21 & 31 December

21 December Spent a bit of time on the bottom plot, tidying up the front bed, pruning raspberries, weeding, etc. I took a before and after photo!

Before:

After:

I pruned the autumn raspberries at the back of the plot as well and weeded one of the beds at the back and covered up the rhubarb crown to do a bit of forcing, worked well last year.

31 December

Bottom allotment looking ok - straightened up / repositioned the onion sets, the birds had popped a few out!

I didn't think I'd make it to the plot again this year but the rain stopped so I went to get some parsnips and leeks this afternoon from the top plot for a roast dinner on New year's Day:

The green manure is growing pretty well on the top allotment. My seed broadcasting probably could have been better!:

Overall, top allotment looking a lot tidier now, ready for 2013:

There's still a few leeks and plenty of parsnips left, here's hoping for a better crop next year...

8 December

A reasonable crop on the sunny allotment this afternoon, chioggia beetroot, leeks and parsnips.

Dug over bottom of allotment again, removed a full trug of horrible bindweed. Went right up to edge! It was pretty good to work with today. I was forking it and turning it over, breaking up the lumps quite easily. There's a still a load of stones to remove.

I'll probably put a row of spuds in here, they seem to do well in previously uncultivated land.

1 December

Long awaited trip to the allotment this afternoon. Stayed until dark. Finally dug up all the raspberries at the bottom. I have an invasion of bindweed. I'm going to have to dig the area again and try and get rid of most of it. It's coming from garden behind with loads of trees in it - damn!

The green manure(Alfalfa) seems to have grown well where the maincrop spuds used to be. Had a small bonfire and burned the bindweed I dug up along with the raspberries.

Wish I'd brought a potato and some silver foil.....

10 November

Last weekend I managed to finish off the rasberry digging down the side of the top allotment. Still got some at the bottom to get rid of. Managed another visit this morning. It was reasonably mild. Weeded and dug over the pumpkin, squash and courgette bed at the front of the top allotment and managed to light a second bonfire without much smoke.

1 & 2 November

More raspberry digging:

lit bonfire (this is all that's left):

cut down bush near shed, got enough for another bonfire now!

14 October

Put some onion sets in on top and bottom allotment - Red Electric.

Started digging up all the raspberries on top allotment. They didn't give me much this year and I've got plenty on the bottom allotment so it's time to make way for other crops on the space they take up. It will also make it easier to manage the weeds on the side between my allotment and the old guy next to me and also I want to try and reduce the bindweed that creeps in at the bottom of the plot. I've got all winter to tackle it - got to have a project! Before:

After:

Got a bonfire to light some time this month!

7 October

Decided to get all the pumpkins due to potential frost. Really pleased with the harvest:

Got a few sweetcorn after all and loads of butternut squash - not particularly large but tasty!

September

What a busy month!

Took a good while to dig this lot up.

Reasonable crop.

14 August

Third trip to the allotment since my last post, mainly weeding, watering and harvesting now.

Haven't had any rain for 3 days and it's been fairly warm so went down in the evening to water. Everything was really dry but looked healthy enough.

The largest pumpkin is swelling nicely and the yellow courgettes are producing in abundance! The squashes seem a bit slow but getting there.

The runner beans are well behind but cropping now as are the cobra beans.

I've had my first florence fennel

Used 2 lots of shallots so far, others still in the ground. Also pulled nearly 50 of the red onions up for drying - these will be strung up in one of the sheds at home. 21 still left in.

I've sown some spring onions which I will cover for the winter later on. Keep digging up the second earlies (Kestrel) as we need them. 9 of 20 used so far. We've found these to be a decent cropper and are very tasty boiled or roasted.

The King Edwards at the back of the top plot are dying off but the other 2 main crop potatoes (Desiree and Cara) are still growing well in a different part of the top plot.

The chioggia beetroot has cropped better this year, much bigger. Still loads to pull! I've taken down the broad beans now but left the roots in situ.

The bed of carrots on the bottom allotment have had a bit of carrot root fly - I should have protected them! The carrots on the top allotment are unaffected.

I have way more pasnips than previous years - love them roasted. Pulled a few more of those up too.

The celeriac looks healthy - don't know if I'll like it!

