first strawberries

quick photo update, loads of growth over last week but that means weeds too! try to tackle that today, but look at my first strawberry, and very good it was too!!!!!

Sorry for delay in updating but i was having trouble uploading photos for a while. Anyway, quick note to show you the dwarf french beans, the strawberries which are doing really well, the climbing french bean 'isabel' , and rows of swede and brocolli 'marathon'. Elsewhere the pumpkins Big Max are in, potatoes are coming through, the runner bean 'celebration' are climbing fast, and chard beetroot and pea's look healthy. Overall quite pleased with the plot this year.

the update.

I managed to get some good and long overdue work done today, i had been picking up bits of wood for a while now but never got round to making a compost bin. Well today i rectified that, starting with some left over fence posts from when my neighbour replaced them, the boards are from someones attic which were left in a lane on the way o the allotment last year. The last post was part of an old wooden double bed of ours which we had thrown away, i doubled two struts together, then set about fitting the boards. The 'door' is a thin piece of wood i picked up which i fitted between another part of the bed that i used as batons. Next time i will add a few more boards to increase the height of the bin and empty my black plastic bin into the new one, as i haven't turned it in ages, the bottom half should be good compost ready to spread.



I have also over the last 2 weeks put in the garlic i started in pots, planted some lettuce, and got in the other 2nd early potatoes 'catriona' (i think thats what they were called). I weeded, sowed carrots, and at the greenhouse the beans runner and french dwarf are all coming up well. The kale germinated then died, but the swede, swiss chard and beetroot have all come on well.

update soon

9/4/10

Following my night shifts and a couple hours sleep i got down to the allotment and started by putting in the rest of the onions in, so in total there is 2 rows each of Sturon, Hytech F1 and Hyred F1.
I then put in half a row of Mange Tout pea 'Carouby de Mussance' and the other half with pea 'Kelvedon wonder' saved from last years crop. Alongside the first row of onions i put a short row of carrots 'Autumn King'.
The second row of potatoes went in a few days ago also, 'charlottle' the salad crop. I still have second earlies 'Catrion' and main crop Desiree to go in.

In the shed i sowed three trays, one with beetroot 'Bolthardy', swede 'Marion', and dwarf french beans, same variety as it is saved seed from last year (i forget the name!). I also sowed a few chilli 'scotch bonnet yellow'.

2/4/10

Saturday morning at the plot, and we got in the first row of potatoes 'Home guard' and 2 rows of Sturon onions.

starting.........now!

I finally got round to getting my seeds and started today with some sowing. I hadn't been to the plot for 2 weeks due to weather and stuff, last time i managed alot of tidying and digging with my son, and i need to soon plant the spuds. They are nicely chitting in the shed, along with the onions waiting to go in.
So today i sowed in pots some swiss chard 'galaxy' , kale 'dwarf green curled' and put in 20 cloves of garlic 'white' which i have never started in pots before but was reading is possible for those times when your unable to get out into the ground straight away.
I'm also going to use the rotovator that been sitting in my shed for a few years, as i am happy i have removed enough weed for it not to be a huge shredding and spreading fest! You'll never get rid of every weed, but i'm going to risk it for some areas this year to aid the potato planting and other root veg.

sun 28th feb

The kids and myself went to see the allotment just to see what state it was in, just to remind myself of the work i need to do over the next month to get it up to speed. In the end it was quite mild with the sun shinning and the kids seemed happy digging for worms so i managed to start digging in the green manure at the top of the plot.
At the bottom end of the plot it looks a little untidy but i dont think it will be too much work. The swiss chard, celery and parsnips roots still in the ground need removing, a little weeding.
I also went with my son to the garden center and picked up my seed potatoes and onions, i'll list varieties soon.