Yesterday I bought some garlic and onion sets from the allotment shop. I bought 1 blub of Solent Wight garlic (£1.60), 1 bulb of Picardy garlic (£1.60) and 1 bulb of Elephant Garlic (70p), and also 150g of Radar overwintering onions (90p), so today we put in 4 rows of onions, 2 rows of Solent Wight and 2 rows of Picardy garlic. We sowed the Elephant garlic in the corner of the onion bed next to the row of Pak Choi.
Daddy tried to get some scaffolding poles into the ground for the raspberries for support but the ground was too hard, so he will try again with Uncle Nige next weekend when I am on my Pamper day at Aries. They are hoping to make a compost heap as well for us next weekend :-)
Daddy & Henry dug all the remaining potatoes out of the potato bed and yesterday we removed all the cauliflowers as they had started to bolt. We had cauliflower bhaji last night, spicy cauliflower soup today, and still have plenty over.
We also removed the runner beans today as the only beans left on had gone too big and stringy. Some of the garlic bulbs that were left over went into Henry's plot as well.
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
End of August 2009
Well, the weather hasn't been great in the last couple of weeks. We were pleased to find the tomatoes are now ripening but disappointed that the ones Uncle Carl brought back from Italy have no taste really so we have used them to make tomato soup this weekend. The crystal lemon cucumber plant has been in overdrive and we have lots of cucumbers which we have been handing round to people !!!
Henry and I planted a row of Pak Choi outside where the Corona Del Oro yellow beans were and also a tray in the greenhouse. We planted a couple of trays of lettuce as well but as of now it appears the slugs have found them as nothing is through !!! May try that again this week. The melons seem to be doing well, and we have alot of chillies turning red so that's good, as we seem to be inundated with purple chillies !
We picked a few carrots (Resistafly) and half of these were OK, which is good, but there were not many of them and Henry had them for his tea ! We tried to see if a corn on the cob was ready as the tassles had turned brown but it wasn't ready for eating yet - the corns were still white.
We are hoping the allotment shop is open this weekend as looking at the diary from last year - it was about now we bought the garlic, over-wintering onions and so we want to buy those and would like to try some over-wintering Spring Onions this year too. Looking forward to finding out what they have for sale !
Henry and I planted a row of Pak Choi outside where the Corona Del Oro yellow beans were and also a tray in the greenhouse. We planted a couple of trays of lettuce as well but as of now it appears the slugs have found them as nothing is through !!! May try that again this week. The melons seem to be doing well, and we have alot of chillies turning red so that's good, as we seem to be inundated with purple chillies !
We picked a few carrots (Resistafly) and half of these were OK, which is good, but there were not many of them and Henry had them for his tea ! We tried to see if a corn on the cob was ready as the tassles had turned brown but it wasn't ready for eating yet - the corns were still white.
We are hoping the allotment shop is open this weekend as looking at the diary from last year - it was about now we bought the garlic, over-wintering onions and so we want to buy those and would like to try some over-wintering Spring Onions this year too. Looking forward to finding out what they have for sale !
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Monday 17th August 2009
Henry and I popped down to water the greenhouse and noticed that some of the other golden cherry tomatoes are ripening so thats good. Everything else looked good.
Sunday 16th August 2009
We all went down to the allotment for the morning to continue tidying up. I removed some more of the branches and blight stricken tomatoes from the greenhouse. I also made little nets to hold the melons up as they are getting heavier day by day ! We have noticed that the cucumber plant in the greenhouse has now started to produce cucumbers - maybe it's because I cut off the ends of the flowering branches and it is concentrating it's efforts into producing fruit now rather than growing ! Hopefully that is the case. The chillies are still growing - there are still flowers on the plant for heavens sake !!!! None of the ones on the plants are red at the moment but we have hundreds that are purple (which is the colour just before they turn red).
In the bad winds the previous day the Corona Del Oro beans had been blown over and uprooted so we had to harvest all of the beans on the plants and get rid of them. We already have some so we gave some to Tina and some to Mum & Dad. We pulled up all but one of the courgette plants as they have gone past making courgettes now - think they put all their energy into making those marrow like ones !!!
Then we generally tidyed up, weeded and put down more bark chipping to make the pathways better. The guy next door chatted to Dave & Henry and said he has Jerusalem Artichokes growing (which we thought were sunflowers) and he will save some for us for next year ! Looking forward to trying those.
We then harvested all the beetroot and I pickled them in the afternoon (Mrs. Beetons Pickled Beetroot No. 2).
In the bad winds the previous day the Corona Del Oro beans had been blown over and uprooted so we had to harvest all of the beans on the plants and get rid of them. We already have some so we gave some to Tina and some to Mum & Dad. We pulled up all but one of the courgette plants as they have gone past making courgettes now - think they put all their energy into making those marrow like ones !!!
Then we generally tidyed up, weeded and put down more bark chipping to make the pathways better. The guy next door chatted to Dave & Henry and said he has Jerusalem Artichokes growing (which we thought were sunflowers) and he will save some for us for next year ! Looking forward to trying those.
We then harvested all the beetroot and I pickled them in the afternoon (Mrs. Beetons Pickled Beetroot No. 2).
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Tuesday 11th August 2009
Popped down before my Body Vive class tonight to water the greenhouse. I noticed one of the tomatoes was starting to turn red but another 2 on another plant looked like they might have been infected with blight so I removed them. Fingers crossed the others turn red soon !
