Pyramids and Compost

Another glorious sunny weekend presented a great opportunity to get out to do a little allotmenteering. Having not been up there through the week we were apprehensive about what we might find. Expecting an invasion of weeds we were pleasantly surprised to only have remove a few of the critters.

All the hard work digging over and pulling out the roots earlier in the year seems to have paid off. The remaining weeds* seem to be left over crop from the previous occupier of the allotment. Emily had to take on a few rather obese parsnips and some rogue tatties.

A strimming session today to remove the heads from the dandelions before they went to seed will hopefully also help no end in the war against weeds. There is something strangely satisfying about the sight of lots of decapitated dandelions and the thought that they have been defeated before spreading their seed across our lovingly tended plot.

Anyway, on to more exciting things. The Orla and Sharpe's Express potatoes briefly put in an appearance. They are back underground for a while as we covered them in compost and a good helping of soil. Cruel to be kind is apparently the name of the game in propagating your own food. Cover them up and get more spuds later.

Photo 28: Orla Potato, a first showing.

I planted our main crop potatoes today, Arran Victory and Pink Fir Apple (a salad potato). That's the 2011 potato crop in. Bring on the mash!

Photo 29: Planting the main crop potatoes. Bladon church in the background.

While Emily headed into Oxford for lunch with Alex I decided to investigate how much compost was in the composter in the back garden. After being fed for 3 years on vegetable peelings and autumn leaves from Blenheim I was hopeful of some black gold. I was not disappointed.

Photo 30: The black gold of the garden - a nice (square) pile of well rotted compost.

The compost uncovered a little history with readily identifiable layers which defined the summer and autumnal additions. Almost a geological seam. If we'd left it a few more thousand years and we may have ended up with some coal for the fire. You don't get a lot for three years worth of composting effort but I'm sure the vegetables will appreciate it.

Back to the allotment, Emily built three bean pyramids and planted the purple and green French beans. They were bedded down on a fresh layer of Bladon compost so we are expecting prolific growth in the coming weeks.

Photo 31: Oxford has it's Spires, now Bladon has it's very own pyramids. Much better than those you find in Egypt as these will have beans growing up them.

Photo 32: Emily planting the beans and securing them to the pyramids (just in case they try to escape).

Back from the allotment Emily planted up the salad in one of the beds in the back garden. Radish, spring onions, rocket and two varieties of lettuce (Buttercrunch and Lizzy).

The end of a productive day was rewarded with a beer and the taking of a few random photos in the back garden. At the end of last summer we found a conker sprouting in one of the beds. We potted him up and allowed him to overwinter in the shed. We are happy to report that he survived the cold and frosty winter months and is doing well. More on this little chap as he progresses through the summer.

Photo 33: Our Horse Chestnut. From small conkers...

Photo 34: Need I say more. Reward for hard work = a nice cold beer.

*Weed - A plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants.

From little seeds...

They're never going to be mighty oaks, but my beans are looking very healthy and happy. I planted the seeds in an electric propagator (a birthday present from Bob and Pam) one Sunday a month ago and now look at them:

Photo 19: French beans and peas in the garden

The electric propagator has an amazing effect. Here are some more French bean seeds planted three days ago:

Photo 20: French bean seedlings yesterday afternoon

Photo 21: And the same two seedlings (the tall ones in the centre) this evening, 24 hours later

We didn't go to the allotment this weekend, or at least not to do any work (we've been visiting a couple of evenings a week to check everything out). Instead we dug over some flower beds for my grandparents on Saturday and on Sunday we dug out the bed at the bottom of the wall in the garden. It was filled with all the usual rubble left by builders and also Japanese knotweed, which we carefully removed as much as possible. 

Photo 22: Rob removing a large lump of concrete

We are going to spend some time at the allotment this weekend, planting the main crop potatoes, the beans and peas, and sowing carrots, parsnips and beetroot. In the meantime, here are some photos from the house and garden which I hope you like.

Photo 23: Pumpkin seed in the propagator

Photo 24: One of six tomato seedlings which I'm really pleased with

Photo 25: Another French bean seedling

Photo 26: Strawberry flowers in the garden

Photo 27: Falstaff, our apple tree, in blossom

Mash, Chips, Roast, Boiled or Jackets?

After a weekend off last week we headed up to the allotment today in anticipation of a bit of weeding before planting our selection of 'early' spuds.

All was well on the weed front in the beds but our cunning plan not to dig over the paths and put stones over them to suppress the weeds had failed miserably. We spent a few hours lifting the paths and digging out the weedy culprits - mainly buttercups. All done now though so hopefully we are in a better position to manage our weeds through the growing season.

The onions, rhubarb and currant bushes all seem to have settled in well to their new homes with new growth on all. The raspberry canes are still lying dormant but hopefully they will spring into life now the days are getting warmer. By the looks of the rhubarb we'll be eating crumble until it comes out of our ears soon - bonus!

Photo 13: Onions at home on the allotment.

Photo 14: Where's the custard?

So, onto the planting of spuds. After a month or so sat on the windowsill in our downstairs toilet the seed potatoes had chitted well. Today was time for them to go into the ground.

Photo 15: Chitted and ready to go. Seed potatoes of the Orla variety.

Two long trenches and a bag or two of manure later and the ground was ready. Nineteen Orla, 10 Sharpe's Express (they didn't perform last year so they've got to do better this time or they'll be letting the family name down again) and 10 Pentland Javelin are now residing 6 inches below the surface. Fingers crossed that they make a reappearance in the next few weeks.

Photo 16: In the trenches. No going over the top for these tatties.

