02/04/2013..............planting has begun!!

Finally the chilly weather has moved away :) well almost it was around 7C today here in Lincoln and amazingly the sun was shining so i went down to the allotment with my 14 yr old son and actually did some work on the plot ...it's been ages!!!

I took along enough first earlies for 2 rows, my plot is about 15 ft wide so i normally get 13 per row the soil was dry on the top my soil is sandy so a bit of sunshine and it turns dry like sand

they are finally in the ground planted nice and deep and i'm hoping tomorrow to plant some second earlies

Here i am drawing the soil back on top my plot runs from left to right on the picture so behind me isnt my plot :) but you can see how quickly the soil has dried out .....there was a sprinkling of snow first thing this morning!!!

There was another plot holder there today which was nice to see :) i think spring may finally be here!!

03 March 2013

Just a quick post today ....

Today i moved all of the onion seedlings into individual cells they have grown quite big!!
It didn't take too long so i decided to sow a few seeds golden acre cabbage, all year round cauliflower and green marble f1 brussels sprouts only a couple of each i'll sow more in a few weeks :)

2nd March 2013

It's finally March!!! seed sowing time :) I have been busy this afternoon in the greenhouse sowing lots of different flower seeds, at the moment i have a pop up greenhouse with 4 tiers and a polythene cover,i heat this with an electric tube heater and keep just a few seedlings in there as i don't want to heat the whole greenhouse with my electric heater day and night,its just not worth it with the few seeds that have germinated.

The only vegetables that i have sown are leeks,celery,celeriac,sweet pepper,chili pepper,tomato,lettuce,onions which have been grown from seed and some broad beans which are getting quite big!!now it's March i can sow lots more :)

Me and my son Callum went to the allotment this morning it was very nice to see the sun shining.
A few months ago i planted some garlic but nothing has happened?? i dug a couple up they have no roots they are just sat there so i will assume nothing will come from them .
I took along some elephant garlic and planted that its much bigger than normal garlic with a milder taste.
We dug up the spring cabbages, purple sprouting broccoli and the last of the leeks and dug it all over now everything is clear and ready for planting.... I think my next job will be sowing some parsnip seeds there.

09 February 2013

I had decided yesterday it was going to be too cold to go down to the allotment today ,however when i looked out this morning and saw the ground wasn't frozen and the sun shining i told my son callum to hurry up and get ready for the allotment.
We were well wrapped up but it didn't seem that cold with the sun warming us up ,it was only when the sun went in that we really felt the chill....

Todays task was to plant some shallots i didn't grow any last year but did the first year i took on the allotment ...i did miss them last year as i like using them in casseroles ..... anyway they are now in the ground :)

I quickly limed the area were my cabbages and cauliflowers are going to be it all helps with clubroot!!

We did manage to hoe around the strawberry plants too my plot looks almost weed free now :) ....not for long though I'm sure!!

Brought home the last 2 parsnips from my plot :( and a leek ....... it was a good morning and nice to see others there too ...can't wait to go down again soon :)

Sunday 27th January 2013 after the bad weather finally able to get on my plot

I was very happy this morning when i looked out to see no more white stuff on the ground :)

I took callum with me to the allotment this afternoon i only planned to pick a cabbage and dig up some parsnips but we ended up doing more!!
I decided to dig up some leeks and the last 2 remaining savoy cabbages this left us with more ground to dig over , it was was good to finally be able to do something to the soil when i did go down just before christmas the ground had been frozen so we couldn't dig where the carrots had been and i was beginning to think it would have been a mad rush to get it done in time, the only bits left now are where the two cages stand

Also dug up some parsnips i think there are about 2 left ,i checked on the purple sprouting broccoli and found it was ready :)  there are lots of side sprouts forming so looks like i'll be getting lots more to pick soon

26/01/2013 pineberrys and sweet potatoes

Really need to get to my allotment i have some purple sprouting broccoli I'm sure must be ready to pick,all the snow and ice have prevented me going anywhere near it:( ..... i really cant wait it must be around 3-4 weeks since i last went down i even had to buy parsnips this week!!

I'm going to try and post my allotment comments from this blog this year,it's easier to look back on when im wondering when i planted things ,i will keep the pictures on facebook though and of course link the posts to facebook

Today i put my first and second early potatoes in to egg trays and started them off chitting ,I'm later this year!! they are now on top of my kitchen cupboards where it's cooler and light they do well up there :)

I mentioned last year that i was going to track down some pineberries that didn't cost the earth and 2 days ago i did just that ,so i'm waiting for delivery of 12 pineberry plants they are basically white strawberries that taste of pineapple ...i'm very excited to see how they do :)

Ive been ordering a few seeds this week too, not many though i have 3 quality street tins full of packets!! i haven't bought them all though most came free with the grow your own magazine i buy each month

In the next couple of weeks I'm hoping the big freeze doesn't return as i need to clean the greenhouse inside thoroughly with jeyes fluid before i sow this years seeds...... have to say I'm finding it difficult not to start sowing seeds!! but something I've learnt the past few years is ,it's better to wait until march with the better light conditions...... but i will be sowing flower seeds soon :)

One more thing i have started off the sweet potatoes they are in water ...im hoping they will grow slips that i can then plant on to the allotment many have tried this and it does work ....fingers crossed!!

17th September 2012

I thought i would do another post in this blog i have been neglecting it again :(

Ive just been reading last years September entry at the end of the month  and apparently it was very hot!! i cant remember this

I did manage to get to the plot this morning as usual Mr mole had been busy *shakes fist* although i should be very grateful this time there were no crops ruined!!

 

It was quite busy there this morning i think it was the sunshine.  as usual lots of tiny weeds had appeared so it was out with the hoe I'm sure there is a weed fairy that sprinkles seeds and casts her wand overnight!!

 

I was emptying my bright pink wheelbarrow when another plot holder asked if i wanted some everlasting spring onions?? Ive never heard of them ,i was told they just keep on dividing all year long and are frost hardy too.

 

 

 

Here they are everlasting spring onions also known as welsh onions as i found out when i got home ,you just split them up to a small clump of around 4 and put them in the ground and they just grow and keep dividing :) they are frost tolerant to around minus 10

 

 



 

and this is how they look now they are in the ground ,the man who gave them to me had 4 rows he said he had far to many so was giving them away or on the compost heap they would go ,I had some with a salad you just peel back the brown skin and they are just like spring onions that separate and mild tasting too they last for years as they just keep on dividing, he said he pulls off what he needs and plants them back in ....fantastic :)