Sunday 9th August 2009
Our first visit to the allotment for 3 weeks having been to France. We had a lovely holiday and the allotment was now like a jungle !! We did alot of clearing up, weeding, watering and also some major tying back, and pruning in the greenhouse - we couldn't go in, as the tomato plants had grown so much !! None of the tomatoes are red though - whcih was what I was hoping for, but that is because they have been concentrating on growing rather than producing ripe fruit ! Now they are tied back and trimmed hopefully we will get some red ones ! Still no cucumbers on the greenhouse plant, but we do have some melons on the melon plant so thats good.
Outside, there were about 10 courgettes which were actually now marrow sized, 4 that were a normal size. We harvested some yellow french beans, all of the remaining peas, pulled up the old broad bean plants, and a lettuce.
Outside, there were about 10 courgettes which were actually now marrow sized, 4 that were a normal size. We harvested some yellow french beans, all of the remaining peas, pulled up the old broad bean plants, and a lettuce.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Beginning of July 2009
This weekend just gone we harvested the radar onions, and the some of the remaining garlic (there is still some in Henry's bed and with the other onions). We have put them all in the garage to dry out, the shallots and the garlic we brought home last week are drying out really well.
We noticed there are tiny little tomatoes appearing on some of the plants, and courgettes are very abundant all of a sudden ! The melon is now flowering as well, so we are waiting for fruit on that and the cucumbers.
Today we planted a new row of Hurst Greenshaft peas where the broad beans used to be, and also noticed one of the squash plants had come through, all 3 of the pumpkins are through and seem to be doing well. We removed the spinach as it has grown too tall and leggy, and did some weeding and watering.
We noticed there are tiny little tomatoes appearing on some of the plants, and courgettes are very abundant all of a sudden ! The melon is now flowering as well, so we are waiting for fruit on that and the cucumbers.
Today we planted a new row of Hurst Greenshaft peas where the broad beans used to be, and also noticed one of the squash plants had come through, all 3 of the pumpkins are through and seem to be doing well. We removed the spinach as it has grown too tall and leggy, and did some weeding and watering.
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Tuesday 30th June 2009
Nanna & Grandad set off for France today. We can't believe we'll be joining them in a little over 3 weeks :-)
Henry and I popped down to the allotment after school to give the greenhouse a good water, and we noticed there are yellow flowers on the cucumbers in there, we gave everything a good feed as well as a water and tied up the melons a bit more, they have really taken off !
Then we pulled up all the remaining shallots as we thought we would have to get rid of them all because of the white rot, but I would say about 65% of them were ok and not affected, so we were really pleased. We separated them out and left them to dry in the garage at home for a couple of weeks.
Henry and I popped down to the allotment after school to give the greenhouse a good water, and we noticed there are yellow flowers on the cucumbers in there, we gave everything a good feed as well as a water and tied up the melons a bit more, they have really taken off !
Then we pulled up all the remaining shallots as we thought we would have to get rid of them all because of the white rot, but I would say about 65% of them were ok and not affected, so we were really pleased. We separated them out and left them to dry in the garage at home for a couple of weeks.
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
End of June 2009
We have all been down to the allotment fairly regularly as the weather has been a lot better recently, its been warm and also given us lots of rain which the plants seem to love ! Everything has gone crazy. All of the courgette plants now have flowers on and we harvested the first two baby courgettes yesterday. We took down all the Aquadulce Claudia broad bean plants and this revealed a few Rooster potatoes near the surface so we harvested them too ! We then planted pumpkin (Spellbound) and Squash (Little Dumpling) in part of that space as the original sowings in used compost didn't come through. Must make a mental note not to reuse compost !
We have been collecting raspberries (from Dad's canes from Lauriston) for a while now and this weekend we collected all of Henry's redcurrants and made a rhubarb (Uncle Carl's), redcurrant and raspberry crumble which was very nice indeed !
The greenhouse is looking marvellous, all the tomatoes (apart from the Big Boy Beefsteak, as we had to regrow them a bit later), are on their 2nd truss of flowers and are needing tying to the canes regularly, the melons have taken off and are being tied to canes as well, and the 2 crystal lemon cucumber plants have flowers buds on them as of yesterday. The chillies are everywhere, and are still growing, I must feed the chillies, pepper plant (still small), and the tomatoes later today as it will be a week since they have been fed.
So all in all, everything is going well. The only upset I had was that the shallots seemed to be needing to be harvested so I pulled up 2 clumps yesterday only to find that they have white rot - what a disappointment. So they have had to go in the bin, I'll try and harvest the rest today and see how they are. Apparently you can't grow onions/shallots/leeks/garlic in the same spot for 8 years !!! Fingers crossed not all of them are affected.
We have been collecting raspberries (from Dad's canes from Lauriston) for a while now and this weekend we collected all of Henry's redcurrants and made a rhubarb (Uncle Carl's), redcurrant and raspberry crumble which was very nice indeed !
The greenhouse is looking marvellous, all the tomatoes (apart from the Big Boy Beefsteak, as we had to regrow them a bit later), are on their 2nd truss of flowers and are needing tying to the canes regularly, the melons have taken off and are being tied to canes as well, and the 2 crystal lemon cucumber plants have flowers buds on them as of yesterday. The chillies are everywhere, and are still growing, I must feed the chillies, pepper plant (still small), and the tomatoes later today as it will be a week since they have been fed.
