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!

21 April

I've made a few trips to plots 7.1 and 9.2 in April. I have finished putting in the rest of the potatoes so I've got 100 in now. 20 earlies 20 second earlies and 60 main crop The first earlies started showing through a couple of weeks ago so I've earthed twice them up already. The glass has been lifted higher and fleece draped round the sides to keep out Mr Frost! I've put another row of parsnips in on the top allotment along with a row of fennel (a bit of an experiment!).

Many strawberry plants have been donated to new allotmenteer next door - she has very posh raised beds. I started the preparation for the permanent position for the water tank that has been sitting on the top allotment for many months. I found a decent place for it on the bottom allotment next to the asparagus bed and will share it with my neighbour who has plot 9.1. I couldn't actually put it in it's final position as it was too heavy to lift on my own so I dragged it down and will have to get help later.

Some bird or animal (I've seen a cat scowling around) keeps pulling up one shallot (the same one every time!) and I'm getting a bit fed up having to put it back in - leave it alone please..... Did a bit of prep on the bed nearest the road on the top alottment in preparation for the pumpkins, squash and sweetcorn.

I actually sowed the pumpkins and some runner beans this afternoon but the squash, cobra beans and squash I sowed only just over a week ago have germinated and are doing realy well. I'm nearly ready to put the Sungold tomatoes, organic cucumbers and bell peppers in the greenhouse at home.

I've pretty much filled the conservatory with seedlings - marigolds, rudbeckia, corn flowers, celeriac, flat leaf parsley, sweet peas, trailing lobelia, etc.

The strawberries in the greenhouse have fruit forming already - it must have been that mild March we had, April has lived up to it's name for a change, we've had loads of showers and more hail today - really glad I went to allotment this morning.

31 March

Went up on my bike this morning with 11 strawberry plants from the greenhouse at home (couldn't carry any more!). The first raised bed I made in late 2008 had rotten posts and needed removing so I took the opportunity to get rid of all the old strawberry plants that had been in there 3 1/2 years. They weren't new plants when I put them in - I'd brought them from the front garden at home so they've done pretty well!

There were a few large dandelions in the bed so had to dig quite far down to get majority of the root - couldn'y do it very easily before while the strawberries were in there.

My first early potatoes are just showing through under the glass. I'll let them grow a bit more and then start earthing up.

On a previous visit last weekend I set up the sweet peas around the woven bamboo plant support donated by my mother!

17 March

Managed a couple of hours this morning - went up on my bike!
Concentrated on bottom allotment, weeded bed 3 (this years brassica bed), tidied up the brassicas in bed 4 (the remainder will have to come out soon ready for more seed potatoes) and sorted out all the strawberries. Quite a few of the strawbs are about 5 or 6 years old and are getting a bit woody so I'm going to bring a load of the new plants in the greenhouse and refresh my plants.

I also cleaned up some of the paths, needed a spade to scrape off some of the strawberry runners, etc.

Finished off with some watering and tidied the shed as there wasn't room to swing a hamster never mind a cat!

In the conservatory at home everything seems to be doing well like the peppers and cucumber

the cabbages have lost a few of the lower leaves but the ones in the greenhouse look better, the sunflowers are getting quite tall, the marigolds, corn flowers and lobelia have germinated quite quickly, the celeriac looks good (never done it before, OH fancied it)

I'm pleased with the sungold tomatoes, they look ready to prick out (I haven't bothered to do any other kind, they are just soooo good and we have a great tomato swapping scheme at work!)

11 March

2 trips this weekend, Friday put 20 First Early potatoes in raised bed no.7 in bottom allotment and covered with glass.
The broad beans look like they have taken ok.

Also put 3 rows of Early Nantes carrots in Bed no.8 and half a row of shallots and sowed two rows of parsnips on top allotment.

On Saturday in the greenhouse at home I gave it a good wash inside and out and potted on loads of peppers and sowed some organic cucumber, marigold, lobelia and some more sweet peas. The conservatory is quite full of seedlings now!

Sunday morning spent some more time on top allotment putting in a row and a half of onions seeds (first time I've tried seed!), a row of chioggia pink beetroot (loved this last year) and another row of carrots - half Yellowstone and half Early Nantes.
Put some sunflowers in on top allotment and in daughter's patch on bottom allotment.

Dug up 3 more parsnips - they're quite a good size now and got a bag of rocket leaves.
It was a lovely morning, a much better weekend than last Sunday's washout!

I really need to prunt the fruit trees but I hope it's not too late....

2 March

Popped up this afternoon with OH and puppy.
Put the broad beans in raised bed in bottom allotment as they were getting a bit floppy.