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Phew, what a summer. First we have a drought, and then it rains and stays damp for ages! It's been a busy busy time, in fact I've really struggled to spend any time down on my allotment except the odd saturday afternoon. The thing I like about allotments, is that it becomes a community in it's own right, and many's the time I put the kettle on to share a cuppa. Lovely.
So what went well? Mmm, I think I'm most happy with the unusual things - the fenugreek seeds, lentils, physalis, squash, and the range of peppers I grew. I actually got a crop of grapes this year which I am very happy about. I grew celery and celeriac in old tyres and they were and are fantastic, the celery in particular. I love it and use it in soups and stews and veg roasts. Love the dark green stems, and never really did understand the blanching thing.
Things that didn't go well are few, but I need to keep them in mind for next year. Firstly, the badgers got every single carrot I sowed - it's like they went down the row with a claw to dig them up, ate them all and left me the tops!! They even got under a metal frame I put over the carrots, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do next year. I may have to think about an electric fence but I'm not happy with that really. Then because of the rain I cropped my Amaranth and Qinoa a bit early as they were starting to rot. They're spread out on newspaper to dry out so I'll see how much of a crop I get. Also, I planted some aubergines in the greenhouse alongside the physalis, but the latter grew so big that it completely shaded out the aubergines which need a lot of light. Oh and this year I had leek moth caterpiller - never even heard of it before but it's been rife. I ended up cropping my leeks early, salvaging what I could and freezing. Also, my florence fennel and pak choi bolted because of the heat. And I did it again - let the self-seeded nasturtiums completely take over! Isn't it funny how we find it easy to notice the things that didn't go well? Helps with learning I suppose.
Winter crops are coming along nicely now - the purple sprouting and sprouts look great, and the cabbages are tasty - I've decided to only grow leafed ones next year rather than hearted ones. I tried my celeriac and hamburg parsley in roast veg a couple of days ago, and although quite small (bit disappointed) they were tasty.
So, clearing and tidying up is a priority now before the ground gets too frozen and wet. I'm a compost nut, and absolutely thrilled with what I got this year - about 15 bags of leaf mould and around 40 bags of compost. I'm not a huge manure fan (mainly because of the aminopyralid issue - check out the RHS website because it's back!), but appreciate the benefits of applying it, as I did last year. So I think this year I'm going to just apply compost once I've weeded and if needed turned over the top layer. I'm definitely into the no dig method - it's so easy and relies on nature to do the work which sounds good to me. I've put cardboard weighted down with large stones on top of the compost I've already laid, to stop nutrients being washed away etc.
And so on to thinking about next year. What do I do about the badgers?

Ta da!!

My pond is finished and looking good. I'm really pleased. Within a couple of days of it being filled with water, there were pond skaters skimming over the surface. A very nice lady contacted me to see if I wanted some lillies (which of course I did) and they came with their own newts! How lovely. On to more sobering news. A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that a hole had been dug in my purple sprouting broccoli patch, and that there was poo in it! Last weekend I noticed another hole with more poo. My allotment neighbour, who's a bit of an officianado about badgers, told me that my broccoli patch was now being used as a badger 'latrine'!!!!!! So, despite wire fencing around the entire allotment, and netting secured (I thought) around the broccoli patch, they still got in and obviously liked it so much they made themselves at home. Oh well. On to more pleasant things. I'm still cropping purple sprouting and spinach. Many herbs are coming through and I've got lettuces, cabbages, beans, pumkins, sweetcorn, all doing well. My physalis is now in the greenhouse but not liking the cold nights much. I've also planted half of my lentils in a cloche (not happy) and the other half in the greenhouse (happier) along with some sprouted fenugreek that got too leggy! My broad beans that have been in for a month are doing fine, and I've got another batch hardening off. I happened to go to a garden centre at the weekend, and was amazed at the range of veg plants they have available. Many of them, such as tomatoes and cucumbers, were grown on to a considerable size. I wondered how many people got lulled into a false sense of security and have planted them out, only to loose them because of the cold nights and occasional frosts? I err on the side of caution, and leave tender things until the beginning of June. I hate loosing anything. Next up, sowing amaranth and quinoa seeds. I really enjoyed learning how to thresh them last year - think my neighbours thought I was mad though!

Well here we are, another week of on off rain, with intermittant sun - sort of. I've been hardening off my broad beans - they can tolerate the fairly low temperatures but they're suffering with the rain battering them so I'm keeping them in when we're due a deluge (I know I know, I'm being overprotective probably!). Broad Beans

Aubergines, melons and peppers are all potted up, leeks and spring onions have sprung, and my lentils, well you'd be proud. They're about 2" (5cm) tall now, and in the greenhouse. I've been trying to find out some more information about growing them, and Garden Organic were able to answer quite a lot of my questions. Lentils like hot and dry weather with poor soil I was told, and promptly fell on the floor laughing!!! All that work adding compost and enriching the soil etc, our summers! Oh well, we'll see how they get on. I've got a large closh they can go in.
Pond Filling Up
Pond's coming along. It's filled now, and I'm looking for some (affordable and preferrably recycled) edging. After that I can buy some pond plants and wait for the animals to arrive. In my pond at my old house I had newts, toads, frogs, and loads of other insects - pond skaters were one. I used to get disappointed when I lifted a rock, and there were the frogs keeping house with the slugs! I didn't train them very well! A friend gave me a terracota chimney top - the thing that keeps out the rain - and I'm going to place it by the pond for the frogs (and slugs probably!). Time for tea I think.

Inbetween the bouts of enchanting snow, dreary rain, and debilitating cold, the beautiful sun has appeared this winter - if only briefly.
Those all important jobs have been slotted in where possible - digging, weeding, mulching, storing bamboo poles and cloches, nets adjusted etc.
But the most exciting thing by far is that I've started to dig my pond - 3 years thinking about it and I'm off! I'm going for a fairly shallow one with a deeper section in the middle. I've got some liner off the freecycle website, and because there was so much of it I've been able to give some to my new neighbour on the site - re-cycle, re-use etc etc. Next step is to line it with sand. I'm so excited!
I'm still cropping parsnips, pak choi, jerusalem artichokes (anyone want any?), celery, and perpetual spinach. My chard has taken a bit of a battering, so have my overwintering onions and garlic, but I'm sure they'll recover. I've got spinach and lettuce in the greenhouse, and the purple sprouting is just starting to show.
My windowledges at home are full of sowings of peppers, cabbages, aubergines, basil, melon, oriental salad, kale, pakchoi, and early sprouts. It wont be long before you have to push your way through my door! I'm going to have a go at growing lentils in my greenhouse, and I've saved a physalis plant from last year so I'll see how that goes in the greenhouse too. This is the start of the best time of the year for me. It never fails to excite and inspire me, and the feeling of expectation is huge!

If you're looking forward to a great crop this year, then now is the time to get out into the garden.

Whether you have a few pots for tomatoes and herbs, a small bed for your salads or your growing for the entire family, time waits for no man or woman.

Prepare that seed bed, sow the seeds and protect that young crop as it comes through.

Or better still let us help...