24/03/2012 it's planting time!!!

I took Callum with me to the allotment this morning, it was a bit foggy but the sun soon came out bringing with it some other plot holders
i took Pete's drill with me as i needed more holes drilling in the bottom of the carrot tubs for water drainage and also needed to drill some holes in the metal poles that are near the blackberry bush so that i could put some more wire supports in , i dont think i'll get much fruit this year it's only the second year of growth

After my drilling skills were put to the test :) it was then time to start planting my first earlies callum dug a trench whilst i put more manure in the trenches weren't very straight but i made sure the potatoes were in a straight line

                    same as last year 2 rows of foremost hoping they will do as well as last year

                                             filled with more manure then mixed in a bit

bit of  a strange colour on this picture but here are the potatoes in the trench with added manure

potatoes are in a straight line  not really that bothered it doesnt make them grow any better

here we go 2 rows in one more to go but that will be another day

Also have some shocking news from the allotment it's about RATS i hate rats more than anything else so imagine my horror when i moved a bag of manure and saw a hole in the ground!! i knew instantly it was a rat hole so callum who cLaims he isn't scared filled it with pebbles the bag had been chewed through but no further signs of Mr rat no more holes or chewed bags we moved them for now....

im More than a bit horrified !!!

 Later callum was in the area and jumped back quick this made me scream like an idiot much to the delight of other plot holders!! turns out he got stung my a nettle felt such a fool!! 

Well the planting season of 2012 has begun on the allotment and my greenhouse is getting very full with various veg and flowers :)

10th March 2012

Went to the allotment this morning with Callum still not much to do as I'm starting everything off in the greenhouse this year
Today's task was to drill some holes in the large water butt type tubs i use for the carrots however all didn't go to plan as the drill bit snapped so ended up coming home

Things in the greenhouse are coming along well so far the following have germinated

brussel sprouts
savoy cabbage
golden acre cabbage
silverskin onions
peas
sweet pepper
1x celeriac hope the others follow soon
leeks
cauliflower
lettuce

just waiting for the tomatoes to appear now

March 1st 2012

Finally found the time to visit my allotment this morning :) there wasn't much to do hardly any weeds which was good!! I put some manure around the fruit bushes and had a little dig around wasn't there long
i did finally remember a soil sample from the area i want to grow cabbages,cauliflowers and sprouts ect they don't like soil to be too acid ,last year i added some lime and things seemed to grow well.

confirms i need lime again ill do it as soon as the potatoes are in don't want to risk putting it on an area where they might be going as they hate lime

This afternoon a spent a good hour in my greenhouse sowing seeds :):) here's what i started

tomato gardeners delight for pots outside

tomato minibel  for hanging baskets

tomato alacante which I'm growing in the greenhouse

cabbage golden acre

cabbage savoy

brussel sprouts

just a couple of each cabbage as i plan to stagger them so they are not all ready at the same time

also sowed some paris silverskin shallots like the ones you buy in jars :)

think i might be back in there again tomorrow as i have so much to do I'm growing everything in my greenhouse and transferring later to my allotment

Here is a picture of just a few of my potatoes chitting

What's growing 2012

The greenhouse in finally in use :) mainly with flower seeds but i do have a few veg started

sweet peppers
celeriac
leeks
cauliflower just a couple ill be growing more later
lettuce
march is only days away i'll be starting more things in a couple of weeks :)

Here is a list of everytime im growing this at home and the allotment

allotment--- *new* is never grown before

runner beans
french beans
beetroot
brussels
butternut squash *new*
cabbage several varieties to last the year
carrots
cauliflower
celeriac *new*
celery
calabrese *new*
courgette
kohl rabi *new*
leeks
lettuce
onions
parsnips
peas
potatoes first early
potatoes second early
potatoes maincrop
pumpkin
raddish
shallots (silverskin)
spring onion
swede
sweetcorn
strawberry sweetcorn (popcorn variety)
mini sweetcorn
purple sprouting broccoli

Fruit bushes

blackberry
tayberry
blackcurrant
redcurrant
strawberries (52 plants)

Growing at home

cherry tomatoes for the hanging baskets
tomatoes
cucumbers *new*
sweet peppers *new*
maybe some lettuce

Fruit bushes at home

raspberries
blueberries
cranberries
kiwi


looks like another busy year then!!

A few links for you :)

Ive been asked for tips for beginners recently and i keep saying i'll post a few good sites and forget.
Better late than never here they are :)

http://uktv.co.uk/home/dgiped/kw/211  ...uktv how to grow guides and useful section on growing in pots

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/gardening_guides/  bbc has some good guides for beginners

http://www.growinggrub.co.uk/container/container01_frameset.htm  good info for growing in pots

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/   this site has quite a lot of information on it

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/how-to-grow good guides on growing veg


Veg seeds

http://www.moreveg.co.uk/  started using this site this year most packets of seeds are 50p smaller quanities than usual packs very impressed with them :)

Forum links

Here are my 3 favourite sites for help on growing fruit and veg

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/forum.php  from grow you own mag

http://chat.allotment.org.uk/  really good site

Recipes for when you have grown too much!!

http://www.allotment.org.uk/recipe/

Mushrooms part 2

Well i have news :) i checked yesterday to see if anything had happened to the mushroom kit. Carefully lifted the lid and found some furry white stuff ,i checked back on the instructions and this is what i need ..so far so good :)

On to the next stage ,which is to place somewhere cool and dark and check daily i am days away from mushrooms ,well hopefully!!!  sorry Allotment Amy if you are reading this i wrongly told you last night 21 days :/ no idea where i got that from lol , I will post another update if anything should happen

Mushrooms!!!

Hello:):) it's been a long time since i updated my blog but then again there hasn't been that much to report from the allotment .
At the moment I'm busy ordering seeds and planning where I'm going to plant everything (this however changes every other day)
Anyway i thought i would write a blog post about growing mushrooms, i bought 2 kits from poundland to give them a try as i have heard they are a bit hit and miss at that price you cant go wrong.

so here is the kit it's not very big

Inside is the white stuff (mushroom spores) a small bag of compost and a lid ,instructions are easy enough as long as you pay attention

You have to put the compost on top of the white stuff (spores) and spray with a water spray so it doesn't get too wet

Next put the lid on and put it somewhere that's around 20C and leave it for about 6 days I'll be checking on it at the beginning of next week so I'll report back if there are any new findings