Allotment Layout

The first home grown strawberry of the year!

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The yellow line marks the boundary of my plot. There are also borlotti beans along side the runner beans and peppers and chillies in the tomato bed. I have a little space in the herb beds and room next to the tayberries (where I was hoping to plant a blackberry bush, finances permitting!). I have bunged the squashes in the courgette beds but it's a temporary arrangement, they will need more space. It's looking tidy today with all my recent weeding efforts. My lovely under-gardener put up with another 5 hours there today. We had a lovely picnic and our sweet lottie cat friend came to visit us as usual. It was a truly delightful day.

The many jobs of June!

So many things to do.... so little time to blog.

At home I've been rescuing tomato plants which cooked whilst I was in Morocco and temperatures soared here. I've potted on about eight plants at home, with basil and marigolds and the rest are destined for the allotment. I lost my cucumber but sowed another.

At the allotment it would be easy to be overcome by the weeds and the all the other of jobs to do, especially being pregnant and knowing I really have to watch I don't overdo it. I have worked on one bed at a time and I seem to be making steady progress. I really want to get my paths covered as it is ridiculous to be continually weeding them, but they are always low priority.

So I have planted on the plot this weekend:- Calabrese Broccoli, Celeriac, Runner beans, Borlotti beans, Butternut Squash, Cucumber, Sunflowers and Peppers. Along with weeding, constructed the bean support, netted the fruit, put straw under the strawberries and prepared the tomato bed. Courgettes went in about a month ago now and are doing really good. The broad beans have come up fine not as tall as last year and the blackfly are worse also. I really think it is worth over-wintering them like I did last season. Note to self: -I will try to sow for over-wintering this November but the new arrival may make that a little tricky!! (and carrots for that matter.