Spring so far at the allotment
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Our allotmenting year started very early this year, if it started at all. It felt like we never made a distinction between finishing last year and starting afresh this spring. It's taken up so many hours each week, we're there most days pottering, checking or watering. At the weekends it's been more like a few hours each day, which when you add up all the hours it really comes to an awful lot.
Anyway, the recent late and hard frosts were a total pain and wrecked some of the beans, gave the potatoes and sunflowers a bashing and may well have scuppered the apples and cherries. We tried our best with insulating horticultural fleece on the potatoes, amongst other things. Our first earlies went in mid February so Monday evening was our first harvest of our 'rocket' tatties. They were absolutely delicious but tiny. We'll give them another week to grow a little more before taking another batch.
We have six varieties of potato in total (yes, that does sound like too many, doesn't it). They're all in various stages of growing. There's something beautiful about growing potatoes, it's quite unfathomable.
This year there are more beans than previous years as they're so easy to use and freeze as well. Broad beans for me! And borlotti beans for the first time.
The last of the winter leeks were dug up a fortnight ago and already the summer leeks have been planted out and the new winter ones re-potted in the greenhouse. The most exciting harvest over the last couple of weeks has been asparagus, which is such a luxury - a few more crowns were added last year. The rhubarb has also been fabulous, best eaten in a crumble though I'm yearning to make rhubarb and ginger compote/jam for myself.
This post is by no means exhaustive when it comes to listing all things going on at the plot, frankly I'd be racking my brains and writing all day. Our strawberry patch has been netted in preparation for the most exciting arrival of soft fruit, the flowers are everywhere now.
There was so much blossom on the trees in early spring, but who knows if we actually get any fruit. There is nothing to do but wait and see, though the plum and apricot trees need to be pruned in summer (the rest had their butchering in winter, though we now know better and will try for a more sympathetic trim this coming winter).
The onions, garlic and shallots are doing far better than usual (phew), the artichokes have surfaced bushier than ever, some brassicas have gone into the ground, carrots and parsnips have been sown... Pots in the greenhouse are yet to be planted out include pumpkins, courgettes and butternut squashes.
I want to talk about all things floral in a separate post as my enthusiasm for that tends to spill everywhere like shaking a bottle of pop before taking off the cap.
It's been a lot of hard work but we're getting there.
Sophie
Anyway, the recent late and hard frosts were a total pain and wrecked some of the beans, gave the potatoes and sunflowers a bashing and may well have scuppered the apples and cherries. We tried our best with insulating horticultural fleece on the potatoes, amongst other things. Our first earlies went in mid February so Monday evening was our first harvest of our 'rocket' tatties. They were absolutely delicious but tiny. We'll give them another week to grow a little more before taking another batch.
We have six varieties of potato in total (yes, that does sound like too many, doesn't it). They're all in various stages of growing. There's something beautiful about growing potatoes, it's quite unfathomable.
This year there are more beans than previous years as they're so easy to use and freeze as well. Broad beans for me! And borlotti beans for the first time.
The last of the winter leeks were dug up a fortnight ago and already the summer leeks have been planted out and the new winter ones re-potted in the greenhouse. The most exciting harvest over the last couple of weeks has been asparagus, which is such a luxury - a few more crowns were added last year. The rhubarb has also been fabulous, best eaten in a crumble though I'm yearning to make rhubarb and ginger compote/jam for myself.
This post is by no means exhaustive when it comes to listing all things going on at the plot, frankly I'd be racking my brains and writing all day. Our strawberry patch has been netted in preparation for the most exciting arrival of soft fruit, the flowers are everywhere now.
There was so much blossom on the trees in early spring, but who knows if we actually get any fruit. There is nothing to do but wait and see, though the plum and apricot trees need to be pruned in summer (the rest had their butchering in winter, though we now know better and will try for a more sympathetic trim this coming winter).
The onions, garlic and shallots are doing far better than usual (phew), the artichokes have surfaced bushier than ever, some brassicas have gone into the ground, carrots and parsnips have been sown... Pots in the greenhouse are yet to be planted out include pumpkins, courgettes and butternut squashes.
I want to talk about all things floral in a separate post as my enthusiasm for that tends to spill everywhere like shaking a bottle of pop before taking off the cap.
It's been a lot of hard work but we're getting there.
Sophie
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