1st May 21014

Ive been lucky enough to have two spare mornings this week so I took myself of to the allotment.
On Monday I took down some more broad beans and more peas to plant out, I've sown them a couple of weeks apart so they aren't all ready at once. I'm pleased I left blue pellet food out for the slugs and snails, I had caught a few that thought it was ok to just help themselves to my crops, well it isn't ok slimy trail creatures!! I do think this year will be a bad year for them in fact all pests due to the mild winter ... slugs and snails aren't the only things ready to eat anything I plant ...I noticed semi circle marks all over the edges of the pea and broad bean plants ...the pea and bean weevil  have been busy too they don't normally do any damage to the plant just the edge of the leaves .
After that I covered up the potatoes as best I could but they are too high now luckily I didn't plant the whole lot at once so I only have 3 rows to worry about as the temperature dips tomorrow night .... I was lucky enough to bump into another plot holder last week who is also head gardener for the council he was dropping of grass cuttings at his plot and kindly gave me a couple of bags I'm going to use the clippings to cover up the potatoes tomorrow.
Tuesday morning was another nice day I edged my plot a bit as the grass path was creeping and trying to take over ...... I took down some beetroot which I squashed between the salsify and my strawberries I will regret doing this when it comes to picking my strawberries they are under a mini ploy tunnel until this cold snap goes.
Before I planted them I had to do some major weeding around the parsnip and salsify seedlings ..it was hand weeding too as there so may tiny seedlings being swamped by lots of tiny weeds I must remember to take the salsify seeds down I have some gaps in the row where they haven't germinated
It took me ages i picked some more purple sprouting broccoli and decided to head home.
Tomorrow will be a flying visit just to cover up the potatoes and fleece the pine berries as some are in flower.

2nd January 2014

Here I am at the beginning of my 3rd growing year at the allotment telling myself how I must keep this blog up to date .... I said the same last year ;)
Its useful to look back at the previous year on here month by month see how the weather was and what I had sown and harvested I keep a written diary too but that seems to fizzle out around the summer time too ...I must try harder!!

I finally made it to my plot today and made a good start with my son digging it over he did one end the digging whilst I tackled lots of chickweed at the other it was fairly easy going my sandy soil is easier to dig and weed when its wet

I cleared some space by digging up the last of the swedes and carrots , I still have half a row of parsnips and about 4 leeks left and at the end of the plot a few spring cabbages that look really good and seem to be growing well

I dug up one of my blackcurrant bushes I had far too many last year, I had two that another plot holder gave me and two I bought I kept the largest of the ones he gave me and removed the other as it wasn't doing as well. The ones I had bought should fruit this year as they had just started to produce fruit last year , I did notice they all need a good prune to sort out the shape and I need to move the redcurrant bushes too to give them more room

We spent almost 2 hours there but half an hour of that was used up as two other plot holders came down and across to see us which was nice :)  we did experience frozen toes though and decided to pack up and come home for some warm soup

17th July 2013

Not a fan of heat at all so I'm popping down quick to the allotment to water and harvest and heading home its far too hot at the plot.
Thought id do a quick catch up blog as I haven't been posting on facebook recently my cat went missing during Sunday night so I spent all Monday searching and contacting people ...thankfully she came back during the early hours of Tuesday morning ...what a relief!!

I did manage to spend some time at the plot on Monday morning gave the plot a weed and a good water I noticed I had about 6 blackberries ready but I left them there I was very shocked today ( Wednesday) to find lots ready
I have pulled the pea plants up they had finished and started to turn yellow and I'm very happy I am a bit fed up picking them!!

The strawberries are still going strong the problem is they just don't keep well in this warm weather too many to pick!!

The only disaster is the turnips they have bolted I'm not that bothered by this it just made space for some calabrese a plot neighbour gave me so I planted them in the space.

I went to the allotment when my son finished school he was in charge of watering.... I was picking strawberries and the sweat was just pouring off me at one point stinging my eyes!! I dug some charlotte potatoes and picked some blackberries and decided to go home!! I did notice there are many many blackcurrants ready which means I need to spend a very long time picking them!!

17th June 2013.... *note to self* check for thistles before sitting down!!

I have been to the allotment 2 days in a row I am doing well :)

I took my son callum with me yesterday all he did was sneeze (man flu) I took down my butternut squash and patty pan squash I've been trying to get down to plant them for a few days but they are finally in the ground now and covered with a mini poly tunnel until they flower I also planted some celery plants in my blue tubs as the plot is now full and I had nowhere to put them.
I also dragged the netting out of the shed to cover the strawberries they are green at the moment but they are sure to turn red when I'm not there and I don't want the birds to get their greedy beaks on them!!

