small harvest

I just love it when we get some produce from the patch, it might not be the prettiest patch but it does produce some tasty stuff. In the picture above are my lovely red lettuce (don't know the variety), yellow courgettes, asparagus peas and lovely dwarf beans.
At home I have more lettuce growing in a growbag along with pak choi. The mollusc's seem to love the pak choi as you can see. I'm desperate to grow some pak choi and this is the second year of trying, so fingers crossed.

In the grow house I think my first chilli is forming.


Today I sowed some spring cabbage 'durham early' it might be just as well to be sowing these because my winter cabbage is looking dire, the cabbage white caterpillars and pigeons have given them a bashing.

Looking to the week ahead I think I'm going to get more done this week at the allotment (weather obliging) as I have a little time after work. I have fennel to plant out and some late running butternut squash. The pumpkins are forming down at the patch and I need to limit the number of fruit on each plant so I will have to look closely at them. I put a 'wanted' onto freecycle for some wall tiles which looks like it is going to be filled - the plan is to put the fruits on the tiles to stop them rotting from underneath I think Matron gave this tip out last year.

I'll rephrase and say I'm excited about the week ahead!

little bit of a break in blogging

Recently I hit the point of thinking I had nothing to say, for the last few weeks a lot of what I have been doing is a list of rather dull allotment tasks. The boys have been good an obliging when I have been at the patch which although unusual I wouldn't knock it! It is a shame that other things in my daily life have consumed too much of my time and writing a post just became hard to do.

Also who really wants to read a whining list of crop failures? or other irritations? as I think that is all I would have had for you.

For example I might have bleated further about my poor crop of strawberries it totalled about 6, is this normal? I'm sure I got more when I was a child from some 'portskewet' ( its not a variety) strawberry plants in their first year.

This time of year it should be all about bountiful crops and beautiful flowers. Alas never from the green patch.

I have been horticultural in other ways but not at the plot. I visited a nearby village for their open gardens I had a great time and was surprised by what I found, in one garden we turned the corner and walked into a meadow! Our school gardening club has won a silver in the town's 'in bloom' competition which is absolutely fantastic, and makes helping the teacher even more worthwhile. The kids were so proud. We also raised a good bit on the stall at the summer fair which will be ploughed straight back in to the club. We have now set the standard for next year so its going to be hard work to maintain our standard and we do hope to better it you understand.

Today I played a four hour game of catch up at the allotment. Weeding was the most essential and annoying activity. In addition to this I have sorted out the runner beans especially the ones that don't have canes to climb and I rigged some string between the canes for them. I have tried to pin down the strawberry runners. I harvested the end of the broad beans then cleared the area. I planted brussels out and my late sown peas in their toilet rolls. I collected chicken poo from my local source for the composter. I dug up a row of spuds and picked my first three yellow courgettes.
The pushchair trug is back in action.

I got a little bit sun kissed despite sunscreen grrrr.

These are my husbands new wellies getting a good work out.


I am glad to say things are looking better and a couple of visits more and soon might get things well ahead. This week hopefully the parts for our broken strimmer will arrive and that will help sort the paths.

These are the remainder of my salmon flowered peas that had gone over, I plan to save the seed for next year they are now hanging in my kitchen. As my kichen is the size of most peoples utlility room I don't think they will be there for long.

Take a look at the garlic for me, I think it has rust, if so can I eat the bulbs?