The allotment didn’t see much action last week.
We managed an afternoon there, when I managed to clear one of the beds that had been home to one lot of overwintered brassicas. The weed control fabric used there was moved to the bed that will house the next lot of brassicas to be planted.
The other brassica bed is due for clearance this week and so no brassica harvest for us for a while.
Whilst I was busy with that job, Martyn strimmed all the grass paths. The grass at least will be enjoying the cooler, wet weather conditions
So far we have escaped any frost damage. The Casablanca potatoes had pushed through the earthing up and so it was just as well that the temperature didn't fall as low as was forecast. The Casablancas in the plot greenhouse are growing very quickly. We just hope that the top growth is replicated by action beneath.
As we couldn't do much outside, we did what many gardeners resort to at such time and visited garden centres with the inevitable outcome.
Most of our physical gardening was done at home where we could dash in and out avoiding the showers or sow seeds and prick out seedlings in the garden greenhouse.
The seedlings have been covered nightly with layers of fleece in order to offer some protection against falling temperatures.
The peach tree is still loaded with immature fruits despite it having shed some already. Soon we will have to bite the bullet and remove some fruitlets as the tree can't possibly cope with so many fruits.
The greenhouse was given a general tidy and is filling up quickly. Some plants such as the dahlias are desperate to decamp outdoors.
Martyn posted a video tour of inside the garden greenhouse here if you'd like a closer look around
We made good progress on the ‘new’ garden bed which I intend to post about in more detail shortly. Much of it involved either moving plants that had outgrown their tubs into open ground or planting out some of our garden centre purchases. Some of our acquisitions were planted in our small pebble bed.
We managed another meagre harvest. The second overwintering brassica bed yielded it’s final harvest, namely a couple of cauliflowers. These were just on the point of spoiling but were still fine for cooking.
Of course the rhubarb didn’t let us down.
This week I am embarrassingly linking to harvest Monday hosted on
Muy interesante. Saludos.
ReplyDeleteGracias y gracias por dejar de saludar
DeleteSome of the jobs on an allotment / in a garden are unglamorous, but very necessary nonetheless!
ReplyDeleteI guess 70% are unglamorous, Mark. Or maybe that ‘s just my dress code for garden activities.
DeleteI don't think you'll have the same problem this week, hasn't it been glorious today. Mind you, I think you may have to start lugging the watering can around by the end of the week if the forecast is right.
ReplyDeleteIt’s all or nothing with our weather, Jo. They still are reckoning on cold nights although not down to frost temperatures.
DeleteI've not been able to do much here either, though for us it's wet conditions in the garden that are stopping me. Like your dahlias, I have many plants that are ready to move on outside!
ReplyDeleteBefore long we will have to risk it, Dave.
DeleteWe have had the worst spring weather here too. I haven't done much of anything outside other than sweep up maple seeds and pull a few weeds. YaWN.... Your haul from the nursery looks nice. I bought a couple of cannas about this color that will have orange flowers. I can't hardly wait to see them blooming.
ReplyDeleteI think they have red flowers if the label is correct, Lisa
DeleteYour web site is a work of art Sue, so beautifully crafted and informative! I love that you are tracking your harvests too, so few people do it and it's such a useful resource to inspire potential allotment holders and to allow existing ones to compare what we do. I've just started to harvest cauliflowers too : All the best - Steve
ReplyDeleteThanks for your kind words, Steve.
DeleteHappy Days! Everything looks good, and we do need rain, but here it's dry as a bone for days now, and with a keen wind it dries out even more quickly.
ReplyDeleteStill very dry here, Deborah. It’s back to watering duties.
DeleteThere's rain in the forecast here too, but that's unusual for us in May, rain normally stops by now and it stays dry until autumn. The rhubarb does not disappoint, look at those long stalks!
ReplyDeleteThe rain never arrived, Michelle.
DeleteWish my rhubarb had more red like yours. Still tastes good though.
ReplyDeleteIt’s down to the variety, Sue
DeleteLoved your new purchases, pricking out seedlings is always a great rainy day job. My nectarine tree dropped every single fruitlet but all the other fruit trees are doing well. It's always difficult removing fruitlets, even though it is necessary.xxx
ReplyDeleteIsn’t it just, Dina?
DeleteI did some shopping last week too - I did go in with a list but half the plants that I purchased were not on it, which is not really surprising ;)
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with lists is I can rarely find the things on it, Margaret. It’s very frustrating.
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