Spring & a new start to the growing season on the plot

Spring & a new start to the growing season on the plot

Yes, Spring has sprung in the NH (Northern Hemisphere) & we are making a new start to the growing season on the allotments! Have you been itching to get your hands dirty again? I know I have! But I have difficulty getting down to the plot I share with my friend, Gerry, from church.

At the end of of September 2015 he gave up his half plot to concentrate on his one whole plot. Two years before I’d also given up my half plot as I found I couldn’t manage it & Gerry’s 1 & 1/2 plots. He’d had a very serious operation & for more than a year he found it too much to spend more than a couple of hours a week on his plots. I’d also found my time was very much compromised with other activities – very often related to our grandchildren.

The last 6 months I’ve also had health problems & have had to make several visits to the local hospital for tests on my bladder. This is still ongoing & a satisfactory cure has still to be found.

In January it occurred to me I could plant out the onion sets I’d bought before Christmas in a seed tray in the greenhouse on Gerry’s allotment. Although I wouldn’t be able to plant them out for a few weeks I thought they would be able to make a start & gain a few weeks on the season. As it turned out they had to stay in the seedtray in the GH for much longer than I had thought at first!

I filled a seedtray/flat with compost to overflowing & filled the tray with the biggest of the sets:

They must have spent the better part of 3 months in the GH! The onion sets were really crying out for more space by the time I was able to finally plant them out!

I’d also sown a 2nd tray with the remaining onion sets – these were smaller than the first sowing but, even though they hadn’t grown nearly as much, I planted them out on the same day as the first sowing & the Garlics. It will be interesting to see if there is much difference between the plantings at harvest time.

Back in the autumn of 2015 I started to dig in some horse manure that Gerry manages to get hold of. I was only able to do half this bed before the rains started & I started with my waterworks problems. So I used this half bed for my Onions & Garlic.

The Garlic weren’t nearly as bad:

I planted out the Garlic cloves alongside the Onion sets. Even though it’s not easy to see they are on the left of the photo, alongside the piece of blue string:

At the same time as I sowed the Onion sets & the Garlic I also sowed a tray of Beetroot seeds. They say you shouldn’t disturb the roots of Beetroot & for that reason they are usually sown “in situ”. Yet I’ve never found much in the way of problems doing this. I’ve been doing it for the 7 years I’ve been working with Gerry on his allotment plots as well as the 2 years on my own plot. I’ve sown some directly in the soil each year but I can’t say the results have been all that good.

This year I bought a big packet of Beetroot seeds in a mixture. There are yellow beets as well as white & one with pink & white rings. There are also long ones & short ones so it will be fun later when it comes to picking them!

The half bed that didn’t get any manure I’ve filled with the Beetroot seedlings & two rows of seeds:

I got enough seedlings to fill two half rows along the length of half a bed. I know they are very difficult to see but I assure you they are there! (on the right):

I sowed quite a few seeds in the two rows on the left but they haven’t germinated just yet:

At the present moment that is all I’ve done on the allotment for this year. I know Gerry wants to sow his potatoes but he heard Monty Don on the BBC Gardening World programme advise people not to be too quick in sowing them as the soil is still quite cold, so he has put off sowing them for the time being.

I don’t have any potatoes to sow. I put in a few Strawberry plants in the bed in front of the shed under the apple tree but I don’t know how well they will do this year. I weeded them a bit the last time I was down on the plot but they probably need a bit more attention.

In the same bed there are lots of spring bulbs that are presently flowering:

In a few weeks’ time the bright red Tulips will also be flowering – as they do every year!

Well these bright spring flowers mark the end of this first blog of the year on the allotment. As there is only the one plot this year the updates will be less frequent, (do I hear a sigh of relief?), but I will write an occasional blog & show you our work & produce.

Happy gardening everyone!

Now we are nearly through June & harvesting has begun!

Now we are nearly through June & harvesting has begun!

I’ve already harvested the first Potatoes & Strawberries of the year this month, as well as Lettuces & Broadbeans!

I’ve been able to finish off the Lettuces ‘Little Gem’ planted in the greenhouse border as well as those that were left over from that planting at the end of February & were planted outside under a dwarf apple tree in front of the GH.

