Penellype's Allotment

[Penellype]

More photos



The courgette plant is liking the compost bin. Blueberries are starting to turn blue and have been netted against birds. There are some nasturtiums growing out of the side of the compost bin which probably want removing.



The first courgette is about finger sized. Most of the other flowers are male so far.



Another tomato Garden Pearl in the tub, with Sungold in the hotbed behind. There is also Oh Happy Day behind the lettuces and some half pint peas that are trying to produce more pods.



Some of the onions are swelling nicely, some are not.



The first row of Meteor peas near the raspberries is producing a 2nd crop of pods even though the plants look half dead.

[Penellype]

Last lot



The raspberries. I am going to have to work out how to deal with new growth poking up through the net, which could be interesting.




The contrast with the old raspberries could not be greater. Blackcurrants on the right have been harvested. There weren't many this year as the birds ate about half of them.



The gooseberries are starting to turn purple.



Rhubarb in a bucket likes being in the shade...



Another plant (same variety, same sized bucket) in the sun is much less happy.

[Penellype]

August
Photos taken yesterday morning, just after torrential rain (it was still raining). Some of the pictures are a bit blurred - I was trying to keep the camera dry!



The raspberries are producing loads of fruit, most of which is currently undamaged, although I have seen quite a few raspberry beetle adults. A few of the new canes are poking up through the net, which I have raised slightly, but most are stopping short at the moment. The white flowered runner beans (Moonlight) are just starting to set, although a lot of the flowers have fallen off.



The climbing french beans (Monto Gusto from saved seed) are further forward and are starting to produce plenty of beans. The onions in the hotbed are a disaster this year. About 1/4 of them are no bigger than the sets I planted and the rest are fairly small. The foliage is being eaten, either by slugs or allium leaf miner, and this morning I noticed they were crawling with black aphids. The ones I have at home have done a little better, but are still small.
The photos were taken before I collected the water on purpose, so the trays are still full.


Romanesco under the white net is growing well.




The courgette I planted in the compost bin (Defender) is producing courgettes faster than I can use them. I made 3 into soup this morning and gave a huge one to my friend yesterday.



The old raspberries have been removed. I have covered the near half of the bed with a mulch of hay and the far half has been sown with buckwheat, but not a lot of it has germinated (or at least survived). The mesh is to stop the birds pulling the hay about and to stop the compost falling onto the grass, as it is raised slightly.
The gooseberries, which started turning red a month ago, are still not all ripe (variety Captivator). I am picking the ones that come off easily and leaving the rest to ripen more, and it is taking absolutely ages. This is the best crop I have had so far and I have ordered 3 bare root gooseberry bushes (to arrive later) as well as a redcurrant and a blueberry, both of which have arrived (in pots). They will all be planted in the old raspberry bed in autumn and apart from the blueberry they will be grown as cordons.

[Containergardener]

I have a rhubarb grown from seed this year and wondered what to do with it. Bigger pot or into the ground do you think?

[Penellype]

More photos



Kale, beetroot and parsnips under the near net. All but one of the buckets of potatoes behind have been harvested. Tomatoes in the hotbed behind the potatoes.



PSB under the white net is starting to grow. One of the melons in the growhouse (Emir) is now producing female flowers, but probably far too late. The other plant, Magenta, is not. This picture shows the water level above the grass.




This picture is of the same piece of grass as in the photo above, after I had scooped up 4 dustbins full of water off the path.



The lady who has the next door plot has very kindly cut down her cherry tree, which was planted by the previous plot holder and was far too big, overhanging my plot. She readily agreed that it was the wrong tree in the wrong place, and as the birds ate all the cherries anyway, she wouldn't miss it.



A better photo of the french (nearer) and runner beans. There is only one surviving runner bean plant, but it is producing lots of sideshoots which I am trying to train up the empty poles.

[Penellype]

In the tunnel



The 2 romanesco plants planted earlier than the ones in the raised bed (but sown at the same time) are already starting to produce heads. The Terrain peas behind are doing well and the first pods were picked on 31st July.



The french beans planted in desperation at either end of the centre tunnel bed are doing well and producing plenty of beans. I have brought my old cold frame from home as it was seriously in the way where it was and one of the lids is broken. I am hoping I will be able to use it in the tunnel and make a new lid out of a piece of polycarbonate - whether my DIY skills stretch that far remains to be seen! I have put it round the cucumber Spacemaster. I don't like this variety - it requires pollinating and the cucumbers are "outdoor" type - somewhat rough with small spines on. I won't be growing it again.
The strawberries have finished and have been trimmed. I need to pot up some runners.



