Sunday 29th June 2014

Up at 6:00 and on the allotment by 6:45. "Beautiful" has been around and with me all morning and tried to land on my shoulder then had second thoughts  . He is so tame I'm sure he would eat from my hand. I've warned him about humans (excluding the gardening ones) 

So Comfrey bed cut right back and the comfrey pipe filled such that the weight is sticking up out of the top of the pipe. The way it rots down it will not be like that for long. A good thickness in the compost bin. Plastic Tub filled and a weight applied and some scattered around some of the tomatoes.
Weeded bed 2 and cleared the pop bottle greenhouse off bed 3 dug out volunteers from last year that just keep coming and the weeds in and around the spring onions then erected a trellis for the cucumbers and planted them along it.







Sowed three rows of beetroots in front of the cucumbers.

Helped some of the beans find their bamboo and not their neighbours to climb and cut the head of the first runner bean to the end of it's bamboo - noticed ladybirds on the runner beans but very little sign of aphids at the moment.

Cleared the dying potato foliage from bed 7

Harvested two more flower buckets of early first early potatoes started off in the greenhouse and planted some more seed potatoes that have been given to me in the buckets - who knows if I get something off them it's a bonus.

Corn is now poking it's heads above the bread crates and getting taller every time I visit.

Cut and drilled some 1.2m lengths of plastic and reinforced the ends of the hoops against Basil and his mates who were down the far end of the allotment today.

Drawing Comfrey from the comfrey water butt and feeding the tomatoes and the cucumbers. the plastic container in front of the water butt is full of comfrey - that end of the allotment stinks a little especially when filling the watering can.

Came home at 12:45 ish and it's raining this afternoon - which is great for my allotment and will save me from watering the brother-in-laws for another couple of days

Captain Log Saturday 28-06-2014

Up and out at 5:30 and on planet allotment for 2 whole hours accompanied all over the plot by "Beautiful" one of the inhabitants who is extremely friendly but so far communication is all one way, however he appears to understand that I come in peace and mean him no harm.

• Canine occupants have knocked over 3 trees and two tomatoes in flower buckets 
• Planted the flower buckets in bed 4 to stop Basil Brush and his mates knocking the tomatoes over 
• Cut up comfrey and recharged the comfrey pipe 
• Harvested Spring Onions and Beetroots - trimmed and put cuttings in compost bin. 
• Weeded the onion bed 2 got half a tug worth
• Watered where required and picked up solids and washed fluid-ish solid fox poo off the patio area

Strange but the foliage on my potatoes appear to have grown something that looks like crab apples - darn camera not working so I couldn't get a photograph.

The early potatoes foliage is dying off but, it does not look like blackleg or blight I think it's just their time they went in on the 16th March so that's 15 weeks or 105 days ago. I may have to dug some up and take a look, the ones in the flower buckets that were in the greenhouse seem to be bucking up a little which I find strange.   

26th June 2014 - Beautiful the Robin

I was up at 5:00 and wide awake and thought, OK I didn't get to the allotment yesterday and had visions of sagging tomatoes so a swift visit was made to water.

My little Robin (now named "beautiful" as that's what I call him when I talk to him) was there and all round me. He gets so close I'm afraid I may accidently tread on him. I must get some fat balls for him.

Looking up as I was aware of motion over by plots 13 & 14, I spied Basil Brush and two of his mates bouncing up and down on the hoops and netting on Micks plot, and looking harder it appeared that one of the foxes was inside the enclosure. So I went over to let the little bugger out, but they all scarpered and I could see that Mick appeared to have lapped the netting and not cable tied it together...Big big mistake

They appear to have also had a go at bashed the ends of my two enclosures and two ends were loose but they had not managed to get in, thank god. They have already broken one sprout and one sweet corn.  Note to self .. sow a couple of spare sprouts. 

Andy on plot 12 had said that they had demolished one of his enclosures and flattened the plants inside. From the look of them they are young pups and would appear to have found a new game, like trampolines and getting into mischief at the same time. Beautiful creatures but a real pain in the rear end.

