August 2009 Update
Late summer this year was a time of abundance on our allotment, which is not surprising with the amount of rain we had! It was practically a monsoon at times and somewhat chilly, but it seemed to suit the plants on our plot which were leafy, lush and green without requiring any water for the whole month – us lucky gardeners eh?
Yet all the extra rain has its con’s as well as it’s pro’s, one of which is the inevitable and insuppressible tomato blight which hit us like a hammer in the middle of August, striking all internal and external plants rapidly. We tried to hold it off for a little time by removing and burning infected plants, but this unfortunately did not suffice. Although on a more positive note than last year, due to our preparedness we were able to save a significant number of the fruits – so all was not lost.
One thing definitely benefiting from all the extra moisture was our Runner Bean Wall (as seen on the front page), which produced bags and bags of wonderful tender beans or weeks on end. To such an extent that both we and all our family were without room in our fridges and thoroughly sick of the sight of them as August drew to a close.
Our record longest bean from last year however, was thoroughly smashed by a fine specimen of 17 inches. So long, it sat on top of our microwave at home and covered its full width. A few more shovelfuls of muck next year and we’ll see if we can’t even top that.
Another reassuring sight at this time was our pumpkin patch, with nestled amongst it’s leaves housed a marvellous plethora of attractively set fruits, well on their way to maturity and looking very promising indeed. Roll on September/October when it’ll be time to gather the little darlings in and take home our heaviest crop of the year.
On the fruit side we are still getting significant contributions in the form of plums and apples. Most of the soft fruit has since passed making way for their firmer, tarter brethren. In total we had about 20 apples and 5 plums, not insubstantial from juvenile trees. Hopefully, barring incredibly harsh winters or scorching summers, each year the yield should improve, helping to provide for some of our 5 a day needs.
Another first for our plot this year was Cucumbers, something we’d never grown before and were doubtful about due to some rather bitter previous experiences of home grown ones. Yet despite that and the blight the poly tunnel suffered, these grew to a good size and had a marvellous flavour, so is an experiment we will definitely be repeating again in 2010.
Our final and largest task of the month was to tidy up the rear compost bin area which suffered as a result of the fencing work at the beginning of the year. This included the making of totally new compost bins an the liberal application of some free bark-chip the site had sourced to top up and mulch the pathways, completing the job to a visually pleasing degree.