So all in all, everything is going well. The only upset I had was that the shallots seemed to be needing to be harvested so I pulled up 2 clumps yesterday only to find that they have white rot - what a disappointment. So they have had to go in the bin, I'll try and harvest the rest today and see how they are. Apparently you can't grow onions/shallots/leeks/garlic in the same spot for 8 years !!! Fingers crossed not all of them are affected.
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Tuesday 16th June 2009
Mummy & Henry went down after school today and gave the greenhouse a good water. We picked a lettuce and also some spinach which Mummy used with the broad beans to make a broad bean, pea and spinach soup ! We tied the tomatoes to each cane and also the melon plants which seem to have grown alot over the past few days !
Sunday 14th June 2009
Uncle Carl came round this afternoon and brought Henry some runner bean plants for his patch which we put in. Then Uncle Carl taught Mummy how to pinch out the extra bits on the tomato plants to get them to grow upwards rather than like a bush. The first set of flowers are on nearly all of the plants now - just waiting to open !!!
Thursday, 11 June 2009
More photos - early June 2009
The chillies at the front of the greenhouse with the Tom Thumb lettuce in front of that and the other corner of the greenhouse with the 2 melon plants and Lollo Rossa lettuce in front of them.
Photos - early June 2009
The back of the greenhouse showing the different tomatoes, Lollo Rossa lettuce, 2 seed trays with cauliflower and beetroot in, the pepper plant and the 2 cucumber plants
Early June 2009
Everything is coming on really well in the greenhouse, and we have started harvesting the broad beans, which taste so lovely. The trays we sowed the other week of cauliflower, beetroot, squash and pumpkin are all growing now so that is nice to see. Henry's redcurrants are definitely turning red now so he is very excited about that !
The pigeons have attacked our cabbage and broccoli but hopefully they will come good anyway, and the apples are growing nicely which Henry was also very excited about !
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Daddy's Birthday Weekend !
We have had another lot of lovely weather and we have spent quite bit of time down at the allotment, working around Daddy's birthday, BBQ's, Grandad & Nanna visiting, splashing in the paddling pool and generally having fun in the garden at home.
We have put a net around the redcurrant bush as the redcurrants are just starting to turn pink, so we want to keep the birds away ! The early potatoes are just starting to form flowers which is nice to see. Daddy & Henry did a huge pile of weeding and general tidying of the plot, and Mummy sowed some more seeds :
1 tray of Clapton F1 Cauliflower
1 tray of Kestrel F1 Beetroot
2 Pumpkin plants (Spellbound) - for Henry's Halloween Pumpkin !
2 Squash plants (Sweet Dumpling).
After sowing all that we did a massive water of everything as everything looked in desperate need ! Then we put some slug pellets down to try and stop the slugs ans snails munching on our veg !
We have put a net around the redcurrant bush as the redcurrants are just starting to turn pink, so we want to keep the birds away ! The early potatoes are just starting to form flowers which is nice to see. Daddy & Henry did a huge pile of weeding and general tidying of the plot, and Mummy sowed some more seeds :
1 tray of Clapton F1 Cauliflower
1 tray of Kestrel F1 Beetroot
2 Pumpkin plants (Spellbound) - for Henry's Halloween Pumpkin !
2 Squash plants (Sweet Dumpling).
After sowing all that we did a massive water of everything as everything looked in desperate need ! Then we put some slug pellets down to try and stop the slugs ans snails munching on our veg !
Monday, 25 May 2009
Bank Holiday weekend - 23-25th May 2009
Well, for once we had lovely weather this Bank Holiday weekend. On Friday mummy was able to sort the greenhouse out and has planted all the tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers and lettuce in the greenhouse. She also harvested the leeks (made a lovely leek & potato soup) and a few radish.
Then today (Monday) Henry and I went down and did alot of weeding, planted the sweetcorn where the leeks used to be. We added some more peas in their rows as only a few of them have come through - pesky mice !!!
Then today (Monday) Henry and I went down and did alot of weeding, planted the sweetcorn where the leeks used to be. We added some more peas in their rows as only a few of them have come through - pesky mice !!!
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Tuesday 19th May 2009 - And still it rains !
The weather doesn't look to be improving at all, but Henry and I popped down after school today to water in the greenhouse as Mummy is on a course for the next 2 days and not going to get a chance to water anything - not that anything outside needs watering I might add !
We planted 4 tomato plants in the greenhouse from the trays, 4 Lollo Rossa lettuce in front of them, and we planted 10 climbing French bean plants outside where we had put the cane structure ready for them.
On the way home we noticed the leeks are looking like they have a flower developing so we'll have to gather the leek harvest this weekend and make a leek & potato soup. We bumped into Dave as well on the way back to the car and he had a look at Henry's radish and said it was fantastic - there are quite a few ready for picking - about the size of a 10p !
We planted 4 tomato plants in the greenhouse from the trays, 4 Lollo Rossa lettuce in front of them, and we planted 10 climbing French bean plants outside where we had put the cane structure ready for them.
On the way home we noticed the leeks are looking like they have a flower developing so we'll have to gather the leek harvest this weekend and make a leek & potato soup. We bumped into Dave as well on the way back to the car and he had a look at Henry's radish and said it was fantastic - there are quite a few ready for picking - about the size of a 10p !
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Sunday 17th May - Rain, Rain & More Rain !
