27 May - Garlic Rust; First Crops And Expansion.

First the bad news. I was having a general poke around my plot this week and decided to weed around my garlic. To be honest, as the garlic has been at the end of one of my beds since last November, I haven't really given it much thought. This was a mistake. I noticed that it was covered in allium rust, a fungus with the scientific name Puccinia allii; little orange pustules on the leaf that look like rust on metal. I've suffered with the odd spot of rust on leeks before but never to this extent. Perhaps the cheap bulbs from a high street store were to blame or, more likely, it was the very wet Winter which caused the fungus to flourish.

Unfortunately there isn't much that can be done to get rid of it. I've cut and stripped off as many infected leaves as possible without killing the plants and have removed the leaves from site in a plastic bag - not wanting to compost infected material. The garlic should be ready in around six weeks from now so I'm going to leave them and see what happens. I've already noticed new leaves developing from the middle of each plant so I might still get a crop. Of course, I won't be planting leeks, garlic or onions in that spot for a few years. (Below the garlic with cut and stripped leaves).

Talking about planting space, the good news is that it seems likely that that I will be taking on the plot directly opposite mine which means that I will have a 'full' allotment rather than just half. The chap who has had this plot doesn't live locally and has been on a waiting list for a plot on a site nearer to his home; a plot has come up so he's off. I've had my name down for this one for a while now as I think I'd regret not taking it despite the work that will be involved to get it into order. He needs to remove some tools and things from the shed so I won't have the keys for a fortnight yet; shame I'm eager to get started. Unfortunately, while the chap really knows what he's doing in growing terms, he was working abroad for most of last year so the plot was largely untended and is now rather overgrown. (Below pic of plot as it is now).

I'll finish today with my first crops of the season. I've dug up some early spuds 'Rocket' and have picked a few iceburg lettuce which are growing well. For me, the season has now really started and hopefully the rewards will start flowing for the hard work. Bye for now. (Below, Iceburg lettuce).

14 May - Planting Out Beans & Brassicas

The promised warmer weather has arrived so I've been busy getting my Brussels sprouts, cabbages and runner beans planted on the allotment. I've already prepared my brassica bed (see posts 5th & 12th May) by firming and adding lime.

My Trafalgar F1 Brussels sprouts were the first to go in. My bed is six foot wide and I only planted three per row ensuring that they have at least two foot between plants. For the past couple of years I've always put in four plants only ending up having to pull one out because it's stunted by a neighbour - this time I'm starting with three per row. I've 9 plants in all, setting them three either end of my space and three down the middle.

In between the sprouts I've planted cabbages, Primo II (aka Golden Acre) and a few red Ruby Ball F1. There's plenty of room for them and they can be cut smaller if need be - freeing up room for the others to get larger. All these cabbages will be done by mid-Autumn and the sprouts will have plenty of room to go on and develop. Well, that's the theory anyway. Brassicas really need to be firmed in well, especially Brussels sprouts. One of the main causes of sprouts blowing open is the plant not being firmly anchored in the soil. I really firm my brassicas in by using my heel - be gentle and careful not to step on the plants but really get them in solidly.

One more thing with any brassicas - they need to be protected against pigeons and cabbage white butterflies. As I've noted in my previous entries, I use two 'goal posts' of 2x2 treated wood sunk into the ground with net stapled in-between (see 12th May entry). On top of each horizontal bar are three nails partly hammered in to hold the thick pond netting that gets hung over the top. The edges are weighted down with a few stones.

Given the warm weather forecast for at least the next five days, I decided to plant out my runner beans. I feel it's still a little early but almost a week of warm weather will hopefully get them going. They've been stood outside hardening off for a week so, fingers crossed, they will be OK but it's still a bit of a risk. I prepared the ground and put up my canes almost a fortnight ago - I added a bit of lime, general fertilizer and some rough compost.

I raised my Scarlet Emperor runner beans in deep root trainers for the first time this year and I've got to say I'm pleased with the results. The roots are really well formed, the leaves are large, the stems are thick and the resulting plug plants are easy to set out at the foot of the canes.

That's it, enjoy the fine weather for the next few days. Bye for now.

12 May - Tomatoes & Brassicas

It's the second week of May and the temperatures have cooled a little due to heavy rain showers and a very strong wind. However, the forecast is for improving weather by mid-week so I'm hanging on until then before putting out the brassicas and runner beans. I've already prepared the ground and frames for both so it will just be a matter of planting them out. So, by the end of this week hopefully I'll be setting out Primo II summer cabbage, Ruby Ball F1 red cabbage, Trafalgar F1 Brussels Sprouts, Scarlet Emperor runner beans and a few rows of Lollo Rossa lettuce. (Pictured, the plants hardening off ready to be planted out).

