06 Jul - Leeks In Plus A Quick Round Up

Well it's the first week of July; the weather remains relatively warm and humid though this week we've had some heavy rain showers. I'm not complaining about the rain though, after nearly three weeks of hot dry weather the plot needed a good soaking.

I've a done a bit of work on the new half of my allotment, planting up one 6ft by 32ft bed with some bits and pieces I had left over or, I had intended to put in the old half of the plot. This was done over the last fortnight of June. There is a courgette (I've 5 now, too many really but I'm taking them small rather than the usual marrow size they often become), a few Sweet Dumpling and Butternut squashes I had left from the old plot; a second crop of broad beans (Bunyard's Exhibition) which I quickly raised in deep root trainers; a row of Early Nantes carrots (I had some old seed left over) and, my Musselburgh leeks which were sown in February and have been raised in a large tray (see Feb 12th & 18th 2014 posts).

Under the frame and enviromesh are the leeks. When I first took over my plot in 2007, leek was a staple winter crop on the site, easy to grow without any fuss or special treatment. However, by 2010 leeks were being decimated in the autumn by some bug which demolished the centres of the plants and turned them to smelly mush. I did a bit of research and decided it was the leek moth. According to the RHS at the time it was just a problem on the south coast but reading around various online forums it was clear that the pest had already moved north. I covered my leeks with enviromesh in 2011 and as a result got the only crop of leeks on site that winter. Since then other plot holders have done the same and leek crops are growing here once again though throughout September careful checks need to be made on the plants. (Below - dibbing leeks in).

Crops are being picked nearly everyday now. Soft fruit like strawberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants and raspberries have been collected by the tub full; the strawberries especially have been prolific this year with bumper crops - so much so everyone is almost sick of them. I've dug up all my garlic despite small bulbs due to allium rust, still they will be fine for cooking with. Courgettes are being picked every other day; lettuce has peaked so I'm planting more; salad onions are tasty; the winter squashes are beginning to form on the vines; I've picked and frozen a few pounds of Sutton broad beans - I've cleared the plants and will use the area to plant out some winter cabbage this month; and I've already had a handful of runner beans. (Below - butternut squash forming and the reliable courgettes).

I've moved my compost bins to the other end of my now full plot. This is the 'shed end' and has now become the main focus of my plot. The shed itself isn't in bad condition when I took it over but I did give it a coat of wood preservative. Everything is growing well, the only real failure so far has been the kohl rabi which got pecked into submission by pigeons then were finished off by slugs. That's it - more news about the plot coming in the next few days.