Sunday 13th April 2014 – Broad Beans are a go go!

Posted on April 13, 2014 by clairesallotment

After bell ringing this morning I popped down to the allotment for a couple of hours to get a few bits sorted. Firstly it was the Broad Beans going in. I started them off in the greenhouse this year. Last year I tried sowing them outside straight away, and none of them germinated at all. I have a greater success rate when starting them off in the greenhouse, I think all but 2 germinated. I planted them out in 2 beds. Some with the onions and others with the potatoes. I had a bit of room left in each bed, so managed to get them all in comfortably. When you plant them outside, make sure that you plant them 9 inches apart. This should give them enough room to grow, and also support each other if they get really tall. I’ve sown the Aguadulce variety this year, and I’ve grown them before and they seem to do really well. I also sowed another short row of Radish “Vienna F1 Hybrid”. I had sown a short row about a month ago, and they’re growing nicely, so hopefully by the time I’ve eaten the first lot, the second lot will be ready. I’ll sow another line in about a months time, and so on, until I run out of seeds, that way I should get a good supply throughout the summer. I then turned over another bed and prepared the soil ready to sow this years Beetroot “Chioggia”. Beetroot did fabulously well last year, and just kept on growing as the temperature stayed warm. Hopefully I’ll have another great year with them, but only time will tell. I then got bitten by something whilst I was weeding, I’m not sure what it was, but I think it was a red ant. The little bugger got me 3 times and in the most bizzare place, on the underside of the top of my arm, just below my arm pit!! How it got up there is anyones guess.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Winkworth Arboretum

Posted on April 11, 2014 by clairesallotment

I know I’ve taken the kids here several times before, but it really is a beautiful place to go and have a wander. When I mentioned where we were going the kids asked “Is it the place with all those bridges?” They were please when I said “Yes!” because we like to play the Bridge game which is a scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We don’t get flung off the bridge if we don’t know the answer, but it’s good fun.

What is your name? What is your quest? What......?

What is your name? What is your quest? What……?

We took our own lunch with us, and after having a bit of a wander about we sat down and ate. The views are beautiful whether you’re down in the Badgers Bowl or up at one of the view points. The trees are coming into leaf now and they look amazing.

Just one of the breath taking views at Winkworth

Just one of the breath taking views at Winkworth

After George had played in the trees like a monkey and Emily had seen how deep various area of the lake were, it was time to have an ice cream and then come home.

George being a monkey in the trees.

George being a monkey in the trees.

 

It only takes us about 45 minute to get to Winkworth which is brilliant. I expect we’ll go back again before the year is out, hopefully in the summer and have a picnic in the Rowe’s Flashe Meadow.

The lake where we saw 2 baby duckling!

The lake where we saw 2 baby duckling!

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

Thursday 10th April 2014 – Lots more seeds!

Posted on April 11, 2014 by clairesallotment

Well I had an exciting time in the greenhouse this afternoon sowing some seeds that can be sown from April onwards. Firstly I sowed some Atlantic Giant Pumpkin seeds that I’d saved from my pumpkin last year. I managed to grow a decent sized one, but hopefully I’ll be abe to grow an even bigger one this year. When saving seeds from the previous year, you have to make sure that you wash and dry them thoroughly. I left mine on some kitchen towel on the kitchen window sill for several weeks. They did stick to the paper a bit, but that doesn’t matter. I then put them in a paper envelope and labelled them. Don’t put them in a plastic bag, otherwise they may go mouldy. Before you sow them, you need to make sure they’re viable, which means they will grow. You can do this by gently pressing the seed, and if it feels firm then they’re ok. If it’s soft they won’t grow. I then sowed some more Ambrosia Cantaloupe Melon seeds that I got from Chuck Fenster. They grew well last year, so hopefully I’ll get some more good melons again. Also some Lettuce “Beet Bulls Blood Soldier” which I did get from Thompson and Morgan, but they don’t seem to do it anymore, Cucamelons, Chop Suey Greens, Leeks “Musselburgh”, Broccoli Spring Sprouting Mixture and finally some more Celery “Sigfrido” I did sow some a while back, but nothing has happened. The seeds are a little past their best (should have been sown by December 2012) but I’ll give them another go.

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

Wednesday 9th April 2014 – Spuds away!!!

Posted on April 9, 2014 by clairesallotment

Well I got the last of the potatoes in this morning, this time Sarpo Mira. I’ve never grow them before, but Dan at The Allotment diary has grown them before, and he was really impressed. I know that it’s still the morning, but I went down early, and it only took me about 20 minutes. The bed was all ready dug over and weeded, so all I had to do was place the seed potatoes on the top of the soil where I wanted, then use my fabulous potato putter inner (long handed bulb planter to be precise) to get them in the soil. Then a quick smoothing off with the prongy thing (garden fork) and bobs your uncle, all done. Home now for a cup of tea and loads of chores to do at home. Next job for the allotment is putting the Broad Bean plants in, but that’ll have to wait til the weekend.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Hands off our allotment space Eric Pickles!!

Posted on April 8, 2014 by clairesallotment

Now there are so many things I want to say to this man, which I won’t say on here, as I don’t think it’s appropriate, but I would urge as many of you as possible to sign this petition, and then to retweet or the equivalent to others. Please click here for the link. Allotment space is precious and should not be taken. So many sites are being lost to developers, and it must stop! So sit down with a cup of tea and a biscuit and sign the petition. But please don’t claim your refreshments on expenses.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Tuesday 8th April 2014 – Lots more potatoes in.

