A few seasonal photos - December 2010

Here are a few photos showing the allotment during the recent period of snow and frost - plus a demonstration of how (inelegantly) to crawl in and out of the fruit cage! I need to change the size of the entrance for next Spring, methinks.

The sprouts were delicious - two meals from one 'stalk' and more to come, along with the parsnips once the ground defrosts!

All quiet at the allotment

As the snow falls it's a pretty good time to stay indoors. As expected, I did manage to get 2 trailer loads of manure - one from Bhylls Lane, the other from Stafford Road. Despite all the time and effort the end result always looks rather disappointing so fortunately much of the allotment was manured last year and doesn't all need re-doing.

We'll concentrate on the area of the fruit cage and the upper sections this Autumn and I'll try to get more manure during the Spring as well.

I planted around 30 cloves of over-wintering garlic so hopefully they'll have got established a bit before this cold spell. They are supposed to be very hardy anyway so there shouldn't be any problems.

Still in the ground are sprouts, parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes and chard so we'll still have some fresh produce up until Christmas, if not beyond.

A whole lot of manure going on!

Stuart (my son) was quite sensibly away in Wakefield having a good time when I had chosen to hire a trailer to get a couple of loads of manure for the allotment. The company were great and reckoned a loan from noon on Saturday until 9am on Monday was just a day (can't complain about that!) and were also very friendly and welcoming too - so all was set for a Saturday afternoon manure snatch (from a place on Stafford Road that I passed every day of my life when I worked at Rodbaston) and from the place at the end of Bhylls Lane on Sunday afternoon (which I discovered last year and thought might have disposed of everything by now). Photographic evidence will surely follow.

They think it's all over ............ it is (virtually) now!

Today we had the last of the potatoes from the allotment, meaning we've been eating our own since the end of June. A great achievement but one we'll try to improve on next year too.

Still remaining are a few from sprouts and some broccoli as well leeks, some parsnips and some pak choi (if it's still OK).

I've still not worked out how we'll get some manure but maybe the Bhylls Lane person (or the place on the Stafford Road) will be possible?

The last of the squashes

As part of the preparations for autumn it has been necessary to pick all the remaining squashes in case a sudden frost should damage them. There are still a few courgettes left (somewhat less precious!) in the front border of the plot but they will soon be over too - to be replaced temporarily by some wallflower plants to provide a bit of early spring colour at a time when many things will be starting off in the greenhouse but very little will be in the allotment itself.

Having said that I'm hopeful that some winter lettuce will make it - some seeds planted directly in the soil and some in trays in the greenhouse until they germinate. It'll be interesting to see how they get by.

Preparations begin for 2011

Although there are still plenty of vegetables still to pick - including beans, beetroot, carrots, chard, some brassicas and leeks - it's definitely time to start to plan for the new season.

I've already checked what seeds remain from this year which we can use next time, and also assessed the pros and cons of everything that we've grown or tried to grow! I've ordered most of the fresh seeds which we'll need through the Organic Catalogue but there are one or two things - including a beautiful sweet corn seed which will need to be bought through Thompson & Morgan and Suttons.

I've dug over most of the area which had potatoes this year, as well as the onion and garlic plot, and scattered Vetch seed as a green manure on them. It'll be interesting to see how it grows and what benefits it brings to the soil but I'm hopeful!

I'll also be getting manure for those parts of the plot which didn't get much this year but also being careful to leave untouched those sections which will have root crops on them next year - I think I see a plan emerging!!

Early September update

At the start of the month I dug up all of the Miro Spira maincrop potatoes, filling 2 hessian sacks. They are spectacular in terms of appearance and yield, and apart from falling a little when boiled they are excellent. The flavour is good and in particular they make great baked and roast potatoes and also mash.

Elsewhere on the allotment the beans, beetroot, carrots, sweet corn, chard (spinach), squash continue to grow well and we have to make sure we pick them as often as we can whilst everything stays fresh.

I've already had a look in the Organic Gardening catalogue for next year and spotted one or two likely varieties of potato to try, but undoubtedly we'll be having plenty of Charlotte again.

As far as the greenhouse is concerned I'll try an earlier maturing greenhouse tomato next year as well as the all-time favourite Gardeners Delight, and grow some red hot chili peppers again. The supposedly hot cayenne red peppers this year are (so far) not that hot.

