Its been a While...

I've been very remiss and not done much work down on the allotment for a while, what with weather and working and everything else life has thrown at me recently. Today I was out for a walk and popped in to see what is happening down there. It isn't too bad really, the areas of green manure are about 3 ft high and will need strimming down as soon as possible. The few leeks are still growing but have not reached any great girth. I am glad to say that the parsnips still seem ok but who knows what is going on down in the soil! There seem to be a few carrots and beetroot lurking around but whether any are edible remains to be seen. There are still weeds about but not quite as bad as before - after all we are heading into winter. Hopefully I shall get down there on Sunday and get some strimming and clearing done before settling down for the last Grand Prix of the season :)

Years end on the Allotment

We have just about come to the end of the first year on the Allotment. It hasn't done too badly really considering what a terrible overgrown weedpatch it was. It has taken a lot of weeding, weed killer and digging but it was worth it. The bottom drawer of the freezer if filled with beans - broad, french and runner. The broad beans were the most successful on the plot, closely followed by the french and runner. However the beans for drying were less successful. there were plenty of Cannellini, quite a few black beans but hardly any borlotti or butter beans. The potatoes started off well but the maincrop fell victim to blight and had to be harvested early. I  have since learnt that blight is a frequent probnlem down there so I shall be acquiring some Bordeaux mix for next year's crop. The beetroot and carrots did well, there are still carrots down there waiting to be pulled. The sweetcorn was interesting but non productive, I don't think I'll grow any next year unless I have some spare space. The onions did quite well, I need to grow far more though and make sure there's more shallots. I am still waiting for the leeks, which are very few, and parsnips - hopefully for Christmas dinner.
The soft fruit has done really well, especially as most plants spent the winter in pots on the back patio.  The strawberry crop was spread out though, seeming to be ready in 8oz helpings and the raspberries rearely made it off the allotment - just enough for a snack when weeding. Unfortunately the blueberries seemed to settle in well and produced flowers but the fruit all dropped off early. Ineed to test the soil to see if it is acid enough for them and maybe add something to it or bring them back to the house & keep in pots. 
I didnt manage to grow any squashes this year - I grew a few pumpkins from seed but they didnt survive int the cold wet weather. There is a great deal still to be done, green manure to be dug in, compost to be dug in where I havent sown green manure. The old bean poles need removing, fruit cage net replacing, fruit cage extending etc etc. So much to do - but not today because its pouring with rain!