Nicks New allotment

September already !

Been the hottest & driest summer here that I can remember - we had no rain for pretty much three months & its hardly tipping down now. Being up the shaded end of the allotments has actually helped us a bit this year, the plots in full sun have really struggled & we have mostly been OK with me popping down to water every other day.

First early spuds were good - not expecting too much from the main crop its really been too dry & they have struggled.

Runner beans were good despite me not building the supports well enough & the wind flattening them.. twice.. lesson for next year there. Beetroot were also good, and theres a few still to have from a second sowing. I grew Solo & Bolthardy, both have done well, solo is slightly bigger & rounder but gets more slug damage... its also mostly orange & not purple !

Sweetcorn did well too - we had 2 blocks of 12 plants all nearly ready - until the Badgers turned up one night, flattened them & scoffed all but 5 cobs.

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Really quite depressing to dump that lot in the compost - oh well, Im told that the only way to keep the badgers off is to wee around the plot to mark it as my territory.. we'll see :-) Ive put some chard into the space - hopefully they will leave that alone.

First batch of Purple sprouting went in shortly before the great sweetcorn massacre, thats doing well now after a fun morning spent picking the caterpillars off - clearly we were not careful enough when we put them in & some of the plants had eggs on ... either that or they have teleportation skills :-)

Started work on the raised beds for the back of the plot under the trees where the ground is full of roots - we've been collecting scrap timber so its going to be a bit rustic but that has allowed me to buy some well rotted horse poo compost from the local stables.

The general plan is to extend the beds at the front of the plot next year but we will have to move a couple of trees & some asparagus thats appeared first.

 

It's all go go go on the plot isn't it? Good to see your having some good fortune between the problems, that is allotment life for you.

The best tip I can possibly give (besides, "Hoeing everyday with a Y in it") is to continue working on your plot right through till next Spring. It can be difficult, especially when ground is frozen but seeing your plot without "greenery" on it and being able to do small jobs through winter saves you masses of time and effort in Spring.

Reverse for me this year, Corn is excellent...beetroot terrible !

Steve...

 

Second year & the plot is pretty much unrecognizable from where we started:

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Raised beds under the trees work well although are a pain to keep watered - we've split the rest into nine beds with small paths between & hope to move to no-dig once we've sorted out the other cosmetic stuff. Fruit cage didn't make it thru the winter (yes - should have taken it down) but it was a bit of a PITA anyway. Took down half the shed 'cos it wasn't doing anything & we needed to fix the roof of the other bit. Many more bags of rubbish dug out & carted off, pallet load of horse muck purchased to go in as / when required (just about the only thing I spent any money on this year!)

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Currently on the go:
-Four types of garlic (you can just see it here before the white fleece) - all seems to have done well but need to get the grass out of the bed for next year
- First earlies in flower - Red Duke of York - tempted to have a few this weekend..

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- Main crop spuds in but not showing yet - trying no dig for these so probably needs watering
- Radish, normal & mooli need thinning
- Beetroot just coming up, two types
- Baby spinach & Shungiku about ready for first harvest
- Strawberries in flower
- Carrots, spring onions, turnips, mangle all in the ground but not doing much yet
- broad beans about to flower
- runner beans in
- Parsnips up
- Pumpkins in (old tire full of muck just for them)
- Block of "pretty coloured" sweetcorn, Super sweet should go in in the next couple of days
- Too many chives so split them & need to find them a new home
- Grape vine needs a home
- Various fruit bushes & trees - not much blossom on the apple trees on the fence, need a summer prune I think.
- Outdoor cucumbers & courgettes to fit into whatever space is left.

Phew - thats quite a list ! Explains why Ive not gotten around to sorting my Garden at home out !

 

Brilliant progress Nick, it looks like you have cracked it. I've seen too many take on a plot only to fail because they cannot get past the first years work.

But second year for you and lots to harvest through it.

Steve...

 

Looks fantastic. Great that you have stuck with it and it will keep on getting better year after year!