Putting up the Polytunnel

I've had the polytunnel I bought off Amazon, stood in the hall for several weeks, but finally put it up today.

Instructions didn't look complicated, and a review on Amazon of the VonHaus 2x3m polytunnel, said it could be put up on one's own, and in a couple of hours.

Today the temperature dropped a little, and the sun was clouded out, with the wind picking up a little that made the final stages a little more difficult.

I found a flat piece of allotment, partly over where the old shed used to be, and laid out some 5m x 2m weed control fabric. I secured that with pegs. The ladybirds were all out in the warmth, and hopefully I haven't covered too many of them up.

It took some time to figure out the numbering on the poles, and which side of each other they needed to be fitted, but after half an hour, it became obvious, and I only made a few mistakes, easily rectified. They reminded you not to tighten the bolts until the end, and you do need to undo some bolts as you work around to slot in higher pieces occasionally. The last few were the hardest to do... The upper support frame had two bolts that refused to join, but by taking them apart and switching, they worked... The door was also easy to do, although one tube was slightly flattened, and I needed to open out the hole from within with some secateurs.

The cover was a bit tight, until you get the ends lined up, and the sides stretched out. The wind had picked up, and it was easier to secure the windy side first, and smooth down the others... I'm pretty impressed by how it all came together. I thought it would be a much tougher job.

I've still to bury in the sides, but they have been weighted under bricks and planks or wood and some earth overnight. I'm not expecting high winds tonight ...

Carrots and Potatoes

I've decided to do many of my root veg in containers this year.

I bought some good 30 litre pots from a local hydroponics store, at a very good price. They were less than £4 each, but I don't remember the exact price.

Ten were bought, originally for the potatoes, but then I saw a good idea for container grown carrots and used two up for that.

Taking advice mostly from the YouTube channel Home Grown Veg, I sifted some used compost for the lower levels, putting all the sifted waste at the very bottom which wouldn't bother roots or the forming carrot. I filled up all the rest with well-sifted new compost up to near the top, weathered well, levelled off, sowed carrots in approximately three cm spacings... I planted several together, thinking I could thin out the weaker ones. On the video, he only planted singly... I don't know how well these will germinate though yet. He used a grid method using old wiring cut to the shape of the top of the container. A good idea! I just guessed, but I would say, there WERE about 45 clusters of seeds.

I grew two types. DRAGON PURPLE CARROTS from Real Seeds, which I had bought last year. Also a pack of PARIS MARKET-style short carrots - I forget name. They are several years old, so I scatterd randomly across the top, and if they don't germinate in 3 or 4 weeks, no problem, I have a well sifted soil for another batch from fresh seeds later on.

Seeds were covered with 1.5cm of sifted soil, lightly pressed, watered down, and again today, as it's been so hot...

Very interested in this experiment... The YouTube harvest looked very impressive and easy to harvest.

I also used the new 30 litre containers for potato growing. I don't fancy digging over the allotment much if container growing is so productive and easy to harvest too. I'd only chitted up 5 types of POTATOES this year of 6 seed potatoes each.

PINK FIR APPLE
RED DUKE OF YORK
PICASSO
a BLUE type
MARIS PIPER

I'm going to grow THREE of each in a container to see how they do... This will be fine for the salad/earlies, but might be too many for the larger Main crops... But at least this way I can compare. Then I will try just TWO if each type in another container, but as I used up two for the carrots, that will have to wait. The final single carrot I will try growing in much smaller, maybe 10 litre pots...

I used a mixture of Potato Fertiliser and Chicken Manure, watered it in well. The box said I should really have done that THREE weeks beforehand!

For the moment, I will water these half-filled pots to allow the fertiliser to dissolve some. Then I will plant three tubers on Tues or Weds... Can't wait!

As usual, the potatoes were chitted slowly on a NORTH facing window. I find this produces the shortest but healthiest chits, rather than have them stretch too far. Unfortunately one type produced roots too as it sweated in a carrier bag before positioning in the window. The roots didn't die back and I doubt will cause too much of a problem.

Easter Sunday Garden Centre Visits

A few hours out to local garden centres with the parents this afternoon.

