Welcome to our plot!

I'm Hazel, and in Nov 2006 my friend Jane and I took on a half plot at Hill Allotments, Sutton Coldfield - we want the satisfaction of growing and eating our own fruit and veg, and to improve our diet (and fitness!).

This is the story of what happened next...........

Friday, August 10, 2007

Bean there....

The weather has been warm & sunny for the last few days, & I’ve not needed much of an excuse to go to the Hill – I’ve had a marvellous time!

The weeding continues apace – the soil is very dry & dusty on top, so a quick whiz over with the hoe is all that is needed & then it’s a case of just gathering up all the weeds.

Once I’d weeded the plot b (misc.), I gave the tomatoes a right good going over – I went round each of the plants (we still have 16 plants, actually – more than I thought) & chopped off anything that was remotely suspect on the blight front & gave them all a serious BATH of dithane spray. Three days on, & they all look magnificent. A few of them a bit on the bare side where I’ve stripped the leaves off, but healthy – & that’s the main thing!

The tomato plant at home has a couple of ripening tomatoes on, but ones in the hanging baskets are still very green indeed.

I also had to beat the nasturtiums back with a big stick! They are making a play for world domination, & we can’t have that, lovely as they are. The courgettes have settled in well, & the butternut squashes have stopped sulking & are putting on loads of growth – so perhaps the flowers will follow soon.

I’ve chatted to Retired Maureen a couple of times this week – always lovely to talk to – & tonight I arrived to see Secretary Hayden talking to Alison the teacher’s sister who I have not seen for a long time. I don’t think that her plot has seen that much of her either, & Hayden was having a ‘bit of a chat’ with her about that.

I’ve given everywhere a boost with some chicken pellets, & done some sowing in plot C (roots) where the onions were of a whole load of short rows of pelleted CARROT (autumn king II) seed which Wellie sent me in the post.

We haven’t grown nearly enough carrots – every time I want to pull a few up for tea, I seem to use half a row, & there aren’t that many rows to choose from! Carrot fly have also been a problem – I hope that I’ve solved this one by sowing the seed far enough apart so that I don’t have to do any thinning.

I also put in a few seeds of SWISS CHARD (bright lights) which I’m hoping will taste as good as the spinach, but not bolt at the drop of a hat.

Whilst weeding in plot A (legumes) I noticed that the black turtle beans look really good – with purple flowers – & the kale seedling I put in under the low cage have really come on too. And it was whilst weeding that I came rather unexpectedly across a dozen or so runner beans which were ready for picking – the first of, well, many I rather think!

They tasted utterly delicious, however, I suspect that the novelty of stringing runner beans may soon wear off….

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