Getting the plot in order

At last the plot is looking more productive. The broad beans are now in and thankfully haven't been affected by the cold snap the other morning.  The onions are in as well. I didn't get around to sowing any onions from seed as I do every year, but I will sow some as I think the onions from seed keep longer than the ones from sets. Do you find this as well ???

The shed has had a complete overhaul by the hubby. He went up on his own the other day and worked hard to finish and it looks lovely.

Rosie has a new shirt, but she also needs new raffia hair and a new hat. But she is looking better than before.

I was excited to see the first ever blossom on my plum tree (planted last year) I can't wait to see if I actually get some fruit.

The Zinnia seeds I sowed a week a week or so ago have all appeared and are raring to go. Oh my goodness ! I have seedlings everywhere ! chilli seedling, tomatoes, asters, and it's quite a tie really as I have to find someone to look after them if we stay away for more than a couple of days.  So I will be glad when they can all be planted out.

Last of all I must mention the rhubarb ! It's growing so big. I have about 5 different varieties and can't wait for the first picking.

I was just about to press the button to publish this post, looked out of the study window and it is raining !!!! not sure if  I'm glad, I know we need it, but we were just about to go up to the allotment to plant the mangetout and some cabbages which are ready to go in the ground. Hopefully it's only a shower.

Happy sowing / planting everyone

New Asparagus plants and an allotment update

My asparagus plants which I planted last year weren't a great success, only three out of ten survived.  I don't know why as I planted them all the same, in the same way and the same depth, and the three survivors look very healthy.  Anyway today I received ten new very healthy  replacement plants kindly sent by Stephen and Serena at Victoriana Nursery.  Here they are all planted up  looking small at the moment, but I have a good feeling about these, some are planted in another row just out of view.

Thanks to  Stephen and Serena for replacing them !!

I harvested the last of the Purple Sprouting Broccoli at the week-end. Out of six plants which had all grown very tall and looked healthy until our severe winter, only three survived and only one of those gave any decent pickings. It really wasn't worth waiting any more for the measly pickings left as I needed the bed to get my canes up ready for the runner and french beans.

So the bed is ready for the beans which are growing like 'Jack's Beanstalk' in the greenhouse and need to go in. I will probably get them in next week, surely we wont get any more frosts after next week ????

The Greenhouse is productive !

The Tayberry is doing amazingly well and has had loads of flowers, so hopefully lot's of fruit this summer.

There are so many flowers on the strawberries, and not just on my plot. Everyone else's plots seems to be having a successful year with the strawberries too.

Rhubarb has been amazing this year. It's the third year now so all the different varieties (which I forgotten the names as the tags are now lost !)  are at the right stage of maturity for a full picking. YUM !!!

The gooseberries are full of fruit, but I am a little concerned about the colour of the green gooseberry fruit as it looks like it's tinged a bit pink !!  and NO this isn't the red gooseberry which is green at the moment, but does turn red later on. The labels are still on the bushes from when I first planted them, so I know I haven't mixed them up (as the hubby suggested) so it's a bit of a concern in case there is something wrong with the green one (any Ideas anyone ????) I just clicked to enlarge this photo and the fruit looks a bit spikey doen't it ?  I must go back and check this out tomorrow.

The green gooseberry (honest)

The red gooseberry (it goes red later on) below. I checked the original tags still intact and it really is the red variety

 And finally, broad beans (doing very well) and red veined spinach, I love this variety and have also grown the larger leaved green one and a baby leaved variety as well ( Look out Popeye !!!!)

I almost forgot the Blackcurrant ! also full of fruit waiting to grow and ripen, it's going to be a great year for fruit. The late fruiting raspberries are growing like mad after being cut right back.

Such a long post ! isn't it nice when everything starts looking fruitful ?
M x

Teasing myself with photo's of what's to come !

We went up to the allotment today to check on the Tayberry which came from Stephen at Victoriana Nursery and I was excited to see that many buds have opened and little curly leaves are unfurling. It looks very healthy

There was gorgeous rhubarb up and lots more peeping out. I have to admit to being over the top with the rhubarb planting and have about 6 plants of different varieties, but my daughter is going to have a couple of plants on her plot as I really don't have the room for them as they get bigger.

The garlic is doing well, still a bit spindly but it was only planted in the autumn so has a while to fatten up yet. I have two varieties in one being 'Cristo' and the other is a french one that I can't remember off hand.

The purple sprouting broccoli is only just beginning to sprout, I do hope I get a good harvest as I love it.

And we still have some parsnips to harvest. I dug up a lot last week which is now in the garage awaiting to be made into curried parsnip soup Mmmmmm. I will need that bed soon so the rest will need to come up in the next week or so.

Here are the photo's  I have been teasing myself with ! I can't imagine the plot looking like this again, but I know it will with a bit of hard graft.  Oh I just can't wait, it look so full and lush.

Raspberries, Rhubarb and Rainbows.

The late fruiting Raspberries, it's been a good year.

Beetroot, cooked and pickled in vinegar and my favourite Raspberry Curd.

