Structures 2 - spiral staircase

This picture says a lot. It says this. Top left: find some old freezer trays and put them over some of your Little Gem lettuces as a sort of protection. Watering cans: try not to lose the rose. Tray on plastic pot: remind me what this is, A? On rusty ex-bed, top left: why did we sow quite so many leeks? Ditto, bottom left: that celery needs transplanting. Ditto, trough and black pot next to it: mixed salad leaves, you can't go wrong. In front of trough: cosmos plants: so far quite easy to grow but need transplanting. Baby kale in tray on grass: fine up to a point, point arrives when leaves begin to taste bitter, precise point as yet to be established. Potato beds: four more weeks till first harvest unless it continues to rain as much as it has done this month. Views: to be enjoyed. Far right in the background of Plot Six: two sweetcorn on the brown compost heap have been attacked by slugs. Never mind, we have lots and will transplant more.

Structures 1 - cold frame

Here's a cold frame we acquired from a Basil. Chef T says it's a Dutch Light. We've filled it with the manure/straw mixture (precise contents still an unknown). Once this is covered with compost it will supposedly create a hot and steamy environment for the melon (Sweetheart) we intend to grow. The cold frame is enormous - 4' by 6' or 120cm by 180cm.

Before filling it, we had decided to move it to A7 on a temporary basis. We'll decide about a more permanent position in autumn. Before moving, we spent an hour or so frantically digging the soil and weeding. Forester B was not far, planting dozens of conifers.

Runner beans

A raised these runner beans from seed at home, checking them every day. As a result, they are the freshest, greenest, healthiest plants on our plot. Today, they went in, but not before we had (again) had help from Bowler D. He hammered in a vertical iron bar at each end, then used one of the old bean poles we found on our plot to create a connecting horizontal support. He then told us how to construct the remainder of the structure to make it strong enough to cope with the wind. He said he'd come back to inspect. And he did. And we passed. But it took us about an hour ...

Spinach, sweet pea, sweetcorn

On the left, spinach (Medina?) in B2. Behind the spinach, our attempts to keep the birds from eating our cauliflower (on the left) and our Brussels sprouts (on the right). The Brussels sprouts in their temporary shelter have mostly been eaten by the slugs. We welcomed this.

In the middle, sweet pea King Navy. D's construction.

On the right, sweetcorn Xtra Early. The two surviving plants from the greenhouse and eight new seeds under two mini-greenhouses. Fingers crossed.

Leeks and potatoes

On the left, the first 13 leek transplants in C4.

On the right, the potato beds. From front to back: Maris Piper, Pentland Javelin, Vivaldi, Cara

Mowing and sowing and planting

Last Thursday:

Having made the astute observation that RKF was mowing his plot but not ours, we went back to plan A. Do our own mowing. Did I report that Bowler D said that Chef T was considering giving us his push mower? Well, he did, but I suppose it'll mean us getting a shed as soon as possible.

The green wheelbarrow. I woke up far too early the other day, remembering that I'd seen a green wheelbarrow on one of Forester B's derelict plots ...

Last Friday:

A planted eight cosmos plants in A4 and elsewhere as they were pot-bound. She re-potted the remaining five, transplanted two courgette plants (Nero di Melano) "on the compost heap" (we have two of these as well as compost bins) whilst mulching them with the manure/straw concoction from a local farm.

Last Saturday:

I transplanted 13 leeks into C4 as the seedlings are now more than 20 cm tall, weeded C3 and C4, prepared the remainder of bed A4 (more French beans to go in) by weeding it, cutting up the large clods, then stamping on it, then soaking it.

Yesterday:

Sowed lovage into two pots, five seeds each, dug and weeded new bed, C1, partly, transplanted the two surviving sweetcorn (D said they're looking v dry and should go in) sowed more sweetcorn 2 x 4 in same bed, sowed more baby kale, 30 to a tray, fed asparagus in H4, is anybody reading this.

It's been hot this week, necessitating up to six trips to the communal water butt. Our bath is not only showing signs of leakage, it also harbours hundreds of tadpole-like creatures ...

