Thursday 28 March 2019

Eat, Sleep, Weed, Repeat.....

Well I was half way through writing this post when blogger decided to clear the lot...this makes me very unhappy as I now have to start again.....grrr...

So it as been an extremely busy week for me...not just on the allotment but also in the garden and at work too...sowing, planting, weeding, digging...it's all been going on and I think I can honestly say that in all my years of having the allotment I have never felt so on tops of things and organised...of course there is time for everything to go wrong but right now the weather is cooperating and things are in a happy place!!

So lets start in the greenhouse!

You an just see the seedlings starting
to poke through.

The bottom shelf is slower but the compost
is moving as the seeds sprout!
As you can see I have lots going on in the greenhouse.
I will go through what I have sown....

Top Shelf.

Black Kale, Greyhound Cabbage, Golden Cabbage.
Calabrese, P.S.B., Cauliflower.
Popcorn Fiesta, Spaghetti Squash.
Golden Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Gardeners Delight.
Mustard, Quinoa, Celeriac.
Aubergine, Chilli Peppers, Bell Peppers.
Back Cumin, Black Mint, Mexican Tarragon.

Bottom Shelf.

Runner Beans.
Ying Yang Beans, Climbing Blue Lake, Mange Tout Broad Beans.
Cucumber, Marrow, Pumpkin.
Larger Pumpkin, Courgette, Butternut Squash, More Cucumbers.
Sweetcorn.

So I think that's about it for the sowing...oh...I do have a big tray at the back which I have sown some 'Beef & Onion Plant' seeds in...never grown these before and as yet they haven't germinated so I'll keep you posted on that one!


Weedy and strawberry plants still
to be transplanted.
As you can see this was quite a lot to tackle...didn't manage to get the whole half sorted at the weekend but....
The potatoes are in the ground!! 

I haven't grown potatoes the last few years but decided to go for it again this year and after weeding, digging, raking, covering they are all in.

I have two rows of new potatoes and three rows of main crop. I have gone for my much loved 'Nicolas' for my new potatoes and...errmmm...I'l get back to you on the main crop as the name escapes me although it's not a variety that I have grown before but it said they were great for roasting, chipping and mashing!!

Going  over that old strawberry patch was tough going as it hasn't been dug for so many years...hard work but incredibly satisfying!!

So what else....

The other half of the allotment.
Well this is the other half...a few weeds coming through here and there but not too bad at all and I will be getting those sorted ver the next week or so before it gets too bad...under the netting are brassicas from last year nut they didn't do too well though I think that is as much due to bad management as last years weather.

I also got other bits done but right now I am running out of time so I will get back to you all with the other things that have been going on in a few days....right now the sky is clear..the sun is shining...and I have to go and do some shopping though I would much rather go and spend some more time down the allotment!!

Have a great day everyone!!

Saturday 23 March 2019

A bit of a back log!!

Well I finally got all the photos Ive taken since I started spending some time down the allotment and rather than eke it out I thought I'd bring everyone up to speed in a quick post....this was going to go up earlier tin the week but the laptop battery died and then the rest of the week ranaway with work and chores....so what was I up to over the last few weeks???

Well there was plenty of rubbish to be sorted out so I had one of these!!

I love a good bonfire.
I don't think you can beat a good bonfire...I love to watch the flames and of course all that ash can be dug back int the ground...I compost a lot of stuff but when it comes to woody cuttings this is a much quicker method and warmer too!!

The shed had started to disappear among the brambles at the top of the plot so they had to be tamed....

Brambles!!
Not only were they taking over the shed they were also swamping the pond area....which is just a plastic sandpit boat sunk into the ground and filled with water but it works and is a welcome drink for the wildlife.

Anyway...I got very brutal with the brambles and where I cut the back as I couldn't get all the routes out and where I had to cut them back I prayed the fresh cuts in the hopes taht I can kill them off....Brambles are great for the fruit but only if they are in the right area....after about an hour and a half and many cuts and splinters (even through my heavy duty gloves!) things were looking much better.

Not quite finished in this one
but you can see where
the brambles got round
the guttering.
The pond is much clearer for
the wildlife now.


