Allotment Diary Me:35.25hrs He:30.25hrs

What happened to the rain then?  I was so excited at the prospect of overnight rain that I was up really early and raring to go.

We had a bit of cloud, and when I went outside to load the car up a 8.30am there were a few drizzley drips - and that was it.

It didn't dampen my enthusiam, just cut short my time up the allotment.

My mission was to cover my fruit bushes.  Years ago this fruit cage was covered in netting but over time it had been dessimated by the terrible winter weather. 

Not knowing how long I'll be able to keep up working on the allotment I have compromised.

With a bit of improvisation with bamboo canes stuck into the ground, and pieces of plastic pipe, slid on top and raised or lowered to the optimum height, I have hopes that I have created a bird proof method of protecting my soft fruit crops without too much expense.  (i.e. the protection not working out in excess of the cost of purchasing the fruit.)  Having said that, I never seen red currants in the shops and very rarely any blackcurrants, nor gooseberries, and this fruit keeps us in vitamin C right through until next harvest - plus the jams, jellies, etc.

I had enough netting to protect my row of lovely red gooseberries, but not enough for the remainder of the fruit bushes.

This originally was the cuttings bed, but everything flourished, so redcurrants, blackcurrents, jostaberries, and gooseberries, are covered with a selection of net curtains and black netting renmants.

Three hours since we finished, my hands and arms are still stinging from the result of renegade nettles attacking me through my sleeves and gardening gloves as I wrenched them from their niches and hurled them onto the incinerator ready to be burnt.

Even the cool shower and mango butter body creams didn't soothe them - but I am off to have a choc ice on a stick - you can bet that will be a distraction.

Hoping for rain overnight or all day tomorrow - I'll be having a day or (relative) rest

Allotment Diary Me:33hrs He:28hrs

Still no rain sadly, the soil is like dust, but there were still jobs I had to do.

I picked a barrow full of rhubarb, and once prepared I had 7lb which is now in the freezer.

I made a nice mixed fruit crumble - I'll add the recipe over the weekend,

Yesterday I spent four hours up the plot on my own.

There must have been a frost as some of the tips of the potatoes were blackened.  Not much harm done, I just cut off the damaged leaves and heaped up the potatoes even higher - weeded them at the same time too.  The weeds will soon shrivel and dry.

I had previously dug out deep trenches and we filled them with lots of well rotted manure, and I added a layer of cut comfrey leaves.  These had all dried and were rotting, so I planted some Italian climbing green beans

They are wiggley shaped ones - I grew them at home last year for the first time and they were delicious.   Once planted I watered the beans well then added  yet more comfrey to keep the damp in, and when rotted they will act as a top dressing feed.

How the broad beans continue to grow without a drop of water absolutely amazes me.  But they do!

Ditto the onions - and the weeds too!

In order to keep the beans protected from the wind, and to give them a bit of respite from the unrelenting sunshine, I 'cobbled together' some pieces of netting to make a screen.  Not very pretty, but it'll do the job until they grow up and are thriving.

It was a bit of a let down (understatement) when I saw that the thistles had started appearing in the big potato bed, despite my weeding them out a couple of weeks ago.

It's just not fair that weeds grow in dry, barren, dusty soil!  My next job methinks

The winds had blown off the protection from this big bed, so I had to put it all back and secure it again.  At least it keeps it weed free.

All of the above took me four hours yesterday - now on to today's efforts.

I took these photos of the gooseberry bushes as Mr Lottie didn't believe that the berries were ripe so early.

The downside is that they are small and hard, so I really do want the rain to plump them up to perfection, and I ought to add the netting to keep the birds off too!

I so wish that I had taken before and after photos of this part of the fruit area.

It was full of weeds again - thistles and annuals.  

I cleared them all with my Azada - it was hard work but the tool does get right under the roots.

I have planted cauliflowers, cabbages, and brussel sprouts.  The frame I have made from pieces of water pipe which I cut to size.  Mr L helped me bang in some metal rods and then I slotted the pipe on top - makes a nice sturdy frame.

The plants were really well watered before I attached a lace up 'bodice'.  Well it ended up looking like one to me.  Took me absolutely ages to do!  Hopefully it will keep the birds off, and the rabbits out, and keep the moisture in.

The transplanted rhubarb cuttings could do with a drink, but as we are forecast some rain - if we are lucky - on Saturday night or Sunday, I decided not to water them and save my precious supply of rainwater.

Once the brassicas get tall, I will be able to incresae the height by pulling the pipes up the metal rods - and just sliding the the netting up one side and adding either another piece or chicken wire fencing.  Can't let those pesky pigeons or rabbits at my winter brassicas!

Mr L was kept busy cutting a nice straight edge on the front bed.

And fetching and carrying tools for me too.

Phew - we sure were tired when we got home - so it was a quick home made spaghetti bolognese for lunch.

