Gareth's Blog

Tuesday 26th May.

I have done my Treasurer's Report for the committee meeting on Thursday. I am also editing the web page and have uploaded June's Magazines for members to download or read. I have a trip to the Library today to set up for another Window Display. Last time out some of the sticky pads did come loose in the heat and will have to ensure a more thorough prep this time round.

On the Allotment I have just picked my crop of garlic and they are now drying in the shed. I have also this week pick a load of gooseberries, without to much damage to my hands. I made a sauce out of them as I added to  much water to make jam. I put it on my ice cream, naughty but nice, a nice treat on a hot day !

I have just  finished the rhubarb for the year. I only have 2 crowns but they have produced enough for 4 cuttings and is  a very nice treat, I  must say, on Tiramsu.

I have got my Broad beans well and truly in bud. They are  about a metre tall, so have pinched out the tips so the plant can feed the beans growth. Luckily there are no black-fly present and I do check daily if I am there. This last week I planted my Runner Beans and I was a little premature but seeing the weather forecast was good, took a chance and bedded them in my raised bed. They have an anticlockwise bind on the poles and are starting to climb.

I decided to plant my main crop potatoes in a bucket this year and have reached the growing stage over  the top of the bucket. I am using some Growmoor Compost for  a  change (100% Irish Peat Moss) as this is a better water retainer than most of the peat free compost that I normally use. It is a bit more expensive but a real improvement as far as I am concerned.

In my Greenhouse I am growing some  peas. I did not have many pods but I will endeavour to plant many more next year. During this weeks spell of good weather I am hoping for some of the strawberries to turn red. Mum is looking forward to this event and although not a huge crop, there will be just enough to make an ice cream treat.

Finally my fruit bushes and fruit trees are all producing. Last year all my bushes were bare root and are just now starting to produce. I am hoping for some of these fruits to last until show time as I would like to show this year. I have 6 fruit trees and my Plum, Pear and  Apple are in good shape. I had to  re-plant a new  apple  tree as my crab apple died during the winter last year. The plums are profuse and my pears and apples are growing and forming nicely.

The only other jobs  at present are weeding and watering of the raised beds.

It is now 11 am and I have been back from the Library for 30 minutes. I must admit the photos I have taken are full of reflection and glare so will endeavour to return this evening to take them again.

At the moment it is too hot for the Allotment and I will spend the evening there after it cools down a bit. A decent watering needed around the plot and some more weeding. The forecast says it will remain quite hot.

I have taken some photos to show the current state of play and hopefully you will enjoy.

The sun is starting to set and I made a return trip to the Library tonight. The resulting pictures are much better as you can see.

Wednesday 27th May.

Another hot day. I have not been to the Allotment yet.  I  will go  this evening after tea. The weather is most suitable for strawberries, so  hoping some are ripe enough to pick. There are some running repairs needed to the Poly tunnel. It seems waterproof tape and weed membrane to come unstuck after a couple of weeks.

I have one more solution to try. I will try an outdoor rubber mat to see if it will work to  cover the gap  at the base, something suitable and some outdoor velcro. There is enough weight in the mat to add weight and stop the wind picking up underneath. Hopefully the velcro will be sticky enough to adhere to the cover. I will take some pictures this evening to show you. Talk to you later tonight.

Just got back and have  a few strawberries for mum to try. Nice and juicy they were. Did  some  watering and just waiting on the next couple of weeks. The potatoes are doing fine.

Thursday 28th May

It is meeting night tonight at Johnson Park, starts at 8pm. It will  take about an hour. Things under discussion are that they will probably mention the new locks and keys being fitted to many of the sites. My site, Eliz Flats lock change is the 24th June. I have  received a letter from The Town Council saying to go and sign for a new key and hand back the old one.

I have ordered two mats and velcro  so I can fix along  one side at the base of the cover to hopefully make a decent repair. They will arrive Saturday and should be attached  by Sunday evening. I will have to dismantle a gate opening on the near side when I erected it for access to the old plastic Poly tunnel. I am aware there will be repairs needed to the back end as well, so the process will involve deep pockets which might take weeks to fix. If my promises hold true there could be a fresh stack of greenbacks in the pipeline which should put an end to trainers influences. This will, if promise kept, lead to early repayments of outreach costs which I have promised to repay and a dead end payment schedule, being replaced with opulence. If my AI's are right there will be no need to offend often used protocols from  past times. I will know much more around next month's meeting.

Some more strawberries are starting to ripen and hopefully by the weekend some more will be ready for picking.

Some of you fellow Allotmenteers have been asked to contribute to the blog.  Hopefully it will build some momentum across various sites and shed some light on how fellow members are getting on on their own sites. It hopefully deters  from more questionaires being printed and I ask only a few lines or a paragraph a week or month detailing some of your ways  of coping with you allotment growing and general insight to your thoughts and techniques on how you grow.

