Lots of flowers on my broad beans, and with the promise of fine weather for the next week or so, there should be a good harvest, if I can keep the blackfly at bay! None so far, but I will spray them with soapy water to discourage intruders, and I will probably also have to pinch the tips out. 

Potatoes are also coming on well, as are onions, shallots and garlic. I put out runner beans last week, also a couple of climbing courgettes - never tried this type before - and I also have rows of beetroot, carrots and lettuce. I planted runner bean seeds (my own, from last year) and French bean seeds (purchased) on the same day using the same conditions, but whereas all of my runner beans germinated, none of the French beans did! Peas have been a failure - very poor germination - and it will be a week or so before I plant out sweetcorn and leeks. My own leek seedlings have done very poorly, refusing to grow, and I always buy sweetcorn seedlings, after a couple of failed germination attempts a few years ago. On the other hand, strawberries are looking quite good, but with no rain for the last two weeks, and none in the forecast, I must water those. Other than that, it's weeding - a never-ending task!

Desperate remedies!

 Very few people have grown sweetcorn on the allotments this year. This is not surprising, as the badgers eat everything as soon as it is ripe! But I decided that I would nevertheless try, and have put up defences to try to save them - we will see! This is a battery powered system, which involves a PIR and two LED lights. When anything breaks the PIR beam, the lights come on for about 6 seconds, which hopefully will scare off any intruders. There is also a solar powered battery charger to keep the battery topped up. The sweetcorn will be ripe in a week or so - fingers crossed!

I have two apple trees and two pear trees on the allotment. Last year, the apples were abundant, but there were no pears. This year, it's the opposite way round - lots of pears but very few apples. It must be something to do with the weather at the pollination stage : perhaps next year we will get both apples and pears? 

At last we have had a day of rain, the first rain for many weeks. It was by no means enough of course. We really need at least a week of rain to make up the deficit - we're on a hosepipe ban, and if things don't get better soon, more restrictions may be introduced. In the meantime, we keep on with the watering cans ....

With the continued warm weather, things are growing quickly. we can't keep up with the beetroot - the largest one so far was 950g, or 2lb 2oz! But they've been very tender and taste excellent, so much so that I have made several lots of beetroot relish, which will keep well and should last us through the winter. I am also picking a lot of runner beans (and freezing some) courgettes of three different kinds (again, we can't keep up with them, but courgette chutney is delicious) lettuce, spring onions and I've just harvested my onions, which look good.

Too hot, and far too dry

 For as long as I can remember, daily temperatures have been at least in the upper 20s°C, with several in the low 30s°C and a few in the upper 30s°C. And for at least the last 6 weeks, we have had no measurable rainfall. Records being broken all over the place! Needless to say, I have had to water the plot (using a watering can, not a hose) every day. Many areas already have hosepipe bans, and we will have one in the near future. There is little (if any) rain in the forecast, and the temperatures will be up to 36°C for each of the next four days - at least! However, the plot is continuing to yield well.

I started harvesting onions today. The largest so far (there are bigger to come) was 560g. I have also picked beetroot up to 780g, the large circular squash in the picture is 1640g, and there are also spring onions bigger than golfballs, another type of squash (delicious stuffed and baked) and plenty of courgettes. We now have lots of runner beans, although the high temperatures have caused many not to set. I have sprayed them with water every day, which helps the setting. And in a couple of weeks there will be sweetcorn - provided I can keep the badgers away! 

One side effect of the dry weather has been on my bees. I was hoping for quite a good honey harvest, but there is practically no nectar around - just too dry - so the bees, far from producing honey, are eating what they have already made! When the weather is cooler, I will put on my (very sweaty) beesuit and have a look.

High Summer

 It has been very hot recently - in the low 30sC - with no sign of rain, and none to come in the near future. In fact, it will apparently get hotter - up to 37°C - so will make growing things quite challenging - we have to water every day, in the evening when it's cooler. Having said that, this year has already been much more productive than last year. From 2kg of seed potatoes, I harvested 80kg of Vivaldi, with practically no slug or disease damage. They are delicious, and should keep well, until at least Christmas. And we have had plenty of beetroot, lettuces, mange tout peas, spring onions and broad beans, and now the courgettes have started. Strangely perhaps, I have a lot of pears coming but very few apples, whereas last year was the opposite. And strawberries were few and far between, but the plants were very small, so should be much more productive next year.

