The Last Post

As my readers will already know I moved to a new house (bungalow) last year. Much work, updating, d. i. y. and a vast amount of gardening and landscaping needed doing to the property. Most of the gardening to the rear of the property has now been completed just as the Wintery weather begins to take hold. A good sized vegetable plot is one of the features in the back garden prepared and ready to be utilised starting with next Springs sowing and planting. With this in mind I spent a couple of weeks last month tidying up N1 plot before deciding to give it up just over a week ago. Due to the amount of work on the house and gardens this year my blog posts have been just about none existent. Over the past seven years I have enjoyed reading many other allotment/gardening blogs and meeting/talking to lots of other gardeners on the "net". I hope my blog has been of interest and some use too, to all who have spent their time looking in on it. Good luck and best wishes to all you lovely people. May you grow everything except old. There's Always Tomorrow!!!

How It Was In The Beginning 2009

How I Left It 2016

N1 (2009)

How I Left It 2016

How I Left It 2016

Rooko's August Top 10 Tips & Tryouts

1. If you have any veggies which have become overripe and unusable they may be prone to infestation by insects etc or become diseased, remove them from the vicinity of your other crops as soon as possible.

2. Add a couple of tablespoonsful of Epsom salts to your watering cans when watering plants to keep the magnesium & sulphate levels up.

3. Sow green manures into any areas of vacant ground that need nutritional improvement.

4. Keep hoeing around those still growing crops to keep weeds at bay, otherwise they will compete with your veggies for water & nutrients.

5. I very rarely thin out my carrots, take care not to damage their leaves/roots if you do, or the smell from damage/breakages may attract the dreaded carrot flies.

6. Don't forget to pinch out the growing tips from your runner beans and pick the beans regularly to promote more to grow.

7. Think about "companion planting" for next season maybe, if you have had any problems with diseases/insect damage/infestations this year.

8. August can easily be the warmest month of the year so don't skimp on watering your crops. Watering early mornings or late evenings to ensure less evaporation of the water. A good soaking around crops is better than frequent light sprinklings of water.

9. Watch out for signs of late blight on tomatoes/potato plants. Remove any infected plants and burn or bag and bin them, don't add them to a compost heap.

10.

SOWING/PLANTING IN AUGUST

1. Sow the following this month: Spring Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Kohl-rabi, Lettuce (Winter hardy), Spring Onions, Radish, Spinach and Turnips.
2. Plant out Savoys, Cauliflowers and Kale.

OTHER JOBS IN AUGUST

1.  Keep weeding & hoeing.
2. If you are storing potatoes for later use, ensure any damaged ones are used, not stored.
3. Pinch out side shoots on tomatoes, leaving 4 or 5 trusses on each plant in general.
4. Turn your compost heap and spray with water if it is very dry.
5. Compost & manure heaps are attractive places for wasps to build their nests, so be wary when disturbing the heaps.

Too Long

Well here goes with my first blog post since April. No excuses for not blogging really, except for the fact that  if I was being paid for the gardening and D.I.Y. work over the past twelve months I'd be able to retire and live off the interest from the payments. Come to think of it, I am retired, well there's a surprise.

Since moving house, last October I have made infrequent visits to my plot. Due to the naff weather early this year and most of my gardening efforts being carried out in my back garden, down my plot the majority of the sowing/planting was late and not as prolific as previous years. The only crops I have growing this year are, garden peas, carrots, lettuce, runner beans, french climbing beans, onions and cucumbers. The peas should be ready for picking this coming week. The French climbing beans still need supports putting in place for them to cling to and are nowhere near maturity. The mixed lettuce has already been harvested several times so far this year but will be going to seed soon, hopefully I will have the time to sow more this coming week. Due to the very hot dry/muggy conditions here for many weeks now, the cucumbers are developing slowly but the plants themselves are still in good condition. I would describe the past few months' weather as definitely sub-tropical without the accompanying downpours of rain. Runner beans are below par this year with my onions looking pretty good so far. The 2 rows of carrots sown on No 2 bed have about a month or so to go before they are fully developed. As for the already established crops, rhubarb has been excellent, currants and gooseberries are prolific and tasty. Asparagus was also good and very early this season. My fruit trees and grape vines have produced no fruit this year, possibly due to the fact that they were pruned back late last year. My strawberry patches produced some good specimens over a 2 month period in May & June.

