End of July

July 2007 has officially been a wash out! Looking back at the pictures of 2006 its hard to believe that this time last year we were up on the allotment, tops of, hot and sweaty with the hose pipe out trying to stop everything from frying! This month, due to the weather, I have been lucky if I've been able to get anytime on the plot, except to go and water the greenhouse, or dig a couple of blight ridden potato's up!

The only things that seem to be enjoying the wet, and warmish weather are the flowers...






All the Jap Onions were dug up at the beggining of the month. Despite 50% of the white ones going straight on the compost heap the red onions seem to have faired much better in the wet weather... and they are REALLY strong flavoured! You cant help but have tears streaming down your face when your trying to cut them!!!



In the bed where they were I've planted out some spring cabbage, and a block of swede's, with a row of various types of lettuce running down the side.



In the current brassica bed everything seems to be lush and green, the Japanese cabbages have all been eaten now, runner beans are in flower - although no actual beans yet, cauliflowers don’t seem to be doing anything but growing leaves, sprouts are just starting to bud up, and my turnips and Swedes I planted out earlier in the year just seem to have stopped doing anything!



Sweetcorn, small but with its tassles starting to form...





Leeks are doing alright


The remaining 2nd Early Cara's - showing advanced signs of blight! These I hope to harvest at the weekend, then cover the bed in a good deep mulch of chicken manure, to be dug in come Autumn and plant my onions in

Parsnips... all 4 of them!

Spring Onions, tiny but tasty!

Spring planted onion sets seem to be ok, and are swelling nicley

Blue Berry bush is covered with fruit

Nice clean path.... can you tell it was the allotment compertition this month!

The `Sunflower Wall` - no record breaking hights this year, I think the biggest one on my plot has only reached about 3 foot so far...

Sun Flower starting to develop


Blight struck outdoor tomato's!

Champion Pumpkin under construction...

... so far seems to be under control!

My neighbours plot, showing his potato's wiped out by blight!

By comparision my main crop still look relitivly healthy, although since every plot on the assosiation has blight its only a matter of time....

The Salad Bed

Still nothing happening with the carrots - either from the first sowing - or the second, so determined to have some this year I've sow some in a bucket in the greenhouse! - I'll let you know how they do...

Pond is staying suprisingly clear

My `patio` outside the shed surrounded with herbs and flowers


The apple tree, laiden with apples


In the Greenhouse - I'm keeping the door and lourve vents closed on this to try and keep the blight out! Luckly as its not exactly red-hot weather this doesnt seem to be affecting the plants!

Early July

Early July and hoping for better weather then June... seems that the sky for the past month has looked like this -



Garlic has been harvested and hung up in the greenhouse to dry, it doesn't look too bad to say its been stood in soggy waterlogged soil for the past month...



...the same can't be said for my Jap white onions though of which 50% have basically turned to `mush`! After digging half of them up this weekend this is about all I have worth saving!



One area of the plot that doesnt mind the wet weather...



Mr/Miss Tadpole (look carefully in the middle of the pic)



I've dug up several ground cover plants from home to go at the far of the pond, so next year it should look a bit less `harsh` and a little more green



General pics from around the plot...

Aint Greenhouses GREAT!!!!

One month on from starting the greenhouse base it is all completed now - glazed, cemented and all the vents fitted... an excellent addition to the Plot, and with the extra things I'll now be able to grow and propigate deffinatly worth the blood and sweat I have shed to get it here





A fine example here of my cementing which I started before I put the glass in - but then thought better of incase the frame was twisted and I'd have to chip it all of again! So over a couple of evenings I fitted all the glass (including replacements for the one's I broke) using 6 `w` clips per pane! Better safe then sorry!!! The door has been glazed with plastic at the bottom, and safety glass at the top since this is about the only side Undergardener can get to.



Despite only being finished on Sunday its already full... tiny tom plants, along with donations of chilli plants, and pepper plants given to me by one of my neighbours who was watching me glaze it...



... and whilst I was getting the peppers Duncan (Allotment Boss) came over and told me he had a couple of cucumbers I could have too... there only about half the size of his, but are flowering so they have been planted in a bucket, full of manure and compost, given a good soaking of watered down `nettle slop` I'll just have to see how they go..



Stagging on the oppersite side, filling up. I think when I next have some spare pennies I might treat myself to a folding shelf to go above this.



Finally one of my birthday presents... should help look after my plants whilst I'm at work - well, it might if it ever gets hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!