A ruthless day

We worked from 8:30 a.m. till lunchtime in a fairly ruthless, businesslike manner, keeping meaningless conversation and tea-drinking rituals to a minimum level:

• Disposed of all non-germinated stuff, e.g. celeriac, Golden Bell sweet pepper (promotional packet), campanula, sage, eryngium alpinum superbum. Did we sow at the wrong time, over-water, under-water, use the wrong compost? Who cares, out you go.
• Ditto the nasty prickly gooseberry mother and baby, picked up from Canadian plot. Gone all grey and dead-looking. Out.
• Planted 14 main crop potato tubers (Maris Piper) in D2, then dug out a path between D1 and D2 to plant another seven
• Transplanted 15 sweet peas (King Size Navy?) in C5 with Bowler D's help (photo soon)
• Transplanted 2 sweet peas (Diamond Wedding) in B5 without help so looks a mess
• Transplanted six Brussels sprouts plants into B3, leaving about 13, I think, in a temporary sort of arrangement in one of the compost bins, can you believe it?
• Sorted out the greenhouse (a woman's work ...)
• Watered absolutely everything

Our payment: two lots of mixed leaf salad ...

It has been raining a lot

I'm so sorry about the lack of pictures. To stave off any further complaints, here's a photo taken back in November. The sock is one of a pair knitted for me by A's mother. It's an Afghan pattern, I suppose. Comfort level: extreme! Absolutely essential in wet and/or cold weather.

Last Wednesday: A watered all greenhouse seedlings and outside plants.

Last Thursday: I watered the cosmos, tomatoes and hyssop only (all in the greenhouse, still), everything else was still very moist.

Last Friday, at 3:45 to be precise: A watered and sprinkled the newly purchased ORGANIC CERTIFIED SLUG PELLETS around outdoor plants. Brilliant, I was beginning to dream about the slug problem. Googling slugs? Don't. You'll find a site that tells you each slug can be responsible for up to 40,000 offspring.

Last Saturday: I watered.

Yesterday: did nothing at Plot Six. Got a life!

Today: A was pottering about on Plot Six when two mallards paid a visit.

Beetroot and Cara potatoes

We applied a lesson we learnt last week when we stayed all day and got sunburnt. The lesson was as follows: Start earlier in the day, finish at lunchtime.

We started at 8 a.m., give or take a minute (in my case). Then we really got going:

• Planted 14 late main crop tubers (Cara) in D6
• Transplanted the remaining Little Gems
• Transplanted the remaining nasturtium plants in with the broad beans in A-something and two in with the French beans in wherever
• Transplanted the beetroot in C2, I think (really must take some pictures)
• Discussed a support system for runner beans following a tour of the site

We went home at 1:15 pm.

Later in the day I popped round again to water everything. I sprayed garlic all over the French beans. It was suddenly quite cold. There's rain on the way. It's amazing how the weather forecast is suddenly so utterly fascinating. Hot weather = work. Cold weather = worry. Wet weather = not too much, please. Overcast day = bit of a break.

Weeding, feeding, watering, slugs, deer

Last Saturday:

• Weeded potato bed D2 in preparation for main crop tubers
• Weeded out some nasty big weeds (plantain?)
• Fed the artichoke plants

Yesterday:

• Hot day - all outdoor veg and greenhouse inhabitants required watering twice (by A)
• A tied in the blackberry Fantasia as it was flapping about due to sudden growth

Today, a.m.:

When A was at the communal water butt, she saw a deer. She warned it about Forester B (who shoots them). Then she:

• watered everything
• planted more Little Gems in with the raspberries in C6
• had a deeply depressing conversation with the Ms re slug pellets, derris and ash?
• noted slugs are attacking the beans
• made a mental note to buy shading paint for the greenhouse

Today, p.m.:

I went round to water (again) and weed (again). I had to throw out six of the eight sweetcorn plants due to slug damage to the inner stem. I found the thing in the actual tray and discarded it with uncharacteristic feelings of rage. I was so proud of the fact that all of the seedlings had emerged ...