Kickboards Added To The Central Walkway Flower Border (right) Planted Out

As for the work on my back garden taking priority, the finished product is just about starting to come together. One of the 3 lawns has had most of the weeds and oodles of moss removed from it. Although the grass looks patchy where the moss used to be, some re-seeding should improve things. 2 more lawns will be de-weeded and re-seeded at a later date. Concrete edging has been added to most of the borders and path edges. Work has started on re-laying the old concrete slabs of the patio running the length of the bungalow. 3 weeks were taken up removing a shrub and its roots from underneath 20 foot by 20 foot of these slabs at the west end of the patio recently. I don't know the name of the shrub, (should have checked) but digging out the roots during muggy weather down to a depth of 2 foot, then re-filling the hole won't be attempted again, especially considering the slabs are the "old fashioned" 2 inch thick concrete type, rather than the lightweight more modern ones. Not to mention the oodles of builders rubble which was removed from under this part of the patio Paths have been constructed all around the perimeter of the garden, across the centre under the wooden walkway and centrally from the walkway to the back fence, past the recently constructed compost bin and log store. The pathways have been finished with 20mm blue welsh slate. 2 grapevines were planted some time ago adjacent to the 2 walkway supports at the eastern end of the garden. One of the vines already has already produced 3 bunches of grapes. The old garden bench and seats I was using down my plots have been cleaned, re-sanded, given several coats of fresh paint and positioned at various locations around the garden paths. Kickboards have now been added to the base of the walkway support posts to keep back various border soil and all the woodwork around the fences and walkway have had protective plastic/polythene tacked to them where they come into contact with any soil. Sieved soil, compost and horse manure mixed together has been added to the flower bed between the central stone wall (running east to west) and walkway, and a variety of flowers and shrubs planted out, along its length. 3 "main" jobs are now left to attempt or complete. Work on creating my vegetable bed began a couple of days ago in the "top right hand" western end of the garden. Concrete "half" slabs are being sunk into the ground around the edges of the bed which is currently overgrown with mainly grass. This area of the garden has so far been used as a dumping ground for soil, turf and rocks removed from other parts of the garden. Once the half slabs are in place a picket fence will be constructed from old pallets and attached to the outside of the slabs, hopefully keeping out any marauding animals. Once the area has been cleared of turf, rocks and other debris it will have compost or manure added to it, which will then be rotavated in. The final major project will be to dig out and construct a 4 metre by 3 metre fishpond adjacent to the patio, opposite the kitchen window.

1 of 2 Grapevines Planted At The Eastern End of The Central Walkway

A Start Being Made Adding The Half Concrete Slabs To The Perimeter Of The Veggie Bed (right)

Cutting Some Concrete Slabs To Size

Compost Bin Constructed With Log Store Behind It

The Offending Shrub

Digging Out Some Troublesome Shrub Roots From Under The Old Patio & Flower Border

Clearing Out The Proposed Veggie Patch

Where The Fishpond Will Be Located

There's Always Tomorrow!!!

At Last

I was spurred into some gardening action down my plot the weekend before Easter, when the sunshine finaly made it through the clouds for approximately 3 and a half days. The soil on 1, 2 and the L-shaped beds was too wet and sticky to work but I managed to get a few minor tasks completed. First was the compost heap which was turned and tidied up again, followed by 2 years old compost being spread across the surface of No 2 bed on (N1 Plot). A start was made, weeding the flower bed, underneath the fruit trees situated on the drainage ditch bank at the lower end of N1 Plot, removing several strawberry plants a the same time. 3 large bags were filled with bluebell plants, lifted from this bed, which have since been re-planted into one of the flower borders, around the base of a recently planted buddleia tree, to the front of my bungalow. The strawberry plants were re-planted in their new, recently prepared bed in my back garden. So far this season, mainly due to regular overnight frosts, I have not bothered to do any planting or sowing to date.

No 2 Bed Rotavated But Still Too Sticky For Sowing/Planting 19 March 2016

No 1 Bed Dry & Just Needs Forking Over Before Sowing Takes Place 19 March 2016

Gooseberry Bushes No2 Bed Starting to "Green Up" 19 March 201

 By the end of the week and over Easter weekend the torrential rain, high winds and hail returned so there was little chance of any further gardening. My plot has taken second place to my garden, for several months now, with any breaks in the weather allowing me to re-design the back and front gardens at home, salvaging what I could, after they had unfortunately been neglected for many years. The main idea with the very large back garden is to add various paths and walkways which will eventually cut down on the amount of ground which has to be cultivated. The neglected borders will be re-vitalised and more plants and shrubs added. 2 areas of neglected lawn also need a lot of attention especially the removal of masses of moss at present embedded in them, so much so it's like walking across very thick sponges. The third area of lawn will eventually be turned into a vegetable patch. The final job after the patio is re-laid will be to build a fish pond opposite the kitchen window.

Walkway Installed Across Centre Of Back Garden Splitting Area In Half 19 March 2016

Walkway From Eastern Side Of Garden 19 March 2016

Pathways Being Constructed Around The Garden Perimeters Using Welsh Slate With Weed Suppressing Fabric Underneath It 19 March 2016

Western End of Walkway A Fish Pond Will Be Built In Front of The Banked Up Soil 19 March 2016

Remember "Dolly Tubs" I Had to Use One Every Week. They Make Good Planters 19 March 2016

Another warm sunny day today and with no rain since Easter Monday I decided to spuddle off down to my plot early this morning to do some rotavating, wondering if my rotavator would start after the long Winter lay off. After checking the oil and adding some fuel, the old machine roared into life at the second attempt to start it, not bad I thought, after being stored outside, with only a canvas cover to protect it from the weather all winter. 45 minutes later No 2 bed was well turned over and although the soil was rather damp it was drying out quickly in the warm sunlight. Can't beat the old machines, not a bad hours work for a 50 years old rotavator.

After tidying up and trimming a couple of grass edgings around No 1 bed I headed off home for a cuppa.



There's Always Tomorrow If The Ominously Changing Climatic Conditions Allow!!!  

Rooko's April Top 10 Tips & Tryouts

1. Clear away spent flower heads from spring flowering bulbs such as hyacinth & daffs. Don't cut away or discard the foliage as it will replace the bulbs energy for its next flowering.

2. If the weather in your area has been dry enough lately and your soil is not wet and heavy, now is the time for some rotavating/digging, adding compost/manure as required to the soil.

3. Air temperatures are still relatively unpredictable in my neck of the woods at present, it may be worth checking the germination temperatures of various seeds before sowing takes place.

