Working hard (November)

Thanks for your patience. I really appreciate the comments too, they really do add rays of hope and love to my life and give me a little more energy to fight - sort of like those video games where you get an extra life. I love you dear readers xx

These photos and developments are from a very cold and very very desolate day on the plots in November when EVERYONE else in the allotmenting world seemed to be more clever than us and had staid at home, warm and comfortable. Well, that was until we got started and then realised that no, we were the clever ones and we had the whole place to ourselves and the birds and if you work hard and steady you warm up soon enough and get stuff done :)

* So the top of 24a...and the tree fruit arch, humm, what's happened to the trees?! *

Yes the 6 trees at the arch (2 apples, 2 plums, 2 pears) all had to go; they were all sickly and the fruit wasn't ripening or even, in some cases looking at all normal. They were too crushed, there wasn't enough nutrients to go around and we were over ambitious and naive. But that is another true joy about gardening ~ you never, ever stop learning and the plot is a constantly changing, evolving place.

They weren't easy to get out. Andrew naturally did the hard bit whilst I removed all the wine bottles that had edged our lovely little shaded path through and under the arch. Goodness, there were two rubble sacks full of glass - I think it would be least embarrassing if we took them to the recycling place in smaller batches!!

Way back in July..

Anyway, I left Andrew to his work - digging out and then digging over single digging/bastard trenching and adding loads of goodness as he went, just like the last post. Goodbye path! Hello 2 very exciting new trees...

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I tackled this bed. It was a joy - loads for the compost and boy I love weeding. The soil was just perfect for getting those long tap roots from those blasted dandelions out ~ the whole thing in one go = *shudders of joy* Sadly, as with every single bed I didn't come across a single worm :( The New Zeland flatworm infestation we had a few years back has done terrible damage! Now I haven't seen one of those in a long time either which is great, but then, there isn't anything for them to eat...I am seriously considering a day were I guerrilla steal worms from roadside verges (hehehe). Don't worry I have a vis vest ;) ...

This is where I got to before home time; all those parsnips are huge and gorgeous looking - roll on Chrimbo dinner! The turnips were tossed on the compost as they were tiny and weren't going to grow anymore this year...the beetroots were lifted a few days later and pickled but shhh... Christmas pressies ahoy! Looks yum.

This is where Andrew got too before said hometime - see the way the whole field was becoming enveloped in a misty cloud? That cloud was cold and damp and rain was a-coming!

Oh but we went back since and there are more photos and stories to share - "hurrah!" I hear you exclaim. See you soon xxxx

Namaste

Un-Seasonal Weather Affected Disorder

I have come to the horrifying realisation that I have a new illness which I have called USWAD or Un-Seasonal Weather Affected Disorder. Hence my lack of blogging recently; there is only so much rain and chilly days during what is meant to be Summer that a girl can take. My body thinks it's winter and I've been doing a lot of hibernating style activity (or non-activity as the case may be).

I have struggled on valiantly when that yellow orb does decide to appear and stuff has been happening at the lotties and indeed, in the back garden too. I just haven't bothered writing about it, for which I am truly sorry - I know you must all be so hungry for your Grow Our Own news ;) Before I tell you any more I would like to say a hearty Thank You for all the comments on the last post; it makes blogging so much more fun when I have interaction with my most gorgeous and intelligent readers.

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The allotments are still a mess and it is still depressing but as to your great ideas about resolving (or trying to resolve) the issue I must report with a heavy soul that it just isn't going to happen. We don't even have the collective ability to make a committee work, it was tried for 2 years and it failed. Monumentally failed. Embarrassing isn't it?! So we can't go to the council as a body and ask for the things we pay for to be done, we can't complain unless we all do it individually and to be honest, what councillor could possibly be bothered listening to so many moaners when they have proper work to do. Our Allotment Officer is over all the parks, countryside and the cemeteries. Bickering about so and so who has paid for their plot but isn't using it, it really the last of their worries.

