A well-wisher from New Malden in Surrey has complained that there has been inadequate blogging on the allotment. So here is a snapshot, literally and metaphorically of the allotment on 24 May.
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| Tomato |
This lonely and fragile looking tomato was one of 25 that we planted out on 18 May. It is difficult to envisage this laden with ripe fruit, but we always travel in hope. We sowed the seeds in modules in mid-March, and transferred them to larger pots before planting out.
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| Artichokes | | | |
All the top growth on the artichokes was killed by the particularly harsh December weather and didn't start to recover until late March. No flowers showing yet, but these are now flourishing.
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| Blueberries and Gooseberries |
The blueberries have suffered in the drought. Because they are acid loving/lime hating plants it is recommended not to water with tap water, but we've noticed fruit shriveling over the past couple of days so have provided each plant with a bucket of water. The gooseberries can be seen in the background.
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| Broad Beans |
These are spring sown beans, the variety is Witkiem Manita, which is quick to maturity and almost catches up with autumn sown Aquadulce. I fear that the drought will reduce the crop this year.
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| Lettuce and Parsley |
The lettuce and parsley are doing well. We like a big row of parsley as it is available throughout the summer, autumn and a last productive period during the next spring.
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| Sweetcorn |
We planted the sweetcorn out at the same time as the tomatoes. You can see the collar of a toilet roll centre that we use for germinating the seeds in. We use the same method for the broad beans. These seeds were sown on 17 April.
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| Old Parsley |
This is last year's parsley that is now going to seed and is past any usefulness.
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| Onions |
Love growing onions. We grow them from seed, as opposed to sets, it is a bit more labour intensive, but the results are great. The seeds were sown in module trays in early January and planted out in early April.
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| Potatoes and Rosemary |
The seed potatoes were planted in early April. They got caught by a sharp frost just after the tender shoots had broken the ground, but as can be seen they have recovered well.
