Progess Report (Warning! - may take a while to get through)

Finally, here it is! A report on how all things planted since the start of this blog are progressing. So, without any further delay, here we go:

* Pea (Ambassador) - 03/05/06
They are just starting to poke their heads above the ground next to the shed - looks like fairly good germination, however they probably don't get enough natural rain water due to their proximity to the shed, so will probably need to be watered.

* Golden Beetroot [Plot] - 25/04/06
Still just seedlings with no true leaves yet - pretty even germination throughout.

* Rocket [Plot] -
o 25/04/06 - Widespread germination - starting to form first true leaves.
o 09/05/06 - Plenty of seedlings visible - next to the peas, so will also need a little watering.

* Leeks (Monmouth) - 03/04/06
From what I can see, germination has been very successful. They have been weeded and are looking strong.

* Leaf Beet (Ruby Chard) - 03/04/06
Good germination and good, healthy growth. They may need thinning at some stage, as they grow to be pretty big and are currently closely spaced.

* Carrots (St. Valery) -
o 03/04/06 - Good, consistent germination, however a little thin at one end for unknown reasons. They need fleecing, if its not already too late.
o 20/04/06 - Just starting to show - line needs weeding.

* Onion (Red) - 02/04/06
Looking good - a couple didn't manage to do anything, otherwise they look healthy and strong - not much needs doing to them apart from weeding.

* Potato(Arron Pilot + Santee + Pink Fir Apples) -
o 02/04/06
o 20/04/06
They are all showing signs of life, although the PFA have yet to really go for it. The beds have been mounded as they grow, so there should be lots of space for tubers to grow. Fingers crossed as last year our crop was a little small.

* Squash (Bon Bon + Butternut) [Greenhut]- 30/03/06
We had mixed success with germination but managed to get 2 or 3 plants of each. 2 Butternuts have gone into the manure heap along with the pumpkin (16/05)

* Pumpkin (Hundredweight) [Greenhut]- 30/03/06
Managed to get the one healthy plant we required. It went into the manure heap on 16/05 in a small 1 foot wide/deep hole dug into the heap, filled with topsoil.

* Cabbage (F1 Stonehead) [Greenhut]- 30/03/06
These came up well, but haven’t grown so well in their loo-roll plugs. The are still in the greenhut.

* Courgette (F1 Gemmer) [Greenhut]- 30/03/06
These came up very successfully and were transplanted to their final position on May 9th. The are still alive, so managed to survive a few cold nights.

* Sweet Corn (F1 Kelvedon Glory) [Greenhut]-
o 30/03/06
o 19/04/06
We were lucky and had widespread germination – probably in the region of 90-95%. They were sown in loo-roll plugs so as not to disturb their roots when transplanted. They, 20 plants, were put into their final positions on the 13th of May under black plastic to retain moisture and keep weeds down. They seem to have taken well to their new positions.

* Corn Salad [Garden] - 28/03/06
Not one seed germinated – not sure what I did wrong.

* Radish (Cherry Belle) [Garden] - 28/03/06
They came up fine. We have had a few, but they are a bit of waste of space. They are exciting because they are quick, but otherwise they are a little disappointing.

* Spring Onion (White Lisbon) [Garden] -
o 28/03/06
o 19/04/06
Widespread germination. Both rows are still growing – we hope to start harvesting soon.

* Rocket [Garden] -
o 28/03/06
o 19/04/06
One row produced ONE plant – the other is growing well, with plenty of plants. We have had a few leaves – tasty!.

* Lettuce (Little Gem) [Garden] -
o 28/03/06
o 19/04/06
Exactly the same as the rocket!

* Parsnips (Tender and True) - 21/03/06
A HUGE disappointment. Of the 132 seeds I planted, 6 – that’s right, 6! Bloody seeds germinated. I really had high hopes for these. Flo bought some later varieties that we will sow and keep our fingers crossed.

* Swiss Chard - 18/03/06
Good germination – growing well. They will need thinning at some point.


* Beetroot (Boltardy)
o 18/03/06
o 03/04/06
Good germination and growth. Not much else to say.

* Onions (Sturon) - 18/03/06
Good growth. I believe only a few didn’t manage to grow, otherwise good, strong plants.

* Tomatoes (Unknown - Kate) [bathroom] - 3/03/06
I can’t remember how many seeds I planted, but we have 4 good, healthy plants on the go in the greenhut..

* French Climbing Beans (Blue Lake + Unknown from Doug) [bathroom] - 3/03/06
We had good results with these and have transplanted the ones we believe are the climbers into their final positions.

* Red Cabbages (Red Drumhead) [bathroom] - 3/03/06
These were in loo-roll plugs and were unfortunately attacked by some kind of strange fungus. They are still alive but tiny and living out in the garden.

* Leeks (Argenta) [house]
o 06/03/06
o 30/03/06
Great germination! They are still on the windowsill in the shed and will need transplanting soon. Hundreds of plants!

* Carrots (Early Nantes)
o 20/02/06
o 21/03/06
o 09/05/06
Good germination with plenty of seedlings which have now been fleeced, so hopefully carrot fly will not be an issue.

* Jerusalem Artichokes - 29/01/06
The Bain of our allotment, they have managed to creep up from the most unlikely of odd bits of off-cuts, roots, tiny fragments left in the ground etc. I am not too sure of their future on the plot.

