Flaming June

June continues to be an excellent growing month with warm sunshine and showers. Not had to water the palnts too much this week with heavy showers on Tuesday evening and Sunday afternoon. Continuing to dig up salad potatoes. Because some of the varieties are maincrop i can leave them in longer and eat them full size. I think i planted too many this year taking up too many beds. The ones grown in containers did really well with better quality spuds with no scab or pest damage. Slowly moving some of the Sprouting Broccolis into where the potatoes were though some of them are sprouting now. Not sure if it's the warm weather or because i sowed them too early. Anyway I will eat then now before they go to flower. The Dwarf Kale Has been especially good to eat, just picking off a few leaves per plant then i will leave them to overwinter.

On Monday I made Aloo Saag with potatoes and spinach from Karol Kliens recipe book. I think the secrect to growing is also knowing how to cook things and what they can be used for as there is a tendancy for gluts of food and the inevitable over facing of the same veg!

On Tuesday I took cutting from shrubs, Hebe, Buddleja, Honeysuckle, Fuchia and Willow.

The rest of the week is picking and eating salad, radish, beetroot, baby carrots, tidy up and weeding. Potted up some chillies and peppers and pricked out the artichokes. As the summer holidays approach quickly i need to make sure all plants in pots are planted out and settled in before going away. Not a good time of year to go with so much going on in the allotment but I need, we all need a good rest. Ronnie on the next allotment has agreed to look after things and pick the veg and fruit thats ready. Millies also will keep an eye on things as well. Always exciting coming back from hols to see whats grow etc.

On Saturday planted out the last of the peas 'kelvendon' and 'meteor' and beans 'valour'. Then got soaked with the heaviest downpour i have seen for ages. Did the plants and duck good though.

Sunday was a lovely day, warm and humid, too hot to work so some friend came to visit us which was a real treat. Good to have friends that appreciate what we do. Hopefully we can all do it together soon!

Had a little barbeque just for the kids and us. Two fresh Trout, new potatoes and salad with marshmellows to finish. Perfect end to perfect day.

to busy to take any photos i think this week. will sort some out for next blog

Cold Frame

Yesterday i extended some more beds and put some shelves up in the shed. I now have a work surface to work from although i do like to work on the greehouse staging. The chitted potatoes are now in the shed ready for planting later this month. Got some snowdrops from margarets after clearing her garden and have split them up and potted them up for home. Made a small coldframe to go in front of greenhouse

Inside are some 'jacobs ladder', clematis, laurel, gooseberry and blackcurrant cuttings

Cuttings

Managed to get an hour in between snow showers.

These are some cutting that i took in late summer. Quite pleased with the ones that rooted. Here are 4 laural, 2 hebe, 5 clematis 'elisabeth' and 5 buddleja. I will grow these on for a while then put them in the nursery bed. I love plants for free!

These are some seedlings that i sowed in late summer and have overwintered at home in the conservatory. I tend to put the seedlings in groups of three per pot to make a larger plant when mature. They can always be divided in the future.

Finally i potted up the asparagus 'connevers collosal' that i got from ebay. A little smaller than i expected but they were only £6.95 for 20 delivered! These will grow on until spring when the soil warms up.