Six on Saturday 30/6/18

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When does Wimbledon start? That’s when it usually rains doesn’t it?

No rain for the whole of June for me, my allotment is in big trouble. If we get a hose pipe ban and the stream dries up that could be game over.

We don’t have water at our allotment to keep the cost down. I do have a 1000ltr IBC tank which dried up a few weeks ago. I have buckets, bins and barrels which I fill and take to the plot, my car is very soggy!

I’ve also put woodchip everywhere and mulched the veg with rotted manure. Every time I water I do a litte weeding as well, don’t want those drinking the water!

Anyway my six involves the allotment whilst it still looks ok

1- This flower wall was going to be for Strawberries but I changed my mind when I had Lobelia, Marigolds and Fuschias all germinating. It was a mistake adding Marigolds as they’re greedy and don’t really fit in with the aesthetics but still nice!

The boys have discovered they can pop the Fuschias!

2- Harvesting with the boys, my eldest isn’t great with veg but he’ll eat it if he picks or grows it! My youngest eats everything so I get as much fresh organic veg into him as possible!

3- My brassicas are doing well, not much soil prep as I find they prefer clay. After Purple sprouting broccoli, cauliflower and Spring Cabbage I now have a glut of Covina Broccoli and Purple cauliflower. They look good and because they like clay there is enough moisture locked in for the roots to find.

4-My sunflowers look great but I’m dissapointed with the height. They’re Russian Giants which could grow to 5mtrs. They have peaked at 6ft. The plants on my allotment had great soil so it is nothing to do with pot size. I had standard sunflowers last year that reached 12ft in the same pots. Size isn’t everything I suppose!

5- No idea why I have mixed Nasturtiums popping up in the plot. I only planted 1 plant last year and it was a red flower, love it though because they can grow up and around the sweetcorn. I also have Borage all over the plot from a few plants last year. My plot is fairly neat and controlled so it’s nice there’s a bit of anarchy 🤘

6- Blauschokker peas, they look great, taste horrible! I’ve pulled them all up and sown Early onward and Kelvedon wonder. These are quick maturing and will give myself and the boys nice sweet peas to pick and eat and probably a grub or two!

These peas join Cucamelons and Callaloo for things I’ve grown but won’t again

That’s it from me, I might see you next week with photos of straw!

Published by greedygardens

"When I was a kid my dad used to take me to his allotment garden on the crossbar of his bike. Now I'm taking my two boys and getting them involved in growing, although in a safer way! My plot is about 20 metre x 5 meter and it seemed daunting at first as the weeds were taller than me but now it seems too small. The soil is generally heavy clay and slightly acidic. I also have a small patch at the end of my home garden which has a green house and potting shed. My allotment is close by, only a 5 minute walk but I normally have to drive as I fill my car up with manure. We have a temperate maritime climate, not too hot or cold. I grow peas, carrots, beans, beets, cabbage, pumpkins, peppers, onion, garlic, potatoes, zucchini, melons, plums, apples to name a few. I am by no means an expert but I learn from mistakes and if I pass on a good tip or recipe then I'm happy. We turn our garden waste into compost. My new hobby is sourcing and collecting manure/compost. There are several horse paddocks nearby who leave bags of manure out for collection. I'm always on the lookout and will either put them in my home compost area or take them to the allotment. It helps that I have a 'poo car', it's an old dependable car that I use only for poo collecting, tip runs and carrying sheds on the roof! I can't go to the allotment everyday as I work shifts so I have to work extra hard when I do get time on the plot. My next step is to make it more interesting for the kids, they get bored after 10 minutes. My 5 year old has his own patch and loves growing fire tongue beans. He also loves stealing peas before I can get them home. I definitely don't grow vegetables to save money; there are so many local shops that sell it a lot cheaper. I grow for the fresh organic taste you get and like every gardener I love eating something you have sown and nurtured. I am a police officer working in London so gardening is a great way for me to relieve all stress!

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17 thoughts on “Six on Saturday 30/6/18”

  2. Your sons are young … you’ll see, they will remember all the good times spent in your allotment with you and they will probably copy their father as I copy mine many years later.
    About this Six, I liked to see your broccolis that look great ! About the Blauschokker peas, maybe the harvest was too late because of the taste you didn’t like ??

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    1. Yep I followed in my dad’s footsteps as he used to take me to his allotment, i remember singing with him to collect water from the well. The peas are just poor, even the smaller ones are bitter, the skin is too thick and chewy to eat as mangetout.

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  3. So lovely to see the photos of your kids helping you out and tasting all the goodies. Totally agree with Fred above… A love of gardening is a multigenerational gift.

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  5. Love the plot and the fact that your boys are interested too! Mine used to pop those flowers too; so lovely. I love your flower wall. Borage is great in tea or, another blogger talked about the flowers in ice cubes. I’m actually praying for water now as my water butts are dry. Like you, a hosepipe ban would kill my garden……

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  6. It’s actually rainy here right now, properly, so I wont be watering the plot today. Once you start you’re locked in as stuff grows lush, probably with somewhat reduced root systems, and collapses the moment the water stops coming. Purple cauli looks good, might have to give that a go next year.

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    1. Lucky you, you must be west then. Very hot and dry here in Bucks. Fortunately the stream is ok so i gave a good watering this morning. Lots to harvest now so I’m nir complaining too much!

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  7. We had the blauschokker discussion on Twitter, you & I, but seeing yours in the composter, I will say again, what a disappointment for you. We absolutely love ours as mange tout, but perhaps they’re like coriander – you either love or hate them. As to your flower wall, just gorgeous & I actually like the marigolds, so we’re going to agree to disagree on everything. Except, perhaps, that your kids are the best things in your pretty excellent garden. Hope you get rain!

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  10. All looking ship shape there. I’ve got the same purple peas. I’m not overly impressed as an eating veg, but ive heard they taste better in a soup. Look nice though. I like your idea of the planter. I have a converted pallet for strawberries but don’t get much out of it. Maybe I should put something else in it.

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    1. I’m useless at Strawberries, the best I’ve ever had were in pots and planters but that might have been the best year for them and the weather. The peas have a skin like broad beans when cooked and go a beige colour so not nice at all. The one good thing is because the skin is so thick I didn’t get many grubs in them. Getting quite a few now in other varieties. They must dislike them as well!

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