But anyway, it's good to vent sometimes and I have a blog so... Thank you for listening.

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Last weekend we had a new family member born - eek! So we didn't get to the plots and instead I was fawning over my tiny little niece and getting all soppy. But the weekend before we worked HARD, really hard and it was brilliant. So permit me to share, possibly in a couple of posts as I don't want to bore the pants off you and you probably have Olympics to watch anyway ;)

Plot 24a
So I'll start with this plot and first just say YIPPPEEE! As we lifted the Garlic and they are fabulous. Eeek! Look, they were just getting rusty all over and we'd been eating some green and loving it so we knew they were ready.

Just drying them now in the shed - didn't bother with fancy plaits this year as in previous ones as we had so much other work to do.

Looky at the lettuces! We are inundated and have been eating so much too; there's not much more rewarding than walking past those sweaty bags of pre-washed ready to go bags of salad (which cost a fortune!) and instead eating freshly picked leaves which are or better quality and varieties that actually taste of something! Ummm, I do love my peppery leaves.

The Summer Raspberries are just going nuts as usual. I reckon we get about a 10% of the crop every year, hahaha, all those birds just get in there before us and fair play to them, we're just too slow. As part of a huge shake up in the lottie layout to come, these will be getting moved over to 14b so we have better access to them and they can romp away as they so wish.

Heartbreak alert! ~ After losing every cherry on the tree again (3rd year running) we lost about half of our 1st ever Victoria Plums. I think, I hope this is just the plant doing a 'drop' so it can concentrate on making the rest of the survivors succulent and delicious. You know, just like the 'June Drop' in Apples.

I'll leave it there you know, I have a lot of boasting to do and I would like to sit down and fully enjoy every moment of it - right now I am in a good bit of pain having fallen hard, flat on my face on Saturday in the town centre. I now have a very beautiful bashed up knee, toe and a sore everything all down my left hand side, sitting still for any length of time hurts.

But guys, I'm back and I shall be writing more often, that really was an unforgivable break in proceedings xxxx

A good boast at 24a; weeds out - plants in

Okay, okay, I was a bit ranty in the last post, sorry. Sometimes I think you just need to get some issues off your chest and I feel much better and much more positive now, so thank you for indulging me.

I am going to be much more cheerful this time as I have happy photos and good raves about 24a (don't talk to me about 14b, that is being tackled tomorrow!) After a bad start to the year things really do seem to have caught up and the plot is filling up rather nicely thank you :) I'll start off with the fruit arch (cause I am super duper proud of it) at the bottom of the plot. Oh my lordy! the trees are doing so well this year, I think they have finally established and we have apples, pears and for the very first time, plums all set and growing!!! I hope we actually get some of each, it's been an impatient wait so far. The arch is now covered and if we ever get a really sunny day ever again, this is where you'll find me, in the shade - pale and interesting is the look I'm going for (I simply do not tan!)

And up beside the fruit arch is the Summer Raspberry patch - oh my, they are so heavy with fruit, though not one is ripe yet... I'm tapping my toe waiting.. however they are incrediblly healthy and a metre away there are new plants growing in the main path which I had to rip out - they're like a weeds those plants! They and the Blueberries growing behind them are going to have to be made bird proof - I am not sharing them this year again, in fact I blasted well didn't get 1 blueberry the past 2 years, grrrr.

The Cherry tree  ('Stella') has loads of fruit this year too. It did last year though to be fair and then it all got a bit too warm one day and they all fell off, to say I was disappointed is an understatement, I remember just standing there staring at the ground with my heart in my throat (honestly, it's daft but I was tearing up). I am trying not to get too excited but it's really hard - for goodness sake I have a Cherry Blossom Tattoo, my photography bussiness is called Cherry Blossom Tattoo - I bloomin' love all things Cherry! (apart from Cherry Coke but that's just because I hate Coke)...

The Garlic!!! Happy??? Heck yeah! This time last year it was looking good but there was rust, this time, no rust!! They just keep getting better and better - 'Gault's Wight' I call them, but then I am a total geek :p (This photo is almost a month old now - they look so fabulous now, I can't believe I forgot to take a pic!)

