Frosts are coming again!

The weather forecast has temperatures, overnight, of 3 tomorrow, 1 on Saturday and 4 on Sunday so we can expect frost. Most things will stand a ground frost at the moment but not potatoes, particularly first earlies so today an unscheduled trip to the allotment was in order. Rain was scheduled so I quickly put a cover over the first earlies and the rest were all hoed up to cover the growing points - it won't be long before they poke themselves out again. I also managed to JUST finish digging the ground for the maincrops before the rain started in a very serious manner. It was then time to bold for the car and adjourn to the gym. Hopefully maincrops can go in next week.

Allotment before the rain comes.

The forecast suggests that in the next five days we will get a month's rain. They don't seem to say what month though. August would be good! But I suspect not as it amounts to about 60mm or 2.3 inches in English.

Having cut Granddad's grass today as well has planted his row of Alderman peas, I decided it was time to do mine.

I slipped down there for an hour today before the dreaded rain arrives because it may be some time before the ground is drive enough to dig after it does. I dug a small strip but I also planted a couple of 'weeds' from Granddad's garden - two gooseberry bushes that had self set.

I also moved 2 holly bushes from our own garden. Apart from deterring intruders from climbing the allotment fences I have used holly leaves to protect peas and beans. After planting the seed simply scatter the leaves on top where the mice would dig. It appears to work for me after having lost some to the little blighters and doing this after replanting. I didn't make this up, I heard it somewhere so thought I would give it a go.

Apart from that I also managed to find time to pick our first radishes of the season.

Now to hope the forecasters are wrong.

Allotment update

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The fruit trees that were left by the previous plot holder are wll in flower bud - except the plum tree. The Pear is going to be magnificent again

The overwintering onions are doing very well as well - now they have been weeded a bit!

The rhubarb we got from Freecycle is doing very well indeed.

The Purple Sprouting Broccoli has produced an excellent crop this year too.

The first Broad Beans are well in flower now. These were set in January straight into the ground and have survived the weather. But they were protected by a cloche.

And this rhubarb was a birthday present from my Mother and Father in-law.

To break a bit of the wind I am using some pieces left by the previous plot holder to make a screen.

But today, apart from weeding, We have put the first crops into the polytunnel. We have also put them under a 'tent' of fleece in case of cold weather. 2 Money Maker tomatoes and 1 Telepathy Cucumber. We are hoping to get early crops. The mess of pipes is a self-watering system hooked up to a water butt, fed from the shed roof.

Also had to raise the netting on Feltham First peas as the plants are getting too big and starting to grow through the netting.

Crazy Times

No matter how early I start the planting season it seems that I am always behind! I suppose it's because so many things need planting at the same time so everything has to happen together which clearly they can't. But now the season has started in earnest regardless.

Wednesday 8th March 2012
   Planted some rhubarb that was donated to us on Freecycle and started digging for potatoes. Also planted some kale.

Saturday 10th March 2012
   Planted Swift first early potatoes, kale that had been started earlier in the greenhouse, broad beans from pots that were sprouting nicely and a row of carrot seed. Also carried on digging for peas, parsnips and the next batch of potatoes. I came to get the next batches of potatoes for chitting and found that keeping them in the dark was a big mistake - the chits were bolting looking for the light. They now need delicate handling and planting deeper!

Sunday 11th March 2012
    Carried on digging for potatoes - perhaps we are giving over too much ground to potatoes (100 tubers in all) but we will see. This is the first year we have ever grown them. I also planted out Feltham First peas started in trays and parsnip seed and a few more kale. I also started some boltardy beetroot and alderman peas. I suspect we have too much kale though.

Monday 12th March 2012
   Didn't get to the allotment today, instead I reduced the mountain ash in front of the house gathering long lengths of wood for bean poles and quite a few more pea sticks. I plan on trying a new way of supporting the beans this year which will hopefully be more robust than last year on our windy spot. I also found the polytunnel I put up in a hurry last spring was not doing so well, but I already have started to construct a replacement.

A season over?

It's the time of year when we lift the beetroot, pull out the tomatoes and beans and start digging the weed out and so it feels like the end of the season. It's a time that invokes a degree on melancholia as we think of another season over.

It's our first season on the allotment and how did it go? I suppose better than it could have but not as good as I would have liked.

So let's talk detail....

Cabbage - We've had some good ones, and more good ones are coming but they need protection from birds until they are quite large.

Cauliflower - some quite good ones but these suffered quite a set back because of birds. As did..
Kohl Rabi - we have had a small one which is one small one better than we ever had before the allotment.
Cucumbers - (Those yellow things in the picture are Crystal Lemon) Loads of Crystal Lemon and about 6-10 traditional green ones
Runner beans/Climbing beans - did very well but early wind damage set them back going away in August let them get out of control.
Tomatoes - we did very well and blight was not too much of an issue.
Peas - quite well but birds and wind damage caused set backs.
Potatoes - planted in the wrong place and the ground wasn't well prepared enough.
Radish - some very good ones but not enough succession planting.
Parsnips - some lovely ones but some places where germination just didn't happen.
Carrots - some quite nice ones, but a lot of damage and I need to find out why.
Broad Beans - Quite a lot but maybe we didn't pick fast enough. We plan on eating them (having dried many) over winter in soups etc.

