Lack of rain.....

....meant lots of watering today and with a dribble coming from the hose it was going to be a long hard slog, but I managed to water all that was planted in the plot.

However I did have my son Junior with me, so I had to make sure that he had lots to do too, so after he watererd his plot, I asked him to water my triangle of peas, then I sent him to the shop a few times asking for prices of canes etc. so he was back and forth and he seemed very content.

Watering the Broad Beans (2nd planting)

The Runner Beans are doing well

Junior helping to even out the new heap of grass thrown on the compost

Junior also helped me to erect a wire fence in between the row (not the triangle) of peas as they were getting very big and in fear of getting blown over now!!

I did want to attempt some weeding but the ground is TOO hard! well that's my excuse anyway!!

Beans!

Yes, today was BEANS day - runner beans and yes, you've guessed it - more runner beans.

With the help of the wigwam thingys on 8ft canes I managed to site all 3 and plant all of the runner beans at the top raised bed - so the blooms will look rather spendid as people enter through our gate!

And here are the last of the broad beans in Raised bed 2.

More from 144 (and a little from 121)

This IS my allotment neighbour Brian, who's always on hand to help me with something - bless him!

He's just so kind to me and so handy!!

Ok now here's some pictures of plants in my greenhouse

First are my sweetpeas

Here are the Peas (back) Rocket (left) and Cos (right)

Broad Beans

 Cos!

 Onions and leeks are in (this is the raised bed that Brian was fixing for me as it's bowed

 Broad beans outside



First Broad Beans

Yes, I have managed to walk to the allotment today in -2 degrees, so my smile is currently frozen to my face.  I had to get my kitchen scraps down there, or they would start to pile up and I would have to get the bike trailer out to get them there soon!

Anyway since the 2ft of snow that we  had I am sad to report that my Brassica Cage (yes, your guess is as good as mine - remember that?  it's gone.  The snow crushed it so I went last week to salvage what I could of what was left.  Some of the rods were totally snapped and others badly bent under the strain of the weight!!

This means that I have now exposed my Brussel Sprouts to the eliments and the wildlife, so the thought of eating home grown sprouts for Xmas this year may not happen after all.  I will probably get a few savoy cabbages and if we don't get a white Xmas I might be able to did some parsnips up - although I might just go and do this tomorrow and just bung them in the freezer??

Anyway the good news is that Junior's Broad Beans have sprung to life........

My Little Helper - planting Broad Beans

These pictures speak for themselves really.  Junior prepared a little bed by raking it over and weeding it. 

He then planted some Broad Beands

Making sure they were all pushed in properly

He even wrote a marker on an old used one that we cleaned up, as we had a chat about using lots of recycled things for the tasks in Allotment world.

And then in true allotment style, got chatting to our neighbour!

Onions, Gnomes, Broad Beans & more.....

The Onions on plot 121 are coming along very nicely

Potty the Gnome is happily standing guard outside my shed & greenhouse.

Even my carrots are doing well this year - I have planted these in between onions to deter carrot root fly, or to try to at least!

And I have a baby Cucino Cucumber that's nearly ready to munch on!

The courgettes are coming along

And the Broad Beans are ready for picking

So that's exactly what I did! Broad Bean and Bacon Risotto tonight! Mmmmm

Lots going on + I had some help today!!

Yes, I had some help today - my lovely husband came to the rescue with screws and a screw driver & he expertly put my "Dig for Victory" sign on my shed door. 

He even brought his spirit level with him to make sure it was straight!

And there it is looking FAB!

A view from further down the plot

And this is from the top of my plot looking down

 And this is the view as you walk into the gate - as you can see I have left a bit of a "wildlife reserve" to the left - this is for 2 reasons.  One is to assist the wildlife that may like to live there e.g. hedgehogs, ladybugs etc & the 2nd is because it contains a lot of brambles & nettles - which is good as it will deter any good for nothing "let go and get into the allotment and do some damage" type yobs from climbing over.  There is anti climb paint along all the fences and columns etc but it all helps.

Now for the busy bit!  I had a good re organisation of the greenhouse as I want to keep as many tomato plants in there as possible this year to save them from blight, so out came a couple of "cucino" which are minature cucumbers.

I have kept 2 inside just in case.  So 2 are now outside hardening off & my fingers are well and truly crossed.

A selection of other plants followed to make more room indoors, including - Leeks, Beans, Cauliflowers and a few surplus Cherry & Roma Tomatoes.

This gave me room in the greenhouse to pot on Chilli Peppers, Aubergines, 12 cherry tomatoes and the 2 cucino cucumbers that will be benefiting from the protection the greenhouse has to offer.

This is one of the Cucino with Roma tomatoes in the background.  Eventually I will take out the trays (pictured above) which will allow the tomatoes to grow to their full height.

These are the Fiorentino Tomatoes (beefstake)which will all be staying indoors.  More potting on tomorrow but first I have to buy some more big pots!

Sweetcorn Rows & Blocks & Puddles!

Ok, so I had a problem - rows or blocks.  Traditionally blocks are the only way to plant sweetcorn to aid pollination, however, Les, one of our old boys with the most perfect plot to die for, plants his sweetcorn in neat little rows. North to South, not East to West.  So I was in two minds - rows or blocks.

As I had 24 plants I decided to do both

And once I had my row planted I made them all little puddles to soak up the water as it's been so dry.

I made puddles for the Dwarf French beans

All 4 wigwams got the same TLC

I then planted the other 12 sweetcorn in a block just below the Dwarf French Bean Wigwams and Lettuces

And I made them a puddle too  - I knew my sandcastle building skills which I have kept alive (to my husbands embarassment at every sandy beach opportunity) would come in handy one day!!

I interplanted the block of sweetcorn with some butternut squash instead of pumpkins!

And finally, this is one of my broad beans - another week of sunshine and I think they will be ready!

A busy mid May....

I went to the plot every day this week doing little jobs here and there including the weeding!  I find that doing an hour here and two hours there is easier for my foot to cope with than doing a six hour stint at a time!       Here are my Aubergines (2nd attempt as the snails got the first lot!

And these are my newly planted seed of Marigolds & leeks

I managed to buy a grow bag for £2 and put some sweet peppers in it

And my strawberry plants on 122 are looking good

These are the onions on 122

And the Garlic next door to the onions on 122

Also on plot 122 are my main crops, again showing sprouts of life after being earthed up to protect them from the frosts last week

And finally the last sowing of Broad Beans which I planted out in the week.  In the middle are some Broccoli Raab which I got free (seed packet) with a magazine. Never tried them before so I will let you know what they are like!