Clik here to view.
The strawberries are back: must be summer.
Perhaps they're trying to make up for their frankly disappointing show in June, but the strawberry plants have started fruiting again. The autumnal burst of berries isn't spectacular - it won't for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The spiders are out at last
September is the best month for watching allotment spiders. They are gigantic at this time of year, and the evening mellow sun illuminates their vertical webs perfectly.Spiders are around in the garden...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is it safe to eat blight-affected potatoes?
The warm, wet summer was disastrous for potatoes in Hampshire and virtually every allotment on our site was hit by blight in July.I left the Picasso spuds in the ground for a couple of weeks before...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Results just in: allotment 1, carrot fly 0.
We've beaten the fly, the cold and the rain and here's the result - a bunch of acceptable-looking Autumn King carrots freshly tugged from the soil.And what has me feeling particularly smug is that they...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Carrot harvesting tips
I gleaned these carrot tips from the World Carrot Museum - a fabulous website devoted to the joys of all things carrot.Don't leave roots in the soil too long. They are at their best when an inch in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Two marrows, and two marrows, and two marrows
You just need to turn your back on a courgette for a second and it turns into a monstrous marrow. To make matters worse, a pumpkin seed that I planted in the spring in good faith has mutated into a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mildew on courgettes and pumpkins
Courgettes, pumpkins and marrows love water and will be welcoming the torrential downpours of the last few days.With luck, the September soaking will help combat the powdery mildew which has taken hold...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chopping down asparagus ferns too early
Bother.You'd have thought that given the wealth of free information on the internet and in books, that the modern, well-read and loose-limbed allotment holder would be well informed and ready for...
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Planting out raspberry canes... again
At the end of last winter I planted 10 summer and 10 autumn raspberry canes. To say it wasn't a great year for raspberries is an understatement.Only three of the summer canes grew, while not one of the...
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The smallest butternut squash in the world
We men are always being told that size isn't everything. But even so. After months of watering, feeding, weeding and love this was all the three (yes three) butternut squash plants could manage....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is it safe to eat blight-affected potatoes?
The warm, wet summer was disastrous for potatoes in Hampshire and virtually every allotment on our site was hit by blight in July.I left the Picasso spuds in the ground for a couple of weeks before...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Results just in: allotment 1, carrot fly 0.
We've beaten the fly, the cold and the rain and here's the result - a bunch of acceptable-looking Autumn King carrots freshly tugged from the soil.And what has me feeling particularly smug is that they...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Planting out raspberry canes... again
At the end of last winter I planted 10 summer and 10 autumn raspberry canes. To say it wasn't a great year for raspberries is an understatement.Only three of the summer canes grew, while not one of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The strawberries are back: must be summer.
Perhaps they're trying to make up for their frankly disappointing show in June, but the strawberry plants have started fruiting again. The autumnal burst of berries isn't spectacular - it won't for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The spiders are out at last
September is the best month for watching allotment spiders. They are gigantic at this time of year, and the evening mellow sun illuminates their vertical webs perfectly.Spiders are around in the garden...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is it safe to eat blight-affected potatoes?
The warm, wet summer was disastrous for potatoes in Hampshire and virtually every allotment on our site was hit by blight in July.I left the Picasso spuds in the ground for a couple of weeks before...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Results just in: allotment 1, carrot fly 0.
We've beaten the fly, the cold and the rain and here's the result - a bunch of acceptable-looking Autumn King carrots freshly tugged from the soil.And what has me feeling particularly smug is that they...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Carrot harvesting tips
I gleaned these carrot tips from the World Carrot Museum - a fabulous website devoted to the joys of all things carrot.Don't leave roots in the soil too long. They are at their best when an inch in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Two marrows, and two marrows, and two marrows
You just need to turn your back on a courgette for a second and it turns into a monstrous marrow. To make matters worse, a pumpkin seed that I planted in the spring in good faith has mutated into a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mildew on courgettes and pumpkins
Courgettes, pumpkins and marrows love water and will be welcoming the torrential downpours of the last few days.With luck, the September soaking will help combat the powdery mildew which has taken hold...
View Article
