Sunday 12 May 2013

Seedlings Progress

We had a couple of hours on the plot this afternoon before it started raining. It was quite nice and warm 16°), though cloudy and the ever-present wind was there again.
The lettuce seedlings are good enough to eat but I'm going to let them get bigger and will plant some outside to grow into full-size lettuces - hopefully I'll get to eat them before the slugs!
These are the Moneta beets. They need to get at least a couple more leaves (and get bigger!) before they get transplanted into the raised bed - lots have germinated though.
And this is looking down the cloche at the parsnip seedlings - very tiny at the moment. Only one will be kept so we'll let them grow a bit till we can see which looks the healthiest and then snip the other two off (it's a cruel World!).

Jamie and I were digging Plot 8B, still have the last bit to dig but finding a bucketful of stones with every half metre dug, it's hard work but we'll get there. It's needs to be dug well as that's where the salsify is going - as a long root vegetable it really needs earth, not bricks, under it!
Jamie spread and dug 6x fertiliser into the area where the sweetcorn and Jack-be-Little pumpkins will be going.
Wildlife blog updated with Robbie News :-)

Saturday 11 May 2013

Allotment Stuff, but Indoors

We've been backwards and forwards to the plot during the rainy, sunny, windy week; opening and closing the greenhouse and the last two days checking that the wind hasn't blown everything away! We've lost a couple of the bottle cloches and had gained a bucket but everything else was where we'd left it!

Very pleased to say that nearly all the parsnips have germinated, as have quite a few of the newly sown broad beans, Tom Thumb lettuce and the night stocks. Most of the potatoes are up but we're missing International Kidney and Arran Pilot at the moment - hopefully they'll appear in the next couple of days.

Today I spent the day doing HAHA stuff. We've quite a few empty plots on site and not many people on the waiting list - probably because of the issues with the lease renewal - still no news :-(
Jamie potted on the Lizzano tomatoes which are getting rather leggy but have at least a week before we can risk putting them up the plot - they've even got some tiny buds on them!
The Redskin peppers are looking pretty happy in the window sill. They were delivered on 1st May from Thompson & Morgan.
Jamie also sowed some Jack-Be-Little pumpkins which we'll germinate under a grow lamp in a cloche in our bedroom.

We bought our bamboo canes and plan to work on the plot tomorrow - though now rain is forecast and I think it's chilly and I'm fed up with the STOOPID WIND!!

Monday 6 May 2013

A Sunny Bank Holiday!

Such a lovely May Day holiday - there were a lot of other plot holders around making the most of the sunshine and amazing temperature. We had a barbecue but escaped early afternoon as it was too hot (my resolution not to moan when the sun shines is officially broken!). We'll go back to close the greenhouse down a bit later.
From Plot 7
Look how dry the ground appears, but a couple of inches down there is some moisture; In the morning there is dew so it's not quite as dry as it looks. Still no sign of parsnips or the broad beans we sowed a couple of weeks ago.
We've moved the flowers and beets which have germinated under the green mesh cloche, in the raised bed, which is cooler than the greenhouse.
Today I sowed these seeds in modules and they're in the greenhouse:
  • Scarlet Empire runner beans
  • White flowered runner beans - we don't know their name but they are apparently self-pollinating
I also sowed 4 small rows of Rondo F1 Florence Fennel. I sowed 3 seeds per 'station' and spread the stations out as each plant should be spaced about 15cm apart.
I also sowed a row of PeaWee 65 petit pois and Carouby de Moussane mangetout. Jamie repaired the pea frame which had gone rather wobbly since I moved it from the other quarter...
More potatoes have burst through!
From Plot 8
 

Sunday 5 May 2013

Seedy Sunday

We managed to get most of our seeds sown this afternoon. It was warm and bright and the wind had dropped since yesterday - Thank Goodness.
Our potatoes have started to appear. This is the most advanced in the second row - it appears to be a Red Duke of York which fits in with the plan, so that's a good start!
These are two rows of Paris Silverskin onions, for pickling, and one row of Apache red salad onions. I'll hopefully succession sow a few more rows of salad onions in here too. As ever, my rows aren't straight, but they're labelled and topped with seed compost so whatever :-)
This is Jamie, very neatly, sowing our carrots, Sugarsnax F1. Three rows under the enviromesh cover. He used a wooden pole to make the straight drills - wish I'd done that for the onions!
We also sowed the following and they've gone into the greenhouse:
  • Tom Thumb lettuce (half a tray)
  • Lambs Lettuce (corn salad) Cavallo (half a tray)
  • Swiss Chard Bright Lights (I've sown these in modules so I can keep the most colourful ones)
  • Celeriac Asterix F1 (in modules)
  • Brussels Nelson F1 (in pots)
  • Cabbages Minicole F1 (in pots)
The squashes are sown 3 per pot (apart from the Cornells Bush Delicata). I really only want one of each type but I'm sure the others will find homes if they germinate and grow.
  • Winter Squash Cornells Bush Delicata (in pots)
  • Winter Squash Uchiki Kuri (in pots)
  • Courgette Ambassador (normal green type) (in pots)
  • Courgette Floridor F1 (round yellow type) (in pots)
These were sown into the raised bed:
  • Turnip Oasis
  • Radish French Breakfast 3
  • Radish Chinese Dragon
 
And night scented stock have been sown around the grape hyacinths so they'll produce a lovely evening fragrance when we're sitting on our bench.


Saturday 4 May 2013

Flowering and Germinating

Various visits to the plot this week - Jamie's been digging during the day (back permitting) and then we went up each evening to shut the greenhouse down. The temperature is ranging from -2° to 20° out in the open and between 2° and 38° in the greenhouse!
The seeds have appreciated it - the marigolds have all germinated but no sign of the beetroot yet.
The strawberries are flowering - this one looks a bit frost-bitten so probably won't fruit.
And the broad beans have real flowers now :-)
And look how much the hedge has grown - so pretty!