We'll start out with a few pictures of some of the flowers, both ornamental ones (like this foxglove) and some of the flowers n our fruit and veg! Foxgloves are one of my favourite flowers, I love the colours and their ability to grow in any place, they are (to me) quintessentially British!
This dazzling blue flower produces tall spikes of multi faceted blooms, we bought it last year for one of the borders we were working on, and it survived the harsh winter really well! I'd love to be able to tell you what it is (thanks to a more knowledgable gardening visitor to the blog Shayla, I can now tell you its a Delphinium) , but I'm terrible with flower names! Sorry!
One of the Lavender plants Lee rescued from the compactor at Tesco's, they were looking a bit sad when he got them last year, but a bit of TLC and we've now a wonderful Lavender border at the front of plot 1!
A self sown member of the Daisy family, lovely simple blooms! Sadly we had to try and move this from the bed at the front of Plot 1 that we had to clear yesterday, it didnt like being moved in the heat, so I dont know if it will survive or not yet!
Some of the delicate flowers on our spuds, lovely to behold and a tasty crop too, what more can you ask for?
Another veg flower, this time the first flowers on our runner beans, stunning to behold, and usually a bumper crop!
The blackberries (or Brambles if you are from Hull like Lee is) are flowering better than ever this year, not only providing the bees with a valueable source of nectar and pollen, but also food for both the local birds and ouselves!
Our raspberry 'fedge is also looking particularly good this year, with the first summer fruiting canes now beginning to produce lovely sharp fruit! Raspberry jam is a personal fave of ours, especially when made from home grown rasps!
Our late sown peas (Victorian purple podded, a heritage variety) are also doing well, with lots of pretty flowers and are now at 4' tall, being a heritage variety they grow tall (7' I think) and can have the seed saved, so a useful crop and very pretty flowers!
Our earlier sowings of peas are producing like mad, looks like being our best year ever on peas, with lots of pods on the plants!
As you can see though, they arent yet all ready to take..... yet!
Broad bean flowers on our late sowings, looks like these are possibly going to do really well this year, successional sowing should ensure we are kept in beans for a while yet!
Whereas the earlier sown broadies (overwintered) are now producing really well, this plant has already had several crops taken from it, methinks we are going to be freezing some and possibly making some of HFW's baked beans and canning them!
The courgettes have stareted to produce, we've 13 plants in, 10 early and 3 later sown ones (as it didnt look like the first sowing were doing anything, so I planted more - impatient little miss that I am!), so a courgette glut is not out of the question yet!
We've lots of self seeded poppies, some of which we've managed to move to flower beds and borders, but generally they dont like being moved! This bed (which was a tad neglected) is our overwintering red onion sets, and virtually every ne has gone to seed, so they will be coming out and being processed (probably dried), then more parsnips will be going in here! The poppies we are going to harvest for seed, especially as the quiche recipe that Pat is giving us later uses them in the pastry!
First toms are getting bigger, just got to wait for them to ripen now, why is it that it always seems to take forever! lol!
First peppers (inside the hothouse) are getting bigger, although the judges will probably mark us down for using a home made structure (meanies hat they are!), it definitely seems to be working for the plants in there!
Strawbs are still producing..... a lot!
This is 2 days worth of harvests, methinks some jamming is in order!
And finally, grapes on the vine, still only small, but we should get a few bunches by the end of summer, especially if the weather stays hot!Hope you like the piccies, that your plots and gardens are growing well and that bumper harvests will soon be yours!
More updates to follow soon! Thanks for reading!
6 comments:
The blue plant you don't know the name of is a Delphinium, yours is a nice blue. I think they are mean if they do mark you down for something homemade, I think that sort of thing should be encouraged.
Hi Shayla, thanks for the identification, it is appreciated!
I agree entirely that home made, recycled and reused should be encouraged (and even given extra marks), but the Trafford Allotment Judges seem to have other priorities! One of them comes from a plot where everyone has GOT to have their shed in the same place, have a flower bed at the front and has to be under full cultivation, else the tennants get told off and turfed out! Regimented discipline has its place (in the military and in some gardens, especially show gardens), but personally I prefer to see individuality and synergy at work, taking pleasure in seeing the different ways folks work their plots, how and what they grow and how they lay it out, much more interesting than regimented sameness IMHO!
i am so jealous of all those peas! i had real problems with my 'kelvedon wonder'. won't be bothering with that variety again. this is the 2nd year they haven't performed. i think i will stick with the sugarsnaps and mangetout. at least that way you can eat the whole pea! that tale you told of the regimented allotments sounds awful. homegrown & homemade should be encouraged, as well as individuality. i love the quirkiness of the allotments i am on. everyone doing things their own way, often using unexpected things to grow in/with.
Hi Steph!
We've never done really well with any peas (other than the first year with Victorian Purple Podded peas on the half plot we had then), until this year when we tried planting the peas in a length of guttering filled with compost! Peas generally dont like their roots disturbing, so by planting them in the guttering you can get them started in safe conditions (away from the mice that eat them if direct planted), then when they are ready to go out, simply water them well, dig a trench the same size as the guttering, and simply slide them in!
This is how we did our main batch thats in that picture, whereas the earlier outdoor sowing is pathetic in comparison! HTH!
The allotment thats regimented is in a local town, not too far away, and usually wins the best site in Trafford Award, not really my cup of tea at all, but some folks obviously like it! I know we'd not have a plot there, we're too individual!
The strawb's look mouth watering, another great pic:)
Cheers.
Lol Alan, they certainly are as tasty as they look! ;)
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