We took advantage of the short break in the rain today and went down for about an hour after lunch. Mummy weeded 2/3 of the bed at the back next to the rhubarb and planted out 12 broccoli plants which had been growing nicely in the greenhouse in one of Great Nanna's seed trays. She also transplanted 3 more Lollo Rossa lettuce outside into Henry's plot to replace the small ones which have obviously been munched away by greedy slugs & snails !
Daddy weeded inbetween the shed and greenhouse and behind the greenhouse and then put black matting down and covered it with bark chippings so it's looking really good and neat now.
Henry helped out doing a little bit of everything :-) I think sometime soon it will be time to plant the other things which are still in trays in the greenhouse - I'm looking forward to having more plants actually in the ground in the greenhouse rather than in seed trays !
Daddy weeded inbetween the shed and greenhouse and behind the greenhouse and then put black matting down and covered it with bark chippings so it's looking really good and neat now.
Henry helped out doing a little bit of everything :-) I think sometime soon it will be time to plant the other things which are still in trays in the greenhouse - I'm looking forward to having more plants actually in the ground in the greenhouse rather than in seed trays !
Monday, 11 May 2009
Monday 11th May 2009
Went down after school for a quick water of the greenhouse and we also decided it was time to plant the courgettes into their new home outside ! We put one in Henry's patch, 2 at the end of the 'Roots' bed and one at the end of the potato bed too.
Sunday 10th May 2009
Henry and I popped down after lunch today before Kane's birthday party. We put up the support ready for the climbing French beans, and we also put up a circular support in Henry's patch as he wants some too ! We watered everything in the greenhouse, transplanted some Lollo Rossa lettuce to Henry's patch from the greenhouse and also transplanted some Tom Thumb lettuce out of their tray into the greenhouse in front of the chilli plants.
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Saturday 9th May 2009
We all went down to the allotment first thing this morning to water the greenhouse and spray the broad beans as they have the start of black fly on them. It was a successful visit and Daddy was please to see the purple and yellow chillies growing !
The courgette plants are not too far of needing to be planted out I think - they are giant !!! The peppers have come through now as well, so we are doing well !
The courgette plants are not too far of needing to be planted out I think - they are giant !!! The peppers have come through now as well, so we are doing well !
Thursday 7th May 2009
Henry and I popped down after school today just to do a quick water of the greenhouse before Henry had his second swimming lesson at Waterworld. We were so excited to discover the chillies have started to grow now - I don't know why, seeing as they have done nothing for quite a while, but it is nice and satisfying to see now !
Friday, 1 May 2009
Friday 1st May 2009
I went down this afternoon, whilst avoiding the showers, just to water the plants in the greenhouse. Everything looked fine and was coming on nicely in there. Still no chillies on the plants despite the flowers so will have to read up about pollination for them.
I also planted 4 Brussels Sprout plants in the bed with the Spring cabbage in at the moment at the front of the allotment. Then I dug up one Spring cabbage plant to have with our tea tonight !
I also planted 4 Brussels Sprout plants in the bed with the Spring cabbage in at the moment at the front of the allotment. Then I dug up one Spring cabbage plant to have with our tea tonight !
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Even more photos !
The raspberry bed and the flowering Aquadulce Claudia broad beans that over-wintered, with 2 rows of Rooster potatoes that were sprouting in the kitchen cupboard !!
More photos
The pots of herbs are coming through - especially the rocket. The second photo shows the peas and broad beans coming through and the chicken wire protecting the second sowing of peas fro birds !
Saturday, 25 April 2009
A few photos !
Here are some photos of the chilli plants looking nice and healthy in the greenhouse, and the seed trays of Great Nanna's containing the some of the tomatoes :-)
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Monday 20th April 2009
Henry and I popped down to water things in the greenhouse after I picked him up from Grandma's.
To our excitment we noticed the Tom Thumb lettuce had started to come through, and also the broccoli, in the greenhouse. Outside, more peas and broad beans were poking through the surface, and the pots of dill and parsley seem to have some small green bits poking out too !
To our excitment we noticed the Tom Thumb lettuce had started to come through, and also the broccoli, in the greenhouse. Outside, more peas and broad beans were poking through the surface, and the pots of dill and parsley seem to have some small green bits poking out too !
Sunday, 19 April 2009
Sunday 19th April 2009
We all went down early to the allotment this morning. Daddy & Henry got rid of alot of the big weeds behind the greenhouse and next to the chickens. Mummy planted the following in the greenhouse:
1 tray of Crystal Lemon Cucumber
2 trays of Climbing French Bean - Corono D'Oro
1 tray of Sweetcorn
We gave everything a good water in the greenhouse and shut it up.
Then Mummy planted a row of Carrots (Autumn King 2) and another row of Sutton Broad Bean and a row of Kelvedon Wonder peas. Daddy made a clever bird protector from Grandad's chicken wire he gave us last year to put over the peas. The broad beans and peas that Mummy sowed a couple of weeks ago have just started to come through.
1 tray of Crystal Lemon Cucumber
2 trays of Climbing French Bean - Corono D'Oro
1 tray of Sweetcorn
We gave everything a good water in the greenhouse and shut it up.
Then Mummy planted a row of Carrots (Autumn King 2) and another row of Sutton Broad Bean and a row of Kelvedon Wonder peas. Daddy made a clever bird protector from Grandad's chicken wire he gave us last year to put over the peas. The broad beans and peas that Mummy sowed a couple of weeks ago have just started to come through.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Tuesday 14th April 2009
Henry and I visited this afternoon and sowed a lot more in the greenhouse in Great Nanna's old seed trays. We sowed:
1 tray of Lollo Rossa lettuce
1 tray of Tom Thumb lettuce
1 tray of Summer Cabbage - Greyhound
1 tray of Broccoli - Autumn Calabrese
1 tray of Courgette - Zucchini Genovese (Uncle Carl brought them back from Italy last year).
