Penellype's Allotment

[Penellype]

Fruit



Flower buds just starting to open on the apricot tree in the tunnel.



Fruit buds on the blueberry.



Buds breaking on the blackcurrant.



The pink blueberry is starting to look quite green.




Rhubarb might be ready to start eating soon.

[Penellype]

More photos



Crocuses under the hedge.



But frost on the grass shows it is still cold.



Chilean guava has been damaged by frost, but will recover.



Dwarf peas Half Pint in the hotbed. Onions have been planted in the bare area on the right.



But this was 2 orderly rows of spinach, seedlings on the left and transplants on the right, with a row of lettuce in between. A couple of days ago when I went down to check everything, the cat had got in through the open end of the cover and dug it up. Half of the spinach transplants and some of the seedlings were undisturbed, and I have tried to replant the ones I could find in the mess. The lettuce was only just starting to germinate and there may be some seeds that will grow. I blocked the end of the bed with a piece of net as I didn't have time for anything else, and today's job is to find a better way to do this as I need to be able to open the cover on sunny days without worrying that the cat will get in.

[Snoop Puss]

Don't those peas look lovely, Penellype? Made me smile seeing your photos, especially as a comparison with your February ones. Things look they're taking off. Sorry about the cat damage, but lots of promising signs of spring.

[Nicos]

Great to see those Pen - Thanks for sharing!

I should go and check my rhubarb

[Andraste]

Great minds clearly think alike Nicos - I was motivated to check my Rhubarb too It's nowhere near as advanced as yours Penellype - just little ping-pong ball bits showing.

[Penellype]

Great minds clearly think alike Nicos - I was motivated to check my Rhubarb too It's nowhere near as advanced as yours Penellype - just little ping-pong ball bits showing.

My rhubarb is in the shade - that may help it to grow faster, or maybe it hasn't been as cold here recently as it has where you are.

[Andraste]

We're definitely colder here than you Penellype - I've noted from following this thread that we're easily 2 weeks behind you most of the time. Our Rhubarb's not in shade either (we don't really have any shade on our plot). x

[Nicos]

Out of 5/6 plants only one of my rhubarb plants is in the shade all day. And that’s the only one I can see. Not a peeps from the others!

[Andraste]

I really wish I'd taken a pic of mine now! Ours are all closest to looking like Nicos' bottom blob - no leaf unfurling yet.

[Bren In Pots]

My rhubarb looks the same as yours Nicos

[Penellype]

April



Things are looking more spring-like with blackthorn flowering in the hedge. The rhubarb is growing and leaves are opening on the raspberries.



The 2nd hotbed has been filled and cauliflowers planted in the bed beyond.



The plants in the first hotbed are growing well. The bed behind, which was a hotbed last year, has now been emptied. The cauliflowers arrived earlier than expected when I was not ready for them, so the ones that are going to go here have been potted up and put in the greenhouse at home for now.



Parsnips have been harvested and replaced with Meteor peas under a net, with beetroot either side. There is room for 2 more sowings of peas here. Potatoes have been planted in 8 buckets in the bed behind, covered with thick bubble wrap.



The PSB is still looking unhappy but is producing plenty of flower heads. Strawberries remain in the growhouse but no flowers yet.

[Penellype]

In the tunnel

Very little is happening in here as I am waiting for some clips to arrive so I can replace the net with a new one.



The west side and centre beds have been topped up with compost from the old hotbed.



Strawberries are growing very slowly.



The calabrese is still producing a few small shoots.



Leeks outside the tunnel are looking slightly happier. Their net has been removed to cover the spinach (below).



The overwintered spinach is growing nicely - I had some of this for tea today. The white circle is a dish of a yeast mixture (flour, sugar, warm water and yeast) intending to catch slugs. I have put a few of these traps around the raised beds and caught a few slugs, but they have dried out now and slugs are probably not going to be much of a problem in the dry weather. I may try this again when it starts raining - the slugs are supposed to be attracted to the yeast (as in beer traps).

[Penellype]

Fruit



The apricot tree produced several flowers which I very carefully pollinated, but then we had a frost and they turned brown, then it rained and they all fell off. I really don't know what to do about this tree - it is supposed to be suitable for growing outdoors (variety Aprigold) , but I have had it about 7 years now and it has never produced any fruit.



Flowers on the blueberry will be opening soon.



A few flower buds on one of the new gooseberry cordons.



The rhubarb near the fence is growing really well and I harvested the first stems a couple of days ago.



Strawberries in the growhouse.

[Penellype]

Veg

Some of these photos are hard to see - the sun was very bright and I really couldn't see what I was photographing.



Plenty of PSB ready to eat.



The new row of peas.



Cauliflowers look very small at the moment. 2 have been damaged by slugs, hence the yeast traps mentioned earlier.



Onions in the hotbed are growing well.



The spinach has recovered from being dug up by the cat and is ready to be thinned. The bigger plants were sown at roughly the same time as the smaller row, but in modules indoors. I harvested the first couple of leaves from the biggest plants today. Only 2 of the lettuces managed to germinate. The half pint peas look as though they will flower soon. They have been given some small sticks to climb up.

[Snoop Puss]

Really interesting as ever, Penellype. Thanks for posting.

I had no idea rhubarb likes shade. I'd love to be able to grow it but after a few tries I gave up as it dies in the summer. I can provide a nice shady spot (sunny from sun up to about 11 am in summer). What do you reckon? Is it worth a try? Does it need lots of water?

Out of interest, when is your last frost?