More Tomatoes, Chilli's, Hangings & a good tidy up

I had a bit of time on my hands today (Saturday) so I decided that after a few household chores, I would spend some "proper" time at the allotment.  I desperately needed to get rid of the onions that have been drying in the Greenhouse, give the said Greenhouse a jolly good tidy up and re- arrange and stuff like that.

This was my first "sighting" when opening the GH door - and that's just one of them!

Another ripe Fiorentino tomato ready to pick

And this is the result of more pickings from the GH and outside.  Outside, there are so many Roma, Cherry & Fiorentino tomatoes still to ripen - lets hope they do before the blight comes.

These are the "hangings" - I actually had another lot but I gave one away to a fellow allotment holder that didn't have such a successful crop.

 She was very reluctant to take them but I told her of my 5 strings of the over wintering onions currently hanging in my store room at home and I convinced her that she will have some crop more successful than mine so we can swap then!

Now for the big GH tidy up - as you can see the onions are well and truly gone!  I inspected all the tomato plants and if they didn't have anything much left on them I composted them.

 This means that I can now actually walk into my GH with more ease and I have re located the Sweet Peppers in their growbag from the middle of the floor to the very end by the vents as in this picture to the right.

 As you can see, the Sweet Peppers are looking really good.  I have 3 Sweet Pepper plants outside too, but they are not doing so well - alot smaller but they will catch up.












And now for my Chilli Plants - next year I won't be going so mad on the quantity of Chilli Plants I grow - I have far too many for only 2 people to consume.  I might ask the local curry house if they will do me a swap - a dozen chilli's for a chicken madras - it's worth a try!








 This is one of several aubergines thriving in the GH - sorry about the picture - it's sideways and not your vision gone funny!

And last but not least is my favourite Sweet Pepper - my only one that's turning a slight shade of red.

Green Tomato, Red Tomato!

Yes, my tomatoes are starting to ripen & the little cherry toms are getting redder by the day!

Both inside the greenhouse and outside on the plot!

As you can see the chilli plants are also doing well - all four of them

And I even have a sweet pepper growing too!

Now I did have to do a bit of re- arranging in the Greenhouse as some of the plants were going bananas, so to speak! The Aubergines which were under the bench, and hitting the top, had to be lifted and put on the bench itself. I just hope it doesn't collapse under the strain.

And the melons that were on the bench are now both on the floor and they are spreading their arms out like wildfire. I am pleased to report that I do have some baby, baby melons (about the size of a large pea) in situ so watch this space!

And finally, as you already know, I came 4th in Sutton In Bloom 2010.  My friend and fellow blogger - see
Andrew Stanley (pictured below) and kindly invited me to Roundshaw Allotments to see their site and his plots, which were fantastic.  Andrew came 2nd in the same competition & well done to him.  I had a lovely morning, with a nice cup of coffee and a good old chin wag about all things allotment!  Thank you Andrew.

Going Potty & my Dogs enjoy a day out!

 Yesterday morning, I helped to unload the new delivery of compost etc. with the boys, and after that I went to work on my plot 144.    There was a rumour that the council inspectors were on site, and guess what - it was true!  I caught up with them just as they were leaving.  Lets just hope that the few plots that remain unworked can be claimed back ASAP to give people who want to grow veg, the chance too!

As you can see, I had a little mix up with my broccoli & brussels, so the appropriate sign had to be made!!

It took me ages to get the netting on the metail build a ball frame by myself, but I managed - eventually

The tadpoles are doing well!

Everything needed a good soaking as it has been dry for days and with the hot sun, the ground was dry and cracked up. (not in a funny / laughing way)

I had to pot on all my tomatoes, all 48 of them as they were getting leggy and pot bound - they obviously should be outside by now, but I can't risk it. 

 So the Fiorentino (Beefstake) and Roma's went into large pots, which have been spread around the greenhouse floor.

The cherry tomaotes went into slightly smaller pots and put on the staging. I then potted on the chilli plants and also planted some more peas as #2 had just gone outside.

So it's all looking a bit "full" in the greenhouse at the moment.  I had to move some pots and tins into the shed to make room for more pots and trays in the Greenhouse!

I had two visitors to the plot today - my dogs Scooby Doo (blue roan) and Perdita (orange roan)  They surprised me as they were very well behaved! They can come again!

A sneaky visit to the Allotment....

