Last week on the plot

Some form of witchcraft had occurred and the sky had changed colour for the first time in a month. I was so giddy I didnt know what to do first!

Obv running down to the allotment was top of the list

and with the main crop spuds going in a month later than planned that was the first job of the day

A row of Kestrel and Rooster went in. Neither of which I've grown before.

The blue lake French beans I started a weeks ago and which have been hardening off in the garden for the past 2 weeks were desperate to get in the ground. However, this called for desperate things such as lashing and tying knots, which given my girl guide time I should have been a lot better at, but maybe the scouts got too much of my attention!

Was also given some stringless runner beans, which I'm not overly convinced about, but I'll give them a go, and if nothing else will add nitrogen to the soil. I'm kinda hoping that as they look a bit like Jack's beans that they grow into the sky and I get me a golden goose (might be mixing fairy tales now)

Last year, if you recall, or maybe I didnt write about it, but anyway, my cauliflowers did look vaguely like this

However, I forgot to net them sufficiently and the flippin pigeons had them stripped to stalks within minutes.

I forgot to take a photo but they are all under the green net tunnels so can hopefully get to a really good size unscathed.

The asparagus that I moved last year (either 8 or 10 crowns, I forget) is doing well and is producing some much nicer spears that it was doing in the old location. I'm not going to harvest anything off them this year to give the plants a good time to establish. Next year though there should be a really good crop, and the bed should then work for about 20 years or so!

(I have weeded since this photo was taken)

This spot nearest the shed I am going to turn into a semi-permanent salad bed. I'm planning on planting through the weed membrane with chilli's and peppers in a month or so and also making a wind break out of the plastic bottle's I've been saving for ever! We'll see how it works out. I'm pleased with how its turning out, and I just need to construct a few more beds.

I was given a crab apple tree, which probably need moving as I think it maybe a bit close to the boundary of my neighbours plot. Will reassess when I'm next down there. Its only on a small plug root at the moment, so moving wont be an issue.

Also sown (but not photographed) another 3 or 4 rows of carrots, and 2 rows of beetroot, and a row of spring onions.

These are 2 varieties of swede. I've not had any luck growing them straight in the ground before so thought I'd try and experiment germinating on kitchen paper and then transferring to cardboard tubes to grow on before planting out like I did with the parsnips. Speaking of which they are looking fab.

There is so much ready in one of the greenhouses to move either into bigger pots or to plant out, but the weather could do with warming just a little bit more, and there have been rumours of frost at the weekend which wont do most of them any good.

Busy and productive couple of days. Have harvested lots of purple sprouting broccoli, rhubarb and leeks this week

This week's round up of the plot

Finally taken the fleece off the red onions and shallots and they're looking really good. A couple of the shallots have yet to do anything, but I guess there's still time.

The raspberries are looking fab. So mayn new shoots and loads of buds already. Hopeful for a very good crop this year.

Pulled the first rhubarb stems today.

Strawberries are starting to pick up now having all been moved at the end of last season. I may not pick from one of the beds and remove flowers to hopefully encourage a better crop for next year, but that involves me being around at the right time to do that.

The rest of the onion bed looking really healthy pretty good (crap photo tho)

The squash bed - before

 and after. 

Obviously still needs a bit more work, but wont take long now,

 but had 2 bored kids and it was lunchtime 

The parsnips have all survived that yuck weather of the past week or so

 and are putting out more leaves. Fab :)

On my neighbour's plot was this weird fungus. She's had mushroom compost delivered so maybe its edible?

The one about the tree

On Sunday I bought a pear tree. Call it a Mother's Day present to me. It was an impulse buy, but was a really good price and I do love Conference pears. They're also the only pear that is self fertile so no need to buy more than one.

Getting it to the allotment I hadnt really thought through!! I'd walked with it back from the shop, but almost always cycle to the plot. Fortunately it did fit in the trailer but was a little precarious along with the other bits and pieces I had to take down.

The plot looked absolutely lovely when I got there bathed in full sunshine. So a hole was dug for the tree. About 2 spade depths down hit the clay pan and stopped. Filled the bottom of the hole with half a bucket of compost from the worm bin and then watered and let it soak in. The tree I'd been soaking while the digging etc had been going on.

I bashed one of the stakes usually used for the tomatoes right in.

And then planted the tree, not that it really shows up in the photo, firmed it in, attached it to the stack with a couple of cable ties (not tightly) and watered well again. Finally spread a layer of mulch (not pictured) over the top. So a waiting game now to see what, if anything, my pear tree will do.

Also divided the massive comfrey plant and made a sort of border with it. Hopefully they'll take. I've not done much in the way of propagating plants by division before, so hopefully all has gone well. Time will let me know I guess, but comfrey seems to be a fairly tough plant from what I've read. We'll see.

