Time to move the plum tree

We spent a very pleasant couple of hours at the allotment today in the weak January sunshine. I went down to dig up some celeriac and leeks for making soup. The snow has now all gone and we were hoping for a frost last night, as the ground is much easier to dig after a frost. However, the frost was negligible and the ground was very sticky. While I was there I decided that today was the right day for moving the plum tree. It is too close to the fruit cage and is going to become a problem in the future. It's two years old so the sooner the better. It turned out to be a bigger job than I expected - as always! When Peter came down he brought a very welcome cup of coffee and then started chopping wood for the wood burning stove back home. He keeps a large supply of wood down at the plot and as it's been a cold winter so far, we've used a lot of wood.

I needed help with moving the tree, so when the wood was chopped he came and helped with the digging. We dug a hole about 6 feet across but eventually had to chop the roots, as it was becoming too difficult to chase them all. The new place for the tree is beside the new lawn. I put some wood ash and manure in the bottom of the hole and then replaced the soil, putting more manure on top. It looks much better in it's new home.

I had left the celeriac soaking in a bucket as it's a very dirty vegetable to clean at home. The whole clean up operation takes longer at this time of year. Peter did manage to acquire a boot puller at the auction recently which works brilliantly for pulling off muddy wellies. He also got me a butler sink, but I haven't decided what to use it for yet, and a couple of galvanised buckets which are useful for putting the hot ash into.

Mr. McGregor goes to work!

Peter, (alias Mr. McGregor) has decided to rabbit-proof part of the allotment with a fence, so watch out all you pesky rabbits! He's fencing off the middle section using chicken wire and four inch fence posts. Trouble is I'd already planted the onions, shallots, garlic and broad beans in there, so when digging the trench we had to be careful not to dig them up or damage them. The wire has to go a foot down below the soil level in order to deter the little blighters from burrowing underneath. It's quite a difficult job now as the soil is heavy and damp. However, yesterday we just about cracked it. All the chicken wire is now in place, there's just some soil to replace and the gates to make. JUST! It's amazing what a different feel it gives to the plot - it's almost like there's a new patch to work in.

I'm still battling with the weeds - in between helping with the fence that is. John said that he was digging up the thistles and perennial weeds and digging the rest in. Seems like a good idea. It's not just me - everyone seems to have a problem with chickweed this year.

Since my last blog I've dug up the dahlias and moved them to their

new home next to the grassy area and the fruit trees. It should make a lovely place to sit and admire!! But who gets the chance to sit? I've been watching the carrots steadily growing and thought I'd risk picking a few

yesterday. They were disappointingly small and when I washed them to put into a casserole this morning they were largely useless - most of them were damaged by root fly. I did however pick a good sized celeriac. There's a lot of roots and waste to

discard but the finished vegetable was still about the size of a cricket ball. I found it not unpleasant to taste raw - a bit like the sweeter root part of a celery plant. When I was little and we used to have celery for tea, the 'knobbly' bit, or root, was the best bit. It was carefully cut into four so that everyone got a piece. We used to dip the celery sticks in salt, and eat them with bread and butter and cheese. Anyway, back to celeriac. Peter deigned to try a piece and declared that it had less taste than a potato. Maybe they'll be like parsnips and need a good frost to make them sweeter. I'm not sure I'll bother to grow them again even though they were easy to grow

and the rabbits didn't like them. I wonder why?

Betty has taken to racing around the plot like a demented rabbit when one or other of us turns up at the plot. But mostly she sits and sleeps in the sun, or barks at Charlie's alsation.

Last month we noticed some ink caps growing beside the old bath.

They're probably edible but we didn't risk eating them. The area down by the bath is still very much neglected, with many weeds, a half made path and still a visible hollow to be filled in. We'll have to finish the path in the Spring otherwise Kev won't be able to access his corner, due to the new fence.

I went along to the gardening club meeting last month. The talk was a 'Kenyan Safari', and the competition was a carved pumpkin. I thought I would enter my magnificent pumpkin, so I looked on the internet for an interesting

face to carve. There are thousands to choose from I chose a simple one which didn't take long to carve and guess who won the competition? Mind you, there were only two other entries!