Hubby went to get his car cleaned, so I asked him to drop me off on the way and pick me up on the way back - this meant I got half an hour at the allotment and able to take in what's been happening in the last 10 days.  The most exhausting thing I did was to open up the shed, get the slut pellets out and scatter them around the greenhouse benches and then hunt for snails (I found 11 inside!!)
The pictures will speak for themselves, but I also have to say thanks to the boys, Derek, Arthur, Ron & Nigel who have all been taking turns to either water the greenhouse plants or put the heater on if a frost is predicted........

 Spinach & Sweetcorn

Courgettes & Chilli's

Dwarf French Beans & Broad Beans

Cos LettuceLeeks
                                                                                     

Peas

Sowing the seeds.....

....of delicious vegetables

Well here they are, ready for sowing in March - I did check - it's the 4th March today so that's good!

On the list:

• dwarf french beans
• tomatoes (3 different varieties)
• broad beans
• sweet peppers (2 different varieties) &
• chillies

So in went the Broad Beans

I did cover them up after I took the picture!

Ah the "super seeder."  I thought I had a good buy here at £4 it could save me time and patience.  According to the packet, I wouldn't be picking tiny little seeds from my palm and squinting to see if I had just the one seed ready to drop in the hole.  Ha! What a load of poppycock - you could only gain success if you had the right sized seed.  If it was too small e.g. tomatoes - then you got 2 or even 3 per hole.  If you had too large a seed e.g. sweet pepper, then they got stuck.

So £4 down the drain as far as I am concerned - could have bought a G & T with that money!!

Anyway, enough moaning....

My utility room is looking rather splendid

And I have remembered to label them all up properly this year, so no mistakes are made or guessing games to be played once the little plants start to pop out.

I am now going to watch Larkrise to Candleford - recorded from Sunday's transmission

& Crochet a few more granny squares.

I know I should go to the allotment to dig, but I was told by  one of the old boys that the ground is still very wet and heavy, and i don't have the strength.

The fruits of my labour (or should that be the Veg??)

Firstly, I am sad to report that both Tatty & Hilda were beheaded the other day, and Hilda's head had been chucked over the fence, whilst Tatty's was at his feet.

Once I had found all the necessary parts, they were put back together with loving care, but minus Tatty's hat.

Needless to say that I was very upset by the whole thing, and went off home to find a hat for him.

Alas - there was nothing suitable, and by the time I arrived back the next morning, something probably bird like, had picked at his brains!!

Enough was enough - it was time for drastic action, so out came a Whale Pot from the Greenhouse (normally resevered for growing Tomatoes, but this was a code red emergency situation) and it was placed on his poorly head.

Tommy Cooper comes to mind - or should that be Tatty Cooper??

Next is my Greenhouse Chilli.....

And the offspring of one of the triffid cucumbers......

And finally my 1st marrow which is huge. I've picked it, and I am going to stuff it "Maltese Style" for our dinner tonight - can't wait!

The triffid cucumber plant and more.....

As you already know by now, it was my birthday this weekend, and as there was lots planned, the allotment was visited briefly, but not as fully as would have been on a normal weekend, with good weather to boot!

I went to water on Friday morning before my lovely trip to MERL (see previous post) and I also went on Saturday morning and watered both plots before driving down to Ferring where I was treated to a lovely Birthday lunch by my lovely Mother in Law and her Partner Richard.

On Sunday morning my nasty neighbour had beaten me to it on the hose pipe, so I watered by watering can, which was handy anyway, as I had to feed the Tomatoes, Cucumbers & courgettes etc. (maybe that's why they are all turning into Triffids??) but I have to leave by 9.30 am as I had another fun packed day to get through......

The Triffid Cucumber plant....

This "growth"literally happened overnight.

Fortunately for me, Nigel popped his head through the greenhouse door and suggested that I took out one of the staging trays - that then meant that I could put the triffid cucumber, which was by this time growing out of the greenhouse door, on the floor and with a little addition of a piece of string to climb up, that's one happy cucumber plant! (there are about 6 others in there - a mixture of normal and "picollino" or snack cucumbers.

Now this is one of my Tomatoes - Tomato Roma in fact. These plants are in the greenhouse and are doing very very well indeed. They are now getting fed twice a week, as are the squashes, cucumbers, chilli's, sweetpeppers etc.

This is lot 4 of peas - the others outside are either still growing or I have eaten them! Delicious

And this is a chilli that appeared overnight! There is also one, just as big on the plant thats outside!!