But then there's things like Swedes which we have had no success with. And of course we planted many other things, some with success and some not so successful.

Lessons to learn, studying to do but... The season isn't over.  It never is because it's a full circle and we are starting again with spring cabbage, broad beans, onions and other things.

But one thing is for certain... I have enjoyed the allotment this year and next year promises to be even better.

First Runners

Today's pickings...

Too busy to list on twitter!!

The shopping bag is runner beans - freezer bound for most of them. Lots more to pick.

The Peas include some of the first Alderman peas, which are looking very good this year.

The blackberries are an incidental and while we have to keep clipping them back off the allotment, they do border two sides so there's lots to come - and they are OURS!

Our first cucumber of the season and a couple more courgettes - one is a little big and was hiding. Probably the courgettes are for the freezer as they are coming thick and fast - too fast.

And our first runner beans from the allotment - Painted Ladies.

Also another good cabbage with about 5 more to come and a couple of lettuce.

We are getting a good crop in our first year.

A satisfactory week

For a little while I seem to have paused on the manic digging, planting and sowing front although I have been planting and sowing this week.

I have planted out French and climbing beans and some broccoli and sown peas, iceberg lettuce and carrots. We have a MAJOR pigeon problem and although there is a fox who lives next door we do have to net everything. I am finding the netting takes a lot of time. Setting it up, checking it every visit with more to check each visit, and weeding underneath it.

We did today lift our second cabbage which within a week of planting was nearly destroyed by pigeons but as you see the netting saved it. Also lifted the garlic and picked a few broad beans from the first row. And a couple of solitary peas.. getting towards the end of our second pea row.

Just one corner left to dig and tidy, but it has a cast iron bath on it which is something we don't want so we have offered it generally for collection - hope to find it gone soon!

The more you sow and plant, the more there is to water as well although the "polytunnel" is self watering. Need to set the last peas, get another water butt and set up a "pepper house" which will also be self watering and get more swedes set. Also need to do some TLC on the shed which was put up in a rush to be able to crack on with digging.

With every fork full the plot gets smaller

It's a juggling act at the moment between digging and planting and trying to keep the weeds at bay and under control. We seem to be about on target with planting so today I took the opportunity to get some tidying done. When I was given the shed I also got 5 fencing panels at the same time. The panels are six feet square and a bit worse for wear so I decided that they needed taking to pieces to make them go further.

Our plot edges onto the area known by the association as "The Wild" - it's the only plot that does. The Wild is a collection of various plants but the most wild is the bramble which is constantly trying to get across the plot. This makes it very difficult to get a proper edge to the plot. Having taken one of the panels to pieces I have erected a small fence to define the edge of the plot - Nothing May Cross The Line!

This section is made of four sections each of six feet wide (about) and it was made from one panel. I have taken a second one to pieces ready to do the next section and this will finish this run. I now have to dream up a way to use the other 3 panels!

The poly tunnel/lean to is about complete, although as its a prototype it will keep having little changes made, and is now the home of courgettes, cucumbers, tomatoes and aubergines. I have also set up a self watering mechanism. Rain falls on the shed roof and is collected in a water butt with it's tap turned on and is delivered by a hose system, drop by drop, to the plants. It is nice and warm and humid and the plants seem to be doing well enough. But space on the plot is at a premium so on the other side of the shed, by the path, we have planted a few tomatoes.

 Of the trees the trees that were planted on the plot before we took it over there are only a couple that show any serious attempts at fruit this year although it was a very bad winter. There is one apple with a few set apples and this pear tree which has quite a lot of fruit and I am looking forward to it being ready to pick.

We have spent time this week planting peas, beetroot, lettuce radish, tomatoes, broccoli and more and have ambitions to plant a lot more and soon, including cabbage, peas, various types of beans and are starting to worry where it will all go!

Keep slugging away...

I have been trying to concentrate on building a lean-to greenhouse for the allotment to go against the shed, the trouble is that with digging, planting and weed control there just aren't enough hours in the day! It is getting there and needs a few tweaks to strengthen the windward side. I have made this mostly from the rescued parts of the collapsed polytunnel so they need a fair amount of reinforcement. The things we are growing at the moment are doing very well and the radish we had in the polytunnel are about done now but the lettuce are now coming on strongly. The big problem we have is pigeons! Because of this everything needs netting, which is a bit of a nuisance but occasionally we find pigeon feathers scattered around so we know that the resident fox family has been at work, although it may be the friendly buzzards.

The freeze sets in....

The weather forecast is grim. Snow and ice for 'weeks'! Not looking forward to it. The freeze last year took our early broad beans and hopefully this year I have cloched early enough.

It doesn't look like I will be going to the allotment for a while and running out doors looks and feels positively treacherous!

It looks like walking with Dylan, who loves biting the snow, and the gym is now the agenda for a while.