The cucumbers are excellent though and I'll grow the same variety again both in the greenhouse and at the allotment.

I have ordered two types of green mature (Hungarian Grazing Rye and Winter Tares - Vetch) for the allotment, two varieties which will grow through the winter and can be chopped down dug in early spring. They will help supply and fix nitrogen as well as add to the overall quality of the soil.

I have also provisionally put my name down for a consignment of manure to be delivered direct to the allotment so we'll see how that works out. Apparently 'The Professor' will be testing it first to make sure it is good and doesn't contain any weeds or chemicals!

The rain has stopped - at last!!

After some days of rain, sometimes torrential, it was great today to go down to the allotment again - all the more so as I've been working on a large translation job since Monday of this week and definitely needed a change of scenery after finishing it about 2pm today.

The tomatoes are finally ripening quickly in the greenhouse, and the many hot peppers are starting to turn red too. With those and cucumbers as well the greenhouse has been particularly productive this year.

Star of the crop today has to be the maincrop potatoes though - the photo shows the potatoes I dug from just 3 plants - monsters!

Now for the evidence!

It's been ages since I posted any photos from the allotment so here are a few to show the kinds of produce we've been able to enjoy in August:

Back home after a lovely holiday

We had a great time in France on holiday - the first week with Tina and Keith near Dinan and the second week on our own near Erquay on the coast.

I was a little apprehensive before we went to the allotment for the first time after our break. Stuart has watered some of the plants in our absence and nothing seems to have suffered through lack of water.

The sprouts had become infested with black fly so I had to pull all the plants out before the black fly spread further afield.

Some of the dwarf french beans had gone a little old but the runner beans look in their prime and we've already had a couple of meals involving them and they are really good.

Some of the courgettes are definitely marrows now but taste just as good for all that, and more recently sown broad beans are now providing a few small pods of tasty beans.

The beetroot is excellent - lots of pretty large beets - and the distinctive flavoured kohl rabi are ready though I'm not sure Linda will be partaking too much of them!

The main crop potatoes are also just ready to dig so we'll be able to continue with our third consecutive potato crop to keep us self-sufficient for at least another month - a big success!

We've also continued to get cucumbers both from the allotment and the greenhouse - which also has lots of tomatoes on the point of ripening, as well as many hot cayenne peppers which should start to turn red very soon.

All in all it's turning out to be a really successful first year on the allotment and we'll have learned a lot from our own experience and from the other allotmenteers which we can apply in future.

Time for a holiday!

We're soon off to France for a couple of weeks which will be fabulous. Stuart has a key to the allotment so I hope he'll be able to call round once or twice and help himself to whatever is ready to pick. Undoubtedly there will be courgettes and the runner beans are starting to set now that they have reached the tops of their canes.

He can keep a general eye on things and pick whatever he sees - radishes will keep maturing fast now, and the chard could do with picking quite regularly now.

I harvested all the garlic and we've been eating the red onions regularly too. It's not been a sensational onion crop but hopefully what remain in the soil (including the shallots) will still be OK when we get back in 2 weeks' time.

I dug up the remaining Charlotte potatoes - 5 plants giving nearly 7lbs of potatoes so I think that sums it up - great crop and delicious potatoes! We'll take them to France with us rather than risk storage problems and no doubt smuggle a couple of courgettes in too. I'll do a final check tomorrow of pickable produce so that might also include some beans to go!

More news in August but for now we're getting ready for Brittany - the land of fields of artichokes (and much, much more!).

The fruits of our labour etc!

Finally we're really seeing our efforts coming to fruition at the allotment.

We have started on the Charlotte potatoes now - and they are delicious, exactly as I'd hoped. In addition we now have regular broad beans, courgettes, radishes, salad leaves (from the greenhouse) and very soon to be followed by dwarf French beans (is that sizeist?), chard and much more besides.

I looked closely at the kohl rabi yesterday - it's fascinating to see how they're developing golf ball-sized parts at the base of their stems. I'll need to check how big to let them grow, and also what to do with them!

It'll be something to impress the other allotmenteers with though!

And you can eat it ........................

After a lot of hard work up until now things are definitely becoming easier - more maintenance than heavy work. And - even better, of course - crops are starting to mature. So far we've been eating the Swift first early potatoes, with a photo to prove it! And once those are finished we'll be moving on to the Charlottes.

