Showing posts with label plots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plots. Show all posts

Monday, 20 October 2008

Needs more work!

Was the official verdict of Plot 86 from the 2nd inspection of the colony's plots this year. Fortunately Plot 85a passed even with very weedy paths. Just hope I don't get another snotty letter from the council...
And more work was just what this plot will be getting over the next few weeks. I started on it last weekend by clearing away all the sweetcorn and squash plants. This weekend I finally decided to uproot the courgettes, as it's unlikely that I'll get any more fruit and started setting out the new raised beds and planning what will go where.
Most of this part of the plot was where the potatoes were. It's a good crop to break up the soil as it had been left to go feral for a couple of years before we took it on last year. From right to left - apple tree just peeping into the shot, weedy area where some of the squashes were and now is a heap of stuff waiting to be burned, ex-sweetcorn and courgette area, main ex-potato beds, some leeks planted this year and then a carpeted area (of the same size again) which we've yet to touch (possibly next year's potato patch or chicken area??).
Looking from the top of this area down the plot, this new bed is going to be devoted to growing flowers - with sweet peas providing a seasonal windbreak as the colony is not that sheltered. There will be a similar sized bed on the other side where I want to grow some vine type courgettes and maybe try and train some winter squash to grow upwards rather than along the ground...
The rest of the area will be this year's onion, garlic and shallot beds as they will benefit from all the goodness the manure has left in the soil after the potatoes.

Sunday, 5 October 2008

Goodbye summer, hello autumn

Spent a thoroughly productive afternoon on Sunday clearing away the finished summer veg plants and planning what was going to go where for next year.
So I started out with this....
Loooked a bit better with all the sweetcorn and squash plants gone....
Then weeded, raked and sowed some more Phacealia, as I think this is where the peas may go next year.

Sunday, 28 September 2008

Green manure

In the glorious warm sunshine on Saturday I weeded one of the ex-onion beds that hadn't been re-planted with anything and sowed a green manure - Phaeceila 'something'.
It has really cool shaped seeds (if you can see in the photo above). Shame my camera can't take a better close up.

Friday, 19 September 2008

The Verdict

Whilst not a total disaster the plots haven't quite escaped the blight and the slugs whilst we've been away but then given what we heard about the continuous, torrential rain, that can only be expected.
Rescued the tomatoes off the bedraggled looking plants and sorted into 2 piles - blighted and not-yet-blighted. Looks like a bumper year for green tomato chutney! The tomato plants at home are still blight-free still so I'm hopeful of some proper ripe tomatoes to eat.
Although very mildewed the winter squash have been very productive and there are a lot of fruits of almost harvestable size. I'm particularly impressed with the 'Thelma Saunders' Sweet Potato squash from http://www.realseeds.co.uk/ as it's been prolific! And in the photo above you can see that there is new fresh growth on the courgettes but I think this might be their last encore of the season.The slugs have been quite well behaved for slugs...but they've removed any trace of what should have been my get-them-in-quick late sowing of dwarf french beans (you can just see a couple of seedlings hanging on in the bottom left), desecrated the pak choi seedlings again... and they've started attacking the red cabbage although they're of a decent size to withstand a fair amount of munching.
And the best homecoming 'present' was eating these 2 lovely specimens...
At least the dismal weather stopped them from ripening too fast whilst we were away and means we can eat all the rest (another 10) yeay!!

Friday, 28 March 2008

After School Allotment

Left the office a wee bit earlier than usual because the sun was shining and I wanted to spend some quality weeding time as we're away all this weekend.

And it was lovely! (yes even weeding, sad aren't I) Such a de-stress from the banalities of work. Got rid of another patch of docks and couch grass. I should be able to plant some of the jerusalem artichokes out one night next week.

Decided to head home about 7pm as the light was fading fast but with the clocks going forward this weekend I'll be able to stay there even later.