Penellype's Allotment

[Penellype]

Pretty much nothing has been done for a week due to ongoing freezing cold weather and being busy at work. Most days have been sunny to some degree and sometimes windy, making decisions about when to open and shut covers very difficult. I don't want the spinach bolting due to being too hot, and I don't want to kill things by exposing them to freezing wind! The cold has meant that the PSB has stopped growing and despite having twice as many plants as usual (4) I am going to be short soon if it doesn't perk up!

Another problem that is beginning to rear its head is lack of rain. I am having to water every day, particularly when it is windy, and I have already used almost a water butt full. We have had the odd snow shower, but not enough to collect any in the bucket that catches drips from the shed roof, let alone enough to do any good. There is no proper rain forecast for at least the next week.

I rigged up covers over some of the strawberries before it went cold, using plastic sacks that the shavings come in draped over bits of blowaway greenhouse shelving. I have no idea whether this will protect the developing flowers but it was the best I could do.

Other than that, really all I have been able to do is grab some lettuce, spinach, PSB, romanesco, rhubarb and the odd leek and go home before I froze solid.

[Penellype]

Time for another update, although things have been so busy that I haven't really had much time to do anything.

Water is becoming an issue - I've already emptied the blue barrel, half the big water butt and 2 of the dustbins, and there is very little rain in the forecast. York racecourse, not all that far from me, reported about a week ago that they have had 6mm of rain in the last 30 days - there has been zero since. I'm not desperate yet - I have another 5 dustbins and one full and one half full water butt to go at, but it is not a comfortable situation to be in to have used about 1/3 of the available water before the start of May!

The horsetail is starting to make an appearance again - I have found shoots under the hedges and in some of the raised beds, and I noticed several shoots in the tunnel this morning. There are also the little pink fruiting bodies appearing in the grass path between my allotment and the next one - these are very hard to see.

I've just about managed to keep on top of the grass, which hasn't grown that much because of the night frosts and lack of water. I spent most of the gardening time I had last week cutting the long edges back from under the bluebell and daffodil foliage, as if I let it spread it will be a nightmare to remove and the mower won't deal with it.

The spinach is growing really well now and some of the leaves are bigger than my hands. Spinach is my favourite spring crop and it loves the hotbed. The lettuces are growing well too and I now have more than I can eat. Leaves are showing in the buckets of Lady C potatoes - the earliest of these got nipped by the frost even though they are under cover. A few of the strawberry flowers have gone black in the middle too, but some of them look ok. The onions are growing and I am hoping (but not confident) that watering that bed last year with water that onion foliage had been soaked in might just prevent the white rot. The peas are growing slowly and the cauliflowers very slowly indeed. These are supposed to be ready in May, but I would be astonished if they are.

The parsnips I sowed about a month ago have not germinated and I have no idea if it is because I used last year's seed or because they are too dry. I am chitting some more on kitchen paper at home, but I do prefer to sow them direct if possible.

As well as spinach and lettuce I have been harvesting plenty of rhubarb, PSB, the odd leek and the last of the parsnips.

A couple of other random thoughts...

Our council are changing their recycling system over the next few months, from fortnightly collections of everything to once every 3 weeks with a different thing each week, which sounds like a recipe for disaster because remembering which week is which is going to be impossible! The are also providing an extra wheelie bin, which is much bigger than the current standard one, for garden waste. It is already giving me nightmares as I have nowhere to keep it, and the only garden waste I ever use my bin for is the leylandii clippings. I am trying to sort out my garage in preparation but there simply isn't the floor space and there is nowhere outside either. I'm all for recycling (in fact I am a bit of a fanatic about it) but I can do without this.

Outside the allotment is a bus stop. Next to the bus shelter is a waste bin. Yesterday I picked up a plastic bag that was lying by the bin and binned it as I really can't stand litter. On the floor around the bin is a sea of cigarette ends. There is a special place for cigarettes on top of the bin, so WHY can't people use it. This is going to drive me bonkers and I am likely to end up clearing it up myself when I should be gardening.

