Sue and Lee's Vegetable Allotment pages, detailing all that we've been doing on our allotments, from clearing the 8' tall weeds that they were covered in when we started with our first plot in October 2006, through to where we are today, with 2 neighbouring full sized productive organic vegetable growing plots, 2 apiaries and 6 Beehives!!
FYI
Clicking on any of the pictures will open them at full size in the browser window, which means you will have to use the 'back' button to return to the main pages, whereas clicking to the left or right of any picture will open them in a new window, if you fancy a closer look at any of the piccies we've posted! We've included a Google Earth satelite picture of our plots and this years planting plan at the bottom of the page, next to each other. If you choose the Earth view on the satelite image you can rotate the image until it is lined up with the planting plan, then use the arrows in the plan to scroll from Plot 2 to Plot 1.
Showing posts with label clean n tidy plot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clean n tidy plot. Show all posts
We managed to get to the plot on Thursday last week, to continue with rebarking up the paths and doing some clearing up, but with the weather so lovely (14C and glorious springlike sunshine), we noticed the Bees were really busy, so after taking a few piccies of how the plots are coming along we decided (along with Pat and Colin) to remove the mouseguards and allow the girls a bit easier access to the outside world!
As you can see, the newly relaid bark paths on plot 2 look great, really tidy the plot up a lot, shame that we've temporarily run out of them at the moment, so we cant get plot 1 done until some more chippings are delivered by the council (hopefully for this weekend)
The overwintering garlic and onions are coming up nicely (we were late planting them this year, normally they are in in October, but this year it was late December before the first 3 batches of onions and the garlic were put in!
As you can see, the bees were very busy, this piccy was of one of the quieter hives, some of the entrances looked as though there was a swarm in progress with the amount of bees trying to come and go through the mouseguards! The flying bees were not only fetching water (to mix with the honey), but also bringing home pollen, possibly crocus, willow or maybe even maple!
After donning our beesuits we removed the mouseguards (they stop any mice from raiding the hive in the winter when the bees are huddled together) which allows the girls a lot easier access!
Once we'd removed the mouseguards we did a quick inspection to check that the hives all had enough stores left, on opening them we were amazed by just how many bees were in each hive, really busy and full of bees, and plenty of stores left too!
Closer up, plenty of bees in there!
We also got the chance to play with our new kettle, I placed the base on top of an upturned hanging basket (to raise it from the floor, make it a bit more stable (less likely to be knocked over), easier for us to 'feed' and to increase the wind flow), which worked really well, although it is now permanently attached, as the plastic covering on the hanging basket melted and welded the base to the upturned basket! Ooops!
I have to say we were both impressed with its performance, once the fire was going it only took about 6 minutes to boil 1 1/2 litres of water, quite comparable with a gas camping stove, and a lot more fun to play with (as well as being a lot 'greener'!
Our chilli, pepper, aubergine and first tomato seedlings are now in the unheated greenhouse in the back yard, fortunately the greenhouse is located against the south facing garage wall (concrete), which acts as a heat sink, soaking up the sunshine thru the day, then radiating the warmth back into the greenhouse at night, without this passive solar heating (which was acchieved inadvertantly) we may well have lost a few of the seedlings in last nights frost!
Today we are going to be sowing more seedlings, brassicas, herbs, toms and anything else that we can at this time of year, ready for transplanting to the plot once the weather has warmed up a bit more!
Hope your preparations for the coming growing year are going well!
Weather was a bit warmer today, it reached 6C by lunchtime, so we got down to the plot after lunch for a few hours!
Lee cut back all the rasps in the 'fedge' (edible or food producing hedge) whilst I cleared the bed at the front of plot 2 for the onion sets, all 200 (3 varieties) of onion sets are now planted, some behind the garlic, some in the bed immediately to its left, and the rest in 4 rows in the bed behind, which still leaves us a bed and a half for the onions that are growing from seed (of which there are 3 trays in the back bedroom windowsill!)
After that we had some crocus bulbs to plant (in the grass at the front of both plots) and 2 Thyme plants and 3 Geranium plants we were given by Janet (she was having a clear out and splitting some of her perennials that had got too large), so they went in on plot 1 under the fruit trees, hopefully they should do okay there, look good and also give us a bit of groundcover (and reduce the weeds!)
Finished up just as it started to get dark (5pm ish, lovely that the nights are staying lighter for longer!)
