And this is the shed being tidied, and the end result. Big improvement.
Weeded a few more paths...........
As is usual this time of year we picked a load of produce. The potatoes have been very good this year.
We decided it was time to empty the shed, brush it out, and put everything back tidy. Although, while we were down the allotment we weeded some more of the paths. This is how the shed looked prior to tidying. And this is the shed being tidied, and the end result. Big improvement. Weeded a few more paths........... As is usual this time of year we picked a load of produce. The potatoes have been very good this year.
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The weather this year really is discouraging visits to the allotment, and it's not just us as when we do go down we tend to be the only one's there for much of the time. At least it's keeping everything watered, including the weeds. We have a couple of decent sized pumpkins growing. The rain's making the sweetcorn taller than ever. The rose in the "nursery" bed has gone a bit berserk. We have an "unknown" plant species growing in with the carrots. It has very furry leaves No idea what it is; answers on a postcard............... Picked some produce before we left. We really should go down and do some proper work. The weather for the last week or more has been erratic to say the least but there is some serious weeding to be done.
We had spent the morning pruning the wisteria and had accrued eight large bags of cuttings, so the compost heap is rapidly filling up. We also did some picking while we were down there. We're hopefully coming to the end of his hot spell so went down just for an hour to check everything was OK. Fortunately, even though we've had ten days of hot, clammy weather with temperatures in the thirties during the day and around twenty degrees at night, we've also had a couple of storms, including an hour of continuous silent lightning a couple of nights ago. The compost is looking good for the autumn. The hot, Mediterranean style weather we've experienced has been great for the tomatoes.......... ...........and also the carrots, with a few "rogue" plants peeping through the canopy. The wallflower and "nursery" bed is doing well. Although we'd really only popped down to check that everything is OK we did pick a few items at the same time. Lockdown is gradually being eased and more shops are opening, but pubs and restaurants remain closed. We can however visit friends if we sit in their garden and self-distance. Throughout this period of Lockdown the allotment has pretty much remained unscathed. Even so, a prolonged period of heavy rain has prevented us from visiting the allotment until now. We don't need to water but the weeds have gone berserk! The sweet peas have also gone mad.......... The sweetcorn has also enjoyed the prolonged rainy spell. That's a large weed in with the celery....... ........and these are the weeds in with the pumpkins and courgettes - before weeding - and after weeding. At least we're getting a great crop of mange-tout. The tomatoes are also enjoying this British "summer". With two days still left in May it's been declared the driest, warmest and sunniest May on record. We went down after 5:00PM to do some digging, weeding and planting; it's just too warm earlier in the day. Potatoes are doing well............ ............but the onions aren't happy. Dug five channels in the top bed for the celery. Had to get rid of more mares-tail first though! Also planted some tomatoes. Broad beans seem to enjoy this weather. "Spot the carrot!" We also put some more wallflowers in. The artichokes seem to like the dry bed at the bottom of the plot. Mind you, the Goji berry is most definitely NOT happy. We haven't been down the allotment for a month now. It's rained more or less every day, but it's not torrential rain it's just enough to stop you working. So even though we've had almost a years worth of rain in total in the last two months it's not like a quagmire down there, it's just very damp. As a result everything is looking OK but plants like the asparagus aren't dying back because it's also still reasonably mild. We cleared the squash bed today and also tidied the rhubarb. We harvested the rest of the celery; a goodish crop this year, but the rain must have helped. We also cleared the last of the tomatoes. Managed to get a decent amount of produce but all that's left now is the winter crops like leeks. Managed to get a decent amount of produce but all that's left now is the winter crops like leeks. We picked about half of what was left of the wallflowers for transplanting into baskets and the garden beds. Overall the plot is looking quite presentable for the time of year. Needs a bit of weeding maybe. Difficult to believe that a couple of weeks ago we'd had three months worth of rain in about three weeks but already some of the beds look dry on the surface. It hasn't helped that we've had a couple of really hot days and as many of the plants are quite new we need to water, and possibly feed too. Already two outdoor cucumbers have perished, though that may be as much to do with the earlier cold and wet as the hot and dry. Sweetcorn is looking excellent. Potatoes, hopefully, will be better than we've had for the last few years. Onions, too, are looking really good. Carrots are also a lot better than last year. We have our first two courgettes of the season. The comfrey leaves from last week have dried out so we placed them around the tomatoes as a mulch - looks a mess but very effective. Some more produce. First blueberries of the season. Just popped down to weed and generally tidy up and pick anything that's ready, although it's early in the season. Also just checking up on everything. Potatoes are looking very promising. We're looking to pick some tatties in the next fortnight. Sweetcorn is looking very good. Tomatoes doing well. Onions look huge. Carrots are doing a lot better this year. Celery is doing very well. Mange-Tout and Beans are coming along nicely. Should start getting a few of both of these in a few days. Leeks look good, if still a little small. Squashes............ Courgettes.......... The wallflowers are growing strongly. We've stopped picking the asparagus so that they can prepare for next year. The wild garden area is looking lovely at the moment. We picked some comfrey to dry out in the sun and we'll use it as a mulch on the tomatoes. The roses in the wild garden are looking nice. Picked a bit of produce. Should only increase from now on, especially if the weather stays so good. Went down for a couple of hours just to check things over and to plant the celery. Given up a bit on the celeriac and gone back to ordinary celery. Planted the celery in sunken beds and surrounded with black membrane to aid blanching. Had a quick look round at everything else. We noticed a lot of cuckoo spit on the rosemary which hasn't been apparent before, We also noticed that the beds we spread a lot of our home-made compost on earlier in the year are now sprouting dozens of little tomato plants. I bet if you planted them properly they wouldn't come up half as well. We've had a small amount of rain since our last visit so everything seems to be thriving. Potatoes. Sweetcorn. Onions and broad beans. Artichokes. Blueberries. Mange-tout And the asparagus is still providing us with a small but steady crop. |
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