Competing with moles

When we first took the allotment on  4 years ago we soon became aware that there was a mole on the plot. As well as finding little piles of soil around the plot we also saw the earth moving.  That was quite weird.  Most of the time  the piles of soil were at the edges of paths and next to the shed so we weren't too bothered.  But the mole has now decided to take over one of the big beds where this year I have been growing onions.

I often used to find soft spots in the bed as I was planting or weeding and sometimes there would be a mole hill, but never any damage to plants. This year I have been growing onions in the bed and 

soon  after I planted them I found some of them had been disturbed by the mole. After a while I decided to admit defeat as more mole hills appeared in the bed. I thought that was the end of the onions. But remarkably they seem to have survived and they have been swelling nicely the last few weeks.

This week I have planted the first lot of leeks. I always plant one lot at this time and another lot after the onions have been lifted. The first lot are usually ready for harvesting in the autumn and the others are ready after Christmas.

I always enjoy planting leeks, making a hole with the dibber, popping in the leek seedling and then topping up the hole with water. This year though it has been quite a challenge as the bed is now riddled with underground mole tracks and the ground is quite soft in places. Some of the planting holes must have gone down a long way underground as when I topped up with water the water just went down and down and down. I wonder how the mole felt about having his home flooded!  One leek seedling disappeared underground with the water. Well despite all the mole holes I still managed to plant the leeks, carefully choosing firmer ground. I just hope they don't get dug up.

Through the garden gate--June

June was a busy month for us as we moved house. No time for gardening, but now I am getting settled in our new house I am gradually starting on the garden.

So maybe you need a tour of our new garden. The front and side gardens are quite pretty and have been well maintained. There are shrubs and a few flowers. In the front garden by the front door is a hydrangea.  There are lots of flower heads yet to open. I am waiting to see what colour they are.

There is a giant scabious in the border which I have been cutting to bring in the house and add to my shop bought flowers. I don't normally buy flowers, I have always had enough to cut from the garden, so I will have to get planting so that next year I will have plants for cutting.

We brought lots of plants from our other house and I have the chance to go back for cuttings as our daughter now lives in our previous house. This could take some time though. I would like to plant up the front garden with more flowers to give it a more cottage garden look. 

One plant I have not been able to identify is this. It smells lovely and I am wondering if it is ginger mint

The back of our new house needs some work doing. It is just a lawn and it slopes. But we have plans, it is a project we will be working on for some time.

Holly the cat is settling into her new home and enjoys sitting at the kitchen door looking out at her new territory.

This monthly 'Through the garden gate' post  is hosted by Sarah at Down by the Sea

Not just a bit of watering

Popping down to the allotment to water the greenhouse plants can take longer than expected at this time of year. There are quite often nice surprises in store.

The strawberries are ripening fast now and every time I go to the plot there are more to be found. There are always more than I think, they hide under the leaves to reveal big clusters of juicy red fruits. I have to pick the strawberries as soon as they are ready as they won't stay there for long, the slugs or the birds will have  them if I don't.

Looking at the vegetables I can see that the first little cauliflower heads are appearing, the calabrese have heads forming too and after all the heavy rain we've had this week the sweet corn seem to have grown several inches taller. The sweet peas are flowering now so I need to cut them regularly to keep them coming.

Some of the surprises are not so welcome though. Some of the  kale which I planted last week  have been eaten by slugs. But considering I have been so busy at home recently and haven't had as much time to spend on the allotment, things are not doing too badly.

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.

Tomatoes are planted up

There is so much to be done on the allotment now. I go down there to do certain jobs and then find there are so many other jobs also need doing.

The tomato plants have been growing well and I have been potting them on into larger pots until it was time to plant them up into their final planting positions.

This year I have grown five varieties-- Moneymaker, Ailsa Craig, Shirley, Gardeners' Delight and Red Cherry.  Last weekend I potted them up into big pots in the greenhouse.  We have had to move out some of the staging in order to make room for them and as I gradually move seedlings to the cold frame I will be able to move out more of the staging to make room for more pots.

I used a mix of home made compost and multipurpose compost to pot them up into big pots.

They are looking really good and strong and I am so looking forward to picking the first tomatoes. Eating them straight from the plant is probably the best way of enjoying them, but I love to make chutneys and soup too.

Rushing around

There's lots going on at home at the moment as we continue with the house moving process.  And when the days are busy with sorting and packing, getting stressed over why things aren't proceeding quicker than we want, it's good to get down to the allotment for a break. This is where we find peace and quiet. It's our retreat place, a place where we can take ourselves away from the stresses and strains that are getting to us at the moment.

We haven't been able to get down to the plot as much as we would like, but I don't want to let things go and miss out on all the lovely veg which we look forward to. So it's a busy time trying to keep up with all the jobs. The allotment is looking good though. The second lot of peas and broad beans are now showing through. The French beans I sowed in the greenhouse have germinated and will soon be ready to plant out.

The greenhouse is a busy place. The tomatoes are ready for planting into their final big pots or growbags, I must do that soon. There are also flower seedlings to be transplanted. I love to grow flowers on the allotment, I am behind with that job but I have at least got the sweet peas planted.

At the weekend I planted out brassicas into the borders, cabbages, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kohl rabi, calabrese. As I was planting, Richard was setting up frames with netting to protect against the cabbage white butterflies and pigeons.

We  have had what seems like  weeks of dry weather, the ground has been so dry, but this week the rain came and hopefully, the newly sown seeds of radish, carrot and spring onion will have the moisture that they need to germinate.

As I rush around trying to do jobs, although some things may not get done, I know that the allotment is looking good and if things get bad it is still a place where I can get some time out to relax and enjoy.

Through the garden gate--April

April is such a lovely month in the garden, there is so much fresh bright green foliage about and the borders are starting to fill out with new growth. The colours in my garden at the moment seem to be blue and yellow. Brunnera, forget-me-nots and bluebells contrast well with the lime green euphorbia and primroses. The aquilegia are just starting to flower, the hostas are unfurling their bright green and yellow leaves and the apple tree has blossom. There is so much to look forward to as we move further into Spring.

Hostas

The herb bed which I planted up last year is filling out now

Moving forward is what we are doing ourselves as we prepare to move house, so this may be my last blog about this garden. We are moving at a time when the garden is looking its best, so there is some sadness. Perhaps it would be better to move in the winter when the garden doesn't look as good.

So I am busy now taking cuttings of plants I want to take with me and  decluttering the shed. But as our daughter and family are moving in to our house we will be able to return, take more cuttings, sit in the garden and still enjoy it. We are not moving far, just up the road to a smaller house with a smaller garden. We are at that time in our lives when we need to downsize. Our new garden will be a challenge and it 's a chance to design another garden so we are looking forward to that. I'm not sure how Holly will enjoy moving to another garden.

I am joining with Sarah at 'Down by the sea ' for this monthly post 'Through the garden gate'