If you build it, they will come...

Last years effort 

So last year was the first year on our allotment and I was desperate to be as organic as possible and welcome the local wildlife in. I couldn't put a pond on my plot but I had a brainwave to dig down a hole and place an old washing up bowl, fill it with stones and water and surround it with wild flowers.  I had heard rumours of frogs and newts but I had never seen any and I was desperate to plant bits and pieces to feed the bees and other pollinators so they would visit my patch more.

Now, you can just about see where
the washing up bowl is (top left)

At the time my washing up bowl caused much amusement as people did not think it would work. Well it didn't, not that year anyway, but this year we have newts, a family of frogs and lots of other little guys visiting our plot and I couldn't be more excited! No one has moved into the hedgehog house yet but I am hopeful for the end of the year.

Alan

Rupert

The rest of the plot is doing ok. The potatoes have really let us down this year, mainly I think because red ants decided to nest underneath them - which really wouldn't have helped. Runner and French beans however have been marvelous and we are pretty much eating beans with every meal as well as supplying my Mum and the neighbours. I have also started my Christmas hamper preparation and made a batch of Courgette & Runner Bean Chutney which is going to mature for at least four weeks before it gets the taste test and Rhubarb and Ginger Jam (although at the moment it doesn't taste like rhubarb or ginger and more like the lemons I used for pectin).

The sweetcorn is growing strong and the pumpkins are getting bigger and bigger. Strawberries have done well this year but we never seemed to get to them before everything else did. Brassicas have been a complete flop as usual, I may or may not give up on them next year - I haven't decided yet. Tomatoes are going great guns, we have had quite a few courgettes (some marrows from the ones I ignored) and a solitary cucumber.


I hope every thing is going well down on your plots.

Happy digging and lots of love,

Tracey xx

PS don't forget to put a dish of water out for the wildlife, especially in this hot weather, it will be much appreciated x

Pumpkins a go-go

Soooooo we are at the end of July, the weather has been up and down and the weeds have been thriving as always!

Everything that seemed to do well last year seems to be struggling a little this year - potatoes, courgettes, gooseberries and raspberries haven't been as good, however on the flip side everything that didn't do that well last year is going great guns. The sweetcorn is looking strong, plenty of tomatoes, but this year the 'yay' award goes to the pumpkins which are doing so well. Last year I tried to grow squash and we got nothing but plant, this is my first year of growing pumpkins. I was advised to plant them around my sweetcorn as we have a badger that likes to come and nick your corn once it is ready - the pumpkin storks are quite spiky and can deter them (although they are welcome to take a couple). I am so impressed, we seem to have around ten growing (more want to but I'm going to trim the plant so the goodness goes into the ones we have already).

Old faithfuls which we seem to be able to rely on every year are the redcurrants, blackcurrants, rhubarb, runner and french beans, the strawberries do well but seem to get eaten before we can get to them. The freezer is getting quite full so I am due a big jamming session to make my Christmas presents, it's also the allotment open day at the end of the month so I need to make some jars for that.

We have also had some more newts spotted in our tiny wildlife section which is very exciting! Although no one has decided to move into the hedgehog house yet I have seen some possible hog poo, so I'm hoping they are checking out the area and will take a liking to it.

How is everything going on your plots?

Hope you are all well and happy digging!

Lots of love

Tracey xx

Allotment Wars

I never realised til now just how many wars were actually going on in the allotment or garden, it really is a jungle out there! This year I have been blessed with many ladybirds, more to do with the fact I have an abundance of greenfly than anything else. So the ladybirds battle the greenfly for me, then the ants come along. The ants like the sugary secretions the greenfly make so they will fight the ladybirds, one tree I have is a real battleground! Who knew?

I am presently having a battle myself with the pesky slippery little suckers, the slugs.  They are pretty much munching their way through some of my plants and have practically decimated my cucumbers. I like to be as organic as possible with my gardening, I figure there are a lot of beasties living in the same environment and certainly the friendly ones I do not wish to harm, so for those hungry gastropods I thought I would create a few slug pubs so they can wash those plants down after a long day. The yeast in the lager attracts them into what ever container you choose (I use buried jam jars), then they swill the night away singing sea shanties until they finally meet their drunken demise. It's the nicest way I can think of and it certainly won't effect any passing hedgehogs...

So that leads me to another war, one that I'm having in my head. I'm trying to attract the wildlife into my plot as many of them are friends and will actually take care of the critters you don't want. Rhys built a hedgehog home, we have a very tiny wildlife pond (we recently had a newt visitor much to our delight - we called him Alan), a pile of rocks, insect house, bird feeders etc. I'm trying to be organic too, so what do you do when your neighbours use weedkiller, slug pellets etc? Don't get me wrong, there is nothing in the rule book that they have to be organic, that's their prerogative, but should I be encouraging wildlife to an area when next door could be deadly? I am in a real quandary and if anyone has an answer for me I would be so grateful.

Apart from the battles and fights everything else seems to be going well, toms, potatoes, mange tout, beans, courgettes, sweetcorn, rhubarb, pumpkins, raspberries, garlic, beetroot, gooseberries and blackberries seem to be holding their own. It's mainly weeding, watering and planting at the moment and that is probably one of my favourite times.

I hope you are all having as much enjoyment out of your plots as I am,

Much love and happy digging

Tracey x

May is the month

Well this month it feels like everything is taking off, a little bit of sunshine and the sap is rising in everything (including the weeds!). Bertha (the poly tunnel in case you had forgot her name) is doing her job nicely at nurturing seeds that are now seedlings, along with keeping my tomato plants and mange tout in grow bags nice and toasty. 

