Growing Off Piste

No Allotment? No Problem!
We have a really ugly window with bars on at the front of our workshop. To try and disguise it, and possibly get something nice to eat I filled some old parts bins with compost, and planted some green beans.

I have to make sure and water them every day, the "pots" are quite small. I also threw a little "growmore" fertilizer on top. This week the first flowers started showing. Next stop beans? I hope so.

To make it look a little nicer than the poorly fitted bars, I tied garden canes in place. This is good for the beans to grow up, and makes the whole thing look a bit more finished, at least I think so.
I finished the look off with some slug barrier copper wire, looped against the canes.
Slug wire and Grow More are available on Amazon.

Wet Weekend and Asparagus

The weekend was mostly rainy, so no need to water the plot. This was a bonus, so I was able to spend most of the weekend preparing Kates birthday party.
As I have said before, we work on the allotment as and when we can.
I did get chance between showers to take some pictures.
The plot is looking okay, but still plenty of those pesky weeds to try and get on top of this week.
I am hoping for some good weather.

This year, we have been able to pick a regular crop of Asparagus

 

And now I am going to allow it to run to its Fern state, so it can build some energy in the root. Hopefully this means we can get another good crop next year.

Weeding, Strawberries and Chatting

I had a couple of hours available last night, so I decided to do a little work on the plot.
As usual, my two hours was not particularly productive.
15 minutes weeding
30 minutes watering
15 minutes picking strawberries
about an hour chatting with another plot holder

Weeding
There are two ways to go with this, the quickest and easiest is to push a hoe through the top 1/4" of the soil. This cuts the weed leaves from the root, and they can wither away over a day or so. A better, but more involved way is to pull the weed out completely. This is the patch I am going to have a go at.

There are some young beetroot plants amongst this lot, so I chose to pull the weeds out instead of hoeing.
You will need

1. Bucket ( to put the weeds in)
2. Fork ( to gently loosen the soil)
3. Kneeling Pad ( seriously! )
4. Time

We have divided the plot up into individual beds, with bark chip paths between. This means that I can weed a patch, and see a finished product, even if I only have a short amount of time.

The soil is loosened by pushing the fork in by the weed, a gentle levering upwards, then taking it back out. I am not trying to dig the weed out, just loosen the soil.
The weeds will snap if you don't get your fingers right down by the root, so expect to get dirty. I pull as quickly as I can without snapping. You can feel the tension required after a while, and it becomes fairly easy.
This was the result of 15 minutes work

And the beetroot is left to get on with its job.

Strawberries
There is not a single thing nicer on a warm evening than to find that your strawberry patch is full of ripe strawberries. Plump and juicy, and unmarked by the usual critters.
This evening was one of those times!
No slug damage! The copper wire seems to have done its job
No bird damage! The netting was a good idea

We don't place straw around our Strawberries any more. The last time we did, we were over run with grass growing from it, and when it got wet it just went yucky. We now just put bark chippings between them, it seems to be ok.
I got a good haul!

Remember though, the golden rule when picking
"One for the basket, one for the mouth" ( don't tell Kate!)

Watering
Even though the year started off very wet, the last few days have been bright and sunny. I like to water every other day if I can, and give everything a really good soak.
It only takes about 1/2 an hour and as usual, the next day it rains, bloomin typical :(

Neighbours
Our Allotment site has a friendly bunch on it. If you are looking for a site, try and choose one where they are miserable and unfriendly. Why? You will get MUCH more work done!
Joking apart, it is good to share time with the other plot holders. Last night Ali came down to discuss digging, and how to break up our clay soil. Of course, this leads to sampling Strawberries and Radish ( not a good combination) and planning the next assault on the seed shops.

Mid May

Pictures of my plot after a few weekends of work, dodging the rain

Plot 67

June 22nd 2014
I have decide to keep a blog of the work I get up to at my allotment, and maybe throw in some of the other growing I do.
I work on the plot with my wife, Kate. It would be great if we could keep ourselves self sufficient in veggies for the year, but as we both work, growing has to be an as and when affair.
Last year we won the prize for the largest onion in show at the local Fete, but this year, we have no chance.
We arrived down at the allotment this year to find it had suffered. Admittedly, we had been absent for about 4 months, and we had only got our lazy butts down to the plot because the council had sent us a warning letter to start cultivating or leave, but we were still devastated to see what it was like.
The rain had waterlogged most of the area, and the weeds and grass had grown to about 3 foot high. The pathways were covered in weeds, and nothing edible was showing.
We didn't do any work that day, we went home and had a long discussion as to wether we should continue.
Kate works in the NHS and is out early and back late. I am running a small business selling electronics ( see my website here ). So time is not something we are rich with.
The decision was made that I would try and get the plot in control over a few weekends.
The next few weeks saw torrential rain.
Eventually though, we could make a start, and the weeds were strimmered,  just to stop the council repo!
Two phrases keep popping in to my head.
1. Bulls**t baffles brains  (so if I make it look worked they will probably believe it is worked)
2. You are always in the s**t its only the depth that varies