4. Easter weekend was the traditional time for getting your potato tubers into the ground. Don't put them into wet soil and remember Easter weekend is early this year so another couple of weeks wait isn't a problem.

5. More overnight frosts have been happening in this part of the country recently, compared to the past few years. So if you are sowing planting this month keep cloches or other plant protection equipment at hand as a precaution.

6. Mulch can be added around the base of trees and shrubs this month.

7. This month is a good time to add a lawn fertiliser to your lawns. If you have moss/weeds in the lawn use a fertiliser which has moss/weed killer mixed into it.

8. The tools of the trade are often taken for granted in and around the garden. So, remove soil from your gardening tools after use. Don't put wet tools away, allow them to dry first. Wipe the metalparts of secateurs, shears etc with an oily rag after use. Keep cutting tools sharpened along with spade blades.

9. Air fresheners inside your home?? Aloe vera, Spider plant, Snake plant, Peace lily, Dragon tree, Areca palm, Boston fern, Rubber plant, Weeping fig, Scindapsus.

10.                                                SOWING/PLANTING IN APRIL

1. Sow the following: Beetroot, Broad Beans, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chard, Kale, Kohl-Rabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Peas, Radish, Rocket, Spinach. Potatoes, Onion and shallot sets.
2.  Artichokes and Asparagus can be planted.
3. Outdoor cucumbers & tomatoes can be sown & kept in the warm.
4. Plant French Beans, Lettuce & Sweetcorn under cloches.
5.  This is a good time to plant Strawberries.

OTHER JOBS IN APRIL

1. Keep an eye on the weather as ground frost is still likely this month.
2. Keep areas of ground warmer with fleece/polythene to aid later planting.
3. Weeds are starting to appear, so hoe them off before they set seed.
4. Now is the time to erect barriers around your carrots 2 to 3ft high to combat the dreaded Carrot fly. Alternatively cover your Carrots with fleece but ensure all edges are well covered with soil. Keep Carrots earthed up.
5. Plant Onions between rows of Carrots or other plants that might repel the Carrot fly.
6. Slugs & snails will be coming out now. Combat them by: Keep the soil hoed and loose, use beer traps, spread coarse grit, pine needles, straw, sawdust around your plants. 

It's Got To Be A First

This little skipper flew into my kitchen today (25th Feb 2016)

There's Always Tomorrow!!

Rooko's February Top 10 Tips & Tryouts

1. If like me you haven't visited your plot for a while during the Winter it may be prudent to check things out there, to ensure this Winters weather hasn't caused any damage.

2. If you have any large perennial plants in your flower garden this month is a good time to divide/split and replant them, weather permitting.

3. Start chitting your seed potatoes this month.

4. Snip side shoots back to 1 or 2 buds and remove the tips of mature red and white currants this month, but beware if frost is likely.

5. Keep feeding the birds and in cold areas make sure they have un-frozen water to drink.

6. Check over your garden tools and repair any damaged ones. Ensure cutting tools are correctly sharpened. Any petrol left in petrol driven machinery is likely to have gone "stale" over Winter, making starting the machinery difficult or impossible.

7.  Ventilate greenhouses on warm February days?

8.  Put cloches/fleece over strawberry plants to aid earlier fruiting?

9.  Grapevines can be pruned in February.

10.  

SOWING/PLANTING IN FEBRUARY
1. Sow winter greens (under cloches or tunnels).
2. Sow round seeded peas (probably best in pots or trays).
3.  Sow tomatoes seeds early Feb (heated greenhouse) late Feb (unheated greenhouse).
4. Depending on conditions, sow broadbeans, early peas for harvesting in May/June.
5. Parsnips can be sown in Feb but sowing in March may give better germination.
6. Try planting shallots under cloches.
7. Lettuce, radish and rocket can be started early under cloches or in the greenhouse.
8. Spinach, turnips and Summer cabbbage can be sown under cover.
9. Sow onion seeds indoors (15degC).
10. Cane fruits can still be planted in Feb.

OTHER JOBS TO DO IN FEBRUARY
1. Cover over unused areas of the plot with cloches or black plastic sheeting to warm the soil earlier.
2. Clean out pots and trays.
3. Repair or replace any broken/damaged tools.
4. Feed the birds.

Deserted

I made the first visit to my plot this morning for about the past 2 months expecting it to be in a derelict state, after the wet and windy Winter weather conditions since November last. Surprisingly my plot was relatively tidy, mostly weed free and showing no signs of damage from the continuing high winds we've been experiencing here for many weeks now. Although the grass lawns around my bungalow have continued to grow considerably, over the Winter, due to the mainly mild temperatures, the grass paths & borders around my plot appeared to have died back, saving me the job of mowing them, which I had expected to have to do today.

My old runner bean plants were still entwined around their supporting canes on the L-shaped-bed so I set about removing the dead foliage from the canes, dispatching it onto my nearby compost heap. Despite the deluges of rain since last Autumn, No 1 bed was relatively dry with little stickiness of the soil. No 2 bed was wetter and the soil/clay sticky to walk on.

After I had finished removing the runner bean plants, I lifted a few parsnips and carrots from No 1 bed. I expected these to be rotting down by now, due to the very wet Winter weather but they were still in good condition, ideal for freezing.