Harvest!

We've just returned from a holiday to Rome and Switzerland, by train. Travelling through Europe I couldn't help but notice the immaculate allotments beside the railway lines. I think our plot is a long way from that sort of perfection.

I was able to harvest all the squashes today and three wonderful pumpkins. As I laid out all the produce along the bench, it looked like a proper old-fashioned harvest festival. I say old-fashioned as harvest festivals aren't what they used to be any more. Most of the produce given these days is of the 'tinned' variety. The lovely gardener's trug baskets were a lucky find from the auction. Peter got them both plus a watering can for £3!

As you can see there has been a glut of runner beans while we've been away and another of the courgettes has become a marrow. The dahlias are still stunning - it's such a pity they don't last long in the house.

We've now picked all the tomatoes, including the green ones. Many of them had been nibbled while we've been away, and some were rotting. I've made some tomato and chilli jam which was delicious during the tasting process, but needs to keep a few weeks before using. I've also done some roasted tomatoes and some tomato soup. They're a much more versatile vegetable than I'd realised.

The weeds are taking over again and I'm not sure whether to dig them in or to pull them out. I've pulled a lot of bindweed from in between the fruit bushes - seems like I'll never be free of it. There's chickweed all over the potato patch but it's mixed with other more pernicious weeds so it looks like I might have to do some weed-killering.

Grass, squash and weeds

We've had quite a lot of rain over the last couple of weeks and it's been quite warm as well, so the new grass is growing nicely. In fact it was long enough to cut for the first time today. It's only four weeks since I planted it so I'm surprised at how quickly it's grown. It will be well established before the cold sets in. The late-planted carrots, parsnips and fennel are all growing well too - success at last. I picked a celeriac last week but it was very small underground and the leaves were bitter. I thought they might have been edible as salad leaves. I've planted two lots of salad leaves recently and although the first row didn't show, the second row have now germinated. If the rabbits don't get them first we might have a crop in a few weeks!
Peter came down today to cut the grass and trim the hedge. He's done a lot work on the lawn mower and the hedge-trimmer lately and they worked perfectly. He's also been working on the pump engine recently with little success. However, he finally managed to get it working last week and filled the 1,000 litre container in about 40 minutes.
The blackberries are still hanging ripe and juicy, and are very tempting. I can't resist the shiny berries so I've picked some for a friend and a few for the freezer. The squashes are beginning to harden and ripen to a pale golden colour and are almost ready to pick. Sadly the corn has been disappointing again this year. We went to a local chilli festival a few weeks ago and I bought a packet of posh-looking Italian corn seeds there for next year. Here's hoping we'll have more luck with them.
The strawberry bed has had it's annual tidy up and I've removed many of the runners. I find it hard to throw them all away so I've planted 36 in Kev's corner, and heeled some in so I can extend my own patch when the dahlias are finished. Talking of dahlias, they've been fantastic again. Especially as they were attacked by the late frosts this Spring.
I've had time to tidy the garden at home lately and have dug up some surplus grape hyacinths and split the red hot poker. They've all now been planted at the allotment, so should provide a bit of colour in the Spring and Summer.
Of course the weeds have got out of hand in many areas now. I'm trying to keep on top of them but the bindweed has returned with a vengeance at the bottom end and the fruit bushes are looking very neglected. Some areas can easily be tidied up with a hoe but other areas need to be dug over and weeded by hand or weed-killed. It's all good exercise!!

