Vinny's Allotment Plot

My next door neighbour at home gave me a courgette plant and a cucumber plant, for which I thanked her.

I didn't like to tell her I had half a dozen of my own waiting to be planted out.

I took the plants to the allotment and planted the courgette along with my own six plants into a single bed which had cardboard,compost then grass cuttings added.They were well watered in and a few slug pellets added around each.The cucmber lant was put into the greenhouse with the others.

I also planted the last of my seed potatoes (Desiree bought seed tatties and Elfe tatties from fridge bottom, both of which were well chitted) They planted the way I have always planted, with a trowel dug hole and back filled with a couple of handfuls of compost.

Piccies below are of planted courgettes and planted tatties.

You did right Vinny    Its best not to refuse plants   they might not offer any again if you did.

Planting  courgettes is one  of the things I'm doing today.

Sneaked another 1.5 hours at the lottie on the pretence that I had to go and water stuff!

Planted eighteen blocks of red torpedo onions. Quite a few of my autumn planted red onion sets have bolted so I pulled them out. About 5% up til now but probably more to follow.
After I watered up I got on with the onerous task of hand weeding. Mainly docks and buttercup which seem to be the dominant weed on my plot.
Its surprising though how half an hour here and an hour there can keep on top of a fairly substantial sized plot without being too backbreaking.
I need to get carrots, French beans and runners sown ASAP so that's next on the agenda.............until I get to the plot and all my plans go out the window!

I was busy today with my front steps cutting the paving slabs and taking dog to vets in the afternoon. I didn't get to the plot until 7.20 this evening and stopped fro about an hour. It was a lovely sunny evening so after watering stuff that need it I decided to harvest the Comfrey. It was just on the point of flowering and I have memories of last year when the bees really liked the flowers and I got stung when cutting it down.
I just spred the cuttings over where my tatties are planted, although tatties haven't broke surface yet. It will be a bit of a feed for them when they do.

I then hand weeded a bed and covered it with cardboard, followed by a covering of cheap compost. I watered the bed to allow it to be ready for planting up with Igloo dwarf cauliflowers tomorrow.

Below are a few piccies of cauli bed and area where Comfrey was spread. My Poached egg plants (Limanthus) are also flowering.

Productive 1.5 hours at the plot this evening. After watering newly planted stuff and greenhouse stuff I planted up a bed of nine igloo cauli's in an area prepared yesterday.
I then weeded and prepared another smallish bed ready for planting. After realising I only had six calabrese plants (slugs had eaten others) I decided to finish off another bed which had kale in it by adding the calabrese seedlings.

I then took the glass off the bed I am going to plant my sweetcorn in and hand weeded it.

More weeding of onion beds and hand weeding of last years leek bed which will become this years carrot bed.

A few piccies of progress below. A lot of weeds still to tackle but I will get there eventually. I am concentrating on getting crops in the ground at the mo.

And yet another couple of useful hours at the plot. Direct sown Tendergreen  dwarf beans and Saxa dwarf beans each to a pallet collar. Soaked each area and dibbered holes for planting stations (see photograph) Planted two beans in each hole and as an experiment covered each pallet collar with grass cutting to hopefully conserve moisture. Other piccie shows both bean beds with torpedo onions in me=iddle bed, courgettes in right bed and other bed ready for planting squashes.

Planted out 21 sweetcorn plants in another pallet collar on other side of plot. Did loads of watering and finished up with half an hours hand weeding of onions and leeks.

And yet another couple of useful hours at the plot. Direct sown Tendergreen  dwarf beans and Saxa dwarf beans each to a pallet collar. Soaked each area and dibbered holes for planting stations (see photograph) Planted two beans in each hole and as an experiment covered each pallet collar with grass cutting to hopefully conserve moisture. Other piccie shows both bean beds with torpedo onions in me=iddle bed, courgettes in right bed and other bed ready for planting squashes.

Planted out 21 sweetcorn plants in another pallet collar on other side of plot. Did loads of watering and finished up with half an hours hand weeding of onions and leeks.

Hiya Vinny

How big is the pallet collar you planted the sweetcorn in please?

And yet another couple of useful hours at the plot. Direct sown Tendergreen  dwarf beans and Saxa dwarf beans each to a pallet collar. Soaked each area and dibbered holes for planting stations (see photograph) Planted two beans in each hole and as an experiment covered each pallet collar with grass cutting to hopefully conserve moisture. Other piccie shows both bean beds with torpedo onions in me=iddle bed, courgettes in right bed and other bed ready for planting squashes.

Planted out 21 sweetcorn plants in another pallet collar on other side of plot. Did loads of watering and finished up with half an hours hand weeding of onions and leeks.

Hiya Vinny

How big is the pallet collar you planted the sweetcorn in please?

Just a normal pallet collar the same size as the ones I planted the Frenchies in (roughly 4 foot X 3 foot?)
Far too many in such a small space but I wasn't prepared to devote more space to summat that may, or may not come to fruition depending on the summer we have? Only me in the family who likes sweetcorn and then only eaten raw directly from plant.

And yet another couple of useful hours at the plot. Direct sown Tendergreen  dwarf beans and Saxa dwarf beans each to a pallet collar. Soaked each area and dibbered holes for planting stations (see photograph) Planted two beans in each hole and as an experiment covered each pallet collar with grass cutting to hopefully conserve moisture. Other piccie shows both bean beds with torpedo onions in me=iddle bed, courgettes in right bed and other bed ready for planting squashes.

Planted out 21 sweetcorn plants in another pallet collar on other side of plot. Did loads of watering and finished up with half an hours hand weeding of onions and leeks.

Hiya Vinny

How big is the pallet collar you planted the sweetcorn in please?

Just a normal pallet collar the same size as the ones I planted the Frenchies in (roughly 4 foot X 3 foot?)
Far too many in such a small space but I wasn't prepared to devote more space to summat that may, or may not come to fruition depending on the summer we have? Only me in the family who likes sweetcorn and then only eaten raw directly from plant.

Ok thanks, same with me planted 23 this morning

And yet another couple of useful hours at the plot. Direct sown Tendergreen  dwarf beans and Saxa dwarf beans each to a pallet collar. Soaked each area and dibbered holes for planting stations (see photograph) Planted two beans in each hole and as an experiment covered each pallet collar with grass cutting to hopefully conserve moisture. Other piccie shows both bean beds with torpedo onions in me=iddle bed, courgettes in right bed and other bed ready for planting squashes.

Planted out 21 sweetcorn plants in another pallet collar on other side of plot. Did loads of watering and finished up with half an hours hand weeding of onions and leeks.

Hiya Vinny

How big is the pallet collar you planted the sweetcorn in please?

Just a normal pallet collar the same size as the ones I planted the Frenchies in (roughly 4 foot X 3 foot?)
Far too many in such a small space but I wasn't prepared to devote more space to summat that may, or may not come to fruition depending on the summer we have? Only me in the family who likes sweetcorn and then only eaten raw directly from plant.

Ok thanks, same with me planted 23 this morning

Just for reference Danny I took a piccie earlier, as I say far to close together but needs must. I thought I had two trays of 12 but one was a 9 tray hence the random planting, as I had already planted 12 before I realised.

Managed to get my swede seedlings planted out this morning and a bit of hand weeding of onion beds until I got sick of it and needed my Friday fish before the chip shop closed.