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........

Earthworm Rescue!

It was so cold when I arrived at the Lotty today, that I nearly turned back and headed for my nice warm house!

However I soldiered on and put the kettle on first thing.

I then dismantled the Brassica Cage and folded the netting away, dug out the brussels sprout plants and took off what was left.....

I also found a potato yesterday, so it looks like Bubble "N" Squeak later for dinner.

So I now needed to warm up, so out came the spade and fork and I got digging where the brassica cage used to be. 

I then uncovered the area of ground in front of the Greenhouse, where some of the potatoes went in last year

And dug that over too!

Ah, now to the worms and the title of this post.

I have never seen so many earth worms in all my days!  As I was digging, they were surfacing, and I didn't want to accident put my spade through one and kill it, so I spent a good deal of time picking them up and chucking them over to the bit that I had raked yesterday....

Two of the stars of the show!

So after a few hours of digging and two very unexpected visits from Derek (and Laddie) and from Ron, who both walked all the way up from the other end of the plot to say "hello" I decided to call it a day.

What a lovely sight!

And on my way to the gate, I noticed that the fruit trees are already in early bud!

Mad Idea - new project day.......

What a lovely day we had yesterday! Here in sunny Carshalton, temperatures got up to 28degrees! Of course, it had to be a Lotty day (a) because of the weather and (b) because I had just come across something in a one of my 7,000 gardening/Lotty books about protecting your brassicas, and as you know - brassicas need protecting from all sorts!

So, first it was a visit to Woodcote Nurseries. I was there on their door step at 8am - just as they were opening for the day. It's the best time of day to go as you are practically the only one in there and therefore have missed the Saturday zombies that go there for a "day out!"

Whilst there I came across this little fellow

It's a mini cucumber plant & you are supposed to harvest the cucumbers when they are about 4 inches long, so I bought one as I love cucumbers. As you can see, it was eventually put in with the pumpkins, courgettes / zucchini & butternut squash.

I also bought some netting and some cable ties, so my project could begin.

After walking the dogs and checking my emails, I loaded up the wheelbarrow with all that I needed for the day. Well, I say day - I lasted 4 hours which wasn't bad in that heat!

I arrived at the Lotty and got weeding first of all in Bed 4 (the potato & pumpkin bed). I then earthed up my first earlies. Mavis very kindly left a funny looking hoe for me in my compost bin. This was the one she had been using when she was demonstrating the earthing up to me on her potatoes - how kind was that! So the earthing up was done. I did sneak down to Mavis's potatoes plot a few times to double check I was doing it right, but according to Perry & George, who strolled by, I wasn't doing too bad a job.

Next was the weeding of bed 3. Bed 3 is where I have planted the broccoli & brussels. All the weeds are tiny little things, so it was off with the gloves and down to hard graft, especially as I had the rocket and lettuces to avoid too.

I then went for a little stroll as I needed a break and met up with a lady called Kirsty. She has a larger plot just down the way - this is where the little and large benches are from my previous photos. Anyway, Kirsty was lovely to talk to, and she had a big job on her hands re: weeds, so with the help of Derek (one of our allotment heroes), she was tackling the situation. She showed me her little greenhouse, which is just what I need and probably what I will put on my new plot. In there she is growing tomatoes, sunflowers and a shark fin melon!

I went back to my plot, wondering if Nigel was going to turn up to open up the shop. Ok, I know it's not official on a Saturday, but Nigel will open up if he is on site - the kind soul he is. Anyway, about 10 minutes later there he is, so I immediately told him I needed canes! Out came the 8ft's and 5ft's (oh and a few 3 ft's for the cucumber), and off I went - my brain full of plans.

A few 5ft's in each corner and at the middle of each bed, and some 8ft's cable tied to those, and I had my frame. The netting proved to be more difficult as it was me, myself and I, but I got there in then end as you can see -

George & Perry - our little rays of sunshine - seemed well impressed as they walked past on their way home and said that they would soon be taking advice from me! Ah - what a kind thing to say.

So nearly 4 hours later and I was all done in. The heat was getting very strong and I didn't bring a hat, so it was time to call it a day. I had to return later on, when it had cooled down, to water the plants, but I find that theraputic. So all in all a good day. I now have baby cucumbers growing and my B & B's are protected from the dreaded butterfly pesty.

