Freeeeezing!

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat. As you can see, we're bearing the brunt of the white stuff, and hence not venturing up to the plot until this lot clears. We did manage a brief outing to the plot on Wednesday this week, and were able to dig some Leeks as well as some Parsnips. I must add that both were delish, as well as a few small carrots that we managed to pull. Sadly there's been a lot of vandalism on the site recently, and a lot of plotholders sheds' have been broken into. My shed lock kept the buggers at bay, but they had a good go at the lock on my shed door, and the Hasp&Staple will need replacing. It really is soul destroying that this goes on, and short of posting Armed Guards, I cant see any ways of keeping the perpetrators at bay.

Anyhow, we hope you'll pop back soon for more updates from the plot.

Till then, take care and wrap up warm!

TTFN

Going like a ..... Rocket !

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat.
This picture that welcomes you is the aptly named Rocket seed potato that I showed a picture of just 9 days ago. All the spuds planted at the time are starting to show through the weed membrane and reach up to the sun. Out of all the planting holes in this first bed, only one spud has yet to show. Lets hope they all grow on well and provide us with a bumper crop of spuds. I've grown this variety at home before, and they taste wonderful.


I managed a good few hours at the plot yesterday, and managed to plant up all my climbing beans and peas. The latter were very delicate and sadly a couple got broken during planting. Hopefully they will recover in time to put on some good growth. All the plants had grown well at home in the loo roll inners, and the protruding roots were a great indication of well they like this growing medium. I really cant see the point in forking out for plastic root trainers, especially as the rolls are completely free!

We had our first crop of Purple Sprouting Broccoli from the plot yesterday - enough to grace the table and compliment the Roast Lamb. Ruby loved it, as we all did, and hopefully we'll get a good few harvests here. There's a couple more of the growing but as yet not ready to pick. If only they'd grow as fast as the weeds! Jen has planted some of these at Reads Retreat, the more the merrier ! What a truly great FIRST harvest from the plot!


Whilst I was there, the final job of the day was to plant a row of Parsnip (v.Hollow Crown). These too were started in loo roll inners, and are therefore really easy to plant. These crops spend a long time in the ground, so I'm planning a few rows here and there to act as edging around some of the plots. One of the things I still need to get sorted is some kind a barrier across the plot. The wind whistles across the site and is a bit of a worry.
Hopefully later today I can get a few more hours in and try and repair my shed. I've invested in a sturdy Hasp & Staple, and a half decent padlock, which will hopefully deter all but the ardent thief!


Thats about it for now, but drop back soon for more news from our lottie!!

Take care and enjoy your gardens and plots,

TTFN.

Seed sowing has begun....

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat. As you are all aware, I was not able to get to the plot today, so decided to make a start on the seed sowing. I've held out as long as I could, not wanting to start too early as in some previous years. Also, Ruby was very keen to help. After she had covered herself in fresh compost, we managed to also fill a couple of dozen toilet roll tubes too, before planting up our first batch of Parsnip (v.Hollow Crown). Somebody asked me recently why I stick to this variety, when there are so many to choose from. Its simple, these grow great and taste delicious. The runner beans in the pic wont be planted for a good couple of weeks yet, you never know how late the frosts will be! That's about it for now. Drop back soon for more updates.

Till then, enjoy your gardens / plots.

TTFN.

It's the end of the year as we know it! 31.12.08

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat, our guide to growing your own veg. As you are all aware, the current cold spell has temporarily halted progress on the plot, but that doesn't mean we have stopped shopping! Yesterday we picked up some more seeds to compliment our stock! I always save my own Runner Bean seeds, which can find their roots from my Grandads original stock , and this year is no exception. The only difference for next year is that we will be planting on a much larger scale! With that in mind, i purchased an extra pack to mix in with those that I have saved from previous crops. I chose the variety "Scarlet Emperor" as these always get good reviews from other growers. It's easy to spend a small fortune on seeds, but this pack of 40 were just a quid from Wilkinson's. That to me seems a very good price, and the quality from this High Street store is usually very good.
At the same time, i purchased a new pack of Parsnip seeds (v.Hollow Crown), as i keep reading that these seeds do not store well year to year. At 50p for 500 seeds, again it's hard to go wrong.

We are always keen to try something new, and this year we have decided to grow Climbing Peas. The variety "Victorian Colossal" were sourced/ordered from Victoriana Nurseries.
Victoriana is a place that I recently discovered in Challock, Kent, having previously scoured many of their adverts in the gardening press. Its the sort of place thats getting hard to find; A nursery where you can talk to knowledgable staff who know what they're talking about. They grow their own veg for their own use and also for seed sales. Their stock is vast and the prices seem very reasonable too. What really made a visit worthwhile for me though, is that when you walk into the place, it smells right! Know what I mean ? There's no annoying Cafe, Gift Shop etc, just veggies and trees and all the other stuff that you actually want. Pay them a visit if you can, I know you will enjoy it!

That's all for now. I'd like to thank all my readers / contributors both here and at Reads Retreat for their time this year, and wish you all a Happy & Prosperous New Year.

TTFN.