Cold and Damp

I have nothing growing over Winter.

It's been an odd sort of year. A lot of the crops started off well and then there was a cold spell that basically stopped the growth. Then there was the rains in July which brought in the blight. So, no. I'm not growing anything over winter. I'm pretty much ignoring the plot as it is so cold and damp at present. If there is a time when it gets above 10°C then maybe I'll get down there to start clearing some of the weeds and repairing stuff, but in the meantime, my only trips to the plot are to offload the kitchen waste into the compost bins.

So it all looks very bleak at present.

Yes, I do have a rogue Leaf Beet growing in the pathway by the squash beds. It can stay. The main Leaf Beet bed has been cleared of it's lone compost bin (which has now moved to join the other two) and the compost been raked level to fill that bed. I suspect it will be very productive next year. But for now, the plots are cold damp and I want a nice hot drink to warm up.

Clearing up

Things are dying. More specifically the courgettes are gone, as well as the recent frost has killed off the last of anything else outside, such as the one single Cape Gooseberry that self seeded in the Strawberry beds. The Courgettes are now just semi-dried strips of stems and leaves (and another plant, that of an escaped chard!)

Obviously it's now extremely easy to pull them out and clear them away. But the weeds that surround the existing compost bins are a little harder. The Borage plants still have a few flowers on them, and although the current weather doesn't really permit the bees to fly, it may get warm enough for them to grab the last few bits of nectar they need to see them through the winter so I am very loath to pull those at this stage.

But clearing everything else is just fine. Although not the Chard. It may have self seeded in the pathway, but I am all in favour of it just staying put. If it goes to seed and lets loose a whole load more little plants next year, then more power to it.

Oh, and as to our final courgette count this year...

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

59

... not bad for only 6 plants. Well OK, four then. Two of them didn't really get anywhere, and one of the plants was probably responsible for about half of the courgettes we ate, as well as two large marrows. Of course we're going to keep the seeds as this is now our tradition and they are a useful and abundant plant. I just wish there was a better way to preserve them other than pickling, which seems to be the best option. They go down a treat with a traditional fish'n'chips.

So clearing the plot is the goal for the rest of the year. Now I've cleared the final part of the big bed where there are two compost bins, I can move the old one which was resident in the old chard bed to start a new bin. The compost in that old bin has been there for a couple of years and will make a damn fine addition when raked out.

What to plant in there next year? No idea as yet. My plans for next year are still not fully formed. But I do still have a lot of clearing to do form this year.

End of the season

It's not been a good year, and things just aren't growing over winter. Or at least I won't be growing anything over winter.

I have pulled all of the chillies off the plants. There are actually quite a few of them, but most are green, so I'm going to try the old banana trick to get them to ripen and see if that helps. It doesn't really matter too much anyway as I'll probably dry them in a low oven for a few hours before breaking them up into flakes.

The latter half of the year just didn't amount to much to make them achieve their full potential. Even today started out with large amounts of rain, but it did clear up by midday. Even so, it's still a little damp and squidgy underfoot, which makes working the plot a bit awkward. I'll have to try and get things cleared out over the weeks leading up to spring. And since I've just had my booster, it may be possible next year for me to actually go shopping to places like B&Q to get the stuff I need for the plot... like a new wheel barrow.

So anyway, don't expect much in the way of updates until the end-of-year round up (December time) and possibly photos of me clearing up next year.

Fences don't make good neighbours

So, I've been digging couch grass again. I think it's going to be my lot in life for the foreseeable future. Once again, I'm pulling handfuls of matted interwoven roots and trying my best to get the damn things out. Except there is a problem. A big problem... fences.

I have a fence alongside my plot, where the manure and wood chip bays are. It was erected a while back when it was decided (for the better) that a location was needed to drop off these supplies apart from the car park. Don't get be wrong, they still do drop in the car park, especially when the central area gets overly boggy and they can't get the vehicles in and out, but that's beside the point. These bays are right next to the plot which makes getting hold of these resources really easy and helpful. But there is a big downside... especially when it comes to couch grass...

...you just can't dig it out.

The couch grass is buried and twisted around the fence poles and you need leverage to be able to break it apart and pull it out. Thats just not happening here. I guess from now on, it will always bee my job to pull the couch grass, each and every time I visit the plot. I don't relish that idea.

