September 2009

6 September 2009
At the beginning of the month we took over the half plot next to ours so we now have a full plot! It needed some serious clearing.


The chainsaw came out and the holly tree that overhanged the plot has been cut right back. There is also an elderberry tree growing alongside it and hops hvae clambered up through the branches of the holly tree. We could be making our own wine and beer at this rate! We now have a huge pile of branches and weeds just waiting for a huge bonfire - roll on November 5th! We discovered that the trunk of the holly tree and branches were rotten and were in danger of giving way at any time so out came the chainsaw and the tree received a more severe 'haircut' than it might otherwise have done. Not only have we replenished our supply of logs for the winter but it has really opened up the plot and the change in sunlight was very gratefully welcomed by the lady in the ground floor corner flat behind the plot - she now gets evening sun in her garden! We are also going to put up fence panels at the back to give us privacy.


13 September 2009 - started cutting back the holly tree and we also unearthed a flat-packed compost bin that had never been used so we have put this together as it will defintely be needed for the extra half plot. The area at the back (where you can see the wheelie bin) is raised and you cannot really grow anything there because of the roots of the tree so that will be where we will put our shed, compost bins etc and we will probably be able to have some tubs on there too, possibly with herbs in.

Still picking tomatoes and first beetroot are being pulled up. They are so so sweet. We have been rubbing them lightly in olive oil (skins on), wrapping in foil and roasting in the oven at 200C for about an hour. The leaves are not wasted either but are cooked just as you would cook spinach.

We've also had some truly beautiful dahlias thanks to Tony, Mr Mangetout! We will definitely be growing our own next year...

18 September 2009

Chillies in the greenhouse are turning red - perfect for some homemade chilli sauce to store away.

Sunday 27 September 2009
The fence is half up on the new half plot. We pulled up the strawberries on the 'old' half plot, weeded, dug in some manure, replanted new plants (taken from runners from Tony). The poor Blueberry bushes are not looking healthy. They really need to be moved as they are right up against the fruit cage netting. The plan is to move the rhubarb out of the fruit cage (onto new half plot) as it doesn't need to be in cage. The extra room would mean we could give the existing fruit bushes extra space, especially those cramped blueberry bushes.

The black and red long radishes seem to be more successful than the smaller red ones we had sown earlier in the Summer- they are certainly much bigger and more fiery!



We are still harvesting plenty of salad leaves and beetroot so weekday lunches are an 'all-allotment' affair!