I did a little weeding between watering, as I travelled from hose to hose on my extended watering network. Keith is buying an x-hose for the allotment, OK it will not snag but you still have to drag it around plus it will need locking away when not used, as they are not cheap and would no doubt walk if not locked away. At least with the watering network I've built and the pop bottles in the ground I can water the whole allotment relatively quickly. 

It's great to see one runner bean has made it to the end of the cantilevering Bamboo frame, and about 3 more are on their way.

Home by 6:45 so I'm guessing I had just over an hour on the plot. I do love it down there, if I could I would be there all day every day, is that sad?     

Tuesday 24th June - Ladybird Hotel

Repeat performance of a two hour visit after dropping off the wife at her sisters to water and weed. Bed four is now clear of last years potatoes and has two tomato plants in the end by the path.

The sun was scorching hot and there is no way I was going to sort out the shading in the greenhouse, that's an early morning visit whilst it's in the shade. The ladybird/ bug hotel in a milk bottle I made last night is up and ini between the two frames of runner beans. I still need another 3 runner beans to complete the frame, however I now have 3 beans that are at the tops of the strings and making their way up the bamboo cantilevered frame.

I spied a ladybird eating aphids, which is a good sign - lets hope they keep the beans aphid free this year.

Basil Brush or/ and his wife had tried getting in the netting in beds 12 & 13 so I added more tent pegs. They had knocked over some onions and dug some more holes in some of the beds and the paths.

Bigger pop bottles added near the marrows and courgettes so I can water by leaving the hose in the pop bottle. The extensive network of hoses now let me water the plot faster and more efficiently as I can leave them running and just rotate around the plot moving the outlets.

At home I tried the compressed potting mix - added 3 litres of water stand back and 12 minutes later

Sowed two more trays of spring onions - job 14 done    

Link to the thread on the milk bottle ladybird hotel http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=115401.0;topicseen

Monday 23rd June 2014

The wife asked me to drop her off at her sisters mid morning because her mobility is no so good today after helping my sister and I cut her hedge down Saturday. She suggested I go onto the allotment to get the cabbages in as I keep complaining that they should be in the ground by now.

I also think she want's me to concentrate on getting the back garden into order which I was doing last Saturday until my darling sister phoned and asked me to fix her hedge trimmer as she had cut through the power lead again!. There are some women that should just not be let loose with anything electrical apart from a washing machine, hoover and iron 

So dropped off the wife and visited the allotment - cleared all debris mainly tarps, carpet and things for holding down like a pallet, blocks, soft bricks, lumps of timber etc. so I could actually kneel down to plant. Found the weed membrane I prepared earlier with the eight holes and found the bulb planter and went about planting after I had covered the hoops in net.

Last thing I wanted was cabbage white descending and laying. It was a good thing I did as there were
a few floating around together getting their wings over (or what ever cabbage whites do).

So an extended early lunch break and bed 13 is planted. Whilst doing this I also watered the tomatoes, beans, the compost bin, and just about everything else as it's so hot and dry. I have found some netting to go inside the greenhouse.

So here is what's left from my last list

01) Clear behind the shed and clear Bed 4 - Started
02) Prep Bed 4
04) Hoops and netting Bed 4
08) Pot on/ plant out Cucumbers
09) Install Kerb stones
10) Plant Trees in 30 litre buckets in the ground by kerb stones
11a) Cut off ends and paint posts with preservative.
11b) Take unused post from back garden to allotment
11c) Install Posts and wires for trees
13) Dig Bed 14
14) Sow more spring onions - ASAP
15) Sow More Beetroot - ASAP
19) Sow peas - Done now chitting and sowing more as poor germination rate
20) Fix shade netting inside the greenhouse

Sunday 22nd June 2014 - Attack Bed 13

An early start and I attacked bed 13 whilst it was in the shade. I had an audience for Mr & Mrs Basil Brush and they have been knocking onions over and generally be a pain in the rear end again not only on my plot but on other peoples.

