Tuesday 8 June 2021

Cuckoo

Yesterday was my last day of freedom - back to work today (it's too early for work at the moment, if you're wondering!!), still full-time from home so that’s not so bad, but I have so enjoyed the last week that I’m sorry it’s over already. Morning and afternoon visits to a warm, often sunny plot - perfect.
Chive Flower Vinegar
Pink, flavoured vinegar in-progress

The weather for the last two days was very warm, but not too much sunshine which (I hate to say) was a good thing otherwise we wouldn’t have achieved as much as we wanted. Like (drumroll please) my 10 squashes are planted. 

Squashes
They’re being protected under netting, with slug pellets, until they get established, they look so vulnerable at the moment! The cut-off plastic bottles are for ease of watering when the tunnel has become a jungle (fingers crossed).

Squash tunnel

Regular visitors may remember that I bought celeriac plants because my seedlings were stuck at the ‘cress’ stage for so long. Well, I'm glad we didn't consign them to the compost as they eventually grew and so I made a trench for them on Plot3.

Celeriac

Neal gave us some Early Bird sweetcorn plants so Jamie dug the area on Plot3 where the manure pile was - clearing the many weeds and tree roots and they're protected by bottle cloches for the timebeing. I intend to try some Glass Gem sweetcorn (again) on Plot7 - I'm going to sow them direct one day this week, well that's the plan.

Sweetcorn

Plot3 is really looking like a worked-plot now!

Plot3 Marsh Lane
But Plot 7 (and 8) will always be the favourites because they were our first. The polytunnel has been re-stocked with the following sown into modules or pots yesterday:
  • Borlotto Firetongue (dwarf beans)
  • Gaia (dwarf soya beans)
  • Speedy (dwarf french beans)
  • Gigantes (Greek runner beans)
  • Purple Sprouting broccoli - these have been brought home under the grow light
  • Moreton's Secret mix - "very mixed lettuces" from RealSeeds. I've sowed these in a tray and put them under the enviromesh with the carrots. The polytunnel would be too hot for them

The Scarlet Empire and Borlotto runner beans have a bit more growing to do before we'll plant them outside. And look at that big strawberry. Jamie assures me that if we wait till today we'll have a handful to eat rather than just one...

Strawberry basket
The flowers are enjoying the sunshine as much as us.

Aquilegia
Aquilegia

Geum
Geum
The song title is an aide memoire, because I thought this was interesting but forgot to add to my earlier post. We've been hearing the cuckoo for weeks - it's somewhere over the marsh but the sound has been getting louder and closer over the last week.
Blackbird
Not a cuckoo
We commented that we'd never seen a cuckoo, but then last week the cuckoo and its mate were flying overhead across the allotment from North to South. The male was 'cuckoo-ing' all the way across and as it passed over you could see plotholders look up like some sort of mexican wave! It was quite a sight (and sound)! I'd certainly assumed that they only cuckoo when sitting and looking for a mate.
So here is Rising Appalachia to provide the song.

6 comments:

  1. Wow, you have been busy, it's looking amazing. How brilliant to have seen cuckoos as well, I've never spotted one. The strawberries are looking good. Mine are very green and leafy but don't seem to have many flowers, which will be the second year in a row, so I'll replace them I think. Hope the return to work goes well.

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    1. Thanks, return to work was ok and I managed an allotment lunch visit so that breaks up the day nicely :-)
      At least one of the strawberry plants in the hanging basket seems to be just foliage - how annoying. We'll replace it with a runner from one of the more fruity plants.

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  2. With that much plotting your break sounds like hard work - but rewarding. Well done on avoiding that Sound of Music song.(So Long Farewell). The school garden now has a collection of squashes and pumpkins planted. Your watering tip would be a good idea!

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    1. Yes, it's a different kind of work. Haha, that Sound of Music song did get into my head but I had to go searching for something more suitable! The bottles do make life easier with the watering chore.

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  3. It certainly has been all change weather wise. We had some brassicas that were nearly composted and suddenly grew on quickly once the weather improved. I’ve not heard a cuckoo for ages.

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    1. We hear the cuckoos on the marsh every year so it was good to finally see them.
      Yes, I saw on your blog that your brassicas are looking very happy now. The plants definitely know when they want to grow, it just doesn't always fit in with our plans :-)

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Belinda