Sweetcorn are looking good so far. They should be ready in September, but before then I must put up something to stop the badgers. They know exactly when it's ready to pick, and last year, in one night, ate the lot! Last year, I protected them - to no avail - by hanging CD's from string round the plot, which is already surrounded by green mesh, but they are very strong and determined. Mind you, a lot of people tried a lot of things, and nothing worked! So this year will have to be something quite extreme, like an electric fence! It's either that, or sit up all night with a shotgun! 

Before that, there will be shallots (which are looking excellent) and onions to harvest, and in the next week or so the runner beans will start, so we will be going vegetarian! Bit different to last 'summer' ....

Vegetables for harvesting in the winter are also coming on strongly - leeks, parsnips and kale - and we're looking forwards to them.

Sorry for the absence!

 It's been a year since I last posted, for which my apologies. 2021 was a terrible year for the allotment. The weather was cold and wet, and most things did not germinate. Most of the few that did germinate were promptly eaten by slugs, or were affected by mould, or (like the potatoes) by blight, or (like my sweetcorn) all eaten by badgers! As a result, yields of just about everything - except (for some unknown reason) runner beans - were disappointing. This year, however, things have been much better. For example, today I dug up most of my garlic, which was ready for harvesting.

The bulbs were large and look as if they will store well, after I dry them out of the rain. I started digging potatoes a few days ago, and the results were equally impressive. 

This was from one row, out of the five I planted. They are Vivaldi, a multi-purpose potato that is good for boiling, roasting, chipping and baking, and has an excellent flavour. I dug them early - the others will be next week - so although they may not be quite full size, they showed almost no slug damage or disease. 

I have also been picking mange tout peas and lettuce (top picture) plus beetroot, spring onions and broad beans, and would have been picking carrots except they were all eaten by badgers! In the lower photo, where the potatoes came from, I have planted beetroot, spring onions and lettuce for successional crops.

There will be courgettes next week, then runner beans, and sweetcorn (if I can stop the badgers eating it) and for the winter I have parsnips, leeks and kale - all looking good. 

Surprising what a bit of sunshine and warmth can do!

May

 

It's been a cold, wet May. The temperature has been above 14°C on a couple of occasions only, and rainfall has been twice the average. Unsurprisingly, most things have hardly grown, at a time when they would normally be racing away. My broad beans (at the back of this plot) are still only about a foot tall, with a few flowers but no pods yet. In front are my kalettes, grown from my own saved seed, which are very hardy - they will stand (and crop) throughout the winter. They will eventually get to about 4' tall, with stems an inch or more across, so need good stakes.

Elsewhere on the plot I have sowed garlic (planted last October as they need a cold spell or will not give good bulbs) onions and shallots, peas, lettuce, potatoes, carrots, beetroot, spinach and spring onions, but none is growing as well as it should! However, strawberries have a lot of flowers - they will be late this year though : last year I started picking at the very beginning of June. Apple blossom was amazing, so we might do well there, and I have picked lots of rhubarb, which has been encouraged by the amount of rain we have had. At home, I have planted runner beans, French beans and courgettes - but it is still far too cold to plant these out - and leeks. Let's hope for some better weather!

Just starting up again

 

It's been extremely dry recently - no April showers! - but also not very warm, so not much is growing. This is my onion patch. I started them off in modules, so could keep an eye on them and water, but now they're planted out. Also here are shallots, which have not yet come up, and garlic which I planted last autumn. In other areas I have sown beetroot, carrots, spinach and spring onion seeds, and have planted out some broad beans (which are very hardy) and some peas. This is a special variety which is a bit more hardy than most, but they're not doing a lot yet. I've also planted out my potatoes. These are not at all hardy, but as yet have not come up, which is just as well, as frost is forecast - and although the weather for the next two weeks looks bright, it's going to be quite chilly during the day, and no rain either!

I've also given the strawberry patch some attention - weeded, a bit of blood, fish and bone fertiliser on each plant, and wood chippings to keep the fruit off the ground. And that's another area that will need watering soon!

What a winter!

 

I see that I haven't posted for a very long time, for which many apologies! However, there has been much going on at the allotment. Over winter should be a quiet time, especially when there is a winter like the one just passing - lots of rain - the plot has been extremely squelchy for most of the time, and a very severe spell with temperatures below zero all day, plus quite a lot of snow. Despite this, and when the weather has allowed, I have replaced the posts at the corners of each plot. They were going rotten - this is their tenth year - so I've put in Metposts, which should not rot, and put 6' treated wooden posts on top. Then I've put black netting over these to keep the birds off. This allows us to move round easily inside, rather than having to crouch down. Hopefully, there will be no more snow this winter. It tends to accumulate on the netting, which sags and then tears. I have also dug a lot of manure into a couple of the plots, and weeded them, so everything is now ready! 