This is how we are looking now, the pond could do
with a clean out but will have to wait until later
in the year as I don't want to disturb anything
at this time of year.
You can see that I have to sort out the guttering but overall it was time well spent...there is still plenty of tidying to do that end but I am certainly on the right track.

I also got some weeding done on the allotment.


It has been cleared up to the pathway you can see in the middle....the ground wasn't too bad to be honest...beyond the path is the worst but as it has the old strawberry patch there but one step at a time!

And finally I had a good tidy up in the greenhouse.

Tidy greenhouse...ready for the
growing season!
So the greenhouse is all ready for the seeds to go in and looking very tidy!!

I do have a few things already in the ground which went in the back end of last year and they have germinated well.

Garlic

Broad Beans

Onions
So all these photos were actually taken a couple of weeks ago...things have moved on since then but that's for another post!

Saturday 9 March 2019

Well how bad do I feel?????

The simple answer to that is....really, really, really, really bad!!
Why??
Well after my last post I was right back out of the swing of things again...it was one thing after another....blah,blah,blah....won't bore you with the details...but here we are...now into the third month of 2019 and I thought to myself...right...I'm going on blogger...only to find all these wonderful comments from people that I had neither published or replied to.

So I would like to start off thanking everyone for not deserting me...apologising for not acknowledging the fact that you had not deserted me...and for also not blaming you if you thought...well sod her then...and never come back again!!

However...having said that...I would miss you all should you decide not to visit anmore!

So without and more grovelling I will get on with a post.

Last years weather just meant that the allotment nor the bees amounted too much. Little rain meant little nectar which meant little honey and practically no swarms so I did not get to replenish my numbers after winter losses...it's a shame but that's just how it goes sometimes. I am going into this summer with currently one active hive...not where I wanted to be so I think this may be the year (and the first since I started out) that I buy a colony of bees as I really want more bees around to pollinate the crops....the two other beekeepers who were on the allotments no longer have bees for one reason or another so now more than ever we want to keep the numbers up!

I was hoping to post some allotment pictures in this post but unfortunately they don't appear to be on the sd card I have just inserted into the computer so instead right now I will share with you the newest member of the family.....
This is Linnaeus...albino corn snake,
2 years old
.
Yes, I got a snake....currently only 2 foot long but beautiful...though the Hubby would totally disagree....it really gives him the creeps nad has to say totally out of the way when he is home!

Well we had a lovely spell of weather in February which gave me chance to get on top of a few thigs at the allotment...mainly tidying and weeding stuff but it was nice to get out and enjoy some sunshine after the short dreary days.

Consequently at this moment in time I am feeling optimistic for the coming year...last year I got very little harvest due to the lack of water....hopefully this year will be a little better...my fruit did really well though and as always the Markhams shared there abundant plum tomato harvest with me so I still have plenty of preserved fruit and tomatoes which should just about see us through until we start harvesting fresh again....lets cut to another picture or two...

Some tomatoes were sliced, dehydrated and
ground to powder

Whilst others were peeled and then used for
soups and sauces!!
My raspberries always seem to do well no matter what the weather and so I got plenty of this last year....
You can't beat homemade raspberry syrup
and jelly!!
The garlic did nothing....I usually put it in around october but didn't get it in in 2017 so planted it in the late spring but with the weather nothing came of it...too warm to quick and too dry...I got a few onions but not much so this is what I was left with for the year....


I am used to this being full of
onion powder!
I know it doesn't look much like onion but the only way I can add onion to my dishes with out the hubby moaning is to dehydrate them and grind them to dust...it doesn't lose any of its flavour and is greta added to any dish or even just used as a rub...I do this with my tomatoes too!

Believe it or not I have had those photos since last year and just never got around to posting...the thing is...I don't really know why....I enjoy the blog...I like writing and telling my stories...I enjoy see what is going well for others....it just didn't happen...I think I need to be a little less disconnected and keep at this...after all I use it like my personal diary and I now dont have one for 2018.

Anyway..like I said...I have been busy but I will leave that and some other news for another post...and I am going to write this time...I have some exciting newbies to try so its important I keep a good succession of writing up this year...
Well I opened with a pet so feel I should close with one...have a good weekend!

Polly and Sully...gotta love em!