Photos from the plot

Photo update

A few photos from the plot

Update

The weather has continued to be great with lots of sun, so things have been moving at a great pace.
Over the last couple of weeks I have planted out Sweetcorn, Sprouts, Swiss Chard, 4 varieties of Cabbage, Kale, Leeks, various onion varieties and a row of Sweet Peas. Cucumbers are planted in the green house along with Melons, and the cold frames are full of plants hardening off before they too get planted out. All the seed sown in beds have germinated and are and growing well.

Bad Weekend

Got to the allotment early on Saturday morning to find my shed had been broken into and ransacked. It was a real mess, it seemed that they had gone through everything. After tidying up and putting things back in their rightful place,  it appears that all they took were 2 pairs of secateurs, a pair of pruning shears and a couple of knifes.

Having my allotment shed broken into is annoying enough, but having to repair the damage they caused men't I missed a Taiji revision class. Now that's BLOODY ANNOYING!!!!!!!!

That same night 7 other sheds were broken into and the allotments generator was also stolen.

Storms and high winds prevented me from getting to the plot on Sunday so you can imagine my shock when I arrived  on Monday to find a metal shed had been blown onto my plot. It originally was on a plot 2 up from mine had had recently been put there by the plot holder. It seems the chap couldn't have fixed it down and the high winds had lifted it ,and now it was upside down on top of my Rhubarb. we managed to lift it off and return it to where it came from, but the poor rhubarb is in a sorry state. 

With all the heavy rain and high winds we have been having, break- ins and flying sheds , lets hope "THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER". Well they can't get any worse!... can they ?

In The Greenhouse

Spent a bit of time in the greenhouses this week. 60 Sweetcorn & 40 French Bean sown as well as a tray of Kale and a complete packet of "Autumn Giant" Leeks. Its a bit late for the leeks but hopefully we will be harvesting them well into next year. Indoor and out door cucumbers, 3 varieties of Butternut Squash,  "Hooligan" Pumpkin, Basil and a packet of mixed Gourds were also started off in pots. Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Iceberg lettuce all pricked out. I was given a tray of each of "Robinson Mamouth" Onions and Blanch Leeks which I potted on into pots.
The "Greyhound" Cabbage has been moved out of the greenhouse in the cold frames. The "Bright Lights" Chard which I'd sown only last week has germinated and started to show as has the Banana shallots.

Manic Times

Its been a frantic few days trying to get as much done on the plot before the wife goes in for her operation.This week in the greenhouse I have potted on 160 geraniums plugs plants, sown Sweetcorn, Courgettes, Melons,  Chard, Banana shallots, Tomatoes as well as pricking out Brussels Sprouts, Robinson's Giant Cabbage, Cayenne peppers and Romano sweet peppers. In my salad bed I have sown some lettuce leaf and some more radish. Planter out 2 rows of Broad Beans, filled in my bean trench and built my bean frame. My first lot of brassicas went out this week as well. A row of each of cabbage, cauliflower and calabrese are all protected with my new green netting which was given me by a fellow plot holder. Manic !!!!!!!!!!

A few photos

Here are a few photos of some of the seedling in the greenhouse

Horseradish

This year I am having a go at growing Horseradish. I have been told that once you have tasted the fresh stuff you would never buy another jar from the supermarket. The problem with horseradish is that it is very evasive and unless you control it by digging up the root each year, it will spread like wildfire. I am growing mine in a piece of large diameter drainage pipe. I am not sure if it will work but unless you try it ?

Bean Trench

This year I have decided to dig a bean trench ready for my french beans. I don't normally bother, but as many of the other plot holders at our allotment do this each year, I thought I would give it a try and see if it makes any difference to the results I've had previously.
I have dug down to a depth of approx 2 foot and have lined the bottom with a layer of straw and manure and will continue to add kitchen waste and organic matter for the next few weeks before back filling ready for planting out the beans.

Plum Tree Blossom

I've just noticed how beautiful the blossom is on my plum tree. Hopefully I will have plenty of fruit this year.

Cold Frames

The last couple of days I have been sorting out the cold frames on the plots. They were in a sorry state after the winter. The glass / plastic  was covered in algae which took a bit of cleaning and there were a couple that needed the glass replacing all together. Weeds that had grown in the frames were removed and a fresh layer of wood chip was added to the base of each frame. I also knocked up a couple of additional frames made from the collapsible frames they fit to pallets. The glass top are sheets of laminated car glass. They were all promptly filled with trays of various Brassicas, Onion & Leek seedling as well as a couple of trays of Sweet Peas.