Today I was on my own I thought I would get lots done I noticed yesterday in some of the netted cages where the cabbages are there were a few weeds I was hoping to give everything a good weed....but it didn't happen as there was lots of interest in my new mini poly tunnel lots of chatting and not much work done not that I mind too much :)
The weather was a bit strange it was a cloudy a little muggy and couldn't make up it's mind if it was going to rain or not!!
I was given some tiny calabrese plants that I've brought home to pot up I'm hoping some of the potatoes will be out of the way before they get too big.
Yesterday I had a feel for first earlies there were some good size ones so this morning I decided to dig up 3 plants they were a good size and tasted so nice :)
I did manage to get a little weeding done and was careful today where I sat as yesterday I parked my bottom on a large thistle....OUCH!!
I gave everything a good watering after throwing a tantrum  with the hose ......my sandy soil dries out very quickly  and then decided to head home for lunch
 maybe ill get a chance to pop down tomorrow to do some weeding   

1st June 2013

My allotment is filling up now and Ive still got lots to plant!!

I went down yesterday to plant some cauliflowers, cabbage runner beans and my brit pop popcorn.

The runner beans have been really bad for germination this year i need 10 plants and i have only managed to take down 5... i have another 6 in the greenhouse but they are being grown for someone else ..... i just hope i get some more through soon!!

We didn't have enough time yesterday to get that much done so we went down again today when i say we i mean myself and my 14 yr old son

Today the main task was to get rid of all the tiny weed seedlings that have appeared everywhere, this was easy enough in empty areas but going between onions beetroot and parsnips was a nightmare ...stupid weeds!!

I had hoped to build a tall brassica cage today for a couple of brussel sprouts and a couple of broccoli plants i don't grow many...this will be the 3rd year trying to grow sprouts they just get clubroot and refuse to grow sprouts big enough to eat so this will be the last time i try and grow them besides they take up too much room for too long. I am growing a couple of purple sprouting broccoli plants but they will be grown elsewhere so they are out of the way when i need to put in the potatoes next spring.

i have lots of swede plants at home waiting for bigger pots id love to just plant them at the allotment to get them out of the way but they need to have a big strong root system before planting on my allotment because of the clubroot ,i have some kohl rabi which i may take down earlier as they aren't in the ground as long so don't get affected as much.

I keep watching allotment you tube videos and reading other peoples blogs and facebook pages and all are saying it will be a good year for fruit ...i agree the blackcurrants are full of berries and the blackberry which seems to have doubled in size since last week!! the raspberries at home are doing very well too.

We left the allotment looking all neat and tidy after two hours,hopefully i'll get a chance on monday to return and plant some more things,tomorrow i'll be in the greenhouse sorting out the bedding plants :)

01/05/2013 quick update from todays visit

Ive been a bit worried the past few nights with the frosts just incase my potatoes had come through so thought i would go down and check on them, good job i did as one tiny sprout and broken the surface the leaves were black so it has been caught by the frost I'm so relieved it was the only one!!!

After mounding them all up i went around to have a look ,i now have two elephant garlic through and a visitor had been near them too **shakes fist**

 

i couldn't believe how much the fruit bushes had changed since my last visit they have tiny buds all over them

 

                                   Blackcurrants there are lots and lots of tiny berries like this

 

 

I'm hoping these are redcurrants they look a bit different to the blackcurrants another plot holder gave me three one turned out to be a blackcurrant and I'm hoping the other two will be red ....ill soon find out.

 

  

Here are my parsnip seedlings :) a whole row of them have germinated ill take the fleece off them tomorrow.

 

I'm going again in the morning as i want to plant out my onions grown from seed  

 

 



2013 an ever expanding list of things im growing this year!!

LETTUCE- little gem,   iceberg,   webbs wonderful,  balmoral,  lobjoits (cos)
ONIONS-  bedfordshire champion (from seed) ,  welsh onions (permanent at the allotment) 
 silverskin (for pickling)
LEEKS   autumn giant,  musselburgh
CABBAGE  savoy,  golden acre,  january king,  winter king, april, a red variety i forgot the name
CAULIFLOWER all year round,  amazing,  snowball
CUCUMBER   marketmore
SWEET BELL PEPPER
CELERIAC    giant prague
CHILI PEPPER
TOMATO  red cherry,  gardeners delight,  alicante,  minibel,  marmande
GHERKIN
CELERY
AUBERGINE  moneymaker
MELON  hearts of gold
ALPINE STRAWBERRY   from seed red and white mix
SWEETCORN  britpop
SQUASH   vegetable spaghetti,  winter butternut, courgette,  winter sweet dumpling,
SWEET POTATO  grown from my own slips
SHALLOTS  golden gourmet
HERBS   basil,  sweet basil,  lemon basil,  parsley,  thyme,  chives,  rosemary, 
BROCCOLI  early sprouting purple,  autumn green calabrese,  rudolph
PEAS   hurst greenshaft
RUNNER BEAN  prizewinner stringless
ELEPHANT GARLIC
POTATOES first earlies foremost,   second earlies charlotte,  carlingford,  maris peer
                       maincrop red rooster
BEETROOT  boltardy
BROAD BEANS  bunyards exhibition
CRESS
TURNIPS   purple top milan
SWEDE  invitation
KOHL RABI  superscmelz
CHARD
KALE
SPINACH
SPINACH BEET
SPRING ONION
RADISH

