Thursday 2nd May 2013 – Lots more potting up.

Posted on May 2, 2013 by clairesallotment

I’ve spent the afternoon in the greenhouse potting up all sorts of goodies from Cabbage “Primo” to Tomatoes “Pineapple” and “Brandywine” which I got from Chuck Fenster.
My hands are very dry now, so after a good soak in the bath I think I’ll apply lots of hand cream.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Thursday 2nd May 2013 – Tits and lettuce, a rather strange combination.

Posted on May 2, 2013 by clairesallotment

Well it’s all getting rather exciting in my nesting box as my, soon to be mummy bird, has been sitting on her nest all day. She pops out every now and then to stretch her wings and then is back on her nest within 2 minutes. She now is showing 8 eggs, which is so cool. I’m hoping that in the next few days they’ll start to hatch. I will let you know, so don’t worry about that. But down on the allotment this morning I had a great time. I put in the Oriental Stir fry plants. I’ve alternated them in the soil, so have the three varieties “Mizuna”, “Tatsoi” and “Giant Mustard” in a wonderful pattern. I’ve planted them about 3 inches apart, so they should form a lovely cover over the soil and look pretty. I’ve also managed to dig more of another bed, but the soil is starting to get hard now, as we’ve not had rain for a while. I’m not complaining, just saying.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Saturday 4th May 2013 – 10th Annual World Naked Gardening Day!

Posted on May 2, 2013 by clairesallotment

Just incase you’d forgotten about this special gardening day, here’s a reminder for you….
Not sure if I’ll be participating, I think it depends on where you garden and where you live. Not something to do in the colder climate, and definitely not at the North Pole (not that you can grow anything outside in that place), but hey, if you live in a secluded garden and it’s lovely and warm…why not.
Just make sure you have some clothes near the front door just incase the postman comes a knocking. And be careful if you have a cup of tea, and don’t forget the suncream if it’s really hot, don’t want to burn certain things.

May the gardening 4th be with you!

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Wednesday 1st May 2013 – Lots more potting up.

Posted on May 1, 2013 by clairesallotment

Well the greenhouse is getting very full, and I’m having to shuffle stuff round. Lots of the seedlings need to be potted up now, so this afternoon I did a few, but the weekend is going to be taken up with the rest of the potting up. I sorted out the Cucumbers “Twenty F1”, various tomatoes “Money maker”, “Suncherry Premium” and “Country Taste” and finally the Spanish Squash. Must get clean and tidy before bell ringing tonight.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Nine Gardening myths debunked

Posted on May 1, 2013 by clairesallotment

Found this article on line in the Observer on Sunday, and thought it looked interesting.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Wednesday 1st May 2013 – So many stones.

Posted on May 1, 2013 by clairesallotment

Now when I took on my 2nd plot, there was a little part of it that had thousands, (yes I really do mean thousands) of stones in one place. I’ve never figured out why they were there, but no one was on that plot all the time I’ve been there. It makes digging really difficult, especially with the large fork. But over the years I’ve removed hundreds of them, hoping that it would make it better. But today I finished digging that bed and still removed enough to fill up half a car tyre. They seem to go down a really long way, and I doubt if I’ll ever be completely clear of them. But when I got home I plugged the camera in and saw the female tit sitting in the box, and the male came in and fed her an insect of some sort. She doesn’t usually nest during the day, so I’m thinking that hatching time is very soon. I’ll keep you posted.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Tuesday 30th April 2013 – Happy birthday George.

Posted on April 30, 2013 by clairesallotment

It’s our little boys birthday today…well not so little he’s now 11. They sung to him at school, and he took in some homemade triple chocolate cookies. We’ve just had pizza for dinner and then it’s profiteroles drizzled with chocolate for pudding. Then his choice of film. I think he wants Terminator 2!
But this morning was spent on the allotment only for an hour and a half, but I managed to dig most of another bed which is good. It’s getting to that stage where that’s all I seem to be doing, but it’s getting the beds ready for the planting in June when the frost has gone. Must get the mower out and dust off the cobwebs. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Monday 29th April 2013 – First taste of microgreen herbs.

Posted on April 29, 2013 by clairesallotment

Well it’s been another busy day, as I’m sure you can imagine. This morning I made another couple of films: Harvesting Microgreen herbs and harvesting salad leaves. Then down the allotment this afternoon to dig more and find the flask that I’d left down on my plot on Thursday. I have 2 little flasks which are great. I do lie to take a cup of tea on site with me, makes it feel more homely. But I could only find 1 flask this morning. I looked in the car and in my allotment bag, but it wasn’t there. Then it dawned on me that maybe I’d left it on the compost heap. And sure enough, there it was lying there all sad and cold. It’s plot inspection day tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll be ok. I thought I’d get a telling off letter last year, but I didn’t. But we’ll see they’re inspecting in afternoon when I won’t be there, so fingers crossed.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Birdcam #2 – Eggs – Claire’s Allotment part 197

Posted on April 28, 2013 by clairesallotment
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sowing oriental stir fry vegetables – Claire’s Allotment part 196

Posted on April 28, 2013 by clairesallotment
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment