November Sunshine

Was a lovely day to be at the allotment today.  Went down for an hour or so with the boys and had a nice time.

Finished weeding the seed bed, and started digging another one over.  More to do but it was just nice to be down there after a couple of weeks of not making it.

The mild weather though does mean that my outside tomato plant is still producing a few tomato's, there are even some new flowers.  Although there are frosts forecast this week I think so that will probably kill it off.

Not much else really going on at the moment - as people know it's quite a quiet time.  Slowly getting the allotment sorted ready for next spring.  Looking forward to looking through seed catalogues soon!

Painting with the boys

Back down at the Allotment today to finish the shed off.  Took the boys and the father in-law as well. 

The boys enjoyed painting the shed green - will do another coat soon.  I put the window in (didn't smash it which I was impressed with) and also began sorting out the inside - hung the tools up etc.  Will need to buy a small gas stove to make some tea / coffee with and some shelving.

Also spent time sorting out the outside have flattened of the ground and need to buy some gravel and weed suppressor to finish it off.  Will look nice when it is done.  Will also get a few paving slabs to put on it for some pots etc.

So, that's prob it for half-term this year.  It has been a busy time at the allotment.  Have more to do so will hope for good weather at the weekends for the next few weeks.  Then it is seed buying and preparing for next years sowing.

Putting up the Shed

Today was the day I've been waiting for.  It was the day that I could finally get my birthday present up and (almost) being used. 

3 of us went down to the allotment to get the shed up - it was a 6x4 Shire shed.  Now I had hoped that it would go facing the allotment but unfortunately, the concrete base which was already down meant that it would have to be side on.  Which will be ok as I can put some water butts behind the shed and have an 'out of site' storage area to keep it looking tidy

The shed went up pretty easily really, after we had managed to get the hinges on the wrong way and had to take them off again!  Electric drills are great!  The shed itself was fine, although some of the wood needed a little sawing in order to fit it together properly.  The sides went up ok and fitted well and the roof was fine, although we added extra supports and screws to make sure that it all stayed together.  The two pics above showed where we got to by lunch time. 

 

 After lunch we put the felt on the roof, did all the finishing touches and made sure that it was all screwed into the wooden base.  When the power returns to my drill I will drill it into the concrete base.  The window pane still needs to be inserted and the shed needs some preserving paint to ensure that it survives.

All in all I am very happy with what it looks like.  There is more work to do around the shed - will want to get a lean-to / shelter on the front for a bit of shade and want to sort out the area next to the shed with some weed suppressing fabric, gravel and a few small paving slabs.  However, that is another day.  This evening I am going to bask in the success of the shed.  And look forward to using it and spending more time down at the allotment!  Bring on next year!

Wedding Anniversary Day

Well, my 7th wedding anniversary today which is good.  And I managed to spend a fair bit of it down at the allotment (after watching the rugby, going to church etc)

Had a good day digging today and tidying up again. Found more bindweed and picked another cabbage for this week.  And the pic opposite shows my last beetroot of the season - a fair size!  Think they may manage a fair bit of chutney.

Quite happy with how the allotment is looking at the moment - will get some pics this week.  So, half term begins with 2 days at the allotment.  Looking forward to the rest of the week now.

Half term jobs

It's a lovely day today.  And the allotment unfortunately was looking a little unloved - need more time and more effort I think to get it all done!

Was down for a couple of hours today - the picture on the left will give you an idea of what I was doing for most of the time!  I have tidied up one of corners and dug up about a tonne of bindweed and also one/two of teh smaller rose bushes.  (don't tell the wife).

Then moved things around as hopefully I will be putting up the shed this week.  Also dug up one of the beds (think onions will go there next year) and also picked the last of the beetroot.  Will either make some beetroot and potato soup or some beetroot and apple chutney with it.

Other jobs to do - weed the soft fruit area and net it properly, Put shed up!, dig over 3 beds, have fire...

Shed arrived today!