There are more to be harvested from my allotment, Plot 12A, I planted them between the two rows of bamboo canes that make up my bean frame. They will have been harvested long before the runner/green beans block out much of the light.

Lettuce ‘Little Gem’ inside bean frame:

Lettuce ‘Little Gem’ just harvested & cleaned up at home:

I also sowed some more seed of the same Lettuce, (May). I accidently had 2 packets of seeds as I thought the 1st had been lost & bought a 2nd. The 1st turned up on the GH bench, under a tray of seedlings! As each packet has 1,000s of seeds I won’t need to buy any more this summer!

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Talking about sowing seeds, I sowed some Beetroot ‘Detroit 2’, in the GH, in March, which I planted out on my plot in early May – at the same time as the Lettuces. I also sowed some Beetroot ‘Cylindra’, a few days ago, (June) in the narrow bed alongside the bean frame.

Beetroot ‘Cylindra’ just sown in bed No.3:

Never grown this type before, only the round ones. I’d added spent compost from my balcony in this bed to lighten up the soil while making it more water retaining. I’d sowed the seeds of Lettuce ‘Little Gem’ here a week or so earlier but there was still space to spare for some more seeds. This will be the first time I’ve grown cylindrical Beetroots as till now they have always been the round ones. I’ll report back on the results in a few month’s time.

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In the middle of March I planted out my early Potatoes ‘Rocket’ & ‘Pentland Javelin’ & repeated the same mistake as other years of planting them too close together!

1st Early Potatoes ‘Rocket‘ being sown:

The spacing between plants in the same row isn’t too bad but I plant the rows too close together resulting in a mess once the plants really get going as I can’t get to them properly to earth/hill them up! I put in 3 rows where I now realize I should have only put in two! A mistake I’ve made previous years! Perhaps I ought to put up a sign to remind me next year to only plant two rows of seed potatoes in each bed!

I’d “chitted” (sprouted) a bag of seed potatoes ‘Rocket’ which were planted out at the same time as ‘Pentland Javelin’ which were not “chitted”. In fact I bought them only the day before planting them out!

All the potatoes were sown in the same bed which I’d dug horse manure into a few days earlier. Potatoes being the only rootcrop that doesn’t mind growing in freshly manured ground.

Just 2 weeks ago (10th June) I dug up all the ‘Rocket’ potatoes, there was only one row of them almost the width of the allotment. I ended up with quite a decent crop as well.

Potatoes ‘Rocket’ after harvesting:

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I also sowed some Leeks ‘Musselbourgh’ & ‘Red’ Onion seeds (from my daughter) in Gerry’s GH, to go in my plot, during March. These germinated very well & have since been planted out on my allotment.

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During March I also lifted the Parsnips that had been in the ground all winter as well as lots of Leeks.

Parsnips just harvested, now in greenhouse:

I put them in the GH to dry off a little for a couple of days. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Leeks Musselbourgh just lifted:

I was very pleased with the amount of Leeks I got this winter. I harvested them every couple of weeks.
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Near the end of March I planted up a bed of Onion sets ‘Stuttgarter’ as well as a row of Garlic cloves.

Onion sets ‘Stuttgarter’ just sown:

A month before I’d planted out some Onion sets ‘Setton’:

Garlic cloves just sown:

I planted out a bed of these same Onion sets in Gerry’s 1/2 allotment.
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In early May I sowed a 2nd packet of Broadbeans as the 1st packet sown in February gave me only 3 plants – one of which I hoed away! They are called ‘Sutton’ & are a dwarf variety. Most of these seem to have germinated & are now making nice plants.

Broad beans ‘Sutton’ just germinating:

The 2 plants from the earlier sowing are flowering. This week I’ve picked some of the pods.
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May was a very busy month for me because I also planted out lots of Runner bean seeds on the bean frame, most of these were mixed seeds from last year. Some were black seeds, some speckled, some white & also a packet of ‘Scarlet Emperor’ I’d bought.

Runner bean seeds saved from 2013:

Runner beans germinating:

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Beetroot ‘Detroit 2’ seedlings inside bean frame:

Beetroot ‘Detroit 2’ in Bed No.4 (bean frame):

What a difference 14 days make!