Posted on April 8, 2014 by clairesallotment

I popped down to the allotment this morning just for about an hour. The kids were fine at home, and I was only a short distance away. I was very impressed that when I got back home, they were both washed, dressed, brushed their hair, brushed their teeth and made their beds. Usually something gets forgotten, in George’s case it’s usually getting dressed, and with Emily it’s brushing her hair. I have now planted all my King Edward potatoes and my Sapphire potatoes. Just another lot to go, which I may pop and do tomorrow, then they’re all in. I’ve cleared enough space for them, so it won’t take long. I’ve got general household bits to do this afternoon, so I may get chance to get in the greenhouse this afternoon, but only time will tell.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Monday 7th April 2014 – Popcorn hurts!

Posted on April 7, 2014 by clairesallotment

Now the kids are on holiday, they can help me with various things around the house and garden. I don’t use them as slaves, just incase you’re wondering, but if they’re looking bored, or I’m doing a job that seems to be taking forever, I ask them to lend a hand. This morning I had one of those jobs. All my popcorn from last season has been drying  beautifully and I wanted to get all the kernels off the cobs, and to store it in an air tight container. If you don’t know, popcorn kernels are quite sharp, and after a while they start to hurt your thumbs. We finally got most of it done before lunch, and then I finished off the rest whilst watching Doctor Who on the TV. We did loose some kernels on the floor, but it just pings about, and sometimes you have no control over it. We now have loads of popcorn to last us for a while, so I can just take out a handful of kernels, and pop them in the saucepan, and hey presto…a snack! Then this afternoon I went out in the garden and finished planting the Pumpkins “Charmant PMR F1” for Georges’ Sea Scout group, there were a few left over, so I’m keeping them for myself. I then made a couple films, the first one was about the various varieties of tomatoes I’ve got this year “San Marzano 2” which you have to say in an Italian accent, “Big Red F1” and “Green Zebra”. I also planted some Sweetcorn “Swift F1”. Then as the drizzle started I put in some new herbs into my herb patch. It got a bit trampled when we had the fence done, but several of the plants had done their time, and it needed refreshing, so with some of my birthday money I got the following at Nymans on Mothers’ Day: Thyme “Snowdrift”, Oregano “Country Cream”, French Tarragon, Marjoram “Dwarf” and “Golden”, Sage “Pineapple”, a Bay and some Summer Savory. They cost me £2 each for the small pots, and then £3 each for the Tarragon and the Bay. That should make it exciting. Time now to come in and start dinner soon. Tomorrow is supposed to be good, so I’ll see if I can pop to the allotment and put in some potatoes.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sowing Parsnips in a block – Claire’s Allotment part 222

Posted on April 6, 2014 by clairesallotment
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Saturday 5th April 2014 – An unpleasant discovery!

Posted on April 6, 2014 by clairesallotment

Now I don’t usually go down to the allotment at the weekend as you’ve most probably guessed. But I was on a roll with the potatoes, and wanted to get some more in before the rains came. It was very busy this morning on site, with loads of allotment holders digging away. Some very familiar faces and some that I’ve never seen before. We were all busy digging away and enjoying the sunshine. I wanted to get the rest of my Apache potatoes in, having got the first half in the day before. So that’s 1 variety in, only another 2 to go. I’ll sneak down during the Easter break. The beds are ready for them, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get them in. My long handled bulb planter is brilliant. I purchased this one which is my second and is wooden, as the first one was metal, and I broke it. I’ve had it now for about 3 years, and it was well worth the extra money. It makes putting potatoes in so easy. Having got my potatoes in, I then turned my attention to weeding the rest of a rather large bed that I was half way through. It’s the old Brassica bed, so having cut down any remaining plants that were past their prime I was working my way very quickly through it. The soil is getting quite dry, as believe it or not, we’ve not had any decent rain for quite a while now. When I let out a squeal!! There in the corner of the bed was a squashed rat!! Dead of course. You could see it’s little feet still, but NO head!! I admit, I did squeal like a girl. Mick who has a plot very close to me heard, and came over. He gave me 2 carrier bags to put it in, as asked if I needed help getting it in the bags. I felt that I was brave enough to cope with such a horrible thing. I used my trowel to get it in the bag, then double bagged it, and hung it on my compost heap to take with me when I went home. I would just like to say that I didn’t put it in my bin at home, but as I was driving home I stopped at a litter bin and popped it in, giving a little shudder as I did so. A thorough scrubbing of the hands was done before I stared preparing lunch, which was bacon rolls……Squashed rat sandwich anyone?

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

Friday 4th April 2014 – They’re all in!

Posted on April 4, 2014 by clairesallotment

I got the final 58 onions in the ground today, so that 263 to be precise! Hopefully they’ll all grow beautifully, and we’ll have loads to last us well into next spring and hopefully beyond. I also managed to get one tray of Apache potatoes in, I’ve still got another tray of these to go, and then loads more, but I’ll keep you updated as and when I sow them. And of course there was the obligatory weeding and manuring to do. I’m running very low on manure, but my dear friend Clair is getting me some more in the next couple of weeks, so that’s fab news. Oh and finally, I was looking at my little birdies this morning, and I think they’ve laid an egg! I’m very excited! There should be lots more laid in the next few days, so when there’s a decent number I’ll put a photo up for you to see.

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