Garlic doing well.

I was expecting a bit more evidence of growth today than I found. The garlic is doing very well, and the first lettuce row is showing, so are lots of new weeds: not much else.

I have given up on the autumn sown onions, they've all disappeared or are rotten. As they were in the wrong place anyway, I've removed them, and sown a short row of Balmoral peas instead. I've sown a short row of Jaguar peas, some more lettuce, and leaf salad.

After some more tidying up I started cleaning up bed 10 in front of the shed. I need to lower it by about 12 inches as well. As expected it's full of bindweed roots and some horse radish.

At least the clocks have changed, so a little bit of evening work will be possible from now on

When I'm not alloting, I enjoy taking photos from kites. Here is one from a contact in Cambridgeshire, taken today.

Fast Food

I was planning to spend an hour or so later to day on the allotment as I am working from home, but with heavy rain forecast I dashed out for 20 minutes during a self imposed lunch break instead.

Pulled a few weeds (golly they grow fast) and planted more potatoes.

That's all folks

Spring into Action

What a busy weekend: 21st March is the "proper" first day of spring and we had the superb spring weather to go with it.

On Saturday we had steady rain, which was very welcome: it watered the ground (clearly) and meant I spent some time at home on urgent work. It didn't stop some potting and sowing though:

• more squash of various varieties
• basil pricked out
• various peppers pricked out

I also tried germinating some runners beans and sweet peas on wet paper towel:

The tomatoes sown last week are now showing, and the Javelin potatoes are ready to go in the ground.

Sunday dawned sunny, warm and fresh: a real first day of spring. We both tootled down to the allotment.

The main task was to plant the early potatoes (Javelin) and prepare the trench for the second earlies and main crop to be sown in a week or two. I also sowed another row of Parsnips and one row of early carrots (remember a "row" on most beds is half the width of the plot, not full width). I've ended up with more in this bed than I'd planned for, mainly due to the extra onions and the garlic. I don't have enough room for the rest of the carrots, so need to do some more thinking.

Bar was very useful weeding all over the place, I'm not good at that (i.e. don't like it).

Finally, I constructed the support for one double row of runner beans in bed 1. The other runners will probably go on wigwam supports.

Maurice, who gave us the garlic, gave us a bag of fresh sprouts, which will be cooking down-stairs in a few minutes.

A bit of sunshine, some netting and some canes, and all of a sudden it looks like a proper allotment!

Sowing

I had a brief after work tidy up on Monday, then today I had another hour after work just before it got dark. I took a gamble that it was warm enough to sow a few small rows:

• beetroot
• the rest of a row of parsnips
• another row of red onions
• some more early peas
• the rest of a row of broad beans.

The soil is bone dry, and I've now run out of water in the tank, and the taps are not yet turned on. I hope it rains soon.

Longer Days

On Thursday, I was able to get to the allotment around 4.00pm and had a full hour digging, and still got home in the light. The last full bed to be dug (bed 6) was finished, and beds 6 and 3 were limed.

Today I spent around 3 hours there. I cleared the space next to the shed and made a small bed in which I've sown some lettuce (Little Gem). I intend this be be a decorative bed with sweet peas and other flowers and herbs next to where we can sit. Being a little impatient, I've just bunged the lettuce in!

On the other side of the shed I've built a compost out of three pallets. I really need a fourth to make the front, but until I find one I've just placed a broken trellis in front of it. All the ground underneath the shed is still full of bindweed roots, so I had to dig down 18 inches under the compost to remove what I could.

I've sown some sweet peas in pots and tomatoes (Outdoor Girl)in a tray.
On bed 1 I sowed a short double row of broad beans and added a few extra seeds to the autumn ones sown in bed 9 where gaps had developed over winter (the spares planted last week didn't survive the first frost. I'll learn.).

On bed 7 a sowed a single row of red onions.

I also met my immediate Southern Neighbour (Irish Maurice) for the first time.

Back at home I erected my temporary greenhouse (6x4, £40 from Wilkinsons)

Pottering about.

No visit to the allotment today, but a busy afternoon gardening at home. Since having the allotment, gardening at home is also more enjoyable (at the moment, as little needs doing).

I had a good hack at all the bushes in the front garden, and a bit of tidying up, then pricked out the African Marigolds, the few Hollyhocks, and sowed five pots with Giant Sunflowers. The cabbages I pricked out yesterday look very sorry for themselves, I think they were left too long in the seed tray.

The First Dig of March.

We were discussing how much progress we had made since we took on the plot last September while the two of us were digging for four hours today. It is quite amazing really, and Maurice (next door but 2 and 3 on the plots) confirmed that it hadn't been tended for quite a few years before we took it over. That made us feel quite proud of the achievements, added to which Maurice gave us enough garlic cloves for two 3m rows.

Quite a lot was done today too. Beds 2 and 3 are now fully dug, with only number 6 remaining, and a revisit of numbers 10/11 around the shed. Some chicken manure pellets were spread widely (not on number 7 which is for root veg).

The autumn sown broad beans were looking very sorry for themselves, so we planted a few replacements that had been started at home in peat pots. They were also weeded and new supports were added.


The home sown early peas (Twinkle) were planted out and the double 3m row finished off with direct sown seeds. These were covered with the cloche (bed 8)

On bed 7 a 2m tape of parsnips was sown, and two rows of garlic cloves.

The sweet peas we started at home in the autumn are looking very sorry for themselves, so I planted them out in bed 3 anyway. If they revive, great, but if not they be thrown anyway.

All in all, a very productive day, we even had family visitors.