The courgettes are starting to mature, as are the broad beans, so very shortly we'll really be able to enjoy the fruits of our labour!

The Great Garden Transformation

As soon as the garden path was removed just over a week ago Linda has been working hard on the redesign and re-stocking of the garden. The shifting of 2 tons of topsoil through to the rear garden proved to be remarkably quick ( a little on Friday evening and the rest on Saturday, finishing around 4pm) and Linda can really concentrate on the finishing touches now.

These photos give an idea of how things are changing.

Brassicas in the cage at last!

With Stu's help on Sunday we finally got the netting on the cage, clearing the way to transplant the purple sprouting broccoli and kohl rabi. I'll put the sprouts in soon as well but fear the worst as they do seem to have struggled a lot from having been held back in pots for so long. Oh well, I'll try it and we'll just have to see.

Elsewhere everything seems to be doing well - courgettes, squashes, French beans, broad beans, runner beans, sweet corn, potatoes (doing really well, from the looks of things), raspberries, strawberries, currant bushes, rhubarb, radishes (our first crops to actually eat!), beetroot, carrots.

The trick now is to keep sowing in succession.

The greenhouse looks good too - tomatoes and hot peppers in growing bags, salad leaf in three trays, and a number of flower seedlings almost ready for outdoors.

More things from the greenhouse to the allotment

After hardening off at the bottom of the garden more and more plants grown in the greenhouse - including beans, sweet corn, courgettes, leeks and various flower seedlings, over the past couple of days I have planted out the courgettes and runner beans at the allotment. Last night there was a slight frost scare so I covered everything in fleece but this morning everything looked fine and I don't think there was a frost anyway!

I also took a couple of rosemary bushes and some lemon balm and they also looked fine today.

The asparagus continues to look impressive though we shall not be able to harvest any until next April. At least we've proved we can do it though, and the deep beds look good.

Finally we may get the netting draped over the fruit cage very soon now as Kryssy has managed to find some at SCARF which sounds ideal - large enough, but of a type of netting which will drape easily over the fruit cage structure. Once that's in place all the brassicas can go in and no pigeons or butterflies will be able to get close!

Almost mid-May but still frost alerts

It's a strange kind of weather at the moment - often fine in the day but with a cold wind. We've also had some frost warnings for the coming week so I've earthed up the potatoes and placed fleece on the earlies which have grown so much that they're impossible to earth up totally now. I don't think they should come to any harm though.

Seedlings which had been hardening off at the bottom of the garden ready to plant out either in the garden or in the allotment will now have to be held back a bit. I'll put most of them back in the greenhouse at night for the next 3 nights and will have to consider a bit of heating too for the more tender ones such as peppers, tomatoes, squash and courgettes.

With any luck, from next weekend it will be possible to get more things planted out and we can start enjoying a more spring-like Spring!

Greenhouse update

By 21 April we had a range of seedlings growing - all from seed. They include tomatoes, courgettes, kohl rabi, broccoli, peas, pick-and-grow-again salad leaves, sweet peas, nicotiana, California poppies. The French beans and runner beans should be germinating in the next week or so and once we reach May it should be possible to sow seeds directly into the soil for a range of vegetables. The risk of frost at night remains a real risk though, so there's no point sowing too many seeds which will just lie there in cold soil and either rot or get eaten by the birds!

News on the fruit cage is good - all the structures are finished and at the allotment. Linda and I will get the central support in on Thursday evening and then I'll put the gate and the wire mesh 'fence' round the perimeter. As soon as the netting arrives (I had to order it online) it should be a simple task to drape it over the structure and fix it as and where necessary.

Greenhouse update - plenty growing but still risks of frost at night

Asparagus and rhubarb update!!

Finally the asparagus arrived and fortunately I had virtually finished getting the raised beds ready. A further batch of manure from the stable near the end of Bhylls Road was really useful, and I also decided to buy a couple of bags of sterilised loam for the finishing touches as I didn't want to use any soil from the allotment that might in any way contain perennial weeds or impurities.

The rhubarb also arrived and I got that planted the very same day, once again using plenty of manure and watering the plants in really well. With any luck we'll have lots of rhubarb every year now though this first year (as with the asparagus) is really a time for getting the plants established for the future.

