Wedding Anniversary

 Daughters treated us to a mini break for our wedding anniversary so no allotment until Sunday

Dad I've Got Your Compost Material !

Dropped off Emma at work and continued on to the allotment, got a telephone call from Emma? It appears she picked up my carrier bag of vegetable matter from the kitchen destined for the compost bin when she picked up the stuff she was taking into work

"No love don't bring it home just put it in a bin" 
So  light rain, water the covered plants and find the two camping fold out chairs to take away with us on our mini break. Harvested a medium sized marrow to find a larger one behind it.

Gave the large one to John the security guard / caretaker of the land they are about to develop and he is the guy that let me have all of the plastic I used to form my beds and longitudinal rails on my hoop tunnels.

Harvested some more beetroot - nice tennis ball size and a cucumber for my sister-in-law

Used the shears to chop up all the vegetable matter that I have added to the top of the compost bin recently

The comfrey is exploding again so I have trimmed it back along the path, chopped it up and added the contents to the compost bin with.

Rob on plot 3 was there in the rain trying to reduce his weeds bless him - he is having a go been there done that bit - really would not want to do that again.

Brussel Sprout Hoop Cage

Friday 22nd August 2014 - Watering Visit
Sunday 24th August 2014 - Really bad night so a late start today with the main objective of extending the height of the hoops on bed 12 - Sprouts. The tenant on plot 3 turned up today and has started clearing which is really good to see plus he appear to be is a nice chap, palmed off courgette and marrow on him, like other plot holders did on me when I first started 

HUGE Marrow taken home, and harvested more spring onions, I gave the Marrow to the lady who lives around the corner who works for the Salvation Army she is happy to take and distribute any excess produce

Composting

A busy day - Hoop Iron Survey in the morning, with one of the worst cases I have seen in a while, and two Party Wall schedule of Condition surveys in the afternoon. late afternoon early evening a visit to the allotment to water the plants under cover.

Took a sack of cut up outer leafs from all the corns harvested yesterday and now my compost bin is full. So I need to do some sorting out as there is going to be mile of runner beans, marrows and courgettes foliage to be added in a month or so.

I have heard from the council that they are still in discussion with the current tenants of plot 3 - Christ knows why as he has only been once in a year. He cleared an area about 2m x 1m and has never visited again. Against advice from the council one of the other tenant cut all the tops off the 4ft high weeds in the hope of stopping the seed from spreading onto all the surrounding plots.

The stupid thing is if he actually turned up those around him would have assisted him in cutting all the weeds back.

Harvested yet another bowl of tomatoes and from the looks of it there are two cucumbers that are nearly ready to harvest, just hoping the squirrels don't notice them. Thinking back it could have been them and not Basil that had a go at my nice red beefsteak tomato.

Noticed more marrows and courgettes that are ready for harvesting, trouble is I'm running out of people to palm them off on. Note to self - definitely only one of each plant next year - every time I visit they are gradually expanding their empire, despite keep pushing them back.

My old car is in for it's MOT tomorrow, if too much needs doing to her it will be her death as the cam shaft is on the way out and she sounds more like an old taxi every day.

Sammy Squirrel & Sweet Corn

No visit Sunday Watering visit Monday. Today  a visit to harvest sweet corn of the evening meal and to water and what do I find?

Looks like Sammy Squirrel has been nibbling stripping corn insitu - the fence to keep out Basil Brush is obviously an ideal platform to stand on whist you strip all of Kelly's sweet corn if you are a squirrel - all down one side have gone and he had started on the other side only the stuff in the middle was not touched at all.

So I harvested the lot, and I will freeze what we don't eat tonight

A Quick Drop Off Visit

Late afternoon visit to drop off some topsoil and compost to the allotment and water the greenhouse grow house and shed conservatory. Spotted another marrow and harvested some more beans and a cucumber which got dropped off to my sister on the way home.

