Planting More Potatoes

The weekend has been glorious, lovely warm sunshine and not a sniff of rain, perfect weather for visiting the plot and getting the last of the Desiree main crop seed potatoes in. After lots of huffing and puffing (generally cursing the stubborn soil), the seed potatoes for the second potato bed were finally in. As expected, the soil was a nightmare. After all the rain we’ve had I was hoping it would be easier to dig the planting holes but no such luck. Later in the year I will continue to improve the structure of the soil in these particular areas of the plot, for now I’m looking forward to harvesting earthy potatoes.

I have a handful of seed potatoes left over with plans for them, I will post about it soon. The Desiree planted in April are poking through already, I earthed the rows up using fresh compost, just in case a frost comes tonight. The hand weeding that I did recently has really paid off, hardly any to do today. I had a quick chat with another plot holder that I haven’t seen for a while, it was nice to catch up and feel the sun on our faces.

I hope the weather was good where you are, did you manage some plotting today?

Dashing to the Car for Cover

Redundant allotment wheelbarrow

Last month was a strange one. Amidst a drought a hose pipe ban was brought into force on April 5th, due to an abnormally dry winter. Ever since then the rain fell and has kept on falling, bringing blustery wind (destructive gales in some places) and hail storms with it. Floods are happening in some parts of the country and flood warnings are in place in others. Despite April being announced as the wettest on record, the drought and ban remain (not that we need to go watering our gardens or plots anytime soon). Just goes to show how dry our winter actually was.

So now we’re into May and yes it’s still raining. Although I’m fed up of it now it’s not all doom and gloom; Monday was quite nice, a welcome break from the gloom and the plot seems to be thriving, water-butts are full which is the main benefit of being tipped on for the last 3 weeks. Apart from the rhubarb being damaged by high winds everything seems to be looking happy enough. Onions and garlic are growing well, broad beans too (some of the autumn-sown plants are flowering) although the leaves look unattractive thanks to pea and bean weevil nibbling them. Of course, weeds are growing well so I shall have to tackle those as soon as the weather allows.

So, for now, tools are redundant, the allotment site is spooky quiet and plot visits are short. I’m literally checking everything over then dashing to the car for cover.

A Year on the Plot

A year ago today I became an allotment plot holder. Once the initial excitement wore off the prospect of taking on such a mammoth task worried me, briefly. I wasn’t sure how I would cope taking on the uncultivated plot of land, or find the time even. But, a year on, I don’t regret my decision. The hard work is beginning to pay off, the plot looks very different now with neat gravel paths, crops growing in raised beds, recently planted flower and fruit areas and a shed, with a pretty sign hanging in the window welcoming all that pass by.

There’s still a good chunk to tackle underneath an ugly blue tarp, large raised beds are planned for this area once we’ve foraged some suitable wood from skips or other places. But that can wait, I’m not in any hurry. The soil is beginning to improve in some areas, other areas are not so good and require lots of nurturing, this is something I am keen to work on throughout the year. The site has an endless supply of horse manure, mostly fresh but that’s OK, it will rot down over time in the really bad areas that I have no plans to plant in this year. I can add plenty of chicken manure too, courtesy of our chickens that roam our garden.

I’m looking forward to many more years on the plot.

Fruit and Flowers

A bit of planting took place recently on Plot 4. Redcurrant and blackcurrant bushes ‘borrowed’ from the garden at home, a row of autumn fruiting raspberry canes, lots of lupins (because I love them), Verbena bonariensis raised from seed last year, scabious, Viola ‘Heartsease’ (edible flowers) and foxglove near the shed.

The blackcurrant bush is flowering, the delicate little flowers often go unnoticed which is a shame because they’re so pretty. I have to confess to being a little bit in love with Lupin ‘Masterpiece’, the deep green leaves also have a shade of plum, backlit by the sun they display a rainbow effect. Simply stunning.

Do you grow flowers at your allotment?

Potato Planting on Good Friday

I headed to the plot armed with a tray of well chitted Desiree seed potatoes on friday. Traditionally, potatoes are planted on Good Friday (although this wasn’t the reason I decided to start planting ours), naturally I assumed a few other plot holders would follow suit, making the most of the bank holiday as I was. The weather was dry and not too cold but I was the only one there to plant potatoes, in fact, I pretty much had the allotment to myself.

When we first got our allotment part of the plot was incredibly stubborn to dig. Correction, it was near on impossible. We broke a spade and fork, barely scratching the surface. Eventually we accepted defeat and covered the really bad areas of soil with lots of well-rotted manure, pretty much ignoring it until now. Nutrients, worms and moisture have all worked their magic, the soil is movable and actually quite nice now.

The timing for planting potatoes may not have been planned but the area of the plot certainly was. The growing tubers should help to break the soil up even further. Well that’s our cunning plan.

After a lot of digging, stone and weed removal, the bed was ready for the seed potatoes to go in. Rather than digging a trench I decided to opt for individual planting holes, my arms were tired and my back was giving me warning signs that I had to listen to. So, onto my soft kneeling pad I went and planting holes it was. In a couple of weeks I will plant out the next lot of potatoes, in another bed just as stubborn as this one was.

