Some crop thoughts.

This week it has been raining and next week it’s BST: the perfect situation, it would seem.

I am so keen to go and see whether the spinach is out, and more broadbeans.

Last year’s potatoes, the ones I did not eat – I must say out of laziness because cleaning them was such a hassle: they were so muddy and eaten through by slugs -have all chitted, and chitted beautifully (they look very much like fascinating extraterrestrial creatures!), so I would like to plant them again… unfortunately you may recollect I did not record whether they were earlies, maincrop etc so I will have to try my luck. Experimental gardening ;p

Did I say that I also experimented with old onions, the ones that put out leaves: I have tried to plant them to see if they make new onions or do just flower, which would not be bad either.

I am at home now and the sun is coming out: I should probably go and water the seedlings in the greenhouse sometimes this afternoon – feel sleepy and have a lot to study, though.

Crop updates, wildlife and manure.

All week I have been thinking that – although I do not mind the ducks and did not see any damage done last year – they might annoy someone else on the site. Punctual as death the question came today: did you see the ducks on your plot? They occasionally nibble on young growth…

There were three in fact, and they start to be a few too many all considered. And although surely any nibbling from the ducks is nothing compared to the devastation made by pigeons, rats and slugs, I have spent all my time at the allotment fencing off the pond and covering it with netting so that ducks cannot access it but frogs can. I would not want to receive a letter asking me to earth up the pond after all the work that went into it.

As the ducks came back, the fencing seemed to work: they looked questioningly around and then at each other without attempting any breaking in, before I shooshed them away again – btw, they flew to the other end of the site, where they used to stand in the puddles of water that collected on plastic sheeting. As the neighbour remarked: not very smart animals, you would think the canal and streams in town would make them more than happy. I agree.

On the subject of living creatures, I have put a rat trap in the greenhouse (with butter and blue cheese rind as bait) as planned. Perfect timing as I had the unfortunate experience of seeing rats running around behind the shed in broad daylight today, and I am pretty sure I heard a neighbour also scream at a “6 inches” rat. It must be spring. If I catch anything, then the trick will be how to kill without blood. Could drown it in the pond :/

Speaking of vegetables, seedlings are starting to appear:

• celery (what shall I do with it? they are tiny and I am afraid they will die down in a while)
• sweet pea
• rapa bianca
• salad

I uncovered the herbs patch, and all of them were ok except one. Very few broadbeans were out though: I will have to see if they come out next week, given that it should rain, otherwise I need to top up with new seeds. Onions are starting to put leaves out but no sight of asparagus yet. Two artichokes seem to have survived but I am afraid the vines are really dead. Daffodils are out and lovely green leaves are starting to appear on gooseberries, including the cuttings. Rhubarb has mad enormous buds and two leaves.

I have started the major task of spreading the remaining manure at the bottom of the allotment to level the ground which is now sunken. Someone had dumped rubbish underneath it…

Not my best day at the allotment, especially for a birthday.

Crop updates, wildlife, the weather and wise advice.

Crop updates

Reading and writing about gardening, despite weather in the way; wildlife station

I was already enjoying the thought of another whole weekend outside in decent weather but the forecast goes:

• Saturday: Grey Cloud
• Sunday: Light Rain

so I have to prepare myself for more miserable weather and less allotment than expected. Maybe there’s still time for the weather to change…

Last night I had some time for reading, and I learned that chalky soil – with lumps of white chalk and flint like mine – agrees with grapevines, so maybe the plants are not dead after all, but only sleeping (very hard indeed by the look of it). Rosemary thrives on chalk as well, it seems.

Reading about soil improvers has reminded me that I need to sort my compost heap, which appeared in pictures some time ago showing that it is not really a compost heap, more… just a heap, and an ever growing one to boot! I could dig a trench and bury the material. It seems that peas would appreciate being planted on such a trench, after a couple of months from closing it up.

