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.

Allotment in April (and an announcement!)

from the top: Broccoli Raab, 2x rows Beetroot and the Broad Beans

Rejoice! as we've had some sunshine and warmth. The barbeque has been wheeled out at home and the evenings are lovely and light. I'm also pleased to say that I have finally passed through a big patch of nausea and ridiculous tiredness caused by my new pregnancy - yes! - you read it here 1st!! So now I can start to enjoy this year and also play my "Get out of digging card free." This growing season I shall be taking it a little easier than last.

A couple of trips to lottie in the last week has seen me do some weeding, watering and a little sowing. With the brief help of my fella and a mate, soil has been turned and paths have been weeded and a bean trench has been readied. The broad beans are coming along reasonably. The broccoli raab has got loads to go in the next 30 days (-if it's to make it's 'ready in 60 days' harvest deadline) but is growing well and onions and garlic all shaping up fine. Interestingly, I have so many onions and no potatoes this year which is a turn around from last year. This is good though, as I don't eat that many potatoes, they are cheaper to buy than onions and the whole blight thing at the allotments last year really freaked me out. The onions mostly look after themselves which is definitely good for me. I almost totally forgot them last year and the several I grew last year were a gross underestimation. My boy and I sowed some beetroot and sunflowers, whilst at home the seedlings all need potting on. I'm slightly panicked that I don't have things started that I should and I think I'm going to run out of space on the plot!! oh no!! and breathe!

The beginning of the season...

Super Aguadolce broad beans, first planting under cover.

Pomodori Italiano!

A few days ago I started to get a little buzzy feeling about this year's growing season. Opening my seed box and seeing all the potential is such a thrill. I think I learnt a lot last year, my first true season. For a start, I sowed far too many tomato seeds and each sprout I potted on, and on, and I found it impossible to throw any away. Not only did I become consumed by tomato plants, I left myself with no space (in the conservatory) to sow anything else. Also during the season I wasn't prepared with what to put in after things had finished. This year I want to have brassicas or something ready to go in after my broad beans. I may only put a couple of tomato plants at the allotment because of the whole blight thing last year which totally depressed me. I now have a strange grudge against last years tomato bed. For me it seems poisoned. I don't know what I should plant there. Perhaps I'll find something that will help clarify the ground?

I am sure it's because I have some italian blood coursing through my veins that tomatoes are very important to me. I worked on an Italian film last year, as the UK art director and I got a tip from the production designer that the best flavoured tomato to eat straight is a variety called Datterino, it's a cherry sized tomato. I tried immediately to source it on the internet but couldn't get anything in England. Fortunately I have a 'almost' Auntie in Italy, she brilliantly sourced me a couple of packets. The other variety I am keen to grow is Cuor di Bue, which top chefs Giorgio Locatelli and Raymond Blanc both champion as a cooking tom. Finally I realised last year I absolutely love beef tomatoes so I am also planning to have a couple Marmande plants.

Mmm.. what else shall I be growing?

Oh yes, Diary: today I planted some broad beans, Super Aguadolce variety in the ground which I prepared with some pongy poultry manure and lime. I covered them with my cold frame which I made last year. Note, last year I put the broad beans in in October and over-wintered them, they did quite well. I wanted to try starting them in root trainers this year, which I will but today I saw an opportunity to see what would happen if I tried them this way - we'll see eh?I also pruned the autumn raspberries to the ground too. They need to be weeded around and be fed/ top dressed.

Results of the Garlic test

Purple Peruvian Garlic - only formed two cloves!

Purple Peruvian on left and Thermidrome on right

Q: Can you grow garlic from the supermarket?

A: No, unless perhaps you are lucky enough to get a variety that is right for our climate etc.

I harvested my first batch garlic today after planting it almost eight months ago. The Thermidrome variety which I got from the organic catalogue all seem to have grown perfectly but the Purple Peruvian variety I got from the supermarket was a failure, the bulbs had formed but were very small, in fact only 2 cloves formed. Fortunately the large majority of the garlic I planted was Thermidrome.

I have chopped all the broad beans down to the ground so the roots are intact under the soil holding on the the nitrogen - I hope!?!

I'm totally unprepared as to what to put in next - doh! I think I could put leeks in the garlic bed or should I start rotating? There are still onions in there. I'm thinking that I could do a few runner beans where I had the calabrese and what about sprouting broccoli where I had the broad beans? I'm not sure but the unplanted ground makes me fidgety!!

Super Aquadolce are Go!

It has taken me a bit longer then planned to get some broad beans in the ground. Although I had the bed ready well over a week ago, I have been too busy to plant the beans. But I snuck down to the allotment for an hour today. I also delivered my new incinerator which I have to admit I'm overly keen to use and burn all those weed roots up. 

I have planted two double rows of Super Aquadolce broad beans in the raised bed which I previously dug out all the weed roots and forked in a bag of well rotted manure. I have taken a bit of a risk by planting the two double rows  closer than recommended about 50cm (70cm centres) - this will be another experiment then! the recommended distance is 1m. I have put some enviromesh over the beans as I had some sitting in the shed and thought it would keep in the heat and may help the germination.

I also happened to check the soil pH and it was exactly on the line between 6 and 7 - I'm not sure exactly what that means but I think it's good!

Next to go in are the garlic cloves but I need a new bed dug; not to mention the paths that I want to mulch, the raspberry bed preparing and compost bin locating... Where are those helpful elves when you need them?