Didn't we have a lovely time...

This is the kind of thing we like to do in an hour at the allotment, YS digs holes - isn't there a soil test that goes something like this? I've no idea how long the hole took to empty though as it kept getting refilled. Whilst he was busy, I planted a 2 sisters bed (the beans will go elsewhere) and checked out the broad beans. The 2 sisters bed looks as if it is surrounded by weeds, tragically it is. We also had a harvest! 2 cauliflowers grown by me from plugs, 12 radish grown by os a few of the larger broad beans grown by me and the ever present rhubarb from the previous plotholder although nurtured by me since. Of course I forgot to photograph my harvest box and now it has all been eaten so you'll just have to trust me.

The road to...

Or rather the road from. From the allotment that is. It struck me the other day when I met a tourist on the path, what a pretty part of the world we live in. First tourist I've ever heard of in these parts though!

Feast and famine

Weeds everywhere! Plants where I didn't put them - the parsnip is from 2 years ago and the potato from last year. Disaster in the asparagus patch, where one plant has not appeared at all and one got broken during todays weeding session, there were only three to start with. Snails back in the compost bin. Will anything planted by me on purpose ever produce a harvest this year? Not so far but os's radishes made a tasty snack as we ate the thinnings, the rhubarb is still going strong and I have pods on the broad beans and green strawberries and an almost courgette flower. I love this time of year!

Water Water Everywhere

You might think with all the rain we've been having watering wouldn't be top of our list. The shelf thingy in the background is excellent at stopping chicken nibbling so we use it a lot, but layers 2 and 3 stay very dry no matter how much rain we get, so ys helps me to water each day. Layer 4 is not used as the chickens like to shelter here from the rain and stand on anything they don't fancy eating. The chickens like to nip round to see what we are up to so ys has invented a chicken drink station and that needs watering too.

It's a small world

It's strange this blogging business we all do the same stuff at the same time. Like Carrie at growourown, I have discovered the perpetrator of the crime - maybe the ladies were innocent after all? Look where he is heading...The lettuce are doomed,doomed I say!
And like Maureen at allotment heaven we have also been creating free bouquets, this one was created by ys for Grandma's birthday, the present giving mylarke is pretty easy when you are 3, Grandmas are satisfied with pretty much anything at all. Pretty though isn't it?
So the challenge for this week will have to be, do something original. That lets me off weeding for a week then...

Growing, growing, gone

We sent most of the plants outside "on their holidays" to harden off today, the tomatoes have grown considerably since I last showed you. The cute pictures of YS planting the sweetcorn are irretrievably lost in the great camera disaster, but the results he's got are good. Just after these pictures the chickens (who I am no longer refering to as ladies) pecked off two sweetcorn, uprooted another and pulled a couple of leaves from the tomatoes. Perhaps they heard we had chicken in black bean sauce for dinner? Now where is that air rifle? (only joking - for the moment at least...).

Shed break ins

Apparently 4 sheds have been broken into up at the plot over the weekend. Yesterday evening I was up there until 9.15 so I'm not sure when it was done but I'm in shock. You read about these things but I didn't think it would happen in our rural paradise. Reality check for me and a slight uncomfortable feeling about being out on my own in the near dark which I so love. Damn them!

Away to the woods

We went for a lovely walk in the woods this afternoon, the bluebells were magnificent. A photo would have been good wouldn't it?
Ah well you can't have everything...
On the plot the weeds are still growing well. Weed control will be the main task tommorrow.