Yay!  My birthday shed has arrived today and is now in the garden waiting for half-term in order to put it up!  (Thanks John!)

Two pics of it lying down.  Will post a few pictures of the construction stage as well.

Went down to the allotment today as well and finished pruning / hacking the rose bushes.  Took a load to the tip less a few thorns which found my fingers.  Picked another cabbage for Sunday luch.  Am impressed with them so far this year.

Anyway - time to watch strictly. 

Beetroot as well.

Have also done some Beetroot chutney now.  The only change I made to the recipe below was to add some marrow as I had some spare.  Apart from that as below.  Made around 5 medium size jars.

 

The only trouble I find with Chutney is that the house smells!  Might need to make some bread t ocover that up!  

2lb raw beetroot shredded
1lb onions chopped
1 1/2lb cooking apples, peeled cored and chopped
1lb raisins
3 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
2lb granulated suger
2 pints malt vinegar
1 1/2 oz salt
Juice of 1 lemon

Just chuck it all in a large pan, heat slowly to disolve sugar and then bring to boil and simmer for about 2 hours until thick.  It will thicken as it cools too.

Apple Chutney...

Going to buy my shed today - looking forward to that.

Made some Apple Chutney today - here is the recipe

Ingredients

• 225g/8oz onions, chopped
• 900g/2lb apples, cored and chopped
• 110g/4oz sultanas, raisins or chopped dates
• 15g/½oz ground coriander
• 15g/½oz paprika
• 15g/½oz mixed spice
• 15g/½oz salt
• 340g/12oz granulated sugar
• 425ml/¾ pints malt vinegar

Preparation method

1. Put all the ingredients into a preserving pan. Slowly bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Simmer for 1½-2 hours, stirring from time to time to stop the chutney sticking to the pan.
3. When it is very thick and you can draw a wooden spoon across the base of the pan so that it leaves a channel behind it that does not immediately fill with liquid, the chutney is ready.
4. Turn into sterilised jars, seal and cool.
5. Store in a cool, dark cupboard for two to three months before eating

Smelling good at the moment!

Starting the winter tidy

Was down at the allotment yesterday - the 5 of us were there which was nice.  Jobs done:

• Dug up the last of the potatos - now need to bag them up and store them.
• Cut the grass around the greenhouse / shed area and added to compost.
• Picked all the runner beans from the first crop and dug up the plants for the compost
• Cleared the broad beans

I also made my first lot of Marrow and Ginger Jam (recipe here) which I think I missed it's setting point - tastes good but a little hard!  Today I used some of my blackberries to make the first blackberry and apple jam as well.

I will write an overview of the year later this month, but hopefully will get down a few times more this week.  It is beginning to become an obsession I think ;)

First Jam

Well, I have now stored my potato's (well some of them - more need digging up) and also blanched and frozen bags of runner beans.  I have also made my first jam of teh season. 

Plum and Apple Jam

About 3lb Plums
About 1lb Apples
About 4lb Sugar
A splash of water

Cooked plums and apples together in water for around 30/35 mins until soft.  Then added sugar.  Brought to boil for 5 mins and then into hot Jars.

It has set almost perfectly!  My best Jam yet.

Hopefully this weekend will be  finishing the main crop and planting some spinach for the winter.

Woops - been a while

Oh, I kinda forgot I had this blog.  Now it is September and I have missed June,July and August.  Oh dear.  Well, I can tell you which things have gone well this year, and also what hasn't worked.

Our Brassicas are great - Cabbage, Purple Sprouting and Sprouts all look good and the cabbage tastes excellent.  Had 2 so far and many more to come.

New potato's came and went, and now have almost harvested all the main crop for winter.  Need to dry them and clean them and store them now.  They all have done well, some are a little slug eaten but most are good.  Looking forward to eating those. 

The beans have also done well - the broad beans now finished and have got a fair tonne of runner beans.  Freezing them for the winter again.  Peas were not good, need to look at why.  Gt a few pods but really only enough for one meal.  Ummm...  More work.