The 10 or so broad bean plants that I brought from home are looking sturdy and I don't expect any problems with them until black fly season arrives (when apparently the main thing to do is pinch out the flowering tips and spray with soapy water at the first sign of them).

It's been so dry for the last 10 days that I watered everything on the plot - including raspberry canes, strawberries and onion and garlic bulbs. It's so dry and sunny now that it really feels like summer and the barbecue we had last night and the breakfast we had this morning at the bottom of the garden, signalled our intentions for the year!

Seed and seedlings update

We have made recent sowings of penstemon, petunia, nicotiana and poppies and all have now germinated and have been taken down to the greenhouse to grow them on a bit.

The greenhouse is now pretty full with trays of seedlings and lots of individual pots all growing on until they're able to be hardened off outdoors and then finally put into the ground either at the allotment or in the garden.

In growing bags in the greenhouse we will concentrate on tomatoes, chili peppers, cucumbers and pick and grow again salad leaves (which have already started fair growth though we could do with a bit more daytime sun and warmth to really set things off).

Construction work - and more potatoes!

Yesterday, in unexpectedly warm and sunny conditions, Stuart was able to join me and we could make a start on the fruit cage. With spirit level and sledge hammer in hand, and the previously sharpened 'pencils' made from fence posts, we hammered in the four corner posts of the cage and then started on the centre piece. Amazingly, there were two thrown away fence posts (from one of the adjoining houses, probably) and with part of one added to the whole of the other post that will make sure that the final piece is long enough (ie high enough), once it's planted, to support the netting. Stuart made rapid progress and it will just take a final visit to the allotment together (probably one fine evening after work) to fit everything together, screw or bolt it tight, and hammer it into the ground.

Whilst Stuart was doing that I finished planting some fruit plants that Linda and I bought some months back on one of our caravanning trips - 2 raspberries, 2 blackberries, 2 strawberry plants.

Today I went back to the allotment on my own to complete the potato planting. We now have 20 each of Swift, Charlotte and Sarpo Mira on the allotment so we look forward to good crops over quite a long season.

The over-wintered onion sets don't look too bad. Not all survived, but most did, and I expect them to start growing quite strongly from now on. I bought some Spring planting onion sets as well so we can add to the existing ones, filling in the gaps, as well as plant up another small section of the plot with the remainder.

We're off to Herefordshire tomorrow for a couple of nights in the caravan and that will be a lovely break before the allotment saga continues.

Raspberries and potatoes

With more rain forecast for the afternoon I set off early today to make sure that I could plant the 16 or so raspberry canes that I had dug up from the garden, and also the twenty Swift 1st Early seed potatoes that have been chitting for a while now.

Two days ago I got 4 bags of really well rotted manure from a stable at the end of Bhylls Lane very close to where the railway walk starts in Castlecroft. I'll try to get more before it is all removed but had to stop after 4 bags because the rain was really coming down hard and the whole area was very messy.

Yesterday I got 4 more bags from a stable on the Stafford Road which I used to pass daily on my way to Rodbaston College and back. It was far easier to load up - I could get the car right up to it - and almost as well rotted, so I'll definitely be going back there to get more in the coming days.

I had marked out where the 2 rows of raspberry canes would go and spread some manure over the area and dug it in. Then I planted 2 rows of 8 canes each with the plan to support them on wires between posts once the growth has started. I topped everything off with some organic chicken manure pellets and look forward to seeing the new year's growth starting very shortly.

The 1st Early Swift potatoes went in 2 rows of 10 seed potatoes each, 6 inches deep, 12 inches apart, and 18 inches between rows (well, that's what I was aiming for!) . I had already dug in some manure, did a final weeding of the area, and finished off with more organic chicken manure pellets, so fingers crossed we'll get some reasonable potatoes in around 3 months' time.

In a week, if it's dry enough, I'll plant the other seed potatoes and look forward to seeing the first signs of growth, and then earth them up periodically during the season.

Ongoing soil preparations, including for the fruit area

With Spring fast approaching some final preparations are still needed - firstly the fruit area where the fruit cage will shortly be built. I spent around 3 hours on the soil of this area yesterday, trying to make sure all couch grass and nettles were removed and the old gooseberry bushes cut back and then dug out ready for new plants.

