Ending & beginning

It feels very autumnal now, with a cold snap and the clocks going back we've turned the corner toward winter. The plot is mostly clear right now but it's also time to start planting some things for the new year.

The cabbages are at last beginning to ball up, really not sure how well they'll do this year but they will take the worst the winter can throw at them, so I'll just wait and see. The broccoli is looking okay too, it hasn't yet formed any heads though.

New plantings include broad beans (aquadulce) and I've planted some of the cloves from last years garlic. I went to buy new garlic but no one had any, some of the last year cloves aren't that big but I can always plant some more later.

I've still left the final squash in the ground hoping that they will ripen a bit more. It may be in vain? they seem a bit green to me compared to the other ones. The plants themselves have mostly died back, i shall have to clear them soon as well. Ordered some potatoes as well, Desiree and Charlotte as usual. They won't go i the ground until next March.

Progress

Such a long time since my last entry and so much has happened, sorry I've been to busy to post. a two week holiday in June isn't the best timing for the allotment but it has to be done. This bag of beans I picked before I went away.

Some pods held as many as seven beans! Shelling them takes ages and is hard work on my nails.

I've probably picked about a dozen of these tubs full now, each tub holds about 700g of beans. There are eleven tubs in the deep freeze and we've eaten a few beans already.

I had quite a tasty strawberry crop too, these are from the newer plants I put in last year. They have a really good flavour.

Yum yum!

The french beans aren't looking so hot right now. Quite a few had blown off their canes and I had to re wrap them, you always twist them anti-clockwise because this is the way they grow. I wonder if they grow clockwise in Australia?

The parsnips are doing well, really! I had to do a lot of careful weeding but the Turnips and beetroot have fared okay as well.

I put out some tomato plants before I went away worried that they'd dry out if I left them undercover.  They've survived but are still really small, the few I did leave covered are much bigger and I need to plant them out as well now.

The potatoes are in flower, these ones are a pretty pale shade of blue.

Most of them are whiter like these above.

I have several big globe artichokes now. This plant has tulip shaped globes.

These are more traditional round artichokes but they're supposed to be the same variety.

I picked two which we ate for supper, despite the shape they were very tasty.

More beans, like green fingers reaching up. Some plants are so heavy with beans they've collapsed.

My very first patty pan squash, it's about the size of a fifty pence piece at the moment.

The courgettes are tiny, quite a few fruits have appeared but all really small so far.

And the yellow ones are even smaller, perhaps one cm long.

This might be my total crop of peas. Despite a double planting I've only got about six plants and this is the first pod on the only one that's in flower.

I dug my garlic up too. The foliage had died right back, the heads aren't that big but they weren't about to get any bigger.

More rain

The beans are now towering over the garlic, the wet week has seen everything grow including the weeds. I also spotted my first blackfly, it'll be time to pinch out the bean tops soon.

The main crop potatoes are all beginning to show through although there's nothing from the earlies yet. Also a few rouge potatoes I must have left in the ground have begun to grow at various places around the plot.

Still tiny but the beetroot have begun to form their first true leaves now.

Still only about a half dozen pea plants have come through, what's happened to the rest? I might have to put some extra plants in but it wasn't possible in the soaked conditions today.

I'm so glad I planted some other things up earlier, artichokes and nasturtiums have now come through.

The yellow beans are just breaking through as well. I had hoped to put a trellis up for the french beans today but it was too wet to walk on the soil.

Ever faithful courgettes have all germinated. My neighbour said he'd give me some plants as well, I already have six plants so perhaps we're heading for a glut again?

And I also have some patty pan squash. The cobnut and kobacha squash haven't come through yet, too cold I reckon.

The green french beans are doing okay, I hope to get these guys in the soil before the end of May.

Along with the weeds there are some pretty wild flowers that have come through.

And in the hedgerow there are bluebells.

And purple bluebells! 

After the rain

I was keen to see the damage done with all the storms and hail this week.  although a few broad beans had flopped over they had in general benefited from all the rain. They're taller than the garlic now.

Elsewhere the french beans are coming along nicely, only about half have germinated so far. 

A couple of the patty pan squash have also germinated, it's great when these things start to grow.

Not all good news though, both sunflower seeds have germinated but been attacked by snails, despite all the slug pellets I've sprinkled around the greenhouse.

Outside the peas are just beginning to show, I've covered them with a net before the birds spot them.

Also the beetroot has germinated, there's a fine line of small green leaves were they've come up. I'll wait a while before I thin them out.

The strawberry plants are starting to fill out a bit and are still covered in  flowers.

I picked some more rhubarb, my only crop for the moment. They're still a bit on the short side but I can't wait for them to grow any bigger.

The glossy red stalks look amazing in the sunlight.

The second broad beans have also benefited from all the rain, I'm sure they'll catch the first ones up shortly. Nothing new planted today but I might get a chance to put a few things in on Sunday if the weather holds.

Boat race

The noise of helicopters, pa systems and even a blimp must mean it's the boat race again. My garlic is looking good, I watered it yesterday which I think it appreciated.

First beans are getting ever bigger. Not much actually happening on the plot right now, mostly I'm planting things up for later.

The second beans are catching up. I planted up some yellow french beans in the green house, but they won't be planted out until much later.

Rhubarb row is filling out but I not big enough to pick any yet.  Undercover I also planted up some leeks from a free packet of seeds I got last year, I wonder if they'll germinate?

The stalks look good and pink but they need to get a bit longer before I pick them. I've also planted up a few new globe artichoke plants.

The strawberries are still in flower but no evidence of fruit forming as of yet. I planted a couple of sunflower seeds and some nasturtiums to put out later in the spring.

So lots planted up in the two greenhouses but nothing to eat at the moment! This time last year my peas were already sprouting and I had picked my first rhubarb. although we've had the sunshine I guess it's been generally to dry and perhaps a bit cold so far in April this year. 
I heard the live commentary on the boat race and sounded rather exciting what with swimmers and broken oars, Cambridge came home first in an event filled race.