Spinach on the left is starting to bolt even though it is very small. This is always a risk with summer spinach, but there is enough of it to eat anyway. I have left a couple of pea plants in the centre of the tunnel as they still have pods on. I have planted some pak choi at this end, which the slugs are enjoying, and some calabrese at the far end, which is coping a bit better (so far). The calabrese is a variety I haven't grown before called De Cicco, which is supposed to have a small main head and produce lots of sideshoots.



Another view of the strawberries and cucumber, with more strawberries, a tomato Garden Pearl and a failed pot of carrot on the shelf.



The tomatoes (Oh Happy Day) near the tunnel door are growing well and have set a few fruit, The plant on the right is another tomato Garden Pearl.

[Penellype]

More in the tunnel



Beetroot is just about holding its own against the slugs.



A closer view of the spinach.



Some of the french beans.



Tomato Garden Pearl - this plant was the one that got broken when I took it to the allotment but it seems to have recovered. The pot on the left was filled with compost made from leylandii trimmings, which I sowed with carrot. The carrots germinated but within a few hours the seedlings disappeared, presumably due to slugs in the compost.



One of the developing romanesco heads.

[Penellype]

More photos



Rececntly planted leeks just about visible in the bed outside the tunnel, where I am hoping they will not succumb to allium leaf miner and/or white rot.



Still plenty of raspberries coming along.




The blueberries have been great and there are still plenty to harvest.



The pink blueberries are nearly ready.



An attempt to photograph the melons in the growhouse.

[Penellype]

Last lot!



This is a variety of kale called KX-1, which to me looks a very strange colour!



All the potatoes had died down and have been harvested except one bucket which still seems to be going strong.



Tomatoes Crimson Crush, Oh Happy Day and Sungold are doing well in one of the hotbeds



More tomatoes Garden pearl in the pot and in the corner of the bed and Sungold in the middle. Courgette Defender at the far end. The weed matting etc is attempting to keep the cat off as it has taken a liking to this bed.



Turnips in the hotbed next to the raspberries. The double layer of mesh is hopefully keeping off cabbage root fly.

[Bren In Pots]

A very productive plot Pen, as a back garden grower I do apricate you sharing your photos.

[Penellype]

I have a rhubarb grown from seed this year and wondered what to do with it. Bigger pot or into the ground do you think?

It depends a bit how big it is. It will do better in the ground in the long run if you have the space, but if it is still small I would go for a bigger pot until it is big enough to survive the slug onslaught. Snails seem to particularly like rhubarb leaves.

[Penellype]

A very productive plot Pen, as a back garden grower I do apricate you sharing your photos.

Thanks Bren

[Containergardener]

Penellype Thanks. I will go for a bigger pot.

[Penellype]

September

These photos were taken in a hurry at about 8am on a dull, dark morning as I had to leave early to go to a Christening. Some of them have come out rather blurred, unfortunately.



The runner bean plant is now doing well and producing more than I can eat. We have had no significant rain for a month now and the grass is starting to go brown.



The french beans are also producing madly. The onions in the hotbed have been harvested and replaced with kohlrabi. There are still a couple of beetroot and some turnips in there.



The romanesco are producing heads, which is rather too early as I have plenty of other things to eat just now. I discovered this evening that romanesco and beetroot is not a great combination! The jungle behind is tomatoes, of which more later.


Beetroot, kale and parsnips are growing, although the parsnips seem to be dying down a bit, which seems early.



PSB looking happy here. The melons are escaping from the growhouse, but despite plenty of flowers and vast quantities of leaf, I haven't seen any sign of fruit forming.

[Penellype]

In the tunnel



The romanesco is slowly being harvested. It seems to have survived the caterpillars, which started on the nasturtiums in the compost bins and migrated under the tunnel net. I will not be growing any more nasturtiums as this is not the first time this has happened. More french beans - I am leaving some of the pods to harvest for drying. The peas have nearly finished although some of the plants are developing more flowers.



The cucumber in the cold frame is growing well but despite careful hand pollination it is refusing to set any fruit. I will not be growing Spacemaster again as it is a complete waste of space. It isn't all that easy to see, but I have pegged down some of the strawberry runners into modules and an MFB.



The view from the shed end shows that the peas are starting to suffer from mildew. They have done very well so far (this variety, Terrain, is supposedly resistant to it) but I suspect they will rapidly die now. The tomatoes near the tunnel door look as though they may start ripening soon. The calabrese at the far end of the centre bed is growing well.



A better view of the strawberries. The pak choi in the centre bed is starting to bolt having been shredded by slugs and caterpillars. Beetroot (bottom right) is about ready to eat.



The peas at the shed end have been removed and the soil mulched with a layer of compost and some cardboard. I've added a piece of wood to keep teh compost off the path.