I then removed a few weeds from various areas of the plot, the usual ones making a head start at this time of year, like creeping buttercups, shepherd's purse and clover, when the drizzly rain returned, drifting in across the allotments, so I loaded a few items of gardening equipment into my trusty old Astra and spuddled off home, mid-afternoon. With no other allotment holders to be seen around the plots it was a quiet, drab afternoon. The only real highlight being the masses of bluebells, currently well-established along the lower end of my plot on top of the drainage ditch bank.


There's Always Tomorrow!!

Rooko's January Top 10 Tips & Tryouts!! (Not)

 With the current Winter weather conditions here in U.K. being what they are, if anyone is outside doing any gardening they are either a true gardening fanatic, a paddy field owner or a few sandwiches short of a picnic. I've decided not to post my top 10 tips for January in sympathy with all the people currently affected by flooding in various parts of the country at the moment. My sympathy and best wishes for the new year go to them all.

This area of the back garden was an old overgrown rockery by the back gate.

 Christmas is already a long forgotten event, (in my book anyway), with time already seeming to be flying by, accompanied by the usual stream of seed catalogues and other gardening related literature popping through my letterbox. Many thanks to Sally Nex for sending me the free vegetable seeds she was advertising on her blog, a few weeks ago. Speaking of Christmas, a little while before it, I decided to buy myself an early present, consisting of one of those touch screen all in one computer thingies. My old "wind up" one, was well out of date and slower than a garden snail moving through super glue. I've finally got the new one working how I want it to, so for future blog posting and other uses, it should be much easier to use now. I'm not sure about the touch screen bit, lots of finger marks all over the screen, colourful though, paint, putty, adhesive, undercoats etc. saves messing about with screensavers. Should have got a self cleaning one??    Quite honestly I stopped working in my garden a few weeks back, due to the extremely wet, windy and rainy conditions. Only about one tenth of my originally planned re-designing of the garden has been completed so far. I must have a word with my project manager, trouble is I can never remember my new phone number, yet. With only 1 visit to my plots a couple of weeks ago, to collect some equipment for use in the garden and to drop off a lawnmower grass box, for Chris one of my allotment friends, any outside work is currently out of the question until the weather improves, (a lot).

Looking at the patio from the eastern end of the back garden. Borders cleared of weeds and ivy.

 Recently I have been concentrating my efforts on the seemingly endless decorating and updating of my bungalow. Well lets face it you can never get plumbers, electricians or other tradesmen these days, they all seem to be busy elsewhere when you require a job doing. Anyway if you want a job done properly, D.I.Y. Not sure if that's flooding in my lounge or I just whacked a nail into a hidden water pipe? I am currently sanding down walls and door frames and prepping them ready for re-painting. I gave up todays efforts about 15 minutes ago when the last light bulb in my hallway popped its clogs, closely followed by darkening skies, gusting high winds and yet another torrential downpour of rain, making it too difficult to see what I was doing (mainly lack of light, that is, the roofs not leaking, yet)!! Anyway sanding paintwork down is about as interesting as watching grass grow, which come to think of it, the grass in my garden and down my plot is still growing due to the unseasonably mild weather, (along with the daffodils on my plot flowering, at the beginning of November). I suppose the sceptics think global warming/climate change still isn't happening. It won't register until they are up the creek without a paddle.

The old garden shed was dismantled some time ago and having had some repairs done it was re-assembled. After 2 coats of paint it still needed more adding. 3 coats later I await an improvement in the weather to complete its painting.

Do I miss not being able to work down my allotment due to the bad weather, yes to that!! it looks like a late start to 2016's growing season.

This area of the back garden will eventually be decking and a strawberry bed

A HAPPY AND FRUITFUL NEW YEAR TO ALL

There's always tomorrow!!!
 

Rooko's Decembers Top 10 tips & Tryouts

A MERRY CHRISTMAS HAPPY 

AND

FRUITFUL NEW YEAR TO ALL 

 


Gifs courtesy of fg-a.com 

2015 In A Flash

Where's this year gone (and what the heck was I really doing) would sum up my allotment and gardening efforts for 2015. As my readers will already know, I put my house up for sale early this year and prior to that, from about November 2014 until the first week of February this year I was concentrating on preparing that house for sale. The rear garden was re-designed somewhat and various D.I.Y. and decorating jobs done, prior to its sale, so very little "Winter work" got done down my plots. I made the first visit to the plots during the first week of February just after several frosts had abated. One of the first jobs I remember doing was to replace my poly tunnel, damaged by high winds during January. After that a start was made on sowing various seeds into pots and getting them settled into the new poly tunnel. A period of early hot dry weather then did little to aid the germination of some of the seeds, especially 2 different types of tomato seeds. Several weeks later the said seeds still hadn't germinated, so thinking I had used a bad batch of compost, the pots had their contents emptied onto my compost heap. Whilst doing some weeding around my asparagus plants on N1's No1 bed earlier this month I came across a couple of dozen tomato plants about 2 inches in height, happily growing away among the weeds (November???). I had mulched the asparagus with sieved compost earlier. That's what I call "sods law", perhaps an apt term in the gardening world.