Tomorrow and Tuesday Lee has to work in the evening, so Im not sure whether we'll manage to get to the plot much, but we're off on Wednesday and Thursday, so weather permitting we should be able to get down to the plot and do some more, I really want to prune the grapevine, we've a lot of stuff that needs burning, the paths need clearing and rebarking, then of course there's plenty of beds that need clearing!
Today dawned frosty and bright, not a cloud in the sky, so once we'd allowed the sun a chance to melt the frost (and bring the temperature up a bit) we headed straight for the plot, taling the broad bean seedlings and the garlic and onions along to see if we could get them planted!
As you can see from this piccy of plot 2, the frost never truly left us, anywhere in shadow still had frost for the whole of the day, but undeterred by the cold temperatures (and both wrapped up warmly) we set to clear some room, plan out the beanery (going into the beds behinnd the pond), plant the broad beans, clear the garlic and onion set beds and try and get them planted!
One job we also had to do was to get the 'dual plum' tree we picked up from Parkers Garden Center last October! This was due to go into the front bed (on the left), the one with all the Lavender in it!
Plot 2 needs a really good clearing, the sweetcorn / squash bed from last year will become this years 'beanery', with plans for 5 or 6 tall cane support tunnels, a cage for the french beans (to protect them from the wabbits) and plenty of space for peas and broad beans!
The first of the garlic / onion beds at the front of plot 2, now cleared and planted with 120 saved garlic cloves!
The back end of this bed will have onion sets in it by tomorrow night, as will the bed to the right!
The French Bean 'cage', in its new position!
The cloche protecting the first 30 broad bean seedlings, they are AquaDulce, so are frost hardy, but as they were only sowed about 10 days ago we thought it best to protect them with the cloche!
Lee next to the newly planted dual plum tree. hopefully this will take and we should have a couple of varieties of plum to feast on in a year or two!
We also noticed the rhubarb is starting to come up, cant wait till we can harvest the first stalks, rhubarb crumble and custard, yum!
I couldnt resist taking this piccy last night, we had 2 batches of Summer Fruits Wine to bottle, 2 gallons in total, and as I was cooking tea (hence the chopped mushrooms on the chopping board) Lee decided he would syphon it into the bottles, I caught him using his mouth to stop the port from flowing whilst he changed bottles (or so he tells me), and had to run n get my camera, cos it just struck me as funny!
He did manage to get some of the port into the bottles! Lol!
Actually, it was a batch of mixed summer fruits wine, made with 1lb Elderberries, 3lb Rasps, 2lb strawbs and 1lb of blackberries, it came out at about 20% abv, very moorish, quite sweet, but full of flavour, very like a decent port, so its been labelled as Foragers Port, we're taking a bottle round to Pat and Colins tonight, so we'll let you know what it was like tomorrow!
Hope your plot clearing is proceeding a pace, and your early seedlings are coming up in the propogators!
Well, today we start our last batch of hols for the financial year, Lee is off for 5 days and Im off for 9 days, time to relax, put our feet up and chill out..... not! Lol!
The actual plans for the week are to get on top of sorting the plots out, ready for the coming growing season, so we've got the greenhouses to empty, clean and some compost / manure to add to the greenhouse borders, the grapevine to prune, the raspberry canes to prune,the compost bins to turn over, onion sets and garlic to plant, beds to clear and muck, planting areas to sort out (I want to move the pea and bean supports into place so they will be ready for use in a few months time), the dual plum tree to plant, the early sown broad beans to plant out, the shed to clear and tidy, paths to weed and remulch with bark chippings, and finally have a big bonfire to take care of the prunnings (and give us a good source of potash for putting on the crops), all of which is going to be very much weather permitting! Sounds like a relaxing holiday huh? Lol!
Our planting plans are already in place, the widget below shows the new layout for the forthcoming growing year, use the right and left arows to switch between the plots!
Planting Update
The chillies, tomatoes, aubergines and peppers are starting to come up, so today Im going to be potting on some of them from the heated propagators, we've got Chocolate Habanero's, Scotch Bonnet, Dorset Naga, Naga Jolokia, Cayenne, De Cayenne, Tokyo Hot, Mohawk, Jalapeno chillies all up, plus a fair number of toms, aubergines and peppers, so they all need to come out of the heated propogators and be planted on! Once they are out of the propogators I can plant a batch of the later chillies and peppers in a week or so!
Dorset Naga, Scotch Bonnet and 2 Chocoltae Habaneros, the first of my fiery hot chillies!
