My butt is empty

How quickly things change - the waterbutt is now empty. In fact I used it as an excuse to give it a good clean and wash out the sludge in the bottom.

The tomatoes will now get refreshed with tap water.

Talking of tomatoes - I picked my first today. Garden Pearl. Funny how whatever the weather conditions it is always the last week in July that my tomatoes ripen. Thankfully I remembered not to buy too many in Tesco's this week. Can't wait for the yellow ones to catch up.

Redescovering the Strawberries

I replaced the strawberries this year. I never intended to get much of a crop from them - but to let them run riot and produce lots of runners to provide additional plants.

This they have done - and so have the weeds. Today the conditions were perfect for weeding. Plenty of rain in the last few days meant the weeds were coming out without any resistance.

An hour later the strawberries were uncovered along with numerous runners which I am going to have difficulty tracing back to the original plant. I had planted four varieties - Cambridge Favourite, Honeyoe, Royal Sovereign and one called Elan that I had never heard of but found in a garden centre.

Harvested today were pototoes - the pink fir apple has almost redeemed itself - courgettes, broad beans, runner beans, lettuce and raddish. I overheard one of my fellow allotmenteers talking to another saying he had never picked peas and runner beans at the same time before - and he has been growing veg for 60 plus years.

My butt is full Part 2

And here is the photo to prove it. Before the weekend it was almost empty. Now it is overflowing and that is just from the run off on one side of a garage roof.

It is July, I have put the central heating on, I am eating curry for dinner. Hmmmmm

Wonder if I will ever get a normal year weather wise for the allotment. Currently it is boom or bust.

Big decision.

Well I have come to a decision about the allotment. With our social life it is a big struggle for me as I tend the whole thing on my own - save the occasional assistance with watering. I have never come away feeling that there is nothing more that needs doing - and I appreciate that this is unlikely to happen until I retire or no longer work full time.

There is an area at the back, about 8-10 ft wide, which I can never get to - currently it is a wilderness. The blackcurrants are in the middle of this area and haven't produced a crop for a few years.

However, my neighbour Phil mentioned to me that following his recent retirement, he would like a little bit more space. So I am letting him take it over until I retire in about 16 year's time. He will use it to grow spuds. I will have to move my strawberry patch - but will probably transfer them to pots and bring on at home.

I do have a slight feeling of failure. But it is a much less drastic action than giving the whole thing up.

Losing control

Well I knew that having two weekends away out of four would do my allotment no good. The weeds have won the war.

So this weekend it is weeding, weeding, weeding. Problem is the lack of recent rain has meant that any weeds with more than one inch of root are concreted in. But I did manage to make a bit of a difference.

To cheer myself up I decided to harvest some potatoes. Big mistake - the fork just wouldn't go in the soil. I did manage to get some up by chiseling into the ground and they came up nice and clean - but not a great crop - especially the pink fir apple. Don't think I will bother with them again.

However, the broad beans are the best yet - no blackfly and a really heavy crop. In fact I picked two carrier bags.

I also picked runner beans!!! Even earlier than last year - which were early.