Sorry, still no pictures ...

More garlic and beans

I planted six garlic cloves (Giant Elephant) in C4. They're absolutely enormous. I gave a seventh clove to RKF, still feeling quite pleased with his offer to mow.

I also transplanted the six pots of French climbing or borlotti beans into A4. They had been planted two to a pot and they really needed to go in. A 12th bean seedling had rebelled but the rest were growing properly. I plonked them in in pairs as their roots were very entangled. Not sure this was the right thing to do ...

Mowing

I hoed the onions, spring onions and garlic. T

Bowler D advised me to leave the greenhouse door open. I don't like the idea of mice getting in so we now have a complicated construction at the greenhouse entrance involving a heavy paving slab and two buttress systems on either side so it doesn't keel over.

RKF offered to mow the uncultivated part of our plot once a week. I said yes, please. That's going to be so good, arriving at Plot Six and seeing some of the work done, perhaps in exchange for a young plant or two!

Tuesday 6 May

We so totally worked our socks off today:

• planted 16 second early potato tubers (Vivaldi) in D5
• planted another five asparagus crowns (looking very dead but you never know ...) in H6
• transplanted 11 broad bean (Stereo) plants in A5
• transplanted five nasturtium plants next to the broad beans, also in A5
• transplanted two Little Gems in C6, one of the raspberry plots

Confused about D5, H6, X527? So are we. But at least it looks as though we're practising crop rotation! And why the nasturtium next to the broad beans? We're also practising companion planting!

We were most chuffed to harvest the following:

• TWO whole portions of baby kale
• ditto rocket
• ditto mixed salad leaves

And more good news. Chef T gave us a wheelbarrow. Said he found it in his shed. Colour: cheerful green. That means we now have a wheelbarrow each.

Sorry, no pictures - just too busy.

And finally, still on 1 May

The sweet pepper Marconi Rossa - great guns. The other lot, Golden Bell (a promotional packet) - no show so far.

Three pots of Mini Finger carrots - we're practising successional planting whenever we remember to do so. (All we need to remember is to look at our to-do list ... )

More happenings on 1 May

All eight sunflower seedlings are doing fine;









so is the celery;









this nasturtium is looking good;









ditto the morning glory ...









and the Little Gem lettuces are doing okay for the moment.

Cosmos, Borlotti beans, radish

These are the cosmos plants, recently transplanted to give them more room. It was quite difficult remembering not to handle them by the "true" leaves or the stem. Instead, you're supposed to lift them by holding the first leaves (watched Gardener's World, you see).

Amazingly, the Borlotti beans are already looking quite sturdy.

We can't believe the taste of our freshly harvested radishes. Here's one that needs just a little longer to mature.

Tomatoes

Another good thing about the recycled bed: some of the planks in it make for good additional shelving in our overcrowded greenhouse. Here are a number of young tomato plants (Marmande Super) on 1 May, enjoying the last of the early evening sunlight. The vacated space had previously been occupied by the medium-sized tomato plant chosen by KFR (as a 'thank-you' for mowing). That's not him in the doorway.

The first of May

Here's my little pushmower, flat out. On the left, a rake, also flat out. On the right, leaning against the bath, more bags of (as yet uninspected) manure.

Tulips

Freshly mown by KFR, the uncultivated part of our allotment is a joy to behold, especially with the newly discovered tulips on show.

Asparagus

Here's one of the five asparagus crowns, being planted on 23 April.

There is no more room in the greenhouse

On 22 April the greenhouse was in need of a 'no vancies' sign.

Cauliflower transplant

The young cauliflower plants being transplanted into bigger pots

Borlotti beans

Borlotti or climbing French beans (two to a pot)

The slug game

Yes, this is an image of a bed being dismantled. The idea is to use the base as a temporary outdoor resting place for young plants that need hardening off. The grand theory: I have never seen a slug or snail climb a spiral staircase to get to its dinner.