We managed to pull probably the last two courgettes out. One was hidden in the foliage, and it was more marrow sized. Guess I must have missed that.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

57

Oh what a tangled web we weave

Or rather what a tangled web that Couch Grass roots grow into when you're attempting to dig the blighters out.

I've mentioned before about Couch Grass. It's the most common weed that I have here now that I've spent years eradicating bind weed and brambles. Yes there are the odd bramble or bind weed that rears its ugly head and I can pull but as I've managed to get through the plot I've managed to keep things reasonably under control. But Couch Grass is the pain that just keeps on coming.

It can send out rhizomes that go underneath paths, and any kind of mulch. Which is why, when I put down a load of newspaper and wood chips last year, it didn't work as I hoped. Now I am digging through the same area that I covered trying to dig out these roots. The newspaper is long gone. The woodchips have started to breakdown into decent soil, but it is still quite friable. The problem are these roots.

They criss-cross under and over each other. They form a mat underneath that takes huge amounts of work to get them out. They break easily. So thats what I'm doing. I'm grabbing handfuls at a time and pulling them out. I guess this winter is going to be weed eradication as far as I can because I really need to get on top of this before it gets so much worse.

The Council have sent their contractor it to empty the waste areas, and in doing so they also piled up the woodchips to such an extent that they are now pushing over the fence to the woodchip bay into my plot. No real haslle there over than it's a bit awkward to get past. But as you're walking on top of a load of Couch Grass... so what? At least once I get rid of the stuff it's extremely easy for me to replace all the paths without having to truck it about on my broken barrow. But of course, there is the issue of getting rid of the weeds in the first place.

I've done 3m of pathway in a couple of hours and the damn stuff is still there. It's hard going.

Meanwhile The Wife has been tending to her Strawberry Empire and started planting some of the runners from the strawberry beds, into pots rather than letting them plant themselves into pathways.

So now there are loads of little pots dotted about. She's left the runner intact for now as it does help with keeping the daughter plants alive whilst they settle into their new homes. I'm guessing that next year she might want another bed to let them take over. Or they may just end up filling up odd spots where some of the mothers are not looking so healthy. Or she may want some more planting troughs to put them in. I don't know as yet.

Either way, I'd better hurry up and clear these weeds out so that there is room to move around.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

55

It must be Autumn

It's getting colder and there is certainly more rain in the air. So it must be autumn. And just to prove it, the mushrooms are sprouting.

I use woodchips for all my pathways for this very reason. Woodchips acts as giant sponges for when it rains. They absorb the excess and hold it, gradually releasing it to make it available for the plants in the beds. The beds also do not compact as much, so any weeds that do take hold (and there are a few in the picture above) are easy to pull out, even those with deep tap roots like dock, thistles or dandelions.

Finally they breakdown over timeAnd this is where the biggest benefit comes it. They act as a home and food source for mycelium of various kinds that breakdown the chips and make it available as a nutrient source for the plants. The offshoot of this is that when it starts getting colder the mycelium start sending out their fruiting bodies and hence we get a load of mushrooms.

They're not edible. Well they maybe, I don't know enough about mushrooms to make that decision and there are some very, very poisonous mushrooms out there. So i just let them get on and do their thing of making food for plants.

On the subject of making food, our Aubergines are still in the greenhouse, and they still seem to be in a state of flowering. They have been for the past month. I don't think they're ever going to set fruit now. It's way too late for them.

So there they sit. Is it a waste of time to water them. Probably. But it's not like anything else is happening.

The chillies however are starting to turn a deep purplish colour. They're supposed to be red, but I suspect that this is slow because of how late they are in the season. But at least I may well get some chillies this year. But probably not many of them.

After the recent rains, I decided to pick the two big George's that we have growing on the courgettes.

I don't want to see them rotting in the mud, and it may encourage the plant to put out a final few courgettes before the end of the season.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

52

Trimming the bush

It's the end of the season for flowers and veggies. But sadly there is no end of season for weeds. The very back of the plot is somewhat overgrown and needs a little care and attention. OK, it could probably do with a small scale tactical nuke, but not having a viable delivery method and minimum safe distance, I'll have to settle for secateurs, a garden fork and a broken wheelbarrow.