The goldfinch

I went down today to water the grass, which fortunately wasn't washed away by the rain last week, and is just beginning to grow. I planted some oriental leaves last week and was about to water them when I noticed a bird which had got caught in the netting. He was flapping furiously but I was unable to free him. By the time I'd returned with scissors to cut the netting, the poor goldfinch was breathing his last. I managed to free him and massaged his little chest for a while, but to no avail. It's very sad sitting with a little warm bird in your hand and not being able to do anything to revive it.
The carrots and parsnips are beginning to grow now and also the fennel. I don't know if this is too late for them to develop - will just have to wait and see. I also have two long rows of developing celeriac plants. Don't know what I'm going to do with them all though.
The artichokes have begun to flower, and although they are no longer edible, they do look beautiful and the bees love them.
The corn has had only a limited success again this year. The first few we picked were delicious, but subsequent ones have been deformed and partly eaten away by ladybirds. And I thought ladybirds were the gardener's friend!

Visitors

Ian and Jen came to visit last weekend. They just got their allotment in April so were keen to see ours. They last saw it two years ago when we had just taken ours on, so saw a big difference. It's very satisfying to share our plot with like-minded people. I think they felt that theirs wasn't quite big enough as Jen would like some fruit bushes and there isn't room.

I went down yesterday with some grass seed to extend the 'lawn'. The soil was already weeded and raked so it didn't take too long. I removed the stones from the surface, tramped it down using a board, raking down any high patches as I went. After spreading the seed I put up some sticks, string and a few plastic streamers to deter the birds. I didn't need to water as I knew it was going to rain in the afternoon. Well it didn't just rain - it poured. It's been raining for about 30 hours now, except for a brief spell this afternoon, and it's still raining! I hardly dare go down again in case all the seed has been washed away.

I picked a good basket of tomatoes and also dug up the rest of the potatoes. I planted Desiree and Pentland Crown this year and both have produced a good sized crop.

Betty and I went for a walk round the site and met Sarah who invited me in for a coffee. She was busy cleaning her onions. She showed me round and gave me a couple of her outdoor cucumbers. She has a very neat plot and a very welcoming shed.

Here's Betty resting on a piece of carpet providing shade over the bath - just in case there are any frogs in there!

Baby squashes - hooray!

Wednesday 18th August
I've been worrying about the butternut squashes lately as they've been producing lots of flowers but no sign of any fruit. They are all grown from seed kept from one of my own squashes, and I was afraid they might all be male plants, or all female plants, and that that might prevent them from producing fruit. However, when I looked today I found five tiny baby squashes! Hooray! They are so interesting to grow, as they ramble all over the allotment, without any regard to the weeds, the paths or the other vegetables. Then, just when you're about to give up on them, there are all the baby fruit. The two courgette plants have started producing again. I've given some to Mark who gave me plants, and also made some courgette muffins. The pumpkin is still growing fast and must be approaching two feet across. It looks like it will make a fine Halloween lantern. There are also smaller pumpkins on some of the other plants. I have one growing in the compost bin and one in the manure pile. Peter took Betty for a walk round the allotment site the other day and spoke to a chap who told him that 'they do pinch pumpkins around here.' One of his was found smashed in the road. We have taken the trouble to hide ours from being seen from the lane, although anyone walking round the plot will see it easily.
The French beans continue to be a great success and I'm picking them about every other day. We've picked four corn cobs so far which were delicious, but compared to size of other corn plants around the site, they're disappointingly small. The rows of carrots, fennel and parsnips are at last starting to grow, and I've covered them all with small wire cloches, to keep the nibbling rabbits away. I've also planted some oriental leaves.
The blueberries are all picked now and have been amazingly successful. Most are now safely tucked away in the freezer, although I have used some for making a batch of Rosalee's blueberry muffins. Delicious!
I've dug and raked the ground where the onions were, as I intend extending the grassed area in the coming weeks. There's a lot more ground than I need to use for planting, and that will make for one less area to weed.
I have at last got to grips with the weeds on the asparagus patch, keeeping them hoed down throughout the summer. I've boarded the edge of the asparagus plot with plastic covered boards to prevent the grass from creeping in.
The tomatoes have been successful grown next to the asparagus and we've started picking them this week. We've also dug up most of the maincrop potatoes. Many of them are a good size with very little slug damage.
Kevin's been down on his plot recently and done a bit of tidying up, digging over etc. Don't know if he took any produce away though?