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© Our Plot on Green Lane Allotments -
5 April
Parts of this week have tempted us into thinking that the thick sweaters can be packed away but then we have been brought back to reality with some very windy days when it has felt quite chilly. The plum and greengages, on our plot, are loaded with blossom so it is left to fate to decide whether the frost that has been apparent on some mornings will put paid to what promises to be a good crop of fruit.
The long awaited shed has arrived and been erected on the plot. I suppose a more apt name for it would be a retreat as its main purpose is to provide a refuge where we can have a cup of coffee and a chat without sitting outside in the cold. It has already been tested out and fits the bill perfectly. We don’t intend to use it for storage – we prefer to use the mobile shed for transporting tools etc. We managed to get quite a bargain as far as the shed was concerned – an ex-
This week not only have we weeded and rotavated on the plots but have actually got down to sowing seed, namely parsnip – Gladiator -
Most of our vegetable plants are raised in the greenhouse so seeds are sown in pots and trays rather than straight into open ground. Some have been given a kick start in an electric propagator kept in a spare bedroom and are transferred to our cold greenhouse as soon as they have germinated. Given this treatment have been:
- Cauliflower – Snowball & Kaleidoscope Mixed – Kaleidoscope is a mix of purple, green and yellow coloured cauliflowers. Surprisingly the coloured varieties have been much quicker to germinate than the usual white headed variety
- Chilli Pepper – Cayenne
- Sweet Pepper – Sweet Sunshine (a mixed colours pack – we are in to coloured vegetables this year!))
- Aubergine – Black Enorma & Black Beauty
- Tomato -
Japanese Trifle Black, Amish Paste, All Blacks, Rainbow Beefsteak Mixed (another mixed colour variety) & Yellow Perfection and varieties – Shirley, Brandywine, Moneymaker, Gardeners’ Delight and Roma planted earlier have germinated. - Turnip – Aramis has been sown into trays in the greenhouse.
The sweet peas and leeks planted last month are now germinating and the potatoes planted in pots and potato bags are now on the move.
The grapevine that always threatens to take over the greenhouse has begun to shoot
In the garden it is the trees and shrubs that have been the stars of the show this week. Camellias are loaded with blooms as is the magnolia that looks particularly good when viewed from a bedroom window. Trees are leafing up too. Some lily of the valley plants have been planted in a tub to hopefully protect them from slug devastation.
12 April
It’s really beginning to look and feel like spring now. I think from now until the end of May is my favourite time of the year when the greens look so fresh and everything seems just bursting to grow. This includes the dandelions that look good mingling with the daisies on roadside verges but not so good on the plot. One minute they have been mown down and the very next moment have sprung back up again and are in full flower.
Although much of the blossom is now past its best, the wild cherry is now in flower joining forces with the blackthorn.
The garden greenhouse is beginning to fill up with seedlings and plants that have overwintered in its relative shelter are growing well. The potatoes planted in pots and potato bags are growing strongly after a rather slow start.
In the garden perennials and shrubs are echoing what is happening in the greenhouse. The garden is looking more like a garden every day. The gunnera planted alongside the pond has made it through the winter and is shooting. The fish in our fishpond are becoming very demanding – each time we are spotted passing the pond the underwater activity livens up and mouths gape out of the water! The birds are also very active; we have even spotted a young robin which must have fledged early as it is now fully independent and feeding itself.
We have had some very pleasant days on the plot. Our heat treated onion sets arrived. We bought a red variety – Red Baron, a white variety – White Prince and a yellow variety – Fen Globe. We may seem behind with our onion planting but heat treated onions are dispatched and planted later than non treated sets. The treatment given damages the onion flower bud and so the plant is less likely to bolt and go to seed. They are a bit more expensive but last year were worth it. About half the sets have been planted. We have also started to plant our potatoes using the trowel method, some Juliette and Belle de Fontenay. I have also weeded around the raspberry canes that are growing strongly now. We dug up all the remaining carrots that we overwintered in the ground. Some were still good enough to harvest. We kept them under environmesh and so they will not have provided a refuge for carrot fly.
The plum blossom has so far avoided being damaged by the frost and is being given the bumblebees full attention. We have had the trees for many years but for the first time I have noticed that the blossom has a slight perfume.
Other plot activities have focussed on our newly acquired shed. Sheds on our site need securing or they may disappear in strong winds so this was a priority. Already the shed is proving its worth as a coffee room.
Seeds planted last week have all germinated. We have now moved on to sowing flower seeds, aquilegia – Snowbird, astilbe – Showstar, chrysanthemum – Rainbow Mixture and nicotiana – Roulette Mixed. These are currently in the heated propagator in a spare bedroom.
Today I was asked what happened with regard to the medlars picked last year. I have to admit – not much. I’m not sure whether we picked them too soon or whether they were small due to it being the tree’s first year but in short there wasn’t enough fruit to really have a good taste and decide what we thought of them. We really bought the tree for its decorative qualities so we any fruit especially if it proves palatable will be a bonus.
