A Weeks holiday down the plot

This week I took a week of work to spend down the plot, this enabled us to do many jobs we have been trying to do for ages. We got Steve's parent to come down to help us make our shed level. Thanks to them we no longer fall down to the other end of the shed!!! We have a great success ( so far) with the produce we get from the plot - Alot better than last year and the plants seem to be doing so much better. I think this is out best year yet!!!

Here are a few pictures of some of the veg growing, Here are my leeks, I have decided to out toilet rolls at the bottom to try and get a longer white area of leek.

This is our favourite bed - its has the courgettes, carrots, onions, butternet squah, broadbeans and a few flowers. We just like the size, how well the veg is growing and the flowers in the bed are just great.

I can grow Leeks!

I have had problems over the last few years with growing leeks, they always end up having loads of leaves but not much below ground. I did dig up a few last week and they where not very good so decided I am just rubbish at growing leeks. I decided to dig all my leeks and I was very surprised. A few of them had a large amount of Stem with Steve can cook with.

Leeks from the Allotment

When we visited the allotment yesterday we decided to pull up a few leeks - they are not the biggest as I think the hole I dug was not big enough, but they are still nice. Steve was going to make a chicken pie so he decided to add Leeks instead of Peas!

Here are the leeks

The Receipe is below - Steve changed it a little but it was lovely.
http://uktv.co.uk/index.cfm/uktv/food.recipe/aid/573815

A bit of Sunday gardening

This morning to drove to wickes to get some timber for the new frame for the large broken plastic green house and a cold frame. While steve built the new base I put the small plastic green house together and found it a new home. Our Garden gets really windy so it is now near the front door. Actually lost my temper several times while putting the stupid thind together as poles kept coming apart. Managed it after a while and having to come into the house twice to calm down!

Also planted a few onions in pots. Not to many, only 4 as they are suppose to exibition size but the tempt has to be hot in the green house, as I think I would not be able to get the temperture required ( 2o c) I did not want to waste too many seeds so done 4 to see how they process.

Also planted some Sweet Peas and Red Hot Poker which will mainly be planted on the allotment and a few for the gardens at home.

Did not get around to making a cold frame, maybe a job for next weekend.

We also paid a visit to the allotment - just a quick visit to see if we had any wind damage and also to put the water butt back - Steve Screw the Water Butt to the pallets - hopefully it should not move!

The only Wind damage we had was my Broad beans, only a few broke, nothing to get worried about, I have loads anyway. The ones left are doing very well.

The leeks are still growing so we are going to leave them in the ground for a while. Both the red and white onions are all growing well, red better than white. They wont be ready till about August, which we thought was a very long time, we planted them in Oct 2006. Oh well thats what the instructions say.

We have some other onions to plant aswell so I think we will be over run with Onions but Steve uses Onions loads in cooking so it wont be a problem, if we have to much, then we just give to family.

The Brocolli and Spring Cabbage seem very happy in the little tent we built for them, which is great. I dont eat any of them but maybe Steve will get me to try them!

Garlic is also growing well

My Peas are not gwoing well - a little bit of growth but maybe they might start growing soon.

Few photo's

Me and Steve went to the allotment at the weekend to set up a few more beds and a bit of weeding, while we was there on saturday Steve noticed our Water butt had disappeared - it had been blown away in the wind and was now on out next door plot, it was halve full of water but no longer. We was not happy. Steve is going to find a way to screw the Water Butt to the bits of wood it is standing on.

We also had ind damage in our back garden, we have a plastic greenhouse that got a bit damaged but Steve managed to fix it and my small 4 tier green house got thrown around. Luckily I had taken out the Garlic I had planted to give it some water, thank god they are save! Also severals bits of wood where blown from one our sheds.




Here are my new beds - managed to dig 2, which will contain Raspberry canes, onions and maybe carrots.


Picture of one of our cabbage's, which are doing very well.
We also decided to take up a few leeks - they wasnt very big but we used them to make leek mash potato which was lovely.

Also decided to seperate some of the broad beans as I decided I had planted them to close to each other so I seperated them a bit and placed them in the beds with the peas and garlic.

Update on Broadbeans

I checked the Broad Beans the other day and they seem fine, I think now the weather is not so cold they have recovered!

The Leeks seem to be doing very well, not sure when I can use them but I might just have to use my judgement as I think I lost the packet they come from :-(

All the other Veg seem to be doing very well which is good.

Just cant wait to get started.

Ordered loads of potatoe seeds which I cant wait to arrive. I am planning to plant them at the end of the allotment, out of the way, which should fill a empty space.

Some weeding may be needed next time I visit the allotment.

more photo's

Just a photo of the leeks - which are growing very well. Cant wait to eat them!

Broadbeans are doing very aswell.

whats on the allotment?

Well we only have a few items growing as we got the allotment out of the growing season.

At the momment I have leeks which started life in my back garden. I went mad when I was sowing the leeks, I sowed the whole packet so i ended up with loads - I did not have the space so I gave them away on a recycle web site to give them away as I could not bring myself to throw them away. I sowed some in my back garden and some in my allotment - luckily we was giving the allotment when the leeks where big enough to be placed in the ground.


I also have peppers, my mum bought me a pepper plant which I have got about 4 peppers of the plant. I did have them in my garden in pots but decided to plant them on my allotment, its a bit late for them to be out but they seem to be doing all right. I might pick the bigger ones tomorrow

We also have broad beans,Cabbage and Broccoli, these are all new to us so we are trying to get loads of advice on them. Our neighbour recommend us to cover the cabbage and brocoli with some wire as the birds loves them and she lost some last year. They where growing great and then they was gone :-( I had a look at the cabbage when I took this photo and they are growing well.