2 September - Rollercoaster Ride

Oooh have we got news for you. A lot seems to be happening all at once, some happy and some sad things. Get on board the Allotment Rollercoaster!

Firstly, we dug up the potatoes. Avid readers will recall that they were planted in appalling conditions in small trenches dug directly into the grass, i.e. we did not dig up the soil as such. They have suffered, as have others on the allotment, with blight, and we came to the conclusion that the time had come to see what nature had given us. They are a pleasing pinky shade and by and large in a good state. There were a few mouldy/tiny ones and we put this down to the generally poor conditions and the blight.


They filled a sturdy carrier bag and were proudly shown to various allotment neighbours, including The Nettle Guy (who apparently is called Derek but I prefer Nettle Guy). Our potatoes are snugly stored in the garage in an eerily prescient set of sliding shelves donated by The Neighbours.




The next uplifting thing to happen was the completion of the plot perimeter. Some of you will no doubt have been fretting about the security of the plot, given that we hadn't fixed the corners of the fence nor finished the gate. After due consultation with Pat and Jo, we sorted out the corners (K was allowed to use the staple gun for the first time - woo hoo) and the gate is now operational pending the installation of a bolt (there's a bit of a gap in the middle, ahem). We are proud that there is no other gate like it on the allotment.

It's weird how much of a difference the fence and gate make. OK, we know we had to do it because of the rabbits. We feel less like pioneers and more like tenant farmers.

A note about the weather while we're all philosophical. Weather has been dry and cloudy for quite a few days now. Warm but not hot. No rain so we have watered since we came back (yes readers we actually left the plot for a few days R&R in a campsite - if I don't spend some time indoors soon I shall turn into Tess of the D'Urbevilles).

Other joys are the ever-happy celery and also the peas which are now definitely flowering and podding. Oh how we wish we'd planted more. Next year next year. The two Brussel Sprout plants are looking good especially after some jazzy looking caterpillars got ejected. We remain slightly mystified by the broccoli.

We now come to the sad part of the story. Your favourite and ours, the Pumpking of lurve, has been demolished. Something had made him all soggy and mouldy. Perhaps it was hubris. It's certainly a lesson not to take everything for granted. We are very sorry - though it must be said that there are some nice pumpkingettes coming along. They are small though and probably won't get to any great size. We think we might take a few of the best potatoes to the Garden Society Show next Saturday instead.

And onward we go. We have decided to dig up where the potatoes were completely and use it as a winter growing spot, in rows, not a bed as such, as it is in the area where our rows will be established (we must do a chart of the layout for you and indeed for ourselves). After some consideration, we have now sown 60 Hi Keeper F1 Hybrid (Overwintering Onion) seeds in peat pots for planting out when they have learnt to cope with the microclimate in our "conservatory" - and 30 Flower of Spring cabbage seeds likewise. The onions are ready in June and the cabbage in March-April. Not all these seeds will produce viable plants of course. We'll finalise the preparation of the soil next week, and put some wood round it to protect it from weeds. It is very exciting thinking that there will be things growing over the winter for us to eat afterwards. Just imagine, in the early spring, we will be able to sow things to eat over the winter itself! See what we mean by the Rollercoaster Ride?