Our first concern during this weeks visit was to deal with some of the aesthetic issues we had yet to deal with, this included the weeding of the flower patch which had been the home of some beautiful bulbs, and the sowing of some beautiful annual flowers to replace the recently finished bulbs, we look forward to seeing some summer colour from these sowings soon.
One plant providing us with some colour already was a beautiful iris we had salvaged and placed on our plot last year, since then the plant has grown beautifully and now produced some exquisite flowers to brighten up the allotment and to bring in much needed wildlife. Also added to the front flower patch were some wild daisies which were also growing alongside the plot again to attract wildlife.
'Wonderful Iris'
Following the terrible vandalism to our brassica’s this year and over the last twelve months this week we decided to build some brassica cages, made from small sections of hose pipe and garden bamboo cane, these were sunk into the ground to create arches which netting could then be draped over. We are hopeful that this will help to protect the plants of purple sprouting broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts as they grow larger.
'Pigeon protection'
The rear of the patch which was re-designed last week to house the monolith was looking slightly scruffy and so this was weeded and tidied thoroughly. By the end of which it looked very serviceable and made for easy access all around the monolith and the nearby rows of vegetables.
Apart from the building of the cages we were very pleased to see that the salads which had been battered by pigeons were making a strong come back and we may have pak choi for stir fries some time soon. Alongside the recovering salads the beetroots were going from strength to strength with them growing their true leaves and the body of the vegetable beginning to come through, with crops from these beetroots arriving in around six to eight weeks.
'Bulging beets'
Upon the final watering of the the plot we checked over our already bulging soft fruit area and was very surprised to see that the first strawberries of the year have not only come to a good size but had turned a lush summer red and were ripe for picking. As soon as they were spotted they didn't last long before being eaten. This is a far cry from last year where the rabbits and pigeons had managed to eat any strawberry which had developed to a near cropping size. Proof again that the netting used over the fruit is worth its weight in gold.
'Summer is coming'
Other vegetables doing well at the moment are our recent sowing of Swede’s radish and little gem lettuce, this shows that hopefully the warmer weather should be moving in soon and the prospect of more even germination arriving in the weeks to come. Hopefully the other freshly sown crops such as carrots, onions, and Swiss chard may follow suit as these take longer to germinate in Northampton soils.
'Crops are coming'
Soon to be added on the lottieblogs site is a 'Can you Help us' page where we will be posting things which would like you to help us with to answer the questions and queries which we still have about our plot. Stay tuned for this new page.