I've already planted out some pea plants under a cloche, which should provide some weather protection. They are a specially early variety, Proval. I also have some broad beans coming up, which should be ready for planting out in a couple of weeks - again, under a cloche - and have just germinated some kalettes (we are still picking kalettes from the plants that I grew from seed last year) and leeks. The leeks were a disaster last year. Most were so badly affected by leek miner moth that they were thrown away, and if they do as badly this year, I won't grow them again. On the other hand, the onions and shallots were so good that we are still eating them, and have enough for another month or so. Ah, the joys of gardening!

The height of summer?

 Sweetcorn are doing well. Silks are now showing, and I should be picking them in August - badgers permitting! About the only thing to keep them out would be an electric fence, so I will just have to hope that they start somewhere else and give me a chance to pick them first!
In the background are runner beans which I have been picking for about 3 weeks. I dug up all the potatoes (Vivaldi) a week or so ago, and they were quite successful - fairly large and numerous, with little sign of disease and not too much slug damage. One root was however completely eaten by mice! And I've been picking a lot of courgettes, broad beans, lettuce, beetroot, carrots (so different to what you can buy!) plus    some peas and French beans. This is despite the summer being 'indifferent', with not a lot of heat but very little rain to speak of. I've also been        harvesting garlic, shallots and a few onions,           although these are not really ready yet. As usual, there's been a fair amount of weeding, and also watering. Let's hope that we have kind weather over the next few months - a bit more rain but not too cold. I have sowed seeds of beetroot, lettuce, carrots and spinach, where the potatoes were - no room elsewhere - and am hoping for a succession well into the autumn.

Sunshine

 My strawberries are looking good this year, with plenty of flowers. Of course, the harvest will depend on the weather. I have fertilised and watered them, and surrounded them with wood chippings to keep the fruit off the ground, and put some slug pellets round them as well, so maybe I will be picking in 2 or 3 weeks. I shall have to keep them watered of course, as there is no sign of any significant rain in the near future. So far in May we have had about 1% of our normal rainfall, and the temperatures have on the whole been well above average :- 26°C forecast for today, against an  expected 17 or 18°C.

I planted out my kalettes yesterday. These are flower sprouts, ie open sprouts, and they should crop in the winter. They will get to about 4' tall, so I've put some strong stakes in to tie them to later. Like all brassicas, they are sought out by cabbage white butterflies, so I must keep an eye out for them!
Since (I hope!) there will be no more frost until autumn, I have also planted out French beans, runner beans and courgettes. We had frost last week though, and my potato tops have suffered as a result, being turned brown. This will put the crop back by a couple of weeks, but hopefully do no permanent damage. Others were not as lucky - some had planted out beans, but these were all killed. Still to plant out are leeks - I have 3 different varieties growing in pots at home, to give a succession of harvesting - and sweetcorn. Running out of room!

Allotmenteering under lockdown

 Every cloud has a silver lining, and it turns out that Covid-19, which has so badly affected so many people, and which I would not wish on my worst enemy, has a few. For a start, pollution has reduced hugely, and I know many people will not want to go back to commuting every day, and I think this will last a long time. And many people have more time to do things. This is reflected in the allotments. Last year, there were a couple of empty plots - this year there is a waiting list, and many plots have received more attention than ever before! My own plot is (for the first time) virtually weed-free. In addition, the weather has been mainly fine, dry and warm (although we did have one wet week in April) which has meant that everything has come on well, and has also necessitated watering.

The top photo shows my strawberry patch. Quite a lot of flowers already, and each one has been fertilised, treated with slug pellets, and surrounded by wood chippings to keep the fruit off the ground. I have used barley straw in the past, but inevitably this has seeds incorporated, which germinate and give a grassy layer.
The second photo shows the onion plot, with garlic, shallots and a couple of types of onion set. There is also a row of lettuces which should be ready in a month or so, and rows of beetroot and carrots. Hardly any of these germinated though - too dry despite watering - so I've sowed some more at home, for planting out later.

This photo shows one of my 2 hives. If the allotments are not accepted as my 'daily exercise', then looking after livestock certainly IS. Both are incredibly busy, and when I last inspected them, it was difficult to see where any new bees would slot in, but since each queen is laying about 2000 eggs per day - more than her own bodyweight - and since the workers are bringing in lots of pollen and nectar, it might be a good honey harvest. That's if they don't swarm, which they inevitably will do, and half the workforce disappears! At least we know that all the flowers on the allotments will be properly pollinated!

Wet, wet, wet!

