Penellype's Allotment

[Penellype]

Fruit



The blackcurrant has finished fruiting and is starting to look rather tired. The gooseberry Captivator behind still has some fruit and is netted against wasps. This has produced its best crop so far. The new plants have been pruned to create cordons (at least I have attempted to do so).



You can just make out a few purple gooseberries under the net.



Gooseberry Hinnonmaki Yellow does not want to be a cordon and was extremely difficult to prune. I may have another go in the winter. Invicta, next to it, was much easier.



Left to right, Invicta again, Captivator pruned to a triple cordon and redcurrant Laxton's No 1 again a triple cordon. I may have to reduce these to single stems when they get bigger.



The pink blueberry has very few fruit this year, probably due to transplanting it over winter.

[Penellype]

More fruit


The chilean guava, which looked quite sick earlier in the year, is now producing some fruit.



The rhubarb by the woodshed has survived the drought despite being surrounded by hedge and clutter and barely watered.



Watermelon Little Darling which took about 10 weeks to germinate and is therefore much too small. It has some female flowers, but I'm not sure if there is time for fruit to ripen. As I have the plant it is worth a try.



On the other hand, melon Emir is just astonishing. I keep folding back the sideshoots so that I can get down the paths, but it just produces more. The foliage is so thick that it is impossible to see in and count the melons - I think there are 8 or 9 big ones and several smaller ones which may or may not develop. I'm not sure how I am going to know when the lower ones are ripe....

[Jungle Jane]

Its not repetitive & it’s funny because I read todays entry twice,once quickly earlier when I wasn’t logged in,to check you’re alright & then a proper read just now,it’s interesting for all thanks for having time to share your story

[Penellype]

Thanks Jungle Jane , glad you find it interesting.

[Snoop Puss]

Really interesting, Penellype, and an inspiration. And not repetitive at all. Good to see the progress throughout the year.

[Nicos]

Absolutely agree…I look forward to these posts! Truly inspirational - thanks for sharing xxx

[Penellype]

Thanks for your kind comments Snoop Puss and Nicos

[Nicos]

Credit where it’s due Pen x

[Andraste]

Late to the 01 August party due to going AWOL for a bit. Please do keep posting your pics & updates! Always interesting, informative & inspiring x

[Penellype]

Late to the 01 August party due to going AWOL for a bit. Please do keep posting your pics & updates! Always interesting, informative & inspiring x

Thanks Andraste

[Penellype]

September

Apologies that some of the pictures haven't come out very well. The sun was very bright and I literally couldn't see what I was taking a picture of. Loads of photos again this month.



The runner beans are producing far more than I can possibly eat, but a lot of them are quite hard and stringy, even when small, probably due to lack of water. I am hoping that now it has started raining any new beans will be nicer. The raspberries have finished and their net has been removed. I have thinned the canes a bit, but could probably do with taking out a few more. The hedge is getting wider and I intend to cut it back quite hard now that it has thickened up.



The beans are leaning after the gales we had a while back, making it hard to see beyond. Melons have done very well (more about that later). The plastic sheet (which was originally the cover for the hotbed) has done a good job of catching rain water, but it is clearly not UV stable and has developed a large split down the middle. Later in the day I removed it as it has been in the way for months an is no longer holding water.



Some module grown spinach has been planted next to the raspberries. The honeycomb tomato in the hotbed has got completely out of control. The fruit are starting to ripen, but I'm not sure how I am going to reach some of them. Every year I say I will be more diligent at taming the tomatoes, and every year I fail.



The astonishing Meteor peas have finally finished and have been removed. The beetroot is being eaten. Most of the potatoes in the bed behind have been harvested.



Courgettes are doing well, as are the tomatoes in the growhouse.

[Penellype]

In the tunnel



West side - Pea Terrain on the right has nearly finished. PSB is growing well and the plants have been staked in an attempt to stop them from blocking the path. Cucumber, kohl rabi and beetroot in the middle bed.



East side - Cucumbers in the cold frame are producing more fruit than I can eat or give away. Strawberries behind are producing runners.




West side from the shed end - Parsnips are growing well despite little water. The fennel that was next to them has been removed as it was bolting.



East side from the shed end - mostly strawberries. The on the far left are french beans and in the middle are the kohlrabi.



2 rows of direct sown spinach at the shed end. These are doing well, but there are already some signs of slug damage.

[Penellype]

More from the tunnel



A few of the french beans that are taking over the shed end of the tunnel.




Strawberry runners are being encouraged towards the shed end. Some of the older plants near the cold frame will be removed later.



Kohlrabi is growing well.



Beetroot is a bit slower. This is Lutz Green Leaf, which is supposed to keep well into winter.



Tomato Garden Pearl growing underneath cucumber Cucino. Both are producing loads of fruit.

[Penellype]

Also in the tunnel



The Terrain peas look a real mess, but astonishingly they are still producing a few edible peas.




Outside the tunnel, at the road end, the Crimson Crush (centre) are starting to ripen. The 2 Oh Happy Day sideshoots are somewhat behind, which is understandable, but anything they produce is a bonus.



Spinach in the bed next to the raspberries. It did well here last year. There are 4 plants from 3 seeds sown in each of 20 modules - very disappointing. The direct sown spinach in the tunnel was from the same packet, so clearly something about the module method isn't working. Variety is Amazon.



The Honeycomb tomato in the hotbed. There are some ripening fruit but they are hard to see in this photo.



The Sungold in the next bed, sown and planted at the same time. This is not a hotbed and there is a lot less growth. Plenty of fruit which started ripening very slightly earlier than Honeycomb, but only by a couple of days.

[Penellype]

More photos from the raised beds



The beetroot in the same bed as the Sungold is growing well - this is Boldor (yellow).



All the buckets of potatoes except one have been harvested. Most of this one died down but one plant continues to grow, which is rather odd. Variety is Desiree, which I have grown for years and never had this happen before!



The earlier crop of beetroot which was underneath the Meteor peas. This has been slow to develop, probably because of the shade, but is now a nice size. The plant in the middle is PSB - I have 2 more smaller plants to fill this bed when the beetroot is finished.



Courgette Sure Thing is producing well. Underneath the flower is a large courgette, which is jammed against the side of the raised bed. I must try to extract it without breaking the plant. The other plant, Firenze, which has smaller fruit, is also producing well.



Tomato Oh Happy Day in the growhouse are ripening fast and I have already picked at least 6 fruit. They have a bit of greenback unfortunately, which will be due to the heat, so hopefully the later ones will be less affected. The slugs are starting to nibble them which is annoying.