The grassy areas need strimming, though I did manage to do a little weeding before I collapsed with heat stroke while trying to avoid falling through the huge cracks that have appeared in my heavy clay soil through lack of rain..  Lol. Funny how this heat hasn’t stopped the weeds !

I have some casualties too.. My lettuce has bolted. There were only four left which succumbed to the heat over the weekend despite my efforts to try and shade them. Some of my second sowing of peas has pea moth – not sure how that happened as I usually manage to avoid them, it’s never been a problem in the past.. Also.. My plot has been invaded by black ants, zillions of the little sods..  I can cope with black fly even slugs but ants crawling over my veg really gives me the willies. My plot is one big ant hill at the moment..

And on a brighter note. Ta Da..

I have finally managed to grow fennel. Third time lucky!

This is colossus  a bolt resistant variety from real seeds..

Yep.. I would agree with that, its doing really well despite the heat and lack of rain were having at the moment. I’m not counting the two minutes of drizzle we had yesterday..

I started these off in pots in April then planted out in June. In the past I sowed direct as per instructions and got nothing, zilch..

I thought I had 2 Mini Pumpkin plants growing away nicely at my plot , though, one is now looking suspiciously like a courgette plant. I planted them around the base of my sweetcorn where I thought they would sprawl gracefully  along the ground. One of these is getting taller and wider by the day !

Hmm. Ok who switched labels ?  Not guilty came the reply!

I grow verde di milano courgettes every year, only one, as they are so prolific.. This year my one and only courgette was killed by a beastie trampling on it and breaking the stem, though now I’m more inclined to think it was a size 10 boot taking a short cut over my plot.. Only time will tell just what I have planted next to my sweetcorn , did I sow two courgettes or could it be a Patti pan. I vaguely remember getting the seeds out then changing my mind..

I’m ignoring the fact that my Roma tomatoes that are growing up the black pole  probably think its a bit too close for comfort..

Senior moment number two!

What the hell is this?

I’ve grown romanesco cauliflowers before so this year I thought I would try a new variety – Only three, then if they got the thumbs up from my family I would grow more next year..

Grown in 2007/2008

I’ve scrutinised the seed packet looked through my gardening books and googled images. Its supposed to be similar in size to a normal cauliflower low growing with similar planting distances – just like the one in the photo. So.. how come I’m growing a triffid ! They are planted with my cauliflowers with netting to keep the cabbage whites off – towering over my cauliflower’s and are at risk of breaking through the netting. Whatever they are, they will have to stay confined as I’m not risking having cauli’s infested with caterpillars – lord knows what I’ve sown

Senior moment number three

I haven’t grown these for a few years. I used to grow a couple of plants in hanging baskets at home. So why on earth did I sow and plant these out on my plot.? They are tumbler. Yep, they tumble down, they are not interested in climbing up the pole I put in for them. Hubs is not impressed as he was looking forward to the sweet million cherry tomatoes. He pointed out while watering that they were sprawling across the ground and not climbing the pole – whoops..

I’m off for a lay down now !!

Edited…

Doh..silly me… blushing… of course they are sunflowers..

My brain just didn’t make the connection.  Sunflowers in my brassica bed was the last place I’d expect to see them.  I’ve moved them to the back of my plot next to the two I have  growing, though I’m not sure they will survive being transplanted. I usually pop a seed in the ground and water like Jack and the beanstalk – these now have a major sulk on after being moved..

Still.. its a mystery how they got there in the first place ?

This shows some of my small plot. The Runner Beans are growing up the Canes. The Courgettes are looking healthy with their pop bottles wedged in to water them. The Cabbages are forming beautifully beneath the Black netting on the left. The Winter Onions are behind the Runner Bean Canes. The Summer Onions are to the right. Behind them all rows of Potatoes are growing on in the dry summer heat.

I have this beautiful Gallardia in flower in my hexagonal planter next to the Shed. It has a little aphid hanging on it too. My allotment has two small planters, a miniture garden for when im away from the new house.
The allotment is always alive with the sounds of the birds and bee’s. Insects are running wild. I heard a Woodpecker today, and saw a little Hawk hunting high over the allotment plots. The only sounds was bird song and my scraping Hoe.

The Hot weather has thrown up some problems however. The Carrots have barely germinated, and there seems to be a serious infestation of little white flys on the Swedes, Cabbages, and Broccoli’s.What can i plant to stop the White Flys? The Garlic leaves have picked up a Rust infection from somewhere. Why is that?
I am not a Vegetable expert so I will read up and google these problems.I am trying to keep on top of the Weeds, but forgot about the pests. It will be an ongoing struggle to keep them all in check.

Despite the sunburn, nettle and thistle stings, and sweat pouring off me, I love the peace of the allotment. I photographed this magnificent Shield Bug walking down a blade of grass. The allotment plot may be manipulated by me, but nature is always all around me. My camera is a regular companion always ready to photograph Bugs or Beds (Vegetable ones that is).

I wandered from my plot to a deserted one that is going wild. These flowers were lovely like plump Daisys. They have such happy flowers in the White and Yellow. I think they are called May Weed..

