Rotovating with the Merry Tiller and Onion Rust Problem

Onion Disaster

Last time I looked there was a little rust on the garlic on plot 29 – today it was awful. The garlic was drooping with rust and the onions were looking pretty ill as well. May be downy mildew as well as rust. Only treatment is chemical, would rather buy organic than use systemic fungicides.

Apart from the Red Baron grown from seed, harvested the lot. The autumn planted shallots look OK and we may get the garlic to keep. The spring planted shallots are more like spring onions and the spring planted sets look pretty feeble. Oh well…

The Red Baron on Plot 5 look healthy. Lesson – split crops up, do not put all eggs in one basket. That will complicate the rotation plan.

Merry Tiller Rotovation

Went over the mustard bed which I dug over last night. The soil is certainly getting better – think it likes green manures and leafmould.

Weeding

Weeded around the climbing beans on plot 5. One of the Blue Lake has gone, nowhere to be seen. Still, 6 plants left and the runners are starting to take off.

Competition

The allotment competition is being judged on Tuesday so a last chance to weed and tidy up plot 5 tomorrow. I’ll lose points because I run 2 plots as one so the variety is low but what the heck – it’s only fun.