I found the area where the guy before me stored all the stones he took out of his beds. And the bramble roots were a bugger to dig out, but with the pick axe and the fork I finally got the bed and the paths either side sorted. I also managed to get the hoops in place but need to take some more bamboo for the braces. So next visit the cabbages can finally get planted.

I managed to take the dog cage apart and tidy up the shed as I wanted to work in the shade. I did weed the runner beans and the spring onion bed and harvest some to take home. I really have to plant a greater quantity early and I will over winter in the greenhouses as those that survived the over wintering are a really nice size.

By 12:00 I'd had enough, it was too hot to carry on.

Friday 20th June 2014 - The man from the council commeth

Well my 9:30 appointment never returned my letter of appointment nor my telephone call so I went to the allotment to meet the man from the council and the fencing contractor. Not a new fence going in a couple of post and they are going and try and pull it back up where the fire brigade pushed it down to get access to the fire.

Herris fencing 12ft” away from the 9”ft high wall to create an exclusion zone is the answer along plot 2 and l loose a sliver of my comfrey bed, so I have squared off the blocks and transplanted one comfrey plant.

The Bleeding fox has knocked over two more sweet corn so I have straightened them up and surrounded with bamboo and the bottom of bread crates for the moment until I come up with a better idea.

My little robin has been on the table today again, watching me cut up comfrey.

There is a yellow flower on my marrow plant.

So 3 hours on the plot and that’s all I had to show for it apart from looking at the plots that received notices with the man from the council and the lady on plot 6 wanting to clear plot 3 before the seeds on the weeds start spreading all around.

Thursday 19th June 2014

Up early and down to work with a site inspection at 8:30 - home about 10:15 change and down on the allotment for a couple of hours. Managed to ....

• Get the greenhouse a little more tidy. 
• Water the plants and I noted that two runner beans are now 1.4m high and one is just at the point where it is coming out along the overhang of the minty type frame.
• Plotted on 5 peppers and placed on the top shelf in the greenhouse in a gravel tray of water as a moat against slugs.
• Plotted on 5 Tomato plants as they were falling over in their little pots they have out grown  
• Harvested two flower buckets of new potatoes. These were the early earlies, that were in the greenhouse.

Spoke to one of the lady plot holders about the council visiting tomorrow, she has received her improvement letter and she is working on clearing her plot, bless her really not her fault she has been in hospital and then lost her Mum. I just take the photographs, it's the council that send the letters. 

What people think is a baby robin came and sat on the table whilst I was harvesting the potatoes.

17th June 2014 - First Spring Onions

A really sunny hot day, I started work early and decided that I needed to visit the allotment to water as I didn't get to visit yesterday. I found that it was 104 degrees in the greenhouse and lots of plants in there dead or looking really in need of water and may recover.

I've lost some tomatoes that were in the greenhouse and need to sort out some shade before re-stocking, Toms outside have been knocked over by the foxes and they have taken out and killed one of the sweet corn, little darlings have also dug up loads of the woodchip looking for worms again. Not to mention having a poo on my paving slab path 

So two hours spent clearing up and watering, potting on one tomato that has grown too large for it's current pot and needs support. I have another half dozen that need attention, but ran out of time.  The allotment was very busy early afternoon and everyone was working hard and watering so the pressure was very low which made watering an even longer process. I'm glad I now have multi outlets as I can at least leave a hose watering one area whilst I deal with another when the pressure is high, I just need to get there before or after the busy times.

In the evening I potted on three tomatoes at home, again they have outgrown their pots and supports, and now they are in square flower buckets along the path with the others. I also watered Sids garden as he is away for a couple of days.

Below is a picture of my first bunch of spring onions from the allotment this year, and a bic biro for scale

Monday 16th June 2014 - Too Busy

Too busy with work with a meeting in London this afternoon for the allotment, but I have watered the space saver greenhouse at home. And I've moved the coldframe and its contents from the bottom of the garden to it's home on the new level hard standing up from the space saver.