England is experiencing record high temperatures this Easter, locally it was certainly 25'c. I think the South was expected to have 27'c. The garden centers we visited were busy, but many others were closed due to Easter Sunday trading laws.

Firstly we visited a small local independent centre at Bury Bank, Stone, an off shoot to our more local one at Johnson Hall, Eccleshall. Until recently Johnson Hall was lived in by the widow of a very distant cousin of mine - but that doesn't get me a discount.

They've opened a bigger centre off the A51, Nantwich to Stone which has a smaller selling area, but many of the polytunnels they need to support two centres. It's named after the ancient hill fort which I've not yet walked around. There is little to see as it's wooded over.

The bedding plants looked excellent there. I was interested in the FERN range which I need for a sheltered part of my garden. However, they didn't have a very tempting range of CHILLIES… the usual jalapeno, cayenne, etc, but did have some excellent herbs. I will go back to buy some LEMON THYME.

As it was just up the road, we also visited the comparatively ubiquitous Trentham Gardens, near Stoke-on-Trent. The carparks were full, and again, people seemed to be panic buying bedding and hanging basket plants. They had a great herb range this year, the best I've seen, and some very interesting chillies, looking large and healthy. I didn't buy any though. Dad picked up some Rose Shrub Spray... rather expensive, but will last him a few seasons, Mum bought dried Mango slices...

Sadly, as again the Easter Sunday Trading Laws meant that half the shop front was closed -- the interesting half with bulbs and kitchenware...

Hard Pruning of the Garden

I've neglected the garden this and last year, and my 20-year old shrubs are rather too mature for a small garden...

The garden slopes down to the house, and is mostly sun and wind exposed, so quite dry... Perfect for Lavenders, rosemary, hebe.... I'd be happy just for a garden of those. On the shady side I have some conifers, heathers, ivy, ferns... I used to have the back-up National Hosta Collection, but it wasn't really practical in my dry garden... A few still survive.

I used to get a lot of slug damage, but now they've moved out, and it's mostly snails...

I've taken out two carloads to the tip today... Lots more to do...

I think I have to be cruel, and decide that one shrub goes each year... but which one do I start with?!

Tomatoes for 2019

39 tomatoes all potted up, and enjoying their first few days out in the sun.

Today's weather was 21'c and little breeze, so it was ideal for them.

Here they are in their nighttime holding-station, the laundry...

They're not going to get much light in here, unless it's sunny enough to go outside, so hopefully, they'll have a polytunnel to go into soon.

Varieties sown:

Sweet Million
Red Profusion
Tumbling Tom Red
Atomic Grape
Black Vernissage
Hundreds & Thousands
San Marzano
Gigantomo
Reisetomate

also
4 Tomatillos from James Wong

I had bought a packet of Moneymaker from B&Q, my best tomato from last year, but the packet was empty...

Day Out at Anderton Boat Lift

A few photos from our day trip into Cheshire...

Anderton Boat Lift:

It's a Squash Planning Day

Today was all about planning for my squash sowing tomorrow.

I think my allotment has always been about unusuals… I won't normally grow anything I can buy easily.

I am planting many types of squash, about 2 or 3 pots of each, perhaps 1 or 2 seeds in each.

This could be a very healthy summer coming up!

Best Oca Ever?

Last year, without having a plot, I gave many of my OCA seedlings away and grew a few for myself in smallish pots and a couple in larger pots, just to see if they would take...

I mostly forgot about them the whole year, until two weeks ago when I dug them up.

I have about 40 tubers, not enough to eat, but as I planned, just enough to replant a veg patch... I don't know which varieties I originally bought, but I only seem to have pale yellow and pink/red left...

I was concerned about moisture causing any rot, so have rested on a baking rack, until dry...

New Season, New Plot

A sunny February morning down on Sally's Plot today, there at 9am in the mist, with glorious blue skies by the 12pm finish followed by a few pints down the pub!

Clearing off old wood and matting, pulling up old fat hen stems (already self-seeded, no doubt), tidying up plastic and weed-control covers, and digging over a few patches.

