Almost spring?

Well the weather recently has been rather nice. Thanks to a spell of enforced unemployment, interspersed with a bit of Jury Service, the allotment is looking rather good. I have dug most of it and made a start on weeding around the fruit bushes. I was planning to get the spuds and peas in this afternoon - but typically, betime I managed to complete all the household chores, the weather turned overcast and cold. However, I still have tomorrow afternoon before I start my new job on Monday.

I have planted indoors brussels, broccoli and tomatoes and they are starting to grow. I just wish it would warm up a bit.

Seed delivery!

Well the seeds for 2009 have arrived. This year the "experiment" will be Asparagus Pea. I have never tried it before or even eaten it.

I still have a bit of digging to do, but the weather has either been wrong, or we have been busy doing other things. However, my neighbour Phil has made a grand job of the top end and has dug it over ready for his main crop potatoes. This has taken away a worry. We have a new allotment lady from the Parish Council and she is a tyrant - apparently!

Welcome to 2009

Well it has been a long time. A death of a relative in December kept me away from the allotment. This was then followed by a bout of the flu and it was real flu not a nasty cold, that took 2-3 weeks to get over. Or it has been raining on the days I wasn't busy. Allotment visits were token events to harvest - not much digging going on.

Someone at work was saying that this year has been the wettest January for 20 years. The soil is certainly sodden.

I got about 6 sq metres dug today. It was not enjoyable; the soil was very sticky and I had to stop often to remove sods from my boots and spade. However today was a nice day. I almost decided not to go up the allotment this morning. I looked out of the window and saw the wind blowing the Yew tree opposite and saw the temperature was only a couple of degrees C and nearly didn't bother. However, once up the allotment, I was sheltered from the wind and was quite enjoying the sunshine. In fact once I started digging, the coat was soon discarded.

I was joined by my local blackbird who was probably the scruffy one in my 17th May 2008 blog post. He seems to have survived the winter well and is looking quite slick. I found him some nice fat worms for his lunch.

I got other jobs done as well such as taking down the runner bean canes, cutting back the autumn raspberries and harvested leeks, sprouting broccoli and sprouts.

Spurred on, I then went and bought some seed potatoes from the local garden centre after a tip off from my allotment neighbour Phil. I bought Winston enough for about 3 rows and one row of Nadine. Winston is my favourite potato. A first early - but can be left in a bit longer and will provide huge spuds for baking. The taste is outstanding too.

I also got my seed order done on line. Bring on the Trumpets.

Putting the Cloches to use

I love using my Cloches. My Dad bought me a pair of the like I have never seen before and I got to use them up my allotment this week as my allotment neighbour - Phil - had left me some winter cabbage plants which were duly planted out.



I then used the plastic hoops and the metal rods to make the frame and then clipped the supplied netting in place. The kit also came with plastic sheeting too. I must ask him where he got them in case I need more.

Back!

Can't believe it has been 2 months since I last updated the blog.

I always knew that September would be difficult - away for 2 week's holiday in the States and then away the following weekend, but I did hope that I would get some blogging done during October.

Instead I have been busy harvesting. The apple tree in the garden yielded the best ever crop and every weekend in October I was pealing and stewing. I have a drawer full of stewed apple in the freezer. Then when I thought I had finished, my parents gave me another carrier bag full.


I am not sure which variety my apple tree is. It is a cooking apple and the skins are quite waxy. The flesh is very white and is quite frothy when stewed. The above are not the best samples.

I have also been harvesting leeks and some purple sprouting and brussels. In fact one row of the sprouts are quite good - I need to check back and find out which variety they were.

Been busy

Not updated the blog for a few weeks, so will now try and catch up with a few retrospective posts.

I made a big error in buying my other half an Archos for his birthday. This is a most excellent gadget which will let him view DVDs and listen to music on the train. Only problem was that he a bit of a technophobe, so I have spent evenings ripping DVDs and then compressing them so he can watch them on his way home from work and have therefore not been updating my blog.

Anyway, today was a lovely day - just the right amount of sun and a cooling breeze. So I achieved a good three hours up the allotment digging over what was the broad bean patch to make an area for the winter onions.

As you can see the sunflowers are looking good. If there was a prize for the tallest sunflower on the allotment, then I would win it. I also was pleased to see one of these - if you look closely you will see it is a sloworm. The lads off the estate usually take them - but this one was sunbathing in a bucket. I did disturb him and move him into the compost heap - just incase it did decide to rain.

The bad news is the brassicas. The caterpillars have left me just stalks. I did spray them last week with derris, which I hate doing as I try and be organic - but that hasn't worked. I must get some washing up liquid and give that a go.

Strawberries? (retrospective)

Well this was a surprise. A strawberry in mid-August. I re-planted all my strawberries this year and included some I had grown on from plug plants so I am not sure if they are a late variety or just catching up. They were a variety unknown to me called Elan which apparently do produced strawberries into the autumn.