Rain and rain and rain and...

Well the rain that was forecast has certainly arrived - no argument about that! It basically hasn't stopped since Saturday evening and today is Thursday. Heavy persistent rain which should do the ground no end of good but has damaged some of my seedlings. The picture below of the sweetcorn was actually taken on Monday after it had been battered for two days. Some of the shoots have collapsed but I'm hoping they will recover. The rain also brought the cold and its been noticeable how the plants haven't grown at the pace they were. Still on the plus side the plot had its second official vistors who tramped around and were very enthusuatic - even despite the downpour! Maybe next time the weather will be good and the plants much higher and who knows maybe even a harvest to be had?!

Sweetcorn and squash

Friday the 25th saw the last of the big planting completed. I've been gradually digging more of the front part of the plot and on Friday I got to plant it! I'd had butternut squash and sweetcorn growing in cells in the greenhouse for a few weeks so it was time to transplant them Rain was on the way for the weekend so I thought that would water them in nicely. I decided against the "three sisters" style of growing where the squash and swetcorn grow togther to make sure I understand these crops individually for the first year. The sweetcorn were planted in two blocks so I can get between them for watering. All in all I got 16 squash and 55 sweetcorn so hopefully we'll get a decent crop.

Up, up and away

Guess what? We've started growing!! The first signs of growth were spotted on the spuds on Monday and a more thorough check yesterday proved we've got loads of growth all round. Nearly 50% of the potatoes have broken through and some of the onions, both red and white, have new shoots. Its so exciting and pictures show the biggest potato and onion sprouts! Also plot62 is exactly one month old. I can't believe it - it feels much longer. Its so great to look back through and see how far we've come in such a short time....

Pumpkin patch

The pumpkin seeds germinated just over a week ago and they grow so fast this weekend was about time to plant them on. I've been digging the front of the plot for a few days to get it ready and with the help of my friend Dave we got 16 plants in. I'm thinking now they might a bit close only 2' apart but we'll see how they do. Each was helped along with a pile of rotted manure under the roots and a heathy watering in. The plan is to try and grow a couple of whoppers and then some smaller ones for eating. I've planted them near where the water butts will go so watering will be easier! Also I have plans for a secret growing concoction but more info on this another time....

Roots, roots and roots!

All secure and good to go it was time to transplant my carrots and parnsips that have been growing in the greenhouse for so long. I got them started weeks ago before I'd secured the plot so they were more than ready to be moved on. I'd tried out the paper pot method after understanding these root crops don't like being disturbed once set. The idea is that you transplant the whole lot and the paper degrades quickly once buried leaving the perfect root to fill out.

Rather than plant direct I decided to fork over the rows I would plant. This is the first time I'd dug this area of soil since the rotovator and was really pleased to see so few roots. I know its early days but it really looks like the roots that were there have now perished rather than growing again. Great news.

I laid twine to mark the rows - string in a tin very handy indeed! - and used a dibber to sort the holes. Before long I'd planted two rows each of carrot, parsnip, white onion and red onion plus a single row of beetroot. Sadly the onion sets were very poor because I'd had them so long. Still this is a learning year and I'm sure something will come.

So thats it. The first quarter of my crops sown and growing. I went for a carrotfly resistant seed so I'm not going to bother with the barrier method. Time will tell if this is the right decsion. So feet up now and more rain is coming to water it in (again)! Also rumour of new neighbours in plot 61 so we'll have to see if anything develops there.....

Rabbit proof fence

Saturday the 12th was a big day down on the plot. I knew I had all day to spare and the weather was going to be ok, maybe a few showers, but generally overcast. Main job was to complete the fence and finally have a secure boundary to plot62. Over the past week or so I'd completed digging a 1' deep trench round the boundary and mid week I'd hammered in the posts. I had a huge 50m roll of chicken wire and despite botching the first attempt where I rolled it all out rather than sections it did ok. Nailing the fence on was relativly easy but filling in the trench was back breaking. The sods I'd removed had been broken down by the rain and instantly crumbled when I tried to shovel them back. It took some doing but finally by early afternoon it was complete. The photo above shows the entrance to the plot and I also had chance to make a would-be gate from scrap wood. So all fenced in (or out depending on your point of view!) and its "safe" from rabbits. Lets get planting!!

Seedlings

Well work on the allotment has been postponed for quite a few days because of holidays and rain. I managed to squeeze in a couple of hours on Tuesday evening when I started to errect the rabbit proof fence but thats been it. Since then it hasn't stopped raining so I've been trapped indoors. However, thats not to say there is no progress as my sweetcorn seedlings have started to emerge. Several of the crops I'm planting have been started off in cells rather than planting straight in the ground. Last year I got a small 6'x6' greenhouse in the freeads so this should help them along nicely. In the above picture (left to right and back to front) I've got 20 leeks, 20 squash, 80 sweetcorn, 20 pumpkins, 7 courgettes, 20 parsnips and 20 carrots, not to mention the 9 tomatoes and 4 cucumbers round the edge!! I grew cucumbers and tomatoes (plus chillis and peppers) last year as my rookie attempt at growing veg. It went really well and we enjoyed the tomatoes and cucmbers so much I've sacrificed the others for more! Can't wait until these start cropping. Marketmore cucmbers and gardeners delight cherry toms mmmm!

Anyway rain or shine this weekend is a big at the plot so watch this space for updates. Heres hoping for the sun once more. Cheerio...