April 2010 ... time seems to be running away

...but we are just about keeping up!





It is always the same - April is suddenly upon us and it is a mad rush to get seeds in pots and tidy up the plot so it is ready for this year's crops.

The potatoes are all in the ground - all 100 plants! Thanks to our efficient little potato planter Elijah and Ella and Jakob who not only helped with sifting the earth for large stones which would make our vegetables grow wonky but were also on the lookout for slow worms!

18 April 2010

A beautifully sunny day and productive day. As the shed had been moved last weekend we needed to transfer the water butts to the other plot and make a start on preparing the ground where the shed used to sit for our new 3-variety pear tree. We also plan to move the composting area to the new plot onto the raised area at the back of the plot as that ground is unusable for planting. We moved the water butts but the composting area will be a job for the next few weeks. Some heavy weeding was needed on the broad beans bed, we made another sowing of broad beans and also sowed some dwarf and climbing borlotti beans, making a couple of bamboo cane wigwams for the climbers. We have also sown some sweet pea seeds in the greenhouse at home so we hope to plant these amongst the borlotti beans too.



We made another tunnel on the new plot for brassicas so that means that with the 2 tunnels and the 100 potato plants we have already planted we have used up most of the space on the new plot! The plan has always been to use this plot for the bigger crops so we will use the remaining space for courgettes and squash. In the meantime we have covered the remainder of the plot in black weed stop material else the weeds will soon take over!



Another slow worm made an appearance - much bigger than any we have seen so far!



Weds 28 April 2010 We spent the hottest day of the year so far tidying up the broad bean bed and weeding around the beetroot and parsnip seedlings which have come up.



It looks like we are going to have much more success with the beetroot than we have had in previous years so that is good news. We also had our very first crop of asparagus which was exciting!



We put the tubers in when we first got the plot 2 years ago so we have had to be very patient and not crop until this 3rd year. The spears are a beautiful mauve colour (turning green when cooked) and were well worth the wait. We will need to crop quite regularly else the spears will get too long and woody.

We finally planted our 3-variety pear tree in the spot where the shed used to sit. We put in a big sturdy stake to protect and support it and as it has blossom on it already we are hopeful we may get a pear or 3 later in the year.



There is lots of activity in the greenhouse at home too with tomatoes, courgettes, sweetcorn, leeks, sweetpeas, sunflowers, lettuce all making a welcome appearance.



We removed the blueberries from the plot last year they had been planted too close to the fruit cage and were not doing very well at all. In fact we thought that we may even have lost one of the plants. We took them home to the greenhouse for a bit of well needed attention and them appear to have thrived. We are hoping to take them back to the allotment soon and give them the space that they need.