Respite From The Wind — on the Allotment

Much appreciated respite from the wind today, mild with a little sun thrown in for good measure.

Some bracing was required on the Climbing spinach teepee, which was almost horizontal on arrival. Heavy duty work was involved, with iron rod and mallet to break through the bedrock before the hazel supports could be re-positioned.

Today felt very productive. The very first strawberries shone like rubies amongst the straw and the plum tree is laden after several years of poor fruiting.

Tiny apples are popping up along the boughs – though this year’s harvest looks a bit lighter than last year’s bumper crop (we all need rest and recuperation sometimes). Nonetheless we began to thin these out whilst small, to encourage the development of decent size fruit rather than lots of tiddlers. The carrots were thinned too, rejects kept for adding to coleslaw, so no waste.

Sweetcorn, Pak choi and Savoy cabbage were all planted – lovely young plants!

All were protected with surrounding netting. Hopefully, they’ll continue to thrive now that they’re in Big School. We discussed re-introducing slug traps, remembering that last year’s Pak choi crop was so cruelly decimated. Watch this space…we’re hoping also that seeds planted today (purple-topped turnip, swede, radish and kohlrabi) will evade our competitor’s radar.

We added quinoa (Temuco), orache and self-pollinating courgettes (Sure Thing) around the base of the Climbing spinach over in the Unusual Veg bed, along with a hardy French bean from up North. All new plants were watered in well, irrespective of forecasted rain. As usual,  the day’s activities wouldn’t be complete without a heavy dose of weeding.

thin the plums; plant brassicas; nip the tops off the broad beans to discourage blackfly; move comfrey from the rhubarb bed over to our newly established comfrey bed the other side of the shed; continue weeding; mow and water as necessary.