Flowers on the plot!

Welcome back to our allotment retreat. As the title suggests and the pictures show, the spuds have started to burst into flower, a sure sign that they are growing on well, and getting closer to the all important harvest time. We are lucky to have almost white flowers mixed in with the usual lilac and yellow , and as the next few weeks come and go, we hope to see even more flowers. Over the last couple of days I have doused the spuds with a hose ( borrowed from fellow plotholders - thank you ) and I think they have responded well. This morning it's raining lightly, and the rain is forecast for the weekend, so they should get plenty of the wet stuff now!

Our apple tree's continue to put on good growth, as this picture of our eater shows. The variety is "Elstar" - not one of the common ones that i know, but a necessary pollinator for our Bramley apple. I'm constantly worried that the apple tree roots might dry out, and with that in mind have recently been collecting buckets of stones / pebbles from around the plot and placing them around the base of the trunks as an aid to locking in the moisture. Guess we'll have to wait and see if it works!


Our Bramley Apple; as you can see, is fairing far better than the Elstar, and it looks like we'll be getting some first season fruits. Differing opinions tell you to sacrifice this first bearing of fruit whilst others tell you to leave well alone. We're opting for the latter course, and we'll see how we get on ! Of the other 2 tree's we planted, the Conference Pear is looking good - plenty of lush leaves but as yet no other signs of fruit. Too early perhaps? The Victoria Plum tree however, is not looking so healthy. Most of the leaves have died back for some reason, and we will be watching this closely to see what occurs. I'm convinced that moving all 4 tree's earlier in the year was not a good move, especially so soon after planting. It's a shame also that we moved the tree's to accomodate a fellow plotholders wishes, and she has not returned to her plot since. What a waste of time.

The runners / climbers that we planted as seed directly into the ground are now making headway. As mentioned in earlier posts, our early plantings were devastated by the winds so we are really pleased that these are growing so well. We have been watering these daily over the last week to help them on their way, and with a few ( or more ) showers forecast this weekend, the growth should continue. Only trouble we have now though, is trying to remember what we planted, and where ! Maybe we can just wait and see, and look forward to the surprise !!!



And finally, here's our young apprentice! Ruby is with us whenever possible on the plot. She really LOVES the plot, and can't wait to be in it, either at home or on the allotment. We are both looking forward to the time when we can dig up some produce - take it home - and cook it !
Not long now darling.

That's it for today's update. Hope you've enjoyed it, and we look forward to welcoming you back to our Allotment Retreat very soon.


Take care all, and enjoy your gardens & plots.


TTFN.

The Spuds are in - all of them!

Welcome back once again to Reads Allotment Retreat, our diary blog of our new allotment venture. It's been a busy couple of days at the plot, but a lot has been accomplished. Neil (pic) popped up to the plot with me today to help plant the second spud bed. It would have been a mammoth task on my own, and would have taken a lot longer without his help. The bed was rotavated yesterday afternoon, having previously been dug over by my better half just a week ago, and I wanted to get the spuds in before too much weed growth took hold. The first to be planted today were the Maincrop (v.Cara) , of which there were about 40 tubers. They have been planted fairly closely - I'm prepared to get smaller spuds and more of them, than to go for less but bigger - if you see what i mean. As these will be in the ground the longest, it seemed a good idea to plant them in the end of the bed with the better soil. The soil at the other end has more weeds and less depth, though there is still an adequate depth for the second early crop:

Before planting the Second Earlies (v. Nadine), we covered the bed with a weed membrane, and pegged down as best we could with some pegs mum had bought me a wee while ago. These will hold this larger sheet of fabric (1.5M x 7M) firmly in place. Wind whistling across the site is a major headache not just for me, but for fellow plotholders too. Next we laid the 60 ish tubers out roughly where we were to plant them, before cutting a cross in the fabric and planting through this. The holes (with tubers in) were then lightly covered in general purpose compost before being thoroughly watered in. A lot of plotholders have asked me why I use this planting method. The simple answer is that the spuds dont need earthing up, and weed growth is severely restricted; if not, stopped, meaning that the spuds can grow without anything competing for the available moisture.

These are the pegs I used for securing the weed control membrane. They did a superb job and are really secure in the ground. I've put these on my shopping list now, as I could do with a few more packs. Does anyone know where I can buy some more ?




This might not be one of the best pictures you'll ever see here on the blog, but I just had to capture this shot of one of the First Earlies (v.Rocket) showing through the soil. Ok, it's only about half an inch tall now, but still a lovely sight to see! All I need to do now is stay vigilant in terms of watering. Spuds need good supplies of water early in their growth so that they can quickly defend against disease - scab being the main problem encountered with poor watering early in the growth. It's true though that most varieties nowadays are quite resistant to scab, but you never can be too careful.

And what update would be complete without a lovely picture of Bramley Apple blossom! I know, you've seen it before.
Now that the spuds are planted I truly believe we are getting somewhere. There's still a whole host of jobs that need doing, but I'm not going to list them here, as seeing them in Black & White might worry me a tad! In the next day or so, I'll post a further update on where we are with the seed planting at home, and there's plenty of activity there. Only today Jen planted a batch of Butternut Squash seeds, all I need to do now at the plot is make a bed to put them in. Ahhh, it's a good life!



Finally, if you're wondering how Ruby is, she is coping admirably well. For those that don't know, she fell of the bed Sunday morning and fractured her collarbone. Bless her cotton socks.

I hope you are getting on well with your gardens and plots, and that you will find a few minutes here and there to pop back to Reads Allotment Retreat.

Take care,

TTFN.