Or I could go back to my idea of getting pallets and build one like some other people on site. I must say that there are quite a few pallets thrown away at the garden centre that I could make use of, but my husband is not keen to carry them in the car… I should ask if they would take some home for me… but then I would also need to go to the council and ask for the key to the private drive to the allotment etc. so I tend to just dismiss the thought. The other day there was a skip on the road to the allotment with big wood cages that looked perfect: I wish I had the cheek to go and ask if I could take them… for recycling purposes, what else?

Anyway, talking of pallets, I have finally got round to taking a picture of the wildlife station I found on the Garden Organic magazine a while ago and that fascinated me at first sight. Here it is, compared to what I started last week (on the right).

I have a hedgehog box and a bird nesting box, and a couple of pallets, one of which I wrecked and which I started filling with brick fragments I scavenged around, and some twigs. I need to take with me a gorilla bar to pull apart the other pallet to put on top, and then fill the whole structure with – it appears – mainly hollow stuff.

What I have done so far felt really satisfying because that bit of my allotment behind the shed used to be just a grubby mound of soil; now, instead, it looks nice and tidy and will be put to good use 🙂 This is in addition to the lacewing box and ladybird tower that were already there, and for which I have to find some attractant I had bought and seem to have lost somewhere in the shed…

Time to have dinner now: this is the fourth post since Saturday, my mind seems to be now all set on gardening, flexing her muscles (metaphorically speaking) for the spring rush!

Space management, to do list for next weekend

This week I am starting to feel restless for staying away from the allotment so many days in a row: but it is still 35 days before long days and British Summer Time!

Is this hobby getting a bit out of hand?!? This winter has seemed more miserable than the ones before… and I seem to have so many things to do. This weekend went very fast as I spent it all outside – I realise now I did not look for recipes as I had planned! And already I know I won’t be able to do any gardening the week after this one. Not ideal as the seedlings need watering, now.

My to do list for next week has cleaning the greenhouse at the top: I bought a citrus-based disinfectant to kill any bacteria that might be left from last year’s tomato blight, but forgot to take a sponge with me last week. This is important as I have already planted tomatoes seeds and I want to give them a good chance to thrive at least at the start. Sponge ready in my allotment bag. Tick.

Then I have to find a place for all the Corrado onions I got for free with my seed orders. It sounds a bit exaggerated to find it difficult to find space in an allotment that is around 100 m2 for two people only, but what with the crop rotation, the time it takes for a crop to mature, the flower patches to attract insects, soft fruit, the greenhouse, the pond and the 200 or so types of seeds I have collected in the end I really find it difficult! So this is still a no-tick for now.

And jokes apart, with the 4 year crop rotation I can use a patch for the same crop family only after four years, and last year I seemed to grow mostly vegetables from a couple of families (A and B in my plan) so now I find I am left with a minority of beds for A and B this year… I will have to dig a bit more. In the meantime, I am experimenting with making the most of space with layering and companion planting. Last week I planted salad on the margins of the shallot patch. Let’s see how it goes.

And it’s already time to take the primroses and cowslips out of the polythene bag and leave them outside for the next month to get the lower temperatures they need to germinate.

Time for bed now, and not a vegetable one (I may need to excuse myself for the pun here…).

Crop updates, new bed, “nature reserve”

The salad mix is growing really fast, no sign of any other seedling, but I planted quite a few new things

• shallot Vigarmor
• salad Lollo Rosso
• celery Victoria
• sweet peas (5 varieties, leftovers from last year)
• tomato San Marzano
• chamomile (lawn)

and

• pea Twinkle (last year it did nothing, so I have to monitor)
• broadbeans Express

in the new bed I finished!

I am very happy with the new bed, it has come out nicely and I am sure the beans will be growing well as the soil is very rich and crumbly: looked very healthy. Let’s hope the holly is going soon, I will mention this to him when I see my neighbour next time.

Today it was really deserted, only me at the allotment, not even Geoff around that I could see.

Anyway, after finishing my bed and planting seeds, I also decided to clean up a little at the back of the shed and start off my “nature reserve”, with a wildlife station similar to the one I saw in Garden Organic magazine back in November.

I also took off my fleece tent, in the end it was no use at all, I could have used the fleece on the artichokes instead.