A second cucumber came home with me. - When I got home I sprayed the tomatoes in the back garden with an aspirin solution. I don't want to loose them as they are supplying so many tomatoes, it's a good thing we eat so many.   

Friday 15th August 2014

Watering visit for greenhouse, grow house and shed conservatory. Tomatoes resisting blight and harvested many more red ones. also spring onions and another large carrier bag of runner beans. Jen does  every time I come back from the allotment as I always have something to bring back these days.

Put a notice on the notice board about the lack of parking spaces once the re development takes place to see how many fellow plot holder would be willing to work on making the overgrown rubbish area inside the entrance way into parking bays if I can get the council to go for funding for the skips and new fencing , weed membrane and road scalping's  that will be required, to form it.

Doh! Forgot to bring the spray back with me to spray the home tomatoes

Thursday 14th August 2014 - There will be no parking spaces

Visited the council offices to get the planning application for the development on the West boundary of the allotment after finding the application for the North elevation. It appears that there will be nowhere to park once these schemes start.

Wednesday 13th August 2014 - Kelly gets a mention

Superfast visit to pick up some more corn on the cobs for evening meal which is once again being created by Kelly who has bought me a plant label for the sweet corn on the site as she views all the corn as hers.

Also harvested another cucumber that I had not seen before and the two on the top of the trellis are fattening up nicely.

I gave John the building site caretaker who let me have all the plastic from the old window companies site a couple of courgettes and some runner beans

The reason Kelly is bold and in blue is because she keeps nagging me that she wants to be mentioned on my diary / allotment blog - I told her when you do something in connection with the allotment I will

Tuesday 12th August 2014

Dropped off the wife at her sisters and went to the allotment to spray the tomatoes with a solution of Aspirin. Here is why http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2625661/Problems-growing-tomatoes-Feed-ASPIRIN-say-scientists-fight-disease-boost-yield.html

Took a tray of spring onions and beetroot down to the greenhouse on the plot

I have removed two plants that are looking like they are beyond help and I have harvested as many red tomatoes as possible, the sprayed the plants and let them dry 3 times this morning. Mick has been hit and has just binned his plants, Edita has a few showing signs but she is using nettle tea as a spray as she is organic and cutting back infected members but it looks like tomato blight is on the allotment

Happily no indications of problems at home but I will spray the toms at home as well.

Dug all the potatoes out of bed 8 and ended up with two sack loads to take home.

Harvested some beetroots and yet two more courgettes

The marrow is making headway along the plot and now extends either side of the composting bins and I have cut the ends off. there are at least 3 small marrows on the inner arm. The remind me of the War of the Words Martian Red Weed 

All in all about two and a half hours of hard work and then the clouds came over and it was time to make my way home via they Wyevale / Garden Centre to look at how many seed they have left in the 50% Summer Sale and what may be left over in the 50p sale at the end of the month.

I was shocked there are only two rows / 4 sides of seeds and a lot of empty spaces - there is not going to be a lot for the 50p sale in the Lower Morden lane branch so looks like it will be a trip to the Purley Way branch at the end of the month.

Monday 11th August 2014

Popped down to the allotment to check on things and to give the tomatoes a spray of aspirin, which didn't happen. As I got there the heavens opened that their was thunder and lightning.

between downpours I did manage to harvest more red toms, and water the grow house, green house and shed conservatory/ cold frame. The high winds has blow over most of the corn but the fencing put up around to keep out Basil and his mates has saved a lot of the corn from breaking and thus a swift harvest of those corn with the worst damaged stems was performed and we are eating them tonight.

My youngest daughter Kelly is cooking the corn off as she is tonight's cook of the mess and according to her all corns grown on the allotment are her property !

Saturday 9th August 2014

Watering visit and harvest consisting of tomatoes, runner beans, courgettes and a mammoth marrow. Shut the greenhouse door as the end of Bertha going to hit tomorrow. Tidy the back garden and re pot the hydrangeas into their new pots, cut the grass  

    

Thursday 7th August 2014

Quick lunch time visit to water the greenhouse,  growhouse and shed conservatory produce. Also harvested a whole load of beans that were not ready last Sunday and two more courgettes and a large container of tomatoes - There are four nice orange beefsteak toms on there way to red, lets just hope Mr Fox goes back to the tom he has already nibbled. 