I've started chitting some peas on kitchen towel, just encase the ones planted do not germinate, and blow me down if I can't see four little seeding's showing in the module tray when I went to clear/ dry off the top of the propagator. So I may have double the peas I thought I was going to have.

Tomatoes trimmed and more supports added the watered, There are still 3 to move up into square flower buckets but it's now 8:45 and getting cold and dark outside and quite frankly I've had enough for a night.

Sunday 15th June - Fathers Day

 It being Fathers day I didn't go to the allotment at 6:00 I waited for my daughter Emma to wake up (Kelly is in Devon with her mate Sara and Mr Broccoli) She did eventually surface at 9:15 so I could have got 3 hours in Doh!

Used the time to pot on 70 marigolds and sort out some of the planters they will eventually go into. I cleared the back of the garden where the mini poly tunnel / two shelf greenhouse stands so that the marigolds have somewhere to develop.

I have a 1/2 tray propagator with capillary matting, kitchen towel and parsnip seed at about 10mm centres which will hopefully chit and can be sown on, so far no action from the ones sown in loo rolls. The seeds don't last for more than a year so I may as well try everything I can to get something out of them so any other suggestions for starting them off would be appreciated.

I picked up two 1/3 size tray with propagator lids from the £1 shop and 3 packs of 10 Litres of compressed potting soil which comes in a pack 180mm x 180 x 25mm thick. you take off the label cut the top of the bag, add water and wait and it expands, see photo below...


It's got to be worth a try and if they are any good I will expect never to see them again in the £1 shop   

I noticed today that I have fruit on one of my outdoors tomatoes, which strikes me strange that they have fruited before the 100s and 1000s in the greenhouse. The mini plum tomatoes have all germinated and I'm now watching them grow and will move them on to their own pots as soon as they are ready. I know it's late but it's an experiment nothing more.

More spring onions are showing each day but at a very slow rate, I really must so more early next year, I may try over winter in the allotment greenhouse. 

Emma cooked a lovely fathers day roast dinner with all the trimmings and we sat down a watched my kind of film Loopers (Science fiction - time travel), the girls didn't understand it (as usual) and I had to explain (as usual)     

Early evening a swift visit to the allotment to install some small pop bottles with the ends cut off near to the marrows and courgettes and then I watered them and the rest of the plot. I'm getting some of the leafs on the potatoes going yellow and dying off, all the leafs on the greenhouse grown early earlies in buckets have lost their leaf or are well on the way. They are no on the woodchip along the boundary with plot 1 next to bed 12

    Bed 01 Beetroot

 

Bed 02 Spring Onions 

 

    Bed 03 Spring Onions
   

 

Bed 11 Sweet Corn

 

    Bed 12 Sprouts

The standing up cable ties on the sprouts are to make it uncomfortable for Mr fox to lay on the top of the netting which he has done on Andy's and caused a near collapse of the structure and a flattening of the plants. That also why you can see two additional longitudinal ties and bamboo bracing.  The chest high weed of plot 3 are in the background.

Saturday 14th June 2014

A visit this morning to water the dwindling contents of the allotment greenhouse and to plant two marrows and two courgettes after asking for help and guidance on the forum on how far apart and where best to plant them.

It appears I need squash for in between and around my sweet corn. I went and cleared the debris on bed 15A and 15B - all the dried up strawberries went into the composter and I put manure on the beds then covered them with cardboard which is held down with timber for the moment, weed membrane pegs will be used to keep in them in place so I can remove the timber and then a sprinkle of woodchip will go over the top next visit.

I had a little visitor whilst doing this ... I have no idea what he is but he is very trusting and came right up to me, I'm used to my local robin but I have not seen this little fellow before.

I forgot to say this particular area was like slug and snail city because of the pots and covering up and debris that was there and I did have a wee killing spree cutting up slugs etc. I feel bad killing these things but they eat my babies ..... I could never be a Buddhist

Thursday 12th June 2014

I was hoping to get a few hours during the day down on the allotment, but work needs to be done and I picked up two more jobs and one enquiry that may turn into a job in a few days, so I really can't complain.