We noticed the early potatoes (Accent & Anya) had started peeking through the surface, and the rocket had started to grow in the terracotta pot.
We sowed a row of Beetroot - Kestrel in the 'Roots' bed and then gave everything a good water, and came home.
1 tray of Lollo Rossa lettuce
1 tray of Tom Thumb lettuce
1 tray of Summer Cabbage - Greyhound
1 tray of Broccoli - Autumn Calabrese
1 tray of Courgette - Zucchini Genovese (Uncle Carl brought them back from Italy last year).
We noticed the early potatoes (Accent & Anya) had started peeking through the surface, and the rocket had started to grow in the terracotta pot.
We sowed a row of Beetroot - Kestrel in the 'Roots' bed and then gave everything a good water, and came home.
Bank Holiday Monday
Uncle Carl & Auntie Julie popped down to see the allotment today and to bring Henry his Easter present and egg ! Uncle Carl bought us two gooseberry plants which we have put in near the rhubarb, where the Blueberry used to be. He thinks one of them is a red gooseberry, so we are hoping it is !
Then Nanna & Grandad came round after having a stall at the Car Boot Sale in Chirk. They did quite well and managed to get rid of a lot of stuff they had accumulated ! They wanted to pop and see the allotment and so we went down to see it, and Mummy gave them a leek, and on the way out Graham called us over and gave them a cabbage from his greenhouse. Nanna & Grandad rang last night and said they were the nicest tasting leek and cabbage they had had in months ! I must remember to tell Graham next time we see him !
Then Nanna & Grandad came round after having a stall at the Car Boot Sale in Chirk. They did quite well and managed to get rid of a lot of stuff they had accumulated ! They wanted to pop and see the allotment and so we went down to see it, and Mummy gave them a leek, and on the way out Graham called us over and gave them a cabbage from his greenhouse. Nanna & Grandad rang last night and said they were the nicest tasting leek and cabbage they had had in months ! I must remember to tell Graham next time we see him !
Saturday, 11 April 2009
Saturday 11th April 2009
Henry and I went down to sow the things in the greenhouse. We used Great Nanna's seed trays and now have:
a tray of Italian Pomodoro tomatoes (Uncle Carl brought these back from Italy last year for us)
a tray of Golden Cherry tomatoes
a tray of Big Boy Beefsteak tomatoes
a tray of Shirley tomatoes
a tray of Gardener's Delight tomatoes
a tray of Mixed Peppers - Carnival
a tray of Cyrano Melons
We gave everything a good water, earthed up the Rooster potatoes next to the broad beans and then went home. So I wonder how long it will take to see the first seedling :-)
a tray of Italian Pomodoro tomatoes (Uncle Carl brought these back from Italy last year for us)
a tray of Golden Cherry tomatoes
a tray of Big Boy Beefsteak tomatoes
a tray of Shirley tomatoes
a tray of Gardener's Delight tomatoes
a tray of Mixed Peppers - Carnival
a tray of Cyrano Melons
We gave everything a good water, earthed up the Rooster potatoes next to the broad beans and then went home. So I wonder how long it will take to see the first seedling :-)
Good Friday morning !
We all went down to the allotment this morning with Uncle Nige. Daddy & Uncle Nige put the new pieces of glass in, and replaced the glass panel that had cracked.
Mummy & Henry put the remaining maincrop potatoes in (Cara & Desiree), and then we planted the chilli plants we had grown at home in the greenhouse. We gave everything a good water and then came home to get ready to go to Nanna & Grandads for a meal and to stay overnight.
Mummy & Henry put the remaining maincrop potatoes in (Cara & Desiree), and then we planted the chilli plants we had grown at home in the greenhouse. We gave everything a good water and then came home to get ready to go to Nanna & Grandads for a meal and to stay overnight.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Sunday 5th April 2009
We all went to the allotment this morning as the weather was so nice ! Daddy was digging out the greenhouse soil and removing whatever he came across, and Henry was helping. Mummy potted up some Coriander Confetti, Rocket, Dill and French Parsley in some of Great Nana's old terracotta pots. Then Henry and I sowed a row of Carrots (Resistafly) next to the parsnips in the 'Roots' bed and also next to the radish in Henry's bed.Then Daddy came across something really big buried in the greenhouse and so we went to pick up Uncle Nige to help us move it. Eventually they managed to get it out, a massive concrete post with rebar, and also a big iron pole !!! Phew ! Then we dug it over and put some fertiliser in there, put the concrete slabs in the middle for a footpath and it was done apart from the new glass which should be in before the weekend.
Then we watered everything and came home.
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Saturday 4th April 2009 - The greenhouse gets its glass !
We picked Uncle Nige up at just gone 9 this morning and then all went down to put the glass in the greenhouse. Everything went really well, and about 10:00 Henry and I went down to the allotment shop to see what we could buy ! We chatted to Graham and Andrea and ended up with a bag of red onions to plant. Graham said the ones we over-wintered would be ready to come out the ground in June and these would then take over and be ready in September time. It cost 50p and we had 74 !!!! So we put them in the rest of the space in the bed where the leeks and radar onions are already in.