Will try and get some photos up soon, am getting a shed ;) and putting that up and this autumn is mainly about tidying I think as there is a fair bit too do. 

Will post more next week, along with the jams and chutney recipes I am using.

A while since posting - but still been busy

It has been a while since I last posted, but I have been doing a few things down at the allotment

• Planted out runner beans and peas in new beds where I had rotavated.  Both had been grown from seed first (8th May)
• At same time planted another row of peas directly into the ground (8th May)
• Rows of beetroot, radish, spring onion and spinach (8th May)
• Cropped radishes (8th May)
• Planted Runner Beans directly in ground (14th May)
• Planted dwarf French beans (borletti) 2 rows, directly in ground (14th May)
• Planted two more rows of carrots
• Weeded onions

Still a lot of tidying to do and my courgette seedlings bit the dust.  Will try and draw out a plan soon as well...

Heading down tomorrow hopefully to do more weeding and sorting out - find space for cabbages, sprouts etc.

Aching Back...

Shoulders and back ache a little today, definitely a sign of hard work yesterday.  Today is Good Friday, and is traditionally the day potatoes are meant to be planted - well, you can't go against tradition can you!  The main crop was planted today - King Edwards.  Planted around 35 tubers, looking forward to seeing them grow and hopefully give us spuds throughout the winter.  That was it for planting today but a lot of tidying and sorting was also done.  Below are a few pics of progress so far.

Rotavating and all that

Well, I did it - took me 6 hours on the allotment today but I have rotavated 2 beds - thats it!  It would have been better if the soil was damper but you play the cards you're given.  I can now plant out the rest of my potatoes tomorrow and have space for all my seedlings.

Tired now though - will add photos tomorrow.

Back after a week away

Got back on Sunday from a lovely week camping with our new tent in the Isle of Wight, and spent time yesterday and this evening catching up at the allotment.

Have planted out both my broad beans (looked a little leggy after a bit too long in pots) and courgettes (with bottles as protective cloches) and we'll see how they will do.  Have also planted another double row of broad beans seeds in ground for a later crop.

Planted another row of carrots in the carrot and parsnip bed along with a row of spring onions to keep carrot fly away. Radishes I planted with parsnips are growing well.  Some Strawberries flowering and need to earth up early potatoes for more growth.  Also spent this evening tidying up the plot a bit, working out how best to make it look better - will put some photos up soon.

Yesterday also spent sometime in the back garden / yard.  Have done a fair amount of tidying and planting some salad and herbs, also some sunflower, sweat-peas and marigolds (my son liked the look of the seeds!!)

Some more seeds planted in pots.  First set of runner beans done, some more courgettes, squash (as last only 2 have sprouted) and some pumpkin seeds saved from last year.  Also some peas as still need to rotavate where they will go (ground still dry - need rain)

Thats about it really - onions have all sprouted well, and fruit canes and bushes looking good.  Need to use old tent poles and netting to protect them.  Will hopefully spend a fair bit of next few days down there, and will update with a plan and some photos soon.

Edited to add list of seeds sowed...

• 18 Runner Beans
• 10 Pumpkins
• 12 Courgette
• 12 Pea
• 6 Squash

Seeds a plenty...

A reasonably busy day today - had 3 under 5's with me and they loved the allotment and planting seeds etc.  Always good when kids don't mind getting dirty (we'll ignore when my middle child attacked my eldest with a rake....)

On Weds I managed to get down and plant my earlies and salad potatoes and also planted some parsnips (2 rows)  in sandy / compost enriched soil.  Added some radishes as a quick crop to mark the row.  I also put the cloches up to warm my seed bed - unfortunately the high winds on Thursday took them down again...

