Any rain that is managing to fall is still in the form of fairly light showers. We had nothing persistent or steady. On top of this the fluctuations in temperature mean that it is not a happy time for the plants. At times it is hard to believe that it is actually June – summer?
Regardless of the weather things still need to be planted out and the allotment beds are filling up.
Last week, I planted out two varieties of sweetcorn and for once the young plants were not flattened by the wind. The two beds were well apart and away from any corn planted on neighbouring plots. Corn will cross pollinate which can cancel out any desirable qualities gained from hybridisation. The plants were planted in blocks to aid pollination by the wind.
Martyn, planted out more beetroot and lettuce. He was, however being watched by an opportunistic vandal. He left the tray of young lettuce plants for a couple of minutes but when he returned to plant them, a wood pigeon had trashed two of the plants. The remnants were left by the tray. The pest had ripped the leaves but not actually eaten anything. Either they were not to its taste or it was an act of revenge for us covering the cherry tree. Looking up a single wood pigeon was perched on the wires watching us and no doubt grinning with satisfaction.
Our climbing beans will soon be ready for planting and so we erected the bean frame in readiness.
It sounds as though we didn’t do much last week but lots of time was spent weeding, strimming and of course watering.
For its size, the Tickled Pink apple has set quite a bit of fruit. At this stage, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was a plum tree.
The allotment roses are also now producing lovely fragrant flowers.
Our harvests are gradually on the increase.
As the leaves were brown and drying, I lifted a couple of garlics to check whether they had formed decent bulbs. Bulbs had formed and produced cloves.
The calabrese has only formed small heads presumably the weather has put the plants under stress. Rather than leaving them and risking them spoiling we are cutting them. In the pot is a tiny dahlia that we spotted growing in the greenhouse border, We lifted it and took it home to, maybe. grow on.
I lifted the rest of the autumn planted garlic and was pleased with the crop.
I also cut our first bunch of sweet Williams.
The second bunch of sweet Williams was for my sister.
The strawberries are now starting to gradually ripen. It’s now just a case of finding the ripe fruits before the slugs do.
The wood pigeons don’t just cause a problem only on the allotment. In previous years, I have planted busy lizzies or impatiens in the bed which also houses our bird bath. Last year, the plants were flattened by the stomping feet of wood pigeons. For most of the summer the bed looked a mess and ,as the bed is right outside one of our windows, we needed to change our planting scheme. We scratched our heads for something more sturdy in an attempt to thwart the dastardly pigeons.
We decided to see what was on offer at a nearby garden centre, where we opted for four patio roses and a couple of scented dianthus. Amongst these I planted the tête-à-tête daffodils and crocuses that had previously been planted in small pots and sunk into the soil. Hopefully, these plants will survive the attentions of the wood pigeons.
The visit to the garden centre fulfilled another role. It’s a dog friendly garden centre so gave Ruby her first taste of shopping. She behaved impeccably although, Martyn only just managed to stop her from becoming a shop lifter when a soft toy, conveniently placed at Ruby level, caught her attention.
Last week a Thai vegetable curry used our homegrown onion and garlic along with our frozen French beans and peas. The recipe seems to have disappeared off the internet. In addition to the above ingredients were green curry paste, stock, courgette, desiccated coconut, milk, coriander and I used Worcestershire sauce in place of soy or fish sauce.
Martyn has posted a video of our allotment activity here.
That’s all my news for now. As always stay safe and well.
This week I am linking to Dave’s Harvest Monday post on his Our Happy Acres blog
Hmm, think I might have lost my comment. Your plot is looking beautifully neat. Pigeons are always so hungry aren’t they. I have known 16 or so be in the big morello cherry tree at the end of the garden when the cherries are ripe. First strawberries here today, I think the snails are more of a problem than slugs here while a bit of the time. Love the title of the post, brilliant!
Your comment came through CJ but for some reason you were CH and as this was thought to be a new commenter I needed to approve it.
We have a couple in the garden too CJ On the allotment I found a snail at the top of one of our small apple trees. I think snails are worse when it os dry and also if you have dandy soil which slugs aren’t as comfortable with.
It’s all looking beautifully neat. I had the first strawberries from my new plants today, very nice. I have known 16 pigeons to be in the big morello cherry at the end of the garden when the cherries are ripe. We have had our own pair of pigeons in the garden over recent weeks as well, along with their friend. I think snails are generally a worse problem here than slugs. I have removed my last remaining zinnia onto the kitchen windowsill to protect it. Love the title of the post by the way, brilliant!
We can see how busy you’ve been! Your plots look amazing. I don’t think our garlic is quite ready ye, but we seem to be pretty level with you at the moment, albeit on a smaller scale.
Hoping for a bit of warmer weather soon (with night-time rain obviously 😉)
I totally agree about needing warnth and night time rain, Belinda
Ooh strawberries ripening! I suppose it is June. And I suppose I should look at my garlic too. As ever I am one step behind you!
Is it really June, Mal?. It doesn’t feel like it.
Lovely to see how well everything is growing. Your garlic is much bigger than mine. Your strawberries are ahead of mine too. Pigeons sure have a lot to answer for! Here’s to you getting some much needed rain.xxx
Maybe it’s the strawberry variety that is earlier, Dina.
Your watering must be doing the trick because things sure look green! That apple does indeed look like a plum at a glance. The dried spot on the end does give it it away.
I think the low temperatures help keep the grass green, Dave.