As the Annual Show approaches it would be nice to know how you are all getting on. Lastly there has been agreed a new Trophy called, The Allotment Cup.  Besides the normal silverware based on next year's show 2027. The Committee have  agreed to present a cup and a keep me forever trophy to the best kept members Allotment starting in 2027.

The rules and guidelines will be issued. The judges will be Manfred Roper and Dave Potten and the judging will take place  in July when the Allotments are in full bloom. First Judging will not start till July 2027 and a result given at the 2027 Show awards along with the normal run of events.

Friday 29th May.

I intend to visit my plot quite early this morning. Mum  usually goes shopping Friday mornings, so will have to  be back by 9 am. I am hoping some of the  strawberries have ripened. The weather forecast for the day is cloudy but dry, with a drop of rain about 10 am. A cloudy afternoon and a very sunny evening.

I have had some thoughts passed on at tonight's meeting about my rubber mats and velcro arriving Saturday. There are 2 mats, 3m x 1.5m and I am wondering whether if I make them 3m x 0.75m, if I cut them in half, they will cover two sides. I won't have enough velcro but  it will be a lot cheaper this way. I will have to wait and see on Saturday. I will order some more velcro today.

Saturday 30th May.

I have some good news. One of  our Trophy winners last year as joined our blog. Janet Gordon is going to contribute to the web page with some news about her own plot at Turners Barn Lane. Her first notes are online and they are very good. I much appreciate the help and wisdom she has to offer. If anyone else is interested in contributing then just send me a few lines weekly or monthly about the state of play on your allotment. Enjoy Janet's Blog.

Sunday 31st May.

Went to the plot this morning.  The broad beans are full of black fly, but having pinched out the tips a week or two ago should be ok. I picked a  couple of bean pods today and will have them for dinner tonight.

The figs  are coming on  nicely and will probably ripen before  the  show. I will return after tea to look at  the strawberries and do some watering. At home the trusses are forming on the tomatoes and It is now I start feeding them.

The greenhouse has some growing going on. Mum likes flowers and I made the mistake of planting seed in normal compost and not seed compost and has killed most of the seeds  as the mix is far to reach a feed for seeds. I have cleaned up the greenhouse and cleaned the shelving and picked out the grass and weeds from the stone floor. I also lowered the top shelf and put at the bottom. The plant watering is much easier now.

Monday 1st June.

My rubber mats have arrived but it has been too wet to do the job.

Tuesday 2nd June.

Another wet day. Saves on watering. I have no transport on Tuesdays unless I start early and finish by 12 noon.

Wednesday 3rd June.

I have some news. A local school has shown an interest in Allotment Life and food and how it is grown. The class teacher is making arrangements to bring his class to one of our Allotment sites in July for a chat, hopefully by Manfred our Chairman on growing on an allotment.

The forecast is not good today.Rain and some high winds most of the day. I will try between 5am - 7am on the allotment today before the rain and winds pick up to see if I can part fix my Poly Tunnel. Hopefully show some pics later today.

Sunday 7th June.

It has been a few days. The velcro did not stick at all well to anything even though it was for outdoor use. Eventually had to  tie wrap  the rubber mat to  the frame on the inside of the poly tunnel. I have taken some advice and may be using some wood as a brace to the frame on the outside and wrapping the weed membrane around the wood ,might be another way. In hind  sight buying cheaper than going professional frame does incur cost but since a professional frame would cost £1200 instead of under £200 for the sunny then having a slightly ill fitting cover which broke in a few places during the storms needs a bit of Heath Robinson approach to secure will take a bit longer.

That besides, I have been picking some broad beans and some strawberries these last couple of days. I have been doing some face book time and there are quite a few tips to growing food quite quickly. I am quite impressed everything from strawberries to grapes and chilies to herbs.  My plum tree is full of fruit and my apple tree has got plenty of apples on it. The pear is doing alright and the fig tree is bursting full of figs. The cherry tree has grown a lot of new branches but as yet is not full of fruit.

I have had plenty of gooseberries so far and the redcurrants and blackcurrants are growing, still green as are the blackberries. The raspberries will take a bit more time to form. The runner beans are climbing up the poles quite well. The rhubarb is done for the year it needs to be left until September the the leaves need cutting back to the base of the crown. The crowns are then covered in manure compost and left to swell under the soil The main crop potatoes have another 14 or 15 weeks before they are ready to be picked.

In the greenhouse at home the 3 tomato plants have trusses on and my chrysanthemums arrived which I have potted. I made a good buy and bought a long probe soil moisture meter and it let's me know when the soil is dry. There are no batteries. just stick the probe in the soil and needle will rest in the dry, moist  or wet part  of the scale. I have got a picture I can show  you.

The Library window display comes down tomorrow. It was do to come down on Saturday but the Library was  shut due to unforeseen staff shortages. We will be back there again on the 30th of June until the 1st of August, a decent run. Only one poster fell off this time, so will probably check weekly during July's visit.

Monday 8th June.

It was quite  a rainy start to today. I went to the Library about 11.15 am and took down the display. We are due back on the 30th of June and will have all of July for the 4th visit.