 About the second week into March temperatures dropped somewhat, accompanied by heavy rain, which caused me more delays in working the ground down the plots. Frosts persisted into April, despite them, various crops such as, potatoes, beetroot, cabbage, broad beans, spring onions and lettuce were developing well from seed sown earlier. Parsnips also germinated very well this year. By the end of April more brassicas had been planted out, pea plants were doing very well on N2 Plots No 3 bed. Sweetcorn plants were being kept back in the poly tunnel for a later planting out than I usually attempt. Most beds were sown/planted by the end of May after a few weeks of dry weather. The persistently cold North Westerly wind continued, keeping temperatures down. Rainwater stocks were running low. The cold wind continued into June. Runner beans germinated. First tomato plants germinated in the poly tunnel, slow and late. No rain for several weeks again, up until almost the end of July, with the dry conditions adversely affecting oriental greens, turnips, swedes and my water harvesting containers. First sweetcorn harvested 29th July. House sale still not completed.  The usual sowing planting and harvesting continued during most of August and September. Some rain came by the end of August and the first few days of September. Temperatures were dropping noticeably overnight by the first week of September. My house sale concluded on the 1st of October and the move to my new abode went well. Six days later was a family wedding followed, next day, by my bonfire night down the plot. I think that was my last visit to the plot due to various work that requires doing on my current house and garden. With a hospital operation yesterday and another due before Christmas, i think it will be 2016 before I get anything more achieved down my plot. Oh! and the planned breakdown of my lawnmower just prior to Black Friday was a stroke of luck??

Who's This Guy?? (Nov 8th 2015)

Starting the Bonfire (8th Nov 2015)

Well Lit  (8th Nov 2015)

November Harvest 2015

Summing up: based upon a combination of quality, quantity, ease of growing, cost effectiveness of each crop.

Apples - excellent crop 10 out of 10
Pears - 5/10
Plums - 4/10
Cherries - 5/10 (Good quality, lost most of them during the June drop)
Red currants - 10/10
Black currants - 10/10
White currants - 9/10
Blackberries - 0/10 (1st year)
Blueberries - 4/10
Grapes - 10/10
Grapes white - 3/10 (needed late sun, didn't get any)
Rhubarb - 10/10
Strawberries - 7/10
Raspberries - 4/10
Asparagus - 8/10
Carrots - 15/10
Beetroot - 9/10
Swede - 0/10
Turnips - 2/10
Parsnips - 10/10
Potatoes - 8/10 (Would have been 10 but for high starch content and some blight).
Spring onions - 10/10
Broad beans - 10/10
Sweetcorn - 8/10
Bridgwater beans - 6/10
Runner beans - 5/10
Oriental greens (all) - 0/10
Sprouts - 9/10
Cabbage - 8/10
Lettuce -10/10
Onions - 10/10
Tomatoes - 4/10
Cauliflower - 7/10
Marrows - 8/10
Squashes - 8/10
Courgettes - 8/10
Calabrese - 6/10

There's Always Tomorrow!!  


 

How Many Hours In A Day??

 If things don't change they'll stay the same, well that's no surprise, so what's changed since my last post at the end of July. Well the weather has changed for a start, although its very mild for this time of the year and a little damp caused by recent, frequent early morning mists. I made the first visit to my plots (or should I say plot), today, for a few weeks. I sold my house at the beginning of October and having purchased a bungalow, (still in Taunton), with a rather large rear garden I decided it would be prudent to hand back N2 Plot and utilize my rear garden, turning part of it into a vegetable plot. Moving house, clearing N2 Plot and being involved with the planning of a family wedding for this coming Saturday, (or maybe not, seeing as the bride and groom have just contracted tonsilitis??), has kept me extremely busy over the past month or so. Hopefully things will settle down a little within the next week or so.

N1 Plot, No 2 Bed + Bonfire October 2015

 N1 Plot now consists of 3 vegetable beds as before 1, 2 and the L-shaped bed, with the fruit cage still in place on No 1 bed. No 2 bed has been turned and covered with plastic sheeting for the Winter, except for the top end of the bed, (North end), where this years bonfire currently stands, awaiting its demise on the 8th of November. No1 bed still has carrots and parsnips left in the ground. I lifted about half a 15 foot row of carrots this afternoon, they were still in very good condition and a good size too. Most of the plot looked slightly neglected with the grass paths and borders needing mowing but being too damp to cut. The inside of the fruit cage requires a good weeding and removal of the fruit bushes foliage which is strewn across the ground, under the bushes. With the runner bean plants still standing on the L-shaped bed, needing to be removed and the lower end of the L-shaped bed requiring a good clearing up of the fallen leaves from my fruit trees.

Last of the Tomatoes Ripening Mid October 2015

A high percentage of the "flower borders" in and around the rear garden of my bungalow, were well overgrown with ivy, both variegated and the old english type as well as periwinkle and various other plants and shrubs, which had been neglected for quite some time. Thousands of Spring flowering bulbs were once planted under and around the border plants, shrubs and ivies. I have almost completed removing the ivy and periwinkle from the borders and fencing. Digging out the massive ivy roots without the use of a J.C.B. was rather physically challenging. Most of the various plants have been lifted, split and re-planted or discarded, depending upon their condition. All of the spring bulbs have been lifted, split and re-positioned/re-planted. The old garden shed which was in a state of disrepair, except for its roof, has been repaired, after removing the roof, dismantling and repairing the sides and replacing the roof, it is once again a viable work and storage area.

Unidentified Grub October 2015

Unidentified Grub November 2015

As this is supposed to be an allotment/gardening blog I won't mention the various other D.I.Y. jobs which have been required since the beginning of October even if I could remember them all!!

There's Always Tomorrow!!

Rooko's Novembers Top 10 Tips & Tryouts

Well after I missed last months top 10 (only the 2nd time since I started blogging), its about time I got back into some posting and allotment work.