So an evening visit to water the last few remaining plants in the greenhouse on the allotment - my thoughts about this greenhouse have changed somewhat, since I now have the space saver at home, and I can keep an eye on it morning and night by just wondering up the garden path. I now only have peppers and two tomato plants in the greenhouse on the allotment and I'm really thinking about taking out half of the staging and setting up behind the shed and then getting some of my later toms in and out of the rain and blight.

Everything on the allotment was dry and I was there for a good hour and a half watering, as the pressure was low and my neighbour with two plots sets up his hose and then * off and tends his other plot on the site. I really feel like disconnecting his hose watering and then re attaching rather than using the splitter I provided because he is always watering. 

I spent a little time helping runner beans up their strings, they got a comfrey feed as they are looing very pale green and not the usual deep green for some reason.

I stupidly left the protection off the strawberries which not only no longer exist for the ants to eat but the plants have been pulled out by birds or squirrels and quite frankly there are not a lot left. I may have to do something like my brother in law and get them off the ground next year, if I bother with them at all.

My missing 30L bucket with handles arrived and I took the buckets to site and dug a bucked sized hole at the end of the path ready to install one of the four trees that I Intend to train as espalier trees, as the sprinkler watered the beds. I'm hoping the 30L bucket will keep the tree roots restricted and prevent the tree from growing into a full blown tree.

I harvest some of the first early potatoes from one of the flower buckets - they are a reasonable size and no slug damage which is good, so I may harvest some more over the weekend to have with a nice salad. We have eaten the first batch of lettuce so note to self, grow more lettuce early on and then so some every two weeks next year.

I'm hoping to get all the infrastructure work on the allotment completed this year so that next year I can just concentrate on growing watering and harvesting, and with the space saver greenhouse in the back garden I should be able to get lots of early sowings and I will try to overwinter onions in the greenhouse. 

Wednesday 11th June 2014

Up early and finished up a job that needed to be sent via royal mail. My daughter is on a late shift so I dropped her off went to the post office then down to the allotment to water as I didn't get around to it last night.

Swept up the weeds that I had thrown on the path to die in the sun yesterday, need my tools to break up the dog cage to use for my cucumbers and peas. Two of the most chatty plot holders turned up one after the other, but I was on a swift get things done visit and didn't really want to be chatty and the time just got eaten up - Doh!

I found one strawberry that has not been got at and it tasted really sweet and lovely - next year a frame off the ground like my brother in law has made. Helped another couple of runner beans find the strings - gave them a good watering along with the tomatoes

I really need to clear behind the shed - hopefully tomorrow if lucky

Brought home my allotment seed box and sowed

  8 x Runner beans in loo rolls to fill the gap in the 2nd Frame - Job 05
24 x Module seed tray of Lincoln Peas - Job 19
16 x Parsnips in loo rolls as those sown in the ground have done nothing - Not listed Job

There are now 18 of the 30 vending machine cups that have beetroot seedlings showing
The 1/2 tray of mini plum tomatoes is germinating nicely, these were the seeds from TESCO bought tomatoes As if I need any more tomatoes but this is an experiment to see what we get.

Tuesday 10th June 2014

A long lunch break today - dropped off the wife- went to the doctors to pick up prescription then on to the allotment from 11 - 1:30 so 2.5 hours on my plot.

Weeded bed 1 and around the plot and filled a tug full of weeds

Planted out the beetroots from the greenhouse into bed 1

Watered the Toms in the grow house

Cleared the woodpile in the entrance to the store area and had a tidy up

Salad with sliced beef tonight and the lettuce (little Gems) came out of the garden - Radish brought home some given to our neighbour Sid and some for my sister-in-law 

Monday 9th June 2014

My daughter Kelly and her friend Sara are going on holiday for a week - It has not gone unnoticed that she will be away for fathers day  . Sara is taking Mr Broccoli from Ikea away with them!.
A strange girl but a perfect friend for my crazy daughter, they make a right pair 

I noticed yesterday that some of the baby beetroots sown on the 3rd June have already germinated (only 5 days that's amazing). So the propagator lids came off and now I'm watching for new signs of life on a daily basis. the seeding's are already leaning towards the front of the greenhouse so I've removed the trays from the shelf above so they get more direct sunlight. 

