Wow, this page has been so badly neglected.
Like I mentioned in my last post, things have been very busy for us the past few months.
Things have finally slowed for me now so hopefully I will post an update in the next day or two.
In the meantime, I'm currently writing March-August of our allotment diary for the competition at Ards Allotments (first prize is free allotment for next year, second is half price and third is 1/3 price!). So, hopefully I can find a way to upload it all here when it's finished!
Monday, 6 August 2012
Sunday, 20 May 2012
week 10. Updates.
I feel awful I haven't updated in 4 weeks!
I've been mega busy with final deadlines for uni and Luke's been in and out of the country with work. Thankfully the allotment hasn't been neglected, but sadly this blog has. Apologies to anyone who's been waiting on an update.
Mostly, things are going really well.
Today we our first harvest! Our pak choi has done phenomenally well and yesterday we came down to realise it was flowering and that this wasn't actually a good thing really. So today we went and harvested some. We've never tasted it before, but we like it and it kind of tastes a bit like spinach.
A few weeks ago (I'm not sure when exactly because we've been so hectic... but when Luke was away) we decided that our spinach and lettuce were not growing, so I dug the bed over and planted more using more compost this time. Here you can just about see the row of lettuce and two rows of spinach in the foreground.
Up close: Spinach is now growing!
Up close: you can just about see the lettuce!
Up close: Cauliflower. It isn't doing as good as I'd have hoped, but it's getting there.
Up close: Rocket!
Our strawberries have been flowering now for a week or so, so hopefully we'll start seeing strawberries growing soon!
I've been growing thai and greek basil at home for a few weeks now, so we finally thought they were big enough to be planted out. Here's hoping the wind is kind this week.
Our herbs are doing well and have definitely grown since being planted.
Our rhubarb is also doing well. The one which survived the wind is now growing 2 more stalks, and the one which was pretty much destroyed now has 2 stalks which are growing well.
Radishes, onions, garlic, scallions and brussel sprouts are all growing very well.
Up close: scallions
Up close: onions
Up close: garlic
Up close: radishes. These were very overcrowded so we thinned them out and replanted two more rows of them, but sadly the replanted ones all seem to have died...
Up close: brussel sprouts
Our beans finally started to grow!
Our raspberries are also doing very well. We're not sure yet if we'll get any fruit from them this year, but hopefully if they keep growing at this rate we could.
We also planted 2 more gooseberry plants yesterday, one red and one green, both gifts from my lovely sister. Fingers crossed they come back to life okay...
Unfortunately, despite how well all of these things are growing, some others are either not doing well, or do not seem to be growing at all.
The tomatoes were doing great, but all seem to have died off. We're not really sure why, I'm thinking it's because their clotches were only translucent and they maybe weren't getting enough light. Only one seems to be still fighting to survive, and it doesn't look too good.
The peas, broccoli, leeks, sweetcorn and beetroot have all failed to even sprout. Luke replanted the beetroot today after soaking the seeds in warm water for an hour before planting. Tonight I've replanted leeks, a few peas and some broccoli in the house, to see if we can get any to grow and later plant them out. So far we're still giving the ones at the allotment a chance to grow and won't dig them over until we have something to replace them with. We also need to get more sweetcorn seeds to plant some indoors. I've also planted 2 more tomatoes in the house, in hope that maybe if I let them get a bit bigger before planting out, they might survive better.
Overall we're pleased with how things are growing. We're now starting to read up more on plant care and pruning since things are growing more now. We also still need to get some potatoes planted. Other than that we don't have any major plans for the next few weeks, other than watering and weeding.
Rachael.
I've been mega busy with final deadlines for uni and Luke's been in and out of the country with work. Thankfully the allotment hasn't been neglected, but sadly this blog has. Apologies to anyone who's been waiting on an update.
Mostly, things are going really well.
Today we our first harvest! Our pak choi has done phenomenally well and yesterday we came down to realise it was flowering and that this wasn't actually a good thing really. So today we went and harvested some. We've never tasted it before, but we like it and it kind of tastes a bit like spinach.
A few weeks ago (I'm not sure when exactly because we've been so hectic... but when Luke was away) we decided that our spinach and lettuce were not growing, so I dug the bed over and planted more using more compost this time. Here you can just about see the row of lettuce and two rows of spinach in the foreground.
Up close: Spinach is now growing!
Up close: you can just about see the lettuce!
Up close: Cauliflower. It isn't doing as good as I'd have hoped, but it's getting there.
Up close: Rocket!
Our strawberries have been flowering now for a week or so, so hopefully we'll start seeing strawberries growing soon!
