28th April

I can’t believe it's late April already and there is so much to be sown. All of a sudden I am rather late with leeks, and I need to get round to sowing courgettes, cucumbers, pumpkins and squashes, and get my calabrese plants in.

 

Anyway, being a work day it meant I could pop in to the allotment on my way back from work. I wasn’t planning on doing much, and I didn’t stay for long. I gave a quick raking to a few of the beds to loosen up the soil, reduce the tilth and to disrupt the now frenetic weed growth. There is a light spattering of tiny green annual weed seedlings across the soil that seem to have sprung up in the last week due to the sudden warmer weather. I raked the leek seed bed the most and I will have to get down on my hands and knees soon and break up the clods with my hands if I’m to sow those leeks before they should be being transplanted. After deciding not to go with my bright idea of sowing in trays indoors, I have heard some expert say they do exactly that!

After raking I sowed a row of Swiss chard in section 1 next to the salad leaves. The variety is ‘bright lights’ which give different coloured stems. I will sow a few at home both as a salad crop and an autumn and winter coloured leaf plant. I sowed 2 more rows of Chantenay carrots, and 2 more rows of Autumn King in section 2. I think that will be it for carrots at the allotment. If they don’t do well in the thick, heavy soil, I don’t want to have given over vast quantities of land to failures. I may sow a large container at home with them in a lighter soil and see how that goes. I peeked under the plastic tunnel covering the last carrot sowing and there were little seedlings showing. I didn’t know if the first leaves of carrots are feathery or if they are the usual first leaf like any other plant so I didn’t know if they were carrots or weeds. I phoned my Dad later and he thinks they are carrots – yippee! Mind you, this ‘what do the early leaves look like?’ thing raised another query in my head – how will I know the salad leaf seedlings from the weeds, especially as they are mixed salad leaves of differing varieties?

When I arrived home, the family were out in the garden so it did not take much persuading to join them. I brought a few plants out to harden off (and they were later watered by a sudden heavy shower which looked great from the kitchen as I washed up after dinner. The sun was still shining so there were back-lit curtain rods of water coming down at a striking 45 degree angle). I also potted on some of the petunias my Dad gave me into 4 mushroom pots. I noticed for the first time, that our sycamore tree is in leaf and you can also see the dangling catkins in their early stages. I hadn’t noticed the detail of the tree since it was all bare. It’s good to see. Later, after the boys were in bed, as my wife used broadband for the first time, I washed a load of plant pots.

Tomorrow the plan is to plant out the brassicas under the cover of my home made cloches – the 4 pint milk containers with the bottoms cut off. I have calabrese plants, and some good seedlings of my 2 sprouts varieties and some good cauliflowers as well. The cauliflowers I sowed on the 8^th April have been terrible. Of the 15, only

6 have sprouted, and until today, I had only seen 3. Maybe the 2 latest and shortest ones can be made a going concern, but the rest will have to go. That is my executive decision. I also plan to put up the brackets for the hanging baskets, and maybe even plant up as well, we’ll see. Having made my plans for tomorrow, it will now probably rain.

Next post: 1st May

27th April

We spent the afternoon with my wife’s brother and sister-in-law at their place and had a nice relaxing time. The trouble is I’m becoming addicted to gardening. After we had helped set up their trampoline for their 2 girls and our boys to play on, I walked off behind a fir tree and came back saying it was an ideal place to put a compost bin, as my host had recently informed me that he mowed the lawn yesterday and taken the clippings to the tip. ‘Where would I put the compost?’ he asked. I told him that he could use it as a mulch around the base of his hedges (he has no flower border or the like). We then discussed how to clip back the fir trees to give more space, and when asked if I wanted to have his rhododendron as he was building a summer house on the spot, I immediately thought that it was growing well because it was in the area of leaf drop from the fir trees. Fir and pine give off leaves that are acidic and make the soil thus as they rot down – a process that takes even longer than deciduous leaves – and rhododendron need an acidic soil. I declined the offer because such a shrub would be too large in our garden and I want the space for the boys to play. I am addicted though for other reasons. Not content with listening to Gardeners’ Question Time once a week, I listen to my recording of it at least once, sometimes twice. I watch Gardeners’ World now, subscribe to Gardeners’ World magazine, and I have nearly read all of May’s edition already. I think about what I’m growing and how the allotment is going, and what needs to be done in the garden most of the time. The trouble is that in my minds’ imagination, how the garden and the allotment are going to look in mid summer is probably miles away from the reality and I’m concerned that I’m in for a shock of my own making.

