Quick update

In the last couple of days I've transplanted the Flavor garlic which I had got started in the greenhouse in small pots. They had shooted really well and didn't suffer any setback at all when they were planted in the allotment.

The broad beans in pots in the greenhouse look good, and with the extra space left by the garlic I decided to plant more broad bean The Sutton seeds to help with the succession in due course!

Also in the greenhouse now are some red onion sets in pots to try and get a head start for the allotment and produce rooted sets to make it harder for the birds to uproot them once they're at the allotment.

Some nasturtium seeds in a seed tray complete this week's work in the greenhouse and in the next few days I'll get down to the allotment for some final digging and turning over of the soil and then select some ground that I'll cover in soil-warming sheeting in preparation for the first of the potatoes in mid to late March.

Greenhouse activities

After a little more snow yesterday Spring seemed as far away as ever. However, a change to some sunshine today and the arrival of 4 types of seed potato and some spring garlic (Flavor) soon changed things.

I'll spread the potatoes out in boxes in the conservatory or garage so they can start to chit.

The garlic is already in pots in the greenhouse now, along with some early sown broad beans (The Sutton), so we'll see if this head start under protection will give us some extra early crops.

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.