Harvest Festival!

After all the recent rain the weeds have been trying to take over so Lin spent several hours getting them under control. Then she dug potatoes, picked a huge amount of strawberries, the first broad beans of the year and a couple of armfuls of rhubarb.

Strawberries And Rain

I popped to the allotment this morning just to pick some strawberries. I got half way through the bed and the rain came, and didn't stop. I took shelter in the shed where I transplanted the basil into bigger pots. After what seemed like hours, but was probably about 40 minutes Lin came to my rescue.

Compost & Snails

We both spent the morning down the allotment. Lin transplanted some lettuce and cabbage plants, plus the usual weeding. I turned the compost from the medium bin to the smallest one and found hundreds of snails living there, all of which have been removed to a far away place! Then the rain came and called a halt to things, but at least it saved us from having to water.

Send In The Cavalry

A quick visit to the allotment this evening to do some emergency planting. We bought three new courgette plants and two new butternut squashes. They are a little bit bigger than the ones we lost so hopefully they will survive. We also added some organic slug pellets to keep the little slimy buggers away.


A new packet of White Lady runner bean seeds has filled in the gaps on the runner bean bed. I also planted another row of peas, and as you can see the previous rows are starting to come up nicely now.

A few of the haricot beans are starting to make an appearance too.

Digging My Potatoes

One of the best days of the year is the day you dig your first potatoes for the year. Today was that day, we dug up a couple of plants and although there wasn't a huge amount, they tasted good. Picked some more strawberries too.

I planted out the sweet corn plants, although they look a bit straggly now they will soon pick up. I also planted a row of seeds at the end of the bed to use for replacements if we should looses any of the plants.

The broad beans are forming nicely, but still suffering from black fly.

The runner beans that were started off at home are now starting to climb their canes, but the seeds that were planted directly into the ground are not doing very well so I'm going to buy a new packet and plant some more.

Beetroot are coming up nicely. The same can't be said for the butternut squashes and courgettes. Out of all the plants I put in, I have one courgette left, time to go in search of some more plants.

Tomatoes

Potted on the tomatoes that have been growing in the garden shed. Now in bigger pots, but not strong enough for the outside world yet.