The Buddleja has now seen better days. And around the base are stinging nettles, some small brambles and bindweed.

It's not so difficult actually trimming everything, just awkward. Although I have found out that cheap gloves don't protect properly against stinging nettles. But at least the fork helps me keep a lot of it at arms length.

I trimmed the buddleja of anything that was overhanging the path, taking special care of any short stems that were at eye height, as those pose the biggest danger to the unwary. Fortunately these plants are pretty sturdy and will quite happily accept a short back and sides and still bounce back. Maybe with a fewer flowers next year, but still enough to keep the bees happy.

Mind you there are still a few flowers around that are currently keeping the bees happy.

Elsewhere? Well the chillies are just starting to set fruits. Not sure if they'll actually ripen, but we can try. And the Aubergines? Nah, they haven't started setting fruit at all. Guess they're a loss this year.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

46

A poor harvest

Well today is a pretty poor harvest. We pulled the remaining Edamame beans, dug out a third of the potato bed and got 6 courgettes. We also grabbed a dew apples off the tree - those will have to be carefully cut up before being eaten.

Oh, and the very last cucumber.

Seriously though, we seem to be having a very poor time of it at present. Far worse than we've ever had before. Not sure if it's the way we are handling the plot or the weather. I suspect the latter, especially after the blight.

Things have just not been going well. Everything we have left in the greenhouse (Chillies and Aubergines) have flowers but no fruit has set and the plants now seem static in that state. The overcast weather just don't give any impetus to plants to grow.

I've received a whole load more seeds for next year (DT Brown were offering a free postage over the recent Bank Holiday weekend which I took liberal usage of), so hopefully next year will be better.

It remains to be seen though.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

46

A Monster harvest

I created a monster...

I have a 3D printer and I use it to make various tools and odds and ends. So I decided to try something a little different. Created a 3D mould of Frankenstein's Monster by using a model as a negative into a cylinder.

By splitting the model in half I could create a mould which a courgette could grow into to fill up the mould. However there were a couple of issues with it. Firstly I should have made the split from ear to ear rather than nose to back of the head. I wrapped the mould in tape to keep it together but the force of the growth stretched the tape and pushed it apart. However it seemed to work out OK in the end as I got a reasonable facsimile of a monsters face out of it.

Elsewhere though the harvest certainly wasn't as good. The sweetcorn was starting to die back so we thought it time to harvest them. To say we were disappointed is an understatement.

This year has not been a great one. But at least I placed my orders for seeds for next year. Hopefully it will be a better one.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

40

"Winner is weeds"

It was The Wife who mentioned these words. This year the only winner is the weeds. The recent rains and floods has sent the weeds into overdrive. Also the fact that we've had to cull a lot of the beds due to the blight has meant that the weeds have pretty much taken over. We have a very poor harvest this year (apart from courgettes) but if we were growing weeds commercially then we'd be rich.

But the weeds are not what we want. We want food for the table and flowers (to make The Wife happy), so the weeds have to go.

Three of these beds were to tomato beds. I'm going to dump a barrow full of manure into each of them over winter and use them for beans next year.

The Chillies in the greenhouse are also suffering. They have only just started flowering, so they are way behind this year. I don't know if they'll have time to actually set some fruit, let alone actually ripening them.

And then there is the apple tree that is absolutely bursting with loads of luscious red fruit... until you get close enough to actually see the fruit up close and then... meh, not so good.

They have the usual maggots in them, but also this year they appear to have some sort of disease of blemish on the skins of them all. I suspect the rains has also had an impact on the tree. But once you cut that off and cut out the good bits they're pretty tasty. It's a shame that they're so much work to get at the very small edible portions.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

36

A gift from the Fox?

Looks like Foxy likes us and left us a gift in the middle of one of the beds.

In actual fact it's pretty common for foxes to grab leather gloves and run off to chew them. After all they are opportunists and will try and eat whatever they can. The leather of the gloves tends to make them think that there is something tasty in there. Unfortunately this turns out to not be the case so they'll leave it lying around. Much to the consternation of the allotmenteers who lose their work gloves. So make sure things are kept out of Foxy's reach.

The chillies are somewhat stagnating in the greenhouse now. Although they have a few flowers on them, I don't think they'll actually manage to produce any fruits before the "summer" is over.