Today was a busy day.  I cleaned / tidied one corner and found enough bindweed to last a while - still more there I think.  Planted a couple of rows of main crop potato along with a trick I saw on Gardeners World - added some rocket to the top of the row - we'll see how that goes.  I also planted in the seed bed 2 rows of Purple Sprouting, 2 rows of cabbage, 2 rows of sprouts and 3 rows of leeks.  Seed bed now full!

Also put first spinach in gap in one of the potato beds.  A busy day.  Will probably go down tomorrow - try and get some free compost from the tip and add it to my new raised beds.

Rhubarb looking good - looking forward to first crop.

Planting seeds

As this is mainly meant to be a reminder for what I have done this year so that I don't continue to make the same mistakes, here is a list of seeds I have planted so far at home to plant out later (28/3/11)

• 12 x Broad Bean (with 12 more to go in later as well)
• 12 x courgette (more still to go)
• 12 x Red Cabbage
• 6 x butternut squash

Not really interesting, but hey.  Hoping to get down tomorrow night for spud planting!

First seeds in the ground!

Well, at the end of this weekend this is the stage I am up to:

• Onions all planted (160 or so)
• First carrots in the ground along with some early spring onions
• Strawberries weeded and new plants added (see below) - although some plants look dead I am hoping some tlc will keep them alive.
• New soft fruit bed dug and raspberries, gooseberries planted with a blackcurrant waiting to go in - still need to think of a way of netting, will prob use old tent poles
• Middle bed all dug over and  waiting for rotavating

Was a lovely day today, and the first T-Shirt day I have had down there for a while.  Still got a fair bit of tidying etc to do but we are getting there.  The best bit is that No 1 son (5 years old) loves it and spent around 3 hours with me today just digging and playing.  It also makes him eat more fruit and veg as when he grows and picks it he wants to eat it a well.  No 2 son also enjoys it (3) and No 3 (1 and a bit) doesn't have much option!

Now the evenings are lighter I will hopefully get down at least once each week.  Looking forward to the first rhubarb of the season - prob going to be the first crop this year.  

The big dig...

Well, almost 8 hours at the allotment today and got a lot done!!  Have almost fully dug over the middle large bed - ouch!  Now ready for rotavating / tilling next weekend.  Planted around 130 onions and some shallots.  Still have another 80 to go in tomorrow.  Anne spent some time weeding and sorting out the strawberry bed and we had our first picnic lunch with the 3 boys - a little chilly though.

I then went to B and Q to get a few more onions and some brackets for a raised bed.  When I came back the bloke next to us gave me 12 raspberry canes, 2 gooseberry bushes and a blackcurrant bush along with around 12 strawberry plants.  Soft fruit here we come!  So i dug over part of another bed and planted the raspberry canes today - with some compost to get them going.

Jobs still to do

• Plant some seeds!  Tonights job is to sort out what to plant. 
• Still need to tidy the chest shed
• Rotavate the beds (Will prob do next weekend)
• Tidy the roses bed - weed and mulch / put down some wood chip.
• Get some seeds (Radish, spring onion, Spinach and Early Carrot) out in the plot

1st evening of the year

Well today I managed, for the 1st time this year, to get down to the allotment in the evening after work.  I have forgotten how nice it is to spend an hour or so outside doing something after a stressful day at school.

I got a few jobs done, including having the bonfire - it has been a lovely few days and it was nice and dry.  While that was nicely burning I started to dig over the middle bed and got about a 6th of it done.  I also cut up some small diameter drain / waste pipe into 6 inch lengths.  We have had trouble growing carrots so I am going to try something different.  Put the pipe in the ground, fill the pipe with compost and then plant a few seeds.  Will let you know the results!

We have also purchased all our seeds so tomorrow nights job will be getting the first lot planted.  I have got one of those pot makers from newspaper thingy ma jigs so I am hoping to make most of my own pots and then plant them direct in the ground this year - again, will let you know the outcome...   Am hoping to get down to continue the big dig on Thursday evening, have a union meeting after work so it will be nice for the stress relief!

