One hour

One hour, really it is not enough time. If you are me, you do just have to catch what you can, when you can and when you are in the mood and just be glad of it. That is how I can still love my allotment and stop it from ever feeling like a burden. That's how I can forgive it for limited harvests or infestations. It is because it sort of survives with a large helping of benign neglect.

I had a great hour at the patch today, weeding and clearing. Soaking up the warmth of the sun and thinking about what the patch could be like next year. My fennel is looking great and should be big enough to harvest soon before any frost arrives as I imagine the frost will kill it.


However in life not everything goes so well with such levels of neglect and a blog in one of those things that needs a little bit of regular attention. I have been to the patch a bit recently and have plenty to tell you all. So what has got in the way of posting? Well I have lost a little bit of my mojo. I'm also trying to get on top of my photography plans, it has been back to school for Owen in last couple of weeks, then with sorting a 2yr olds birthday needs, as always work has been very busy. Consequently I am just so worn out in the evenings, so to master the computer problems that have emerged since my lap top died has been as much as I could manage. Still it is upwards and onwards and blog posts should become more frequent.

I have had a second horticulturally focused hour today, at the garden centre. This hour which boosted my enthusiasm five fold. It included the purchase of lots of 50p seeds from the bargain bucket. There is nothing like cheap seeds and the promise that it brings! We arrived just in the nick of time and got the last lot of free bulbs for children. The bulbs are for a competition, Its one where we plant the three little red riding hood tulips and we keep a photo diary (right up Owen's street I think) lets hope that we can manage to do this and hand it in, in May next year!

The patch holiday neglect?

So you go away for a bit of summer fun in the Isle of Wight (highly recommended for a holiday) then you come back and a quick check at the patch reveals.

• slugs have munched my lettuce
• my pumpkin has doubled in size
• lots of ripe red cherry tomatoes
• a couple of kilos of courgettes
• beans ready to pick on the tepee's
• a rather dry and thirsty patch
• knee high grass (again)
• a sea of weeds

It may not look beautiful but it is bountiful, I left green patch with lots of produce. In return I have given it a well needed drink (nettle tea for my pumpkins). I think that the green patch has manged quite well without me.

Need to find a system for watering

We were away for nine days and there was a bit of a hot spell whilst we were away.

I hadn't seen the neighbours to ask them to water the few bits on the remains of the grow house (I have taken the cover off).

I knew I would come back to devastation as the aubergine and chilli's are in pots and the tomatoes are out stripping the confines of their grow bag. I have never really looked at watering systems, I wouldn't know where to start and not sure that it is an expense I am willing to pay for a few items. I suppose I could look at low tech Heath Robinson style methods for getting around not being able to water. So let me know what you do to get around the need to water while away.
Luckily I watered them in the nick of time when I got back and they have resuscitated fairly well they are more resilient to such abuse than I thought.

Allotment Open Day

So much more enjoyable than last year our end of the site wasn't roped off.

I actually felt like I belonged to the allotment association. People talked to us. It was well attended and people were walking around looking at the plots the site completely bustled with busy people. We strimmed our plot to improve the look while we were there.

The competitions were great and in usual form we didn't manage to get our act together and put anything in.

I loved the entries for the unusual vegetable and the display of potato varieties.

calm

Today I felt stressed, it was stressed for no particular reason, looking back I think it was mainly about when I would manage to squeeze a visit to the plot in. We wanted a whole family visit. But when meals and other events loomed and then took precedence things were pushed back. Add the heat of the day making being there with the kids difficult then we put off our plans at several points today. We haven't been down there for a week because the rain has been against us, but intense sunshine can be just as bad for my redheaded brood.

My biggest fear was what will we find? Tomorrow is the allotments open day they might have fire bombed our plot to improve the look of the site. Also the recent rain might mean that the slugs have taken control.

In the end I went down on my own after tea with no major plans in mind. I planted some pinks along side the strawberry raised bed, and I just drunk in the relaxing atmosphere of a warm evening and golden low sun. The pinks were destined for a home garden project that hasn't fully materialised and if I left them in their pots then they would be doomed to death. A shame as I had grown them from seed. The smell of pinks take me back to childhood rapidly, strangely its a smell that I hated for so many years, but now I want to grow them for the first time ever. Weirdly I love their aroma.

We will be down there tomorrow armed with a strimmer and there is stuff to crop as well

But for me it was a perfect end to the day a great destresser and a it was a good day because I heard the voice of my aussie friend and avid green patch reader. I hope you and your new addition continue getting bigger and better like my pumpkins!

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?