dry spell

We haven't had a single drop of rain for a month now and despite daily watering, our allotment is looking rather sorry for itself. We have scorched strawberry plants, wilting rhubarb and flaccid purple sprouting broccoli.

The only things that seem to be thriving are the broad beans, sprouts and potatoes, which we earthed up again today.

There were also a few carrot and parsnip seedlings poking through the dusty soil.

Despite it's parched predicament, I'm delighted with how the plot is coming together- it will be so beautiful in a year or two when the fruit trees have filled out. I'm planning to move that enormous  concrete compost bin by the shed (behind the water butt) and weave a living willow playhouse for the girls in the winter.

This morning we made a scarecrow to guard our crops- the girls have named him Sidney. Let's hope the birds are fooled!



It also seems important to mention the government's plans to end the right to have an allotment, thus placing plots up and down the county under threat. For more information and what you can do to speak out against the plans visit here. All the more reason to vote wisely on thursday...

sun and seeds

It's glorious days like today that make having our new allotment even more exciting.

Now that Spring has officially arrived, we are well on our way with planting up the more frost-hardy crops and our plot is really taking shape. So far we have planted out sprouts, broad beans, leeks and strawberries plants. We've sowed parsnips and carrots (in between the rows of leeks in an attempt at permaculture) and we've got the raspberry canes in, one apple tree, two pear trees, four gooseberry bushes and a mighty rhubarb plant. We also have a bed each of spring-sown garlic and onions which are coming on nicely and we planted our chitted seed potatoes this afternoon.

Last week we picked up a sandpit on Freecycle- perfect for keeping the girls amused when they lose interest in the gardening.



It would have been the perfect allotmenteering day, had it not been spoiled towards the end by an impertinent octogenarian stopping by to over-zealously tick us off for about 10 minutes about something ridiculously petty. I don't know why it upset me so much, but it did- mainly because we try so hard to teach the girls good manners and to respect other people's property and to play quietly so they don't disturb the peace etc etc, but it would seem that forgetting to padlock the flimsy gate behind us (when it wasn't even locked in the first place) is pensioner lottie crime of the century. I hope his tomatoes get blight. So there.

the plot thickens..

Today Flora and I popped down to our tiny little square of borrowed allotment to collect some tools. I knew it would be scarily weedy as it must be a couple of months since we gave up on it, after all my brassicas were attacked by rabbits/deer and we got offered Pear Tree Cottage garden. However, we were stunned and delighted to see some cabbages and cauliflowers had survived after all- here they are poking through the forest of weeds...

 

Last time I saw them there was just a tiny little nibbled stalk left- I never expected them to bounce back, especially after totally neglecting them! So I grabbed a fork and lifted them up (note my trusty dm boots that I have had since I was 15!)...

and re-planted them at Pear Tree Cottage...

I do hope they like their new home- my mouth is already watering for cauliflower cheese!

I'm really pleased with the progress we have made at Pear Tree Cottage- after so much hard work clearing and digging, it finally feels like we've got somewhere! As well as the brassicas, I've also planted a rhubarb crown this week and my dad manged to rescue the apple tree that had fallen over and was growing along the ground! We're now going to put the finishing touches to the beds, divide them with some more recycled paving slabs and then cover them up for the winter.

It looks very different from when we took it on a few months back, this picture was taken at about the same place as the one above. I just cannot wait until the Spring when we can sow some seeds. I hope those pumpkin seeds I bought at the food festival grow as big as these beauties I spotted on a neighbouring allotment...

Today I also got started on Flora's Princess Leia costume- can you guess what I made the buns out of?

a pair of Totes slipper socks that I picked up in a charity shop for £1!

 

Happy weekend everyone- hope this heatwave we were promised appears tomorrow!

rhubarb and custard

We visited the in-laws yesterday and came back with more rhubarb from their patch than you could shake a stick at.

Tonight, after the girls had their Sunday night bath, Flora and I chopped up their pink stems and prepared a delicious crumble, topping it off with creamy custard and scoffing it for supper. The rest of the rhubarb was swapped with one of my neighbours for some of his dried chillies.

Meanwhile, the garden has really benefited from the first overnight rain shower for weeks- the sprout seeds have finally germinated and the strawberry plants are already coming into flower. Various seedlings on my windowsills are ready to plant out, but that job will have to wait until later in the week as I have totally run out of energy this evening. Time to snuggle up with some knitting and a brew!