Another Sunday, another few hours at the allotment

 A productive day at the allotment, and some updated pictures to show the development.

Today I dug over all of the raised beds except the Strawberry bed - which still needs weeding - in preparation for planting out the potato's.  As you can see from this picture, there are now 6 beds - the 2 nearest the camera are the 2 I have recently added - they both need some compost / top soil and manure to finish them off.   So today as well as that I did a little tidying as well and will hopefully start planting some seeds this week - It is already middle of march and am a little late on that.

These are the 2 new seed beds I have created - 2/3 inches deep and filled with lovely compost / soil and soil improver they will hopefully produce good seedlings to plant on else where.  I am going to put some cloches over them to warm the soil and hopefully start a little early planting out. You can also see the new rhubarb which will hopefully do well!

This is the start of a new path - I got the slabs from a church and am now beginning to start laying them and having better paths.  This will hopefully stop weeds from being as much as a problem and also make it less muddy when it rains.  Should also start it looking better as well - One day I will win prizes!

And lastly today, we, or Anne, started to plant out the onions.  We got 3 small rows done before the little boy started yelling and it was time to go home.
Jobs to do:

1. Complete planting out of onions
2. dig over and rotavate middle bed - it is a mess
3. Buy and plant seeds for the coming year
4. Tidy the chest shed.
5. New gravel for the 'greenhouse base' to make it sit-able on and bring down chairs and move the sand pit for the boys

A good weekend digging

As the title says really!  This weekend we have dug the beds where the onions will go and added some soil improver - the soil is ok but a little clay and claggy.   Looking good for next Sunday when I hope to get the onions in.  Have also completed another raised bed and have a few more to do this year so hopefully should have at least 3 more done soon.

The seed beds have also been made and filled with compost, soil and soil improver.  Ready for the seeds to go in when the weather gets slightly warmer.  Next main job is to work out exactly what we will plant and where and get the seeds started off!  Looking forward to a bumper year this year...

Will try and get some photos up soon of the progress this year.

Beginning of new beds

Well, got down today after a week in Devon.  Have laid out where the new beds are  going to go, and hopefully tomorrow will go down and make them.  Then find some decent compost to put in as they will be our new seed beds.

Still battling with bind weed and did a little sorting out.  Potato's are now chitting nicely and next job is to get some onions in the ground.

Muddy and wet...

Went down today to finish tidying up and to actually put the new rhubarb plants in the ground, as I won't be able to visit for a few weeks.  Finished tidying up the mess from the greenhouse and have got a new plan - will share if it works!  The ground is similar to Glastonbury at the moment - my welly sinks about 4 inches into mud!

Anyway, I have got potato's to chit - and have managed to source some wood for a few raised beds.  Will make them over the next few weeks.

Off to shower and de-mud!

No more Greenhouse

Well, I got to the allotment today, with some Rhubarb plants and the intention to create a little area for the kids to play and for some pots to grow.  However, I found our greenhouse (an old plastic one) had been blown over by the wind and was now in many bits - not useable.  And all the 'junk' stored in the greenhouse was also spread across the allotment.  Great!

2 trips to the tip later it is now getting cleared, but think another visit may be in order tomorrow to finish tidying up. Then maybe I can start work on the kids area!  And then the raised beds.

It does mean though that I do not need to tidy / clean the greenhouse!

My Allotment

Right, I meant last year to keep an online blog of what I had done at the allotment each visit and managed to write around 3 posts.  This year I will be better!

Visited today for the 1st real time this year due to weather etc.  Managed to get some leeks, sprouts and some Jerusalem Artichokes.  The sprouts are all gone now but still a few leeks and artichokes left.

Also made a list of jobs to do before the spring.  If I get half of them done I'll be doing well.  They are

1. Create 4 new raised beds
2. Create and finish the space for the kids
3. Tidy up and clean greenhouse
4. Tidy up chest shed
5. Cut back brambles and destroy bind weed
6. Buy and chit potato's

Let's see what happens...