Excuses

Excuses...
The older you get the quicker time flies - it is June already! I haven't posted much recently because there have been Exams, and when I haven't been revising I've been on the allotment. I've popped down at least once a week, watering the seedlings, doing a spot of weeding and planting new seeds. Now that the exams are over and the bank holiday is here, I'm hoping to spend a lot more time on the plot!

Update...
The plot has really benefited from plenty of rain and a few good warm days recently - the beans are all up, the beetroot is going well, and the sugar snap peas are almost ready to pick. The thyme plants have really enjoyed the good weather - the citrus and woolly thymes are a mass of delicate pink flowers, and are attracting a variety of bee species.

We've had a few casualties in the rain though - the two clematis that were added to the new arch didn't cope with the sudden onset of cold weather, and so were dug up and temporarily rehomed in the greenhouse tent, where they are now both recovering. They've been replaced by two much sturdier specimens, who seem to be making the most of the arch and sending out a lot of tendrils. The arch has also had a couple of climbing strawberries planted close by - they're looking healthy, but so far showing no inclination to climb.

The two garlic plantations are also showing distinct differences - those planted in the shadow of the damson trees are looking beautiful. At two feet tall, their leaves are a strong healthy green, and are showing the promise of good bulbs. Those planted in the unshaded strip at the front of the plot look entirely different - thin stalks and yellowing leaves are a clear indication they are not finding it easy to grow. Next year, I'll be planting that area quite differently!

The transplanted asparagus and artichokes have taken well to their new raised beds, and are looking healthy. I haven't picked any asparagus this year - it seemed a good idea to give it twelve months to get established.

Something unexpected...
I've had quite a bit of company on the plot recently, and not just from the wildlife (shed eviction day for the mouse family was very sad, but it had to be done). The allotments are built on, or with, the contents of a Victorian rubbish dump - a perfect hunting ground for unfussy or amateur archaeologists! Giles and Lisa have uncovered a variety of antique domestic refuse, from the quite dreadful Asiatic Pheasant dinner service (we easily understood why that had been discarded) to a range of poison bottles and other chemist's products. It's great that the stuff is out of my soil, and quite astonishing to see so much come up whole out of the ground.

One of the nicest things about gardening for me is the direct link between effort and reward. You work all spring, and then in summer and autumn you literally reap the benefits of that effort. I don't always want to have to wait until summer though - so hurrah for winter vegetables, rhubarb and... cider :) A relaxing glass at the end of a hard day's work can't be beaten...

Today was my first day at the plot for three weeks. We've had huge amounts of rain recently - apparently April 2012 was the wettest April we've had for 100 years - so I haven't been down to the plot for a while. I imagined ark conditions, but it wasn't too bad - the soil is heavy and damp, but not flooded, and the cool temperatures have inhibited growth of both weeds and vegetables. The fruit trees look as though they have very much enjoyed the rain, as do the shallots and onions. The first few broad beans have poked through, and more asparagus has come up too. Still no sign of the other beans or beetroot. 

A bit of emergency strimming reduced the main paths to slightly more respectable lengths, and the recut thoroughfares were enjoyed by sparrows and waddling pigeons during the afternoon. I planted (rather late!) a set of chitted Maris Piper potatoes, in five potato bags - a new venture for me. I also built my second little raised bed for the artichokes, this time much more quickly with the invaluable help of a battery operated drill - so much easier! I'm still plundering an old compost heap for the soil - it's good stuff but probably full of seeds. It'll be interesting to see what comes up with the artichokes...

Digging out the artichokes was a surprising experience - their root systems seem to be as extensive and alien-looking as the asparagus; they might have been trees from their appearance. A good deal of tussling later, they were up, out, and waiting to be reburied in their new home. Not before time too, I had planted them much too close to my neighbour's fence four years ago, and they were threatening to invade. They were one of the first things I ever planted on plot 129 - gifts from my neighbour on the other side.

So all in all, I reckon I deserved that cider! Cheers!

There was plenty of traditional spring weather on the plot today - sun, wind and rain, and the occasional spot of snow! It was quite chilly when the clouds went in, so today I mostly dug out dandelions and, when I couldn't face another yellow flower, comfrey too. There's plenty on the plot to use as organic fertiliser and there was a massive plant just in front of the new arch - so it had to go. I suspect it will have the last laugh though, as comfrey roots are very deep, and very difficult to get out.

My plans for growing Chioggia beetroot and green manure have received a temporary setback, as a mouse seems to have got into my shed and feasted on seed packets. I've blocked up the one potential access point I could spot, so hopefully that is the last visit I'll have, but I shall be keeping an eye out (and my seeds in a tin!).

Does anyone have any good tips for (vegan!) ways to discourage mice?