This years summer seems to have been pretty much a washout. The recent floods have proved that somewhat. I'm not sure what this bodes for the future of the plot. Especially as climate change seems to be having a detrimental effect on growing.

But the recent rains have kicked the Buddleja into flowering and the bees are swarming all over it.

I just wish that it would have kickstarted the chillies.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

26

Blight

So the worst has happened. After all the recent rains I was wondering if it would trigger a blight outbreak. Sure enough all of our tomatoes are turning black. 

We've grabbed some of the green tomatoes off the plants with the hope that they can ripen at home, but to be honest, I'm not expecting much. We pulled out all the plants and put them into old compost bags to be thrown away rather than be put on the green waste, as per the allotment instructions.

It's a shame when this happens, but on an allotment site it's kind of common. Unless everybody all works the exact same way, issue likes this are likely to occur from time to time. And the weather has certainly not helped.

As it stands the plot is still a bit squidgy underfoot. But according to the weather reports we may be in for a spell of dry, sunny weather. That will certainly help the chillies somewhat.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

18

There's a hole in my wellie...

...and I found it by stepping into a quagmire.

So we've had more rain. Downpours that blocked roads and caused a bit of unrest this morning has once again turned the plot into a bit of a muddy puddle. Right outside the greenhouse is a low part of the plot and once i had my wellies on I thought I'd be safe to step into the greenhouse. Nope. My wellie has a hole in it and I got a soggy foot.

Hey ho, well I've had these almost a decade and they've done me proud, so I guess it's time to get a new pair. Looks like The Wife's has also got a bit of a hole in it as well as she complained of a soggy foot as well. Anyway, wet feet or not there is still work to be done.

Well we can't get to the far bed to dig out the weeds, but our aubergines have been growing in the greenhouse and need a little more space. So we potted them on into bigger troughs, as well as put out the last of the tomatoes.

So now the only remaining plants we have in the greenhouse is a single pot of mint, and the chillies.

This year has been somewhat of a mixed pot. The early heat wave and then cold snap threw all the germination into a spin and then we've alternated extreme heat and intense rain. Not sure what's going to happen to the rest of the year, but at the moment we have to go swimming to get the latest courgettes.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

15

A forest of canes

 They've all fallen over.

In the recent downpours, all of my outside tomatoes have fallen over. OK, I always knew that I should support them, but they've been growing straight and true for a while now and I never got around to putting in the support canes. But now they have all flopped and need the support.

The Chillies this year are not doing as well as previous years. Not sure why, but they did seem to have the same germination problem that all of the other plants had this year. I'm wondering if it was the starting compost, the weather, or just the way the year started. Anyway, instead of putting them in the separate large pots that I normally do, this year, I ousted the remains of the Pak Choi and put my chilli plants into the troughs.

Hopefully they'll put on a growth spurt (if the changeable weather lets them) and we get a few chillies on the plants. I can only hope.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

11

After the rain comes the weeds

You can pretty much be certain that a few days after we gets some decent rains we're in for a growth spurt... from the weeds. And this is exactly what we've got now. The grasses, bind weeds, lambs quarters, thistles and who knows what else is very much trying to take over the plot. So it's all hands on deck.

I made a start on the pathways and the grass that's around the greenhouses, whilst The Wife made huge in roads clearing up the Edamame beds.

Unfortunately after a while we saw dark clouds on the horizon. So retreat was the order of the day as we didn't want to end up like before.

Good thing too, we just managed to make it home before those dark clouds caught up to us and started dumping more weeds growing substance on the ground. Guess we'll have to go back tomorrow.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

9

A midweek trip to the plot

The rain had held off for a while, as we still have stuff in the greenhouse that needs watering, so I thought it safe to head for the allotment just to check on everything.

No sooner than I arrived when...

But after it died down a few minutes later, I was met with this...

Oh and a lot of flooding. Like the greenhouse is now a bit wet (as were my trainers) the courgettes are swimming, and I've stepped on a load more crunchy snails.

Maybe I should dash home before it starts throwing it down again.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

6

Localised flooding

Well after the sunny spell it's only right that it should end in a bang. Or rather a rumble. Yes, we've been hit with torrential downpours and rumblings that would make even the hungriest stomach wish it was fed.