We (and by that I mean Andrew) had a terrible time trying to get Sweetcorn to germinate this year but in the end we have enough and have planted them out 2 sister style ~ Sweetcorn and Squash (under plastic bottle cloches) together as is our way :) Fingers crossed, I do adore corn on the cob. There is going to be a huge squash bed over in 14b as usual but I'll talk about that some other time.

Spuds are still doing great - we had to keep the fleece at hand though but this weather is so messed up but if the earlies I dug up last weekend are anything to go by, we should have a great crop (I'm pretty sure they're 'Sharp's Express' here). We also have second earlies in too ('Estima') - looking healthy.

I thought this was interesting...on the left are leeks that were sown in March, on the right ones that were sown in April - can you see a difference?? If anything the newer ones are stronger and a richer, deeper green colour - just goes to show, you shouldn't worry about getting everything planted, nature will catch up, she has her own rules!

Well my lovelies apart from all that there are great hanging bunches of redcurrants on every plant, little healthy rows of turnips and parnsips and lovely looking lettuces and spring onions. Just don't mention carrots to us, it's a touchy subject......

I think I have waffled and boasted enough - I'm off for a nap :) xxxx

Our Fruit Arch Trees - (I'm trying to learn!!)

I thought I'd write a little bloggette on the various types of trees we planted in the Arch. I hope you may be interested, but this post is mainly for me - to help me remember what's what and then I can keep up with Andrew when he blabbers on about them! You know a few years back he didn't know a tulip from a crocus and know look at him!!

There are 2 Apples, 2 Plums and 2 Pears. They are matched up opposite one another and the list goes from the back of the Arch to the Front, as you look at it from the bench.

Info on the Trees came from an RHS site. Who can you trust if not the Royal Horticultural Society, I ask you?? They have a great deal of pages I just stuck to the 'Grow You Own' section,

http://www.rhs.org.uk/growyourown/fruit_az.asp which has great detail on soil, planting, care, harvesting etc and it's very simple to use too!

Apples - http://www.rhs.org.uk/growyourown/apple.asp

Left Side = 'Lord Lambourne'

'(pollination group 2, pick mid-autumn, store until late autumn) This early to mid-season cultivar has a good compact habit, so is ideal for a small garden. The apples possess an excellent, aromatic flavour. '

Right Side = 'Egremont Russet'

'(pollination group 2, pick mid-autumn, store until late autumn) Its intriguing flavour combines honey and nuts. The fruit is small and golden with large patches of russeting and a rough skin.'

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Plums - http://www.rhs.org.uk/growyourown/plum_damson_gage.asp

Left side = 'Victoria'

'A popular, self-fertile, dual-purpose variety bearing heavy, regular crops. The pink, medium-sized fruits are ready in late summer. Their flavour raw is average but when cooked they make an excellent jam.'

Right side = 'Opal'

This self-fertile dessert cultivar is very hardy and produces heavy crops on vigorous, upright trees. The small, purple fruit has a good flavour and are ready to harvest in late summer.

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Pears - http://www.rhs.org.uk/growyourown/pear.asp

Left side = 'Doyenne du Comice'

'(pollination group late, pick mid-autumn, store until early winter) Pick this one for its outstanding flavour and perfumed aroma. Needs a good warm, sheltered site, so train against a south-facing wall. '

Right side ='Buerre Hardy'

'(pollination group mid, pick early autumn, store until mid-autumn) Excellently flavoured, vigorous pear with no graininess in the flesh. The large, yellowish green fruit has reddish russeting on the skin.'

Funnily enough they all have Awards of Merit from the RHS, though Andrew probably knew that, didn't he, that's why he chose them. Well, that and the fact that they came from Lidl's for a great price, hehe!!

Sorry if that was the most boring bloggette in history - I just needed to learn some of that stuff so I can sound like I know what I'm on about sometimes.