Things are starting to shoot

Well things are moving pretty fast at the moment, unfortunately so are the weeds! It seems that no sooner have you cleared one area and started on another that the original patch needs doing again. Still, such are the joys of gardening/having an allotment.

We have finally gotten all of the beds dug that we think we'll need, and what can be strawed over has been. This serves two purposes. Firstly in the warm weather it helps to keep the moisture in the ground to prevent it drying out. Secondly, come the autumn once everything is harvested it can be dug in and help fertilise/enrich the soil. Then the whole process can start again in the Spring! Fortunately we have a ready supply of straw and manure at a very good price!

 




The potatoes have started to poke their heads up at long last. I must admit I was starting to get worried. Between the four rows we have on the allotment and the two planters growing in the back garden I'm hoping we should be OK for potatoes for a while come harvest time. We also have a small bed of new potatoes in the back garden as well. This is earmarked for potato salads to go with BBQs!

The onions and garlic are looking fantastic. I'm especially excited about the elephant garlic. We've never grown it before but if what's going on underground is as good as what's happening above ground then it should be most impressive. Apparently these bulbs can grow to over 6" across and weigh in at over 2lb!
 
All of our soft fruit seems to be coming along nicely. We have strawberries, gooseberries, currants and jostaberry coming in to fruit. The blueberry is in flower and our raspberry bushes are starting to show buds.

All in all things are looking very good indeed!  

Farewell Doug and Hello Dugless!

Well it's been a while so I thought I would put finger to keyboard and write an update on our allotment adventures.

We said good bye to Doug, our original quarter plot, in October and moved on to Dugless, so called because the previous occupant had a no digging philosophy, a very nice half plot.

Because of the previous plot holder's philosophy there was quite a bit of work for us to do when we took over. Both Mary and I like a nice tidy plot and tidy beds. However, it would have been churlish of us to complain as Alan, the previous occupant, left us some lovely fruit bushes that we have great hopes for this year. If everything comes to fruition we will be swamped with currants, strawberries, gooseberries, blueberries, raspberries and josta berries ( a blackcurrant and gooseberry cross).

So far we've only managed to harvest some rhubarb, and it made a wonderful crumble! We've got potatoes, various beans, sweetcorn, parsnip, turnip, beetroot and cabbages planted at the moment. We also are waiting on delivery of some leek seedlings and some multi-coloured cauliflower seedlings as well (white, purple, orange and green). I saw them advertised in a seed catalogue and just couldn't resist. Look out for some very colourful dinners as we've planted purple majesty potatoes again this year.

The crown jewels of the plot at the moment  are the various onions and garlic that we have coming on. My brother holidayed on the Isle of Wight last year and brought back some garlic gloves from the Garlic Farm there. They really are looking magnificent, with the Elephant garlic looking particularly splendid.

Now that the weather has started improving (sort of) a lot of our time is dedicated to weeding. The weeds seem to sprout up twice as quick as the vegetables. It's one of those chores that never seems to have an end! The end results are worth the effort though.

At the time we were moving allotment plots we were moving homes as well. We've moved from a flat to a house with a lovely back garden (Nigel II). The beds in Nigel are a mix of veg and flowers now. We also have plenty of herbs, the cats being particularly fond of the catnip, and some growing sacks for potatoes. Once the tomato, courgette and pumpkin seedlings are ready in the cold frame they will be going out into planters and grow bags. They will be joined by some red brussell sprouts as well!   


Despite my saying I wasn't going to bother again I've succumbed and got some chilli plants; Jalapeno, Habanero and Dorset Naga. I really am hoping for a better growing season for them this year. 

Well that's it for now, hopefully we will get back to regular updates in the future.