If you are going to grow cabbages and other brassicas you need to protect them with nets - both pigeons and cabbage white butterflies will utterly ruin the crop otherwise. My brassica frame is merely two strong 'goal posts' buried into the ground with net stapled between the posts. Over the top I hang black pond netting which is much stronger than the green pea netting; the edges are weighted down with stones. You can use enviromesh or even fleece tunnels; just ensure you protect them. My system is easy enough to use as I can just remove the stones from one side and flip up the net so I can work underneath - if you are growing Brussels Sprouts for the first time be aware that they can grow to three foot, that's why my posts are fairly high.

The tomatoes in the greenhouse have required some attention this week too. As I have vine or ‘indeterminate’ varieties of tomatoes, I need to start pinching out the side shoots that grow between a main leaf and stem. This will ensure that the tomato plant will develop truss after truss of flowers and fruit as it grows on a single cordon tied on to a cane. If you have a bush or ‘determinate’ variety then side shoots should be left in place. (Pictured, the 45 degree shoots between a main leaf and stem which need to be removed from the cordon varieties of tomatoes). 

That's it, I'll be posting more at the end of the week when the promised fine weather arrives. Bye for now.

06 May - What Type Of Bean Pole Erector Are You?

Yes, it's that time of year again when avenues of canes appear on plots across the nation. The runner bean plant requires a kind of support that has become an allotment icon, a plot signature if you like; those arrows of bamboo pointing skyward. But what kind of bean pole erector are you?

* 'The Professional' - has two or more permanent metal posts with a thick wire tautly attached between them at a height of exactly six foot. The canes, always pristine, are tied neatly together to the wire with a single round of green twine. The canes are exactly the same length and are placed equidistant in military fashion, often with the help of a plumb-line, spirit level and global positioning satellites.

* 'The Worrier' - practices sound crop rotation so no permanent metal posts. However, they worry that their neat rows of canes will blow over in the slightest breeze so anchor the ends with a series of guy ropes pegged into the ground. The structure is usually so firm you could hang anvils from it but, still they check and adjust the guy ropes at every visit. The Worrier has been known to dismantle and erect the row of canes multiple times until almost satisfied.

* 'The Traditionalist' - no bamboo canes for them only hazel poles cut freshly every season. 'If them poles were good enough for me Da and me Gran Da, they be good enough for me'. The Traditionalist collects their own seed every year and they have a variety originally planted by the gardener of William The Conqueror.

* 'The Fisherman' - creates a sturdy frame from which a wide mesh net is hung. The net can be replaced with plastic coated mesh or even chain-link fencing material. Often rather industrial looking but effective nonetheless. By August, cans and bells are attached to the structure; these sound noisily to alert the Fisherman when small animals and the odd human get trapped in the nets and need to be set free.

* 'The Penny Pincher' - creates adequate rows of canes, tied quickly and neatly so as not to waste time or twine. The canes are well used with the odd end snapped off, they won't be replaced until absolutely necessary. The Penny Pincher likes to use bamboo but doesn't like to pay for the canes; often recycling, begging and borrowing to create their avenues. After all, 'the allotment is meant to save money'. The rows are neither perfect nor haphazard, this is a functional frame of bamboo that will stand well into the autumn as the efforts have gone into raising the plants from seed (cheaper) and preparing the soil (free home-made compost). Canes are for beans and beans are for eating - 'in the supermarket they're 99p a bag you know'.

* 'The Newbie' - unsure of how to put up bean poles they peek at their allotment neighbours and spend hours unsuccessfully trying to replicate the neat rows. The cane tops are tied together with a mass of string, wire, nails and duct tape. Despite trying really hard, the spacing between poles is uneven and odd looking. The cross bars, if they exist, slope at unusual angles and the whole structure will begin to lean to one side by the time the Newbie has put their tools back in the site shed. The whole construction receives more string and tape as the summer months go by in an attempt to stave off complete collapse.

* 'The Free Spirit' - doesn't use canes or poles at all; not for them the rigid structures of wood. They create spider's webs of twine, rope and mesh for the beans to climb up. It's a chaotic thicket of anything they can get their hands on, mainly salvaged from skips and recycling points. When the beans are ready to harvest the Free Spirits pick in pairs just in case one of them gets stuck in their own chaotic creation - it's not funny being trapped in a Jackson Pollock like 'installation'.