So around the plot, this is what's happening...

 The rhubarb is bursting into life as are the raspberries

 The strawberry plants that were transplanted into new bed at the end of last year are starting to show signs of life.

On this patch of purple deadnettle I saw 4 different species of bumblebee. I dont know which species they were yet, need to look it up, but 4 different is awesome and the 'weeds' can stay on that part of the plot for now. Also saw at least 2 different variety of butterfly, but not close enough to ident properly. Possibly gatekeeper and maybe painted lady, but not entirely sure. Also in abundance were 2 and 7-spot ladybirds. Saw well over 100 of the 7 spot just on my plot. Fabulous amounts of them. Hopefully they will chow down on all the aphids and keep the crops pest free.

This part went from this...

 to this in a relatively short space of time

Very productive day.

In the greenhouse, the parsnips that were transplanted a few weeks ago are looking very healthy seedlings now

 And the all year round cauliflower are also doing really well out in the greenhouse.

The equinox has now been and gone and we're really on the way to summer :D

Parsnips

I inspected the parsnip seeds when I got home last night and there were quite a lot that have germinated. 

The trick I've found in the past is not to let them get too big before trying to move them. Last year I moved them straight into their final locations at the plot with very poor results due to a very dry spring. This year I decided to go the slightly longer route, but a more reliable one for getting a good crop.

Using an old jam funnel I filled the toilet roll tubes to about an inch from the top with multi-purpose compost 

and firmed it down

Carefully handling the seeds only by the seed case placed them onto the firmed down compost. This is now where I could (probably) bore you by explaining about tropisms, types of germination and root hairs. 

Normal advice is not to handle the seeds when they are in this state as the developing shoot is very fragile. However I have had good success from this before and handling the seed only by the seed case eliminates most cases of damage occuring.

Some of the seeds havent yet germinated and may not (I will leave these a few more days to see if any more do then repeat the process above). This is the whole reason that I have come to use this method of sowing parsnips. They have a ridiculously poor germination percentage under good circumstances and in the past I've had 3 rows of parsnips where there have been 5 seeds all develop at one end and nothing else in the whole row. Doing this means that they will get planted out as plants, at the correct final spacing, and there wont be any need for thinning out, or empty rows with sporadic crops.

 Finally watered gently and now in the (unheated) greenhouse to grow on for a while.

February Sowings

More seeds sown this morning.

Unfortunately not all of these as I ran out of seed compost, but have sown

Tomato - tumbling tom, Gardener's Delight, black cherry and Moneymaker

Leek -musselburgh

Aubergine - early long purple 2

Stock - ten week mixed

Early purple sprouting broccoli

Onion - Ailsa Craig, Sweet Spanish yellow

Pepper - D'asi Giallo

Also have started some last year's parsnip seed and a new batch. Both germinated last year contrary to people being hesitant to use old seed, but most of the crop were lost with an usually dry spring and me not being able to get to the allotment and water them.

For the past 3 years I have set them like this. Waited until they have germinated then either placed them straight into the ground at the required spacings, or transferred them into toilet roll tubes and grown on until a couple of true leaves have appeared. I am going for the latter version this year, so that there is more chance of a crop appearing. Parsnips (especially roasted) are one of my favourite veg.

Yesterday I bought the seed potato I am going to use. I decided against the large bags of one variety and have gone for 5 seeds of 4 different varieties. The girls and I don't eat that many anyway and I really dont have room to store too many, and last years have started sprouting and a lot are going to be wasted. Hopefully this way we will have just what we need through the summer and autumn

Anya, Charlotte, Rooster, Kestrel

I wasnt going to bother with onions from set this year having had poor results in the past with bolting, but as I was there and buying spuds anyway I thought what the hell! Have got a bag of red and whites, and also some red shallots to try. Hopefully if the ground drys out a little on the plot they will go in this week. At the moment it is too wet to weed and make ready for them.

Final news is I have bought a new tap for the water butt that I was given at the end of last year. I need to decide where I want to site it now. 

Think that's it for now.

Parsnips

The parsnip seeds had germinated so yesterday was the day they got set out. Even last years seed had had atleast a 50% germination rate.

Drill made

Its a fiddly way to do things, but I've found it successful for the past 2 seasons. All spaced and there should be no need to thin anything.

Three rows of new seed went in here, to the left there were 4 short rows of last years seed. Each short row had about 10 seedlings, the long rows I cant remember how many. Will find out when they come up lol!!

The garlic I got from the greengrocer last week had spouted so I planted 2 rows of that

And look what is for tea tonight :)