FRUIT BUSHES   redcurrant,  blackcurrant, raspberry, strawberry,  pineberry,  blueberry , cranberry ,  blackberry
a dwarf apple tree and an orange and lemon patio tree

                      

20/04/2013 finally perfect weather

It was perfect weather at the allotment this morning, not too hot or too cold,and no annoying blustery wind!! We arrived around 10 am to find four plot holders already there and so many changes to the plots since since our last visit ....many are now being planted up with various things and structures have appeared ,like runner bean frames.... i did mention to my son as we walked down that i would be putting up my runner bean frame ....its was met by a groan he knows too well it takes me forever ....... not this year though!!

I took down my pineberry plants today they are the white strawberries that are supposed to taste like pineapple .. they have been in the cold frame for two weeks and have grown so much i decided now was the time for them to be planted out

 

 

There is a lady who live across the road from the allotments and she has a small piece of land she grows veg on ,she often yells over the hedge and hands me plants for passing around the allotments last week it was cabbages and cauliflowers which i didn't need so passed them around ,today it was leeks ,beetroot and broad beans i took only a few of each as i have lots growing then passed the rest around there was more than enough!! this also meant lots of chatting which i don't mind everyone is really nice there :)

 

On to the runner bean frame thought id get it done out the way I'm not planning on sowing the beans until next month,but i will be busy with other things.. this year i built it with 5 poles on each side and strengthened it in the middle with another pole ....this year it wont lean or sway badly in the wind ....well that is the plan!! and it will save the other plot holders mocking my construction skills laugh they may haha but it always stays upright!!!

 

 

 



  I should also point out i built it really quickly

 

 

Things have changed alot in the last week finally i have a row of shallots and one of the elephant garlic bulbs has made an appearance

 

 

one row of shallots :)

 

 

one elephant garlic bulb has come through

 

 

peas and broad beans that i planted as plants last week

 

 

this blackcurrant bush seems to have really changed in a week

 

 







 

After around two hours we returned home for lunch and then i spent most of the afternoon sowing more seeds and replanting things

 

today i sowed the squashes........ butternut squash.........winter sweet dumpling squash........vegetable spaghetti squash...and courgette.... busy day but an enjoyable one :)







13 April 2013

Another sunny morning today so off i headed to the allotment i took my 14 year old son with me again ,you wouldn't believe it was so nice as now its raining but as you will see from a couple of pictures i'll post here my soil is so dry it really needs some rain.

I took with me some peas and broad beans that have been hardening off in the cold frame.... after having a chat with another plot holder i got on with putting up some chicken wire to support the peas

 

 

I had sown just the right amount for the row ill have to count them and make a note so i know how many to grow next year

 

 

 



 

Next the broad beans i actually hate them ......but the seeds were free on the front of a magazine i buy so decided to give them a go and pick them when they are small apparently they taste much nicer and sweeter

Still no sign of the shallots sprouting :( or the garlic but having read a few internet forums it seems most that bought wilkos garlic are having the same problem ....oh well there is always next year!!

My son was in charge of cutting back the mint which i grow in black flower buckets as they spread everywhere looks all neat and tidy now :)

ill leave you to look at a picture of my plot as it looked today

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 :)

 

 





25th August 2012

I haven't been keeping up to date with this blog!!! which wont be useful next year when i want to look back and compare growing .....

There are 2 things that have done badly this year at the allotment they are onions which bolted,split and then rotted and the first lot of beetroot that were attacked my flea beetle .
Next year i will sow the beetroot much later in the year as only a few weeks ago i started off some in the greenhouse then planted out ,they were picked today!! really big too I'm impressed.

All of the squashes......pumpkin,courgettes,and butternut squash are doing very well i did panic a few weeks ago because of the cold wet weather they were struggling but they are doing fantastic

The runner bean harvest is is full swing so every time i go there are lots to pick then i come home and spend ages chopping them for the freezer that way we can enjoy them all year round.

