Making the most of the light nights

The nights are definitely drawing in. I'm avidly following the weather forecast at the moment (which seems to be nice one day then raining the next) for nice evenings for me to go up to the allotment. Tonight was perfect. I left work on time, quick tea and then up there as soon as I could. I went round the back of the allotments which is a bit of an overgrown path which dog walkers use. It leads to an area which contains a communal orchard. I had a walk round there but there are hardly any fruit on the trees. Is this another victim of the poor weather, the cool spring meaning less bees around to pollinate the flowers. I've got an old apple tree in my garden and this has quite a few fruit on but they don't look very healthy this year. Anyway I digress, on this path there are some fences covered in brambles and as I showed in the post last week, the blackberries are ripening already.

I disturbed a flock of sparrows on my way round who've also found this treasure and though I don't want to deprive the sparrows some fruit I'm sure there is enough for all.

So first batch of jam making ingredients, will pick a couple of more batches, there is plenty of fruit on them waiting to ripen. Its handy finding my own patch.

However my friend gave me a 'cultivated' blackberry bush, not sure of the variety, which she had grown in a pot in her garden which wasn't doing too well so I've planted it at my allotment and its taken off. I need to get some wires on the fence and properly train it. But I've got quite a few flowers and small developing fruit. The flowers are quite pretty.

Had a good weed up at the plot tonight, I've definitely been more on top of the weeds this year but it is never ending. Good job I find weeding therapeutic! I've cleared one bed tonight (my failed roots bed) and I'm going to give green manure a go, I bought some seeds at the Tatton Park Flower show.  Will post on that when I get going with the sowing.

Whilst going round my plot tonight I noticed I've got a healthy crop of mushrooms growing in some places. Should I be worried or is this just expected as the bark chippings start to rot down? Should I do anything or just leave them be? Any suggestions?

Allotment Show

At my allotment site we have recently set up a committee to try and address issues on the site, to combine resources such as buying seeds and compost and also to get together to work on communal areas of the site. We have been meeting for about a year now and for me it's been nice, as I'm fairly new to the plot, to help me get to know the other plot holders.

We have created our own little shop, have set up a website and reinstated a mini-show of our produce. It used to be a big annual event in Paddock but as allotment usage dwindled it got dropped but now our site is thriving again with all plots taken and the council are relatively on top of people who don't look after their plots. All our work to improve the site has been recognised by the local council and the big show in Huddersfield where our site was awarded the most improved site in the Kirklees region.

In addition one of our plot holders was awarded the prize for best novice gardener across Kirklees.

At a meeting early in the year we decided we'd like to have our own show but we wanted to start slowly to see how much interest that we would have and if it was a success that we might extend to other sites in the area in future years. As this has been such a difficult year we decided a few weeks ago to have a general  entry which is a basket of mixed produce of your choice (the term basket could be loosely interpreted as any container or if preferred produce can be displayed on the table top which will be covered with cloth). First prize was a memorial shield with certificates for second and third prizes.

The show was to be held on Sunday 19th August in our communal hut on the site. We had a Kirklees official judge, Roy Jackson and we had to exhibit our produce between 6 and 7p.m. on 18th August or between 11a.m. and 12 noon on 19th August. Judging to place at 1.00 and then we all in the hut for tea and cakes at 1.30.

Here was my entry.

It really has been difficult, I've no beans or peas ready at the moment (my first sowing of peas is finished and my second just starting to flower now!) I've not grown runner beans this year and my dwarf beans and purple beans not quite ready yet! So my exhibit consisted of some potatoes 'Pentland Javelin', my garlic which I'm really pleased with, one fennel bulb, 3 varieties of courgette ('Best of British', 'Summer Ball' and 'Tondo di Toscana') these add a bit of colour and 3 globe artichokes and just to decorate some 'Carvelo Nero' and 'Scarlet' Kale. I'm not sure the edible flowers of Borage and Marigold were approved of by the judge but it added some colour! I was pleased but as you will see below the competition was fierce. It was funny at the allotment on sunday morning picking the last few things and seeing people looking at around at what everyone else was doing! For me it was a bit of fun to get involved and meet my fellow plot holders, but it obviously meant alot more to some of the male plot holders as it sparked their competitive spirit.

So here are a few of the other exhibits.

Its an amazing display considering the year that we have had.

Can you guess from looking at them which one first prize?

The winner of the first prize and the memorial shield was our chairman, Barry. Who exhibited the vegetables in the picture straight above. The second prize went to Peter, the first picture above and the third prize to Johnathan the one with the two cauliflowers (which to be fair are brilliant) I've never managed to grow a cauliflower. This won the Haighe trophy for best in show.