Immediate Jobs to do List (No particular order) UPDATE

01) Clear behind the shed and clear Bed 4
02) Prep Bed 4
03) Plant Cabbages
04) Hoops and netting Bed 4
05) Sow next wave of runner Beans
06) Plant out second wave of beetroots
07) Pot on Peppers
08) Pot on/ plant out Cucumbers
09) Install Kerb stones
10) Plant Trees in 30 litre buckets in the ground by kerb stones
11) Install Posts and wires for trees
12) Dig Bed 13
13) Dig Bed 14
14) Sow more spring onions - 14th June
15) Sow More Beetroot 14th June 
16) Plant out Marrows
17) Plant out Courgettes
18) Bring home and fix cheap £1 shop hose ends with furnox
19) Sow peas

late afternoon / early evening visit to water what remains in the greenhouse and pot on the last surviving tomato plants. I did water the allotment and the sun went in and it came over dark had I known it was going to rain I would not have bothered - Doh!

Peppers bought home to pot on and grow in the space saver

Changed the Allotment Reps report on the notice board removing all reference to the owner of plot 3's Christian name. Sent off photographs of all the plots to the Local Authority tonight. God I hope someone takes on Plot 3 who is actually going to clear the chest high weeds.

Sunday 8th June 2014

Up early and at the allotment for 6:30 - I managed to dig from bed 11 to the end of the plot and get the bed edging in then around 9:00 I went to the café and had coffee and a bacon sandwich, then back at it.

I've managed to clear the woodchips that had been stored where bed 13 is going (they went around bed 11 and some of bed 12, and another three wheel barrow loads from the pile at the entrance to the site and the paths around beds 11 & 12 are now complete. I managed to break the rake today, so my home one will have to come down the allotment and I will have to see what I can do about repairing the allotment rake.

I installed the hooped frame and planted my sprouts in using the weed membrane I cut up yesterday. I was in the process of putting the debris netting on when before I knew it, it was 1:00 and I had a quick round up of tools threw them in the shed and made my way home. The debris netting is not complete so a return visit is planned for the afternoon.

Well with one thing and another the return visit turned out to be between 6:00 - 7:30 and I managed to get the netting sealed up as tight as a drum and also sorted out the hose runs as my post above. I also watered all the allotment and some of the tomatoes in the grow house were looking a little sad so I gave then a good water. Looks like the sad tomato need a bigger pot 

So Jobs 12 and 13 on my list now done

Watering System

Severe Weather Warnings in place around the country - rain due here all day. I was up at 5:00 and on the allotment at just past 6:00 only to find that over half of my Plum Roma tomatoes in the greenhouse had been fried to a crisp, dried up and withered by the extreme heat and sun yesterday (Going into Wacky Races Mutley Mode) 

Well I watered everything in the greenhouse and the toms in the grow house which all appear to have grown at least 6" since the last time I saw them, one is even touching the top shelf of the grow house. 

On a positive note the beetroots are nearly big enough to plant out into the end of bed 1

You cage the strawberries from the squirrels and birds and the blooming ants are eating them!

It started to spit with rain - I wound the runner beans around the strings where they had not quite managed to get the hang of it themselves and I weeded bed 1 and bed 2 and filled a tug before calling it a day as the rain started to get heavier.

Midday a visit to the garden centre to see of they have any more large pots in the recycle pot bin - got a few medium size but not what I was looking for. The sun came out dried up the rain and the decking so cut off two 1.2 x 2.4m sheets of weed membrane and cut eight 100mm holes in 600mm centres for the sprouts and cabbage - The aim being to get them in tomorrow weather permitting. A visit to the 99p shop but they are out of slug pellets - Doh!

