Rain, rain, go away, Come again another day!

Seriously, I’m thinking of investing in some gills and fins. I don’t think we have enough time left to wait for evolution to catch up with the weather. Then again, this time last year we were ice locked and wondering if we were going back into a polar ice age! I must admit I would rather have the cold than the wet but the allotment seems to be coping with the rain ok.

        I decided to go and have a bimble around the allotment this morning to see what was happening and to do some tidying up. The first job when I got down there was to weed and turn over the soil at the end of the fruit bush bed. This is so that at the weekend we can transplant the gooseberry bushes so that they’re not blocked out by the jostaberry bush. As great as the josta is, it does tend to block out everything below it when it gets into leaf. It will also make it easier to harvest both the gooseberry and the jostaberry later in the year. Last year’s crop of goosegogs was good but I’m hoping this year’s will be even better now that the bushes are established, especially from the hinnomaki (red).

        After that it was down to some long overdue weeding. After a quick tidy up around the currant bushes, which weren’t too bad to be honest, it was time to move on to the main event – kale, leeks and parsnips.

        This was a job that we had been putting off for a while. I figured today was a good day to do the weeding as the ground was soft. Two buckets of weeds, a pair of very wet knees and a couple of mud caked hands later and the job was done. It was with immense satisfaction that I stood back, in the pouring rain (again), and surveyed the result of my labours.

        This means that at the weekend the only real weeding that will be left to do will be the onions and garlic (as promised, they will be receiving lots of extra love and attention). The additional bonus to doing the weeding now is that we don’t have to spend all Saturday morning listening to the incessant drone of the Moody Teen complaining about having to spend time on the allotment! A win, win situation all round!

The final thing I did before coming home was to have a quick check on the broad beans. They’re approximately 2 – 4” tall now and seem quite strong. Another few weeks and we may have to dispense with the cloches as they will be too tall to be covered!

Happy Gardening!

Happy New Year!

Well that’s Christmas and New Year done and dusted. This morning it was time to pop down the allotment and get a bit of maintenance done whilst there was a break (however brief) in the weather. I had driven past the other day and noticed that one of our cloches had been lifted up by the wind and when we got down there a second one had joined it.

        The only other damage if damage at all, was that our tool box had been blown over (again) and the lids off of our composters had been whisked away on to our neighbour’s plot; all easily rectified.

        We had received some pennies for Christmas and decided to use some of it to get some new tools. Our last set was from Wilko’s and whilst they got us going (and turned a fair amount of soil in the process) they weren’t exactly top quality. So this time we found some Draper tools online that had been reduced (got to love a bargain). They were all shiny and new and I didn’t want to get them muddy.

        Anyway, Mary and Lyta set to work reseating the cloches and making sure they were well bedded down to protect the broad bean shoots that seem

to be doing quite well so far. Not all of them have come up but then we didn’t expect them too. It will just be a result this year to actually get some to harvest without the blackfly killing them off. Hopefully by having planted them so early they will be ready before the blackfly arrive. We’ve also been advised to pinch the tops out as this seems to deter the little buggers as well.

        Whilst the ladies were busy at one end of the plot I set to work at the other end spreading the manure and straw to fertilise the potato patch. It

may be a dirty, smelly job but there is such a sense of satisfaction once it’s done that I really don’t mind doing it. Plus you have the added bonus of knowing that the soil will be perfect for growing awesome potatoes! This year we will once again be growing some new (new to us) varieties and some tried and tested. We will of course be doing Purple Majesty and hope we get a better crop than last year.

        The final note for the first blog of 2014 is to announce our new arrival! We are proud to say that the Elephant Garlic has finally started shooting! I must admit it was a bit touch and go there for a while and I didn’t think it was going to happen but they have finally peeked above the soil and will now be pampered and spoilt until harvesting time.

Happy New Year