I'm Back

Its been a long time since I made my last post, 10 months in fact but with one thing and another I have just not got around to updating it.



The two plots were very productive last year giving me plenty of excellent produce to consume, store and give away. For the first time since I have had the plots we escape the dreaded blight, so I had tomatoes in abundance. I had great success with butternut squash but disappointingly when we had the frost all the ones that were stored in the shed rotted off.



The first weekend in September was the Birmingham Gardeners Show at Kings Heath Park an annual event which attracts thousands of people, and for the first time our allotment entered the vegetable show. It was agreed we would enter the 20 vegetable class so we collected produce off different plot holders around the allotment to make up our collection. We arrived at the show marquee the Friday afternoon not knowing what to except and found ourselves among experienced showmen and women grooming, polishing and precisely arranging their precious produce.

Coming to the conclusion we were wasting are time and not knowing what we were doing we all agreed that the sooner we got away from there the better and just basically threw together the display and then left.

The classes were judged the following day and we were due to visit the show on the Sunday.

We got there on the morning and went straight to the show marquee. It was packed with people looking at the exhibits. We made our was towards our display passing some of the other competitors expecting to have finished last. WELL I'LL STAND AT THE FOOT OF OUR STAIRS we only went and got 3rd place.

OK there was only 4 entries but we didn't finish last. Not a bad 1st effort considering the others had grown their produce especially for the show and we just scrounged ours from other plot holders.

Since then we have now formed a growing committee and plan to grow and show.



Winter is nearly over, the temperature is starting to creep up and now we turn to a new growing season. The broad beans are starting to show even after all the snow and sever frosts they seem to have made it, winter onions are coming on, garlic is looking good and my first sowings of cabbage, leeks and long onions are showing. I am trying to resist the urge to get in the greenhouse and sow more seeds.