But I'm sorry boys size isn't every thing! There was a definite gender divide in the show, the women more interested in having a good harvest and a tasty crop. Maybe we should all strive for perfection but then I think of the amazing mis-shapen tomatoes and peppers that you see in markets in Spain or Italy where they are really more interested in taste, rather than the uniform fruit and vegetables that you see in the supermarket in the UK. Anyway it was a fun sociable afternoon with lots of talk of the weather and pesky snails. Plus lots of lovely cake.

What do other people think about these vegetable shows?

Post Olympic blues

I'm having withdrawal symptoms! I'm missing the buzz of Team GB. I want to be watching the tense tactics of the cycling, hear the roar in the Olympic stadium, watch the horses dancing, marvel at the gymnastics and see all the Union Jacks waving. I'm afraid I've been engrossed by the Olympics which explains my lack of blogging, instead I've been watching Mo, Usain, Jess, Chris, Victoria, Louis, Beth and many more of our Olympic heroes. I knew that I'd be watching lots but never imagined that it would be the success it has been, not only in sporting terms but in making people smile and talk to each other. 

Huddersfield had one gold medal winner, Ed Clancy the cyclist so we are proud owners of a gold post box!

Disappointingly I didn't get any tickets for any of the events in London but I did go to watch some football at Old Trafford which was fun. I was also down in London for the closing ceremony gig at Hyde Park, New Order, The Specials and Blur's last ever gig (so they say) which was amazing. Back to reality with two very busy weeks at work 

But things are moving on, I can't believe its nearly the end of August. Walking up to the allotment last night I went past a mass of blackberry bushes which are producing ripe berries already.

I spent a lovely evening there, making me realise that I need to make the most of any nice evenings. So how are things going up at t'plot? Well its definitely more positive now, some crops have been disastrous this year, roots have been a no no. Slugs ate all my celeriac, no beetroot germinated, a few radishes have survived. Peas have not been great, broad beans were nibbled to death by birds. Even onions have not been too great, well apart from the autumn planted ones. But some things are thriving, everything is behind but hopefully on their way now. 

Other berries that I'm feasting on at the moment are the alpine strawberries, they form a hedge along my fruit bed and have been flowering and fruiting since April. When I get to my plot I have a session of picking the tiny fruit some which I save for on my breakfast cereal in the morning!

Best picked when they are really dark and fully ripe. Small but intensely sweet.

My sweetcorn is looking great this year, I sowed two batches and one is a bit behind the other and just starting to flower now, the other hopefully are ripening behind the wrapped leaves.

I love sweetcorn so I've got my fingers crossed for sweet and tasty cobs.

My few fennel that survived the slugs are swelling by the day.

My courgettes are fruiting like mad now, I've grown some round yellow ones this year which are perfect.

I've also grown a variety called 'Trombocino' which has very weird shaped pale green fruit which are just starting to develop. Don't say anything rude.....

My broccoli is growing well now and I'm hopeful that I'll get some crop before the end of the summer. Better late than never.

I've not grown runner beans this year but have some dwarf beans that are starting to develop beans now and I'm growing a purple climbing bean called 'Cosse Violette' which is covered in flowers and has tiny beans just starting to develop. Its very pretty with purple tinged leaves and lovely purple flowers.

I've got lots of flowers on my plot this year, fennel is full bloom and the hoverflies love that.

This is the best sunflower which grew out of reach of the slugs.

Finally one flower that I can't imagine slugs ever trying to eat! Amazing flowers of the globe artichoke. Which the bees just spend hours inside.

The allotment my antidote to post-Olympic blues.....

Tatton Park Flower Show 2012 - ideas for the plot.

A couple of weeks ago it was my 'local' flower show in the beautiful Tatton Park in Knutsford. I think I've been to nearly every one since it started and its been going a few years now. Its the northern show and I think it is slightly different from the other shows. For one its a high summer show with all the amazing floral displays of this season. It focuses a lot on the smaller gardens, with many back-to-back gardens which really give lots of ideas for urban gardens. It also has the cute flowerbed competition which continues to astound with the inventiveness each year.

I'm not going to go through all the gardens but just show some pics with ideas for the plot in this post. And for the garden in a separate post.

So first some ideas for the plot.

How about this for a cute little polytunnel and looks reasonably easy to put up at the allotment.

The above one looks even easier, there was a catalogue to buy this, this was on the Manchester allotment society stand and I got chatting to one of the blokes there and he suggested an even cheaper option from B&Q (or another DIY shop!), buy blue tubing, and the brackets which you can attach to a raised bed and cover with polythene. Not quite as sturdy as this but much cheaper. That may be something for me to plan for next year at the allotment.

Here's an idea for growing strawberries.

It would keep then out of the way of slugs, though they would dry out quickly in those small pots.