Peppers and chillies, ready to be pricked out from the heated propagator!
3 trays of onions (on the windowsil) and the broad beans (next to the homebrew)
Aubergines and peppers, lots of them!
The Bored Beans, we'll be planting these unddr cover at the plto this week methinks!
Homebrew Update
On another front, our homebrew experiments have been going well, with batches of Elderflower (2 batches), Bored Bean, Summer Fruits, Elderberry, Celtic Druids Mead, Gewurtztramminer (Grape from the plot) all finished and bottled (and a fair bit drunk or given away as Yule prezzies), with a batch of chardonnay (from kit), a batch of red berry and the large batch of 5 gallons of mead all still on the go, with another batch of Mead due to be started this week!
I have to say that most of the wines we've made have been very good, some of them I wouldnt have minded paying £5 to £10 a bottle for them (especially the first batch of Elderflower (lovely and crisp and light), the Elderberry (very fruity and dry) and the Bored Bean (slightly sparkling, very crisp and refreshing)). The wine we made from the grapes from the plot we are a little less pleased with atm, it is quite sharp, tho hopefully a good 6 months to let it age will make it much more pallateable, but only time will tell!
In total we've already bottled 48 bottles of wine and mead, with another 42 bottles worth still fermenting, definitely a good way to use up excess produce and provide a lot of extra value to the produce! Hopefully this year we will be able to make even more, I especially cant wait to try making some of the rhubarb rose wine that Dave (on the plot) makes!
Beekeeping Update
We were fortunate enough to have a lovely dry and warm day last Thursday, so we took the opportunity to do the winter bee inspections (and varroa treatment with Oxyalic Acid) with Pat and Colin, the bees were busy, with plenty flying, and every hive had good levels of stores and a large amount of bees in them! Looks like (so far at least) all 6 of the hives are faring well, though only time will tell how well they come through the winter (but we are hopeful that they should all make it through!) On checking back a few days later, the Varroa mite drop was actually small, with between 50 and 120 mites per hive, which is a very light infestation, so it looks like the icing sugar treatment is helping to keep the Varroa levels low within the colonies, definitely a good thing!
Breadmaking
In October last year (whilst we were on our autumn hols) we had a major problem with our old cooker, we'd already been struggling with an oven door that wouldnt properly seal, then the main oven totally died, leaving us unable to cook anything in it, after looking round we were fortunate to drop on this Leisure 90cm Range cooker (dual fuel), which we knew was not only perfectly proportioned to fit where our old (and cheap) 90cm range had been (a Beko one that was impossible to get spares for), but is also one that spares will be available for, so we took the plunge and treated ourselves to it. Since then not only have we been able to cook up some fab food, but I've also started to make all our own bread!
This is todays batch of bread, just prior to being baked, 2 x lb tin loaves (cooked in the wonderful silicon loaf tins), a 1lb farmhouse loaf and 8 barm cakes. Lee found an online food retailer (www.bigbrandsforless.com) who does some amazing deals, so we've been buying their 3.5kg bread mixes, which is enough to make 7 loaves, for £1.23 each, making each loaf less than 20p each (even better when they did a 'buy one get one for free' offer)! Having seen the ridiculous prices that supermarket bread has now risen to, making a batch of 4 loaves and then freezing 3 of them (to keep fresh until we are ready to use them) has proved not only an exceptionally cheap way of getting our bread, but also has proven to us both just how much nicer homemade bread actually is!
The 1lb wholemeal farmhouse loaf and 2 breadcakes, the bread mixes that bigbrandsforless sell include white (which rises the best), granary and wholemeal, needless to say, we've got 6 months of bread mixes stored in the back bedroom!
The 2 x 1lb white loaves, before baking! The white bread mix seems to rise the best, and the flavour is great too! I tend to do the bread dough in 2lb batches, just pop the right amount of bread mix into the mixxer, and add the correct amount of warm water, let it mix for 7 mins or so, then turn out, knead it a bit, shape the loaves, pop iinto the baking tray and pop into the oven for 1/2 hour to rise! After that a quick bake and you get fantastic homemade bread!
So, after 15 mins baking at 220C for the buns, and a further 15 mins baking at 200c for the loaves, this is what you get! Crusty, tasty, homemade breads, enough to last us for 4 days or so!
All this for less than 20p a loaf? Compared with over £1 for plastic supermarket bread, crazy! Lol!
