This is by far the most exciting time of year for me on the allotment. Yes, I love spring and watching everything wake up and start to burst into life bla bla bla. But you just cant beat watching the allotment go crazy with mass growth from all this heat and rain. Every day I’m shocked at how much everything has grown.
I was a bit worried about the sweetcorn as it was leaning at quite an angle due to some high winds that we had a few weeks ago. Luckily it’s sorted itself out and is back to an upright position and absolutely loving the weather. It seems to be growing an inch or two each day.
The runner beans have grabbed hold of their teepee and are racing eachother to the top. Lots of flowers on each plant so im expecting a good crop. One plant already has some baby runners on it. Unfortunately, the blackfly arrived. I wasnt quite sure how to get rid of them without using chemicals, but heard that washing up liquid is very green. The blackfly breathe through their skin, so the theory is that the washing up liquid forms a sticky layer on them that stops them from breathing. I’m pleased to say it’s worked a treat and hasn’t damaged the plants at all.
The beef tomatoes are doing really well despite a lot of people telling me I shouldnt plant them in old tyres and that I’ve put too many in each tyre. Im lucky to live walking distance from the allotment, so I’m there every day and the tomatoes get plenty of regular water. Plus the tyres aren’t filled with shop bought compost. They are filled with earth from the allotment and are planted so deep that the roots go straight down into the ground anyway. Im might be a novice, but I do plenty of research prior to making decisions about planting.
As mentioned in a previous post. I was a little late to the party when it came to planting my potatoes. I was just struggling to find the time to clear the area of weeds due to how much work I had to do on the rest of the plot. I am pleased to report that the potatoes have broken the surface of the soil so I can start to earth them up. Im so happy that I’m going to have some potatoes this year and that the soil will be beautifully broken down for whatever I grow there next year.
Exciting news
I may have mentioned it before, but I will have a YouTube channel soon that will run alongside the blog so I can share my progress on the allotment with you all in videos so you can actually see what I’ve been up to, instead of just reading what I’ve been up to. Im just waiting for the final touches to my awesome new animated logo intro that is being designed by my amazingly talented friend Kelly Hutsby of Kelly Hutsby Designs. She really is incredible at what she does.