Sowing the seeds of 2011......

...Yes its that time of year again - Hooray!!  I was very excited that the weather had clouded over and it had been forecast to rain for most of the day today - the reason for this joy of the news of bad weather you ask?  Simples - it means that I have a jolly good reason to stay indoors and sow some seeds to get the Allotment 2011 season off to a good start.

So in preparation, I make sure that I have all that I need

and organise the space I have to work in - which isn't very big!

Here there are 6 varieties of Sweet Peas, 3 Tomato (Cherry, Moneymaker & Roma) and some Sweet peppers

I need to get some Pea, Broadbean & herb seeds in.  I did sow some Coriander and some Basil Minette, but I was surprised that I didn't have more herb seeds from last year.  One herb that I do not need to grow is Chives, as I have noticed that it's popping up in the pot that it was growing in last year.

I planted 4 seeds to a pot.  If the all come up then I am a lucky girl, if only one or two work out then I will still have plenty.



Today's Harvest & the FROG!!

Today's visit was mainly to de - erect the Sweet Potato Suite as the wind had blown it over yet again, so with the help of a pair of scissors to cut through all the many, many cable ties that were supposed to be holding it all firmly in place, I got to work, snipping here and snipping away there.  I managed to salvage the green plastic which formed the main body of the polytunnel, but the plastic used for both ends was really flimsy and just got torn to ribbons, so in the recycle bin it went.

I then set about harvesting the sweetcorn - the ones that I grew in a block.  There were only about 4 left so I put the corns to one side and pulled out and composted all 12 stems.

Unfortunately the branch holding the pears on the pear tree (well it wouldn't be an apple tree now would it) had completely broken off under the strain so I picked off all the pears to bring home and hopefully ripen up a little.  I also harvested som salad leaves, a couple of small leeks which looked too good to resisit and my Sweet Pepper from the Greenhouse - all to be used (not the pears) for tonights dinner.  Not too sure what I am going to do with them yet, but I have some Chicken Breasts, so possible bake them with the leeks, some tomatoes & the pepper in the oven, serve with salad and some 1st Early (pentland javelin) potatoes - cheap dinner!!

Now, if you remember, I reported a FROG sighting in my GH not so long ago, see   http://alithefrog.blogspot.com/2010/07/fruits-frogs-flying-ants.html and lucky for me he or indeed she showed up again today!!  I don't know if it is the same one but the markings do look similar.  Lets hope he or she is there to stay a little longer.

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.

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!

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.