Hopefully my back should have recovered by then.

A Weekend at the Allotment

Last weekend was mainly spent working on the plot, the first full weekend of being at the allotment this year. Saturday was a chilly day, completely normal for the time of year but due to recent soaring temperatures it was bound to feel cold. We soon warmed up once we starting digging over the potato beds. My dad popped to the plot to help out, he was given the job of digging out the bramble roots, stones and perennial weeds from the proposed strawberry bed, he did a marvellous job and just ploughed through it. I’ve now given him the nickname of ‘Mr Rotavator’.

After adding a few bags of organic compost to the soil, we planted the strawberry plants raised from runners from our strawberry patch at home. We have a mixture of early and mid-summer fruiting varieties which will provide a long fruiting season.

The hot weather came back on Sunday, typical really, seeing as we planned to dig the new bed around the patio. We got to work (without Mr Rotavator) digging out lots of bramble roots (parts of our plot is plagued with them), surprisingly the soil was quite good and clear of stones and rubble. We picked through the soil as much as we could afterwards, removing smaller pieces of bramble root. Hopefully we got them all but time will tell I guess. Organic compost went in to improve the soil, then I planted the Timperley Early rhubarb at one end of the bed. It has plenty of room so it should grow as well as our established rhubarb at home. As the variety name suggests it starts to appear really early in the season. Our new little plant will be left alone to get on with growing and developing a strong root system.

We stayed at the plot for another couple of hours, relaxing in the sun, eating ice lollies. A productive and enjoyable weekend!

Planting Onions

The weather has been incredibly warm, much too warm for March. I visited the plot late afternoon yesterday, the temperature was pleasant and the atmosphere peaceful. Longer days and warmth helped the weeds put on a growth spurt, I did a bit of weeding here and there, concentrating mainly on the bed for the onions.

Before the light faded I planted all the onion sets, Hercules and Red Baron. I had some left overs (from our veg garden at home) and they went in too. In all I think I planted just over 100 sets. I forgot to take the chicken wire with me, I’m planning on attaching it to the onion bed to stop birds disturbing the sets, stretching it over the top until the sets root and can fend for themselves. Due to the natural roll of the wire, it can be easily rolled back to allow access for weeding.

I’m full of ideas me, just very forgetful at times!

Peeling Back the Tarp

It’s hard to believe we’re already into our second season as plot holders. But we are and there’s much work to be done. Season 2 is all about peeling back the tarp on the unused half of the plot, the weedy and ‘hard graft’ bit that will probably finish me off completely this year. After working half of the plot last year (our first year), this section was covered over with tarp and forgotten about. Our aim for this season is to get this section usable and functional. Well that’s the plan anyway.

Yesterday we made a start of peeling back the tarp.

A few hours later (my carpentry skills are a bit pathetic) a new raised bed was born. It’s rather quirky, don’t you think? I like uneven or odd shapes thrown in every now and then, I think it gives the plot a bit of character. I can visualise it filled with wildflowers, sunflowers and sweet peas already. All of our raised beds were made using recycled wood; old decking, garage clearance, skip foraging, we’ve even used a recycled summer-house from a local business!

We’ve left space at the back of the shed to stand and connect another water-butt, with recent news of a possible hose pipe ban we think this is a wise move. Packing up for home we decided to cover the bed over with the spare tarp to keep moisture locked in the soil. This should make it easier to dig out the bramble roots and other stubborn weeds another time.

Galloping Garlic

First day of spring and a quick visit to the plot in the warm sunshine. I’m really pleased with how the Cristo garlic is doing, planted out in November using home-grown garlic from my vegetable garden (previously grown from seed garlic).

My parents adore garlic as much as I do, hence why I grow so many!

I’m looking forward to pulling these and stringing them in summer.

Allotment Shed Wildlife

Sunday’s weather was a washout (much like today), but I managed to get to the plot beforehand to check everything over. The broad beans are looking alright-ish, although at least 3 plants have fully died back. Not to worry, there’s a glimmer of new growth at the base and let’s not forget my back up plan – new seeds lurking beneath the soil to take over if need be.

It seems my shed is the preferred place for wildlife to hang out; ladybirds, lacewings and spiders hiding in every crevice (they’re totally ignoring the bug box outside), some even posed for a photo:

Unfortunately, the bug photo shoot was cut short when a Blue Tit suddenly flew upwards from behind the wheelbarrow at the back of the shed. It flapped frantically, thudding against the side of the shed, hitting the window opposite in a bid to escape. It all happened very quickly, I crouched down low to allow the bird to see daylight directly behind me, it flew straight over my shoulder and out to the allotments beyond, just as I’d hoped. I’m pretty sure I said a few swear words during it all, from the shock I might add. I can’t really remember. I’m just glad the bird was alright and I didn’t drop my camera.

I now realise there’s a bit of gap at the front of the shed, just underneath the diamond-shaped decoration that’s attached to the front of the pitched roof. You can’t see the gap, but I can put a few of my fingers through it. I had a quick look around for signs of nesting, I couldn’t see anything. I doubt that particular bird will return but it’s possible other birds will enter our shed during quiet months seeking refuge or looking for suitable nesting sites.