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...........

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Sunshine on a rainy day...

It’s been a classic Spring day today – white fluffy clouds, blue skies & heavy showers every half hour or so. This being the case, it’s a shame that it’s the middle of July! It’s cracking growing weather though – the sunflower is looking particularly good and on track to challenge for the Tallest Sunflower prize.

Of course, it takes more than a drop of rain to stop me, so off I went to the Hill with the intention of growing some carrots.

This was an area of such disappointment last year, with a battle against the carrot fly (which I comprehensively lost) that today I sowed eight rows of a resistant variety CARROT seeds (flyaway f1), & I’ll see if that’s cracked it.

When I brought mum to visit the Hill last night, besides saying ‘yum, yum these peas are delicious’ & ‘yes please, I would like some of those fabulous potatoes’, she also said ‘doesn’t Lionel-by-the-gate’s plot look gorgeous with the swathe of flowers across the front – why don’t you do that?’.

She’s quite right – the five marigolds from Ian-at-the-bottom do look a bit lost, so off I went off the garden centre in the hope of picking up some cheap bedding plants. Well, that didn’t work, so I bought some expensive bedding plants instead – a six pack each of cosmos, verbena & osterpernum which set me back sixteen quid.

I managed to walk past the half price seeds – I’m very keen to support the Heritage Seed Library & keep some of the older heritage varieties going, and the more I grow, the less interested I am in the run of the mill seeds at the garden centre. Although to be fair, I couldn’t resist an offer in the Sun this week for 10 Thomson & Morgan seed packs for £1.99 p&p, but that was a bargain!

I went back to the Hill to plant the bedding – which I have high hopes for – before heading home via Jane’s to drop off one of the garlic plaits. She promptly hung it up in the garage, declared the house a vampire-free zone, and wondered aloud whether it would also work on Paul – ooh!

2 comments:

  1. Joining the HSL does make you look at seeds in a different way, doesn't it?

    I'm a bit disappointed with the so-called violet seeded broad beans though. They are supposed to become purple 'when mature' and I've eaten some that were more mature than I normally pick them but they are still sickly white! I hasten to add, they are NOT Heritage seeds. I shan't bother again. I hope to send you something a bit better in the autumn!

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  2. If you hadn't tried the Violetta, you wouldn't know if they were good or not - and the thing with fruit and veg is that even if they disappoint, you can still eat 'em!

    Every one a winner!

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