Bundle of 'barb

 It's been cold and wet down the allotment recently. There has been an unseasonably amount of rain. There has also been a delivery of much needed woodchips so I wasted little time in getting a good couple of dozen barrowloads put onto the plot, at least where I've dug out the couch grass. There is still so much digging to do though.

But in the greenhouse there is a lot of work still to be done. Courgettes need to be potted on into bigger pots. More sweetcorns need to be sown to replace the ones that were high up on the shelves and got hit be the frost ages ago.

And outside, despite the cold, things are starting to grow. The Grape Vine has started sprouting leaves. It's a little bit later this year than previous years, but at least there are some flowers on the Blueberries as well.

And finally, the rhubarb is going great guns., It does seem to be loving this cold damp weather. Sadly this year, I won't be making the infamous Rhubarb and Ginger Jam. Why? Because we already have a load left over from previous years.

But at least the neighbours can have a fresh rhubarb crumble instead.

A wet Wednesday harvest

Well June is the exact opposite of March, April and May. It's been throwing it down. But things are still managing to churn out some goodies.

The last of the strawberries, some peas, a handful of blueberries, a courgette and an odd little turnip that was accidentally pulled out whilst pulling out the weeds that are sprouting like crazy after all this rain.

What happened to springtime?

So just a few days ago it was brilliant sunshine, pushing 40C in the greenhouse and everything looked wonderful on the plot.

And now...

It's dreadfully dreary, damp and dismal, with a definite dreich drizzle.

But there have been some changes though. The spuds I planted have decided to emerge.

Also in the French Dwarf bed there is a single bean looking all forlorn in there.

(It also looks like the slugs have had a go at it as well).

The turnips are showing the lines well too.

But there are some flowers which are promising fruit later. Firstly there are the Blueberries...

And to keep The Wife happy, the strawberries are starting to flower.

Now if only we could get back to those sunny days, then it would be worthwhile spending a longer time down the plot. But we beat a hasty retreat to a nice hot cup of tea.

Allotment Week: Strawberries and Spuds

We've done the majority of major jobs this past week, so now we're left with a few smaller jobs just to tidy the week up.

Firstly The Wife is still amassing her Strawberry Empire. What started as 5 original plants (50p each or 5 for £2 from a car boot sale in Lincolnshire) now spans three beds, 39 individual pots, about a dozen of the 3-plant pink stacking things...

Meanwhile, I'm on leftover spud duty. We got some spare buckets at B&Q the other day. They'll do.

After that there were a few fixes to the rain water barrel, and covering up of the new courgette mound.

Plus a smattering of other odd jobs that needed doing.

Then of course there was some watering to be done. This dry weather has finally evaporated the paddy fields and kicked the turnips into growth.

And close on the heals on Yesterday's Apple Blossom, the Blueberries have started flowering.

Looks like this hot weather is coming to an end... as is Allotment Week. Picked a good week for it. More by luck than judgement.

Trimming the Tree and Building Beds

One normally "trims the tree" for xmas. But in this case it's the Apple Tree that needs a drastic haircut. Especially as it overhangs the new path.

The pictures aren't really clear as to how much has been trimmed, but it's sufficient to say that there are now a lot less branches that cross over each other. Pruning opens up the centre of the tree to more light and more airflow. And as an added benefit, makes harvesting easier too.

I've also built a new bed at the front of the plot which will become a second strawberry bed, right next to the existing one.

Second? Probably third. Possibly fourth. Yeah, the Wife wants a few more strawberry growing areas. What with those in the greenhouse, the stackable trays... Note to self; lay in super large stocks of cream for summer.

We've also re-potted our blueberries into larger pots. They probably need to be pruned as well. But the Wife mentioned something about taking cuttings from them to try and create more blueberry plants. Do I see yet more berries in my future?

And the onions have been planted too.

Onions left, Blueberries right.

Elsewhere on the plot, the old greenhouse has had a mini-clean. It will get a full clean later in the year. As will the new greenhouse. It has a thin green film on the inside of the glass as a remnant of last year's Tomatoes. I also need to build a table inside so we have a raised area better suited to putting seedlings and plants on.

Oh, and I need to make more beds as well. So much work to do... and I haven't even ordered this years seeds yet.

Best crack on...

Pros and Cons of Watering

It's summer and everything is growing and blooming. Unfortunately long dry spells can spell disaster for plants that need a decent drink.

I have tomatoes in the greenhouse, and if I leave them a little to long without a drink they end up wilting. So instead I place the pots into trays.

Watering the plants and then filling the trays helps keep them watered a little while longer.

Which leads to the next big question about watering during hot weather.. what time of day should you water? Personally for me, I've found that watering very early works better. When you water in the evening the surface stays wetter longer, allowing those pesky slugs and snails to come out and slither around. Watering in the mornings, means the water has chance to soak in allowing the veggies time to absorb it during the heat of the day.

My courgettes really seem to appreciate this method as then have really started to produce now.

And the sweetcorn has really shot up. Not bad considering that the start of the year looked like we weren't going to get any.

Even the rhubarb and grape vine is enjoying summer.

Whilst we enjoy some of the early fruits from the blueberries.

Now if only my butternut squashes would start producing too.

The 2017 Courgette Tally:

18

Busy as the bees

It's a busy time down the plot at the moment. Not only for us, but the bees are seriously busy in the apple tree at the moment.

If you stand right next to the apple tree you get this light scent of the blossom and can hear humming all around you.

Elsewhere other plants are blooming, such as the Blueberries. Hopefully we should get a good crop off them.