[Jungle Jane]

If you phone the council they might let you keep your normal green bin,the larger size might be good for some people but not all houses? What will the third bin be for,is it plastics & cardboard,my friend has a bin for that in Suffolk,seems good rather than loads of bags

[Penellype]

If you phone the council they might let you keep your normal green bin,the larger size might be good for some people but not all houses? What will the third bin be for,is it plastics & cardboard,my friend has a bin for that in Suffolk,seems good rather than loads of bags

Currently we have a green bin for garden waste, a grey bin for rubbish, a green box for plastic and tins and black boxes for paper and glass. The proposal is to keep the grey rubbish bin, use the green one for glass, plastics and tins, use the 2 black boxes for paper and have a bigger bin for garden waste. I may find that if I try to put out the green bin on garden waste day it gets ignored because it is supposed to contain the plastic etc. I've already had this problem when I filled the black glass box with paper as well as the black paper one. The whole thing is very confusing indeed.

To add to the confusion, we are allowed to recycle plastics with triangles 1 and 2 only. It used to be bottles only, but as some bottles are triangle 5, those are now not allowed... It would be more helpful if they would take more types of plastic if they want us to recycle more!

I do actually recycle almost everything - my grey bin is used as storage, but that is a different story (google Terracycle if you are interested).

[Jungle Jane]

That’s a shame you can’t choose & there’s no alternative size,does sound very confusing.

[Penellype]

Desperately short of time at the moment - hence the lack of updates.

Things I can remember that I have done are:
Mostly keep on top of the horsetail and weeds.
Open and shut covers every night due to frosts - last night was the first time I dared leave them open.
Watering gave way to collecting water and my bins are now nearly full thanks to an absolute deluge which enabled me to scoop a load up off the paths.
I trimmed the hedges and I've cut the grass twice I think, although the bits that are not flooded are growing fast.
Re-sowed parsnips as the ones I sowed a month ago hadn't germinated. They promptly did so a couple of days later.
I've also planted peas and harvested plenty of lettuce and spinach, the remains of the parsnips, some PSB and some leeks.

Photos (from 1st May)



Trays are out to catch water.



Everything covered up to protect from frost. Strawberries and lettuce in the growhouse.



The little cherry tree is flowering. Most of the branches are at the top and I am trying to encourage growth from buds lower down by scoring the trunk above with a knife, but I don't think I am brave enough to cut deep enough to make much difference.



Potatoes in buckets are growing slowly.



Meteor peas also growing slowly. The green net is a windbreak to protect them from the northerly wind.

[Containergardener]

Looking good Pen

[Penellype]

More photos from 1st May



Onions are growing well. The labels to the right are the rows of parsnips.



Spinach, lettuce and beetroot in the hotbed



The tunnel is looking rather empty, with bolted kale (since removed), PSB and leeks and the very pathetic Hurst Greenshaft peas (only about 25% germination) in the middle. HGS is normally a very reliable variety and I am germinating them indoors, but they just don't want to play ball this year at all.



Strawberries in the tunnel sheltering under a shelf with a plastic sack over them at night, just about surviving the frost.



Lettuces in the growhouse. The 2 red ones were the sole survivors of winter lettuces (Rouge d'hiver I think) sown in October. I have been harvesting a few leaves from them as they have grown, and have since eaten one of them. The green ones are spring sown Black Seeded Simpson.

[Penellype]

Still very, very busy and when I do have time I tend to be doing rather than writing about it.

The weather has continued to be unkind, with a cool/cold wet May. I needed to cover the potatoes and the strawberries almost every night until very recently due to forecast frosts. It is unusual to have frosts here in May - the village usually keeps things above freezing, but there were several days when I couldn't open the top of the growhouse first thing because it was frozen shut.

The other thing that has been really difficult is cutting the grass, because the lower part of the plot has simply been flooded. My little manual push mower will not cope with wet grass, and I have had to resort to chopping off the longest bits with secateurs. The raspberries are not looking particularly happy and some of the canes at the wetter end of the row have not produced any leaves or have leaves that are looking very sick. I don't think they have enjoyed being under water. At least all the water butts are full, so I shouldn't need to worry about water for a while.

