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.

8 May

Popped up on my bike last night, got there at 7:30. Put my second batch of sweet peas in on top allotment:

The first lot I put in on the bottom allotment look a bit blue but hopefully they'll recover from the cold. This lot have done really well. They were seeds I'd collected last year and I just chucked them in 2 three inch pots with a bit of compost. They formed a layer as they were pretty much all touching each other! I just split each clump into 3 and popped them in.

I also removed the bits of metal from the remains of the bonfire (door hinges, handles, nails, etc.) and raked it in.

6 May

Did three visits this weekend preparing for planting. Finished digging over the front bed on the top allotment ready for the squashes, courgettes and pumpkins later this month. Dug in some 3 year old manure. Put pea sticks in and covered cabbages with wondermesh on bottom allotment.

Lifted the glass up on the early potatoes, a few of them had a bit of frost damage where the foliage had been touching the glass. Earthed them up a bit more. No sign of any of the other potatoes showing through yet so should be protected from any late frosts. Took a photo of this parrot tulip (one of three) in front garden, the one on the allotment has finished.

Managed to have a bonfire on Sunday evening - got rid of the rest of the rubbish - old brambles, raspberry canes, rotten remnants of raised beds and an old door that used to be used for the manure. It all burned really quickly with very little smoke. Could have done with some chestnuts!

3 May

Went up in the rain on sunday - cleared a load of wood (the remnants of the parking area) and rubbish that's been building for a year. I've just found out the council aren't going to have a skip this year. I got my waterproof coat out of the shed and spent about an hour filling the back of the OH's Jazz - it's amazing how much you can get in there!

I then put in some peas and some cabbages:

Photos on my mobile are rubbish as it was raining heavily! The plants/seedlings in the conservatory are going a bit mad - everything needs planting but it's not really warm enough yet - oh well!