I was busy in the kitchen yesterday.

After the rain, out came the sun and a wonderful double rainbow.

I have always loved rainbows, they never fail to enchant me.

An allotment visit update

I made a brief visit to the lottie yesterday, mainly to take more kitchen scraps and bits to add to my compost bin up there. It was lovely to see millions (OK a little white lie, but honest a lot) of big fat worms doing their thing and making me some lovely compost.

There was nothing much going on up there, but I noticed the rhubarb peeping out of the ground, very exciting ! I love rhubarb and we have about 4 different varieties, but I can't remember which ones as I didn't write them down and the tags are long gone.

Then there was this gorgeous Hellebore that a neighbouring plot holder (who was giving up their plot to move away) gave me last year. She also gave me a white one which is just in bud. I am so lucky as these are very large plants, so lots of flowers.

The garlic is doing very well, we are still using last years which is plaited and hanging in the garage.

I have potatoes chitting on the windowsills. I'm not growing as many as last year as I am making room for the asparagus which is more expensive than potatoes in the shops, so I would rather grow things that will save on my shopping bill.

Also on the windowsill I have my broad beans and some sweet peas that I sowed yesterday, so nothing to show of those yet. But the seeds I saved from the beautiful Cerinthe plants that I grew last year, were planted about a week ago and they are doing well and are up, each day another one peeps out I have ten so far and another just coming through. I can't wait for them to look as lovely as last year, they are so beautiful.

'Cerinthe' seeds above and the plants from last year below.

The onions that I grew from seeds indoors are now growing well and in the mini-greenhouse outside. I cover them in fleece every night as I don't want to lose them after all the attention they got as they were growing. I also put the poppy plants out there as well, they are sturdy little plants now. I just hope I am lucky enough to get the elusive plum colour one.

That's about it really! I'm being nursemaid for the next 6 weeks to the hubby who has had an operation on his foot and wont be fully mobile for at least 6 weeks. For the first 2 weeks he has to keep the foot elevated as much as possible, so I'm at his beck and call (that saying looks odd written down !!)

Have a good week-end everyone and It's almost MARCH Yipeeeeeee !!!

Stones in his pockets !!

I thought I would add that title for my post although it's got nothing at all to do with plants, allotments, or growing anything. This evening I have been to see a wonderful Irish play ( of the same name as the title) that I have been meaning to see for about 7 years. It was running in London for ages then went touring abroad and is now back and it was at our local "newish " theatre. " Stones in his pockets" http://www.stonesinhispockets.co.uk/ written by Marie Jones has won lots of theatre awards. The amazing thing about it is that two brilliant actors play 15 characters between them ( I know that's difficult to imagine!) If you ever get a chance to see it you wont be disappointed. It's very funny and wonderfully acted. enough said !

I had a great time last Thursday in London catching up with my long lost friend, we talked for England ! for about three and half hours and then she had to get back to another part of London, to help her daughter with her new baby. This was the main reason for her visit here from Spain.

Now for some Lottie news.

I worked on the allotment over the week-end. I put my peas in their bed. I grew them in toilet roll innards and they were just growing over the tops, so in they went and are now coming on well and all covered in netting to keep the birds off.

The Mizuna that I sowed a week or so ago is up, two rows of it and it's looking good. I think I can just see the spinach beet peeping through, well I hope it's that and not weeds. That's the only thing about sowing into the ground ! one never knows if it's a weed or not until they grow some more.

The rhubarb is looking good, and the raspberries are starting to shoot up again. I have potted up the masses of strawberry runners, which I will give away, as I already have a bed full, plus some new ones I want to try that I bought in the garden centre sale last year.

I grew some lovely "Burpless" cucumbers last year in the greenhouse (at the lottie) I bought just one plant and they were really delicious, and one plant gave many fruits. I have been looking to buy some seeds of the same, for ages and have just found a packet. They are "Thompson & Morgan" - cucumber, burpless tasty green F1 Hybrid. that's what it says on the packet.

I recommend them, I don't know about the not burping bit as I don't have that problem with cucumbers anyway, but for someone who does it may be worth trying these.

Well I am being a bit of a gasbag here with this lengthy post, sorry about that, but it's been a while. I have posted a few photo's below that I took today.

I am off to London again tomorrow, my youngest son's home this time. He lives in central London in a lovely area which is easy to get to all the good places. We are back on Thursday, so I won't be posting again until the week-end. My plants are being looked after by a lottie neighbour ( the ones in the greenhouse on the plot) and my daughter is stopping by to see the plants in the 2 mini greenhouses in the garden. I do hope they will all be OK. They have taken so long to get them to the stage they are at. I will be glad to plant them out when all danger of frosts are over. I have many more seeds to start growing, and I just don't have any more room until the current ones get planted out.

One of the rhubarb plants starting to fruit ( I have five ! I think I overdid that )

My sign , now attached to a stake, it was just on the ground before.

The wallflower bed outside the lottie greenhouse

Can you spot the first Cerinthe to be planted out ?

The other Maureen's shed has a new sign, I love it !