At the plot by 9am. Planted a row of Red Bull sprouts on well firmed ground. Netted. Planted a row of module grown beetroot next to raspberries. Planted a row of module grown spring onion - little clusters, thanks for the idea Tim. Sowed 2 rows of carrots and fleeced well, weighed down with stones, will forget about them. Sowed 2 short rows radish - rouge. Edged top end of plot and started getting my bean poles in, a little early, but it really makes the plot look 'proper' and the kids have started some frenchies in the greenhouse. Dug some veg, had a chat with Peter, had a chat with Jack, home for lunch with number one son!
Busy but satisfying! I had a busy day on Saturday:
I planted out my cauliflower (Violet Queen) and cabbage (Red Marner and Jersey Wakefield) seedlings/plantlets. I sowed another row of carrot seeds, Amsterdam Forcing II, and a row of spring onion, Eiffel. Planted out lettuce plantlets (All year round and Salad bowl red and green). Also planted out a handful of Swiss Chard plantlets and Spinach (Atlanta) plantlets. I don't call them seedlings because they have become mosterous in the last week! I also potted up the early purple broccoli, summer purple broccoli, cauliflower (snowball), and the three only survivors of my kohl rabi sowing. Sown various heritage tomato seeds, lots of flower seeds and some herbs.
Peas and broad beans are doing well, sprinkled some more slug granules (the hedgehog friendly kind) around them, clear evidence that they're already on the rampage on my neighbours lettuces.
This month is still need to:
Prepare planting holes for my squash and pumpkins
Dig out yet more weeds, and they are growing fast!
Mulch my soft fruit once the soil has warmed a bit more
Sow, kohl rabi, turnip, some more lettuce, carrot, radish and spring onion, bulb fennel, sweet corn (mini veg and regular ones), runner beans, french beans (red and green variety), borlotti beans, sunflowers.
Feed my garlic which is tinging yellow on some leaves
Plant Gladioli, Dahlia and the various other flowers that I've forgotten that I've bought
And I must get those parsnip seeds sown before it's too late, which it probably already is
And today I was rearing to go again, but...car has decided to give problems, dealer can't see it until Monday next week and has advised me not to drive it until then :'( But, luckily OH has some time off work from Wed so I shall be comandeering his van! (shhhhh, he doesn't know yet ;D)
good good. all lots of good hard work!
All I managed at the weekend was a look round the garden (no allotment, remember) and last night from 6pm-7.30pm, I potted up my broccoli, kale, chard, onions, etc that I'd sown in modules in the mini greenhouse. Then potted up my autumn sown sweet peas. Couldn't believe that lot took me so long.
This weekend I'm not going to have time to do anything.
The weekend after we'll start digging the third of the four raised beds (the pea, bean, courgette, squash and sweetcorn bed - I'm doing three sisters!) But my peas are already ready for going out. eek.
Also after next weekend, I have to find time to plant my maincrop and 2nd early spuds (only 18 left now, so not too bad) and sow my first carrots, parsnips and beetroot in the root bed (which is dug, but have to wait two weeks for the coffee to be less strong!)
And this week I need to prick out and pot up my first sowings of salads and sow some more.
Just when I thought I'd caught up with things, I remember loads more things I have to do!
Had a busy weekend of camping in the New Forest. Was suprisingly relaxing (hated the last camping trip :-\) and didn't almost freeze to death like last time. Went to Bornemouth beach on the sunny saturday ;D
Had yesterday booked off to recover from camping, and didn't need to recover, so I went to the allotment instead! Was a bit damp so didn't do much digging, but needed to earth up my rocket spuds, which have now been in for 5 or 6 weeks under fleece. Peas and broad beans are up, but are being mauled by slugs!
Allium bed looks fantastic - garlics doing well, shallots, january planted red onion sets, turbo onion sets and the later planted red onion sets are all sprouting. 2 rows of direct-sown onion seeds are up too.
Picked some more rhubarb, sowed a short row of the free spring onion sets from KG magazine.
Went home and sowed a tray of gardeners delight toms.
Toms sown 2 weeks ago are looking fab, cukes just sprouting this morning, sweetcorn looking good, cut and come again lettuce I sowed in a grow-bag also sprouting.
Happy, happy me ;D ;D
oooh i ache :) just got back from 5 hours at my lovely lottie! went very well apart from the mickey taking i got from some old blokes for my new poly cloches.
sowed some more broad beans, a row of peas, perpetual spinach, beetroot, turnips, kale and radishes. tidied strawberry beds and weeded onions and garlic. garlic is looking very healthy indeed.
dug over some of the area that has been under black plastic for over a year and surprisingly the couch roots seem dead and were quite easy to get out. soil is looking lovely cos i bunged a lot of manure under before i put the plastic over.
hooray hooray i am having a lovely day!
Jo
Your fellow plotties sound just like mine. Always taking the wotsit if I show up with something new like black sheet mulch for instance. I'll be a laughing stock when they see my Romanescu broccoli ;D ;D
Some 'barsteward' pinched my wheelbarrow off my plot >:( but kind bloke
loaned me a large barrow - which I filled 4 times with chippings for my
new paths.
Dug holes for planting posts for raspberries (late I know) but hit shale &
had to borrow crow bar & mallet to break it up.
Need to plant potatoes etc etc etc
Debs ( achy breaky body ;D)
sorry i missed you Debs! were they the chippings from near the ice rink entrance?
can't believe your barrow got nicked....
Sorry to hear about your wheelbarrow :( What rotten luck.
My tyre burst on mine while I was barrowing manure on Sunday. I never knew they did that :o I thought they had solid tyres. >:(