but it was still hard work.

I spent some time at the old allotment the other day.  I cleared away the last of the broad beans, took down the support frame and weeded the bed.  All that remains in that bed now is the climbing beans and a late sowing of peas.

A few days earlier my daughter and I had pulled up the onions. I weeded this bed, there are still some beetroot and carrots there and some leek seedlings which we will transplant in the next week or two into the beds at our new plot.

 I checked the cabbages for caterpillars. They are covered with a netting frame, but somehow the cabbage whites still manage to get in and lay their eggs. Apart from a few holes in their leaves the cabbages are looking quite good. The pumpkins and squash which my daughter planted are also doing really well.

The last raised bed is the fruit bed.  All the fruit will have to be moved over to the new allotment  some time before the end of the year. There are summer and autumn fruiting raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries and rhubarb. We've had a good crop of rhubarb this year, but I think it might be time now to stop pulling it.

Back at the new allotment, the onions from the old plot are drying nicely in the shed.  The raised beds which my husband has built are being prepared for the fruit and leeks from the old plot, and for spring cabbage, kale, swede, fennel and beetroot which I have started off at home. We also want to grow some onions through the winter.

The soil in these new beds is heavy clay, so we have incorporated well rotted manure and compost from the old plot, old compost from our potato bags and good soil from other parts of the plot.

It's good to be able to have a break from all that digging and weed clearing and do some proper allotment gardening.

What's going on at your allotment or veg garden at the moment?

Watercress and other things

I popped down the garden the other day to pick some salad leaves and was amazed to see how well the watercress has grown. I tend to forget it's there because it's a bit hidden by a big clump of oregano which keeps flopping over onto the bed. Perhaps it's grown well because I've left it to get on and do it's own thing or maybe the wet weather has helped it along. Whatever the reason for it's rapid growth I'm pleased. Watercress is not only very healthy, it's also a very versatile salad crop. I love cheese and watercress sandwiches, watercress soup and you can also make a sauce which goes well with fish.

Other salad stuff which is doing well in the garden at the moment are mustard, rocket and red salad bowl. The red salad bowl has just kept on growing all summer and I've kept on picking it. I transplanted some lollo rosso seedlings a couple of weeks ago in different places around the veg garden and was horrified to see two of the rows had completely disappeared the next day. That must be the work of slugs. Fortunately the others are still growing.

The cucumbers in the cold frame are doing well and there are some tiny cucumbers there. The 'tumbler' tomatoes don't look very happy, they seem very slow.  They have flowers but no tomatoes. The beetroot at the allotment was very overcrowded, I should have thinned them out early on, but I pulled some tiny ones the other day. They were much smaller than baby beets, more like micro beets, but they went well with a salad. I've sown some more beetroot recently which is probably my last chance for an autumn crop. I've also got some fennel seedlings which are ready to plant out at the allotment.  I've never grown fennel before and I'm not sure how to use it in cooking, but I believe it can be sliced and added to salads.

Soon I'll be sowing my Sarah Raven winter salad mix, so hopefully there'll still be plenty of interesting salad ingredients for our autumn and winter salads.

For more information on growing salad crops and recipes to try check out the 52 Week Salad Challenge posts on  veg plotting's blog

Taking down the shed

For the last 10 weeks since we took on our new allotment this massive metal clad shed has dominated the site.  Our plans were to demolish it and put raised beds in its place.The demolition started last week.

We had to empty it first of the stuff which the previous tenant had left in. And there was quite an assortment of stuff, some of it was useful, like rolls of polythene sheeting (I'm thinking of how many cloches we can make), bags of nails, plant pots, tools, buckets (always useful around an allotment).  Of the less useful stuff there was an old aquarium, a hamster cage, a pair of stirrups and a bridle and  lots more.  A few trips to the local recycling centre were needed.

So for the last two weeks bit by bit, section by section my husband has been taking the shed down. As he worked at this he was able to see how much of the shed he would be able to recycle around the plot. The metal panels can be used to clad the fences to keep out weeds from neighbouring plots.What we have left, well there is a waiting list of neighbouring allotmenteers who want to take it off our hands.  The wood from the floor will be used to make raised beds. Some of the wooden framework is going to be made into a polytunnel/greenhouse. The many bricks underneath the floor supporting the shed will be used around the plot.

Finally the shed was no more.  We are now left with the plot looking like a scrapyard/building site and an amazing amount of work still to do. But we are encouraged by our allotment neighbours who keep telling us how well we are doing, it helps to keep us going.