Photo 17: Bedded in and ready to grow. Pentland Javelin potatoes coming to an allotment near you soon.

Watering in took on a new dimension with the purchase of our wheelbarrow water bag. We can now transport 80 litres at a time from the Churchyard to the allotment. No more lugging watering cans around. The risk of Emily developing arms as long as a monkey have thankfully passed.

Photo 18: The wheelbarrow water bag. Training still required but this will save a lot of hard work.

Spring is here at last!

What a cracking weekend! The weather was superb both Saturday and Sunday. Emily saw the first Yellow Brimstone butterfly of the year, a species often linked with the start of spring.

Up at the allotment we tidied off a few loose ends this weekend. Finishing the paths (Annie and David's quarry wall provided 4 1/2 barrow loads of stone) and attaching the guttering to the water catcher. All construction jobs completed for the time being!

The electric propagator is working a treat with 8 of 8 French beans, 7 of 8 Peas (one was lost to damping off disease and quickly removed) and 6 of 8 tomatoes successfully germinating. All we need now is the soil to warm up a little more and we can start the exciting job of planting out.

A major distraction on Sunday, and one we hope will be a regular was the sight of 5 buzzards soaring overhead. More news and hopefully photos of them through the summer.

An allotment is born!

The allotment has been transformed this weekend! With help from Bob and Pam (Mr and Mrs Sharpe) and Marcus, we have finished digging, built the water catcher and the compost bins, laid some more paths, planted the fruit and sowed onion sets. Here we are hard at work:

Photo 4: Marcus and Bob are digging and I'm sowing onions (the easy job :)

Rob spent most of Friday and Saturday building. First he attached a plastic corrugated roof to the old compost bin by way of a robust wooden frame that slopes backwards (he told me to write the last part!). Then he turned his attention to the new compost bins, pulling apart the wooden pallets and re-purposing them as the sides (and gates!) of the two bins.

Photo 5: Rob in action with his new 14lb fibreglass sledgehammer - doesn't he make it look light?!

Photo 6: The new compost bins under construction.

Meanwhile, Bob and Marcus finished digging over the plot. You might think that Rob looked strong and manly with the sledgehammer, but check this out... a broken spade! Bob must be even stronger as he managed to split the steel blade!!

Photo 7: The broken Yeoman (yes, fortunately it was the 2011 model we complained about last month!)

Pam and I made inroads on the paths, collecting fallen quarry stones from our neighbour's gardens. We were rather over-zealous and somewhat overfilled the wheelbarrow, making the short walk from home to the allotment take twice as long as usual. We must have looked decidedly odd as we staggered across the main road, each holding a handle of the very heavy barrow. Thankfully Marcus stepped in and wheeled the next load for us.

The last job of the day was planting the fruit that arrived last week. Along with some plants we already had in the garden and a couple of rhubarb crowns left by the previous tenant, we now have the following fruit (varieties included so I don't forget):

• Three blackcurrants ('Ben Serak', 'Ben Hope' and 'Ben Connan')
• One redcurrant ('Jonkheer van tets')
• One whitecurrant ('White Versailles')
• One gooseberry ('Invitica')
• Ten summer raspberry canes ('Malling Jewel')
• One large autumn raspberry ('Autumn Bliss')
• Eight rhubarb crowns (assorted)

Photo 8: The fruit end of the allotment, you can just about make out the raspberry canes on the far left and the "mole hills" on the right are the rhubarbs covered in manure.

Photo 9: The sheep pens (aka compost bins).

Photos 10: The finished articles!

Yesterday, we went back to the allotment to plant the rest of the onions (in total 25 red, 70 white and 15 shallots). It looked beautiful in the sunlight and we are feeling very proud.

Photo 11: Me planting shallots.

Photo 12: Our beautiful allotment!

Dodging the showers

"Add some photos" people keep saying. "It hasn't been the weather" has been our response.

Today was to be the day. Here are the first of hopefully many pictures to document progress on the allotment. We should have taken one or two on the day we took over the plot (or at least before we started work) but unfortunately we didn't.

So here we are. After lugging 6 pallets (thanks Kim!), two water butts (both acquired from men named Mark - nice butts boys!), and five or six buckets full of rock released from the Lincoln Grove quarry after some good freeze/thaw action over the winter, we built a couple of paths between the beds and took a few photos.

Welcome to our allotment!

Photo 1: The Allotment, a work in progress.

Photo 2: First path completed. Stones gathered from Lincoln Grove quarry and the allotment.

Photo 3: Hard at work. Emily building the second path.

As the day was continually interrupted by heavy rainfall we took the opportunity to go and buy a few bits and pieces for next weekends building project - the water catcher. The previous tenant of the allotment left behind a basic structure which I intend to strengthen and extend using the pallets to give us a 'deluxe' water catcher.

A trip to Wickes and a £35 spend later resulted in the purchase of 4 corrugated plastic roofing panels, one length of guttering and some downpipes and a selection of screws. Power tools, sledge hammer and the like will make an appearance next week.

Weather permitting there'll be more photos next week, hopefully of some rather impressive DIY!

Beware, Spines!

Our fruit bushes have arrived. They were delivered on Wednesday, but as we weren't home our neighbour took them in for us. The package had a label saying URGENT - PLANTS so Charlotte opened the bag, put her hand in to remove them and was attacked by our gooseberry! It has the most vicious spines. We owe Charlotte lots of fruit come summer.

We have just dug them into the garden temporarily while we prepare their home on the allotment - depending on the weather either tomorrow or next weekend.

Photos next time, I promise (not that there's much to show at the moment!).