Saturday 21st May 2016 – All my Beans are in!!

Posted on May 21, 2016 by clairesallotment

Yesterday I went and bought another 2 bags of 120 litres of Multi Purpose compost. Hopefully this should do me for a while, but I expect I’ll have to buy some more because of all the millions (slight exaggeration) of Tomatoes I’ve got to pot up into 6 inch pots soon. This morning I was out at a fellow bell ringers tower outing. I was only available for the morning as I had to get back to my own bell tower to ring for a wedding. But this morning was loads of fun and we rang at St Michael’s Yorktown, St Michaels Sandhurst and St James Finchampstead. All very interesting bells, some a little trickier than others. Thank you Jenny for inviting me to join you this morning and I hope that I was of some use. This afternoon when I got home I went out into my greenhouse and planted the rest of my Runner Beans “Firelight” and all my Climbing French Beans “Cobra”. The greenhouse at home is now bursting at the seams again, so I will have to move some more bits and pieces to the greenhouse on the allotment soon, and all so start to pot up some of the Tomatoes into 6 inch pots. But I think that’s enough for today, it’s getting late and I need to start dinner, otherwise the family will be on their knees begging me to not let them starve!!

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Friday 20th May 2016 – The perfect way to end the week!

Posted on May 20, 2016 by clairesallotment

This week has been very busy, nothing unusual there. But very busy on my allotment and in my greenhouse. It’s not often that I get an entire week to be able to spend at both these. I arrived on my plot just after 10.30am this morning and left a little after 1pm. In that time, I managed to get a load more weeding done, move some more Strawberries that were growing on my wood chip path, and plant them in their new homes, which is in tyres. I moved another 36 plants to be exact. I still have more tyres to fill, so hopefully I’ll find a home for most of them. I plant 6 plants per tyre. And I also sowed some Sugar Snap Peas “Nairobi”. I then had a wedding to bell ring for, and after that I went to get some more compost, which I got 2 bags of 120 litres. I don’t think that’ll be enough to pot all my tomatoes into 6 inch pots, but it’s a start. Now I’m home after a busy day. Time to get dinner on the go soon. No rest for the wicked eh? And I can be very wicked sometimes. Have a great weekend.

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Thursday 19th May 2016 – Cabbages, Rhubarb, Radish and Spinach

Posted on May 19, 2016 by clairesallotment

Another busy day on the allotment, and another split day on the allotment. I spent about 40 minutes this morning cutting grass and weeding one of my Rhubarb beds. It’s got a bit over grown since we had all that rain a week ago. I managed to get most of it done before I went again to the Odeon, this time to see “Spotlight”. Brilliant film and the way they broached the subject was done with such sensitivity. Afterwards I went back to my allotment and planted out 36 Cabbage plants. Make sure you protect from slugs and snails from below and from birds from above. Once that was done I harvested the first of my Rhubarb. I’m sure I’ll be harvesting loads more as the season goes on. Then before I came home I sowed another line of Spinach “Samish F1” and Radish “Bright Lights“. I spent nearly 3 hours on my allotment today and managed to get loads done. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as successful.

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Wednesday 18th May 2016 – Sowing French and Runner Beans.

Posted on May 19, 2016 by clairesallotment

Over the years I’ve sown my French and Runner Beans at various times. I’ve come to the conclusion that the best time to sow them is 2-3 weeks before you intend to plant them outside. That way they are about 9-12 inches tall and are large enough to survive outside, but haven’t started to curl around each other and everything else in the greenhouse. There is nothing worse that bean plants that are trying to “make out” with each other and not a bamboo cane. Make sure you don’t plant them out until all frost has gone in your area. The slightest bit of frost will kill them immediately. Gavin, who used to be my allotment neighbour (he moved last year and gave me his bench, lovely man), always used to plant his beans out at the beginning of May, and always had to put a second lot in because we’d have a cold night and they’d all died. So this year I’ve sown the following varieties of French Beans: “Cherokee Trail of Tears” and “Cobra” and Runner Beans “Firelight”. I’ll keep you updated on how they grow. However I have now run out of compost so will have to wait until I buy some more compost to finish sowing them all. I’ll get some more in the next couple of days.

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Wednesday 18th May 2016 – Lots of pretty flowers!

Posted on May 19, 2016 by clairesallotment

The weather was very “hit and miss” today. Mostly it was “hit” by loads of rain, so there was no going down the allotment today, but I had loads to do in my greenhouse at home. So I went out into my greenhouse to pot up a load of flowers into 3 inch pots. Flowers are very important to grow alongside vegetables, because they have so many uses, from attracting pollinators, keeping away pests and just generally looking beautiful. Not all the flowers I’ve sown this year are for my allotment, some are going in my garden at home as well. This morning I potted up the following: Aquilegias, Allysum, Delphinium, Lupin, Cosmos, Candy tuft, Cottage garden mix, Armeria and Alstroemeria.

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Tuesday 17th May 2016 – Dig for Victory!!

