Allotment geekery

Yesterday the weather was luuush so of course we had to get on the allotment, at this time of year there is so much to get done.  Not only that we have been so starved of sun this winter it's nice to have the sun on your face, even if it wasn't very warm just being able to get out there was enough.

In the last week the seedlings have really gone for it...

Courgettes at last!  These pesky things weren't germinating at all (or so I thought) so I kept planting more thinking I would have a summer of no courgettes *shudder* but I now have about 10 or 11 plants.  Anyone who has grown courgettes will know four plants are more than enough for two people so the folks at work are going to have to brace themselves for the onslaught of veg I'm going to force upon them.

I reacted in much the same way to beetroot as I did to courgettes, I now have 51 plants growing (oops).  Luckily we love beetroot, if you haven't tried beetroot thinly sliced on pizza you are seriously missing out it is mega tasty, try it.

I have never grown broad beans before so I'm happy with the way these bad boys are turning out.  Other people in the polytunnel have been growing broad beans and their plants have pods on them already, I'm not too concerned, from the looks of these flowers we are going to have plenty to keep us busy (so close to trying out broad bean pesto, I just need to find where I have 'safely stored' the recipe).

Well this is a selection of what we have on the go.  Bottom right we have peas that are ready to go out, on the left many, many beetroots, in the modular tray are the butternut squashes I'm hoping will make an appearance soon, borlotti beans which will be hardened off soon, broccoli, turnips, french beans (purple and yellow) and aubergine.

What we did on the plot: 

• Station sewed our first row of radish
• Got the first batch of carrot seed in
• Dug out the dandelions creeping over from our neighbours plot
• Hand weeded the onions

Allotment Geekery

Ahhhh this is probably the best part of the allotment year in my opinion.  We're still harvesting loads of veg but we're also clearing down the bind weed and other nasties and drying them out ready for the bonfire season which starts in October.  We've cleared down a far amount, this is some of what we have left:

Now, the following compost bin might not look much to you, but it's been a long time in the making on our plot.  We've had one of those plastic council dalek do-dah compost bins since we started but they're rubbish and MozzyMr has been talking about building one out of palettes for AGES, and now we have one!  Shame it's almost full already...

The polytunnel is teeming at the moment, our little plot is full to the brim with tomatoes and a couple of other bits, including a baby melon!  How exciting, can't wait for it to be big enough to eat.

The following bits of veg aren't ours but I had to take some photos to show you how others are using their polytunnel plots.  We do have some chilli's and peppers growing but frankly we grew too many tomatoes and they haven't got as much light as they needed, next year we won't bother with so many tomatoes, they're nice but I am OVER tomato soup.

Allotment Geekery

Not doing too badly with the old veg at the moment, of course Mewster makes a thorough inspection of anything that we bring home.  As it turns out if you leave shredded beetroot unattended, she'll eat it, in fact she'll eat pretty much anything and in the morning when she's ready for her breakfast she'll just keep hurdling over your head until you get up and feed her.  Who knew?

Allotment prep for spring

Saturday was great.  Every first Saturday of the month after 12 noon we're allowed to hold a bonfire at the allotment.  Being the first of the year we thought we would make a bit of a celebration of it, so we prepared homemade soup, rustic bread and a cheeky tipple or two...

MozzyMr got the fire going with some of the weeds and general detritus we've gathered up whilst preparing the allotment for spring.

Once the fire got going and the sun started to set we were grateful for the warmth it was pumping out!

A number of friends and their children joined us so there were plenty of shouts of "Train!" (as we're right next to the track and they go by every half an hour or so), sticks and digging holes in the mud.

Of course there was a little something for the adults to help keep the cold at bay, the hip flask; most useful allotment item to date.  Having said that next Saturday the scarecrows mum and dad bought us for Christmas are going to go up, at the moment they malevolently guard the hallway and freak the cat out.

So excited to be preparing the allotment for sowing hopefully as early as February.  Having crossed the "old" line some time ago I have no qualms settling down with a hot chocolate and a fruit and veg seed catalogue.  So far we've ordered golden beetroot, zebra and black tomatoes, purple potatoes, butternut squash, yellow courgettes, sweetcorn, and lots of chilli's.  Nom nom.