Sunday 14 August 2011

Lottie Life

Evening all.

Bright Blessings to you. I trust that you have all had a relaxing Sunday doing stuff that makes you happy.

I thought I'd take you on a wander around the allotment today. This is a photo heavy post as I got a little snap happy - but I do hope you'll enjoy them.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that this photo is of bunches of grapes.  The damsons are weighing down the boughs this year and are ready and ripe for picking a good few weeks earlier than usual.


Pretty poppies by the side of the shed

 Feverfew grows in wild abandon all over the allotment in little clumps like this one.  Pretty little flowers with very strongly scented leaves.

The last of our potato harvest.  We had some whoppers in this dig... the largest measures about 8" long and weighs nearly 1lb on it's own!  All these potatoes were grown from chitted shop bought potatoes and  not from seed potatoes.  Our yield has been considerably bigger both in potato size and amount than the ones my parents grew on their plot - all from proper seed potatoes... Go figure as our American friends would say!


The oak leaf salad is doing really well - trouble is as soon as you pick these leaves you need to use it immediately as it goes limp really quickly.  One for the kitchen garden I think, to pick as required, rather than mass grown on a lottie patch.

We weeded our terribly overgrown butternut squash patch.  It was great to see so many flowers on the plants and the runners are really growing away strongly now.  I can't wait to see the squashes start to form.  The sweetcorn is looking very sad for itself. I think we planted this far too late in the season and next year I will sow directly into the ground rather than in pots first of all.   The ubiquitous courgette is, of course, courgetting away prolifically!!


Lovely rainbow bright chard.  This is such a handsome plant and looks amazing when the sun shines on the leaves.   The 'ribbing' and stems just seem to glow.


Our little wildlife pond - would you believe that there are still tadpoles in here?!


Many of the allotment plots have now been arranged into raised beds by the lottie holders.  It really does make much lighter work of gardening.


The longest runner bean I have ever seen!! 


This very neat plot is very orderly and mulched over with shredded bark.  We get job lots for free from a local tree surgeon as well as the local council and use it for the pathways to keep the weeds down as far as we can


These 'cages' are definitely the way forward.  Wooden frames covered in a very fine mesh keeps away marauding pigeons which lay waste to soft fruit and brassicas, peas - well you name it and they'll have it away! It also prevents significant caterpillar damage as the holes in the mesh are too tiny for butterflies to get in.   Soft fruit in particular does brilliantly inside these cages.


This tiny tree is just a couple of years old but the Bramley apples it bears are HUGE!


The local brewery supplies used hops which are perfect as both a mulch and a fertiliser. 



A teeny tiny pumpkin begins it's journey towards Halloween!


And finally - pretty windmills... more decorative than practical I feel as the pigeons merely roll their eyes in disdain !!

11 comments:

  1. What beautiful tidy gardens...shames me no end when I see the space we have available and no good use made of it.

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  2. Ah but Delores you ought to have seen the sight that met us when we turned up this morning - our patch was looking appalling. Just a couple of weeks away from it and the weeds had completely
    taken over. It's a constant backbreaking job.

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  3. I wanted an allotment a few years ago, but honestly fear that I just wouldn't have the time (or probably the energy) to do one justice. Your spuds are fabulous - I grew some in sacks in the garden from seed potatoes, but am bitterly disappointed by the tiny amount I harvested, despite feeding and watering to the book...I've put some bought ones that are shooting in today, lets hope they do as good as yours Kim! Oh, and those damsons are to die for ;o)

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  4. Err, I meant to say "lets hope they do as well as yours"! (That'll teach me to preview first)

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  5. Yum, what time is dinner? I love allotment potatoes. The runner bean looks like it's trying to run away though!!

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  6. Well done Kim (except for your maize). You seem to be growing stuff rather like chez nous. Last year I saved seed from the Butternuts and this year they have reverted to a longer, more marrow-like, shape. The taste is the same but they look different. Next year I shall sow F1 hybrid seed again.

    Beware your Bramley. I also have one here and it is HUGE. We are eating blackberry and apple crumbles almost every day. Happy gardening.

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  7. Gosh it seems like it was just a couple of weeks ago you were blogging about your chit, um ,er your chits, I mean. It paid off-your potatoes look FAB! Isn't that always the way!
    The lettuce that goes limp quickly, have you tried it in a recipe for wilted lettuce? Was that a 3 sisters garden you did with your corn?
    Those mesh cages look wonderful. Years ago I saw a program on square-foot gardening that had been raised so that the wheelchair-bound person could garden from his chair. I thought that was the coolest thing I ever saw and swore if I were ever rich, I would have a garden just like that.
    Now to figure out how to cage it.....
    Lovely post-thanks for sharing!

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  8. Oh, this is how I would love to live! Growing lushious things and having a wonderful harvest. I just do not have the patience or the committment. I didn't know feverfew looked like that. It's supposed to be good for migraine, isn't it, although it never did any good for mine!

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  9. Thanks for your comments everyone. I would hasten to add that not 'all' of that plot is ours, we just have a small section of it. It's a lovely community though and very friendly. There's always someone around to have a chat with :)

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  10. I just found your blog and as I love gardens (especially English ones), I had to become a follower. Looking forward to reading more.

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  11. After having our little strip veg plot this year, I'm trying to convince BH that getting our names in for an allotment would be the way to go. It's not working just yet. LOL

    Lovely homegrown goodness, Kim :)

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