Penellype's Allotment

[Penellype]

It was cloudy again when I got up and I had hopes of another good session this morning. However by 8am the sun was already starting to burn the cloud off. I took some water down and collected the trugs of horsetail root near to the entrance to the plot. One of them was only half full so I filled it by digging up the roots of the geranium that I had put the blueberry plant on top of the other day. The roots came out remarkably easily as the dry soil simply fell off them. Satisfied that I had a full load I picked some strawberries and as many of the Douce Provence peas as I could find, ate the first ripe raspberry and went to get the car.

More water and pea plants to the plot, horsetail to the tip. I went home for lunch, with the trugs still in the boot of the car. While having lunch I had an idea. Normally when I cut my leylandii hedges at home I empty out the green bin (which I use to store recycling) and fill that for the council to take away. The bin lives in my garage, and is a nightmare to get out as I only use it a couple of times a year. In hot weather the leylandii sweats and makes the inside of the bin wet, so it isn't very pleasant to deal with. It occurred to me that I could use the trugs from the car to take the clippings, all of which would be small and soft, to the allotment to join the rest in the leylandii bin. So, at 1pm on a blazing hot day, I was cutting my rear hedge. I got it done and took the clippings to the allotment along with yet more water.

I went back this evening and pulled out the finished Douce Provence peas and all the horsetail from the pea bed, then planted the Terrain peas to replace the Meteor that I pulled out the other day. I then watered everything and went home.

Interestingly some of the horsetail that I pulled out of the pea bed was looking a little sad and dry - part of this bed was not occupied and has been covered with a double layer of fleece to stop the cat using it as a litter tray. This quarter of the bed is very dry and it was here that some of the horsetail was going brown. Maybe it isn't indestructible after all

[Jimmy]

Re Maybe it isn't indestructible after all
Water it and it will be back !
Jimmy

[Jimmy]

Perhaps some scientist could graft a tomato onto horsetail ?
Jimmy

[Penellype]

Perhaps some scientist could graft a tomato onto horsetail ?
Jimmy

Somehow I don't think the resulting plants would be very popular...

[Penellype]

No opportunity for early morning gardening today as my horses had a vet appointment first thing for their annual vaccinations. I dropped off some water on the way but by the time the vet had gone it was sunny and hot and I decided to spend the morning sorting out the mess in my garage instead.

I went back mid afternoon as I wanted to pick some blackcurrants for the freezer. I pulled out a few pieces of horsetail but most of the plot was stiflingly hot and I decided to chop some leylandii as the compost area was in the shade. There were 3 more ripe raspberries, which I ate - I think it will be a while before any of these make it as far as the kitchen. I also picked a tub full of blackcurrants and a couple of pods of purple sugar peas (Sugar Magnolia) - these are not really ready but I wanted to see what they taste like as my previous experience of purple mangetout (Bijou) was that they tasted like sawdust. These were much nicer than that, if they hadn't been I would have pulled them out and grown something else there instead!

Apart from a quick visit this evening to water everything, that was it for today. I do find this hot weather very tiring, and watering 5 separate areas (indoor plants, back garden, front garden, friend's garden and allotment) mostly with watering cans takes a long time and uses a lot of my energy. One thing is certain - if I can cope with watering the allotment this year, I should be able to cope with watering it any summer in future as it can't get any drier than no rain at all.

[Penellype]

A very hot weekend.

Yesterday morning I got up early and dug out some couch grass roots (and some horsetail of course) that had been under the geranium I dug out on Thursday. There was a nice breeze, but I was getting too hot by 9am. I'd intended to also pull the horsetail from all of the raised beds. I did 7 of them but the last one (the bean bed) defeated me. This is next to the strawberries, which are almost invisible under a carpet of horsetail. As soon as these have finished fruiting I will be digging them up, heatwave or not. I then need a plan to grow decent quantities of strawberries without the horsetail, weeds, slugs, strawberry beetle and occasional bird damage that I've had this time.

At lunchtime I went back and pulled some horsetail out from under the hedges to the south and west, which were in the shade. I couldn't face the roadside one as it was in the sun. I picked a few more raspberries and took home a yellow beetroot from the hotbed that was just starting to bolt. These have done really well, and there are more on the way in one of the other beds and some white beetroot starting to swell in the tunnel. I seem to have timed this nicely by sheer luck.

Back again in the evening to water. I'm using about a dustbin full a day at the moment, and I'm trying to conserve the rain water for the blueberry.

Today I got up early again with the intention of doing another early session, but the sun was already making things hot and I couldn't face it. I did some indoor jobs instead then went to the stables to see to the horses and my friend's garden. It was even hotter there and I ended up spending about an hour in the tack room, just chatting. I did manage to put up a net for the brassicas but that was about it and I came home (via the allotment to drop off some water) for lunch.

In the afternoon I went back and spent some time trying to remove weeds from the very compacted path alongside the tunnel - some of the annual weeds were almost at flowering stage. I did a poor job as it was extremely hot, but at least I have got the big ones out. I then spent a while chopping leylandii, hoping to make an impression on it. Its very slow but at least I can work in the shade there.