Excellent soil condition, some already dug over and covered, abut a few beds with last year's failed potato harvest still in there. That will have to be next weekend's mammoth job.

We're West-facing to the houses on Corporation Street, with sunlight coming from the left.

I haven't named or numbered beds yet, but here's a quick run down of the plot.

(Above) This is the back of #Plot21, it extends as far as the fence behind and Keith's plot from then on.

There's a mature apple tree, apparently red-coloured, don't know if cooking or not. There are a few on the ground, so last year seems to have had a good haul.

There's a bit of unused land which could have compost bins, or storage space. It's not level, and I don't see why it should be here...

Amar's plot is to the right, you can see a cherry tree and a couple of unknown fruit trees.

Then there's a covered area. Haven't tested the soil underneath yet. I'm thinking as this area is shaded by the apple tree, it might be good for squash. It can sprawl freely, be relatively unkempt without worry and still have good morning, and dappled afternoon sunshine.

Then there's the polytunnel. The cover was ripped off late last year in October storms, and was disposed of today. I'll order a new polytunnel cover, but I guess it's cheaper to buy a new complete set, framework and cover, and start again... This framework won't go to waste, I'll buy in some scaffolding netting and cover this over as a wind-sheltered protected area. Perhaps some hardier chillies.

In front of the polytunnel frame is a dug over area, not checked soil texture yet, then  a hard-standing area that used to be a shed. I don't see the point of buying a shed, if it's advised against locking it anyway. I'll only need a few tools from home at a time, and fertilisers etc can be stored in the polytunnels.

I'm not sure where to place the new polytunnel though. Behind the existing frame, or in front over the hardstanding, or in front of that even, on the right of the photo. I'm tempted by the last option at the moment., leaving a gap in between for tender plants, herbs, some squash, etc.

This might be where that new polytunnel goes... still haven't checked out sizes yet, maybe a 4mx2m will fit?

This is a strangely-shaped L-bed, with last year's potatoes in front, four rows I think, with a bed to the left that I've dud over and recovered, the top left had sweetcorn in it last year, and then a bed to the right that is also dug over and ready for planting.

I dug over this bed this morning, re-edged the sides, and then have covered over again. This will be the first bed I plant, but I think too small for potatoes, so maybe onions, shallots or late-planted garlic.

To the left, off camera is a permanent bed, that currently has asparagus... I'll wait until next 6 weeks to see how that does. If it does well, the aspargagus is only in one corner, I could plant three other permanent plants there, rhubarb, sea-kale, any other suggestions? So, that way, I could force one a year, leaving the rest to recover. I've never harvested asparagus yet though...

To the right, is a salad and radish/beetroot bed. It looks like many are still in place. There could be a Spring harvest there, I don't know yet. Do these crops need to be rotated too? I guessing root veg do, but salads? It looks a nice bed to keep on growing salad.

Then I have the main veg plot... Last year's potatoes, 3 rows, NOT harvested. I'm sure there will still be some small edible ones there, MANY in fact, that will undoubtedly sprout later this year. But I don't know Sally's crop-rotation plan, so will assume NOT to plant potatoes here this year.

The frame on the left came from Amar's plot. It won't stay here. It fits another (seen earlier) patch better, and although I'm not interested in growing brassica, could still be used to protect crops from  butterflies, birds, maybe even badgers...

Then there's Sally's famous front-of-plot flower garden!

There are four Chocolate Sedums that have flowered and should come up strongly next year, and two tremendous hellebores with beautiful large flower heads. A few dafoodils are emerging, there are markers for other [errenials: poppies, anemones, everlasting sweetpeas, dahlias, etc.

I think behind this bed, I'll plant some annual cutting flowers... cosmos, gladioli, etc

Breakfast Bars!

12 January 2019

I'm a big one for buying kitchen gadgets, and my local LIDL was selling baking equipment that looked idea. It was a silicone mold with sic cavities, for breakfast bars...

I found a great recipe from Jamie Oliver, and adapted slightly.

From the photo it seems to have made 15 bars.. all very delicious, nutritious, healthier than skipping breakfast certainly!

I ate these at my desk at school while I had a cup of tea, setting up my lessons for the day.