 

As you drive along, you can see so many trees that are in bright young leaf. Very quickly the landscape has gone from bare twiggy trees, giving a greyish brown tinge along the roadside, to a vibrant green that tells you ‘spring is here’ and it has come on so quickly. The large oak and beech trees and similar are still bare though so there is the promise for the weeks to come.

 

Next post: 28th April

26th April

On our way to an activity farm for which we have season tickets (a very useful Christmas present from my parents), we popped into the allotment because I wanted our eldest to plant his sweet peas. Although I bought the seeds and erected the support poles, and will be the one tying the plants to the poles and watering them, it is officially in his corner of the allotment and they are the plants he wants to grow (after my suggestions were presented to him) so I want him to be the one that sows the seed. He enjoyed this and was so wonderfully gentle and careful as I told him to push a hole into the soil, take a seed from my palm and place it in the hole then cover it over. Meanwhile, my wife and our youngest were exploring, meeting Granddad who was also down there and generally enjoying seeing the labour of my hands – bare earth and an orange fence. I also took the opportunity to give the leek seed bed a quick going over with the fork. Then off to the farm on the hottest day of the year, and forgetting our hats!

Next post: 27th April

25th April

Off to the allotment after work to do more fencing. I now have the first 6 sections encased which is good because that means that when the carrots and salad leaves come through, and the leeks (when I get round to that overdue task!) the rabbits shouldn’t be able to destroy them. If only this mesh kept slugs out as well. I also started to dig over section 5 where the leeks will go. I had read that onions need a soil that is manured in the autumn and left to settle as they do not fare well in recently manured soil or soil that hasn’t naturally compacted. So that is how the onion section is. The trouble is that I presumed that because leeks are also alliums, they would prefer the same. They don’t. I read in the book my wife bought me that leeks need a well dug soil. How I missed that I’ll never know, I’ve had my head in that book for weeks. The trouble with not digging up our soil is that bindweed is rampant and so by the time today that I got forking, I was teasing out quite a pile of bindweed roots. Bindweed has broken the surface on this section, and the onion section unlike all the other sections which were well dug at the end of winter. I will have to come back regularly and rake and break up the soil I dug as there are quite a few clods. So far I have only dug over enough for a seed bed area for the seeds to be started off in. Once that is accomplished and the seeds are in, I can work on the rest of the section, oh, and weed the onion section as well.

Next post: 26th April

21st - 24th April

I made a quick visit to the allotment and it was just as well I did as the component parts of my carrot shelter had been blown in a total of 3 directions around the area. I managed to collect up what seems like all the parts and put them back again, this time weighted down with sticks.

 At home, the conservatory floor is rather full of trays of plants in pots or modular trays getting the best light possible whilst still indoors. With 2 small children it is a small wonder that there have been no little mishaps. I keep putting out the plants during the day to harden off. Saturday was going to be the day for planting out the sweet peas but that was put paid to by the weather. So this afternoon after work I began the task, starting with the netting.

22^nd April

I began erecting posts to support some bright orange scaffolding mesh that will be my rabbit defence at the allotment. I went for the plastic fencing you see on scaffolding - it's much cheaper than wire mesh. Back home it was time for another lawn mow.

23^rd April
An additional acquisition to my seed collection has been a packet of spicy salad leaves and a packet of Italian salad leaves. I sowed 2 rows of each at the allotment. At home the Nicotiana seedlings are looking week as to are the cauliflowers. On the plus side I potted on the plants that will be going into the hanging baskets.

24^th April

Without really planning it, the spring bulb display was timed well. The bright yellow daffodils came through splendidly, followed by the wonderful dark red tulips and for a while they were in bloom together. There has been a spattering of mixed tulips but not really that impressive. Lately, as the red tulips have been blown apart and away, a new variety has come into bloom. They are an absolutely gorgeous light red, almost an orange that fades through to a yellow tinge at the edge of each petal. The fading is a work of art, something that Claude Monet would be proud of, they are wonderful.