The homemade bread has been sooo tasty that it even inspired me to write a poem about it!
Freshly Baked Bread - a poem (of sorts!)
There's nothing so fine as homemade bread,
A daily staple to keep us all so well fed,
Nothing more than flour, water and yeast,
Yet once cooked it becomes a veritable feast!
Supermarket bread seems made of plastic,
All so soft and white and so elastic,
Once sold in bulk so very cheap,
But now the prices could make you weep!
Now its cheaper to make your own,
Nothing gives such a sense of home,
As that delicious fresh bread smell,
That from your childhood you recall so well!
Tis so simple and easy to make,
Not as complex as a cake,
Mix it all then knead the dough,
It has to be done, like just so!
Then for a time you have to wait,
Give it a while for yeast to create,
As almost before your very eyes,
Your loaf does now so proudly rise!
Now in the oven its time to bake,
Dont let it burn for goodness sake,
Wont take long and then its done,
Barm cake, loaf, roll or bun!
Let it cool, just a bit,
Then its time to cut into it,
Real butter spread on fresh hot bread,
For it there's truly a lot to be said!
Suzanne Read
11th December 2010
Anyhows, thanks for reading, more updates and plot piccies to follow htis week as we (hopefully) get some sorting out done in the allotments! Hope your prep and clearing is going well, and that you will also be ready for another great growing year!
Day off today, the weather forecast says its going to be nice n sunny, and I've got to go to the Allotment Federation meeting first thing (Pat as site secretary and me as site chairperson are expected to go), so I didnt manage to get to the plot until lunchtime, to find Lee and Colin had already started work on the first of our projects, the vine supports for the front of the shed! Lee had been to B&Q for the wood, wire and ground spikes (to hold the uprights) first thing, then he and Colin had met up at the plot to puzzle out the design I had in my mind, of course they soon realised its best not to really start until I got there, as they knew they'd only get it wrong! Lol!
The grapevine on plot 1 (at the front of the shed) was one we inherited with the plot, and its always been very vigorous with its growth, so much so that last year I put some supports out from the front of the shed to help keep it up, but its now grown beyond them (as you can see), so the idea of building an arbour at the front of the shed and training the grapevine to grow over it was one we had been toying with for a while. When we picked up 2 clematis at Aldi last week that then gave us the incentive to get it done asap, as the clematis could then go into the bed at the front of the shed and grow up the arbour supports!
So, the plans were to get 3 new pieces of 2 by 2 timber and ground spikes (to prevent them rotting) for the uprights, and use some of the 2 by 1 1/2" timber that we already had on the plot (another inheritance that came with the plot) to build the horizontal pieces to link the uprights together and tether the whole lot onto the shed! The first upright was easy, in line with the end of the shed and at the edge of the bed in front of the shed, but the opposite end one was a bit more problematic!
The other end upright was sited just 6" away from the greenhouse, and just to the right of the greenhouse door, so although easy enough to put the spike in, it made screwing the wood crosspieces togather a bit difficult!
The middle upright was much easier, just measure the spacing from the ends with the wood we want to use as front crosspieces and hammer the spike in!
So, 3 uprights in, time for lunch? Pat and Colins turn to provide lunch, a couple of mugs of tea, fresh barm cakes with ham, cheese, salad and salami, sausage rolls and followed by homemade courgette cake! Mmmm!
The next job was to attach the side crosspieces to the shed and to the end uprights, this would not only make it sturdy, but also give us a level to work to with the front crosspieces!
As you can see, working above head height does have its problems, esp[ecially if you've only got one step ladder! Mind you, we did have a wooden stool that I did stand on to make it easier to hold the wooden crosspieces up whilst Lee and Colin drilled and screwed them, but after about 30 minutes it decided to disintegrate from underneath me, dropping me straight to the ground without even moving my feet!
Once the end crosspieces were secured, we set about attaching them to the end uprights, making sure they were completely level!
Then the front crosspieces were added, again making sure they were level! Once we'd done that we secured another central brace from the shed to the front middle upright, using a shelf bracket and piece of the inherited timber!
And then, as it was getting late, we called it a day! Tomorrow we are due to do the weekly bee inspections, then we want to add another 2 bracing bars (from the shed to the front crosspieces), 4 corner braces and then put in the wire supports from side to side and front to back! After that a dash of paint and we can then let the grapevine grow over it to its hearts content, plus get the 2 clematis into the bed and let them grow up the supports!