Growing in the midst of an overgrown plot were these Foxgloves. These are such a traditional English Cottage garden plant. These had purple speckles on their gloves throats. Once they have flowered I will try to collect some seeds. These are the flowers of an English Summer, with the steady drone of Bee’s collecting the nectar from their deep cups. I watched Swifts flying around above me swooping and soaring. They are the Birds of an English Summer with their shrieking sound. I also heard a mournful Cuckoo today at the plot.
After five hours weeding, making coffee, and admiring the wild flowers we drove back. Cat stopped the car on the road out of Walton. The sun made these fields of Wild Poppies shimmer in the sunlight. They bloom in great swathes in the farmers fields. They are such an important part of the Summer. I love the blood red blooms.
Tomorrow we go to Birmingham for Gardeners World Live at the NEC..

Weve moved on from the early days of tomatoes and potatoes and the current growing list includes globe artichokes, figs, blueberries, black currants, gooseberries, rhubarb, swiss chard, kale, sprouts, cabbage, purple sprouting brocolli, radishes, lettuces, broad beans, peas, beans, onions, garlic, rocket, pak choi, butternut squash, winter squash, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries, raspberries, damsons, apples, far too many courgettes, beetroots and of course – tomatoes and potatoes.

So you can see why the growing space is ever expanding!

If its not planted up, there will no doubt be another courgette planted in it by the end of the week! My plan was to grow loads of them to make pasta sauces which we could freeze. I am starting to wonder if weve over done it – just how many courgettes can one family eat!

The chickens have their home on the plot. We bought their house on ebay and BH built the pen. The door is actually our old baby gate reworked – genius or what?

We recently scrapped some very rotten old coldframes and cleared a space between the green houses. This needs some serious tidying but in the meantime its become the perfect place for a spot of supervising.

Last year BH presented with me the most romantic gift a girl could ask for – hand built compost boxes – I swear that man knows the direct route to my heart… We took the covers off them in February and found that all those slimy peelings and cuttings had turned into the most awesome soil. It really is magic!

However this popped out of the heap today…

Its a ‘Grow Your Own Grandpa’!!!

I’ve been offered two free tickets to Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC in Birmingham, 16th – 20th June, but I can’t make it So the tickets are up for grabs. They’re yours if you agree to take some lovely photos, and write a short piece on the show for My Tiny Plot. Please email me a link to something that you’ve written online and ideally an example of your photography. May the best man (or woman) win!

Make a Strawberry Bed

• Mark out a rectangular plot, 10 feet square will produce a reasonable crop.
• Dig over the ground and add 2-3 buckets of organic matter per square yard.
• Buy plants in September or April that are guaranteed disease free
• Plant in rows 16″ apart, water and keep watered until the plants are established.
• A board around the edge of the bed makes it look tidy.

Growing Strawberries

• When fruit appear put straw or black polythene under the fruit to keep slugs off and the fruit clean.
• Birds may want to feast on your strawberries so put some string or netting across the bed.
• Plants will crop for 3 years but start off a new bed to maintain continuity.
• Runners should be removed or they will sap the strength from the plant resulting in less fruit.
• To avoid disease don’t plant strawberries where peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and potatoes have been grown.

24 varieties of Strawberry are available from  Thompson Morgan.

Tips. Strawberries do not need much feeding but do need plenty of water when fruiting.

Just back from a flying visit to the plot this morning “chilly out there” and my onions, potatoes, peas, beetroot, carrots, broadies are all up. Still no sign of my asparagus. I need to ask my lottie neighbour “when I next see her” how long her crowns took to come through – I thought there would be signs of life by now..

Off now to tackle mount wash-more..  *sigh*

The warm weather has made the Rhubarb leaves huge like a Gunnera. They have grown onto the path at the side making it hard to get around them without getting scratched by the huge Gooseberry bush. Clearing a path is another job for another day.

The jobs you think that will not take long end up taking hours. Pat had to fiddle about with the guttering, and add an extra layer of the roofing so the water ran down into the gutter. She stuck the tarmac roof down with bathroom sealer, then painted it with a tar mix. I poured water from a watering can onto the roof to see how the water ran. The guttering slopes towards the black bin, and the water made a loud splash as it fell into the water but. I will watch the weather now hoping for rain so I can see how much my guttering will collect.
I always under estimate how long things will take, like weeding, or digging a new bed. I was up at the plot for six and half hours.The second thing today was I heard the first Cuckoo of the year (in fact my first Cuckoo ever in real life, not on the TV).
The third thing was.. I found a deceased Shrew on my raised bed. I have never seen one in real life. They are elusive and lightning quick. He was so soft to touch, and had a little snout with whiskers. Life is too harsh sometimes. I wander if he was caught by a bird of prey and dropped by accident landing on my plot?

Talking of strange things I am making a tyre planter to sit on the corner of my shed. I found it in a rubbish heap. I have filled it today with soil ready for planting tomorrow.
Cat came to pick me up from the allotment and we drive to the garden centre at Hampsons. This crazy duck had made her nest from pot plants on top of a wheeled display trolley. She had decanted the ferns out of the pots and was arranging them in a nest shape. She watched me and cat go plant shopping.
I have a selection to plant at the allotment. I want the Cottage Garden plot to be full of colour if I’m spending a lot of time up there.
I will be back tomorrow to take the Cabbages/Broccolis/ and Swedes up, plant the tyre container, make a cage to protect the juvenile plants from the Pigeons.
I bet it takes longer than I think it will.