And the greenhouse is beginning to get overcrowded so it's time to evict some residents. First to be ousted are the three largest courgettes into the new mound.

I checked back as to when we planted them out last year. It was the 15th of May. So we're about a month ahead of last year. It seems we've had a really mild start to the year. No decent rainfall (at least here in London) for about a month now. Just a few spatters enough to coat the dust. So the plants have had a really warm sunny start, albeit a dry one.

The Lilies are looking good.

But this year we're going to keep an eye out for those pesky beetles which we didn't know about last year. Already squished one. They're not going to get a second chance this year.

And the artichoke, which was seriously cut back when the new flower bed went in, is starting to thrive once again.

I suspect that tomorrow we will make a start in putting out some of the sweetcorn. Of course the only problem is that we'll have to protect it from the birds. Time to bring out the netting again. But as I say, that's a job for tomorrow. As to the rest of today... I suspect shopping and a cider. Not necessarily in that order.

Chickens!

Alas they are not on my plot.

Our neighbour has been building an awesome chicken pen over the past few weeks. The whole thing is cobbled together with scrounged parts. Pallet wood, a door that was thrown into a skip, roofing that was being taken off a building. It's been turned into a decent sized, fox proof, chicken run. And yesterday the chickens arrived.

They're still a little suspicious over their new environment. But they've been scratching and dust bathing so they are settling down.

Meanwhile on the plot, our front piece of the broken wheelbarrow is now in full flower.

We've grabbed a handful of Blueberries (before the pigeons do).

The tomatoes going slowly this year. Not sure whats up with them, but they are forming some. The courgettes are still rolling along with their usual vigour (see count below). And we've up-ended one of the potato bags.

The 2016 Courgette Tally:

13

Potting on

So we're in the middle of the growing season at present. Not so bad, considering that what we're growing has reduced somewhat, considering recent events. But we do have some things which are doing really well.

The sweetcorn for example are nearly a metre tall.

And the Cape Gooseberries and Carrots are doing well. (You can just some of see the carrots at the back, whilst the other carrots are in separate pots.)

And the Blue Berry bushes are weighed down by the amount of fruit forming.

The Strawberries are coming in thick and fast now.

But we still have some stuff in the greenhouse that we've kept protected. Now it's getting pot-bound and needs potting on. So most of today was spent doing just that.

More Cape Gooseberries, Chinese Lanterns, Fox Gloves (grown from seed from last years flowers), Mint, Tomatoes, etc. We're getting rather crowded in the greenhouse these days. As such, we have asked the Committee for permission to build a second greenhouse.

The floods have necessitated a change in thinking and layouts. We want to re-build the flower bed, but make it easier to access and raised up. So we're planning on building a large 'U' shaped bed that's 3m long and 1.8m wide. This will extend from the leading edge of the current greenhouse, back to the boundary line. We'll have to dig up all the Daffodils, but they'll get re-planted in the new bed anyway. So thats one project for the autumn/winter.

Adding a second greenhouse, will add an indoor growing bed, where we can grow protected crops. We want to focus on things like Chillies and Pak Choi, which are often susceptible to damage outside. We'll have the two doorways facing each other, and move the table out of the first green house and use it in between the two as a work bench. I might build a simple lean-to shelter up the path side and up to the roof gable as protection.

But it's not all rosy... the flood followed by the warm weather has allowed the spores to take hold and re-introduced the dreaded BLIGHT.

I've now chopped all the foliage off the spud bags before it get too invasive. The spuds should still be OK though. Well at least I hope they are. The last lot were just blobs of mush in the ground. But the bags avoided the flood. Guess from now on, all of our spuds will be grown in bags.

The 2016 Courgette Tally:

8

I hate bindweed

Not only is the grass growing, but also the bindweed.

If you break off the bindweed roots whilst they're in the ground, then those little roots can sprout new shoots.

And thus it spreads itself around. Not only that but it also has some large white flowers that eventually produce small black seeds that get blown away by the wind to spread itself again. Do NOT let it flower.

But fortunately it's not just the bindweed thats growing. We planted out the Autumn Wings and Zierkurbis squashes today. They have been growing very well in the greenhouse but have grown almost too well and definitely need to be outside.

Some more of our normal courgettes went into the mound.

The past couple of years, we haven't really had much success with carrots. We've tried them in the ground, in bags, used sand, but all we've ended up with is misshapen masses. They're still edible, but they sure won't be winning any prizes (unless it's for the rudest vegetable). So this year, we're going to try are final attempt. No soil... just plain compost.

Talking of compost, last years compost bay had a few rogue potatoes in it. Yeah, yeah, we thought that by throwing them into the compost bin they'd rot down and be part of the nutrients. Nope, they rolled to the bottom, sat over winter and them sprouted. No matter. They can stay there. But I've given them a new companion.., the broccoli (Bottom right in photo)

The spud bags are doing their normal duty as a a place holder for the weed membrane. We're trying to expand the number of beds, but the grass is everywhere and the only way to keep it down is to try and cook it under the black heat absorber.

What grasses and weeds we have pulled is put in our current compost bin (but no bindweed of course). But the only problem with that is that it's full.

The Mediterranean Wildflower mix that we sowed last weekend has already sprouted. Should be a good showing.

Elsewhere around the plot, the lillies are growing.

The artichoke is starting to put up flower stalks.

The grape vine is starting to leaf out.

And our blueberries, are currently greenberries.

So somethings are working out well. Just wish we could get rid of this damn bindweed. Somebody pass me the flamethrower.