Thank heavens for garden sheds! No sooner had I got the new arch assembled and the new clematis and passion flower in, than the heavens opened in a proper April shower. Sitting in the shed reading (The Lonely Planet's Tales from Nowhere, if you're interested - a good read, I think, and fairly pertinent for a blustery allotment at the beginning of spring :) ) I could keep an eye on the arch to check for signs of vulnerability in the increasing wind, and stay warm and dry.  As the light began to fade I realised I had no option if I wanted to get home by bike - I was going to get wet :)

I picked Gardman's Easy Arch for the allotment - a relatively cheap experiment to see if it is reasonably neglect- and badger-resistant. I'm moderately impressed so far - the plastic coated pieces went together fairly easily, and each joint is screwed together. As ever though, the proof will be in the long gusty days exposed on the plot. To give the rather small climbing plants a rather easier start than the arch allows for, I've made a small grid of string in the first section - something for small tendrils to get hold of early on.

I'm too tired to write much today, mostly because I've spent the afternoon building a raised bed, and transplanting the asparagus that has been growing for four years into it. I'm still not 100% convinced this was a good idea - partly because the asparagus plants made it very clear they didn't want to be disturbed - but I'm going to give it some time, and see how they get on before pronouncing this either a brilliant or disastrous move. Still, it's tidied up an unruly patch of the allotment, and hopefully this will please my neighbour, who wages a continuous chemical war against his weeds, and must be constantly distressed (enraged?) by the encroachment of weeds from this vegan, semi-organic, definitely more liberal, gardener...

Brr! 9 degrees centigrade in Oxford today, and the last day before the hosepipe ban. The lack of hosepipes won't really be a problem for Plot 129 though, because there's no water on site anyway... All our water comes from wells, the Thames, or carried from home in Jerry cans. I prefer the latter, partly because I'd just worry about something falling into a well, and partly because it is simpler - collecting water from the river and dragging it across the site is easier said than done!

Today I planted three rows of broad beans (I know, I know, it's a bit late), tenderly wrapped up my newly spouted sugar snap peas in a piece of fleece, and started to prepare a new bed. The onions are making enormous progress, and the blossom on the fruit trees is beautiful. Fingers crossed for no frost, and more rain please!

The last two weeks have seen periods of frenzied activity coupled with distinct sloth on the plot. Two rows of Boltardy beetroot were planted around the last weekend in March, during a period of record high temperatures for the month. A little bit of sunbathing meant progress in other areas wasn't quite so fast, although the large numbers of bumble bees and huge numbers of ladybirds took advantage of the warm weather to hunt for nest sites and feed.

The search for a water butt continues. With the guttering in place on the shed it seems both foolish and wasteful not to have a functioning water butt, but they're proving hard to get hold of - the threatened drought seems to be causing all the local garden centres to sell out as soon as they come into stock. At the moment I'm making do with a trug, but it isn't the best solution long term. Besides, I could do with my trug back :)

The garlic and onions continue to do well, the garlic plants under the shade of the Damson trees coping much better than the more exposed plants towards the front of the plot. The Elephant garlic (which is apparently a leek, and not a garlic at all - but seems to taste as good!) also continues to thrive. Last year Plot 129 lost quite a few garlic plants in the unusually warm April, so I will be trying to keep them as well watered as possible this spring.

Further preparation has continued indoors, with Green Globe artichokes, Black Beauty Aubergine, Windsor pumpkins and some reclaimed butternut squash seeds being sown in propagators and covered pots:

Germination is expected between 5-14 days, so we'll be checking them eagerly from the middle of next week.

Whilst it may seem to be all work at the moment, a reminder of why has come in the shape and taste of the rhubarb! We're eating to save the planet just now - our rhubarb plants are growing so quickly they are threatening to take over all the ground before them...

And finally, some pictures of spring flowers and blossom on the plot :) Enjoy!

 Damson

 Plum

Fritillary (planted November 2011)

I had intended to start this blog at the very beginning of the year, so that, if not every visit, every major change could be recorded. But the best laid plans, just like the best-built sheds, are liable to change and, in the shed's case, decay...

I made my first proper visit of 2012 to Plot 129 three weeks ago. The January-flowering daffodils were still showing their buds, but the blue iris had all but finished. My October-planted onions and garlic were all up and looking enthusiastic, and tiny buds were beginning to appear on the fruit trees. A new robin seems to have moved in - he's very wary of me, but hopefully will warm up once he's drawn the connection between me and newly exposed worms...

All looked rather good until I opened the shed door... A leak had sprung at the back, trickling through to the pile of books, down my List of Things To do, and right into a bag of compost! It couldn't have selected a better spot to Make Things Damp! So although my start to 2012 wasn't quite as I anticipated, it certainly reminded me of some of the challenges ahead this year!

I usually try to make sure there's a reasonable degree of crop rotation, and this year I'm trying to double crop - planting smaller numbers of plants a month or so apart to try to spread the yield. The weather has been so mild, and the ground reasonably well-prepared from the year before, that last weekend I decided to make a start and popped in several rows of legumes (haricot, runner, and butter beans, black-eyed and sugar snap peas) in the hope that the temperature of 15 degrees, light rain and sunshine would give them a good start. This week has been cold, dark and rainy. Of course :)