19 April
Although the greenery says spring , winter is still challenging the idea and sending some cold winds. When the sun pushes through it is lovely and warm. It’s the sort of weather that the plants and wild life must find confusing.
In the garden the conference pear tree has moved into centre stage. The problem is that its branches stretch across the greenhouse so from time to time a pear will drop down and shatter the glass.
The magnolia and camellias although carpeted with fallen petals still look good. Other shrubs are ready to burst into flower and take their place. The ferns and hostas are also putting on a growth spurt. Everything seems to be waiting for the starting pistol to fire! The cowslips have definitely proved their worth and are still in full flower both in the garden and under the fruit trees on the plot.
The greenhouse in the garden is gradually filling up. This week has seen plenty of seed sowing:
- Even more tomatoes -
Shirley & Moneymaker - Calabrese – Green Magic & Samson
- Cucumber – Burpless Tasty Green
- Oregano – True Greek
- Basil – Sweet Genovese
- Beetroot – Blankoma, Boltardy, Golden & Chiogga
- And not forgetting the flowers
- Nemesia – Carnival Mixed
- Mesembryanthemum
The seeds of the Mesembryanthemum and Nemesia are tiny. Many tiny seeds need light in order to start germination and so they are sprinkled on top of the tray of compost and then covered in Perliite. The flower seeds are in an electric propagator in the house but are removed to the greenhouse as some as they begin to germinate. This prevents the seedlings from growing leggy and weak. With this in mind the seeds that had germinated in the propagator have been moved into the greenhouse namely Chrysanthemum – Rainbow Mixed and Nicotiana – Roulette Mixed
Many seeds that have already germinated, and produced their first true leaves, have been pricked out:
- Brussels sprouts – Wellington & United
- Cabbage – Picador
- Chilli Peppers – Cayenne
- Aubergine – Black Beauty
- Sweet Peppers – Sweet Sunshine
- Salad Leaves – Provence Mixed
- Lettuce – Balloon
In the garden greenhouse the potatoes planted in pots earlier in the year are growing well – its the first time we have tried doing this so fingered are crossed for at least a few early potatoes. The carrots too are continuing to grow well.
Some young plants have been moved into the cold frame where they can harden off. Hardening off is to provide a half way house between the cosseted environment of the greenhouse and the unprotected environment of the open garden. Moving young plants straight from the greenhouse to the open garden would be too much of a shock to their systems. Young plants that have been moved into the cold frame to join other young plants there this week are
- Broad beans – Witkeim Manita
- Turnip – Aramis
- Cabbage – Primo 2
- Some of our Jostaberry plants, although not yet planted have moved to the plot.
The plot greenhouse has been tidied ready to receive the new season’s plants. Over winter it doubles as a second shed with any plants in need of some shelter being kept in the garden greenhouse. As a start we have planted some lettuce and salad leaf plants to give us some early leaves for our salad. The garlic that overwintered in the greenhouse has been moved outside where it is often mistaken for leeks in a tub. I just hope that cloves will form as the plants look great.
We are still managing to harvest spring onions planted last year. Most are rather large but are still perfectly acceptable in salads. We were going to pull them out but never actually got around to it. Next year we will probably leave some in on purpose as it was a happy accident.
We are still tidying and weeding the beds on the plot. We go for a system of beds surrounded by grass paths. We like the more natural look and in our opinion nothing sets off a planting area better than green. It’s also good for wildlife but is not everyone’s choice. Grass does take some looking after and this week many beds have needed the edges cutting back to prevent the grass from encroaching and reducing their size.
We have, however turned the corner on the plot and are beginning to fill up beds rather than just clearing them. This week we have completed our potato planting with the varieties Anya, Juliette, Charlotte & Nicola. We generally grow a few varieties in the hope that at least one or two will do well in whatever conditions prevail.
Also planted were some broad bean plants – Bunyards Exhibition and the remaining onion sets. These were planted in clusters and should produce smaller onions. The onions and shallots planted last autumn were weeded this week weeded and are now growing really well and the shallots planted this spring are also beginning to make good growth.
Carrots – Yellowstone, Early Nantes 2, Autumn King 2 & Baby Carrot Ideal Red have been sown in shallow trenches filled with compost as our clay soil isn’t an ideal medium for germinating seeds. Early in the year we were bemoaning our waterlogged soil and now the soil is really dry and in places quite hard and lumpy and we now have to water our young plants.
Work has also continued on the shed – just a few shelves for odds and ends.
We did have a surprise when we arrived home from the plot one day. Just by the driver’s visor we noticed a Large White butterfly alongside of which was an empty chrysalis. It would seem that the butterfly had just emerged from the chrysalis that must have been hanging there unnoticed all winter! As it was quite late the butterfly was left in the relative warmth overnight and in the morning transferred to a nectar rich flower in the garden. At least in this brassica free zone its caterpillars should do no harm!