I picked some strawberries, which are slowing noticeably now, and a turnip that was bolting, which may not be edible. Apart from the evening watering that was it for today.

[Penellype]

Today is 2nd July. That means I have had my allotment for exactly 6 months. I thought I would post a few photos to compare then and now (this is going to take several posts, so bear with me).

24th Dec 2017, the day I was offered the allotment, compared with today. Views are not taken from quite the same places as different obstacles are in the way and the hedge is too tall to take photos over at the moment.



compare with



and



compare with

[Penellype]

2nd Jan, the day I got the allotment.



compare with today:



and



compare with

[Penellype]

2nd Jan in the tunnel:



compare with today, harvesting blackcurrants:



A couple more photos from today that I don't have early comparisons with:





Very pleased with progress so far

[1Bee]

So you should be! It's a phenomenal transformation, and a beautiful plot. It's been a privilege to watch it develop. I've learned a lot!

[Penellype]

So you should be! It's a phenomenal transformation, and a beautiful plot. It's been a privilege to watch it develop. I've learned a lot!

Thanks 1Bee, I've learned a lot too. Perhaps the most surprising thing was the raspberries - I always thought you had to wait a year after planting before getting any fruit, but as you can see from the photos, the 4ft canes that I bought from Suttons in spring are producing some beautiful raspberries.

Anyway, its nowhere near "finished" yet - if an allotment can ever be described as finished!

[geepee]

I may have said this before,so at the risk of repeating myself......
You have made a remarkable effort and given your ALL to the Allotment,almost without fail visiting and doing something Productive every day come rain or shine..!
Never Daunted by any thing or Obstical.
Horsetail, by any ones standards is a daunting prospect....You ,being you, grasped it by the tail (excuse the pun) and showed it with determination who was boss ..!!
WE ALL KNOW IT WILL NEVER DISAPEAR COMPLETELY,never the less you have managed to get it down to manageable levels with great effort and determination.
Not only have I enjoyed reading and following your progress on here,I am also priveliged to have witnessed it first hand,( seeing is believing as the saying goes).
Together with all your other commitments , friends garden, your own garden and immaculate home,plus horses to look after .
You still find time and enthusiasm to post your thoughts and progress together with the Weather channel etc.............AMAZING.......is all I can say.....!!!!!
I'm proud to call you a friend.
Gp

[Penellype]

Hmm, thanks Geepee. You make me seem like superwoman! I can assure you that I am nothing of the kind. I just have plenty of time at the moment (luckily) due to a lull at work and I've always been a bit like a dog with a bone when I get into something.

As for the immaculate home, I'm not so sure about that one. Tidy at times maybe, but often a mess, particularly as today when I have been making bread, freezing currants, picking various fruit and veg and preparing tea. Not to mention the papers all over the place as I tackle the annual nightmare of preparing my tax return!

[Penellype]

Yesterday I wanted to get to a point where I could say that at the 6 months point most of the plot was (superficially at least) under control. I therefore went through all the raised beds (including the bean bed) and paths and the tunnel pulling out any weeds and horsetail I could find. I also pulled out horsetail along most of the roadside hedge and had another go at the pile of leylandii. I think I can now say:

Raised beds (including raspberries) and their weed matting covered paths - under control
Tunnel - under control except for Mr Toad's corner
Paths either side of tunnel - in need of attention
Grass paths round edge of plot - under control but path between plots is full of horsetail
Hedges - mostly under control, tops need attention and wildlife corner is pretty wild.
Shed area - under control apart from hedge top
Compost area - in need of attention, leylandii still needs sorting
Strawberry bed and to a lesser extent rhubarb - totally out of control.

I would have liked to have the strawberries in a better state, but that area of the plot is very hot during the day and the fruit has all been tangled up in the weeds making the job difficult and unpleasant. The whole lot needs clearing and starting again and I can do that soon as the strawberries have nearly finished.

Today I had to wait in for a parcel, which arrived early afternoon (hence the paperwork mentioned in the previous post). I decided to tackle the leylandii hedge, as that is in the shade in the afternoon. I hadn't brought my battery hedge trimmer down but decided to see how I managed with the hand shears, and got it all done except the top, which needs the step ladder. There are a lot of dead bits and these have hard, dead branches sticking out into the new growth, exactly the sort of thing that jams my battery trimmers, so I was probably better off doing it by hand anyway. Rather than adding the clippings to the existing pile of leylandii, I made sure that I chopped them up and put them in the dalek. As they were all soft new growth this didn't take very long - and that is precisely the idea. I don't ever want to be faced with a huge pile of woody, half rotted leylandii trimmings again!

I picked all the remaining ripe strawberries (not many), a decent bowlful of raspberries and some sugar peas and went home for tea. Disappointingly when I came to use the turnip I brought home on Sunday it had cabbage root fly. I've had real problems with this at home but it hasn't bothered me at the plot with turnips under nets. Half of it was still edible but I don't hold out much hope for the 2 that are left.

[lottie dolly]

I must say Pen,your plot looks amazing,well done you,you should be very,very proud of yourself,well done lass,well done.