4 Hours later !

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat, where finally we've had a break in the weather allowing us a good 4 hours on the plot. There's always a host of jobs to do, and one that has needed my attention for a good while is cutting this bed out. Over the time we've had the plot, this area has become home to both Red & Black currant bushes, as well as the odd Primula and a Rosemary Bush. These had been planted in rough cut holes, and over time they have simply been swamped in the ever growing grass, and have struggled to put on growth. Well no more, it was hard graft but well worth the end result. The ground was well compacted, and full of horrible weeds. I took the easy way out for now - removing the top 4-6" of soil - but the bed will need a good weeding in the very near future.
While we were there, Jen (lovely wifey) managed to not only dig over and weed this bed, but also to plant a mixture of Turnip (v.Golden Ball), Beetroot (v.Boltardy), and Carrot (v......). This is the final "existing" bed to be planted up, and now we can begin to concentrate on maintenance. The onion beds are growing on well - as are the weeds - so this is next on the list.




For the last couple of weeks, we've been enjoying the over wintered onion crop (v. Senshyu), and we promised "Nana Pops" that we would pick some for her. Ably assisted by Ruby, we pulled a few to take to Nana's tomorrow. Ruby is really loving her time on the plot. Can't wait till she's a bit older and can do a bit more.




Finally - for now anyway - a pic of our Leeks. They're going great guns at the moment.

I'll expand this update as time permits, still lots to show you all, but I'm off to bed in a mo.

Enjoy the pics down the page. We'll be back soon.


TTFN.

Look what i got today !

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat, our diary blog for our new allotment. We went to the plot this afternoon, just to have a look and see how things are coming along. While we were there, we each picked an onion which Ruby is proudly displaying in the picture. These sets ( v. Senshyu) were planted last year and have overwintered well to produce these fine specimens, each approximately tennis ball sized. It's nice to be able to harvest these so early, bearing in mind that the onion sets we planted recently will not be ready for some time yet. Wifey reports they are lovely to cook with, indeed we had one tonight in our prawn curry. Yummy.
There's lots still to do at the plot, and now my shift pattern has changed again to something more sociable, we should be able to get a bit more done.

That's all for now, but pop back soon for more updates.

Take care all,

TTFN.

Crikey - Where has the time gone ?

Welcome back once again to Reads Allotment Retreat. Has it really been that long since I last posted an update ? I guess it has ! Its been a busy month, and there's loads to update you all on:You probably remember that I planted out all my climbing beans / peas etc on the 30th April, trying to get an early crop! Sadly the attempt failed, due mostly to the battering winds that sweep across the site, which demolished the young seedlings. Not giving up at the first hurdle, i set about acquiring some sheets of plywood (from a skip!) which i then erected both sides of the cane rows, in an effort to limit the damage from the winds. Next , I planted the seeds straight into the ground and waited for the appearance of new seedlings. As this picture shows (taken 29/5/09) we have been somewhat successful. As always, getting to the plot to tend the young plants is always an issue, especially when trying to juggle shift work and family life, but at last we are making progress, and with a concerted effort am now finding more time to get to the plot. After all, with summer upon us, this is when we need to be there! Just this morning i got to the plot, spent ten minutes watering, and was away. A quick visit but none the less , worthwhile.
Making good use of every available spot of land, we have adapted the top of the compost bins, one of which is now home to our Squash plants. We've planted a few varieties, and as its our first attempt at growing them, would be happy if we got just one fruit for our efforts. Loads more would be good too, but like everything else, we'll have to wait and see! As usual, we've planted through holes in either black plastic sheeting or weed membrane fabric. This will help to warm the soil as well as prevent light from reaching the light hungry weeds.
A fair few of my regular readers have been asking how my spuds are getting on ? We planted our first earlies back on the 7th April, and our second earlies / maincrop went in about ten days later. The most common question was "do they grow through the holes ok ? " and the picture above shows that yes they do. Occasionally a side shoot veers off under the sheeting and has to be "Re - routed" but on the whole, they have been left to their own devices. In all, we planted approx 180 seeds, and about 160 of those are growing on strongly. I noted on my brief plot visit this morning, that both the first and second earlies are now starting to flower. A sure sign of good things to come. The other main question is "How long do they take to grow ? " . Well, how long's a piece of string ? ( Twice the distance from the middle to the end - ha ha ) . Growing time will always depend on a number of factors: Soil condition, watering, weeding, time in sun, etc etc. , so it's always hard to give an exact length of time. However, give or take a few days, the following acts as a rough guide to sowing / harvest :

• First Earlies - 70 - 80 days
• Second Earlies - 80 - 100 days
• Maincrop - 100 - 130 days.

I'll probably get lots of comments about this, but experience tells me that this is about the right time frame. Others will tell you to harvest at different times, i.e. when the flowers die off. Each to their own ? Simply the best way is to lift a plant gently and have a look!



We've successfully planted up a bed of leeks, as well as a single row of Parsnips, the latter of which should be lovely for Christmas dinner. We had hoped to get the raised beds in and constructed by now, but time and money has sped past us, and we are yet to get round to it. The Leeks will need earthing up later in the year, and we'll try to get the "construction" done at about the same time. Otherwise, we can just leave the bed to its own devices. Just the occasional weeding should suffice.
And finally ( for today anyway) here's a pic of our overwintered onions. A few of these have already graced the table at home, and there's plenty more where these came from !
Once again, I've run out of time, off now to make sandwiches and then to work.
I hope you've enjoyed this update, and we look forward to seeing you all again soon here at our allotment retreat.
Keep those comments and questions coming, and we'll get back to you soon.



Take care all, and enjoy your gardens.