This was part of a whole bench for growing vegetables and salad.

Not sure that it fitted in with the style of the rest of the garden but an interesting idea.

If you run out of space on your plot try growing up the wall!

I'm very skeptical about how long it would stay looking like this and another challenge for watering.

Then after all your hard work on the plot how about this....

Good job you can't smell this

I've been creating my own plant feed on the plot this year, I was given a root of a comfrey plant from a gardening friend and its grown well this year. A few weeks ago I put some leaves into a bucket with some water and left them to rot down. I've started using it this week and phew what a whiff I had to apologise to my plot neighbours. But the black stuff is a great feed once diluted (roughly to a pale straw colour according to Bob Flowerdews Organic bible). Its high in potassium as well as nitrogen so good for tomatoes.

According to Bob you can also use the same technique using nettles which its claimed also makes plants resistant to pests and disease especially if sprayed on as a foliage feed. I've got lots of Borage on my plot at the moment (I love the blue flowers) this produces a feed that is higher in nitrogen which is good for hungriest plants like brassicas and squash. I might give this a try too. I'm not going to follow all of Bob's suggestions for liquid feeds though as he also suggests using diluted personal liquid waste, ummmm think I'll give that a miss.

I managed to persuade Martin to help me on the plot normally giving him the heavy jobs but this time he was chief potato digger. These are the first earlies 'Pentland Javelin' not a huge crop but they all look healthy.

He's far too cool for my allotment. Though what his mates will think of his pink gloves......

Allotment update

I've not done a post on my allotment for a while and my last post was a bit depressing with all the rain and slug damage at my plot so I need to do a more positive update. This is difficult with the rain still hammering down outside and no end in sight of this rainy summer. But I guess it is saving us having to water our plots plus I hear that the hosepipe bans have been removed (not that they affected us here in soggy West Yorkshire).

I'm still trying hard to keep on top of the weeds which has been difficult in the last few weeks as I've been down to London for a few days to watch Wimbledon (saw the amazing match where Nadal got knocked out!) and the weather has conspired to be awful on any of my free days. But its definitely better than last year when annual Euphorbia was taking over my plot. I'm trying to keep them cut down early this year to stop them flowering and seeding. Wimbledon time also means strawberries but I've been having a battle not only with those slug beasties but with the birds for my fruit this year. I assume that its the birds as there are random strawberries left on the strawberry patch, picked off but then only half eaten, how frustrating. Another area which will need netting next year!

Whilst I have been wise to the pigeons (and I think magpies are a problem too) destroying my brassicas this year, these have been netted right from the start and now seem to be growing and many have survived the inital slug attack.

But I've had to abandon my spring sown broad beans which never got going and I realised that they were being attacked by the birds, so they ended up on the compost heap. Soon everything is going to be netted on the plot! My autumn sown ones did ok though and I had a reasonable crop from them so I will sow some again this autumn.

I have had some success though, been harvesting my peas.

My autumn planted onions have been great, some are huge. They were 'Electric Red' and I'll be buying more of those sets when I go to the Southport Flower Show later in the year.

The garlic looks nearly ready for harvesting and the onions and shallots are coming on well.

The sweetcorn is coming on, just need some warmth and some sun, in short supply so far but I live in hope.

My second planting of courgettes and squashes are finally getting going and I'm hoping for some crops soon.

I'm also hoping my potatoes are surviving all this wet weather, plan to dig some of those up soon.

The paths that I have put in have really made a difference and I think I may put some more in next year to divide it up a bit more.

The crops that I've really failed with this year are the root crops, I've tried sowing radish (supposedly one of the easiest of all crops), carrots, beetroot, parsnips and all have either not germinated or eaten by slugs. I've also tried direct sowing of spring onions and salad leaves and again no success. I think I'm just going to have to leave these to growing at home in the garden where I can be more vigilant about watering and slugs.

But to end on a positive note I've harvested by first gooseberries and redcurrants this year which is very exciting.

I was very chuffed to hear a few weeks ago that my plot had been chosen along with 4 others from our site to go into the "Best Plot" competition as part of the Huddersfield Allotment and Gardens federation, judging was on Wednesday 4th July. Apparently 4 judges from the federation went round all nominated plots, across all allotment sites in Huddersfield on that day but I'm not sure what the criteria for marking is. There are some amazing plots just on my site so I was pleased to be even nominated as this is only my second year and there is still so much to do. But it was just nice that people recognised that I've worked hard on my plot this year. The winner was a chap on our site which was brilliant, he has any amazing plot. Our site was given an award for the most improved site across Huddersfield, which is great. We have established a committee this year and we have been working to try and improve facilities and communication between plot holders so we were chuffed with that.