May the fourth has more recently been thought of as Star Wars day (may the force - I know you know but somebody who has just got out of bed might be reading this), but I will now also remember it for some advice I was given by Tom our eighty something resident long term allotmenteer. My runner beans are doing so well in Bertha that I may need to put them out a little early, although I would be unlucky to get a late frost there is still the chance. Tom has advised me next year to sow them direct into the ground on 4th May every year - they take 3 weeks to come up by which time we are nearly at the beginning of June they have missed any chance of frost. I will have to pop mine out this weekend, keep an eye on the weather forecast and hope for the best, I might even pop a seed in next to each plant to try and prolong my crop. My runner bean glut was quite prolific last year and my Mum and neighbours are banking on me keeping them stocked this year so I can't fail. We have put the canes up in anticipation, a long frame for the runners and a couple of wigwam style structures for the french beans, beetroot will be planted in the middle of the frames so no space is wasted. 

The potatoes are doing well, we have earthed them up once and they are coming through again. The rhubarb is growing nicely, the strawberries have started to flower and the raspberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants look well on their way. There will be leeks and courgettes to be sown out soon and cucumbers for another spare grow bag in Bertha. 

I love the fact I can finally see some progress, the sun has been shining, but the weeds are fairly prolific and probably take up more time than anything else. Never the less standing back and looking at what you have achieved is good for the soul. 

Hope you are all having a lovely time in your plots and gardens,

Much love and happy digging 

Trace xx 

A pretty wet start...

Well it hasn't been the best start to allotment season, we are at the beginning of May and during April we had all seasons in one day. Sunshine to thunder, hail to snow, wind, so much rain, warm dry spells but not enough to get young plants out, plus the frosts keep coming...

Luckily for my birthday my boyfriend, Rhys, bought me a poly-tunnel - I have called her Bertha and I am hoping she will become the heart of my plot. Bertha has enabled me to start growing even though the weather is still unpredictable, I'm hoping she will also mean I have red tomatoes this year (they are only ever green with our lack of sun - fine for my Green Tomato Chutney but a few red would be nice), hopefully cucumbers will do well with the extra heat and I may be able to grow more than one solitary pepper!

Presently there are sweetcorn, runner beans, french beans and courgette seeds starting to pop up and tomatoes, peppers, chillis, aubergine, sprouts, radishes, leeks and mange tout growing nicely. With the rest of the plot we are thinning out the strawberries and raspberries and generally tidying as much as we can.

Some of the cabbages were planted out today and covered with a miniature poly-tunnel to help protect them from frost. Last year all my brassicas got clubroot so I have moved their position and I am hoping we may be luckier this year.


So far the potatoes are not even showing! However the rhubarb is making up for it and last years crown is going from strength to strength!

All in all I am still enjoying the plot, but I would be enjoying it even more if the sun would make more of an appearance, everything needs some heat and will no doubt grow like billio once things warm up.

I hope you are all having a good time :)

Happy digging and much love

Tracey xx

Better late than never...

So this Winter was mild but very wet and Spring so far has been the same! 

I'm not totally behind, but with pain and am impending operation I cannot do as much as I would like at the allotment presently. To be fair the rain just keeps coming and that is making it hard to make a good start. 

Digging over has started the last couple of weeks, half of the plot we have covered with tarpaulin whilst we sort the other half out (makes me feel less anxious and able to work on it a bit at a time). 

A general tidy up was needed, lots of weeding and digging in of manure. Back at the end of Feb I cut all the raspberry canes to around 6 inches, I have trimmed the herbs back and we have started to dig the strawberry plants out (they would happily take over the whole plot left to their own devices!). 

I have sown two different types of potato at the beginning of the month, Aaron Pilot and Pink Fir, I just hope the rain since has not impaired their growth at all, we may have rotted before we have even got going! 

I have planted some garlic given to me by my green fingered friend, Lee (thank you Lee), into the Belfast sink, there is some spinach from last year that is just about holding on in there and I have started sowing sweetcorn in trays and tomato seeds and courgettes in pots back at the house. I was also gifted a beautiful cherry tree from my lovely friend Kat (thanks Kat), hopefully it will be very happy on our plot. 

The rhubarb crowns I planted last year seem to be doing very well. I have given them plenty of manure and they seem to be thriving, hopefully we may be able to eat some this year (we had to resist last year as you are meant to give them a year to settle in), I'm hoping Rhubarb and Ginger jam may be in the Christmas Hampers this year.

Fingers crossed for the sunshine this year, I love the rain, it cleans everything and helps stuff grow - but we could certainly do with a balance! 

How is everyone getting on so far? 

Lots of love and happy digging 

Trace xx

Everything changes...

It is amazing to see how the seasons have such an effect on such a small plot of land. Wonderful to watch nature do it's job, even if it means the weeds, mud and grass are a pain in the arse. I have to be honest the last couple of weeks I have neglected the plot. It has been miserable weather and I have been in a lot of pain and am awaiting surgery so it has been put slightly on the back burner.

Going up today I realised I still wasn't too far behind everyone else. It's all about tidying, composting, preserving and fertilizing. I have put cardboard down on certain parts to stop the weeds popping through too. Some bits are still growing; radishes, beetroot, baby carrots and spinach, but the peas had died a very sad death and with all this wind we decided to put the canes away till next year.

It all looks very green but there is still much work to be done. The raspberry bushes will need chopping down to about six inches high, the gooseberry bush needs the old wood cutting out of the middle and well the blackcurrants need something (I will need to look that one up). I need to dig up the strawberry plants and all the runners they have given me this year, weed in between and get them replanted.

Although I love Christmas and I have many home grown and home made chutneys and jams to give as presents, I will be thrilled to see Spring so the planning can begin.

For now, it is still standing and growing.

Much love and happy digging

Tracey xx