All the hard work is starting to pay off, the allotment is producing plenty to take home to the kitchen. Beans and courgettes will need picking daily; blanche and freeze beans to avoid a glut or waste, try to pick courgettes before they become too big and watery. Now is the time I call the second spring - a… Continue reading Allotment Jobs for August
Curl Up and Fry
Record breaking temperatures hit parts of the UK yesterday, they may even be topped after today. As we Brits continue to sizzle under a red alert for extreme heat other parts of the world are also dealing with higher temperatures and wild fires. Scary stuff. It has been a struggle to keep the allotments lush… Continue reading Curl Up and Fry
Scorching Hot on the Plot
Gosh it's hot. Sticky heatwave weather arrived the end of last week sending temperatures rocketing back up to 30C and beyond. The temperature could climb even higher over the coming days. Ugh. The watering cans are getting plenty of action on the allotment, it's enough to keep crops ticking over but the parched soil is… Continue reading Scorching Hot on the Plot
How To Hand Pollinate Pumpkins and Squash
The pumpkin patch vines are producing plenty of big buttery-yellow flowers now which are so pretty. Bees and other insects do a fantastic job of pollinating, but sometimes I hand pollinate my pumpkins and squash to be sure of success or to save seed from a particular variety. Hand pollination is really simple but first… Continue reading How To Hand Pollinate Pumpkins and Squash
Peter Rabbit Cabbages
The Golden Acre cabbages are looking beautiful again, they remind me of the cabbages lined up neatly in Mr McGregor's garden and I can understand why Peter Rabbit risked being pie supper to nibble upon the leafy beauties. I have enjoyed regular little pickings of outer leaves and now the cabbages are starting to heart… Continue reading Peter Rabbit Cabbages
Planting Sunflowers Beneath a Grey Sky
The sunflowers were released from their pot prisons at the weekend, roughly a month later than I would normally plant sunflowers out but hey, they're in now and I can look forward to watching them grow and bloom. I planted a good mix of single yellow giants and multi-branching types in shades of dark purple,… Continue reading Planting Sunflowers Beneath a Grey Sky