2018 Calendar

[1Bee]

End of April and things are starting to come together.

I know the weeds are going to go crazy any minute in the new half of the plot, but we've got the den up, I've bought the timber for the raised beds and got the mpc. Just need to get the cardboard for lining them and assemble the raised beds...



On the original half I still have the squash bed and half the brassica bed to dig, but otherwise we're doing well. Onions are away, the charlottes are up, earthed up and fleeced and in the netted raised bed radishes, spinach, carrots and beetroot are sprouting. I've got lettuce under the cloches and the bean tunnel is up, just not netted yet.



I'm pretty happy with the peas and Broad beans. I grew them for the first time last year and am really looking forward to them again. I have the next batch of broadies ready to go in...

[Penellype]

May



The potatoes have grown a bit. Shelving in front providing emergency shelter from a frost last night for strawberries.



From left: Corn salad starting to blot, dwarf broad bean The Sutton in flower in bucket 12, white currant with plenty of fruit setting, apple blossom just starting to open. Meteor peas with the first flower opening, leaves on the apricot tree.



Potatoes and seedlings in the growhouse, 2 saladgrow planters of spinach coming along slowly. Buckets of carrots under the net, potatoes under covers on the raised beds.



Strawberries on the shelf have been brought out of the garage after the frost. Blueberries in the fruit cage not yet flowering. Mizuna in the foreground is bolting. More potatoes under cover near the fence.



Peas and overwintered brassicas on the left, herbs and strawberries on the path. Cauliflowers in buckets under the cover and onions near the fence.

[Martin H]

May. No disasters yet!

My square foot garden is coming along nicely. The overwintering onions are doing great (except for being a bit flattened in yesterday's wind and rain), as is the garlic. Cabbages, caulis, broccoli and brussels sprouts have settled in, carrots and parsnips are up, first radishes and mizuna picked. Some nice spring flowers in the foreground, too.



The salad and herb troughs in front of my chrysanthemums:



The potato pots in front of the runner bean supports:

[veggiechicken]

May 7th. Apple and pear trees in flower and the garden is greening (weeding) up.
The cane structure behind the GH has CFBs at its base and I'm hoping they'll grow up and across the top. There are dwarf raspberries in pots in there too.

[Small pumpkin]

Looks stunning VC

Here's mine



If you think I'm going out there to take proper photos, you're wrong .

Grass needs cutting. Hopefully self explanatory why it's not happened.
Yellow thing is the dogs frisbee. Not going out there to move that for the photo either

[Jungle Jane]

I took these photos yesterday,the first photo shows broad beans three different varieties,ones a tall variety so I wonder how that will be supported,no real support here,those bamboo poles are only used by sparrows so they can eat the top of my peas. Onions in the raised bed with strawberries,gooseberry,apple & grape & a purple flower that’s appeared. The second photo shows my garlic in the border & sweet corn in pots on the path,that’s the sunniest spot of the garden. Potatoes are in the third photo with tomatoes & some peppers in the bottom corner that are hardening up. Fourth photo has radish seedlings with tomatoes & french marigolds.

[Small pumpkin]

I've planted stuff

Bed 1
6 varieties of onions
2 varieties of leek
2 varieties of cabbage
Mixed lettuce
Companion plants
Still to sow spring onions



Bed 5 supposed to be a consecutive sowing bed. As ever I've sown to much first time round
2 varieties of swede
3 varieties of turnip
Rainbow chard
Perpetual spinach
Companion plants



Bed 7 ( left of photo )
3 varieties of kale
2 varieties of cabbage
Companion plants

Bed 8 ( middle of photo)
Overflow bed already full
Overflow Turnip, cabbage.
Romanesco ( forgot I had them when I did my plan )
Covered bit is for my crapaudine beetroot

Bed 9 ( right of photo)
Broccoli
Companion plants



Finally my spud bags
Just because I think they are looking quite good

[Chestnut]

Mid May



Mid May. Rhubarb going mad, most spuds have a few leaves showing now, and soft fruit starting to form tiny green fruitlets.

[bario1]

Couple of random pics from my plot

[Penellype]

June



Everything looking rather more summery. Potatoes (Lady C) under the tunnel and various veg and flowers hardening off on shelves in front.



Broad beans in pot 12, white currants, apple tree and Meteor peas just ready to pick. The pots on the fence are pink flowered strawberries (Just Add Cream).



Flowers and seedlings hardening off in the growhouse, spinach in the saladgrows starting to bolt. Carrots and brassicas under the net and potatoes on the raised beds at the back.



More potatoes, strawberries on the shelves, blueberries and carrots under the net in the fruit cage.



Strawberries in the hanging basket, onions and cauliflowers under nets below. peas (Hurst Greenshaft), herbs on the path and framberries in the cold frame at the far end. The tomatoes hardening off in the blowaway are just visible on the left.

[Penellype]

A couple of other views:

[veggiechicken]

View from the bathroom window! 2nd June



and a walk through the apple trees

[1Bee]

A view of the whole plot... 3new raised beds in the middle ground.


A view back across from the other corner. Charlottes well away now, onions looking good in the next bed.


Mad Max the Pumpkin...


And Bad Max...


And the inside of the bean tunnel: French beans, cosmos, tagetes, sweet peas and others.

[Martin H]

It always amazes me how fast stuff grows during May. More of the same this month!

Now that I've packed in the allotment, I'm down to two outdoor growing spaces: a square foot bed plus some pots on my patio.

In the square foot bed, the sweet corn has taken off, the early peas, overwintering onions and garlic are nearly ready to harvest, everything else is racing away:



On the patio, I've been eating lettuces and radishes already and there's a succession coming. The chrysanthemums seem happy in their spot up against the wall. Runner beans are just reaching the top of their canes and thinking about flowering. The Desirée potato pots are fine too, but the Charlottes took a battering in a storm last week and many of the main stems have snapped off. It's a shame really, another couple of weeks and they will be ready to harvest, I'm expecting the damage to leave me only with small potatoes. I'll have to remember to tie them up next year!

[Small pumpkin]

Beds 1&2



Beds 3,4&5



Bed 6 and the potato bags at the far end



Beds 7,8&9