Next post: 25th April

16 - 19th April

I make a quick visit to the allotment to plant the Autumn King variety carrots. The remainder of the section will be for a few more carrot rows – probably, and then spinach and rocket. When I arrived at the allotment, my dad was there making his fruit cage and so I was on hand at just the right time to screw a join together for him whilst he held an end of a beam. I seem to have a knack of turning up at just the right time for him as this happened previously. While I was talking to Dad, the sun came out and warmed our backs, it was lovely, we both remarked on it. On a day like this, the place to be is in the garden or at the allotment, just pottering around and getting on with the tasks in hand. It seemed as if everyone was out today. The plot holders next to me (the other side from Dad’s plot) were there. I have only seen them once before – a lady with 2 girls last year. Today though it was her and her husband who had brought their sandwiches and were making a day of it. Whilst he was pottering about, she was burning paper. I prefer to shred mine then compost it so it protects my identity and adds to the compost heap. Paper waste is a good carbon balance to the high volumes of nitrogen rich waste particularly from grass cuttings, or from any general kitchen waste and clippings. One thing was sad in that this couple had brought a little radio with them and were blasting out Radio 2. I suppose I can be thankful that it wasn’t Radio 1, but I would have preferred peace and quiet. Radios do tend to bring down the tone of the place and are not in keeping with the general ambience. I wouldn’t have minded so much if it was Classic FM or Radio 4 – especially if they were listening to Gardeners Question Time!

 Anyway, I sowed my carrot seeds, made my little plastic tunnel and went off for lunch. No afternoon session as we had a guest popping in to see us.

17^th April

Today we had cable broadband installed through the front garden and the engineers managed to trample down our small row of daffodils and worse of all, my new fuchsia cutting that was poking through has been obliterated!

18^th April

A wet day – I went to the garden centre and almost bought loads of stuff, only to realise I had forgotten my wallet.

19^th April

A wet, miserable day. Went to the garden centre to get the stuff I couldn’t buy yesterday. I went to Mum and Dads and Dad gave me a few dozen petunia plug plants for bedding – fantastic!

 

Next post: 21st April

9 - 14th April

At last I have planted the onion sets. Some of them are so tiny! I had made one of those devices which consist of 2 sticks with string between them that is strung taught over any length up to its maximum, only my string is bright fluorescent yellow builders twine that I have had few uses for over the years. So I strung out my line along the length of one of my sections, and planted the onions at 6 inch intervals. It is a simple process of pushing in a hole with my thumb and putting the onion in so that only the tip shows above the soil. Rows had to be 12 inches apart. I managed to plant 161 sets. According to Monty Don on Gardeners World last week, it is a good idea to plant them in good, regimented grids because then it is much easier to hoe down the weeds which onions really don’t like. Hopefully as they grow, my onions will show a precise parade of green shoots.

10^th April
As I was passing the allotments for work, I stopped by and saw my Dad working on his fruit cage. I popped in to check no birds had removed any onions overnight. They hadn’t, but it looked as though the rabbits had. So Dad and I set to with covering the section with the plastic sheeting – again, but this time trying to prop it up above the ground. The case for acquiring some protective netting is becoming a more pressing one.

11^th April

Again to the allotment, this time with half a bag of sharp sand, to make the carrot furrows lighter and easier for carrot roots to grow down and develop. I dug some short channels, width-wise in the section and loosened up the soil at the base, then filled in some of the removed soil and mixed it with the sand. I made 4 for the Chantenay carrots, and 2 for the Autumn King. The Chantenay are a mid season variety that you can sow in succession i.e. sow some now, and some later so that you have a crop over a period of time, rather than a glut of excess carrots that go to waste. I won’t need to do this with the Autumn King ones as they store much better, and you can even leave them in the ground until required. Unfortunately I did not have my plastic covers made out of milk bottles, so I left off planting the seed. I heard on Gardener’s Question Time that if there is a heavy shower after sowing carrots and before they appear above ground, it prevents them germinating (maybe it washes them away!) so it is a good idea to cover them. I plan to return tomorrow and sow.

12^th April

I took the 4 year old to the allotment and we started making the area where he will grow some sweet peas. We dug a hole, put a bucketful of home made compost in and I left him to fill in the soil. I made a 4 post wigwam for support for the plants. I left him to it and sowed the carrots. The packet says to sow thinly then thin out later. I read elsewhere that lifting the carrots attracts the carrot fly that has an incredible sense of smell (it can detect a carrot from 6 miles away). So I painstakingly sowed one small seed every 2 inches, then gently covered over the 2 rows I had sown. Then the heavens opened. Having stated my intention, and the necessity of covering the carrot seeds to protect them from heavy showers, I could hardly run for cover whilst that very thing was going on, so I got wet putting up my shelters which suddenly look a lot less sturdy than my imagination had me believe when I was safe and warm in the kitchen cutting up milk bottles.

