August update

After a couple of weeks away in France at the end of July, it was good to get back to the allotment. It didn't actually look as overgrown as I'd feared!  Up until we left for France the poor weather had continued. It turned the ground into mud when I tried to weed and clear up a bit before we left.

We had enjoyed the First Early Lady Christl before we set off, and expected the Charlotte to be ready on our return.  The haulm had died back on all the potatoes in fact, and word was going round about blight being a problem this year.  I did all I could to get the Charlotte (both batches) dug up, dried and into storage sacks, and got advice from the Professor that I should cut off and remove the haulm from the Early maincrop Picasso potatoes without delay.  Linda had read that the potatoes themselves could then stand a couple of weeks still in the ground but today (after around a week) I dug some up to check what they looked like.  They seem a good size, have a white tinged with a little pink in their skins, and look fine apart from a kind of nick in almost every tuber, despite their not having been struck by a spade or anything. Strange! We'll just have to see how they go.

The courgettes are in full production (yellow, green and Romano - with stripes), as are the runner beans, to be followed closely by the climbing French beans. The broad beans were good but there were not enough of them.

In the netted cage, the purple sprouting broccoli plants and sprouts continue to look OK so we're really hoping to get some crops off them later in the year. Similarly with the leeks, they are looking good and maybe need a feed now and again. The lettuces look and taste fabulous - Rouge Grenobloise, bought in France last holiday - the beetroot are coming on at last, with more to plant today, as is the Chard but it's growing in a part of the allotment which doesn't seem very fertile so I'll get more planted elsewhere. the outdoor cucumbers are way behind those in the greenhouse but hopefully will be productive. The squash plants are much slower to develop than the courgettes but finally seem to be growing and spreading so a crop in September and October seems on the cards.

Summer at last?

After what has seemed like a month of wet and cold weather since yesterday it has been lovely. Ive planted dwarf beans and broad bean plants into the allotment. Some courgette plants and lettuce have also taken well so fingers crossed that we dont get any unpleasant shocks now - such as frosts!

Update on 10th May

After a very wet past week or two today was much brighter and I was able to plant most of the brassica plants - sprouts, broccoli, sprouts.

The asparagus continues to grow quickly and provide us with a weekly meal of around 8 or 9 pieces.

The potatoes are now starting to grow strongly and the First Early - Lady Christl - have a lot of foliage and hopefully a lot of potatoes too!

Let them eat asparagus!

The Gijnlim asparagus has finally started producing spears that we can actually eat after last year when plenty grew but we were advised against harvesting anything. It's really exciting and we're looking forward to enjoying it over the coming four to six weeks. Our first tasting of 3 spears was great!

After a brief frost scare at the start of the week the weather has turned wetter and milder and finally ensured that the first sowing direct into the allotment have now been properly watered. This includes 3 of the 4 batches of potatoes - only the Picasso remains to be planted - and the mixed white, red and orange onion set pack.

In the greenhouse as of today we now have peas, sunflowers and 2 varieties of chillies (Habanero and Early Jalapeno). I've put the Sutton broad beans outside to harden up and I'll put the other variety out tomorrow prior to taking them up to the allotment.

Pretty much everything is now growing in the greenhouse and I'll keep checking what needs to go in and when as the days and weeks pass.

I need to keep concentration and not 'miss the boat' with anything. A year's wait is TOO long to try something again!

The over-wintered spinach is still very eatable and was an ingredient in tonight's chicken and spinach curry, as was some of last season's garlic which is keeping remarkably well.

Rhubarb, rhubarb ......

Last week we got a new rhubarb plant from 'Col's Car Boot' so we have fingers crossed that we'll finally get an established plant. This new one looks already pretty large and healthy and a big bargain at £4.

Today I concentrated on planting the final batch of onion sets - a mixed batch of red, yellow and white onions. A final digging and a good quantity of chicken manure will hopefully give the sets every chance of developing well.

The weather has continued to be warm and dry but the coming week could be cooler (some frosts at night) and possibly a little wetter.

The greenhouse looks good and virtually everything is off to a good start with the exception of the tomatoes and chillies which I covered with vermiculite. So much for good advice? There are plenty of alternative tomato seeds but I used the whole of a very small packet of hot chilli seeds so may have to track down some more very quickly and plant them more conventionally.

The brassica seedlings look good and will need potting on soon, as did the nasturtium seedlings which now have their own individual pots and can grow on protected by the greenhouse before they can be planted out.

The broad beans are growing well in their pots as are the two trays of cut-and-come-again lettuce. I need to keep sowing new trays though to keep a continuity going through the year.

During the week I'll try to get the final batch of Charlotte potatoes in and the Picasso maincrop variety. I'll get it done anyway at the weekend and we're still on a very good schedule.

A lot happening at the allotment

With the weather unbelievably warm and dry there was no excuse not to get a lot done at the allotment.

Specifically, the First Early potatoes (Lady Christl) are planted in 2 x 10 next to the asparagus beds.

I've replanted several of the wallflowers towards the front of the plot for some early colour and brought many back for our garden and for Kay and Mick.

We'll have a salad crop strip on the far left side as you look at the plot with over-wintered Veneziana lettuce leading the way and newly planted beetroot and radish salad close behind. The spinach and chard from last year still look good, as do the over-wintered garlic and red onions. I've ordered more so hope we can cope with the quantity.

The fruit trees are starting to grow, as are the raspberry canes and red and black currant bushes from last year. Even the strawberry plants under the soon-to-be-moved fruit cage look pretty good so I think the answer this year is just LOTS of water.

Over the next day or two I'll finish planting the potatoes and hope that it won't be too long before the greenhouse-based broad beans can be moved outside. Seeds recently planted include sweet corn, cabbage, purple sprouting, sprouts, courgette (green and yellow) tomatoes, chillies and I'll try to keep up with sowings of whatever can be sown over the next week or two (in pots or directly outside).

Here are a few photos showing partial glimpses of the somewhat bare plot and a man leaning awkwardly against an almond tree!

Potato varieties

For a couple of weeks we've had the seed potatoes chitting in the conservatory. We've bought them from Thompson & Morgan which will make them a bit more expensive but they do offer a big range and good descriptions in their catalogues and on-line.

First early = Lady Christl
Salad potato = Charlotte
Early maincrop = Picasso

I've nearly got all the green manure dug in now and the ground should be ready for the potatoes when the time comes. Judging by last year I had planted them all by the end of the 1st week of April and I'm expecting it to be very similar this year.

Spring round the corner

There's definitely a feeling that Spring is fast approaching now. I've sown broad beans, sweet peas and nasturtiums in pots for the greenhouse and will plan carefully for the next few weeks to get other crops underway.

The garlic and onion sets in pots near the greenhouse all look pretty healthy and have got off to a great start before I plant them in the allotment. The onions and garlic which over-wintered there also look good so I'm hoping for more productive results than last year. The more I think about it I think the disappointment was largely down to under-watering, which also had a very adverse effect on the beans amongst other things.

I've made a good start on chopping down the green manure and getting it dug in. I'll try to get that finished in the next week because it will then take a month before seeds can be sown direct, though there's plenty of other ground which did not have green manure on it which can be used in the meantime.

Then there's the matter of moving the 'fruit cage' which I'll get Stu to give me a hand with shortly.