Things are looking up

Last week we 'made hay whilst the sun shone' - not literally of course. We skipped spring and had a taste of summer. The race was on to get some of the beds tilled before the sun baked what had been mud into concrete.

Almost all the remaining weed control fabric was removed, any weeds that had survived under the covering or popped through the holes were removed and the tiller was fired up.

Although the surface of the soil is dry, there is still plenty of moisture lower  down but enough beds were in a 'tillable' condition to keep Martyn busy. Once tilled the appropriate sheet of weed control fabric was put in place and mulched using wood chippings.

As beds became ready, planting and sowing began. One bed was sown with parsnips and carrots.

We're hoping that the present weather conditions will encourage germination and that we have a better carrot harvest this year than last. The carrots were covered with enviromesh to keep the carrot fly at bay but that will be no protection against slugs. It seems strange to be watering but as the seeds are near the surface which is fairly dry it IS necessary.

The watering cans have come out of hibernation as, until the plants roots reach down from the top layers of soil, the newly planted beds as well as newly sown seeds need watering too.

I noticed quite a few white butterflies over the weekend, luckily our brassicas are hiding under mesh.

Additionally to sowing carrots into the ground, I decided to sow a few in one of our growing bags. If they produce a crop it will make for an interesting comparison. I sowed a few radishes in another bag. Once they germinate I'll sow a few more to try to produce a succession. In another bag I planted two varieties of lettuce - Tom Thumb and All Year Round. The bags have also been covered with mesh to protect from carrot fly and birds.

The potatoes that we planted in bags are growing well and the first lot planted on the allotment are pushing through. Another bed became available so I planted two rows of Vivaldi. We have quite a few seed potatoes left of varieties already planted which are still in the greenhouse awaiting a home.

We've come to the end of our stored potatoes and are having to buy some which is always a shock to the system.

Amid all the activity we did manage a tiny harvest of Purple Sprouting broccoli.

It may be a modest amount but very welcome. We think club root may be a factor in our lack of success with this plant. Unfortunately there is currently no club root resistant variety available so we are working on a plan to try to improve our chances of a decent harvest next year.

We are also harvesting watercress from our garden pond. Lots has been cleared out and now lovely fresh growth is being produced. Of course it has decided to grow a little further into the middle of the pond and needs coaxing to the side to make picking easier.

We could have harvested some rhubarb but let's face it there is only so much rhubarb that you can eat isn't there?

By the way Martyn has posted a video of last week's plot activity on his blog here.

I'm rather cheekily hoping this little posy of PSB and the watercress pickings qualify this post for a link to  Harvest Monday hosted on Dave's blog Our Happy Acres

Copyright: Original post from Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments http://glallotments.blogspot.co.uk/ author S Garrett