I have managed to keep the hedge trimmed, and I have put the top net back on the tunnel now that the risk of snow has gone (I hope!). I am trying hard to keep on top of the horsetail, which is certainly much less of a problem than it was when I first got the plot.

The spinach has liked the cool, wet conditions and has produced a superb crop in the hotbed. It is just starting to bolt, but has just about single handedly kept me in fresh veg for the last couple of weeks when the carrots were finished. The lettuces are doing well too and I am giving them away as I have far too many. The beetroot in the hotbed has grown much better than last year when very few germinated. This time they are too close together and I am pulling some as baby beets, about the size of golf balls.

The winter crops of PSB, romanesco and kale have all bolted and the leeks are going the same way, so I am clearing the tunnel ready for this year's brassicas and leeks. I won't be growing carrots in there this time after a bad attack of carrot fly last year. There is plenty of room at home for carrots in buckets. The onions are growing well, and so far there are no yellow tips to the leaves, which appeared to be the first sign of white rot last year. Last summer I watered the bed with water that onion leaves had been soaked in for 24 hours in the hope of stimulating the white rot to grow and then die with no host to infect. It will be interesting to see if it works.

I sowed 2 rows of parsnips of different varieties, but only one (the newer packet of seed) germinated, so I chitted a few and planted them in the other row. The potatoes are growing well and the Lady C have recovered from being slightly nipped by a frost just after they emerged (despite their cover). The Meteor peas are flowering and look like giving a decent crop, but I have had all sorts of trouble germinating the Hurst Greenshaft, having tried 3 different brands. I gave up and tried Terrain instead for the final sowing, but only 2 of 50 seeds germinated from an old packet, so I have sown some from a new one. I have no idea what the problem is as I am doing nothing different from what I always do.

The cauliflowers are growing slowly but they are not going to be ready in May as advertised. Maybe June if I am lucky. The rhubarb has been good, the cherry and blueberries have developing fruit, and there is some on the blackcurrant and gooseberry. I ate my first strawberries from the growhouse yesterday and today, so it is finally starting to feel like summer.

Still loads to catch up with - I need to plant the summer leeks now that the frost has gone, there are calabrese, courgettes and cucumbers to harden off and plant as well as the winter leeks. There are also tomatoes, melons, romanesco and PSB in the pipeline. I may need to revise my plans as I think the cauliflowers are still going to be growing where I planned to put the tomatoes.

[Penellype]

Finally the weather has dried out and I have been able to cut the grass. I've also planted out the summer leeks.

Photos from 1st June:



Covered areas waiting for tomatoes and runner beans.



Lettuces and strawberries in the growhouse



The hotbed is bursting at the seams with spinach, lettuce and beetroot. Cauliflowers under the white and green nets behind.



Cherry and blueberries developing fruit, but no sign of new growth up the trunk of the cherry.



Onions and parsnips under the big white net. Potatoes behind are now growing well.

[Penellype]

More photos:



Some of the raspberries are not looking happy.




Bed prepared for courgettes to be planted soon. Meteor peas behind.




Tunnel looking a bit empty still, with space for brassicas and leeks, and for cucumbers in the middle. Hurst Greenshaft peas at the far end. Lots of strawberries which I couldn't bring myself to pull out.




Summer leeks have just been planted.




More strawberries near the tunnel door.

[Ms-T]

Great photos Pene. its all looking good.

[Penellype]

Really struggling to keep up with this at the moment, mainly because I would rather be out doing when I can rather than writing about it!

Water has been in short supply as we had very little rain in the first half of June. I had used most of the water in the dustbins, all the blue barrel and half the big water butt by the time the rain arrived. The water butt is now 3/4 full and I have replenished half a dustbin (about a day's supply) so I could do with plenty more rain!