Then Uncle Nige and Henry and I went to Boyles in Pandy to get the two new glass panes, however we found they were shut on Saturday - how silly ! So we'll have to get those in the week.
But apart from those 2 glass panes the greenhouse is now finished :-)
Then Uncle Nige and Henry and I went to Boyles in Pandy to get the two new glass panes, however we found they were shut on Saturday - how silly ! So we'll have to get those in the week.
But apart from those 2 glass panes the greenhouse is now finished :-)
Friday 3rd April 2009
Henry and I went down to the allotment for a while this afternoon as Henry has now finished school for the Easter holidays ! We planted the 5 free Yukon Gold potatoes we got given for being members of the allotment shop, and we did some clearing and weeding.
We 'think' the lollo rossa lettuce are slowly coming through, but they are just too small to be able to tell yet ! Fingers crossed.
We 'think' the lollo rossa lettuce are slowly coming through, but they are just too small to be able to tell yet ! Fingers crossed.
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Tuesday 31st March 2009
I popped down after work today and managed to post a row of peas (Hurst Greenshaft), a double row of broad beans (Sutton Dwarf), and a row of mixed salad leaves at the end of the potato bed as they should mature way before the potatoes crowd them - hopefully !
Henry's radish have come through a little more and the greenhouse looks right at home at the bottom of the plot :-)
Henry's radish have come through a little more and the greenhouse looks right at home at the bottom of the plot :-)
Sunday 29th March - the greenhouse arrives !
We all met Nanna & Grandad down at Great Grandpa's at 9:30am and Daddy & Grandad got straight to work dismantling it. Nanna was doing some more cleaning of the house and I was chatting to her ! And Henry was doing a little bit of everything - mostly showing off his new lunchbag with cars on !!
At about 11am Henry, Nanna and I went to visit Great Grandpa in his new home, Newton Hall. He seemed very happy and his room was lovely. He was very pleased the greenhouse was coming down well, he was worried it may fall apart I think. We had a chat and Great Grandpa had a Whiskey and then we went back to see how Grandad and Daddy were getting on. We found they had almost finished taking down the frame.
After they had taken down all of the frame we stopped for a picnic - Henry's highlight of the day ! We all had some sandwiches and a drink and then Grandad, Daddy and Mummy loaded up the trailer whilst Henry and Nanna picked some daffodil's to put in a vase at home. Nanna picked a special bunch for Henry and this had some blue flowers in called 'Forget-Nots (!)' so Henry wouldn't forget Nanna - he now has these in a vase in his bedroom !
Once we had packed everything we set off for the allotment. Despite looking like a mish-mash of metal, Grandad and Daddy appeared to know what they were doing and the greenhouse frame went up relatively easily. As time was plodding on we decided to leave putting the glass in until the weekend when Uncle Nige can help us too (and we needed to buy 2 new pieces of glass for the door as they broke on the journey across).Saturday, 28 March 2009
Saturday 28th March 2009
We all went down this afternoon to prepare the bottom of the allotment for the arrival of Great Grandpa's greenhouse tomorrow. We are meeting Nana & Grandad at Great Grandpa's and 9:30 tomorrow and then dismantling the greenhouse, transporting it to the allotment, and putting it back up (hopefully !!!).
We measure out the area (6ft x 8ft) and then flattened it off and edged it with bricks, making sure it was all level as well. Henry supervised whilst he was eating sweeties !
All the trees and bushes are looking healthy apart from the blueberry which we thought was possibly dead last time we were down ! We've left it in for now just in case though, if not we'll buy a new one in a couple of weeks time. We had to move the Bramley Seedling apple tree a bit
because of where the new greenhouse is going, but that is all fine now in its new place. We also put in some rhubarb from Grandpa's garden which Uncle Nige got for us.
Henry's radish are coming through, as are the potatoes we planted a few weeks ago (the ones which had sprouted in the cupboard at home) - I think they were Rooster potatoes. No sign of the lettuce, spinach or parsnips yet, although I think Dad told me parsnips had a long germination period, so we'll wait and see.
The raspberry canes that came from Lauriston are doing really well (full of leaves), the others are not doing anything just yet. The cherry tree has lots of leaves coming, as does the 2 apple trees.
We measure out the area (6ft x 8ft) and then flattened it off and edged it with bricks, making sure it was all level as well. Henry supervised whilst he was eating sweeties !
All the trees and bushes are looking healthy apart from the blueberry which we thought was possibly dead last time we were down ! We've left it in for now just in case though, if not we'll buy a new one in a couple of weeks time. We had to move the Bramley Seedling apple tree a bit
because of where the new greenhouse is going, but that is all fine now in its new place. We also put in some rhubarb from Grandpa's garden which Uncle Nige got for us.Henry's radish are coming through, as are the potatoes we planted a few weeks ago (the ones which had sprouted in the cupboard at home) - I think they were Rooster potatoes. No sign of the lettuce, spinach or parsnips yet, although I think Dad told me parsnips had a long germination period, so we'll wait and see.
The raspberry canes that came from Lauriston are doing really well (full of leaves), the others are not doing anything just yet. The cherry tree has lots of leaves coming, as does the 2 apple trees.
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Early potatoes are in - hooray !
I ran down in my lunchbreak today to plant the early potatoes. So we now have a row of Accent potatoes and a row of Anya potatoes. Everything else seemed to be doing well, nothing appearing yet from the new seeds we sowed but patience is a virtue !!!