After doing the usual drop-off of The Wife at the supermarket, I had to negotiate my way to the plot. I say negotiate because a lot of the roads were flooded resulting in traffic lights quitting and trying to divert my way around the blockages. I eventually manage to get there.

Of course the main throughway on the site (the one right next to us) was flooded. But also the Car Park.

I expected the greenhouse to be flooded as well, but thankfully it wasn't. Because I left the shed keys behind and couldn't put on my wellies.

Mind you, all this rain has brought out a whole load of snails and slugs. They make such a satisfying crunch underfoot.

The plot is looking quite well with another couple of courgettes to add to the tally. Which reminds me... time to start up the Tally again.

The 2021 Courgette Tally:

4

Hopefully that number will increase somewhat over the next few weeks.

Phew, what a scorcher (part 2)

So today is the usual "I drop The Wife off at the megastore and go to the allotment" thing. Except this is a 2pm... right in the middle of the heat. Now yesterday I watered everything at about 8am, and I was fine with that. But today, after a quick look in the greenhouse I realised that I need to water yet again as thing are getting a little dry. Except watering? In this heat? So I had the water cannon in one hand and an emergency cup in the other and as much as I watered I drunk an equal amount. I was almost passing out in that heat.

Anyway, I got through it, and also pulled some of the rhubarb for the neighbours as they had been promised some. It would seem to be the last of the season as I don't think the plant will produce any more large stems again.

Anyway, time to go cool off. Although I suppose I should go and pick up The Wife.

Phew, what a scorcher...

... and it's not even midday yet!

I was down the plot at stupid o'clock this morning in an attempt to beat the heat. London has a heat island effect which means it's usually one or two degrees hotter than advertised. Needless to say the first thing I did this morning was make sure everything was well watered.

By the time I finished that it was already getting to be around 9am. Just a quick chance to pull out a few weeds and plant out the beetroot (Boltardy and Golden Globe). Only about 5 of each germinated this year so I'm not expecting a huge crop, but they'll do. After giving them a good watering it, I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and scuttled back to my cool dark Otaku Room to spend the rest of the day programming and printing... except I realised that I didn't take any photos. Never mind, maybe tomorrow.

First courgette

Things are a little late this year. We've only just had our first courgette. It doesn't have the normal green colour, because I suspect it hasn't bred true. The Squash family is notorious for cross-pollinating with other members of it's species. However it shouldn't affect it. I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

However the rest of the crops are starting to perk up a bit. The sweetcorn is now all outside, including the new ones that were started to replace those lost in the frost. Can you spot the difference... it's kind of obvious.

And all the tomatoes are now outside. These are Ailsa Craig (foreground, left) and Money Maker (background, right).

But there is a still a long battle with the weeds which the recent rains have driven into a growth frenzy. Hence the full wheelbarrow of dock, thistle, lambs quarters and a shed load of other things I couldn't even name. 

(And in case anybody is interested, the recent health issues I had was caused by a viral stomach bug. Not something I'd wish on anybody as the headaches and lack of eating was somewhat unpleasant.)

Allotment Week - Day 8 - And Barbecue to name but two.

The late great Ronnie Barker used to do wonderful monologues to camera that were full of jokes and innuendos. He once did and advert which has stuck in my mind since then, and now any time we have a barbecue this phrase comes to mind.

It's really good to get out and meet people. Especially like-minded people at the allotments. we of course, brought far too much food with us so we ended up bringing in other allotmenteers to sit down with us, have some salad and a burger (both meaty and veggie) and have a good old chin-wag. The last time we had a good old cookup was back in 2018.

Now lock-down has lifted a bit we can meet up like this, and since the only place I have been able to go is between home and the allotment, this makes a really great change.

Although I'm still not feeling my best. I think I'm running a bit of a temperature and I hardly ate anything, just guzzled water. I suspect that there may not be many more updates before I have to return to work on the 1st.

Allotment Week - Day 7 - Setup for tomorrow

I'm not sure what is going on. I am feeling a little under the weather at the moment. I woke up this morning with a slight pain in my chest and whilst I was planting the sweetcorns I felt a little dizzy and had to rest. Also when I stand up I feel woozy and have on occasion had a mild "grey out". Now in the past I have suffered from low blood pressure and these symptoms do seem to fit that. Things are usually fine after a few days but i won't be doing anything strenuous for a while.

