Fertile Summer

With the Solstice looming it seems like everything has burst into life. We went crayfish fishing and managed to get a very modest haul so hopefully this means the little buggers are in decline in the guildford canal system. T and L loved it and despte muggins ending up chief cracker and desheller of the aforementioned crayfish we had a lovely crayfish risotto that night accompanied with rocket from the lottie - the call of self sufficiency is just SOOOOO tempting!

Lambs jumping in the fields, bunnies just about everywhere and our allotment has gone bonkers! T's plot is awash with green and we got the first sugarsnap peas and strawbs from it a few days ago! How proud was he that his plot has yeilded the first edible non salad crop. The brassica frame is heaving! Everything has been slugged within an inch of its life and from the 11 cucumber plants we HAD we now have 5 and a half left which look very sorry for themselves! So cue many slug hunts which the chooks are very grateful for. The cheeky little moos have now started turning their noses up at fresh veggies from the allotment and looking for for the handful of slugs instead!!!!

This is T's Plot bursting with life!!! Note the really tall sunflower at the back, we're hoping that will win the tallest sunflower competition as its still going!

We had a minor crisis when the potatoes started looking a bit brown, so we dosed them with epsom salts whilst we waited for our comfrey tea to perk! Apparently it's ready when it smells like death! Today it started smelling like death and was liberally sprayed on the plots!

Days like these

Fairy nuf the weather is down to the evils of global warming but ISN'T IT STUNNING!!!! We had made terrific head way on the lottie and just loved being outdoors - bliss!!!

We have got the potatoes in and the brassica frame made with rocket, brussels, savoy cabbage and calabrase as well as swiss chard currently waiting to grow and salad waiting to go in.

T's plot has grown to take over the salad be next to it as the salad can fit in the brassica frame. So he has planted his carrots, surrounded by chives to deter carrot fly, potaotes, loads of sunflowers and some sugar snap peas. Its all getting very exciting!!!

More lottmenting

So today we measured and planned the allotment whilst T dug for pig bones! The allotments were a pig farm during ww2 and there are loads of bones in the soil....can't quite work out why but there are! T has decided he wants to plant sunflowers, potatoes, carrots, lettuce and tomatoes and peas...... He has never eaten lettuce or tomatoes (cept from in pasta sauces etc) or carrots but assures us that he will if he has grown them so that told me! I have dutifully planned how we can fit the amount of plants I have just bought (possibly more than last year and they were supposed to be for an acre) in our weeny half rod plot but with my trusty calculator and ruler and scale plan of the plot I might have done it. I was working from the point of view of "Whilst it says plants should be placed 45 cms apart, 20cms short of that isn't going to make that much difference and if the plants are closer together then there is less room for the weeds!!!" that's my story and I 'm sticking to it!!!! In tribute to my Aunty Wend we are planting potatoes but proper tubers that we will chit.......(when I work out what that entails, so far it seems to involve egg boxes and peat) Any ways initially it was "hey lets have a go at planting potatoes!" now its "We have 4 different varieties of potato. First Early, Second early, early main and late main............and I have gone for the ones that Hugh Fearlessly eatsitall suggests as he is our gardening guru!!!

So this year we will grow:-
Potatoes
Carrots
Leeks
Broccoli - purple sprouting - oh get us aren't we posh
Calabrese - NOT broccoli just billed as it in supermarkets...hopefully this time totally caterpillar free coz last year it made me feel a little queasy!
Brussel Sprouts
Savoy cabbage
Spring cabbage
French beans - purple and green
sugar snap peas
Cucumbers
Butternut squashes
Pumpkins - giant of course
Sweet corn
Strawberries
Tomatoes
Peppers
Chillies
Courgettes

And they will be in the ground at the time they are supposed to be.....not in May!!!!!!!!
Truck load of horse shit being delivered this week and we'll be away!!!!! yay for horse poo!

Need a weekend to recover from the weekend!!!!

Saturday was a jolly down to Dorset to see H and the gang. We arrived at about lunchtime and I lost T within minutes of entering the house........he kind of gets absorbed!! B and L spent the day alternately arguing and kissing! Where as T and S did lots of very boysy wrestling and chasing!!!!!I was pleased to see that T could hold his own, not having any older siblings. T did manage to come home with a split lip but that was nothing to do with the wrestling or the chasing, he merely smacked himself in the mouth trying to lift the handle of a push along toy out of the toy and it came away quicker than him thought!! And made a nice mess too. We went up to Bond's folly on the purbecks and walked back down again to see the sun setting over the sea and to the dulcet tones of L have the worlds most monumental tantrum. Sadly he had forgotten what he was having the tantrum about approx 30 secs into the tantrum but it didn't stop him from hollering like a good'un all the half mile walk back down the hill. D naturally had to climb on top of the folly just coz he could........and this is where the kids get it from!!!!!

Then we went to have a look at H's new house before going back to let the men cook tea! L decided to continue his tantrum and general clinginess, which was nice. Then we all played on H's Wii which I have to admit is bloody marvelmouse! Shame we can;t have one!

Sunday and we decided to get a head start on the allotment. D had borrowed a rotivator and the Steward had told us that we hadn't taken as much of the plot as we were entitled to, so we moved the boundary fence, shifted where the compost bins were (hmm that was a nice job) and re arranged the plot completely. T wants a patch of his own so we created a big bed behind the green house and have set aside half for him. We picked the last of the leeks and broccoli and about 3 million brussel sprouts. The noisette ones were the tastiest and most successful so we'll be doing them again this year! Then D rotivated the whole plot and I laid a carpet path. Then T and I set about trying to rid the new bed of evil convulvilus (bastard evil plant) T raked and sifted though with his fingers removing bits of root and big rocks from his bed and is very excited about what he is going to plant......Although I am not that sure how well an orange tree is going to fare in Surrey!!!! We are thinking about getting an apple tree for the main garden tho, well we need something to plant L's placenta under as it can;t sit in the freezer forever!!!

Was looking at the science section of EC today and I am guessing that the allotment will cover most of reception and KS1 science so there's a plus!!!!!! Who knew?