This winter has been characterised by lots of rain and strong gales. Many trees have been brought down, and there has been significant damage up at the allotments. My mini-plots are all covered with mesh to keep off the birds, and the corners of this are supported by posts driven into the ground. Two of these were snapped off and had to be replaced. And even when the weather has been dry, digging out the posts leaves holes half full of water, as the water table has come right up. On the positive side, there has been very little frost and no snow - I wonder if we will get another 'Beast from the East' before spring? Anyway, it does mean that some things have come on earlier than expected. I picked my first rhubarb yesterday - two weeks earlier than last year - and it was delicious. It has been covered with a wheelbarrow, which has protected it from most things. And I am still digging leeks (extremely small, but at least no damage as I protected them from insect attack with  very fine mesh) and parsnips, which are of course a variety of very curious shapes, as usual. And we are also picking kalettes. As the name suggests, these are a cross between kale and sprouts. And they're very new and not easy to come by. The taste is mild, sweet and nutty - not like a sprout or kale - and they look like flowering or open sprouts, which grow on stems like sprouts, and can be green or purple. Very easy to grow - I have already planted seeds for this winter - but of course, like all other brassicas, the pigeons love them, which is why I grow them under mesh.
I have also planted (inside) peas, garlic, shallots and broad beans, some of which are coming up already, and will be planted out when they are ready - and when it's drier!

Peak Strawberry time

Yesterday I picked about 8 pounds of strawberries. On the whole they are good - well swollen because of the amount of rain that we've had - but a larger than normal proportion have been attacked by mould (not surprising) or, of course, slugs. So I've been making jam and putting a lot in the freezer. By cutting them up and freezing them spread out on a tray, then putting them in bags, they are ideal for use later - not fresh of course but for cooking, where they are a real taste  of summer.
I'm also picking lettuce (my second sowing is now coming up) beetroot (ditto) carrots and small broad beans. We eat them mange tout, rather than podding them, when they're small. 7 or 8 minutes in the pot - delicious! Next week there should also be peas and courgettes. I love this time of year!
I planted some sweetcorn seedlings a couple of weeks ago, but lost about three quarters to something - don't know what. It didn't look like slug damage, so could have been birds or more likely mice.In most cases the plants had not only been nibbled off at the base, but the seeds had been dug up and eaten. Anyway, I bought some more and planted them out, and so far they're OK. I have put mouse traps down and slug pellets and made sure that they are covered by mesh - can't do much more!

At the moment, the plot is just about full. There's a little space for leeks, but I have 10 purple sprouting broccoli to plant out, and there's just no room. So for the time being, they are in 5" pots and will be planted out when the broad beans have finished.

No sun - no strawberries

I have lots of strawberries coming on, but we need more sun to finish ripening them. Last year, I started picking them on 2 June. This morning - 10 days later than last year - I picked my first three. Last year we had 2mm of rain in the whole of June. So far this June we have had more than 100mm. So the strawberries are swelling - and don't the slugs love them! - but not ripening. Hey ho. Gardeners and farmers are never happy with the weather.
I planted some sweetcorn seedlings last week, but they are being dug up by the birds. Note to self : this plot will have to be netted. Otherwise, things are coming on OK. I will be able to pick broad beans and beetroot soon, also carrots and spring onions, and we have had several lettuces, so I have planted more seeds. Runner and French beans are climbing up their poles; courgettes and peas are coming on quite quickly now. Broccoli plants have settled in nicely after being planted out, and onions, shallots and garlic are growing strongly. Leeks are very slow - I shall probably have to buy some plants if they don't hurry up. But everything needs some sun!

Coming on nicely

 I have just planted out my runner beans (pictured), French beans and courgettes. Hopefully the risk of frost has passed, and the plants - now they have their feet in open ground - should romp away. I have of course taken the precaution of putting slug pellets down, since all of the seedlings are protected by netting cages and the birds cannot get in at them. In the background are my pea seedlings - now coming on strongly - which I have further protected from pea moth (they cause the caterpillars which can destroy an entire pea crop) with a very fine mesh, as the moths are small enough to get through the bird mesh.

This is my strawberry plot. There are lots of flowers, so if it doesn't rain (and we haven't had a lot recently, nor is much forecast) I will have to water them. Again, I have put slug pellets down, plus some blood, fish and bone fertiliser, and I have put chippings under each plant to hold the strawberries clear of the ground. I put straw round them a couple of years ago, and it was effective, but I had a lawn of barley as well, from the odd seeds caught up in the straw.
My broad beans are also in full flower. I have also protected these with a fine mesh, which will hopefully deter the blackfly.
So things are coming on as hoped. I should be picking lettuce next week, and beetroot, spring onions and carrots shortly afterwards. Later on there are broccoli, onions, shallots, garlic and potatoes to look forward to.

