Two weeks on.......

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Some of you may recall I did a blog about preparing and planning my allotment…I named it; Plotting the Plots so now I would like to show you what a couple of weeks and some hard work can do!

Note; For those people who did not look at my previous blog, I suggest you do, then you will appreciate the differences from then and now!

OK I will walk around the plot in the direction I did with the original blog i.e, in a clockwise direction.

This is the view looking down and across plot 1

The reason I call it plot one is simply a case of; I got it a few years before plot 2.

If I find in the fullness of time that two plots are too much for me, I will get rid of plot 2 because all my fruit and two of my three greenhouses are on plot 1!

In the foreground (first frame) I have planted an early crop of Petit Pois which I brought on initially in cells.

On frames 2 & 3 I have sown Hurst Greenshaft peas insditu!

On the bean frame I have planted 3 Runner bean -Enorma and 3 St George, plus 3 climbing beans Blue Lake and Cobra!

In the foreground of this picture is around 30 Broad Beans -The Sutton and 30 Dwarf French bean – Parker.

In the foreground of this picture are seven rows of five maincrop potatoes – Pink Fir Apple, which as you can see, are just emerging!

This is a view looking diagonally over plot one from the bottom corner of the plot.

This is looking diagonally across plot one in the oposite direction.

This is a view looking diagonally over plot two from the bottom corner of the plot.

This bed has been prepared to take autumn / winter cropping cabbage (Tundra) and Savoys (Ormskirk) which are hardening off in the cold frame at the moment.

I will be putting fast growing salad crops in here within the next few days. Things such as Lettuce, Radish, Mooli, Rocket and Pak choi!

In the foreground of this picture are Swedes which for the first time I have started off in cells. Behind them under the cartons is Celery – Green Utah!

In the foreground are my shallots which for the first time I planted out in autumn rather than spring.

They look reasonably successful but I am a bit concerned as to how many are bolting. Wil have to get under that net and nip the buds out very soon.

Note; The reason they are netted as are most things on the plot, is because of the visiting wildlife namely; Birds, Rabbits and Squirrels.

They eat everything given the chance more so when the plants at the seedlings stage when they are at their most tender.

Later on as the plants mature this is not as big a problem.

These are maincrop onions being grown from setts.

The bare area was only planted yesterday so these have not emerged yet!

The bed in the foreground will be used for my leeks where I plan on planting out around ten-Oarsman, and forty each of Elefant and Musselburgh.

These are currently in the cold frame.

I think I mentioned on another thread that I had been given a couple of dozen Chrysanthemums, this is they!

Looking diagonally down plot two.

Looking down the centre of plot two from the 8 x8 greenhouse door.

This is how I utilise my compost heap during the summer!

There are four Pumpkins Jack o’ Lantern under the bottle cloches. The plants at the front are Courgettes (1x Black Beauty & 1x Green Bush)

I have planted 72 mixed Gladioli in here.

The netting is for support it saves me a fortune in canes!

The net is raised as the plants grow!

In this case this net will also support my Chrysants which are at the other end of the bed!

These are my early potatoes (Rocket) I will be earthing them up within the next few days!

These are the Japanese Onions I planted as setts last October.

These can be a bit hit and miss as you can see by the gaps. But there will be enought to keep me and my family in onions until such times as the maincrop onions are ready for harvesting.

This is my Calabrese and Cauli bed.

There are twenty Calabrese Chevalier and ywenty Calabrese De Ciccio which crops slightly later than Chevalier thus extending the harvest season.

The other benefit of this is; Just as I have finished the heads of the Chevalier the De Ciccio is ready, then when the heads of De Ciccio are finished the Chevalier has produced secondary spears followed by the same from the DeCiccio.

Just beyond these are sixteen Cauliflower Candid Charm.

This is my Garlic which was planted last October and looking at the stems I am reasonbly optimistic of getting a good crop this year!

These are my Brussels Sprouts! There are twenty Maximus and sixteen Doric.

This is about 60% of my Sweet corn crop, the rest is still quite small so I will plant these out when they get a bit bigger.

I am aiming for around fifty plants!

I sowed four rows of Beetroot today (2xBoltardy and 2xSoloist) plus six rows of Parsnip Gladiator.

These are my second early potatoes – Kestrel.

I hope to earth these up within the next couple of days!

This is my Rubarb crop, some of you might have seen the sticks I harvested last week in my photo file.

These are my Gooseberries and Blackcurrants,two bushes of each!

I am a bit concerned with the amount of foliage this year, I am putting that down to the recent wet spell we had.

My chief concern witgh the increase in foliage is ‘mildew’ usually my plants are much more open this and never succumb to mildew, this year…? I will have to wait and see!

The Strawberry bed;

Usually I have these ready ‘Wimbledon week’ but I am not sure this year.

But I guess they will be ready for our ‘Open Day’ at the end of June when I usually supply the Strawberries and cream and the ladies supply the scones!

This is my cold frame at the moment still reasonably full of things I have yet to plant out!

Now into my Greenhouses and Tunnel;

These are my Sweet Peppers in my 12′ × 8′ greenhouse

There are two varieties one is named Californian Wonder and the other is named- Tesco Yellow….yes it is some seed I saved from one of Tesco’s finest!

This is a melon where I saved the seed in a similar manner!

My 28′ × 8′ greenhouse;

Bed one; A mixture of tomatoes varieties;

Bed two; Chili peppers – Cayenne

Bed three; Carrots – three rows of ‘Senior’ an F1 variety.

Bed four; Aubergine – Moneymaker with a row of Autumn King carrots in front of them.

Bed five; Three rows of Carrot – Maestro another F1 variety.

8′ × 6′ greenhouse;

A mixture of tomatoes being grown in the ‘ring culture’ method.

The floor of this greenhouse is concrete so this is the only way I grow in this greenhouse!

Tunnel;

Cape Gooseberries!

I find that these grow better in pots than in the beds. In beds they tend to produce too much foliage at the expense of flowers resulting in less fruit!

Put another wa; they perform better if they are ‘pot bound’!

Bed 1; Both sides of this bed are the climbing french bean Cobra, with a catch crop of early lettuce that will be harvested before the beans mature and screen out the light!

Bed 2;

Tomatoes one side and Cucumbers the other.

The tomatoes are Gardeners Delight and the Cucumbers are a mixture of; Marketmore, Fanfare, Tiffany and Prolific.

I haven’t decided where I am putting those potted melons yet!

Bed 3;

Sweet peppers; Californian Wonder and Tesco yellow!

And thats it!……you have now completed the guide tour around my allotments!

• 28 May, 2012
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