Weeded bed
Airer in position to support beans and peas
After another fruitful session on the plot today I’m starting to feel I’m gaining control.
1.5 beds cleared & our old electric airer positioned to provide support for the pea & bean seedlings that are currently escaping their pots in tunnel 2.
Bought a few small leeks home for dinner.
Maybe. We’ll see what the boss says.
Sticks of pulled rhubarb
Chopped and washed rhubarb ready for the freezer
A nice crop of rhubarb today. Pulled - pic 1 and 2, ready to go in the freezer for future crumbles and puds.
Main crop spuds bed
First early spuds breaking through
Weed free beds ready for seedlings
A good session on the plot today. Main crop spuds finally planted. 5 varieties in total this year.
More earlies now breaking through that will be earthed up later.
Additional beds cleared of winter weeds ready for planting out seedlings that are now taking off in tunnel 2.
Yes Charlie. Earthing up next week plus getting the last of my lates and main crop in. Life keeps getting in the way.
Clematis
Ceanothus
Another clematis coming into flower. Love these plants.
The best year yet for our ceanothus.
Mine are sprouting in the tunnel. Going to grow some in a raised bed in the tunnel & more outside. The soil feels warm to touch now.
Early potatoes
Called into the plot to water. The first early pots are breaking through.
Bird box
Sparrow cottages
Des-res birdie properties in the morning sunshine. We have blue tits sitting on eggs in the box in pic 1.
Two female botanists stand by a lake, with grassland behind; they are smiling, holding aquatic plants they have fished out of the lake for identification
We're looking to recruit a manager for 2 fabulous botanical projects in Ireland:
#AquaticPlantProject
#IrishGrasslandProject
You'll be coordinating expert-led field events & developing training materials for botanists at all skill levels.
2 days per week.
Apply by 25 May:
bsbi.org/about/news/l...
Cole-slaw 😂
They broke the pattern when they made me Fred. What happens if it's a revolving door?
Coming in or going out?
Don't know Sharon. They were certainly annoying.
They went in my compost bin too.
Moved the protected seedlings from the growing pot to the same bed a few weeks ago.
Used troughs on a stand last year. Could move them in & out of the tunnel as the weather dictated. Got a good crop but not worth eating. I use std potting compost in the troughs & feed as appropriate. 🤞
Used the plants left on the plot last year. Mistake - fruit had no flavour. Selected the varieties I wanted, bought some in as plants last autumn & grew some from seed. Put the the plants in a bed over winter.
Strawberries
Asparagus
New strawberry plants, some grown from seed, planted up in troughs for the summer.
Having already cooked & eaten our first, rather large asparagus stalk, we have more on the way.
Weeded beds
Brassica bed to be cleared
Busy session: Weeded the furthest bed containing new rasp & loganberry canes. Moved the cage from the remains of last year’s brassica bed to protect the soft fruit this year.
Cleared the last bits of cabbage etc. Brought a few purple sprouting shoots home. This bed will soon be planted with spuds.
📢 Applications now open!
Join us at Spurn for a 12-month Conservation Internship and gain hands-on experience at one of the UK’s leading bird observatories.
Apply now 👇
spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/news/conserv...
Heard this morning that James, who has the next plot to mine, is not too well. He had a knee replacement last year & it’s not healed.
Allotment John has volunteered to keep the plot under control until James decides if he can come back.
Allotment John is gold-dust. We are so lucky to have him.
High wood
Allotment site
High Wood is turning green again. We had the place to ourselves this morning.
You can see the bottom end of the allotment site across the field.
All less than half a mile from home - so lucky!
Pear blossom
Cherry Blossom
Pretty blossom on my new Conference pear tree.
Much more blossom this year on the original cherry bush that went in 18 months ago. Its partner didn’t make it and the replacement is a bit behind this one.
Strimmed pathway
Strimmed pathway
2 more batteries of juice used on my plot this morning. My little battery strimmer is a tough piece of kit. We are starting to look a little more organised now. Next, some serious weeding, particularly on the bed in pic 1.
Bluebells 1
Bluebells 2
Bluebells 3
Bluebells 4
Lovely stroll through High Wood with Barney this morning. There are no large swathes of bluebells in HW, but the are magical bluey-mauve pockets everywhere.
I've kept a Facebook allotment diary for the last 2 years, but it's limited to family and friends. It's really for me to look back on.
Gardeners are very supportive. Mine haven't broken the surface yet. 🍅
Seed table
Plum blossom
The seed table in tunnel 2 is doing its thing.
My little Victoria plum tree is also waking up.
Grassy pathway
Grassy pathway and weedy bed
Used 2 batteries of juice breaking the back of the thick grass growth on my plot pathways. A rake & another strim & it will start looking like I actually work this plot.
The bed on the right in pic 2 is full of grass & weeds. Maybe the over winter mulch on that bed had an excess of grass seed in it?
Cherry tree
Our new flowering cherry tree, planted last year, is about to burst into colour.