OK so far!

So far, things are not going too badly this year on the plot. The photo shows broad beans (which will soon be starting to flower) and - in front - kalettes, which will not be ready until the autumn. I also have garlic, onions and shallots coming up, and my beetroot, lettuce, carrots, leeks, peas and parsnips are doing quite well. My potatoes have now shown above the soil - no more frost please - and the strawberries are in flower. At home, I have runner beans, French beans and courgettes starting, to plant out later. The one thing that I am not happy about is a mole! You can see some of its hillocks in the foreground, and it is digging up much of the plot! I would really rather not kill it, so how do I get rid of it? Mothballs down the hole are said to make them leave - they don't like the smell of naphthalene - but I need it to go far away, and anyway, where can you now get mothballs? All ideas welcome!
On another note, we now have some more bees on the plots. The last hive did not survive winter, so let's hope these do better, and pollinate all our crops!

Springing into action!

At last it seems as if spring is here. We are promised warmer weather, and the frosts of the last few nights seem to have finished. So I've planted out some pea seedlings that I grew at home, but for now they are protected by a green mesh tunnel. This means that I have put down slug pellets - a necessity - and, if we do have more frost, should help them to survive.
I have also planted out potatoes, and hopefully by the time they show above ground there will be no more frost. Also some pea, carrot, leek and beetroot seeds, and some broad bean plants, which should be completely hardy. Next week I will plant out some kalette plants (open type of sprouts with a distinctive flavour) which should also be hardy, so today I have dug in some lime where they are to go, which will hopefully stop them getting clubroot. Also in the near future I will plant some French bean, runner bean and courgette  seeds, protected of course since none can go out until the weather warms up a lot. 

Is this Winter?

Purple sprouting broccoli

This time last year we had the 'Beast from the East', with temperatures here down to -14°C. This year could not be more different - temperatures up to 20°C with a clear blue sky. Things are coming on very early as a result. Our daffodils are in bloom a month early. Mind you, we are not over winter yet, so planting tender crops must wait! I fully expect snow in March, or at least more frosts.
The picture shows my purple sprouting broccoli, which is doing well. I picked some this morning, together with the first rhubarb of the year. I had put my wheelbarrow upside down over this to protect it from the worst of the weather, and it looks good. Two things to look forward to this evening!
I  have also just planted spring shallots and onion sets. The winter onion sets still look good, but of course when you plant them you cannot say how the winter will be, and how many will survive. So now I have lots of onions!
I've also planted some carrot  and leek seeds, and broad beans and kalettes at home. I'd never heard of kalettes until recently, but they are like flowering sprouts, ie instead of making sprouts with tight buds, they make much more open buds. They taste like sweet, nutty, sprouts - or crispy seaweed if roasted. Delicious.
Also starting early are strawberries, so I've been tidying these up. Next it will be feeding with blood, fish and bone, then mulching with a layer of chippings to keep the fruit away from the slugs.

January

This is what January means to me - cold, wet, dark, little happening. At least we are past the shortest day, although the dull weather means that it is still dark very early in the afternoon.

A time for manuring, adding compost and digging. Much of this is done now, and practically all the vegetables have been harvested. I dug up the last of the leeks and parsnips last week. The only thing left is purple sprouting broccoli, which should start to come on next month.

Because I took out most things, I can now finish the tidying up before the growing season starts. Firstly there is weeding (why do they never stop growing, even in the depths of winter?) then manuring and finishing off the digging. There are a few garlic cloves growing (they always benefit from a nice cold spell) plus some winter onion sets, but that's it. No seeds being planted until at least next month.
So I'll leave it there, and resume in the spring.

All very sad!

 It's all very sad at this time of year. The days are short and cold, and sometimes like this - wet and foggy!
Most of the vegetables have finished, and have been dug up and discarded, but there is still some purple sprouting broccoli which should yield in the spring. At the moment, I am digging leeks (which did very well, and should be OK in the ground over winter) and parsnips (which also did quite well, although all have many roots, and most are a very strange shape) and pulling the last of the carrots.
So it's down to manuring, adding compost and digging. I've done a lot, but there is still a bit to do, and some that can't be done until the 

remaining vegetables have finished. I've also finished putting chippings over the paths to a depth of 3 or 4 inches, and done most of the weeding, a never-ending chore!
Not much to report then. The next thing will be the purple sprouting broccoli, followed by (hopefully) a good strawberry crop, but as ever, it will all depend on the weather.