First Harvest of the Year

Its been 84 days since we planted the 3 bags of early Swift potatoes in the greenhouse.  I paid £1 for 8 seed potatoes so nothing to lose really as I used last years compost. This morning I watched Dan from the allotment diary.co.uk  harvest his early potatoes which were in the polytunnel for about 70 days I think. So when I went to the allotment to lock the greenhouse up this afternoon I decided to empty one of the bags (one with my name on it). I'd put 3 seed potatoes in the bag but only two had grown the other had rotted off in the bottom of the bag. 

Here's a photo of the potatoes.

Pound and a half of new organic potatoes

I've added a few photos from the new greenhouse on the full plot.

Not in the greenhouse but here's the garlic and onions 

French climbing beans

View from the door

Right hand side are radish, left of middle are lettuce.  

Some Chinese cabbage to the right more caulis  and some marigolds. 

Thanks for visiting my journal :)

Growing Journal Update 14 of May 2012

The last month has been a little frustrating for me on the seed germination front. I never seem to have much luck with sweetcorn, once its germinated its fine. This season I thought I'd try soaking the corn overnight before sowing in in a heated propagator. In total I sowed around 50 sweetcorn and only 27 have germinated. I'm having the same problem with germinating my Dwarf French Beans :0(   Oh well, I'll stick some more in and try again.

Took a few photos at the allotments today..

Tomatoes ready to go in their big pots.

The experimental bags of swift potatoes about a week away now.

Brassicas under the hooped nets.

Peas under the back net.

Peas are up bottom left.

Thank you for taking the time to look at mi blog :)

Wet and Windy

Hi folks, Its been a wet and windy month here so I've not been able to get everything done on the lottie that I had planed. I have my pea's in and some of my brassicas so its not been a total wash out.

The rain has helped the rhubarb.

The rains not been as helpful with the potatoes.

I put the bamboo canes up for the French climbing beans today. 

I hope that May is warmer month for us all but a little dryer up here in north Derbyshire would be nice too.

Greenhouse & Half Plot Update

Well we're coming to the end of April and its been a very wet month as well as being quite cold for this time of year. Most of the vegetables I have in the ground on my plots seem to be in a state of  suspended animation. Hopefully May will be a little warmer.

I went down to the greenhouse on the half plot today to see how things are ticking over in the greenhouse, as I got there we had another heavy shower of rain and the ground around my plot is turning into a bit of a bog. Everything is hunky dory in the greenhouse and only the leeks needed watering. Here are some photos I took on my phone whilst I was there. 

Swift potatoes planted 25th of Feb. In a couple of weeks we'll try a bag.

Tomato plants have survived thank goodness, I think I lost about 10 in total. 

The first sowing of leeks are coming along nicely, I've done three sowings in all. 

A shot from the path. 

Shot from behind the greenhouse.

Photo taken from shed step.

Onions, shallots and garlic at the back.

Left: Hispi cabbage. Middle: Calabrese. Right  is where the cauliflowers will go when they're hardened off.

I've just set my French climbing beans in modules, I think I'm behind where I was last year, but its been a lot colder this year. Dwarf French beans next and sweetcorn.

Planting veggies at last \o/

I'm finally starting to get some veggies in the ground \o/. My son was ill over the Easter holidays and I didn't want to drag him up on the allotment just to sit there and watch me working, so I put the plot on hold for Easter.


Here are some photos I took yesterday whilst working on the allotment in between the showers yesterday.

Behind the glass and plastic is where I sowed my carrots, I hope to keep the carrot fly out by putting a barrier there.

View from the bottom of the plot. Spuds bottom left and bottom right, brassicas the under netting.

The first two rows of peas went in yesterday.

 When I covered the peas I dressed the bed with some garden lime just to sweeten the soil as I manured this bed in the autumn.

Half Plot AGM & 15/04 update

Well nothing much to report from this mornings AGM, we have just over two grand in the bank and all the committee officers were voted back into their posts.

I managed to get the rest of  the onions in the ground this morning and the last of the first and second early's in (only 8 seed potatoes). I also put two short rows of main crop spuds in as well. I'm hoping to get the rest of my main crop potatoes in the ground at my full plot this coming week, now that the Easter holidays are coming to an end and #1 son is back in school. Tomorrow is grass cutting night on my small plot allotment, I try and get down to the allotment and help with the mowing and strimming if I can. Talking of strimming, one of the chaps gave me a petrol strimmer yesterday, It's in full working order and just needed a spark plug to get it going which I already had. The strimmer will come in handy on both of my plots as well as around the garden at home :)

Update 12/04/2012

Hopefully over the next few days I will get the rest of my onions and potatoes in the ground. I'm in no rush yet though as the soil is still quite cold here, a week or two will not make much of a difference. Once I have the onions and potatoes in, I can move onto peas that I will sow directly into the ground along with carrots, parsnips, spring and pickling onions and a row of lettuce.

Waiting for better weather in the blow-away are beetroot that I sowed in seed trays last month, I've now pricked them out into modules.

Here are some photo's of the state of play in the greenhouse at my half plot.

Calabrese is hardened off and ready to go in.

Hispi Cabbage is ready too.

Cauliflowers, I sowed these a month after the other brassicas. 

My first sowing of leeks are doing well.

Gooseberries are starting to flower

Spring onions, I'll plant these out before they get too big and go woody. 

Swift first early's motoring along now. 

Thank you for visiting my growing journal  :)