OUR ALLOTMENT - Life on The Weald, March 2019
The abnormal February heatwave is gone and March has started like a lion, with gale force winds and heavy rain (including hailstones). Early in the month we found our neighbour's fruit cage, upside down in the middle of our patch and some of the cladding on our shed will need repair from wind damage. But the crops seem to have survived, even though the broad beans are a bit wind-battered.
I'm not making excuses, but we have had a few other interruptions to our work on the plot, apart from the weather. We lost a weekend when we were up in London for the Big Half . It was pretty damp and breezy for spectators on the Finish Line at the Cutty Sark, but appalling conditions for the participants.
As the storm clouds gathered over Greenwich....
....the spectators were able to wrap up against the wind
........but not so, the participants! But it was great to be there to see our nephew's partner, Emily, finish with a sub 2 hour Personal Best
It was also great to be there to cheer Mo Farah, Charlie Purdue and David Weir winning the Men's, Women's and Wheelchair races respectively, and I was able to take some reasonable photos.
After the races, we battled the hailstones and walked to Deptford for a few craft beers, some biltong and Sunday roast at Big John's Biltong Bar, a joint venture of my daughter, Zoë
Back from our travels to Greenwich/Deptford, the weather was still bad, but on those wintry days there are always the indoor grown seedlings to care for. As soon as our tomatoes gain their first true leaves they will be ready for potting on.
The cavolo nero has germinated
and the cucumbers look healthy and might be ready to go outside to harden off in a couple of weeks if the cold winds die down.
The leeks are also looking good.
Out on the allotment, I had previously dug two trenches where the runner beans will be sown, and partially filled them with kitchen waste, shredded newspaper and torn up egg boxes. Runner beans need a good water-retentive soil and any organic matter that can go underneath them will be beneficial - especially if we get a dry spell while we are away in the summer. I have now filled in the trenches with the soil that had been dug out and given a top dressing of a blood, fish and bone fertiliser.
On the opposite side of the plot, our new neighbours have been busy erecting a new shed and greenhouse and clearing the weeds. It made ours look a little untidy as we had an overgrown patch full of dandelions, dock, couch grass and bindweed so I made an attempt to clear it and it certainly looks better.
I have bought a new raised bed to go there to grow french beans later in the year - but I might sow a crop of broad beans first which, hopefully, will be ready to harvest by June.
Sylvia has been riddling the soil we have dug out and this will be put back in the bed mixed with some compost. But first I have lined the bed with cardboard and newspaper to deter the return of any couch grass and bindweed.
The peas which had been sown indoors and planted out seem to be surviving the strong winds
I'm not making excuses, but we have had a few other interruptions to our work on the plot, apart from the weather. We lost a weekend when we were up in London for the Big Half . It was pretty damp and breezy for spectators on the Finish Line at the Cutty Sark, but appalling conditions for the participants.
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| Greenwich skies from the Cutty Sark |
....the spectators were able to wrap up against the wind
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| Me on board the Cutty Sark |
........but not so, the participants! But it was great to be there to see our nephew's partner, Emily, finish with a sub 2 hour Personal Best
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| Emily crosses the line Actual personal time 1.49.20 |
It was also great to be there to cheer Mo Farah, Charlie Purdue and David Weir winning the Men's, Women's and Wheelchair races respectively, and I was able to take some reasonable photos.
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| Sir Mo Farah |
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| Charlie Purdue |
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| David Weir |
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| Zoë and John, Deptford High Street |
Back from our travels to Greenwich/Deptford, the weather was still bad, but on those wintry days there are always the indoor grown seedlings to care for. As soon as our tomatoes gain their first true leaves they will be ready for potting on.
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| 7 March Tomatoes |
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| 7 March Cavolo Nero |
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| 7 March Pepino - cucumber |
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| 7 March Leeks |
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| 12 March Bean trenches filled |
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| 12 March - plot ready for new raised bed |
Sylvia has been riddling the soil we have dug out and this will be put back in the bed mixed with some compost. But first I have lined the bed with cardboard and newspaper to deter the return of any couch grass and bindweed.
