A New season on plot 30

Isn't it great when the seeds start popping out of the compost ?  My broad beans, courgettes, butternut squash,  and numerous flower and herb seeds are all doing well and its so exciting to be starting this year after such terrible weather.  The bitter cold and rain has put most of us behind this year, but its amazing how things catch up with a few sunny days.

By the way don't forget to visit Victoriana  Nurseries for all your gardening needs. I've just had a look at the website and it's all looking good. There is a link on the side of this page which takes you straight there. I've had several plants over the years I've had my allotment,  and they have all done well, especially my thornless Tayberry  ! It's been amazing even through my move from plot 19 to plot 30 last year.  I had a sneaky look at how the new plot owner was getting on, and I must have left a bit of root from the Tayberry in the ground over at plot 19 !  as he has a nice plant growing in the same place and it's looking very healthy.

A long overdue book review

 I have been meaning to review this Allotment book since the end of last year ! And feel bad that I haven't.  But today I made it priority.

If you already have an Allotment, or are considering taking one on ! This is a brilliant book. Its I formative , funny and laid back rather than being formal and sometimes formal is boring.
Ok some bits are a bit OTT  such as 'Camp on your plot '  a definite no go if its local council owned, but funny and interesting never the less.

There is an introduction by my favourite gardener Alys Fowler and in her words :  Don't leave this book at home: its one to to sit in the allotment shed and jot notes in, and there are plenty of pages to do just that.

I know I'm reviewing it, but I can honestly say its worth buying a copy and I'm glad I have one. Don't take my word for it ! Have a look at a copy and I'm sure you will agree its very different to the usual Allotment books.

I would add shop around as the price differs in each shop, garden centre, and online.
If you do buy a copy I'd love to know what you think.

A new start with my blog

After neglecting my blog for such a long time due to other commitments I've decided to put aside some time each week to catch up on my own and other blogs that I used to visit.

I always enjoyed and was encouraged by other peoples blogs, and it kept me interested in growing and blogging.

So here we are a new start and hopefully a continued one !
All the troubles on the plot seem to have settled down and I avoid our Hitler warden as much as I can. In fact I haven't been as keen this year on being there. I've just done the essentials.  I have been very busy buying second hand furniture and Upcycling and shabbying  and generally producing some amazing pieces from old thrown out or sold junk ! Great fun, and a good source of extra income from what started as a hobby.

So from next year I have to plan my new plot better and get a grip on the bind weed that has smothered my gooseberries, black currents and raspberries.  I worked the fruit bed for over a week when I first moved over to plot 30, and had buckets of bindweed, but it's all back and driving me crazy ! Funny enough I didn't have hardly any on plot 19 ! Just the odd bit here and there.
How do you allotment and  vegetable gardeners deal with this terrible scourge  ? ?? I'd love some tips to get rid of it,

I have had some good harvests even though its been a funny sort of year. Below are some photo's I've taken .

I hope you are all sowing, growing, harvesting and enjoying your plots .
Here are a couple of photos of the many squashes I've grown. Probably the best year for a while for these.

I've had lots of tomatoes this year, all grown in the garden as I sold my greenhouse on the allotment as I find its a tie.  In the summer months I was having to go up and water twice a day. It was the best decision I made as I've had just as many from the garden  and also my chillies were fine in a little mini plastic greenhouse in the garden.

I've just applied the new upgrade to my iPad and there are some changes I don't like, one being on this blog I can't see the whole page and its making it very difficult. And I can't seem to get a preview, which is annoying.

I have been very lucky to have been sent a brilliant new cookbook to review on this blog, but because I've been so busy I haven't had time to do it, so I'll leave it for another day as is like to try some of the vegetable recipes .
Take care
M xx

Hi I'm back !!!!

Well its been a while and the last post was a bit of a moan! It has kind of sorted as the council listened to what I had to say and asked if I wanted to take it further to the commitee.  I decided not to and we agreed to wait and see if anything more happened !  So far so good.  The warden has stayed Way from me and I him so I have been  enjoying my allotment once again.

I have done a lot in the few months since moving plots and have a fair bit growing. There are more courgettes than I can shake a stick at !!!!  And all the bean varieties are coming at once.
Usually the broad beans finish, then I have the runner beans and then the lovely French beans.
But this year all are coming at the same time and I have given loads away.

My previous plot although steep and hard to manage had its good bits which I now realise.  The first being I hardly had any bind weed and the pidgeons never ate my red gooseberries.  But here on
plot 30 bind weed is rampant everywhere and lots of other weeds I hadn't seen on plot 19 (previous plot)  and the pidgeons have stripped my gooseberries here on plot 30 ! Damn ! I love the red gooseberries, I will cover them next year.  Everyone this side of the allotment cover theirs and I wondered why ! The red currents also got eaten by the birds. I just had a few clusters left, another one to cover next year.

I hope you are all having great harvests and enjoying the weather.  I can't honestly say I am as I don't function well in the heat ! Its nice to see the sun and lovely blue skies, but feeling like someone has put me in the oven just doesn't appeal to me.

I wanted to post some photos but can't seem to get to my photos on the photo stream on my iPad, so need to do it from the laptop

M x

Finally over to plot 30

And goodbye to plot 19 , it was a hard slog working on that sloping plot, but boy was it hard work moving my entire plot to another !  But its finally over.

It's going to take a few months to get plot 30 in order and I'm digging for England at the moment. Yesterday I dug up a bucket full of thick and long pieces of bindweed roots just from one small area.
I know you can never truly be rid of this horrid weed, but you just have to try and conquer it or  takes over everything

I have to accept that due to the move and the adverse weather I am going to be way behind, but I have made a start. This week I planted in a raised bed what should have been three rows of carrots . It was so windy that most of the seeds got blown out of my hand so I ended up with enough for only one row ! Also planted two different types of spinach.
In a mini greenhouse in my garden at home I have also  made a start and got lots of French beans ( Blue lake and Fasold) started in the root runners. Turks Head pumpkin, tomatoes (money maker and gardeners delight) and some hot chillies. So a start has been made !

It all like a refugee camp at present, but give me a couple of months and it will look gorgeous ! Watch this space !

A lot of planning and tidying to do yet, but i'll get there. I'm so looking forward to getting it all up to standard.

 

 

 

 

 

Just an update

I am moving plots on the allotment! Mine is such a terrible shape to work and very sloping, so I have been given permission by the council to move to a flat plot which is just a big oblong area ! Yeah no more having to tackle little bits of ground here and there.

Although my plot 19 had character  and was different to any other plot I can't wait to get plot 30 into shape.  It was my daughter and her partners plot for a couple of years and they worked hard on it until their jobs gave them too little time to work it. So they gave it up this month.   I will make sure they get lots of lovely veg from me though.

We have already got a start as I only have a few weeks to move everything off my old plot.
I have moved the Tayberry and my lavenders, They will look very nice along the edge of my new fruit bed. Next to move is the fruit trees and black current and the red gooseberry .
I only hope they all survive.

I will post photos as soon as it all looks better and the shed and greenhouse has been moved over.

M xxx

Uploading Yes ! but far too slow ! why can't it be like before

Just thought I'd try uploading today, it's not the same is it? it's taking ages to upload just one photo.  Blogger isn't very good anymore. just going to try and upload to my Craft blog now as that wasn't working at all the last time I tried. Soo frustrating.