* 'The Hippie' - always loves a wigwam, whether at a free festival or on the allotment. Rows of canes are not aesthetically pleasing, too autocratic and totalitarian; the wigwam is far more agreeable to the eye, natural and wholesome. Bamboo can be used but it's preferable to use 'green' hazel poles cut from the hedge surrounding the site. 'It's like a pyramid man, feel the energy channelling into my beans'. Not only do wigwams support runner beans but they are useful for shielding the Hippie's more unusual 'crops' from the gaze of plod.

* 'The Aristocrat' - doesn't actually put up the bean canes themselves. Usually a specialist team from the Royal Horticultural Society or, if one is slumming it, one's own estate staff, come in and erect an acre or two of bamboo. The Aristocrat oversees the process from their Range Rover, giving commands, er, advice, where necessary - and it's always necessary.

* 'The Architect' - loves to create a 'grand design' in bamboo. Often this starts with two perfect wigwams constructed at least ten foot apart. A perfectly horizontal cross cane then runs from the top of one wigwam to the other and an avenue of regular inverted 'Vs' established between them. Alternative frame designs include pavilions, lean-to's, strange 'obelisks' and a bamboo Saab.

* 'The One Season Wonder' - establishes their row of brand new canes as per 'The Newbie' but, by the height of summer, they have already lost interest in their plot. As a result, the whole construction leans drunkenly to one side with a single bean vine clinging to it for dear life. By the autumn the canes have separated from each other, with string and duct tape fluttering in the chilly winds. By winter only one or two canes are left stuck in the ground at odd angles, a sad reminder of what might have been. The One Season Wonder can often be seen passing on their wealth of knowledge to others at the bar or at the local garden centre cafe.

05 May - Of Leeks & Beans

We've had a decent few days over the May Day bank holiday though the forecast is for intermittent rain this week. When the sun was out I was on the plot clearing the very last of my leeks. They were just in the process of sending up a flower spike which causes a tough core through the centre of the plant so I prefer to get them dug up. Good old Musselburgh leeks have stood well all winter, yes, they have been battered by the gales and frozen by the odd frost but, they've done well.

Musselburgh are such an old variety which I still highly recommend. My father-in-law gave me a booklet issued during the Second World War, around 1941, about growing-your-own - Musselburgh were listed as a good leek for the wartime grower. Nothing has changed, it's still a good leek. As I dig up the last leeks of 2013-14, a tray of Musselburgh sown on the 3rd Feb waits patiently to be planted out sometime in June.

I mentioned in my last post that while my runner beans, Scarlet Emperor, were doing really well, my French Beans, Blue Lake, were basically rubbish. The Blue Lake had very poor germination and when they did decide to grow, they were spindly and stunted. There is no doubt that this was because of old seed - looking at the date this is the third year since they were opened - it looks like I can use the seed for two years but not three. I did what I suggested in my last post, I went out and bought the more prolific French Bean variety 'Cobra' and have planted them in deep root trainers in the greenhouse.

Meanwhile up on the plot, I decided to copy my neighbours and get my bean poles sorted out. It's that time of year that marks a true allotment, the signature avenues of canes springing up everywhere. I usually set out two rows of eight canes in my six foot wide bed, sixteen runner bean plants with a seven cane wigwam for French beans, this provides myself and my family with enough beans to eat fresh throughout the summer and to freeze a few hefty bags too which last us into the winter. Some growers put up a positive forest of canes, row upon row - how does any family eat so many beans?? Below, my 'modest erection' as it were, of 2 rows of 8 canes - plenty for us.

Now a quick nose around the plot. The early potatoes Rocket, planted mid-March, are romping away now, too big to earth up any more. I don't sow a massive amount of parsnip but my little row of Gladiator F1 are just putting on their first true leaf and I will have to thin to one per station soon. A row of carrots are showing, the ones I used a bar to plant (see 11th April post) and I've also planted out a few carrots I tried in newspaper tubes as a comparison. The tubes were a bit of a hassle so I hope the bar method works as it's easier in the long run.

Finally, I've prepared my brassica bed by raking in lime and some general fertilizer into a well trodden down surface as brassicas need compacted soil. It always feels a bit strange shuffling over a freshly dug bed with booted feet but it needs to be done. I've also added my two 'goal posts' which provide the support for pond netting to protect the plants from pigeons and white cabbage butterflies. The forecast suggests that things will warm up in the next 10-14 days so I plan to plant out then, around mid-May.

That's it, bye for now.