Anyway, here are some of the sweetcorns already planted...

I do have more, but they're rather small at the moment so they may have to wait.

In the meantime we need to get things ready for tomorrow. So tidy up, and table out.

Yeah, strenuous indeed. Looks like I won't be able to do that. Anyhow we'll see.

Allotment Week - Day 6 - No photos

Muggins here forgot his phone and left it at home, so no piccys today. However I did finally finish clearing the Sweetcorn bed, as well as two more spaces for Courgettes. I made a start into clearing the pathway between those beds and the woodchip/manure bays as well, but I was soundly defeated by the shear mess of couch grass roots.

Last year I put down newspaper and wood chip in an effort to counter the invasion. I have now come to the conclusion that it is just not worth it. The couch grass roots are still there. They kept on growing sideways rather than sending up shoots, and now, about 10cm down, is just a huge network of interlocking roots that it's like a mat. Trying to break through is almost impossible and is definitely back breaking. The use of woodchips is definitely recommended though as they gradually break down into good compost and hold a large amount of water in times of drought. More than that they offer a good home to fungal growth which works wonders on the produce.

But probably the biggest reason is that they do not compact so much in the London Clay soil and just a little loosening with a garden fork allows you to get at any rhizomes buried underneath. I think this will be the only way I'll be able to get rid of the dreaded scourge. Albeit with continuous action.

Allotment Week - Day 5 - Foxy's back!

We've been without a fox for a number of months now. The last time we saw a fox was about a year ago. So we were pretty happy when a fox blithely walked through the middle of our plot whilst we were working. We suspect he (or she! We're not sure) was a cub from last year. Certainly not one of the normal ones which we sadly haven't seen. But this one seems reasonably friendly and posed long enough for photos.

Even so, with a foxy distraction, the heat was beginning to get to us. We didn't get much done on the sweetcorn bed, but I did clear the remaining courgette bed of couch grass to allow for three of our plants that were sitting sweltering in the greenhouse to go outside.

Maybe tomorrow I'll finally finish up the sweetcorn bed and be able to plant it.

Allotment Week - Day 4 - Anatomy of a Thistle

Today I am digging the Sweetcorn bed... it's somewhat daunting.

In there are a whole slew of different weeds. Lambs Quarters (easy to pull out), some small thing that looks like a purslane but isn't (also easy to pull), couch grass (bane of my life), bind weed (bane No. 2) and Thistles!

Now the thistle is a tricky blighter. At the top are the flowers... fortunately I caught this just before they set.

Then there are the dreaded spiky bits. Let me tell you, these are not fun with thin gloves.

And down below is a tap root that wants to head deep, deep down. And this is where the problem lies. Because if you don't manage to get all of that damn root out, then it'll sprout up all over again. Case in point, I dug the thistles out of this bed a while back, but didn't get the whole root. So now they sprouted.

Well it looks like the final score is Thistles - 1, Me - nil. I was defeated in attempting to clear the bed. All the bending over to dig out the weeds made my back ache and my stomach feel somewhat queasy. 

Just about got half-way. I think retreat is the order of the day and try to marshal my forces to make another assault tomorrow.

Allotment Week - Day 3 - Rain stops play

I wonder how those beans are doing? Has the rain and wind pummelled them? Have the slugs and snails got them? Guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out. Been a bit of a damp one today so I just haven't ventured forth to see.

Allotment Week - Day 2 - Has beans

So I tried planting out the Edamame back in April (as it said on the instructions). Bad move. The slugs and snails (and weeds) had a field day with them. Yesterday I dug over all the middle beds ready. Today, just a brief trip to the plot, but it's time to put the beans out.

Again it was the old toilet roll trick to get them going. Although I'm wondering how well they'll fare as a lot of the roots had grow out of the rolls and into the rolls adjacent to them. There was some root damage as I tried to prise them apart. Hopefully they'll be OK.

And as promised yesterday, here is the photo of the pink poppies... complete with bumblebee.

Tomorrow, I think I need to plat out the sweetcorn as it's getting rather tall... except the bed that it's scheduled to go into is worse than the beds I dug out yesterday, combined. Not looking forward to that.