I did get two more hose ends for the planned extension to the watering system on the allotment, and I now have more hose to play with. Drawing below shows the pipe arrangement there are only 4 hoses off the main run down the allotment but this way I can service both runs of beds either side of the main central path.

Evening - Pot on four more 100's and 1000's tomatoes that were looking very sorry for themselves, let's just see how they do and if they recover - I do have 21 in the greenhouse now so if a couple fail it's not a big problem.

Also sowed

10 x Italian Kitchen Lettuce Cos
10 x Mini Iceberg Hearts - They failed to germinate last time so let see what happens this time
10 x Little Gen Lettuce  

Friday 6th June 2014

Busy with work and accounts and it was a really hot day, an inner voice kept telling me to visit the allotment and check things out but I didn't listen and I should have!.

In the evening at home, I potted on tomatoes from large pots into buckets and from vending machine cups into the newly released pots. There are now 18 nice little 100's and 1000's tomatoes in the bottom of the space saver greenhouse all in flower and ready to produce for me and members of the seed circle.

Thursday 5th June

It's been a strange day warm then cold, still the suddenly breezy overcast then sunny then back to overcast but I needed to go to the post office to serve some Party Wall Awards so on the way back Kelly and I went to B&Q and picked up two 125L sacks of Verve Multipurpose Compost.

Kelly and I dropped off the Verve to the allotment, and she wheel barrowed the Verve to the plot. Kelly then had a chat with Keith and Pauline who were on their plot, Paul and his significant other were there and so was the tenant of Plot 3 who is not happy that I used his first name only on a notice updating where the council are going to repair the fence. So in future if I refer to him here it will be as the tenant on No 3 Plot.

It not allotment protocol to use names I should be using plot numbers apparently!  For Christ sake get a life You always get one and on our allotment he is the one  Rant over 

I managed to water the plants in the greenhouse and get in 8 more runner beans in on frame2 so I need to start off another 6 - 8 (must count remaining strings) so that's job 03 completed on the list above

Also sowed another half tray of cauliflowers at home as the first lot did not germinate

Wednesday 4th June 2014

There was a break in the rain and the sun came out for a little while just after lunch so I took the opportunity to take the four bread trays down to the allotment and to water the plants in the greenhouse.

I also took down the Epsom salts and watered the potatoes with a solution. Looking close it looks more like slug and snail damage than anything else and I sprinkled some blue pellets of death.

Job 02) Put up strings on 2nd bean frame - from the list above Is now complete and the brambles that had started to grow again in the bean bed have been dug out and the soil turned over.  That also got a sprinkle of blue pellets of death.

The spring onions have had the soil built to blanch the bottoms and to assist in making them stand vertical.

It started to get dark and my hour was about up so I made my way home but noticed that the last pile of woodchip is now all over Bob's plot 3 as a mulch and to supress the weeds - who can blame him - But on a good news point the landscape gardener appears to have dropped off another supply / lorry load so I will top up my paths around bed 11 and 12 this weekend when I get the Brussels in.

Tuesday 3rd June 2014

Light rain this morning but Lunch time sowing as the sun has come out and I have a nice new greenhouse begging to be full of stuff growing so 2 x tray or 30 x vending machine cups of SUTTONS Speedyveg baby beetroots F1 Action picked up in last years 50p sale. The pack says should be ready in just 10 weeks, and it shows to Sow in June and July so I will start off another 30 in two weeks time for successional harvesting.

The temperature has gone up this afternoon 22 C outside and 36 C inside the greenhouse and that's whilst the tree is shading it so I expect higher temperatures later.

Picked up some Epsom Salts from the chemist on the way back from the doctors for the potatoes on the allotment as the bottom leafs are yellowing and they could need a pick up - so that and some comfrey is in order I think next visit or this weekend. I suspect the rain is or has washed a lot of the goodness out of the soil.

