A few pictures

Nipped back to the plot for a quick hour of weeding yesterday whilst my wife and new baby were fast asleep. The main job was to uncover various crops that had been left to fend for themselves for a bit too long. In terms of 'weeds' I was actually clearing away a carpet of self-set English marigolds. I generally leave them to grow away peacefully around the edges of beds as I like the colour they bring to the plot. When they start to swamp crops and take over a whole bed is the time to step in. Given the soil conditions and lovely warm weather it was a most enjoyable task and I uncovered a fine developing crop of onions and shallots as a result!

I also took the opportunity to take a few pictures from around the plot.


Red cabbages within brassica cage and block of celery 'Loretta' outside.

Developing gooseberry crop - time to thin them out.



View of mini orchard and potager-style planting: a mix of edibles and flowers.

 

Potager close-up: chives in bloom, lettuce 'Little Gem', broad beans, rhubarb, cosmos and cowslips.

Squash patch with bean wigwams and courgettes. Cold frame will house melon in due course.

Ripening strawberry safely netted from squirrels and pigeons. Many more to come.

San Marzano tomatoes and sweet peppers.

A sea of tomatoes - yes, they are too closely planted...

Squashes planted

Took advantage of some relatively benign weather to visit the plot for an hour or two yesterday. I'm currently on paternity leave, which means some very intense periods of activity at home - usually involving nappies - followed by spells where my wife and baby are resting. After finishing all the chores at home the plot offered an opportunity to grab some fresh air to stave off mid-afternoon tiredness. So, pots washed, washing hung, hovering finished, baby and wife peacefully sleeping = quick trip to the allotment.

After some quite heavy recent rains and milder weather the soil was in perfect condition for my various squashes to finally go out. They were strong, robust plants but exhibiting the signs of having exhausted the energy reserves in their compost - slight yellowing of leaves namely - and needed to be planted asap.

I haven't employed a particularly sophisticated approach to squash planting this year, given the time restraints, it being more a case of 'bung them in and leave them to it'! My idea was to create a low maintenance squash/ pumpkin patch to cover ground, smother weeds and provide a harvest that can be stored for late autumn and early winter use - just round about the time baby might be sampling pureed food for the first time. This should minimise weeding requirements over the summer and the plants can be left to their own devices save for the odd glug of water in very dry spells.

The patch in question had received a thick cover of mushroom compost the previous autumn and was generally in very good condition. I dug the soil in the immediate area where the plants would be set (planting in pockets as opposed to full cultivation of the land), added some rough compost and chicken manure pellets and made an approximate circular bowl 60cms in diameter. The plants were set in the middle of this bowl with a handful of chicken manure pellets underneath them for good measure. Cane in the ground to mark the centre of the plant (for future watering requirements), a good drink followed by a mulch of rough compost.

In reality, the area is probably over-planted but I know from experience that vines can be wound round in circles and they'll happily scramble over each other. Just need some warm days and nights, a bit of steady rain to keep the soil moist, and I'll have a pumpkin patch that will be the envy of my fellow plot holders... Varieties include marrow Long Green Trailing, Atlantic Giant and Jack O' Lantern pumpkin, Butternut 'Hawk', mixed 'sunshine' squashes and 'Autumn Crown' - a cross between Butternut and Crown Prince squashes.

No other major activity to report other than a successional sowing of lettuce now the first batch is ready to harvest. I also sowed some mixed radishes and spring onions in drills between the celeriac, scattered some swede seed in the brassica cage and sowed some calabrese and mini caulis in modules for planting out in about a month.

I think I will soon start to reap the first meaningful harvest from the plot. Little gem lettuce, Anya potatoes in pots, strawberries and gooseberries are all now there for the taking. Let the good times roll!

May - monthly review

The allotment has really kicked on this month. The weather has been changeable, with some warm and sunny days followed by wet, windy and particularly cold spells. One thing that has been a constant is the ever increasing light - not always bright sunshine, but noticeably longer days spurring on growth.