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| 14 March Raised bed in progress |
as do the broad beans which had been transplanted last month.
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| 12 March - Broad Beans |
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| 16 March - Broad beans sown outdoors in November |
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| 16 March - Nicola second earlies |
Meanwhile we are still harvesting purple sprouting broccoli and I'm very thankful that I netted the plants to keep off the pigeons
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| 16 March - Purple sprouting broccoli |
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| 16 March - Purple sprouting broccoli |
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| 16 March Rhubarb |
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| 16 March Rhubarb |
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| 17 March first early potatoes sprouting |
Sláinte ☘️
St Patrick's Day and the sun was shining and much to be done!
We have arranged to go away for a week at the end of March - in search of sunshine - and true to form the weather at home changed dramatically, the winds dropped and the forecast is sunny periods and no rain for about ten days!
Before going away, I had a long session on 18th March when I sowed some broad beans, Masterpiece Longpod, and peas, Kelvedon Wonder, in the new raised bed.
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| New raised bed sowed with broad beans and peas Transplanted spinach/chard in the background |
I also cleared an area where we had grown brassicas last year to make room for a row of second early Charlotte potatoes. There were still some beet spinach and chard plants taking up space that I needed for my potatoes and as they were coming to the end of their life, I moved them - you can just see them in the picture above behind the raised bed. I have no idea if they will survive!
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| Charlotte second early potatoes planted 18 Match |
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| Chard |
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| Purple sprouting broccoli - 18 March |
Hopefully, there will be a final picking of broccoli when we return from holiday before it goes to seed and then I can clear the area for the rest of the Charlotte potatoes.
The Duke of York potatoes were now all showing through - I think they know its the equinox and the first day of spring!
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| 20 March, Duke of York First early potatoes |
I earthed up them up to cover the shoots, just in case there's a frost while we are away.
I looked back at photos of the area where they are planted to see what it was like when we took over the plot in September 2017.....
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| Autumn 2017 |
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| Autumn 2017 |
...and feel that we are making some progress.
As I left. I looked back and felt quite satisfied - the half plot on the left became ours in October 2016 and was a complete wilderness and we took over the plot on the right in September 2017 and that was even more derelict. At last I feel we are getting somewhere.
And the redcurrants, which had been moved twice, originally from our garden in Belvedere to Luke's plot at Mile Oak and then to The Weald last year, also know it's spring as they are just coming in to leaf.
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| Red currants 20 March |
We took off for the sunshine on 21st March hoping that all would be well when we returned
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| Fishing nets, Santa Pola, drying and awaiting repair |
After a week of over-indulgence and cooking some delicious meals including Rabbit and Seafood, I was probably in need of the exercise on the allotment.
....and the spring weather had arrived, so it was time to reclaim the conservatory and put the seedlings outside to harden off.
Up on the allotment, all was well and on the last Friday of the month I was able to harvest quite a lot of purple sprouting broccoli and lift some of the last remaining leeks.
But then the weather changed. Temperatures dropped and there was a cold wind. My outdoors seedlings took a battering and suffered windchill so I have brought them back inside again - apart from the leeks which I will transfer to a seed bed.
The area where we grew runner beans and cucumbers last year has been neglected and overgrown with weeds and some brambles. The weeds look healthy so the soil is obviously fertile!
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| Site of last year's runner beans and proposed area for brassicas 2019 |
It will be a priority to clear next month as this is where my brassicas will be planted out. I made a start on Friday 29th March by digging a trench about 15ft long to mark the edge of this section and dug out lots of couch grass and bindweed.
And Luke and Sylvi spent a morning with me on Saturday, making a start on clearing the rest - we managed about a quarter of what is needed!
The Duke of York potatoes which had emerged earlier in the month which I had earthed up were now showing through again, so I gave them a watering as there has been no rain for a week.
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| Duke of York potatoes |