Busy Days

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat, our diary blog of our new allotment. As the title suggests, we've had some busy days in the last week, and are making great progress.
Sunday 12th -I popped up to the plot Sunday morning and purchased sufficient bamboo canes for out 2 rows of climber (about 40 in total), which at 32p each from the allotment shop is a considerable saving vs. what we would have to pay elsewhere i.e. Homebase and the like.
While I was there i booked the "lawnmower" for Monday, as the grass on the plot had not been cut since August last year! The hire from the society is 50p - for as long as it takes - and includes a full tank of juice. Not the best mowers in the world, but adequate for my needs! I also had a chance to talk to Alf about my new fruit trees. I had read that newly planted bare rooted trees should have their blossom removed in the first year to promote root growth. That seemed a bit harsh to me, and Alf's years of gardening confirmed my suspicions - that the majority of the blossom should be left intact, only removing any blossom that forms near the ground level. He also indicated that I should add plenty of GC compost around the base of the trees, to help hold in the moisture, as well as giving a good watering once a week to help the roots establish. Finally, due to an error on his part, he had ended up with 2 trays of shop bought Leek seedlings and he only needed 1, so i bought the other off him. Cheers Alf.

Monday 13th - Jen, Ruby, and I arrived at the plot around midday. We had a list of things to do - as long as a couple of arms! It was a glorious day, and being a Bank Holiday there was plenty of activity on the site. First job of the day was to collect my canes from the shop, and then get cracking with the lawnmower. Whilst I effed and blinded over the efficiency (or lack of) of the lawnmower, Jen (wifey) got on with planting up the rest of our first early potatoes. There were about 30 Rocket and 30 Maris Peer to go in. In the absence of any more free wood to construct a permanent bed, we elected to cover the rotavated bed with a weed membrane, before cutting planting holes and planting the seed potatoes through them.


After I had finished cutting the grass, I set about starting to put the bean canes up. No mean feat considering the beds are about 15' long each. My top tip for this job is to use cable ties. These are inexpensive and last better than string or twine. I find the latter gets nicked by the birds over the course of the growing season, thereby weakening the support structure. It's quicker to use ties too! While I got on with this, wifey finished the spuds planting then started on digging over the next spud bed. Ruby was not far away, and quickly joined a group of kids in kicking a football about.

This Rhubarb crown was planted last year and virtually forgotten about. Now it is putting on good growth at quite a rate.
I need to clear the grass around this crown, and allow a bit more moisture and air in. That's another one of those 5 minute jobs added to the list. I need to do a similar exercise around the Red and Black currant bushes (5 more mins) as well as cover the slats in the "pallet" compost bin (another 5 mins) - you get the picture !

This is our Bramley Apple tree, one of 3 varieties purchased from Aldi's that we recently planted. Each time we visit the plot there is a bit more growth, a bit more blossom. We are just glad that they survived being moved so soon after their initial planting; and whats more, appear to now be thriving. We don't expect a huge crop this year, though a few fruits to pick would be nice! Next year however, will hopefully be a bigger harvest ! The other trees planted at the time are: Elstar Apple (eater) and Conference Pear, and further down the plot a Victoria Plum.

Final job of the day was to find a home for this Primula which we were given. I know you cant eat them, but a splash of colour looks good!
We're off to the plot tomorrow , so we'll bring you another update soon. Pop back to see our progress. Hope you are all enjoying your gardens. Take care,


TTFN

Tree mendous !

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat, our new diary blog for our allotment. There's been no activity on site for the last month, mainly due to an all "time consuming" new shift pattern at work, which we are still trying to get used to. There's still been plenty going on at home though, and the spuds are chitting away merrily. Mum visited last weekend, and went home with half a dozen seed pots to plant up at home. Wifey and I managed a brisk couple of hours on the plot today, and we managed to plant our 4 new fruit trees that up until now have been in the frost free greenhouse. After purchasing 4x1.2Metre stakes from a local timber company for a mere £4.14 incl vat, we set off for the plot. The first Tree planted was a Victoria Plum - a Wedding Gift from Huw & Jane. This variety is self fertile and does not therefore need a companion tree for pollination. (This is bottom left in the pic). The next one in was a Conference Pear. This variety is Partially self fertile, and as such I was glad to see fellow plot-holders in the immediate vicinity have also planted the same variety(bottom right in pic). This was followed by a Bramley Apple, which requires a pollinator tree(top left in pic), in this case we chose an Elstar Apple(top right in pic). All of these tree's; once established, could theoretically grow in height to 25', so pruning will be essential to keep them at a manageable height.
Prior to planting the trees, i checked on the RHS site for advice on staking. There's not much you won't find on the RHS website, it's well worth a look when you have a few moments!

The latter 3 trees were purchased from Aldi, at the price of £4.18 each. I found this to be too much of a bargain to miss, and It'll be a long time I guess till I next see fruit trees at that price. The labelling on the individual packaging reads:

1. Conference Pear: Partly self fertile. Height is dependant on variety and pruning, and can vary from 6' to 30'. Picking time is Late September. Thrives in heavy soil. Yippee !A superb dessert pear of medium fruit. Juicy firm flesh. Easy to grow.
   
2. Bramley Apple: Requires Pollinator (Granny Smith, Elstar, Cox's Orange). Height is dependant on variety and pruning, and can vary from 6' to 25'. Picking time is October. Thrives in a sunny, well drained site. A heavy cropper of extra large fruit. Excellent flavour. The most popular culinary variety of vigorous habit. Keeps well.
3. Elstar Apple: Pollinator for Bramley Apple. Height is dependant on variety and pruning, and can vary from 5' to 25'. Picking time is October. Thrives in a sunny, well drained site. A medium dessert apple, which stores well. It is juicy and has outstanding flavour. A heavy cropper.

Plenty of information there to keep me going. I guess now we'll have to read up on pruning techniques!

There's sure to be loads more updates soon, and we look forward to your next visit.

Till then, enjoy your gardens.

TTFN