1. Well I'm about to stick my neck right out with the first tip. 2 weeks is your deadline for getting out those protective fleeces, covers and any other plant protection items you can find. I'm predicting a cold snap across U.K. starting in approximately 2 weeks time, that will last into February 2016 with temperatures well below freezing day and night. Be prepared.

2. Deciduous and fruit trees can be planted this month but do not plant them on waterlogged areas of ground.

3. Many gardeners and allotment owners will be celebrating bonfire night soon. If you have built a bonfire, remember to check under/inside it for any hibernating animals such as hedgehogs, before lighting the fire.

4. Vacant patches of ground on your plot can be dug/rotavated if not too wet. Add compost/manure. Winter frosts should break down any heavy clumps of soil.

5. Cover rhubarb crowns with a mixture of soil/manure or soil/compost to feed and protect them over the Winter period.

6. November is usually a good time to repair and maintain garden tools and machinery, ready for next seasons gardening adventures.

7. Cuttings of evergreen shrubs can be taken this month.

8. Grapevines can be pruned this month, cutting back all fruited buds to 1 or 2 shoots from the main stem.

9. Protect the crowns of globe artichokes from frosts by adding straw around the base of the plants.

10.

SOWING/PLANTING IN NOVEMBER

1. Garlic cloves can be planted out.
2. Sow peas (round type) if the ground is not waterlogged.
3. Parsnips can be left in situ.

OTHER JOBS TO DO IN NOVEMBER

1. Lift and store any remaining carrots.
2. Harvest Winter Cabbage and Cauliflower.
3. Prune back fruit canes.
 4. Remove any rotting fruit/vegetation

Rooko's September Top 10 Tips & Tryouts

1. After several wet days in the past fortnight and temperatures dropping quite noticeably, especially overnight, check the ventilation of greenhouses and poly tunnels if you still have fruit and veg ripening within them. My tomatoes have been very slow to ripen this year. It may be prudent to strip all the leaves and stems from the plants to aid ripening.

2. Lifting potatoes is best done when the soil is reasonably dry. About this time of year slugs/worms are more likely to attack tubers and blight can set in after being spread around after rain showers.

3. If your beds are clear of veggies, now is the time to dig or rotavate them, ready for next season, adding manure or compost as required. This will save time next Spring.

4. If you prefer to dig/rotavate in the Spring, try sowing a green manure such as mustard. Mustard (a biofumigant) not only keeps many weeds at bay but is also useful in deterring soil borne pests.

5. Now is a good time to plant out Autumn onion sets & garlic.

6. If you don't have the positions of your perennial plants in the garden indicated with markers, why not draw up a map, before they die back, so you can remember where they are.

7. After harvesting the last of your Autumn raspberries cut back their canes.

8. Don't leave those runner and french beans too long before picking them otherwise they will become tough and stringy. Better to freeze them than waste them. Top and tail, slice, blanche for 2 minutes, open freeze then keep in the freezer in an airtight storage container.

9. Slugs and snails are still out and about especially under and around decayed vegetable matter. Keep beds and borders free of their hiding places. A sharpened stick or pair of garden shears will put an end to most molluscs.

10.

SOWING/PLANTING IN SEPTEMBER

1. Winter hardy lettuce can be sown in September as well as hardy Spring Onions.
2. Spring Cabbages can be planted out now.
3. Parsnips will taste better if left in the ground until after a frost.

OTHER JOBS IN SEPTEMBER

1. Prune Summer fruiting Raspberries.
2.  Runners from Strawberries can be planted now.
3. Add manure, lime or green manures to your soil, depending on each beds condition and your crop rotation.

Rooko's August Top 10 Tips & Tryouts

1. August is probably a good month to spray weedkiller, (if you use it), onto those nasty perennial weeds, whilst they have a good covering of foliage to absorb it.

2. Pick veggies, such as runner beans, french beans, peas regularly, which will encourage the plants to produce more fruits.  Biggest is not always best, small and sweet is often the best.

3. If you have an abundance of veggies, why not invite some friends over for a B.B.Q. and utilize the extra fruit and veggies in a salad/meal.

4. August can be a fairly dry month, regular, consistent watering, particularly of seedlings, potted plants and hanging baskets may be required. Don't get dehydrated, have a drink yourself too.

5. Taking cutting from half hardy bedding plants is a good idea this month.

6. If the weather has been particularly dry add mulches around beds and borders to aid water retention.

7. Watch out for signs of late blight on tomatoes/potato plants. Remove any infected plants and burn or bag and bin them, don't add them to a compost heap.

8. Weeding is usually a year round chore, but many weeds have seed heads throughout August, make sure these seed heads are not added to your compost heap, unless you can ensure temperatures within the heap are high enough to kill the seeds off. Remember the old saying, 1 years seeds = 7 years weeds.

9. On the subject of weeds, many of them or different parts of them are edible. Check out which ones can be useful before discarding them.

10.

SOWING/PLANTING IN AUGUST

1. Sow the following this month: Spring Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage, Kohl-rabi, Lettuce (Winter hardy), Spring Onions, Radish, Spinach and Turnips.
2. Plant out Savoys, Cauliflowers and Kale.

OTHER JOBS IN AUGUST

1.  Keep weeding & hoeing.
2. If you are storing potatoes for later use, ensure any damaged ones are used, not stored.
3. Pinch out side shoots on tomatoes, leaving 4 or 5 trusses on each plant in general.
4. Turn your compost heap and spray with water if it is very dry.
5. Compost & manure heaps are attractive places for wasps to build their nests, so be wary when disturbing the heaps.