Sweet Potatoes & Spuds In !

I know its a bit early but I have planted out all my potatoes including 4 varieties of main crop. As I will be spending a fair bit of time away from the plots shortly due to the wife having a major operation,  I just wanted to get them out of the way.
I have also planted out a couple of Sweet Potatoes alongside a row of main crop. This is the second time I have tried them. The other year there was an offer in one of the gardening magazines offering Sweet Potato Kits which  claimed that you were guaranteed to get a bumper crop. The offer included the Sweet Potato Slips and a couple of grow sacks. I followed the instructions to the letter, but the results was very very disappointing.
 I should have complained and questioned their guarantee claim but as the offer only cost me £4.95 to cover the post & package I couldn't be bothered.   I hope I get a better result this year or this will be the last time Sweet Potatoes will be on any of my plots.

Plot Update

Over the last couple of days I have planted out 2 rows of Kestrel and a couple of Sweet potatoes on plot 29b. And on plot 36, I have sown the following seeds directly into prepared beds:

Beetroot
Parsnips
Radish
Spring Onions
Rocket
Coriander
Flat leaf Parsley
Curly Parsley
Spinach
Oriental Spinach
Peas

In the greenhouse I have started off  Red cabbage, Sprouts, Costaluto, Roma and Beef Tomatoes as well as some Okra.

Surplus Horse Muck!

I had a nice surprise the other day, out of the blue one of the plot holders at our allotment asked me if i interested in a ton of horse muck he had surplus to requirements. And as he only wanted a tenner for it, I gladly took it off his hand. I will let it rot down ready for the Autumn.

Loads Done Today.

!st row of potatoes (international Kidney) in, Turbo onion sets in, Parsnip bed ready for planting,  Compost bins emptied, Fruit tress & soft fruit bushes mulched. Well and truly knackered! Can't wait until tomorrow for some more. Things are starting to move now. Love it!!!!!!

Beds Rotivated

Saturday was a good productive day on the plots. All of last years leaf mould was spread over the beds and rotivated in. The beds are now ready to be planted out.

Greenhouse Heater Needed Tonight.

I held back starting my seeds off this year in an attempt to save money on paraffin. As with other fuels the price of paraffin has increased greatly over the last 12 months. Last year I spent a fortune heating the greenhouse. We have been having some nice weather recently so I haven't needed the heater. But would you believe it!, just as I fill my greenhouse with trays full of tender young seedling, the temperature is due to fall below zero. So the greenhouse heater is given a dust down, checked over and put into service for the first time this year.

Its all starting to move .

Spent a bit of time in the greenhouse over the last few days.

As I did with my shallots, I have started off my main crop onion sets (Turbo) in module trays. They will stop in them for a couple of weeks before I plant them out. The shallots which I started off last week have began to show a good root growth already.

As well as starting off the onion sets, I also got some seed sown. A tray of each of Calabrese (Autumn Green), Cauliflower (Avalanche), Onion (Stoccarda) and 6 of each of Aubergine (Early Long), Chilli (Hot Thai Culinary & Cayenne) and a Pepper called (Sweet Romano).

Black Knot!!!!!!

Its been a very productive couple of days at the allotment thanks to the fine weather we have been experiencing. I finally finished weeding the fruit bed, cut back a couple of gooseberry bushes which was encroaching onto my path and tied in the raspberry canes to the support frame. All that needs to be done now is apply a good feed.

It appears that my plum tree has signs of a fungus called Black Knot starting to form on two branches. These branches will need to pruned back at least 4 -6 inches below the affected area and burnt.

Fruit Bed or Weed Bed ??????

Had a couple of hours on the plot this morning. The fruit bed has been neglected for a while so I started to give it a bit of TLC. My fruit bed runs the length of plot 36 and separates my plot from my neighbour. In the bed there is an apple and a plum tree, a couple of each of Blackcurrants and Gooseberry, a small Red current, a large selection of Summer and Autumn fruiting Raspberry and a couple of Rhubarb crowns. Weed from my neighbours plot has started to penetrate onto my side, so a bit of weeding was in order. It turns out to be a bigger job than I envisaged and will need another day or two to get it back in order. It just goes to show you should never put things off and always try and keep on top of things if you want an easy life.