* Garlic - 20/11/05
We have seen moderate success with the entire batch of hut bought cloves showing, but only about half of our own showing healthy signs. The Scottish, really garlicky garlic looks good with only a couple not showing.

* Broad Beans (Sutton + Aquadulce)
o 20/11/05
o 04/03/06
o 06/03/06 [shed]
Good germination, with perhaps slightly stunted growth due to the cold spring. The shed grown plants filled the gabs in the beds nicely. The last sowing are all up and looking good for their late start.

* Raspberries (Malling Admiral) - 16/11/05
All theses are showing signs of life, either with new canes or growth on the currnt ones.

* Blueberries - 16/11/05
Took well, and with an ericinacious feed, have produced plenty of flowers. They will need netting soon.

* Autumn Onions - 09/10/05
As with the other onions, most are well and looking strong with only a couple of non-starters.

Out of the coldframe, into the big wide world!

I met Flo after work, my panniers laden with climing french beans and courgette plants. We prepared the ground and threw them in! Flo dug holes about 10" wide, filing the bottom with a fork-load of manure, then popped the little plants in on top - we planted 4 in total. I set about putting in 4 of the French Beans that I believed were climbers (I lost the lables that distinquished between the bush and climbing varieties. DOH!) No special treatment, just dug a hole and put them in. I also planted 2 more half-rows of Nantes 2 carrots in the early carrot bed. We should really be looking to find where we can plant our winter carrots as we currently havn't planed for them. Of course, as is obligatory this time of year, much time was devoted to weeding; the onions, carrots and garlics all having a once over. We must fleece the young carrots to protect them from the fly! Also, must re-plant the parnips soon. Sue from work, was very kind in giving us a clump of perrenial Welsh Onions that can be used both as a cooking onion as well as a spring or salad onion. We planted near the rear of the plot, next to the waterbutt - no special treatment, just dug a hole and bunged them in.

When it rains, it pours.

Flo and myself set off nice and early with the intention of doing as much as possible before our 1:00 deadline, so that we can get home and ready for practice. However, Mr. Weather had other plans and so we reluctantly pedaled off into a misty drizzle, entertaining the hopes of a sudden breakthrough from the Sun department. We were to be dissapointed. This, however, didn't stop us from getting a lot done. The majority of the time was spent hand-weeding, Flo working on the beetroot/chard area, as well as digging up HUNDREDS of blasted Jerusalem Artichokes that had gone a-wandering (they really are a nuisance, however they ARE tasty - their long-term status on the plot is in question) (We might not have any choice in the matter - they might just take over!) I spent my time wallowing about in the fruit cage weeding - it was also a good opportunity to inspect the raspberry canes that we had planted in the autumn to see how they were getting on. (See above Progress Report). Whilst Flo continued her battle with the weeds, I set about earthing up our early potatoes that had started to make a good showing - and I must admit I am rather proud of them.

On the compost/manure front, we turned the compost again, this time adding a couple of plants-worth of Comfrey leaves we harvested from home as well as a few fork loads of manure. This, we hope, will get the ball really rolling. (I did notice quite a bit of heat coming of it before we started work on it this morning, so its obvioulsy cooking!)

Plan Pea!

Set out this morning with the mission of converting a little space on the South-facing side of the shed into a little pea bed, with netting tacked onto the shed for growing supports. I had to work this afternoon, so only managed to do the one job, but fairly happy with it!

A load of BS

About a week ago we ordered a load of muck from Alan. The drop off was arranged for today, and Doug had kindly agreed to let Alan dump the load at the front of his plot (you can't drive onto ours) from where we could shift it to it's pallet bay home. We arrived mid morning to find the steaming pile waiting. It was massive, and after a few minutes shoveling we realised that the bay Ben had made for it wasn't going to be big enough. So, we dug up the two pallets that were the fence at the front of the plot, and picked up another one from the hut - enough to extend the bay and make a door for the front. Ben got on with this while I sorted out the flower bed at the front of the plot - digging over, replacing the pallet fence with some old posts, and planting poached egg plants, Love-in-the-mist, flax (linum rubrum), french marigolds, and sunflowers from RHS Wisley via Kate.

Once the muck bay was done it was back to shovelling. it took hours! But by the end everything was looking neat, and there wan't much trace of the pile left on Doug's plot. We're planning on leaving the pile to rot until the autumn/winter when we'll apply it as a mulch to keep the weeds down and to be dug in in the spring. In the mean time We'll try planting a few squashes directly into it.

Ben gave the Compost heap a turn and we mixed in the mucky grass clipping raked from where the pile had been, and the goosegrass we'd cleared from under the plum trees.

The other big job for the day was weeding. Ben tidied up the carrot beds (germination looks to have been pretty succesful) and I removed the grass that was growing up around the lavender bushes.

We picked a mammoth harvet of purple sprouting broccoli (some for dinner, the rest for the freezer) but left the small side shoots to grow some more. And John gave us some rhubarb, so the 6 hours spent working felt well worth it.

Rockets Away!

After work, yet again, to finish planting the sweet peas (they are everywhere!!) and also to plant a row of Rocket and Golden Beetroot towards the front of the plot. The endless and thankless job of weeding continues unabated.

Plant transplant

Another quick visit after work today to plant in our Broad Beans and Sweet Peas that were planted in loo rolls at home. Dug a hole, sprinkled a little FBB (Fish, Blood and Bone) in the bottom, filled half-way with water, then bunged in the loo-roll-bean. Flo organised and planted the Sweet peas, 10 in each bean-support area.