More potatoes June 23, 2010

Another visit to the allotment yields even more potatoes. I have seriously reservations about this. Does anyone know how many potatoes a person can eat before they start becoming one?

Last nights tea was a well balanced affair – potatoes (a white skinned one I dug up yesterday evening – very bountiful, no idea what it was), peas, butter and sea salt As there was a clear lack of protein in the meal we added some cheese. Heaven. That’s all it was, heaven.

It would have been my own peas but in a stupid decision made in spring I didn’t actually plant any – only purple mangetout. BUT, and it’s a big but, some of you might remember the random peas that Pete planted just because we could – well they’re producing quite nicely and we tasted one of the pods on the plot last night (YUM!) but there is only one plant and it’s never going to produce enough. Lesson to be learnt for next year – GROW PEAS.

Everything is growing frantically and adoring this heat we’re having at the moment. No new photos today but I will try to remember at some point. Image the previous photos only with the plants getting bigger – you get the idea

But the main update is really the backyard. Everything is growing like crazy. The tomato plants have set their first fruit, the chilli’s and peppers are flowering nicely, and the flowers are looking beautiful. I think I have grown too many tomato plants (yes yes I know, AGAIN). I have 3 Garden Pearl plants, 2 in hanging baskets and the third in a pot way too small but I was supposed to bin it but I just couldn’t. Annoyingly it’s growing he best of all! I also have a moneymaker, marmande and 3 Gardeners Delight. All doing really well.

The peppers are either Di Torro or (?) and they’re looking like they wish they were somewhere much hotter than Brum but they’re flowering. Whether I get anything from them is another matter.

The best chilli’s so far are the cayenne which are thriving in the pot with one of the tomato plants. Lots of flowers but not very big. Then I have a selection of chilli’s that I wish I knew which type they were. I sowed seeds for 10 varieties, 1 of which just refuses to germinate and some which have just died in the heat that they get behind the window in the spare room. I do however have about 14 plants of unknown origin. I’ll know what they are when they flower and fruit, and I’m hoping the Dorset Naga is one of the ones that has survived…….

The idea of the chilli’s is to acually manage to overwinter them this year. I want to establish some happy plants for next year’s harvest and without a greenhouse it’s going to take some effort on my behalf. Maybe next year I’ll have a greenhouse……..

Pink June 20, 2010

Today’s theme seems to be pink!

Pink potatoes, pink radish (should have been red but they were a few days too old so have lost their bright colour) and a single pink strawberry!

Everything else is growing great guns and tonight I also spied the first tomato fruit set in the back yard! Brilliant!

All gone…. June 13, 2010

Cooked and eaten by yours truly, they never made it to teatime

WOW things grow fast June 11, 2010

So it’s been over a week since I could be at the plot last. I spent some time in Hull helping my Dad with some bits in his house. And going to Betty’s in York for afternoon tea

Look at it! How perfect is that! Everything apart from the coffee cake was eaten (Dad finished mine off, I HATE coffee).

Anyway, back to the allotment! It’s all growing so well and I’m so excited. Everything got a feed today too. Thankfully the weather wasn’t baking hot whilst I was away which has helped. And one of my lovely neighbours has kindly given me some spare lettuces too Need to get some slug pellets this weekend though – grrrrr

So, I know you all only really want photos so here we go!

The plot in almost full

Isn’t it looking fantastic! Everything is really getting into the growing groove now, even the very late planted seeds! The rhubarb is starting to look better again – amazing what feeding things does isn’t it!

The potatoes are really doing well, and one plant has started to flower! Now given I can’t remember what I planted (other than the pink fir ones, which are on the far left on this photo) I’m going to have a little dig around the plant that’s flowering and see whether they’re ready or not. It’s all a bit exciting! Roll on Sunday!

The onions and tomatoes are going great in this bed, the garlic remains pathetic and tbh I don’t really know why I bothered when my local asian supermarket sells it so cheap! Won’t be growing this again next year! Everything else is going really well though. The basil seeds have just germinated too and the parley and oregano is doing well. Yippee!

Now this bed is a wonderous thing! The back has some purple beans, then the next row is broad beans, then the front half of the bed has beetroot, raddish, rocket and something I *think* is little gem lettuces. Now it’s dead easy to weed the beds where I have followed the square foot gardening idea as the seeds are in neat places, but the rocket isn’t and now I regret sprinkling it! Ah well, live and learn

Then there is this bed

Which sits to the left of the one above. The back row and half the next row is runner beans, the plants kindly given to us by a neighbour. Then the right hand side of the front is a pretty cannelini bean and the front left is a purple mangetout (sent from an internet forum). I’m so pleased they’ve all germinated – now they just have to catch up as they were planted late.

Finally there are these 2 beds

The front one is sweetcorn and brussel sprouts (with some random lettuces as I needed to find them a home!). They’re germinating well although one of the types of sweetcorn is being VERY slow. The back bed is a mixture of tomato plants (another donation from another plot holder) and beetroot (or radish, I forget) at the front and the back half of the bed is squash and courgettes. Who knows if they will actually achieve anything but only time will tell

And finally, just for those that were worried about the rhubarb, here it is, looking a lot healthier. It certainly can’t be picked this year but hopefully it will have settled ready for next year. In the meantime one neighbour has kindly offered some of their spare rhubarb so in my kitchen is a trial rhubarb gin. Another 4 weeks before I can drink it though.

Oh and today I learnt that Miracle-Gro makes your fingers go BRIGHT BLUE – oops