14^th April

A quick visit to the allotment reassured me that my carrot shelter was still up.

Next post: 16th April

4th April

A glorious spring day. At lunch time I got out into the garden and weeded the border and pulled up a few more sycamore seedlings, the running total now being 2100. I put my tray of sweet peas out to get some fresh air and sunshine. The ones that I pinched out the tips of seem to be doing well, and yet still I am cautious of pinching out any more just yet. The daffodils are beginning to wane now, a few have really had it so I deadheaded them so that the plant does not put energy into setting seed but can begin to withdraw its nutrients back into the bulb so it will flower next year. Maybe the lack of this care in the past has caused the lack of good flowering. This year with my new bulbs, I am beginning afresh and will religiously deadhead the lot. Quite a few of the daffodils are still going strong, but are being joined in colourful display by some rather tall and splendid red tulips. They are tall, proud, large goblet flowered plants that look magnificent especially mixed in with the yellow daffodils. Last autumn when I planted out the new bulbs, starting near the house and working away from it, I replanted some older ones after the new ones had run out. These, so far at least, are not coming up as well. If this really is the case, I will have to mark out where they are to replace them this autumn with further new ones, and look after them properly now that I have more know-how, as this spring has been great for the new bulbs.

 

 

The last week to 10 days have seen me becoming a little concerned about my vegetable seed sowing. Back in the winter I was full of excitement and ideas, drawing up plans, and having a huge hand-made chart to set out what must be done on the vegetable plot each month. Seeds were bought nice and early and I was just itching to go. As it got to the time to start sowing, I was beset with a fear of potential waste considering I could plant lots of seeds and have all the seedlings killed of by frost or cold wind or heavy rain because I might plant them out or sow them too early. Then there is the case of my sprouts and cauliflowers that have gone too tall and leggy because I kept them in the loft too long after propagation. I read an online article from a newspaper today by a gardening expert who said that we must wait until the soil warms up to so many degrees for so many days, and yet the weekly newsletter I receive from Gardener’s World says I should be continuing to plant out my
onions (which I delayed due to reports of bad weather this weekend) and sowing carrots, not to mention quite a few other vegetables. It may be that it is alright to sow outside so long as the ground is protected by fleece or cloches. What I might then do is to warm the soil with my milk bottle cloches then sow cauliflower seed straight into the ground. The thought of it going wrong after all this intrepid waiting and expectation is a fate that would dent me somewhat.

Next post: 9th April

2nd April

The first lawn mowing of the year! After tea tonight I finally got round to dragging the Flymo out of the shed and changing the height settings on the blades to a higher level than the lowest cut possible from last summer. It was great to cut the lawn with my assistant gardener because it meant that Daddy had to have the lawn cleared. Off went the balls, plastic toys, scooter, dumper truck, buckets, and all the sticks and twigs that some little chap brings back from a patch of land he goes past on his way back from his playgroup. The lawn looked tidier even before it had been cut. It is enjoyable to watch my assistant help me mow the lawn. I bought him a FisherPrice lawn mower for £2 from the Recycling Centre (council tip), and so there he was, with his mower, waiting to begin. As soon as the Flymo leapt into action, so did he and off he went, running up the garden mowing the grass. I would look up every so often to see him, fairly systematically, mowing away, helping out Daddy.


Needless to say - not my lawn!

 
The high blade setting doesn’t really take off much grass, and I much prefer the first decent cut of the year, but you’ve got to start somewhere. I then thought I would take a leaf out of gardening advice books and magazines, and I raked the lawn to collect dead grass and various debris as well as a fair bit of moss from the part of the lawn that is in shade thanks to our neighbours’ fence. I put a larger quantity of green matter into the compost bin from that than from the mowing. I ended by plunging the garden fork into the lawn all over the shaded area to give some air and drainage to the moss affected area. I could have also applied some sharp sand into the holes made by the fork to keep those drainage holes open, but it is a fairly fiddly job and I don’t have a month of Sundays in which to do it. When I can get to the sharp sand in the shed, I will just give a light sprinkle on the surface. This changes the soil condition slightly to make it less favourable to the moss. The lawn certainly looks as though it has had some work on it which is good.

Next post: 4th April