I'll be off there again soon, and Hubby Ian said he will pop down this afternoon, so more blog to come later!

Half decent weather for a Bank Holiday.....

I woke up to a sunny morning - could I be seeing things? Was the sun really out???? YES - WOW - AMAZING - the question was, would it last?

It was Saturday morning so I ran down to the Lotty shop for some supplies, brassica collars, organic slug pellets and some seaweed extract plant feed, which I was told is a "must have."

I was told to put 1 cap to a gallon - but my watering can is in litres, so the next 15 minutes was spent by all in earshot, converting litres to gallons or gallons to litres. Once that was done I was all set.

I poodled down to my plot, where I was only planning on spending a few minutes as we had planned a trip to Ferring to go and see the ARMCHAIR GARDENER & Co.

I quickly applied the brassica collars to the brussels and broccoli - and very smart they looked too! I then watered the pumpkins and courgettes and replaced their cloches, checked on the peppers and chilli's under the polytunnel and headed home.

1 hour and 20 minutes later and we were in Ferring.

My lovely mother in law gave me another 2 scarecrows - Daisy & Mo which are perfect - just perfect.

Here she is with Biz & Letty the most adorable whippets in the world and much loved

I put them - Daisy & Mo, not Biz & Letty, in my potato plot as soon as I got back. That was, I should say, after the most lovely beef bourguignon lunch with wine and cheese & biscuits and strawberries and cream - yummy.

.

I spent 1 hour + down at the Lotty that evening - which was lovely in the last of the sunshine for that day. I did a lot of weeding in bed one and made a small start on weeding bed 2 which I plan to continue on Sunday 3rd. I had a lovely cuppa with Mavis and a good chat too - a well deserved break for us both.

Nothing exciting......

I did mention that it was nothing exciting didn't I? Ha ha & yes that is Grub you can see there with his back to us!

Well, I took half a day off today and guess what I did? I went to the lotty! I spent around 4 hours there and it was wonderful. Although it was an "official" afternoon off, my work always knows that they can reach me on my mobile, but guess what - it didn't even vibrate!

The original plan (hatched on Tuesday) was to take Friday off, but when I looked at the weather forecast on the BBC's web, I was shocked to see that RAIN was forecast for the day, so I took immediate action, phoned my boss and pleaded for the 2nd half of Wednesday as some time off.

I know it doesn't look like much from the photo's but it took me hours to prepare that soil - raking and raking back and forth - got a blister on my thumb again! Well the baby plants are my Brocolli or Calabrese (did I spell that right?) and Brussel Sprouts which I adore and have ALWAYS loved. I love my veg. I suppose that having to live with Coeliac Disease, I have always prefered veg to things like bread, pastries etc. but that is another story for another day. Anyway I put some fleece protection over the little plants by using drawing pins on the wood raised beds. This should give them the light and water they need and protect them from the birds etc. until they are a little more "grown up."

It was good hearing the birds singing and the wind blowing, someone further down the lotty whistling a jolly tune - along with the local "nothing better to do" scally wags sitting on their balcony that over looks one part of the lotty talking full pelt into their mobile phone having what must have been an imaginery conversation, due to the disgusting language, that I couldn't even begin to repeat in this text, they were using with their "imaginery friend" just to make themself feel more important. This person must have been dragged up, not brought up! Unfortunately this went on for at least 1 hour.

I felt like having a party with Tatty, Cuthbert, Dibble & Grub when it stopped! Peace at last. A classy low key one of course!

Psst - don't tell anyone, but I overheard one of my fellow lotty people saying to another that they loved my Scarecrows. I was silently beaming from ear to ear. I am so glad that he - Tatty Bogie Gump & friends - has brought a bit of joy to my small bit of shared plot and those who surround / pass by it.

I did get down to the lotty this morning - Thursday 17th - before 9am of course, as work day begins, to take the plastic poly tunnels from the Parsnips & Carrots. I think that unless we do get a forecast frost, I will leave them off from now on, as the ones that I didn't plant out, and that are still in little module pots sitting on my decking in the back garden, are doing fine without any protection.

That's it - I have gone on enough tonight - "Bye zee bye" as my armchair gardener would say