My potatoes did get blight but the second and first earlies were eaten and the were fine ..... the maincrops ,i ended up chopping the leaves and stems and now I'm gradually digging them up to store them fingers crossed they will be ok the red roosters have done really well I'm impressed ..... i have another 2 rows of others to dig up then that will be it for another year :)

12th July 2012

It's been a while since i wrote on here so thought I'd update with a few ramblings :)

Couldn't believe it this morning the sun was shining as predicted!! managed to get to the allotment for 9:30am.
The allotments aren't a typical allotment site it's more like veg gardens all are very well kept as is the site it's not very big but i like it there i always feel safe there are houses all around and a main road so you are always seen.
I did lots of weeding I'm sure it rains weeds there!! most of it by hand as the hoe hurts my dodgy back.
I have a small salad area with a few lettuce and radishes so after weeding that  i sowed a few more seeds of both.
Next was to find out what was nibbling my turnip leaves, it was the same holes that were all over the beetroot leaves and eventually they stopped growing ,on close inspection i found what i was looking for the flea beetle, i thought it was them but haven't seen them until now, they jump like fleas horrid things .... gave them a spray and sowed a few more turnip seeds in the row, fingers crossed they leave them alone.
Pleased to say all squashes are now looking much better :) the round courgette and normal courgette are producing again and looking green rather than yellow.
The pumpkin has tiny flowers starting and has really started crawling along .. finally the butternut squash is looking much bushier I'm not sure it will produce the weather hasn't been warm enough for it but we'll see :)
My first french beans are growing and the runner beans have quite a few flowers on them now :) even the sweetcorn is starting to look well.

One of the other plot holders told me to go and pick as many raspberries as i wanted ,as he didn't want anymore i picked about a pound in weight and made some raspberry jam with the seeds removed tastes lovely :)

There might be more yet as he has told me to pick anymore i see :) I'm really lucky to have such nice plot neighbours .

I had a bit of an accident today :( after picking peas, courgettes,strawberries and digging up a few potatoes i was rushing around putting everything back in my shed all going well until i stepped in to the shed on to the rake and BANG!! ouch the handle hit me in the side of the head ...it really hurt ... but i did laugh afterwards hoping no one had seen it ,i have a nice trophy lump behind my ear now!!

29th June 2012

When i stepped out this morning i didnt really want to go to the allotment as it was so windy!! but went anyway had to finish off from what i was doing yesterday before the storm hit.

Planted my winter king cabbages and netted them not easy when the wind is blowing!!

Checked on my peas and some were ready so picked some and brought them home

These are greenshaft different from last years ,have to say im very impressed so far the pods are huge and some had 11 peas inside i have half a row of these and the other half and hurst greenshaft

It takes a while to check every pea before picking it i need a pea harvester lol

Next back to the strawberries picked another 2lb today and yet again there are still many more to pick!

then dug up some more new potatoes

Hoping to pop down again tomorrow morning to put another row of peas in a different variety that can be planted up to july .... there is a nice gaop for them now a row of first earlies have gone

28th June 2012

Havent posted for a while so thought id do a quick post

At the moment im busy weeding and picking strawberries there are so many i went back today to pick some but the sky went very dark and i heard a rumble so just ran to the car with what i had .... when i got home i weighed them another 2lb thats 8lb in total and may more to come yet!!
One of the other plot holders gave me some netting that was wider than i have and sturdier he told me he would bring it when i saw him on tuesday ,so i was quite suprised when i saw it on my strawberries today :)

Everything needs weeding nettles are growing everywhere they are only small but they grow so quickly i really need more time to sort it all out.

Some of my potatoes have had blackleg which turns the stems black and rots them ive found 3 plants so far .... and on tuesday the starting of blight on some leaves :( i knew it would come its been the perfect conditions for it, at the moment everthing is ok

courgettes ,pumpkins ,butternut squash are so far behind compared to last year but they seem to be growing nicely now we have had a bit of sun

The peas are almost ready i grew them in different stages so some wont be ready for a while yet

Runner beans finally have some flowers but they arent as bushy as they usually are i hope they will be ok

had problems with brocolli and cauliflower they have produced head way to early im not the only one with this problem

Tiny heads they shouldnt be ready for a few weeks yet im glad i only grew 1 at this stage the others in the row are much further behind

This year is proving to be very challenging for growing veg i'll be doing a big photo update soon

Managed to get some planting done today i found some in my greenhouse that were ready i put in 3 cauliflowers and 2 savoy cabbages ready for winter harvest and 2 calabrese. I did take down some winter king cabbages but because of the stormy looking sky i ended up bringing them back home again!!