The *most important* thing?!

First thing done for the allotment (maybe priorities not quite there?!) was to put together a decent compost bin. From previous post was clear we had a lot of plant material to be composting so a dalek would not do the job. Fortunately this week managed to score some pallets from work and with the help of my assistant:

we built a compost bin:

which has wire mesh from one of those plastic greenhouses to keep the greenery in. Was put together with the latest in Modern Technology namely nails and a 4lb hammer. Now to do some actual gardening...

Having another go...

Went to help someone with their allotment a couple weeks back and found out from another allotment keeper that there were plots going spare. We contacted the council and asked for a half plot and they offered us 17a at the Naldertown site in Wantage. Went up there this week and this is what we found:

To be honest not a bad start - the soil can be dug rather than being good for pottery, and it's not completely overgrown with perennial weeds - though perhaps this picture does not do it justice?! Anyhow we're starting work now so I am sure a lot of updates will follow... From the other corner:

Very long time since last update - start 2011

Long time since the last post - in the meantime we have -

 * applied roundup
 * strimmed

at the end of 2010, then

 * rotavator'd

at the start of 2011. Then more recently we planted 4 rows (~ 50 - 60) Lady Crystl first early potatoes, while & red onions and shallots. As April / May is the new British summer have had to be up there watering already! It's good to get up there though, and it's certain that mechanized assistance is vital for us up there - doing all this by hand would be a killer. Pictures later!

The one that got away

So, Helen went to the allotment to catch up on the courgette picking and found one that must have slipped through the net - weighing in at just shy of 4lb. Quite the humdinger, ol Goliath.

Here it is next to a "regular" courgette - a smidge larger, then!

Long time, no blog

So much time has passed since I last updated, but this really indicates that we're in coasting mode at the allotment. Picking lots of courgettes still, had loads of onions, we're getting three times the amount of french beans we can eat and loads of tomatoes, mostly Gardener's delight (note: these are ace roasted)

Beginning to make some plans on preparing the site for next year, though we have just bought a few spuds to plant for Christmas. Our pumpkin and squash are doing quite well, though the sweetcorn never amounted to anything, and when we lifted the spuds the other day we found that most had been eaten by slugs - little blighters. Ho hum, this happens. Next year will only go with the Lady Christl first earlies which were ace.

Oh, and still getting beetroot, which I think may have to find their way into some chocolate brownies pretty soon :o)

Overrun with courgettes!

So the courgettes (zucchini) for are going mad - picked something like 20 last week... however courgette soup was nice yesterday - made entirely from allotment produce - and you'd be surprised what you can sneak them in to! Other than that the squash and pumpkin are doing well and the tomatoes are getting there.  More than a couple will find their ways to work.

Had dwarf beans a couple of times this week, very nice! Also some cows have moved in next door to the allotment which should keep the weeds down...

Wouldn't mind some rain....

Did a spot more watering today (every other day pretty much now, typically 30 buckets) so really wouldn't object to some substantial precipitation. However, the allotment is doing quite well. Here's a round-up:

• Courgettes doing fine. Plants something like 3-4 feet across, plenty of happy leaves and some fruit.
• Butternut squash slower but they're an autumn squash so that's ok. One didn't make it!
• Pumpkins appear to be settling in.
• Melons looking pretty happy.
• Beans (runner) ok but running a little late!
• Lettuce &c. doing well - have been harvesting for a couple of weeks now.
• Onions - getting there.
• Tatoes - Harvested some already (Lady Cristl) which made for a nice lunch Sunday.
• Shallots - we have shallots of those (sorry!)
• Peas expired sadly.

So pretty good all things being considered. Took some pictures at the weekend, will upload when we get a moment!