Things are coming along slowly. The runner beans were planted out a couple of weeks ago and are starting to climb. The spinach is now finished, as are most of the lettuces in the hotbed and I am eating plenty of the beetroot. As space appeared I planted the melons, one in the growhouse (Magenta) and the other in the hotbed (Emir). These are starting to grow. The cauliflowers are producing heads and I am trying to cut these when they are about tennis ball size so they are still very tight and not full of slugs. This is a bit of a race against time as 12 of them were planted at the same time!

The cherry is disappointing. It has set some fruit, but it is going red while still very small (hardly bigger than a cherry stone) and the fruit are starting to fall off. I don't know if this is due to late frosts or drought at a critical time, or both, or whether it didn't like being planted in the ground over winter. I love cherries, but it looks like I will have to do without this year. The blueberries have plenty of fruit on them and i have put up a net to deter birds.

The onions are growing well, and the tips of the leaves are starting to go brown. It was at this point last year that they started to get white rot, but a gentle pull on the leaves of some of the ones with brown tips resulted in no movement, whereas last year the ones with white rot only needed a nudge to come loose. Too soon to be hopeful yet though. The parsnips are growing well and as usual I have sown far too many.

I've eaten a few of the Lady C potatoes - these have not grown particularly well this year, possibly due to the late cold, and possibly because I am using twice saved seed potatoes. I am not expecting a big crop, but the new potatoes are lovely. The Desiree look much better and are now flowering. The intention is to buy new seed potatoes next year.

The raspberries are producing a lot of fruit on the canes that have not died, and I picked the first 2 ripe fruit yesterday. I think the flooding over winter is to blame for the dead canes, but new ones are sprouting from below. Along the fence line the blackcurrant has very little fruit, probably due to being confined in a pot until the winter, so without much wood of fruit bearing age. The gooseberry is doing a bit better, although the sawflies are starting to eat the leaves. The chilean guava, still in its pot, has not looked happy all year. There are some redcurrants in the roadside hedge which look as though they will be ready soon, and the little kiwiberry that I planted in the hedge seems to have survived having its leaves killed by late frosts.

2 courgettes have been planted in the bed next to the raspberries and these are growing well. The first fruit is now big enough to cut and I intend to eat it tonight. The Meteor peas are in full flow and I brought a bagful home yesterday to freeze.

The tunnel is still looking empty as I haven't yet got round to planting the brassicas and the winter leeks are still not quite big enough. The maincrop peas are starting to produce pods. I decided to fill the centre of the tunnel with peas to avoid pea moth, and planted the cucumbers in the area outside the tunnel next to the door, where they are growing well.

The strawberries in the tunnel are covered in fruit which is ripening faster than I can eat it. Now that we have had some rain slugs are starting to be a problem and I tried an experiment. I've had a lot of success keeping slugs off with sheep's wool pellets (Slug Gone), but they tend to break up into fragments and stick to the fruit of strawberries and are not nice to eat. I decided to try sheep's wool matting which seems less likely to break up, so I got a small piece and cut it into squares to put under the fruit. I also used half of it as a mat to grow lettuces through, with some more lettuces next to them with Slug Gone sprinkled round. The next morning (after rain) there were slug holes in some of the strawberries on the mat, and a slug sitting in the middle of one of the pieces, which was not exactly encouraging. The lettuces have done rather better - neither lot has been attacked by slugs yet.

Yesterday, in between rain and work, I planted out 2 Ferline tomatoes next to the runner beans. These were desperate for planting, one of them having already been planted out in the garden, only to be decapitated by something (slug? cutworm?) and re-rooted in water. The other 2 tomato plants intended for the allotment (Oh Happy Day and Crimson Crush) are still in my spare bedroom under lights, about 4-6 inches high and refusing to grow. Once I have eaten the cauliflowers they will be planted in the bed next to the growhouse, but as both have quite large fruit I am not hopeful of getting anything edible off them unless we have a very warm autumn.

[Penellype]

I spoke too soon regarding the lettuces . They were fine yesterday but this morning the ones with the slug gone are decimated. There are a couple of chewed leaves on the ones planted through the mat, but basically so far they have survived.

[Bren In Pots]

That's disappointing about your lettuces Pen, I seem to lose less to slugs if I grow them in buckets rather than in the ground.