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!

What do you get if you have 26 buckets of 3 gallons?

Sore shoulders!

Went to the allotment again today and did a "little" watering - the 5 squash and 5 courgettes we planted last week are thirsty, so we watered them lots then covered in black plastic (letting the plants out of course!) In the foreground are our leeks which are doing ok, and the beans are out of shot to the left. We also planted sweet peas, real peas and did some weeding.

We had some great red lettuce: which were rather tasty - we had one for our tea and the first of the beetroot...

Then just to prove that Emily comes too:

So a good time was had by all though we're feeling a little sore now!

So we went down to the allotment today and I took some pics. Here's the onions

The raised bed is coming on a treat - I picked a giant lettuce for lunch

The raspberries are bending under the weight of the fruit - we think they will be yellow..

Then we started on the bit that Graeme rotavated the other week. We planted 6 courgettes and 6 butternut squash. I made some rather unconventional tepees (4 canes per tepee) for the runner beans, and Emily earthed up the spuds.

Heres a pic of our neighbours allotment looking up the hill.... I think ours is looking much more the part now ...