At the plot the blossom came out in force during the month. There was a period, round about the second week of May, when pretty much every fruit tree was in flower! It was a lovely sight and one I've not witnessed before. There's normally a staggered effect of plums first, pears, cherries then apples. This year, May simply went 'boom' due to the delayed spring. I'm estimating a pretty good fruit crop this year. The blossom received enough dry and warm weather for the bees to do their thing and the wet and windy weather meant conditions were cool but, importantly, not frosty. No damage to blossom = good potential harvest.


Cherry - Stella

Pear (Doyenne du Comice) and Apple (Bramley)

Bramley Apple blossom close-up

Cluster of pear blossom - Doyenne du Comice

The fruit bushes have really progressed too. The various currants and gooseberries came into flower and now display plenty of immature fruit. The strigs of currants are there for all to see, including the fat wood pigeons, so I'll have to get busy with some netting before there's any sign of colour. I know from experience that birds will take very unripe berries showing the merest sign of colour. They would be unpalatable to us for weeks but that doesn't stop the greedy pigeons and blackbirds. The only way to ensure a harvest is to cover with well-secured netting. 

Redcurrant in flower

The gooseberries also become a target as they swell. I don't really net these as I have enough to go round. What I normally do is pick every other immature fruit to coincide with the elder flowering and make a batch of lovely jam. I expect this to be from mid June this year. The remaining fruit has more room to grow and ripen for use in fools and crumbles from July. If the pigeons take a few so be it - I'm the only one in our household who really likes gooseberries so I can spare a few!

The final fruit-related update is that the strawberries and raspberries are really moving.  I gave the strawberry bed a tidy up, dressed with chicken manure pellets and covered with a good mulch. As soon as we had some rain, followed by a bit of warmth, the plants really responded well. I expect a good crop - again to be netted from birds and squirrels. The raspberries are yet to flower but the buds are formed and it looks like a decent show. Hopefully a bit more sunshine and less rain than last year will make them tastier and less insipid.

This May has really brought home the benefit of my new greenhouse. Without it I'd be many weeks behind, or simply buying lots of plants to make up for those I'd have lost. The protection of glass means I have tomatoes in flower and various other tender crops growing away nicely. I have set myself the target of picking a ripe tomato by the end of June. There are plenty of flowers and the first truss on one of my Sungold plants has set fruit. The earliest I've ever picked tomatoes is about the third week of July so, in this very cold year to date, I'd be delighted to achieve this minor milestone.

Throughout the month I have pricked out and potted on a range of tender subjects. The melon and cucumbers have sulked a little but are strong and well. The courgettes have pushed on nicely and I planted three out yesterday as they looked ready to go and a decent weekend is forecast. The other cucurbits are a couple of weeks away from their final homes yet. There is plenty of time and they'll benefit from warmer soil and becoming stronger plants in the relative comfort of the cold frame. The okra and aubergines, firsts for me this year, seem fine and will be set in bottomless pots on growbags by mid month. I think the only exotics which are not best pleased are the peppers. They are ok, but haven't pushed on as much as I'd hoped given that they were sown back in early March. I think it's just been a bit too cool for them, even under glass, and the night time temperatures in particular need to lift a degree or two to make them truly happy.

In the open ground, there is still more bare earth than lush foliage. The spuds are all through now and the recent rain has really suited them. I have planted 16 red cabbages to mature in late summer. The germination of direct sown seeds has been patchy - I have one row of mixed beetroot and one very poor row of parsnips. Carrots all germinated but were hoovered up by slugs. Note to self - must work out a way of growing decent carrots next year. Leek seedlings have been sown and resemble blades of grass. They'll fatten up and replace the first early potatoes from July. The one thing I need to push on with is sowing the brassicas for autumn and winter. Plenty of time for calabrese broccoli but the purple sprouting form needs to get going soon. I also need to sow some sprouts asap and it's time for a row of two of swedes.

So, there you have it. A whole month condensed into a few paragraphs. I'm really pleased with progress during May. Admittedly it's been slim pickings in terms of harvest - the last leeks, rhubarb and some spring greens - but by the end of June there should be much more on offer and I can also look forward to a bumper summer harvest. Little gem lettuce is a week or two away, the baby gooseberries are ready for a dose of sugar, the first strawberries will kick in if we have some sunshine and that elusive June tomato could be mine for the eating...