We're both really happy with the way its looking at the moment, and I do think its going to be really good once its finished, not only will it give the grapevine better support, look a lot better than it currently does, but will hopefully also give us a lovely shaded seating area for those few hot and sunny days when we are at the plot!
Lots of crops to harvest tomorrow, plus the bee inspections and the vine arbour to finish, so it looks like being a full day, but hopefully I'll get some more piccies to show you our progress!
Hope you like the 'vinery', hope your plots are looking great and cropping well! Thanks for reading!
Had to take my car in for some work this morning, then I had the dentists at 10am, so with the weather looking a bit chancy (rain clouds covering the sky) we thought we'd pop to the plot after dropping my car off for a quick look if anything else needed doing, then back to the plot after the dentists for some harvesting!
We arrived to find ourselves followed onto the plot by the Trafford Allotment Judges, 3 women who immediately started looking at the whole site, starting with the first plot as you come through the gates, always a well presented plot! This gave us a few minutes to run round n get any last minute tidying done, so we staked the late sown broadies with canes and string to stop them from falling over, then had to go to the dentists!
When we returned 1/2 hour later they were debating whether to stop as it had begun to rain, but as the sky seemed to be brightening, they decided to stay and finish the inspections!
They had already looked at our plot, so we watered in the greenhouses, then had a brew n took some piccies before Lee started to harvest some of the broad beans. At this point it started raining again, so we retreated to the car till it had passed, to watch the judges come back up the site, photographing some of the plots on their way, including ours! This usually means that you are in with a chance of at least a commended, so we'll see what happens once the judging is finished!
Anyhows, now thats over, we can relax, and concentrate n growing some fab fruit and veg!
As I didnt get to post any piccies yesterday, I've gone a bit overboard with them today, so without further ado.....
Plot 1
One of the two courgette beds, with a total of 10 plants of 3 varieties, now producing plenty of courgettes..............
............. as you can see! With these 10 plants in production, and another 3 later sown ones still to start, I have a feeling we wont want for courgettes this year!
Net are the early broad beans (to the right of the piccy) and the pea / french bean bed, both of which are cropping well!
Early sown broad beans, plenty of beans for us!
The early sown french beans are just starting to produce, we may have enough for tea tonight, or at least enough for a taster!
The runners are still only small, but the victorian purple podded peas are fab, as are the late sown broad beans!
Purple podded victorian peas, easy to spot when it comes time to harvest those pods!
The strawbs in the main bed are still going great, should have another 3lb or so today!
Borlotti beans, leeks and early runner beans, all looking good, if not as far on as we'd like! Behind is the garlic and overwintering onions, almost ready for pulling!
Successional sowings of lettuce, under protective cloches, aka uptuned hanging baskets!
Swede and Turnip, really coming on well this year, plus the french climbing beans, which are getting there, albeit slowly!
Peppers and aubergines in the hot house, not too bad at all methinks!
The side of the polytunnel / apiary. which Lee cleared the other day and laid the path, much neater and tidier!
The 27 sprout plants, 3 varieties to give us extended cropping through the winter!
Some of the cabbages and broccollis!
Cooking apple, cant wait for fresh homemade apple pie!
Eating apples, not so many on the trees this year, we'll have to do a better pruning job this winter methinks!
Plot 2
Pond area is looking good, as are the sweetcorn n squashes behind it!
Sweetcorn n squashes, mmmmm!
Overwintering onions, bulking up nicely!
A couple of the white onions..............
............ and some of the red! We're still growing about 200 onions again this year, plus the ones we harvested already!
Tomes on the greenhouse, cant wait!
The new strawberry bed, these strawb plantlets came from seed that we planted this year, amazing that they come from such tiny seed soo quickly!
First and second early spuds, should be taking some of these as we need them, once the 'volunteer' spuds are finished!
Maincrop spuds, we've 2 beds of different varieties of maincrop, it would be nice to be able to see ourselves through the year for spuds, but so far we havent managed it.... yet!
Late maincrops, so far blight free!
The sweet potatoes and leeks we planted yesterday, we've got to build them a hothouse to see whether we cna get any usable tubers from them!
The rhubarb at the side of apiary 1.
Finally, a pic of Pats sweetcorn, the ones I grew from seed n gave her (as we had plenty)! Hers seems to be doing really well, almost better than ours! Grr!
We're beekeeping this afternoon, so I may post another update later with piccies from inside the hives, but until then, thanks for reading!