9. 

Tray Bien???

Another good harvest today, salute the kernal 2015.

Todays Harvest (29/7/15)

There's Always Tomorrow!!

Parched

Some rainwater at long last pouring from the clouds, at least I think that's what it is, with weeks without any its difficult to remember what a good downpour of rainfall looks like. Although over the past couple of months we have experienced a couple of thunder storms and a little drizzly, muggy weather the allotments have been parched, up until last night when the rain started. My recent visits to the plots have been intermittent for a while now, mainly due to the fact that my house sale is still progressing and the priority has been, jumping through the various hoops associated with organizing completion of the sale. Watering the plots has been a pain lately with some varieties of veggies not liking the hot dry weather conditions at all. To compound problems it looks like the water fittings around our allotments will have to be updated, special underground tanks fitted and hose pipes and water meters banned in future. So far this year I have managed to use water from the drainage ditch at the southern end of my plots to water my plants. That source dried up about a fortnight ago. In fact over the past 2 years the only "mains water" I have used has been approximately 30, 2 liter watering cans full. If these long dry Springs and Summers continue, which I think they will, in this part of the country, I am seriously thinking of dispensing with growing certain crops. The main ones adversely affected by the dry conditions so far being, turnips, swedes, some oriental greens and certain brassicas. Germination of some seeds has also been hit and miss with temperatures being above their germination limits.

The Last of The Water (and mulch) Duckweed from the Drainage Ditch (17/July/15)

 Despite the dry conditions most of my crops have fared well with few problems along the way. Weeding has not been a problem, with many of the usual annual weeds not making an appearance, or the ground being too dry for them to fully develop this year. My sweetcorn has done exceptionally well so far, with up to 5 cobs per plant, (usually 2 max). I expect some of them to be fully ripened within the next week or so. Tomatoes, both inside my poly tunnel and growing outside are also excellent this year but slow to ripen. The fruit crops have done well, apart from cherries which I thought had been taken by birds last month, but on closer inspection, many were lost due to the June drop. Strawberries were rather disappointing this year, despite being well watered, both during and after cropping. Alpine strawberries on the other hand, have done well and are still fruiting vigorously after each picking. You win some and lose some!!  My apple crop in particular is very good this year. My 4 fruit trees, cherry, apple, pear and plum, were originally planted on the bank of the drainage ditch which is more or less the southern boundary of N1 Plot. Being close to a large hedgerow this area is home to hundreds of different weeds and wild plants as well as the insects and other wildlife they attract. In previous years I have kept the ground under and around the trees cultivated. This year I left it to grow wild. The result seems to be a lack of disease on the foliage etc of my fruit trees, which had been apparent in previous years. Bio-diversity at work no less. Runner beans again have been slow growing with the dry conditions this year and are only just producing a few beans. Looking around other plots on our allotments, very few seem to have lush growth on the plants. Climbing french beans (cobra) have again come up with the goods and several harvests have been done lately along with dwarf beans (purple teepee). 6 rows of peas have been harvested from No 3 bed, both (Hurst greenshaft) and 2 rows of  mangetout peas were prolific and good quality.  Marrows, courgettes and pumpkins currently growing away on N2 Plots' 5 bed don't seem to mind the dry conditions and seem to be producing fruit almost as fast as it can be harvested. Cucumbers within the poly tunnel are both prolific and gigantic. The specimens planted outside, (from potted seeds), have been slower to grow and are only just flowering. Onions again this year have been excellent with the majority of them already harvested. My sprout plants are in good condition in No 4 bed, which is more than can be said for the cavolo nero and the romanesco, with most of the romanesco quickly running to seed. Cabbages have remained in good condition, although a couple of seeded drills in No4 bed failed to germinate. Lettuce (mixed and crispheads) have done well again, even with little watering along with the reliable bolt hardy beetroot. My potato crop taking up the whole of No 2 bed seems in reasonable condition. The plants are not as tall or lush as last seasons specimens and the rain today will certainly freshen them up somewhat. 3 "trial" plants were lifted last week. One plant contained 10 rather large tubers with the other 2 plants containing a dozen tubers each, which I would class as medium sized. As these are main crop desiree spuds, planted early, another fortnights' time should see them being lifted. The quality of the carrots in No1 bed remains to be seen, again the top growth is not as lush as in previous years. My asparagus bed has come on leaps and bounds this year with plenty of strong growth, on the downside, picking off the ever increasing hoards of asparagus beetles has been a full time occupation. What looks like 2 good rows of parsnips are also doing well in bed No1, which I attribute to the mud and silt taken from the drainage ditch, which was spread over this bed last year, in lieu of manure.    

Tomatoes Poly Tunnel (Mid July 15)

Fruit Picking (Late June 2015)

No 4 Bed (7/7/ 2015)

Cucumbers Poly Tunnel (7/7/15)

There's Always Tomorrow!!

Rooko's July Top 10 Tips & Tryouts

1. Temperatures in many parts of U.K. have been in the high 20's to mid 30 degrees C making some gardening tasks physically challenging. Grass cutting being one of them. Lawns and grass paths etc can usually be left to grow for a while longer, which will prevent the grass scorching/drying out and save you some time and energy??