The sweet corn is finally putting a spurt on - hopefully it's not too late to get some decent cobs this year.

The bed of salad and radish I sowed a few weeks ago is performing well.

Back home in the greenhouse, I'm really pleased with the peppers

and the sungold tomatoes are doing brilliantly. Got a few red cherry too

5 August

Got to allotment for 07:30 on my bike. First trip since a weeks holiday in Whitby. Parents had done a bit of weeding and watering so not too bad!

Top allotment:

Bottom allotment:

Loving the yellow courgettes! The butternuts are growing well and the pumpkin plants have gone ballistic - had to chop 6 foot lengths off to keep it under control.

Pulled 4 parsnips - couldn't resist it:

Dug up a couple more second earlies, 6 down, 14 to go. Over 2Kgs, reasonable yield:

8 July

Bit later than usual, about 9 a.m. Weeded beetroot on bottom allotment and picked 5 full punnets of strawberries (weight 2.3Kgs). Also picked a few raspberries.

The pumpkin plant is about 6 feet long now and the butternut squash has started to shoot too.

Loads of broad beans coming now, took some of those home along with a bunch of sweet peas.

Covered up the strawberries with the Wondermesh at last now I can get into my shed.

Sun came out at 11:00 for the last 40 minutes - wow! At least it didn't rain.

Dug up another 3 early potatoes - still some left in the first bed.

1 July

Got to the plot at 8ish Sunday morning - it was lovely and sunny for the first day of July but by 10:30 had clouded over. Rediscovered the red onion sets - completely filled a trug with weeds - oops! Also weeded the parnsips again and hoed up the second earlies.

Dug up another 4 roots of earlies, filled a seed tray. Had them for tea with a barbeque.

The strawberries have started to perform - filled a seed tray full of lovely sweet ripe berries. Also picked some broad beans and ate a few peas (breakfast!).

The pumpkins plants have started shooting - trailing about 2 feet now. Some yellow courgettes have formed but they seem a bit slow, 'menteer next to me has some green ones and they are much further on - oh well...

No apples - I think a late frost got it when it was blossoming - damn. Plenty of plums coming, no sign of pears yet.

Everything else seems to be growing well, hoping for some more harvesting soon.

Left after about 3 1/2 hours with the plot looking much better.

In the greenhouse at home, the tomatoes are growing strongly, I have rigged up some twine to above head height so I can train them upwards. Got 4 or 5 sets on them now and lower trusses have plenty of tomatoes coming. The peppers are a decent size but still green - need heat/sun, not much sign of it changing this week.

24 June

Went up Sunday afternoon and did a load of weeding. Cleared youngest daughter's bed and put in the spare Rudbeckia and she threw a few wild flower seeds about and made a mud pie

Sweetcorn looks like something has eaten it - hopefully it'll survive.

Sowed some more peas - first lot aren't brilliant - ate a few.

Picked a punnet of strawberries - it's started - woo hoo!

Managed to lock the keys for the shed and the allotment in the shed and my father has the spare set and he's in France - aaarrgghh!

19 June

Quick visit to water the squash/courgette/pumpkin.

Also did the beans and the peppers.

Dug up a couple more earlies - not so many this time but slightly bigger.

Loads of strawberries coming now - grabbed a couple hiding under the weeds! Still need to cover them up with the wondermesh soon to keep the birds off!

17 June

Went up on my bike on a sunny father's day, got to the plot for 08:15.

Had a load of weeds to start tackling.

Hoed for ages round the squash, pumpkins and courgettes and removed the fleece barrier. It seems to have done the trick as they look ok apart from a few yellowish leaves.

Then spent a while hoeing around the main crop potatoes and raking up the ridges.

Hand weeded round the fennel, onions, parsnips and beetroot but there's loads more to do. Had a quick hoe round the second earlies at the far end of the plot but didn't have time to ridge them up or remove the chopped off weeds.

On the bottom allotment, daughter's area is a bit of a jungle - I'll have to tackle this soon!

Picked a few broad beans - had these in an omelette for lunch with some stored red onions and free range eggs (donated by some friends).

Also picked some spicy salad leaves and radish which we had later on with some new potatoes when both fathers (and mothers!) came round for a meal.