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During May I also planted out 2 beds of Tomato plants; one, ‘Gardener’s Delight’ (a particular favourite of mine!), the other, ‘Sunstream’, a small, plum shaped fruit whose seeds I’d saved from some tomatoes my wife bought during the winter. I liked the taste of them & saved some seeds. These germinated very well in the GH, as did the others.

Tomatoes ‘Gardener’s Delight’ just planted out:

Tomato ‘Sunstream’ just planted out:

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On my plot I also sowed some Carrot ‘Purple Haze’ seed from my daughter. Never grown purple carrots before!:

I also sowed a few Sunflower seeds she gave me as well. These are in the middle of the narrow bed alongside the beanframe.

I didn’t know when I sowed the Sunflowers that they were a dwarf type! Now they are shading out the Purple Haze Carrot seedlings!

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At the far end of this bed I planted out the pots of Pansies, Daffs & Crocuses that had been growing on our balcony railings. The Pansies are doing very well & have flowered a lot. They add a welcome note of colour!

Just this week a light pink Hyacinth has begun to flower!!! I’ve never, ever heard of a Hyacinth flowering in the middle of June before!!!

Well that just about resumes what I’ve done on my allotment, Plot 12A, over the last few months!

Be back next month with more news on Gerry’s plots!

Lettuce ‘Winter Gem’ sown today

 

Lettuce ‘Winter Gem’ sown today

Today I sowed the seeds of Lettuce ‘Winter Gem’ that I got a couple of weeks ago in a swap. I sowed them in a big pot in the greenhouse down on Gerry’s allotment.

Lettuce ‘Winter Gem’ just sown:

I’ve grown Lettuces out on the plot over the winter but not in the greenhouse. Though at the end of the winter 2013 I did sow some in a seedtray in the greenhouse …

Lettuce ‘Little Gem’ with true leaves:

Here are a couple of photos for the Lettuces ‘Little Gem’ that I grew in the GH border during April & May 2013:

I also grew some from the same tray in the bed just in front of the GH door. I’ve put some photos in so you can see them as well:

The GH is unheated (even some glass is missing!) so I was interested to see just how much difference it would make to the them. With regards to the temperature there would be very little difference, maybe a trifle warmer in the GH on any days with a little sunshine but as we had a cold, wet spring this year temperature can be ruled out. But we did however have a lot of rain & cold winds. There the difference was notable.

The ones growing in the GH were protected from wind & rain & therefore the leaves were thinner & not quite such a dark green …

‘Little Gem’ in greenhouse border 13th May 2013:

… as the ones growing outside & having to face up to the inclement weather:

‘Little Gem’ near greenhouse 13th May 2013:

Carrots & Onions 2011

Carrots & Onions 2011

Although I didn’t get much carrot fly I can’t tell if the onions made any difference. I sowed 5 rows of carrot seeds amongst the onions only they took a l-o-n-g time to germinate! When they did they didn’t do very well!

Onions harvested but the carrot seedlings (sown in situ) can be seen behind them after I lifted the onions.

As Gerry told me last year he had never been able to grow them on his plots I thought I would have a go (Something that can’t be grown is like a red rag to a bull for me! I’ve just got to try to grow it myself!)

Carrots sown amongst Onions:

Onions from seed Alisa Craig:

Carrot seedlings in greenhouse

As they were taking so long to germinate I sowed some in a seedtray in the GH. They germinated quite well but by this time so had the ones amongst the onions!

This is from the day I planted out the seedlings that had been growing in the GH:

I pulled up the onions & managed to leave most of the carrot seedlings in the ground. I then planted up the bed with the carrot seedlings from the GH:

Rather fiddly but most, if not all, the seedling survived & went on to grow very well:

A few weeks ago I pulled them all up & was very disappointed to see that most of the roots were very twisted! Almost all of them were badly forked:

Yet that bed (& almost the whole allotment for that matter) had not been manured – not this year nor last as we didn’t know where to get any. Gerry has since found a source & we have lots now. The soil may have been rather hard & not deep enough but even with the dry summer/autumn we had I watered them quite frequently.

Next year I shall prepare the soil better, making sure it’s well broken up & loose.