Welcome to our plot!

I'm Hazel, and in Nov 2006 my friend Jane and I took on a half plot at Hill Allotments, Sutton Coldfield - we want the satisfaction of growing and eating our own fruit and veg, and to improve our diet (and fitness!).

This is the story of what happened next...........

Friday, June 27, 2014

New Season's Pickings!

Isn't June lovely?  I've been able to nip to the Hill any evening that I fancy a run, do a little light weeding, have a quick beer at the clubhouse and home in time for supper.

Mind you, it's been a season for slugs and snails - my beans have only just shrugged off the attacks, and it's the same with the tender crops - the courgettes and squash, and some lettuce.  But they all just about live to grow another day - which is more than can be said for my bed of spring onions, carrots and parsnips!

The tomatoes at home are romping away - a weekly feed and regular watering (every other day) seem to be paying off, so I have high hopes for them.

I don't grow tomatoes at the Hill any longer - a couple of dispiriting years when the plants were cut down by blight means that I am happier with them here, where they are at less risk.

And this week has been a week of first crops - later than other years, simply as I seem to have been a bit behind, for no particular reason.  All the sweeter, then, were these red berries, broad beans and the very first potatoes.

Magic.

Monday, June 02, 2014

Seed Sowing, Seedlings Growing

I do seem to be terribly behind this year (and no, not just with the blog, you wags at the back) - it's just that the time rushes by so quickly!

Since I last blogged, I went on holiday, I came back and we had the dahlia talk in the club house and the seed swap; I planted my seed potatoes; and sowed the beans, peas and tender crops in pots at home.

And a month on, all but the tender squash, cucumber and sweetcorn are now in their beds.

In my never-ending quest to grow some bloody carrots, I've made a tunnel, covered with netting. Now, I would be really pleased with this, as it was so easy to put together (once I'd scrounged some blue pipe from Chris at the bottom - thank you m'dear), except that the sharp-eyed will note from the photo that the tunnel is open ended,

This is not deliberate, but a miscalculation of how much debris netting that I had to buy from the store-shed.  It is not so much a protected bed as a windtunnel, or shelter for pigeons.  So a bit of a fail on that one at the mo, then, but I have extra netting now, and will be wielding a needle and shirring elastic at the weekend in order to complete the job.

I can see me doing more of these tunnels if it means that I can protect the beds from pests whilst the plants are young.  It looks like I'll have to resort to slugs pellets for the asparagus bed in future if I want to eat any of the spears myself - but I'm not keen on pellets without excluding birds or other wildlife with some sort of cover.

As ever at this time of year, I can't wait for the first veg to be ready.  
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