The other main area needing attention is the front right hand corner of the plot which last year was badly affected by Mare's Tail weeds and is unlikely to be properly cultivable at least in the short term. Today I removed much of the couch grass, nettles and other weeds and only time will tell what the area looks like once the Mare's Tail starts to grow again. Maybe today I managed to remove some of that as well though it has a reputation for being able to resist all counter measures!!

Finally, with the deep bed structures in place all that remains is for them to be filled with weed-free, sieved soil and well composted manure and then for the asparagus plants to arrive.

In the afternoon I visited the Dimmingale Garden Centre for more fine seed compost and a few extra seeds - purple sprouting broccoli, kohl rabi and mixed salad leaves. Everything is pretty much set now ........

Update on what's been sown so far and how the land lies ......

We've got the seed potatoes in the conservatory chitting away like good 'uns. 20 each of Swift, Charlotte and Sarpo Mira. From what the experts down at the allotment were saying this morning everything's about 2 weeks behind what you'd normally expect at this time of year so I can't see any of the potatoes going in before the 1st week of April. Apart from needing some manure via Kay's sister's horse's stable we're on schedule with soil preparation so we'll be ready when the time comes.

This morning we laid down several sheets of weed suppressing membrane, which should also help warm the soil for planting. We were also given some plastic sheeting so put that down on the area which last year was very overgrown by nettles. We hope to slow down their growth this year, if not prevent it completely.

It's going to be particularly important to keep the 2 deep beds free from weeds as we develop them for asparagus. We've moved them down to the allotment from the garden and during this coming week I'll be getting them in their correct positions ready to be filled with a soil/compost mix in time for the expected delivery of the plants at the start of April.

We've started quite a lot of plants off from seed already, with the conservatory, upstairs front room and greenhouse all involved at different stages in the germination and growing on process.

Flower seeds planted so far are restricted to 4 varieties of sweet peas (one of which is VERY slow to germinate) and some nasturtiums, but more will be following soon.

Vegetables so far planted from seed (roughly in order of initial planting starting around 1st March) include: cucumbers, sprouts, chili, sweet corn, broad beans, peas, leeks and mixed salad leaves.

In April more seeds will follow, along with more sowings of things already started. If I have to remember one thing this year it is successional sowings!!

If we needed any extra encouragement at all we got it this morning at the allotment. A neighbouring allotmenteer, John, gave us some of his parsnips - huge ones and which had over wintered pretty much unscathed. We'll be having roast parsnips with the Rodbaston leg of lamb for dinner this evening. Definitely just the thing to give you a healthy appetite!

May 2009 - you get a lot of weeds free when you rent an allotment!

Some photos of how the allotment looked just a short while after we took it over in May 2009

It really was a challenge, and one that at first I felt a little doubtful about but Linda reminded me that we had already waited 2 years to get an allotment and that demand far outstrips supply nowadays. We simply couldn't say no.

The Fruit Cage - ultimate design!!

Here is the fruit cage just built by the neighbouring allotmenteer. Stuart and I had to agree that it just had the edge over the plans that we had previously made. With imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, we aim to flatter our neighbour immensely!

Some photos of how the allotment looked in March 2010

Digging for Victory!!

We've only had the allotment since May 2009 so this will be our first complete year as we try to produce lots of wholesome vegetables and fruits whilst at the same time getting lots of healthy exercise (Isn't digging just great??!!)

If we're thinking retro, think "The Good Life" 2010 style.

So far we have prepared most of the ground at the allotment which we intend to cultivate this year and will get some weed repressing membrane down soon to try and keep everything in good condition for when we plant out various seedlings, get the potatoes in or sow seeds direct into the soil.

Inspired by the neighbouring allotmenteer (well, actually, lifting his design directly!) Stuart and I now have the ultimate design for a fruit cage - inexpensive and quick to construct yet sturdy enough to do the job and the aim is to get it completed by the end of March. In the meantime we have already earmarked lots of raspberry plants in the garden that will soon find themselves transported to the allotment, thus allowing (mainly) Linda to concentrate on a garden redesign and redevelopment (of which more news later).

The final construction work at the allotment will consist of the setting up of at least two small deep beds there (moved from their current position in the garden) so that we can get things ready for an April planting of asparagus plants which we hope will thrive and produce asparagus for us for several years to come.