I've been growing thai and greek basil at home for a few weeks now, so we finally thought they were big enough to be planted out. Here's hoping the wind is kind this week.
Our herbs are doing well and have definitely grown since being planted.
Our rhubarb is also doing well. The one which survived the wind is now growing 2 more stalks, and the one which was pretty much destroyed now has 2 stalks which are growing well.
Radishes, onions, garlic, scallions and brussel sprouts are all growing very well.
Up close: scallions
Up close: onions
Up close: garlic
Up close: radishes. These were very overcrowded so we thinned them out and replanted two more rows of them, but sadly the replanted ones all seem to have died...
Up close: brussel sprouts
Our beans finally started to grow!
Our raspberries are also doing very well. We're not sure yet if we'll get any fruit from them this year, but hopefully if they keep growing at this rate we could.
We also planted 2 more gooseberry plants yesterday, one red and one green, both gifts from my lovely sister. Fingers crossed they come back to life okay...
Unfortunately, despite how well all of these things are growing, some others are either not doing well, or do not seem to be growing at all.
The tomatoes were doing great, but all seem to have died off. We're not really sure why, I'm thinking it's because their clotches were only translucent and they maybe weren't getting enough light. Only one seems to be still fighting to survive, and it doesn't look too good.
The peas, broccoli, leeks, sweetcorn and beetroot have all failed to even sprout. Luke replanted the beetroot today after soaking the seeds in warm water for an hour before planting. Tonight I've replanted leeks, a few peas and some broccoli in the house, to see if we can get any to grow and later plant them out. So far we're still giving the ones at the allotment a chance to grow and won't dig them over until we have something to replace them with. We also need to get more sweetcorn seeds to plant some indoors. I've also planted 2 more tomatoes in the house, in hope that maybe if I let them get a bit bigger before planting out, they might survive better.
Overall we're pleased with how things are growing. We're now starting to read up more on plant care and pruning since things are growing more now. We also still need to get some potatoes planted. Other than that we don't have any major plans for the next few weeks, other than watering and weeding.
Rachael.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Week 6.
This week's had very mixed weather, some heavy rain and strong wind, and some sun too.
We didn't go to the allotment at all during the week, but were down yesterday and today.
Our garlic is still growing well, as is the radishes (middle left of picture- you can just about see some).
Our tomatoes are also doing good. This one has outgrown it's cloche, so it's being a test dummy to see if they are big enough to withstand the wind yet.
We also have some spinach and onions finally sprouting this week which is exciting.
On Saturday we dug over bed 8 and covered with sheeting, ready for planting later in the year, or even just next year.
We also weeded bed 7 which has beetroot and celariac left over from the last person who owned our plot. The celariac seems to be growing well, so we figured we'd leave the bed intact and see if they grow.
Yesterday we planted more carrots, brussels sprouts, (both bed 3) rocket (bed 4) and sweetcorn (bed 5).
This is the brussels sprouts and you can also see the radishes better.
Today I covered the strawberries and raspberries with netting to (hopefully) protect them from birds. We also got a cute little windmill.
We also started putting up some sheeting around the allotment to protect everything from the wind a bit better.
We also got a little thermometer to keep a record of temperatures. 24 degrees! And at another point it was between 27 and 28 (perhaps because it was sitting beside a window...).
We also planted some horseradish today.
This is how it's looking from the gate now (before the white was put around the sides).
And, from the shed (also before the white).
We're really glad things seem to be sprouting now, as we thought maybe they weren't going to (especially the spinach, which said on the packet would be on our plate within 4 weeks and it's now been 3...). We don't have any concrete plans for next week. We still need a bed dug for potatoes, but we haven't decided which bed yet. We also want to put a new floor in the shed and paint/varnish it sooner rather than later. Other than that, it's just a case of waiting and weeding.
Rachael.
We didn't go to the allotment at all during the week, but were down yesterday and today.
Our garlic is still growing well, as is the radishes (middle left of picture- you can just about see some).
Our tomatoes are also doing good. This one has outgrown it's cloche, so it's being a test dummy to see if they are big enough to withstand the wind yet.
We also have some spinach and onions finally sprouting this week which is exciting.
On Saturday we dug over bed 8 and covered with sheeting, ready for planting later in the year, or even just next year.
We also weeded bed 7 which has beetroot and celariac left over from the last person who owned our plot. The celariac seems to be growing well, so we figured we'd leave the bed intact and see if they grow.
Yesterday we planted more carrots, brussels sprouts, (both bed 3) rocket (bed 4) and sweetcorn (bed 5).
This is the brussels sprouts and you can also see the radishes better.
Today I covered the strawberries and raspberries with netting to (hopefully) protect them from birds. We also got a cute little windmill.
