Been 'aving some work done.

We spend a lot of time at the allotment.

I spend every weekend of the spring and autumn at the plot and most weekend s of the summer too. With Coryn & Harry fully retired now there seems to be a lot more going on at the plot and a lot more tidying and organising.

No where is this more obvious than at the bottom of the plot.

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It stared with the shed. The ground was so uneven and dangerous after we finally rescued the shed from its hundred year slumber...

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that we had to put down slabs to make it safe. Before you know it the levelled ground in front of the shed was some two feet lower than the rest of the plot, so we bricked it in and it's kind of a sunken patio. It's nice.

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Then at about the same time the greenhouse came along. Concrete footings and a pathway down one side. All very civilised.

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Then last year came the herb patch which on the other side of the green house. That has now got a proper pathway too. It's meant to be groovy. (pics to follow)


It's a long story how this happened. Looks nice though right? Sometimes, just sometimes, you have a bricky on your hands and you have to keep him busy for an afternoon. (pics to follow)

Finally Harry dropped down some paving outside the greenhouse. Very tidy. (pics to follow)

So this is where most of the work for both plots goes on so it is sensible to have all this safe clean working area to deal with. It's great. (pics to follow)

But how would you react if I told you that now about one sixth of my plot is now concrete.

The prenials plot

I am very lucky to have one and one half allotment plots.

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The half plot contains our fruit trees, the asparagus and the bean frames (as I won't have runner beans and french beans on my plot).



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From time to time we grow other catch crops down there too. This yuear we have squirreled away some cauliflowers down on the plot. With a few exceptions the plot runs itself for 30 weeks of the year. Everyting happens at the same time and the same place every year.



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No crop rotation and nothing too exotic just berries,
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fruit
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aspargus
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and beans.
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With occasional line of something that we could not squeeze on the larger plot.
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It's a happy little place. I like it down here.

Slicing and dicing with death.

First up, the first picture of the Engine Room.




Tricked out and full to bursting just like everyone else's this time of year. A snap shot from late April of the happiest place I know that does not have a wine rack.


Among the many wonderful things growing on my plot this time of year I was most pleased to this year's spring crop of pretty, colourful, and let's face it, deadly fungus.

After the last couple of years of wood chip delivery to the site for our pathways we've been getting some pretty weird and wonderful fungus growing on our highways and byways on the plot. Most of the fungus arrives in great eruptions during October after the first cold snap.

So here are the Spring 2010 runners and riders.

This looks flat out scary.
I'm going to call it "The Purple Nasty". It's also red so it will just have to go.


This one looks like it would sooner kill me as look at me.
Currently lurking with a few of his buddies under my raspberry bushes. Lets call this "The Yellow Peril".

This little guy is lurking on my path by the herb patch.
Just from the smell of this one I'll christen is "The Brown Trouser".

This one however looks like it could be quite, quite delicious.
...or because fungus is such a tricksy and deviuos quarry, it could easily be quite, quite killy.

For argument sake let's call it a Morel. A non edible, now covered by a cage, dangerous, and potentially deadly Morel.

So this little lot could make one of my already pretty spectacular omelets in to a dream breakfast...

or they could put me and a chosen breakfast companion in hospital for ten days.


As reckless and easlily led as I can be, even I know not to muck about then it comes to fungus. I'd better get an expert in for these bad boys. I bet my expert takes them all away for further investigation! I would.

Perhaps we could make a field trip out of the expert's visit. I'll let you know how I get on.

Aspargus update

At the beginning of the warmest, dries April I've known for some time the Asparagus started to emerge from under the winter mulch. I carefully cleared all the mulch away and look what I found.

So by late April as the warm dry weather continued most of my Asparagus is already past the eating point so I can stop sitting on my hands and enjoy the wonder of this strange but very delicious early cropping vegetable.

This is the Anniversary of the Asparagus being planted. They were cute little one year old roots when we put them in last year. This year we can take a few stems but what's the point? As Smoky said. "A taste of honey is worse than none at all".

Next year we'll be able to eat loads of this stuff and I'll be sure to post some nice inventive recipes.

This year I just get to water and feed and nurture my crop. It's tantalising.

This all started with a dead lavender plant

The herb patch is now finished it's winter construction and the path is looking smashing. Some of the unsightly blue water barrels that have been lurking at the top of the patch will find a more suitable home where they can earn their keep.

One herb patch casualty of the winter has been the lavender. Sad, but Coryn sprang into action and bought a replacement. Top work Coryn!


The new lavender is outside of the main herb patch so I have more room for cooking herbs. Great.

However, together with the lavender came something else,



and another thing,


and something that she had at home,


this one was a 2for1 deal,


and one I've had this at home for years and it's never really taken off at home so I thought it might do better down here.

Don't let your guard down fellas. The first sign of weakness and you'll have yourselves a cottage garden just like mine. It's my own fault. I got a bit flouncy with the sunflower seeds. In stead of getting Army issue "FLOWERS"Sun, for the use of. I had to get Italian Whites and Dwarf Sprays. Slippery slope.

This is a slippery slope. Slippery slope is not a type of sunflower.

Flipping things should come with a warning. Caution: Sun flowers may turn you into a florist not a vegetable gardner! They are a gateway flower.

Sure I grow a few sunflowers. We keep them for the bees. It's no big deal I can handle it. Those? Oh they're Nestersions. Yes they are flowers but they're edible! They are lovely in salads. Very Sweet. Ah! No. That's a pansy. No you can't eat them. I just think they look pretty!

Now look where I am. Cut flowers up the Waszoo. Which is also rugby tour punishment. Oh, now I'm just over compensating.

My name is Rad and I grow flowers. It would appear.

Chicks Man

We have some keen chicken fanciers in our Society. With their help and the kind donation of a quarter plot from on of the senior members we have a chicken coup.

Our shed is finished. Bits have been begged and acquired from all sources. It cost us about £45 each so far which between six of us is pretty good. Orange. huh! Seemed a bit odd when I first saw it. I quite like it now.

These are our chicks.

Not sure what variety the white one is, but those red heads are the Buff Orpington. We have 15 chickens in all. No boys allowed on the plot as the cockerels will drive the neighbours mental with all their noise.

Two are obviously roosters. However, if any more of these juveniles turn out to be boys, and it's so difficult to tell at this stage, its a piping hot stock pot for them just as the garlic coming into season. Great timing. Coq au Vin is a very rare treat.

I have stupid chickens. More pictures and tales of their monumental stupidity will follow.

'Erbs man!

The bed is really taking off this year.

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After my tentative but determined start the bed will be fuller and busier this year.

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More Thyme, more Sage, more Chives and more Parsley. This is the stuff I use all the time.

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The Lavender bit the icy bullet this year so that's coming out. Don't look.

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The Tarragon survived the icy blasts from the East this winter much to my surprise and delight. I think I will propagate this one this year.

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The Rosemary is looking quite chipper following its winter surgery.

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Some of the space I will use for pots. I've got some coriander hardening off outside. That will stay on buckets as the slugs love this stuff.

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The mint is one I bought for my pea soup I made for our come dine with me extravaganza. Yes we did a CDWM.


Anyway, The Mint I had was dying and I bought this one in Sainsbury’s and kept this one in the bucket over wintered in the green house. It survived and I hope that it will grow a little faster now that it's in its final position. You have to keep these bucket bound or the mint will just take over every where.

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Sweet pea Jungle has been started off in route trainers so I'll have my summer fence in position in a couple of weeks.

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