Allotment Vegetable Growing in May 2008
Borlotti Beans on Plot 29 08/05/2008 This is the bean frame on plot 29 with the borlotti beans (30 of them) just planted out. Normally I use teepees for climbing beans but this way I'm getting more per square foot. To the right is the new strawberry bed and in front of the beans the rhubarb planted earlier in the year is doing well now. The poles between the rhubarb and the beans indicate where I planted globe artichokes last month. |
Comfrey on Plot 29 08/05/2008 There's a small patch of comfrey on plot 29, handily located by the compost bins. It's doing quite well. Try not to look at the weedy patch to the right of the greenhouse. That's the last bed to tackle on the plot. See the articles on comfrey |
Garlic Bed on Plot 5 08/05/2008 This is the raised garlic bed on plot 5 with the comfrey patch to the left. The garlic in the foreground is Solent Wight and is looking really good. Behind is a hard neck garlic called Music which isn't doing well at all. Planted on the same day back in November and treated the same. The seed garlic looked really well but if the crop matches the tops then not a good investment. |
Gardeners World Experiment 08/05/2008 This bed had become swamped with couch grass and also had horsetail (mare's tail) growing on it. So, like gardeners world, I dumped some compost on the top. The result is just as I expected! I had to move the compost so really I didn't have a choice and when the weeds are showing well, I'll spray the bed to kill them off. Unfortunately this bed is out of action this year but next it will be fine. |
New Compost Bin on Plot 11/05/2008 The departure of Poshbins from the site has been a bonus for me, they kindly donated their posh bin to me. Emptied the black bin, foreground - left, and put the compost on what will be the sweetcorn bed to the right behind the comfrey. Here, I've started emptying the bin to the left and soon will have 2 rather swish bins on plot 29. Gave the green bin in the rear to the right to Therese on plot 1 as I certainly won't need it. |
Clare Watering 11/05/2008 Clare complained that there were more photos of her hubby Andy on the site than her, so here we are. The reason for this is that she's always busy working away but Andy, in his managerial role, has more time for photo shoots! (It's a joke Andy, don't thump me) |
Potatoes Coming Up on Plot 5 15/05/2008 The potatoes are coming up on plot 5 and near ready for earthing up. I was a bit late getting them in but we've been lucky with the weather. One hard frost and I'd be ahead of those who planted earlier. The blue half barrels in the foreground have carrots in them, which are showing now. |
Sweetcorn Planted on Plot 29 15/05/2008 I'm under instructions to grow less sweetcorn this year, so just about 30 plants going in. The first 25 being ready were planted out under cloche and also three courgette plants. The soil on this bed has had a load of compost mixed in and a goodly amount of pelleted chicken manure. Sweetcorn likes a lot of nitrogen to fuel its growth. |
Strawberry Barrel 15/05/2008 The strawberry barrel is set up on one of the raised beds on plot 29. I've not planted any on the top yet, I figure 4 or 6 plants more giving me 30 plants in half the space which has 24 plants at the moment. Of course, it will depend on how it actually grows and crops. If all goes well then I'll get another and utilise the other raised strawberry bed for something else. |
Frost Warning - The Borlotti Beans 18/05/2008 Having had a frost warning on the weather forecast, I fleeced the borlotti beans to keep them safe. Hopefully it will be enough to get them through the cold snap. |
Frost Warning - Potatoes 18/05/2008 I'd just earthed up the early potatoes when I heard the frost warning. Although the earthing up will help them resist the frost, or at least minimise the damage, I wanted to keep them as warm as possible so fleeced up what I could. I ran out of fleece and used some thin weaved, scaffold netting as well. Not ideal but it might just do the job. |
Garlic Looking Well 18/05/2008 The Solent Wight garlic is the best I've ever grown this year. It obviously loves the compost in the raised bed and is magnificent. In the background you can see the comfrey bed. It's a really pretty plant as well as very useful. In the foreground, shallots and lettuce. Lollo Rosso, which grows very well as well as being tasty. See: How to Grow Garlic |
Larry and Therese 18/05/2008 When I went onto the site at 8pm on Sunday night, the only people there were these two. Deep in conversation about the mysteries of growing or something. After some good natured ribbing about what they were up to alone on the site, I snapped this of them by Larry's polytunnel. Not too bad considering I was using my zoom lens. |
Alton Street Allotments 25/05/2008 This is Jill Hitchen who runs the Alton Street site with husband Peter. Here she is in front of a 'before and after' display on a shed for their open day. She's justifiably proud of the site. |
Alton Street An Allotment Plot 25/05/2008 This is one of the plots on Alton Street. It looks really rather good, although the raised bed is quite sensible, it's angled at the end, we can forgive that! It's a shame the weather wasn't so good as the plot looks much better in the flesh than in this photo. I've covered the full day in my diary here. |
Prev >> April 2008: | Next >> June 2008