We also started putting up some sheeting around the allotment to protect everything from the wind a bit better.
We also got a little thermometer to keep a record of temperatures. 24 degrees! And at another point it was between 27 and 28 (perhaps because it was sitting beside a window...).
We also planted some horseradish today.
This is how it's looking from the gate now (before the white was put around the sides).
And, from the shed (also before the white).
We're really glad things seem to be sprouting now, as we thought maybe they weren't going to (especially the spinach, which said on the packet would be on our plate within 4 weeks and it's now been 3...). We don't have any concrete plans for next week. We still need a bed dug for potatoes, but we haven't decided which bed yet. We also want to put a new floor in the shed and paint/varnish it sooner rather than later. Other than that, it's just a case of waiting and weeding.
Rachael.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Week 5
Another week! (although technically only 5 days because the last update wasn't until Tuesday).
Again, we weren't down much during the week, only once for a bbq. But this seems fine, no serious weeding seems needing done yet and as long as the weather's been fine, we don't even need to check anything. I guess this will change as more things sprout.
Yesterday we went to get some herbs and more compost and came home with a few extras.
We got sage, mint, thyme and rosemary.
We also ended up getting brussel sprouts (even though there's currently no space for them), grapes (supposedly hardy and great for outdoor growing- we'll see!) and a blackberry plant.
Our garlic is still growing well, and our radishes seem to have started sprouting.
Our raspberries are also doing really well.
Today Luke's mum, her partner, his sister and her two kids came for a bbq for his mum's birthday. The kids planted strawberries and some seeds in their little bed and we all planted sunflower seeds for our sunflower race (plus I also planted one for our other little tiny niece).
The girl opposite us gave us lots of her extra strawberries too, which was pretty nice. So we're going to be overrun with yummy strawberries, we can't complain!
I also did a bit of weeding today, but as I mentioned there isn't really much to do yet on that front, thankfully.
We're just glad to have somewhere to spend time outside and to grow some stuff, whether it all works or not. It's still very exiting and we love getting down for bbqs and to see what's changed.
So far the basil hasn't sprouted at home yet, but maybe it will still come. The weather's supposed to go sour this week, so we'll probably hold off on the sweetcorn and rocket for an extra week and not plant anything this week or next weekend (although this could well change). We're planning on putting some sheeting or something around the whole fence to give more shelter to all the beds. We also need to start getting netting etc to protect the fruits from birds. And, we'll probably need to start thinking soon about how to keep pests such as slugs away, but we haven't had any problems as of yet (touch wood).
Rachael
Again, we weren't down much during the week, only once for a bbq. But this seems fine, no serious weeding seems needing done yet and as long as the weather's been fine, we don't even need to check anything. I guess this will change as more things sprout.
Yesterday we went to get some herbs and more compost and came home with a few extras.
We got sage, mint, thyme and rosemary.
We also ended up getting brussel sprouts (even though there's currently no space for them), grapes (supposedly hardy and great for outdoor growing- we'll see!) and a blackberry plant.
Our garlic is still growing well, and our radishes seem to have started sprouting.
Our raspberries are also doing really well.
Today Luke's mum, her partner, his sister and her two kids came for a bbq for his mum's birthday. The kids planted strawberries and some seeds in their little bed and we all planted sunflower seeds for our sunflower race (plus I also planted one for our other little tiny niece).
The girl opposite us gave us lots of her extra strawberries too, which was pretty nice. So we're going to be overrun with yummy strawberries, we can't complain!
I also did a bit of weeding today, but as I mentioned there isn't really much to do yet on that front, thankfully.
We're just glad to have somewhere to spend time outside and to grow some stuff, whether it all works or not. It's still very exiting and we love getting down for bbqs and to see what's changed.
So far the basil hasn't sprouted at home yet, but maybe it will still come. The weather's supposed to go sour this week, so we'll probably hold off on the sweetcorn and rocket for an extra week and not plant anything this week or next weekend (although this could well change). We're planning on putting some sheeting or something around the whole fence to give more shelter to all the beds. We also need to start getting netting etc to protect the fruits from birds. And, we'll probably need to start thinking soon about how to keep pests such as slugs away, but we haven't had any problems as of yet (touch wood).
Rachael
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Week 4
It's hard to believe it's been four weeks already!
The weather's been pretty crazy this week, after being so great last week. There's been a lot of strong wind and rain, so unfortunately one of our rhubarb plants has been battered.
We were away over the Easter weekend, so we haven't been at the allotment much this week, until today.
Today we went to a local gardening shop (recommended by someone at the allotments) and got strawberries, compost, 2 grow-bags, tomato food and some mixed salad plants. It rained the whole way to the shop and then to the allotments, but then thankfully cleared for a few hours.