Planted out another row of spring onions, moved the slug beer trap   

Tuesday 5th August 2014 - Extended lunch time visit

That *&&*^%$$££"! Fox has been at it again and has dug the soil out from one of the trees I planted on Sunday no doubt it's the fertiliser in the bottom of the bucket he is after. He left paper and someone's sprinkler by the tree as well.

First Job - weed membrane and wash the slate chippings off and cover the soil. I have put in a small coke bottle with the end cut off and I'm using another as a plug so I can water down into the soil and below the slate chippings which hopefully will put Basil off and keep the moisture in the bucket.

Weeded Beds 1 and 2 - discovered lost onions in Bed 2 then planted out two rows of spring onions. slug trap with a 1/3 of a can of beer in (the other 2/3 went into me)

Having a weed free bed really make me feel good.... If anyone had said that to me two years ago I would have said they were mad 

 

  

 Harvested some carrots whilst weeding under the portable hoop enclosure on Bed 1

 

 

Weed free beetroots in Bed 1

Onion Drying Chair

Peppers in the Greenhouse

Monday 4th Aug 2014

Lunch time went to water the greenhouse and grow house items and picked another bag of runner beans, and another courgette, gave those to my neighbour he loves them. I spied a couple of small Marrows and a large one.

Comfrey feed for all the toms and the spring onions in the greenhouse today

harvested my first cucumber 

Sunday 3rd August 2014 -

Up early and on the allotment by 6:40 and worked until 12:45

Our lady gardener on plot 7 was already there as I was a little later than normal, in the morning a few more bodies arrived.

Cleared what was left of the foliage on beds 8, 9 & 10 Potatoes and Beautiful the Robin with his new red breast was all around me looking for grubs as I cleared - he still gets far to close for his own safety. Looking at him there is no way he is going to fit in the houses I bought yesterday.

Planted the cauliflowers in bed 14 and then went about installing the edging, weed membrane and digging the holes for the first two trees and wood chipping the backs of beds 13 & 14 and between 14 & 15A
 
Keith dropped off the staging for the greenhouse yesterday as he does not need it in his new greenhouse so I have some sorting to do for the moment one is in front of the greenhouse and the other is on bed 7 next to the peas.  I picked up some guttering and plastic soffit boards off freecycle for edging around beds 15A and 15B later this year when I clear the marrow and Courgette plants.

Basil has eaten the bottom of the nice beef steak tomato I was hoping to harvest    .

Harvested some tomatoes and a whole load of Beans    I love the way they hang off the minty frame and make spotting and picking them easier, I will definitely do that again next year.

Friday 1st August - Where is the summer going?

OK up early and then out to check a schedule of condition on a party wall job.  Got back late morning

Dropping of the wife to her sister and picking up 4 number 600x600mm paving slabs and 3 number 450x450mm paving slabs that she no longer needs and transported then to the allotment and had and extended lunch break.........   

I love being self employed and choosing when I want to work and when I want to play with mud. 

The 600x600mm are now in front of the greenhouse and the 450x450mm have finished off the patio area. Whilst down on the allotment, I have netted the mini-portable half bed sized hoop frame and planted bed 2 with two trays worth of beetroots in bed 2

Harvested all the red onions from bed 3
Harvested Tomatoes
Harvested 2 x courgettes
Noticed that I have marrows growing
Watered Greenhouse, Grow house and shed conservatory contents 

To Do List

01 Sort out trees and edge to plot
02 Complete woodchip paths around bed 14
03 Plant out Spring Onions
04 Clear foliage from potato beds 8,9 & 10
05 Plant cabbages in bed 14
06 Harvest 2nd early potatoes from bed 8