Just need to pop down sometime, maybe tomorrow and sow a row of peas and broad beans.
Just need to pop down sometime, maybe tomorrow and sow a row of peas and broad beans.
Monday, 16 March 2009
Monday 16th March 2009
After school today Henry and I sowed a tray of Musselburgh leeks and a tray of Bedford Fillbasket brussels sprouts. Gave tem a good water and put them in a sunny position in the garden :-)
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Sunday 15th March 2009 - The Sowing Begins !!!
We all went down after lunch today as the weather was so lovely. Daddy dug out the remaining bed up near the raspberries and apple trees so that is now ready for planting the broad bean (Sutton Dwarf), and the early pea (Hurst Greenshaft) which we are hoping to do in the next week.
Henry & Mummy planted a row of Lollo Rossa lettuce, Countess F1 parsnip and the free trial radish we got from Marshalls seeds (Radish MSC 7695 - Yellow Radish) in Henry's bed. Then in this years 'Roots' bed we planted one row of Countess F1 parsnip, and in the end of the bed with the red onions and shallots in we planted one row of Tirza F1 spinach.
All of the fruit trees are starting to bud and produce leaves which is lovely to see. And the blueberry might look slightly more lively than last time we were there ! Fingers crossed. There are 8 spring cabbage and they are starting to get a bit fuller now as the weather improves a bit.
Henry and I are hoping to go down sometime after school this week to plant the early potatoes (Accent & Anya), one row of Hurst Greenshaft peas and one row of Sutton broad beans.
Henry & Mummy planted a row of Lollo Rossa lettuce, Countess F1 parsnip and the free trial radish we got from Marshalls seeds (Radish MSC 7695 - Yellow Radish) in Henry's bed. Then in this years 'Roots' bed we planted one row of Countess F1 parsnip, and in the end of the bed with the red onions and shallots in we planted one row of Tirza F1 spinach.
All of the fruit trees are starting to bud and produce leaves which is lovely to see. And the blueberry might look slightly more lively than last time we were there ! Fingers crossed. There are 8 spring cabbage and they are starting to get a bit fuller now as the weather improves a bit.
Henry and I are hoping to go down sometime after school this week to plant the early potatoes (Accent & Anya), one row of Hurst Greenshaft peas and one row of Sutton broad beans.
Sunday, 1 March 2009
1st March 2009 - St Davids Day & March is here !!!
We went down to the allotment after lunch for a short while today. We transferred the 3 raspberry canes that were in the back garden down to the allotment and also the thornless blackberry bush that we had.
Having done a little tidying, weeding and put the plants in their new home we picked a leek to pull up for Henry's tea and then came home.
Having done a little tidying, weeding and put the plants in their new home we picked a leek to pull up for Henry's tea and then came home.
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
Monday 23rd February 2009 - Free Seeds
Today the free seeds came in the post which I'm chuffed about - it seems ages ago we sent off for them from the Daily Telegraph voucher Dave's Dad gave us. We got 10 different packets (Autumn King Carrot, Bedford Brussels Sprout, Moneymaker Tomato, Salad Bowl Lettuce, Detroit 2 Crimson Globe Beetroot, Greyhound Cabbage, Bouquet Dill - Herb, Coriander Confetti - Herb, Rocket - Herb, French (plain-leaved) Parsley - Herb).
Looking forward to March now and I can start sowing things and watching things slowly growing again !
Looking forward to March now and I can start sowing things and watching things slowly growing again !
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Spring is definitely coming - Sunday 22nd February 2009
Well, the weather was lovely again today so Daddy, Mummy & Henry all went for a work-out at the allotment ! First of all we dug over and weeded one of the new beds near the shed, and then Daddy dug over and weeded the smaller bed next to it ready for the rhubarb (which we must remember to ask Uncle Nige to dig out of his garden !).
Next Mummy & Henry planted some potatoes that Mummy found all sprouting nicely in the kitchen cupboard yesterday ! We think they were Desiree, and they may not survive being planted now but otherwise they would have just gone in the bin so we will wait and see ! We have put them in next to the broad beans.
Then we dug over and weeded Henry's patch and checked the 9 garlic plants Henry has in his patch were doing well. Then we dug over and weeded the final bed at the front of the allotment, so that is now clear apart from a few spring cabbage plants.
Henry and Mummy checked all the fruit trees and bushes and they all have little buds coming - the apples seem to have more than the plum or cherry tree - maybe they come a bit earlier - will wait and see. The gooseberry bush is showing signs of life too. The only things not showing anything at the moment are the raspberrys and the blueberry bush.
Next Mummy & Henry planted some potatoes that Mummy found all sprouting nicely in the kitchen cupboard yesterday ! We think they were Desiree, and they may not survive being planted now but otherwise they would have just gone in the bin so we will wait and see ! We have put them in next to the broad beans.
Then we dug over and weeded Henry's patch and checked the 9 garlic plants Henry has in his patch were doing well. Then we dug over and weeded the final bed at the front of the allotment, so that is now clear apart from a few spring cabbage plants.
Henry and Mummy checked all the fruit trees and bushes and they all have little buds coming - the apples seem to have more than the plum or cherry tree - maybe they come a bit earlier - will wait and see. The gooseberry bush is showing signs of life too. The only things not showing anything at the moment are the raspberrys and the blueberry bush.
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Henry digging the potato bed over - 15th February
Henry did enjoy trying to do the digging but he wanted to use Mummy & Daddy's fork, not his own one which is sized especially for him - hence it was a slow process !!