2. If you have house plants on windowsills in hot weather the sunlight can be magnified through glass windows, ensure plants are not being scorched or frequently drying out due to the extra heat.

3. Many types of fruit will be ready, or almost ready for harvesting this month. Consistent watering is required for fruit to bulk out. Water around fruit bushes and trees and avoid splashing water onto the fruit.

4. This year has seen a rise in the number of asparagus beetles attacking my asparagus plants, (hot dry weather conditions). The common asparagus beetle is about 1 cm long with cream, red and blue/black markings. The adults generally appear first in Spring and can produce several generations per year. Large populations can kill off a full crop of asparagus. Insecticides containing pyrethrum are effective against asparagus beetle. Hand picking them off the plants is an alternative if you don't use chemicals, but the beetles are very adept at dropping to the ground when threatened, where they are difficult to see.

5. Inconsistent watering of cucumbers may give them a bitter taste. Keep the soil around cuc plants evenly moist, add some good quality compost around the base of the plants with mulch on top of it, as they begin to fruit.

6. Continue with successional sowing of quick growing veggies such as, lettuce, radish, turnips, spring onions, beetroot, cucumbers etc.

7. Regular hoeing of beds and borders and removal of weeds will help to keep your plants healthy, whilst keeping the soil hoed will help water to soak easily into the soil. Some weeds are useful as host plants keeping certain insects away from vegetables.

8. Thinning out fruit if a heavy crop is expected may be an option this month. Thin out any diseased or damaged fruits first and support branches, stems of plants/trees to prevent them snapping under the weight of their fruit.

9. There are over 200 types of  hoverflies in Britain. They are useful insects to gardeners. Their larvae will consume aphids whilst the adults are good pollinators.   

10.

SOWING/PLANTING IN JULY

1. Sow French Beans, Beetroot, Carrots, Chinese Cabbage Spring Cabbage, Chicory, Kohl-rabi, Lettuce, Peas, Radish.

OTHER JOBS IN JULY

1. Watering is usually a major task during July.
2. Mulching may help to retain water in the soil but be on the lookout for slugs and other pests.
3. Keep weeds at bay with more hoeing.
4. Feed tomatoes and Onions.
5. Check Brassicas for caterpillars/eggs.
6. Water brassicas with a salt & water mix to keep caterpillars off them.

As Is (June 2015)

The annoying persistent stiff, cold breeze returned a few days ago with a change of direction, now blowing from an easterly direction rather than westerly across the allotments. So what difference has that made down my plots. Yellowing of my sweetcorn plants for a start, they don't like a fresh breeze. Direct seed sowing is frustrating, trying to ensure the seeds don't blow out of my hands before I get them safely into their drills. I don't use the plastic contraptions for sowing seeds as I have found them pretty hopeless in the past. Any tall plants such as peas and beans are being blown over but not to any great extent yet. Some time ago I began the task of putting up pea sticks to support (obviously) my pea plants. Having completed both outside ends of several rows I got distracted from this task at the time. Anyway I didn't complete the job, but what has become apparent is that the plants around the perimeter of the bed are supported with sticks and as such are sheltering the rest of the plants in the middle of the bed. All are standing erect despite the breezy weather. This might be a time saving trick for the future.

Leeks L-Shaped bed (11/June/15)

Runner beans L-Shaped bed (11/June/15)

Well that's the annoying stuff out of the way, except for the fact that the birds have decimated my crop of cherries for this season, twas a good crop too. I expect they were taking revenge for the fact that they can no longer feast on my strawberries and currants since the completion of the fruit cage on No1 bed. The weather recently, despite the cold breeze has been mostly sunny with alternate overcast days, so planting, sowing and various other tasks have continued on a regular daily basis. No4 bed has been planted out somewhat, with marrows, courgettes and squashes. More successional sowing of lettuce, spring onions and brassicas has been completed. Little weeding has been needed lately, mainly due to the continuing dry weather, although another session of grass mowing and edging was done a couple of days ago.

More Strawberries Fruit Cage (11/June/15)

Currants Fruit Cage (11/June/15)

With the poly tunnel almost empty of trays and pots containing seedlings, I spent this afternoon reorganizing it. The borders had some compost added to them and were hoed over before some seed sowing took place. A large inverted plant pot was left on the ground in the back corner of the tunnel as shelter for the resident frog who currently lives in there. The first few tomatoes have just developed, inside the tunnel, since yesterday and back out on the L-Shaped bed, only 1 runner bean from the 42 sown a few weeks ago, had failed to germinate, although I found 1 well developed plant pulled from the ground this morning, possibly due to bird damage. After completing the work in the poly tunnel, I decided to replenish one of my water tanks, taking more water from the drainage ditch, utilizing a metal bucket with its handle tied to a piece of rope, I really must get around to installing a water pump, sooner rather than later. With the temperatures at about 25 degrees C this afternoon and 30 degrees C in the poly tunnel, with the door open, it was warm work. By the time the water tank was half filled it was time to spuddle off home for a cuppa.

No1 Bed (Roots)(11/June/15)

Gooseberries 2 Bed (11/June/15)

No 2 Bed Top (11/June/15)

No3 Bed Legumes (11/June/15)

2nd Batch of Broad beans Bed 3 (11/June/15)

Bed 4 Brassicas (11/June/15)

Bed 5 Marrows Squashes Bridgwater beans Broad beans (11/June/15)

First Tomatoes Appearing Poly Tunnel (11/June/15)

There's Always Tomorrow!!