Only a quick update today. Last weekend me and my dad spent Saturday and Sunday down the allotment building a new cold frame. It took a day and a bit to put together and the best bit, all the materials were recycled. So without further ado, I present to you the new cold frame.
Autumn is here and this can only mean one thing; time to tidy and clear up the plot. On Saturday morning, I went down the allotment to see how bad it was as I hadn’t been down for a couple of weeks. It wasn’t too bad but parts of it was in desperate need of a weed, mainly the blackcurrant bed and the old strawberry bed. But before cracking on, I had one job to do.
Garlic is a must have vegetable and is simple to grow. There are two types of garlic; hardneck and softneck. Hardneck varieties produce a flower spike which can be eaten, while softneck varieties don’t and tend to store longer. Bulbs that are planted in the autumn have time to develop than spring planted bulbs and this allows them to produce an extensive root system and you are more likely to get a better harvest. Continue reading
The growing season is coming to an end but you’ve still got time to sow or plant out some vegetables to grow overwinter. You can sow in modules in a cold frame or in a greenhouse and plant out in a couple of weeks. If you don’t have access to a cold frame or greenhouse, you can use a fleece to help protect the young seedlings. Continue reading
On Sunday morning I went down the allotment with one aim and that was to start digging over the new plot. I’m still not 100% sure on how I’ll use the new plot, but it’s covered in weeds and grass and really needs clearing before winter sets in. Continue reading
With the winter months approaching, it is time to start thinking about next spring and possibly getting a head start on the growing season. One way to do this is by creating a hotbed. In its simplest form, a hotbed is a trench or raised bed filled with organic matter with soil on top. Not only does this keep the soil warm, but they are also great for improving the soil structure. To build a hotbed:
This is my allotment video update for October 2013. Things are starting to come to an end now, the square foot bed is almost empty, the only thing that remains are a few carrots. My over wintering onions have also gone in, and my leeks that I planted in summer are starting to bulk up.
Plums are one of the great unexplored parts of the fruit world. In the past there were many different varieties, all with different flavours and textures, but now all knowledge of such fruit seems to have been lost. At most, one or two varieties surface occasionally in shops, but few people seem to know of the treasury of delights that could be available. Fortunately, many of the old varieties are available from specialist nurseries, and anyone who takes the trouble to search them out is really in for a treat.
Green manures are often used on bare soil to help smother weeds and help lock in the nutrients. They are then dug into the ground in spring releasing the nutrients back into the soil and also help improve the soil structure.
I’ve managed to get another plot! It’s on the same site has my existing one and better still, it’s the plot next door. My plans for the new plot is to make it into a work area with a couple of beds. The problem I have got with my existing plot is that I’ve got nowhere to work (sowing and planting up seedlings etc), so this new plot with help tremendously. Continue reading