July 2012 Blog Posts (97)

We've been a bit rubbish lately, not having been down the allotment as often as we might have done.  My excuse is...read more…

Courgettes, broad beans, peas, patty pan summer squash, cauliflower, mint and sweet peas oh and calabrese.

It's been over a week since I wrote anything on here, and with good reason; we've barely been down the ol' plot.  The weather has been what they refer to at the Met Office Read More...

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Some things seem to just want to grow despite you.  We got given a crown of rhubarb when we got the allotment last May and buried it in one of the first patches we cleared of weeds.  After a few months there didn't seem to be any growth on it, Read More...

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Apparently the weather is discussed 282 times per second in the UK, which isn't very surprising when it's as mad as it has been in Newcastle over the last few days. Read More...

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So here we are in late June, roughly halfway through our first proper growing season.  After getting all excited about it, especially in March when the weather was (briefly) amazing, we've seen a fair chunk of our efforts completely scuppered by one of the wettest and coldest summers on record.  …

Today is the turn of the second early potatoes, those of you that regularly read my blog will know that my first earlies were a bit of a disaster.....Read More

Can't remember what the name is but I thought I would harvest them whilst they are green to give the others on the plant a chance to grow - these are a fair old size though - pretty pleased with…

A few days ago I sowed some more french beans and already they are popping through - vigilance is needed - I am determined these plants will not go the same way as the first lot. 

The last of my lettuce were finally demolished by slugs (before the heatwave) now the slugs seem to have disappeared (puts hands together, prays, and says thank you) - So I have planted some more in a trough and have some more waiting to be transplanted - hoping I will get some decent salads out of them before the slugs return.

Because my original runner bean plants don't seem to be doing too well - rubbish in fact - I sowed some more a couple of weeks ago in a large container.  These are now beginning to climb and look in a much better state than the originals - fingers crossed for a late harvest.

Broadbeans, peas, a few tiny tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, a couple of carrots, one beetroot and a few small courgettes.

Each year I attempt to grow all the ingredients needed for the dish Ratatouille. That includes Aubergines, Sweet Bell Peppers, Onions, Courgettes, Tomatoes, Garlic and the herbs Marjoram and Basil. Except for the Aubergines I am mostly successful at growing all the rest. It is a French Provencal stewed veg dish originating in Nice - the French word 'touiller' means 'to toss food'.
continued at http://awomanofthesoil.blogspot.com

was given some old gardening books yesterday. I love old things, even Mike is 8 years older than me. I love the history behind them, which is probally why I love my old greenhouse so much. I know who owned it before me & when I leave my front garden I can see where it used to be kept.

Anyway, the other day when the greenhouse was transported Mike started talking to the man who lived opposite the old owner. Mike invited him to have a look at my little veg garden, it always amazes…

This close it seems.

Early this year I had quite a few spare onion sets so I decided to plant them in containers for use as salad onions. This lot are in a supermarket mushroom tray and they've been buried behind beans and assorted other crops until today. Surprisingly none of them…

Well it is here and up. Mike only broke one pane of glass when reassembling but luckily had spare. Isn't it beautiful.

It was built many years ago by a man named Neville. He died approx 3 years ago & his wife Shirley, decided a couple of weeks ago that it was time for it to go.

When it was first…

See how the Southern National Veg Championships went here

See the top national names in action

Getting to the allotment in the school holidays is not proving easy. To complicate matters it never seems to do much more than rain recently. Anyway, I managed to squeeze in a brief visit yesterday, and was delighted to find that in my absence a couple of baby runner beans have appeared. Yes, there is only...…