I felt like I'd achieved quite a lot in the 3 hours I was on the plot on Sunday.

12 June

First visit last night since coming back off holiday. Managed about 45 minutes. No watering duties were required by my parents while we were away!

There's quite a few weeds round the main crop potaotes on the top allotment.

Managed to hoe round the courgette, squash and pumpkins.

On the bottom allotment I dug up my first 2 roots of early potatoes (Rocket) and got 14 decent sized spuds although not as many as last year.

The first broad beans have formed:

The peppers haven't done much yet but look healthy enough:

unlike the ones in the greenhouse at home which are fruiting well:

The second earlies look good:

as do the radish and spicy salad leaves although the peas aren't great (as usual for me!):

The cabbage bed needs weeding but they look a bit behind. Need to take wondermesh off and sort it out:

Carrots doing ok - relatively weed free:

Celeriac growing well - foliage looks much thicker:

Plenty of strawberries coming too, will have to cover them up with the wondermesh soon:

Plenty still to do and a fair bit of weeding required on next visit.

6 June 2012

Made it to New York but missed a last visit to the plot on Sunday as it didn't stop raining from 10 o'clock on Saturday night, through the whole of Sunday. Anyway, I managed 3 trips last week and managed to get rid of most of the weeds. All the potatoes are showing now, earthed some of them up and ate the tops of the broad beans - delicious! I reseeded the carrots that failed on the top allotment and planted 21 pepper plants in one of the raised beds on the bottom allotment. Planted the replacement Cobra and Runner beans and 5 spare tomato plants. In the greenhouse at home the tomatoes have 2 sets, the cucumbers are swelling and the peppers are approaching golf ball size.

20 May

My fleece barrier worked fairly well during the recent cold snap, the butternuts and pumpkins all look OK but one of the courgettes may not survive and another one got hit a bit. On one corner, the wind had loosened the barrier and it had dropped down letting in the cold wind. It has now been pegged which seems to be working better. The beans however are not looking good and may not recover - I should have protected these too. I've sown some 2 more courgettes and a load of replacement runner and cobra beans in pots and they are in the heated propogator in the conservatory.

The second early potatoes have nearly all shown their heads now so they have all been earthed up. Only a few main crops are showing.

I spent a few hours hoeing and weeding - the parsnips look like they have all germinated, about 1" high. After I planted them I read in a couple of gardening books that you should use fresh seed every year - I didn't and they seem to be fine!

I also weeded round the over wintered onions, they are starting to swell nicely. I managed to hoe off about a 1/4 row of fennel before I spotted them - whoops! Sowed a few more direct into the row to replace the casualties. I will have to make some of my labels more obvious.

The spicy salad leaves are coming through now as is the beetroot and the carrots (which also desparately need weeding).

We've got some warmer weather to come so they say this week. It was only 7°C when I got there Sunday morning and reached a high of 12°C by the time I left at 11:15 - wow ;-). I will have do sort out the rest of the 2 allotments before we go on holiday 2 weeks today. Only 4 days at work this week so should be able to spend a bit of time on the plot.

I have the grand total of 5 potatoes left so have very nearly met my target of 12 months supply without buying one. Looking forward to digging up the first of the earlies when we get back from holiday in June.

At home the tomatoes in the greenhouse are doing OK but are not as far on as they were last year due to the cold, haven't had to water them every day. The cucumbers are growing well, quite a few flowers and some fruits setting. The peppers look OK but they too aren't as big but a few are starting to flower so should get a resonable crop.

12 May

Managed 2 trips to allotment on Saturday. Risked planting the courgettes, squash & pumpkins. Here's the pumpkins, they look a bit lonely but hopefully they'll start travelling:

I've put a bit of a wind break up - hopefully it won't act like a giant kite and take off down the rest of the plots!

Also put in the runner & cobra beans.

Put the leeks, celeriac & flat leaf parsley in too. In the greenhouse at home, I've finally put the tomatoes in. 10 sungold plus a beef and a cherry.

The first 2 cucumbers that I put in a couple of weeks ago were looking poor so I replaced them for the 2 standby plants I had in reserve. I've also moved the peppers from the conservatory to the greenhouse today.