TTFN

Weather halts digging! 07.12.08

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat - our new venture into growing our own on a larger scale.
How quickly the weather changes! All plans for today's foray with the fork and spade are now postponed until tomorrow. This is due to the fact that the ground temperature today of 1Deg C means its too cold and hard to dig. For your interest, I always use the Met Office forecast, as I find it is the most accurate. Of course, feel free to use whichever you want, but note that the Met Office forecasts are rarely wrong.
Despite this weekend's curtailed plans, I have made a couple of visits to the lottie this week:

On Monday this week, i managed to re secure my compost bin into place on the plot. I drove a few stakes into the ground, then screwed from inside the bin into the posts, which I'm hoping will now secure the bin in place should the "wind" decide that it wants to take it away again.
Furthermore, I have started to pile up a good layer of stones around the base, which will hopefully assist in keeping it in one place ! I am recovering so many stones from the prepared beds that i'm now thinking of using them to form the paths between the beds - it's got to be cheaper than anything else i could use! It'll take a while, but then, I'm not going anywhere!

On Tuesday there was a welcome first time visitor to the plot - Hi Mum !
Crikey, it was well cold, but with plenty of coats, we managed to keep the cold out! We didn't stop too long - just a fleeting glimpse for mum to see what we are doing. Reassuring then to see the compost bin still firmly rooted to the spot, as well as the brassica's showing good growth, and the over wintering onion sets starting to show through the surface. There's plenty of people who will happily "tell" you how to plant your onion sets, but I always put mine in a little deeper than most others - about 2" deep. This is a great way to stop the birds pecking them out. By the time the new growth is showing, the sets have already sent down their roots to hold them securely in the ground. Still get good crops !

On the home front, we recently cleared out the side passageway of the house. This area has a Plexiglas roof, which means the area is like an unheated greenhouse. I cant afford a greenhouse for the foreseeable future, so this will do me for now. I managed to acquire some kitchen base and wall units from work / friends, which now act as my staging.
As you can see here, the space is already being put to good use! I have started my Japanese onion sets (v. Senshyu) in 3" pots - about 50 of them, and they are all shooting well. I read this in one of my many reference books as a way of getting a head start. When the roots are protruding from the pots, I can transfer them to their growing position on the lottie, provided of course that the ground is workable enough. If you add this lot to the 50 or so Radar sets I've planted already, we have the makings (hopefully) of a good harvest. I'm also going to be growing some from seed (v. Bedfordshire Champion) and will hope to avoid a glut in supply. I've also planted a dozen or so Garlic bulbs (v. Fokyhama) from my store that i grew last year. I have not been able to yet buy a fresh supply as everywhere is selling out fast. Will have to keep looking.

Finally in the "Greenhouse", I have a couple of 4" pots with some Rosemary cuttings. Not sure how they will do - I'm not usually very good at propagating from cuttings. I took the cuttings as the new growth, cut horizontally below leaf bud then dipped in Rooting Powder, before placing 4 to each pot. On one pot, i snipped out the growth on the tip, but did not do this on the second pot. We'll have to wait and see how we get on ! If all 8 survive, I plan to plant these on the plot as a fragrant hedge - an idea stolen from a recent visit to the local farm shop!

That's about it for this week. I hope you have enjoyed this update, and I look forward to welcoming you back to Reads Allotment Retreat.

TTFN.

Soil is looking good ! 15.11.08

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat, our diary blog for our new allotment, where we plan to share our knowledge as we get growing.

Tomorrow morning I hope to spending some time on the plot at last. I've been absent for a fair while ; for a number of reasons, but hope to get some time in now. I popped up to the plot today to have a nose about, and was pleasantly surprised by what i found.
The soil that I had painstakingly weeded / turned over is now quite crumbly - a stark contrast to the clay boulders i left there a month ago! It's a long way off a "fine tilth" but easily ready for some planting. Just as well really as I have a dozen or so brassica's ready to go in. Hopefully this won't hurt my back too much. It'll be kinda nice to be planting something too. There's been a lot of activity on neighboring plots ( some of them new ) in my absence, but I still feel that mine looks right. I think there's a nice balance to the beds orientation and layout, and I am looking forward to really getting going next spring.

Back at home today, i planted up the remaining Senshyu onion sets, and started on a pack of Radar Sets. These set bulbs are much larger / look sturdier, so we'll see how they perform against each other. I'm also planning to grow Bedfordshire champion from seed, as they did really well at Reads Retreat this summer. There's still a lot of hard graft ahead, as well as some hard landscaping in the spring with the erection of the raised beds.

I hope you will come back soon, and see how we are progressing. Till then,

TTFN

Plot Preperations 13.11.08

Welcome back to our Allotment Retreat blog, our new guide to growing your own veg in Raised Beds, on a slightly larger scale!
Sorry there have been no updates for over a month - we've had a busy time of late, not least planning for our wedding which is now booked for 24.01.2009!
Add to that the fact that our home PC / internet connection has been unavailable for about six weeks, so it's been hard to keep in touch. Hopefully there will be a break in the weather this weekend, allowing me to get my hands dirty again. I dread to think of how well the weeds will have flourished in my absence, considering the heavy rain we had lately.
As you can see, I've got some F1 Cabbage (v.Greyhound) on the go at home, as well as some recently planted (into 3" pots ) some overwintering Senshyu Yellow onions, which are sprouting well. These will be planted out when strong roots are protruding through the base of the pots.

I've also invested in a new Rhubarb crown, which I hope to plant up this weekend. Then of course I can get my Garlic ready for planting.

Alongside all these home preparations, there's still a lot of hard graft ahead at the plot. I have decided to hold off on buying / building our raised beds, as we are saving hard for or wedding.

Hopefully there will be more regular updates to follow, and I hope to see you here again soon to share in our adventure. Take care till then!

TTFN