Allotment Diary Me:26hrs He:25.5hrs

It was a cold, dull windy day, so cold that I had to dress up in my winter 'gear' - perfect for me up the allotment.  We hadn't been well enough to go up there for a couple of weeks and it was a bit of a shock when I saw the weeds!

Not a drop of rain for weeks and weeks, but the weeds still manage to grow!

And my lovely neat weedfree beds now need weeding again.

The lawns need cutting too - how do they grow so fast in a drought?

Mr Lottie mowed the lawns for me.  Look at the comfrey - it's like a hedge and almost in flower.  But I have plans for this so it's not a problem.

Now that the grass has been cut it is looking neat again.  The covered bed in the foreground will remain that way until I am ready to fill it up with squashes and pumpkins - I can't keep weeding it if it is sunny so this is the best option to keep the plot under control

So, here is the result of my work - the front bed which we fenced in this year, has now been weeded by me yet again it is so dry that it is just like dust!  Some potatoes from last year were growing - looking fabulous and healthy, but I dug them up - this is going to be my bean bed.

The trenches are dug for the climhing beans, and filled with well rotted manure.  I use a lot as we don't have running water - it's just a big field - so I can't water everything from my tanks, the plot is too big.

The early potatoes I planted which looked suspiciously like rows of buried bodies, are now 6'6" rows of lovely lush potato tops, grown through the heaped up soil.  I weeded in between and heaped them up even more so - they are looking good - again - without a drop of rain since they were planted - the manure sure works a treat. Hard work, but it's worth it.

The broad beans and onions have managed to grow too - again I did lots of weeding, still got a bit more to do between the onions, but the pathways are cleared

This is where I have sown the parsnip seeds today - we are due rain.   I weeded all this area yet again, sowed the seeds and sowed spinach seeds each side so that I know where the parsnips should appear.

Our soil is so very stoney. No matter how many times I remove the surface stones more flint just comes to the surface.  I am going to grow my carrots in my garden at home again this year.

Here is what I have done with some of the comfrey crop.  It is on the bean trenches.  I'll plant the beans in the well rotted manure and the comfrey will gradually rot down and feed the plants.  I have every confidence of getting a good crop.

So that's it for today - lots of hard work - but we will reap the results later.

I also took home a pile of rhubarb, so I'll be busy cutting that up and freezing it tomorrow!

Too sunny for me to linger in my garden

A quick post with the remainder of yesterday's photos

My hostas survived the winter - I didn't think they would.

They like it here in the shade by the back gate

Although I have a huge allotment, the sun is preventing me from going up there, so I am squeezing in as many veggies as I can in my flower beds.

Broccoli, small round cabbages, and caulis

The rhubarb has lived here for a few years now, next to the water butt which is handy

Now that Mr Lottie is feeling a lot better he fancies rhubarb and yoghurt for pudding

So some of these stems will be picked as soon as I have finished typing this

The woodland flower bed - I think this is my favourite part of the garden in the summer because I can get some shade!

It looks particularly fetching this time of the year with the new growth, nice and fresh and green

The banties love it too and are always rummaging around for insects etc and then running helter skelter up the garden with a juicy worm - being chased by the mob - it never fails to make us laugh!

I thought that my ferns had died over the winter, they are usually in leaf by now.

Aren't they gorgeous?  They almost look prehistoric to me when they start to unfurl.

Isn't nature wonderful - so much texture and colour contrast

This unfurling hosta clump has tiny jewels of dew in the centre of each curled leaf, but I didn't quite manage to catch it on camera as well as I would have liked

This wise old gnome has a few stories to tell I bet.

I was given it by a very elderly neighbour 30 years ago, and he had been given it by an elderly neighbour many many years before that.  I don't have a clue how old it is, and my ex-husband at the time wanted me to throw it away - he considered it rubbish.

I am rather sentimental. and like to think of the people that once owned him - to me he is a priceless treasure.

I have never painted him, I don't want him to looked painted and new - as he is so old, and I think that his aged look suits him.

I have a large pot in the garden near the studio, and it has some Lily of the valley, lemon balm, and mint in it - all of which are self sown.  I really should sort it all out, but I rather like the combination, and just can't help bending to smell the lilies whilst they are in flower, rub my hands in a stem of lemon balm, or chew a  mint leaf when passing  the pot - which is often

I try to fill every gap in my garden - this is a 'waste' area alongside my studio.  It only get the sunshine late in the afternoon, but it seems that it is just enough to keep the gooseberry cuttings - which are now bushes  - happy, and the small rhubarb plant's productive too.

My husband complains that I never sit still - and that's usually correct.

As I am still not back to full strength, I sat in the shade to read the Sunday magazines - something I haven't done for many many years.  These are candid camera shots

 - as you can tell!

Then got carried away reading my book.  As the sun moved around I had to cover up - such a shame, but necessary!

This is how I have to dress when I go outside.

 Either looking like Lady Haversham

or if I am working up the allotment

Worzle Gummidge

(Don't have nightmares!)