The rhubarb has started to show. I just love the first few pickings of the stuff , I think its at its sweetest in the early days. Lovely!!!!!!

More Snow On The Way.

With the forecast of more snow on the way, and not wanting to spend a fortune on paraffin, I took the decision to bring home all the trays of seeds from the greenhouse. I have put them in one of the bedrooms. They can stay there in the warm until they have germinated.

Shallot Bed Ready.

I was at the allotment on Friday for a couple of hours making the most of the weather. The ground had thawed out so I took the opportunity to take up the last of the leeks and the remainder of the beetroot. Plot 36 looks so baron now with only a few swede and a small row of parsnips left.

I have purchased some shallots sets this year, Golden Gourmet and Red Sun. I have them in module trays in the greenhouse. I have started them off this way because I want them to have a root growth before I plant them out. There is I believe a number of advantages in doing this:

1) It gives them a good start.

2) Less likelihood of them pushing themselves out of the ground.

3) Harder for the birds to pull out.

I dug over an area of plot 36 and prepared my shallot bed. I dressed the bed with Sulphate of Potash and Bone meal and also added chicken manure pellets. Hopefully I can plant out the shallots in a week or two.

First Sowing

Had a few hours at the allotment this morning. With the snow gone and the temperatures starting to rise, it was great to be out in the open air again.

I harvested the last of the beetroot and leeks and spent a bit of time in the greenhouse.

I started off some Broad Beans ( Bunyards Exibition) in moduals and sowed a tray of Musselburgh Leeks.

I have also sown 2 types of onion. "Rossa Lunga Di Firenze" which is an Italian Long Onion. And "Roja de Niort" a French Red Onion.

Oi ! Where's My Mealworms?

My friend the Blackbird came to see me again this morning for his feast of meal worms.

Potatoes Chitting

Now the weather seems to be improving a wee bit, I took all my potatoes down to the allotment so they can chit in the shed. I'm growing 5 different variety's this year; Kestrel, International Kidney, Picasso, King Edward and Valor.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !

Although the snow has now cleared it is still freezing. The weather forecast for our area recons that we can expect temperatures of between -6 to -8 for the next few days at least. So the plans I had for getting some work done on the plot will have to be postponed.

Allotment Success

Back in September Birmingham held its annual gardening show. Previously the show was held a Kings Heath Park, but due to the lack of funding the show was drastically reduced in size and was moved to another venue. Gone were the trade stalls where you could grab a bargain to just a few marquees. One housed the local societies which included the Dahlia, Fuschia, Begonia, Bonsai and Rose society's to name a few, all showing off their prize exhibits. Bee keeping enthusiasts were giving advice on husbandry also had jars of honey and bottles of Mead for sale. The second marquee held Q & A sessions with well known experts and the final one was the allotment marquee. Run by the "Birmingham & District Allotment Council" they held their annual competition for local growers. There were classes for both individual growers and society's. We as an allotment entered the 20 vegetable class. The previous year we entered the same class and was awarded 4th place. Not bad considering it was the first time our allotment had entered any competition. So you can imagine how surprised we were this year when our 6' x 4' display was awarded 1st Place.

Feed The Birds

I made a quick visit to the plot yesterday afternoon before the snow took hold. I remembered that I needed to replenish the bird feeders. I had a bird feeding station at the rear of my plot up till recently, but the gales we had the other week brought it down. The post was rotten so needs to be replaced, but as of yet I have not got around to doing it. So I have bird feeders hanging off different structures around the plot. I get a lot of pleasure watching the birds at the feeding station. Over the last few weeks I have had a young m

ale Black Bird visit my plot. Within minutes of my arrival he appears for his daily feast of dry mealworms. He shows no fear and will come to within a couple of feet of me eagerly waiting for his feed.

Another Year!

OK, OK, I know I said I was going to keep up with this blog last year, but once again I seem to have let time pass me by and failed to update it. But this year I do intend to make the effort to sort myself out.

The produce from the plots have once again have been plentiful, with the exception of the sweetcorn which was very disappointing.

Snow is now falling so I am unsure when I will be able to get back up the pot. Not to long I hope.