Allotment Arrangements

The responsibility of the allotment has been weighing on us.  Thomas was seriously considering ditching it but we've come to an a compromise.  The space is too big for two plus three children plus full time working but in time we think in time we'll have more time and can do it justice. So, we now have a strimmer to keep the grassy parts beyond us short and will plant what we can plant, and slowly work our way across. The good news is that the parts that we cultivated last year appear very easy to dig over.

In the last couple of days we dug up the rest of the spuds and stuck in some leeks and onions.

Family at work

H planting onions

Trying to make lots of level beds on our sloping plot

Onions

Drying them was very difficult this year with all the wet weather.

The end of the mulberry

The end of the mulberry has been foretold by Thomas mum since the first time she saw it in 2000.  We've stuck to it doggedly in the hope that it would perk up.

Sadly buying a tree we'd not looked at was not a good idea. About 1/3 died over the winter so we bit the bullet and got rid of it today. It was surprisingly easy and only took an hour or so.

Ericsson Ear

Metal fatigue after ear wiggling by our youngest had lead to a brittle right ear. Today Erica took a tumble and lost her lug :-(

Herbaceous

Lovely purples. Pretty pleased with its progress, but no sign of the "red hot pokers" I was looking forward to this year after all the watering last.

Also I've placed the remaining corn in the allotment. We're down to 25 but I suspect a few won't make it.

Allotmenteering again

It has laid off raining long enough for A. and I to get some serious work done.  We planted three gooseberries in traffic light order (thought A did admin to some confusion later on).

Then we dug over and weeded a plot and put in squash (butternut, round and blue banana).  Under the fleece are broccoli and cabbage, but the plants look pretty weedy and I am not optimistic they will survive the cold and the transfer.  More reason to knock up a better cold frame (work in progress).


 Finally some good news. The Early potatoes are on their way up.

Savoy Cabbage

 I am trying to do this right.  I appear to have done damage to the brocolli by planting too many in the same pot.  This time I carefully planted three per cell and have since nipped off two of them.

They are intended for the allotment.

Herbaceous

I'm enjoying watching this come back again. Lots of rain at last so things are looking greener.

Sadly, the asparagus shoot appears to have died in the cold weather. No sign of anything else coming up there at the moment.

Kids plots and potatoes

The kids worked hard today to sew a few things, whether they come up in our arid climate I don't know.  We'll have to keep them damp.

I randomly cut all our potatoes in half and found I was mirculously close to having the exact number for the plot.  I think I planted 54 potatoes today in the plot behind the wheelbarrow. 

Bring on the rain.

Asparagus rising (but you can't tell)

 Perfectly placed the phone to show the asparagus on its way, didn't see the twig, couldn't tell in the sunlight.

Whatever, it is on its way.  Got to be good and leave it well alone for two years.

Pleached hedge

I ran out of steam last year and didn't completely renovate the pleached hedge on the right of the garden.  I put it right today.  About 4 hours of steady work whilst listening to "The Hunger Games" on audio book.  I have read it and seen the film, but still really enjoyed listening to it.

Rotavator

Forgot to take before or after photos, but worked hard today with dad's 40? year old rotavator. I then planted some green manure in three of the plots. As usual I realised later that on was a winter crop, but too late now!

Carrots

Purple and orange.

The first plot.

Rocket first earlies.   After planting the first row I read that the rows should go across the hill.  Since the allotment is on a slope that runs diagonally I changed the planting to be chevrons. One plot nearly done,  seven to go.

Paper Potter and sweetcorn

We bought the Paper Potter at RHS Hyde Hall. It helped make 46 biodegradable pots for sweetcorn that will hopefully go to the allotment. The seeds were last year's, which is not too bad for us!

Allotment!

Madness.

Frost and Sun

Last year the Acer got badly frosted. We've no idea if a little fleece will prevent that,  but it is worth a try.

Also Tamsin had a go at the ceonothus(sp?).

Strawberries and WiFi

Laid out before planting

The strawberries have had four(?) years so it was time to thin them out.  From a massive surplus I plucked 20 and topped up the container with compost and spare soil to plant them in.

The surplus

Typed in the garden on the garden hot spot, turned on for the first time in 2012.  Not the last time I would imagine.

Garlic

What a lot of stuff grew under the cloche this winter. Maybe a hint for what we could do next year?

In order, left to right.

Iberian Wight

Early Purple Wight

Solent Wight

Albigensian Wight

All from the garlic farm on the Isle of Wight.