Hi there Lottiebloggers, apologies for the slight delay in June and July’s updates, but we’ve been so busy lately that time has slipped away from us somewhat. So, without further ado, lets get on with what we’ve been doing on the plot this month.
June was a beautiful dry month with much appreciated showers in the evening, allowing pretty much perfect growing conditions for all allotment veg. The 2009 poppy display was coming along nicely with some beautiful blooms flourishing in the warmth. This time of year is always when an allotment looks its best and with the fence serving to keep the bunnies at bay, combined with the pleasant weather – we’re frankly rather chuffed with how its looking.
A great deal of the allotment staples were coming into being this month; with the Runner, Borlotti, French and dwarf beans all reaching for the skies in their scrambling attempts to scale the height of their bamboo canes. With plenty of flowers setting already, there would very soon be some contributions to our cooking pot to take home, that is if we can hold ourselves from snaffling the .tender pods raw before they get there!
Our brassicas and cabbages have continued to astound us, not only taking well to their transplantation earlier in the year, but the vast quantities of growth they have bee putting on ever since. Broccoli, Brussels and Kale are all bursting into life and maturity beneath th relative safety of our pest netting. If thy carry on as they are, we may be able to boast that 2009 will be the best year for brassicas we have ever had. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed and eyes open for the continuation of this good fortune or any attacks by unwanted creatures.
A novel way in which we’re trying to deter winged marauders is by the use of reflective surfaces and moving objects placed strategically within the seed bed. One such initiative is the introduction of a decorative windmill, which stands guard over our brassica cages and seems to fulfil its role pretty well.
This month has also seen the first instalment of an old friends fruit, namely our courgettes. In years past this has been one of the biggest crops we have taken away from the plot, and this year looks to be no exception. Four plants will supply us, our friends and family with all the courgettes (or marrows) we could possibly need.
On a slightly more negative note however, we are sad to report that as predicted our strawberry harvest was nothing short of a disaster. All of our plants in the main bed area died, leaving us with not a single fruit. Strangely though the plant which set itself into the path last year, gets no water or attention of any sort has thrived and produced lots of lovely red fruits. It is safe to say that we will be striking runners and new plants from this hardy little fellow to replace the losses for 2010.
Another variety of fruits growing happily for us in 2009 are the tomatoes in our polytunnel. With plenty of water and some continued sunshine, we’ll be pretty hopeful of a good haul this season from our latest investment.
