Bad News

The spuds have blight. It was bound to happen. I'm not really surprised, just disappointed. Sounds a little like 'I'm not angry, just disappointed'. When we took over the plot it was all covered in weeds, like any other new plot. We cleared the weeds and started digging the new beds. And started to find potatoes. EVERYWHERE! I had a whole crop rotation plan going on on but there wasn't one patch of soil we didn't find potatoes. We just decided to bung them in anyway.

I don't have a picture (had planned to go back and take one but then the months-rain-in-one-day started), but it was this image from the Guardian Allotment Blog that sealed it for me. My potatoes look JUST like that. And they haven't flowered, even though everyone else's Aaron Pilot seems to have.

Oh, the deflation. What about my beautiful gardeners delight tomato plants that we've carefully planted through the black weed suppressant? Bugger. Bugger. Bugger.

The patch we don't talk about

We only managed to dig over a little over half of our allotment before the soil got a bit too dry and we ran out of digging steam. We left the other patch for a while before I finally thought to cover it in weed suppressant.

Hooo baby! Most of the green stuff died back really quickly and after a few weeks and it was easy to scrape it all off the surface. Ok, so the weed roots were left in the soil, but this was just supposed to be a quick and not-so-dirty way of still using the space and giving our backs a break. We then dug out the holes, put a nice bit dollop of well rotten horse manure in there and re-covered the soil with the weed suppressant. We cut a cross and planted some of the tomato and squash plants grown up indoors through the fabric .

I've been out since and the plants haven't died. I call that a success!

Maybe it's a Damson Tree

Dee thinks I might have a damson tree. I've googled the pictures and it looks like a good possibility. I then went to Wiki (of course) and now I've moved on the think about making my own damson jam and damson wine and other goodies. Mmmmmm.

Flowers on the Allotment

My sweet peas have started to arrive!

I don't remember what variety they were. I may have even cheated and bought a little pot full of seedlings to plant out. That's right, with my birthday money hoard. I've been picking them as they appear (only a couple so far) so that the flowers will keep on coming, and they smell lovely in the flat. I planted them in the beanie bed amongst the peas, right at the back of the allotment. I think next year I shall sow them near the door so I see and smell them straight away.

Here's something else I planted at the end of one of my vegetable beds:

I've no idea what that is either. I MUST/WILL keep better records.

Then there's marigolds in bloom now and hopefully sunflowers and lupins to come. The sunflowers have been growing extremely slowly though. Maybe I was trying to fit too much into the bed and they're not getting enough light. They are right up against the boundary hedge. Hmm. SUN-flowers. You think I'd have got the hint before sowing those!

Plum Tree?

We were away for most of the weekend but still managed to get quite a lot done late Sunday afternoon and evening. Updates will follow but first:

Is this a plum tree? They look like tiny plums to me. A friend had suggested it was a cherry tree but that was before it started showing fruit. There is only one little fruit per stalk (surely it would be two if it was cherries) and they are oval shaped.

First Produce!

I was fooled. These broad beans looked so big on the plot.

Look, I've never grown broad beans before! How was I to know they are mostly just fluff inside?

I've just realised that this picture will make the braod beans look bigger than they were because the picture is blown up and I do have VERY small hands.

They were damned tasty though. That little lot made 4 teaspoons worth of pure loveliness. mmmmmmmm.

Are we nearly there yet?

I know I'm not the worlds most patient person, but purl-eeeese! So many things look like they are almost ready, I can't wait!

The spuds look very bushy and green, but no flowers. There's a few pea pods but they're still all flat. I suddenly realise I have NO IDEA when I should pick the broad beans but they still look a bit weeny to me. Good looking but very green strawberries.

HURRY UP EVERYTHING!! I want to taste my allotment food!

So much to do!

We were away most of the weekend, only getting back early Sunday night. We rushed off to the allotment for a couple of hours and now my 'to do list' has gone crazy!

DONE:

• Planted out some tiny Brussel Sprout plants through the black weed suppressant covering one of the brassicas bed. I didn't have the magic 'Vegetable Expert' book to remind me of appropriate planting distances so I just guessed. I'll check it later..
• Started clearing the big, no, HUGE pile of crap that was our weeds and branches, and taking it to the green waste allotment skip. The skip arrived on Friday and by Sunday night it was full. Clearing this space is going to take months as now we'll need to wait for the next skip.
  
• Weeded most of the other beds
  

TO DO:

• Clear the space for the two squash plants (I've given the rest away), one pumpkin, the tomatoes and the cucumber and courgette plants that were gifts. I love swapping small plants with friends. They're getting a chili and a pepper plant from us. The rest of the tomatoes went to Bonzo's parents.
• Finish off bordering the other beds (hopefully this will slow down the weeds (maybe, in my dreams..))
• Prop up the fence/hedge between us and next doors plot. It's over hanging our plot in several places and shading the beds. It's not all bad though cos we've got some of their gooseberries poking through...
• Level off the path between us and our allotment sharing buddies
• Start of the sweetcorn plants (inside or outside, just don't know)
• Pot up the chili, pepper and tomato plants

• Have a BBQ! I've been looking forward to having a BBQ down the plot for ages, I can't wait! mmmm, lamb and vegetable kebabs, jacket potatoes, salads, burgers, corn on the cob... bananas with chocolate, marshmallows on sticks... Oh, yeah.
  

We seem to be busy doing other things most weekend so most of this stuff will have to get done in the evenings. Thank god we only have a half plot!