Sunday 15th February 2009
Well, it felt like the start of Spring this morning. The weather was alot milder and there was 'almost' sunshine !!! Henry and I decided to go down to the allotment this morning to give it a good sorting out in readiness for the Spring planting to begin.We arrived about 10am and were the only ones there at that point, but during the morning we saw quite few people arrive (Graham came, Maxie the dog and his Daddy, Mark the chicken man, and the tall Royal Mail man who gave us the leeks last year). It was nice to see it getting busier again, its been so quite recently.
Everything was looking well, all the trees and bushes had little buds starting so that was nice to see. The first thing we did was to dig over the new large bed ready for the early potatoes in a few weeks time. Apart from a couple of bricks and a bit of metal wire, this wasn't too bad. And Henry helped !!!
The next photo is looking at the broad beans (which are not doing as badly as I thought after the snow, they seem to have picked up a bit), and you can just see the new fruit trees as well in the background. Unfortunately the photo also illustrates all the work we still have to do digging out the back end next to the shed and getting ready for the greenhouse.Monday, 9 February 2009
Sunday 8th February 2009
We all went down early this morning, the snow was still on the ground and it was freezing but under the snow the ground was soft enough to be able to plant the 3 fruit trees (Bramley Seedling apple, Dual apple (Sunset & Golden Delicious) & the dual plum (Marjorie's Seedling & Cambridge Gage). We had a brief look at the other things but couldn't see alot of them for the snow. The broad beans are not looking too good, but we'll see what happens when Spring come properly and the weather gets warmer ! Fingers crossed it won't be too long !!!
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Saturday 7th February 2009 - The Allotment Shop is open !!!
Hooray ! The allotment shop is now open once again for the season. I went down fairly early to get my potatoes and seeds - very pleased with my purchases. I bought 7 Accent potatoes (1st early), 7 Anya potatoes (2nd early), 10 Cara potatoes & 10 Desiree potatoes (both maincrop). I also got 5 free Yukon Gold potatoes (these are early potatoes too) which came with the membership.
Membership has gone up to £3 for the year but the savings on the potatoes and seeds must easily pay for that. Graham has set up a website as well for the allotment so I'm looking forward to looking at that later on tonight. I also bought Broad bean - Sutton Dwarf, Climbing French Bean - Corona D'Oro, Cucumber - Crystal Lemon, Sweetcorn - Early Sweet, Squash - Sweet Dumpling, Cauliflower - Clapton, Pea - Hurst Greenshaft, Leek - Mussleburgh, Lettuce - Tom Thumb & Parsnip - Countess. The whole lot including membership cost about £17.50 !!
Membership has gone up to £3 for the year but the savings on the potatoes and seeds must easily pay for that. Graham has set up a website as well for the allotment so I'm looking forward to looking at that later on tonight. I also bought Broad bean - Sutton Dwarf, Climbing French Bean - Corona D'Oro, Cucumber - Crystal Lemon, Sweetcorn - Early Sweet, Squash - Sweet Dumpling, Cauliflower - Clapton, Pea - Hurst Greenshaft, Leek - Mussleburgh, Lettuce - Tom Thumb & Parsnip - Countess. The whole lot including membership cost about £17.50 !!
Monday, 19 January 2009
Sunday 18th January 2009
Well, we are trying to get together a list of which seeds we want to buy, which we already have, where we need to buy them from (Allotment shop, or seed catalogue !). Nearly sorted now as Dave's dad managed to get 10 free seeds packs from The Daily Telegraph for £1.99, so we have sent off for those, there were 3 herb packets in there which will be nice.
Henry and I walked down to the allotment this afternoon, the weather was quite nice, a little cold, but sunny. It was really muddy down there but things were not looking too bad. The Broad beans had been buffeted about by the wind and some of them don't look too good, but we will see. We put some more string around them to hold them up a bit, to stop them being damaged by the wind.
We dug over about 1/5 of the bed so its ready for the early potatoes in a few weeks time, and we picked some purple sprouting broccoli, 2 leeks and the last cabbage.
The garlic and onions have come on in the last couple of weeks and hooray - the shallots have started poking through the soil - I thought they were a dud batch !!!
Henry and I walked down to the allotment this afternoon, the weather was quite nice, a little cold, but sunny. It was really muddy down there but things were not looking too bad. The Broad beans had been buffeted about by the wind and some of them don't look too good, but we will see. We put some more string around them to hold them up a bit, to stop them being damaged by the wind.
We dug over about 1/5 of the bed so its ready for the early potatoes in a few weeks time, and we picked some purple sprouting broccoli, 2 leeks and the last cabbage.
The garlic and onions have come on in the last couple of weeks and hooray - the shallots have started poking through the soil - I thought they were a dud batch !!!
Thursday, 8 January 2009
The bare little Stella Cherry Tree
This poor little tree will hopefully be full of life and cherries by later this Summer - fingers crossed !
30th December 2008
Henry and I walked down to the allotment today to burn off a little of that Christmas excess !!!! (certainly on my part, not necessarily on his !). It was a long walk and he needed refreshments when we arrived (see photo of him in the shed !) We then spent the time we had down there doing a little bit of digging, checking how things were going in general. We removed some of the celeriac as we dug a couple up and there was no real big root at all, so we threw them away. We picked a leek, some purple sprouting broccoli, and a small cabbage for Henry's tea, and then we came home.
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