The one with all the spuds

Firstly, the weather this year is appalling. This time last year I was nursing sunburn after an unseasonably 20 degrees at the end of March. This year I am trying to avoid frostbite in my extremities. SORT IT OUT weather gods!!

Anyway, there was a brief gap in the minus figures and the ground was not totally frozen, and the children were all away, so it seemed perfect opportunity to spend 6 hours on the new plot digging out couch grass and dandelions and then planting the first early spuds.

OH (who officially owns the new plot) I think is just starting to realise the enormity of the task *he (*I) have taken on!

Due to the amount of weeds/couch grass that have been inherited I am thinking of using some glyphos just to help get the top growth down and loosen the weed roots to make digging slightly easier. I'm not a fan of using chemicals at all, but in order to get the job done slightly more time efficiently it may be what is required. At least with a glyphos it wont damage the soil and may prevent damage to our backs. It's a tough call when I try to use nothing but natural products on the plots.

Anyway, here's some photos while I ponder the best course of action...

All dug ready for spuds 

First row of Pentland Javelin in the ground 

Look more like burial mounds than rows of spuds lol!!
So far 4 rows of Pentland Javelin and 3 rows of Charlotte. 

This was a kit that I bought a few weeks ago and was promised a box full of deliciously fresh mushrooms. So far only one large solitary one. It needs a few friends to join it!!

First week of June round up

Really quick round up, mainly in pictures of how the plot is looking as of last week.

Courgettes in the foreground, then pumpkins, then butternut squash all finally planted out

 All the flower seedlings around the pear tree are starting to grow and should hopefully cover the area in a carpet of colour.

The asparagus is looking very healthy and am looking forward to being able to harvest some next year. This year it is being allowed to 'rest' as the crowns were moved at the end of last season.

The parsnips have put out loads of top growth now so hopefully the roots are doing just as well.

First earlies are well through and main crop spuds are starting to break through. All the rain should mean some good spuds in a month or so. (My earlies went in late - so not lifting them for another few weeks at the earliest)

The swede that I germinated at home and then grew in in toilet roll tubes have been nibbled to almost nothing by flea beetle. I could spray them, but as I'm trying to do it mostly organically and without much help from anything this year will just see how they fare. Maybe next year I will let them grow on further before planting them out so there is more leaf which may make them more resilient.

Lettuce and spinach planted out

Have 4 different types of tomato this year - Moneymaker, Alicante, Gardeners Delight and Black Cherry

Carrot and beetroot are starting to come through

I started about 20 corn plants at home, and then put in several rows with 2 seeds per station which all germinated. Have moved the 2nd seed from each and now have about 80 corn plants. If they all produce a minimum of 2 cobs each there will be a good amount of corn this year.

French and runner beans are starting to climb

3 variety of peas in so far - Hurst Green Shaft, Junos and cant remember the 3rd

I've never limed before planting brassicas before so have given that a go this year to see if it makes an improvement for the cauliflower. 

The onions some set and seed are doing well so far.

The raspberries have gone bonkers!

Strawberries are all mulched now. Not expecting a huge crop as all the plants were moved last year.

The lupins are doing well and the crab apple I planted a few weeks ago is taller than the top if its protective tube.

Rhubarb is growing well and already made a batch of jam from it. Will need to split the crowns this year.

Broad beans were sowed late, so will have to pinch the tops as soon as they start flowering to deter the blackfly.

Almost everything is in the ground now. I have acquired some more currant bushes so they will need planting out if the rain ever stops. There are still some more cauliflower, brussels and purple sprouting broccoli to plant out. And then peppers and chillies and aubergine need sorting into the salad beds which I will hopefully get windbreaked this week.

First earlies...

...are in the ground (25th March)

I dispensed with digging a whole trench this year as with only 5 sets per row it seemed like far more work than was actually needed (and quite frankly after the past week's work I'm rather pooped). The area had all bee dug over anyway so it was a case of...

1) digging some holes

 2) sprinkling a few slug pellets (to combat the underground slugs who,like to nibble potatoes)

 3) Placing chitted seed potato in (eyes up, of course)

 4) filling in holes and earthing up.

First row that went in was Charlotte - lovely salad potato and typical of 'new' potatoes.

2nd row was Anya - a thinnish nobbly potato which sort of resembles a Jerusalem artichoke

This week on the plot - 27/2-2/3/12

Ultra busy week on the plot brought about by a week of dry(ish) weather. Motivated by needing to feel that everything was under control so that there is space for plants to go in when they're ready.

 So this week on the plot:

 Space made ready for first early potatoes

Compost bin turned into the one emptied last week

 then refilled with the contents that were in here

 Red Sun shallots planted (which curiously smelled like garlic!)

 and covered so the pesky birds dont pull them out

Space made ready for onion sets to go in in a couple of weeks

And then finally today pallets de-constructed (with limited swearing and only a couple of hand/hammer incidents)

 and the edges of my 30m path started to be edged

 which will then have weed membrane put down and bark chippings added on top in a couple of weeks.

I've managed to fit a lot in to the couple of hours I've spent there each day. Everything feels like its coming together now. Tis very good :)

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.

Potatoes and currants

Beautiful morning and even though there had been a frost last night I decided that I was going to put my first earlies in today. They'll take a while to come through the soil and by then the frost hopefully wont be happening.

I read in one of my books to add newspaper into the trench to keep the plants moist. I had a bag of shredded documents which I though would do the job. Having spoken to one of my allotment neighbours she always adds slug pellets into the trench along with some fruit food. I had slug pellets and some growmore. I know neither are especially organic, but I lost most of last year's potato crop to slugs and there are a huge amount of the underground ones about so I thought best to give it a go.

Loaded up and ready to go

Chitted spuds (Arran pilot) shredded paper, slug pellets, growmore

Trench dug

paper, growmore, slug pellets - row one, forgot to water paper before adding potatoes

Potatoes  - did 2 rows like this, 2nd row got the paper watered before adding the potatoes

Row 1 - Earthed up

Rows 3 and 4 only added growmore and slug pellets as an experiment to see if the paper makes any difference at all.

Eek! Looks a bit like burial mounds!!

Again, a bit of an experiment to see what difference if any cloching has on the potatoes; not that I'm expecting the plastic ones to last long in the wind down there!! (But they were only £1 each from Poundland so they dont really owe me much!!)

Redcurrant and blackcurrants

Daft redcurrant already has berries on it!

They look so tiny now!

Am absolutely exhausted now, but feel like I'm making good progress :)