Monday 2nd June 2014

A lunch time visit to water the reducing plants in the greenhouse - the Tomatoes in the grow house and to get in the sulking red onions and the spring onions into bed 3.

Immediate Jobs to do List (No particular order)

01) Weed bed 1 and harvest some radish
02) Put up strings on 2nd bean frame
03) plant out runner beans
04) Sow next wave of runner Beans
05) Plant out second wave of beetroots
06) Sow 3rd wave of beetroots
07) Pot on Peppers
08) Pot on cucumbers
09) Install Kerb stones
10) Plant Trees in 30 litre buckets in the ground by kerb stones
11) Install Posts and wires for trees
12) Dig bed 12 and excavate hump and fill dip.
13) Plant out Sprouts and cover with hoop and nets
14) Sow more spring onions
15) Cut Shelves for Space Saver Greenhouse

I'm sure there is a whole lot more to do but that's what in the front of my mind

Picture below is the sulking red and Spring Onions the back row and a half then the next upright  half a row and the row in front are Ishikura Spring Onions

Sunday 1st June 2014

Up early and whilst the wife was still asleep I made a very quick visit to water the plants in the allotment greenhouse as I have a lot of clearing up to do in the back garden at home today. I can't be in two places at once and looking at the weeds in bed 1 and along the path I really need to get in some time down here.

The red spring onions although watered really don't look happy they are not standing up and I can't figure out why, next visit I think it's the ground and sh1t or bust for them (if they are still alive). I did manage to pull out some of the potatoes from bed 3 and give a fork over before I came home.

So home and a major blitz on trying to clear up the back garden. Shredded the branches from the apple tree that were stacked behind the brick BBQ. Sid next door has the shredding's for his front garden so disposal of the waste material is really easy and I don't need any more on the allotment. 

Sorted out the excess garden ornaments and I now have four bread trays ready for the allotment. I sawed off the up stands on the sides and these will join the others down on the allotment to become pea climbing frames.

Using the compost from last year I potted up the rest of the 100's and 1000's and moved out the others from the bottom of the greenhouse and I now have all 100's and 1000's in the bottom of the greenhouse. The cold frame was cleared of all trays and other items, then I potted on the poached egg plants into pots and they will stay in the cold frame until my next visit to the allotment.

Having now sorted out the external water tap and the super X-hose now working the traditional hose is going to the site so that my watering system can be extended. Instead of dragging a hose around the site and knocking over everything I shall end up with a hose at each set of four beds and one at the top of the site for the greenhouse, grow house and comfrey patch.

Another late night finishing about 9:00 and totally knackered but it's all coming together.


Now I must read the back of the pack and find out what I need to grow the cucumbers because they look as if they need to be moved up to a bigger pot or perhaps outside if they are they type that can go outside?

Saturday 31st May 2014

Early morning visit and get the sweet corn in the ground and the second bean bamboo frame erected ready for strings and planting out the second wave of beans which are to be 1/2 planted out and the other half sown. I had 3 more sweet corn than I needed so they have gone in the margin along the path at the end of the bed - waste not want not and all that.

The slugs and snails have already been bean bashing looking at the lower leafs and Micks grown in the ground have all been eaten all ready so it's going to be a tough year and I'm definitely starting everything I can off in the greenhouse first

Now home to jet wash the new level paving, erect the greenhouse then shred the cut branches from the tree up

Well after the jet washing it took nearly all day and most of the early evening to complete putting the space saver greenhouse together and then packing away the tools - but after decanting the plants from the cold frame into the greenhouse here is my Space saver greenhouse provided by the wife and kids for my birthday in early March

The timber base is to give it some weight to resist the high winds and to increase the width to make more stable, there are concrete kerb stones on the timber at the rear to weight it down and if necessary I can always add paving slabs inside.

With the additional bracing I bought its a very rigid structure. It holds 18 standard seed trays on the shelves and I have made sure that I can get gravel trays inside the timber frame so that I can water the tomatoes. This is where the seed circle 100's & 1000's are going to be isolated from the other tomatoes.