Sunshine at last

At last I have been able to get down to the allotment, after what seems like weeks. I tried to go on Thursday but the minute I got down there and got out of the car it started to rain. I just managed to empty a bokashi bin before I had to make a dash for home.

Anyway, I have had a good session up there today, trimming the grass edges, weeding the carrot seedlings and erecting a fleece fence around them to keep the carrot flies off. Then I decided to dig up some of my maincrop potatoes to see what they look like.


They are the pink ones on the right, Sarpo Mira. They are supposed to be blight resistant. I dug them up because quite frankly, I'm a bit fed up with Charlottes. We seem to have eaten nothing else for weeks and I just fancied a jacket potato for my supper.

I also dug up nearly all the red onions, and the remaining shallots, and brought them home to dry.


At the moment they are outside on the patio, but at the first sign of rain I can move the whole thing into the shed. I also had a go at 'stringing' the shallots which have already been dried, but I won't show you as they are a bit rubbish. Maybe I'll have a bit more success with the onions.

The outdoor tomatoes at the allotment are showing signs of blight, despite being sprayed with dithane. I have already dug one plant up (the worst affected), but I have left the rest for now, though I know it's probably too late for them now. I have cut off most of the trusses with ripe/semi-ripe/on the turn tomatoes and brought them home to ripen here.

Then I picked some runner beans and some french beans and a couple of carrots, and a courgette.


As you can see the beans tend to dangle down on the inside of the frame, making it very easy to pick them. They don't have a great deal of foliage, but there seem to be plenty of beans.

Finally I sprayed the grass and weeds on the path in front of the hedge, so that I can put down bark chips, like I've done further up. The grass has spread to the actual plot, surrounding the tomatoes and lettuces, and it's very difficult to remove. I won't be able to do anything about it until those crops are harvested and out of the way.

Then I came home and sorted, washed, scrubbed and strung.

We have a birthday tomorrow, and we will then have an official teenager in the family!