Posted on May 18, 2016 by clairesallotment

Both my allotment and the film I went to see are connected. Firstly I was down my allotment for just over an hour this morning planting out my Kohl Rabi “Modrava F1”, and then when I had finished that little task, I then went off to our local Odeon to see “Dad’s Army” at the 11 o’clock screening that they call “Silver Cinema”. It’s the first time that I’ve been to one of these screenings, and I believe the first time I’ve ever gone to the cinema on my own. The audience was mainly retired old folks and I think I was the youngest by about 20 years. The Silver Cinema screenings are very civilised as they give you a free cup of tea or coffee and some biscuits before you go in. Mark, Emily and I are all “Limitless” cinema members. George isn’t old enough yet, you have to be 16! You pay from £17.99 a month and you can go and see as many films as you want. This month I’ve seen 6 movies! The film was really good, and the casting was perfect. After the film had finished I went back down the allotment and continued where I’d stopped before the film. I managed to plant out the remaining Onion Sets that I had left, and some more Sweetcorn, this variety is “Swift F1”. After another couple of hours planting away it was time to starts heading back home. The kids would have been arriving home from school soon, and are always hungry when they get in. So another successful day on the allotment and lots more in.

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Monday 16th May 2016 – Come and see my Melons!!

Posted on May 18, 2016 by clairesallotment

No it’s not another “nudey rudey” video just incase you were wondering. A few years ago now, Chuck Fenster (lovely guy) sent me a load of Cantaloupe Melon seeds, and I’ve been sowing lots every year. They grow very well, although in our climate the fruits are very small. They seem to need heat to grow a decent size and we just can’t guarantee that in the UK. I sowed this years seeds a while back now, and some of them are ready to be potted up into 3 inch pots. There are a few that are still a little on the small side, so I’ll leave those to grow for a bit longer. Let me show you how to pot them up.

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Monday 16th May 2016 – It’s all starting to go in.

Posted on May 16, 2016 by clairesallotment

I love this time of year when you are finally able to start getting all those plants that you’ve lovingly sowed months ago, and then potted up carefully into 3 inch pots a while back, finally into the soil. This morning was a very busy morning. The first thing I did was to plant out 36 “Ironman” Broccoli plants. Make sure you protect them from the slugs and snails and also net them well from the birds and butterflies. I then sowed a line of Beetroot “Chioggia” and also a line of Salsify “Mammoth Sandwich Island”, and then finally 28 plants of Sweetcorn “Sweet Nugget”.  So that’s 2 beds nearly full, lots more to go. I’ll do more tomorrow, but I may get the chance to get in the greenhouse at home this afternoon.

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Sunday 15th May 2016 – Cucumbers and Chickens!

Posted on May 15, 2016 by clairesallotment

Before any of you ask, I didn’t make it through all of Eurovision last night. I feel asleep about 8.30pm!! Yes I know it’s early, but I’d had a very busy day, and week. Now back to gardening business. This afternoon I’ve potted up, into 3 inch pots, my Spanish Cucumbers. I sowed 12 seeds and 6 decent plants have come up. So that’s not bad really. The plants do tend to produce quite a few fruits, and I don’t want to be inundated with loads of Cucumbers at the same time. If I do I may have to look into how to pickle some. I’m also giving the chickens a major clean out today. Spraying the inside of their house and generally giving them a Spring Clean. I can’t have then in the run whilst I’m doing it, firstly because they’d keep getting in the way, wanting to “help”, and secondly because the cleaning stuff I’m using (it’s specially for the chicken house) could be dangerous for them until it has dried. So they’re having fun scratching about on part of my lawn for the time being. I don’t usually let them out on the lawn for the reason that they’ll wreck it, but today I don’t have much choice. I don’t think they’d appreciate me putting them in a box all afternoon.

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Saturday 14th May 2016 – It’s 6pm and I’m in my Pj’s!!

Posted on May 14, 2016 by clairesallotment

No I’m not ill or being lazy if that’s what you wondering. And I did get dressed this morning. But I have spent most of the afternoon in the greenhouse potting up a mass of brassicas! I was messy, dirty, smelly and to be honest needed to get cleaned up before we had dinner. So I’ve had a hot bath and am now sitting in my Pj’s writing this blog for you. This afternoon I potted into individual 3 inch pots the following: 27  Sprouting Broccoli “Lancer Mixed”, I’m intrigued by these as they look so interesting. 17 Kale “Starbor F1”, my chickens love this as a treat. Lots of different Cabbages: 27 “Cabice”, 36 “Pimero” and 27 “Advantage”. So as you can see I’ve been quite busy this afternoon, so therefore deserve to now be in my Pj’s at such an early time in the evening. Must go, dinner has just arrived (take out Chinese), and then it’s time to sit down and see how much of the Eurovision Song Contest I’m able to get through. It starts at 8pm and goes on until about 11.30pm (way past my bed time). We only really watch Eurovision to listen to Graham Norton’s commentary and the Twitter comments as each contestant does their bit. That’s what I’m saying and I’m sticking to that!

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