Well it seems like an age since I last got sat down and caught up with everyone's blogs and wrote a post and yet in reality (after I had been and checked!) it has only been a week...mind you it has been a particularly hectic week!!
Work has been frantic getting everything sorted and my Hubby was off work last week so we wanted to fit a few things in that we wouldn't normally get chance to do. On top of that Summer finally visited the U.K. so of course we had to get a barbeque fitted in somewhere with family and friends.
So after all that I now have time off work and I have been trying to get on top of housework, (that bit doesn't seem to be going so well) catch up on my favourite blogs and also write a post...it may be a bit of a rambling post but I promise to throw in some random pictures to break it up a bit!!
Oh and the Olympics started...I know all of my readers can be watching what I watch on that one...are any of you interested?? I'm not much of a sports fan but I have been avidly watching the gymnastics and I have to say I have been quite impressed with what I have seen in the qualifying rounds so far. U.S.A. are very strong and steady on all apparatus....Australia had some wonderful floor exercises and our very own Beth Tweddle (sorry if the spelling is wrong) was phenomenal on the a-symmetric bars!! China don't seem as on the ball this year as they usually are but none the less have pulled off some great moves...as have all of the other countries and I'm looking forward to the main event. Unfortunately I missed the mens qualifying rounds but I will be watching the main event.
Ok..let's talk a little about the weather. As is the custom for England we went from cold and wet to VERY hot and dry in 24 hours which baked the top of the ground and made it very hard work to dig. Lots of people walked around looking like the beetroot that I have failed to grow this year but on the plus side it has slowed the weeds down a bit. Unfortunately the intensity of the heat have made working on the allotment just as difficult and no rain for over a week has drain my water barrels somewhat to water the tubs and the greenhouses. Although the ground is dry and cracked on top just a little below the surface it is still very wet and this is helping the plants to grow along with the much needed sun.
Right now though the temperatures have dropped again and a huge bank of black clouds is rolling in from the south-west....my sheets are on the line...oops....gotta run for a minute...I hear the rain........ok I'm back...did you miss me?? Well the washing needs a good spin again now and I'm a little soggy...but wouldn't you know it, the sun is out again though the sky is still heavily laden with blck clouds so I guess I will be turning the house into a chinese laundry yet again.
Enough moaning....let's look at a photo......
Some of my allotment had become a bit of a jungle and this is what I have been clearing over the last couple of weeks...it doesn't look like this now but what was so amazing was........ |
My allotment is, (for the moment anyway) weed free and looking very tidy...hopefully I will get down there this week with the camera to get you some more up to date photos.
I have also started to harvest crops..mostly beans in varying forms but I am just happy to be harvesting at long last!!
This was my very first harvest of runner beans, broad beans and French beans...I have also harvest some courgettes since then. It's nice to be getting something other than fruit. |
I have also started digging up the new potatoes, as you may remember I have tried several varieties this year in order to find one that I am totally happy with...so far we have tried three and when we have tried them all I will write a post about them and what we thought of them. However I have found this on a few...
The other thing I have managed to harvest is the garlic...now this I was a little worried about as it was delivered late so I didn't get it in the ground before Christmas like a usually do.
I found this on my garlic leaves which I believe to be rust spots so I pulled it up a little earlier than I would have done otherwise as all of the tops hadn't died off. |
How do you store your garlic?? I have read about plaiting it and making sure you keep the stems long and lots of other tips but I have found this way easy and it doesn't take up much space and keeps it handy. I am just about to finish up the garlic I harvested last year!
We have also got to the time of year where the new queen ants start flying and unfortunately I had a couple of nests in my greenhouse...although they do not harm the plants I certainly stayed out the way whilst they were emerging!!
You can see here the ants swarming out before this queen emerges to take flight. |
So that is a little of what I have been up to...I do have loads more to tell...but lets face it this isn't getting the house cleaned or the washing finished and so I think maybe I will leave it for another day when I can tell you about the best tool I have ever bought for the allotment...oh and show you my amazing squash plants....and not so amazing beetroot.
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