So far the only thing to have sprouted is the garlic
Surrounded by bad weeds! So Luke began today weeding while I planted the tomatoes (6) in grow-bags with home-made clotches until they get a little bigger.
Next we planted the strawberries with the rhubarb in bed 6.
Next the mixed leaf salad (bed 4) and the beans and peas. Then cauliflower and broccoli (both bed 4) and leeks (bed 3). For some reason we didn't take any pictures of these.
We decided to dig over a little piece of grass we're not going to use & make a mini bed for our nieces and nephew to dig about in and throw some seeds and a strawberry plant in. We're going to paint their names on the slate too. So this is for them, isn't it CUTE.
Where that was, we found a gooseberry tree, so we transplanted that to a large pot and cut it back in hope it grows again. We also covered over some of the beds to stop weeds growing before we're ready to plant more, and to kill off weed/grass ready for the next beds to be dug.
Here's a peek at what the inside of our shed looks like
And this is the view from the gate, again.
And tonight I planted some Thai and Greek Basil indoors.
Overall we're very happy with how it's all going, and pretty proud of all the progress we've made.
Our next plans are to finish the mini bed for our babies ;) then to dig over another bed, plant sweetcorn and rocket in a few weeks and then potatoes.
The weather's been pretty crazy this week, after being so great last week. There's been a lot of strong wind and rain, so unfortunately one of our rhubarb plants has been battered.
We were away over the Easter weekend, so we haven't been at the allotment much this week, until today.
Today we went to a local gardening shop (recommended by someone at the allotments) and got strawberries, compost, 2 grow-bags, tomato food and some mixed salad plants. It rained the whole way to the shop and then to the allotments, but then thankfully cleared for a few hours.
So far the only thing to have sprouted is the garlic
Surrounded by bad weeds! So Luke began today weeding while I planted the tomatoes (6) in grow-bags with home-made clotches until they get a little bigger.
Next we planted the strawberries with the rhubarb in bed 6.
Next the mixed leaf salad (bed 4) and the beans and peas. Then cauliflower and broccoli (both bed 4) and leeks (bed 3). For some reason we didn't take any pictures of these.
We decided to dig over a little piece of grass we're not going to use & make a mini bed for our nieces and nephew to dig about in and throw some seeds and a strawberry plant in. We're going to paint their names on the slate too. So this is for them, isn't it CUTE.
Where that was, we found a gooseberry tree, so we transplanted that to a large pot and cut it back in hope it grows again. We also covered over some of the beds to stop weeds growing before we're ready to plant more, and to kill off weed/grass ready for the next beds to be dug.
Here's a peek at what the inside of our shed looks like
And this is the view from the gate, again.
And tonight I planted some Thai and Greek Basil indoors.
Overall we're very happy with how it's all going, and pretty proud of all the progress we've made.
Our next plans are to finish the mini bed for our babies ;) then to dig over another bed, plant sweetcorn and rocket in a few weeks and then potatoes.
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Week 3
On Tuesday we planted our rhubarb,
and more raspberries.
We also got a table and chairs from my dad.
And a new bbq (we had 2 bbqs this week).
On wednesday night we planted 2 rows of garlic in bed 3 (big square bed).
Today (Sunday) we planted carrots, onions, red onions, radish, beetroot and scallions in bed 3.
and spinach and lettuce in the double-dug rectangle bed.
Overall we're really pleased with the allotment. It's been great having friends round for a bbq and getting things planted. Today we also met one of our neighbours, so we're feeling very welcome there, which is great.
Our plans for this week are: Dig over another bed, plant peas and beans (once we get some more compost), get and plant strawberries and curly kale. Once the next bed is dug over it'll be for the potatoes.
The tomatoes on our windowsill have sprouted well but won't be planted in grow-bags for another week or two.
Rachael.
and more raspberries.
We also got a table and chairs from my dad.
And a new bbq (we had 2 bbqs this week).
On wednesday night we planted 2 rows of garlic in bed 3 (big square bed).
Today (Sunday) we planted carrots, onions, red onions, radish, beetroot and scallions in bed 3.
and spinach and lettuce in the double-dug rectangle bed.
Overall we're really pleased with the allotment. It's been great having friends round for a bbq and getting things planted. Today we also met one of our neighbours, so we're feeling very welcome there, which is great.
Our plans for this week are: Dig over another bed, plant peas and beans (once we get some more compost), get and plant strawberries and curly kale. Once the next bed is dug over it'll be for the potatoes.
The tomatoes on our windowsill have sprouted well but won't be planted in grow-bags for another week or two.
Rachael.
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