11 Aug - Heavy Rain, Plums, Pumpkins & Poultry

Wow, what a day it was yesterday (10th Aug). Apparently we caught the tail end of tropical storm 'Bertha' which has made it's way over the Atlantic. The winds didn't get as high as expected, thank goodness, as my bean poles were already swaying in what wind did arrive. Nevertheless, the rain was extremely heavy for a number of hours and the drainage problems that plagued the site last Winter re-appeared. Unfortunately the small river that regularly appears in heavy downpours runs across the new section of my plot and I might have to think about creating a channel for it to flow away.

The day before the rain arrived I started clearing the third bed on the new half of the plot, another 6 foot by 32 foot. Again, it was a process of removing all the rotten planks, laying out the bed boundaries with pegs and string then starting to dig. The good news is that a lot of this bed, at least half, had been covered for sometime so the weed and grass problem isn't as bad as the previous bed. Rain stopped play so I've covered it again and will plug away at it when the weather improves. Still, a start has been made.

On the new half of the plot I've inherited a plum tree which seems to be doing OK. When it's finished fruiting in a month or so I think I'll prune it back to stop it from getting too tall. Not sure what the plums will be like but as it's been planted on an allotment I'm hoping that they will good to eat or good enough to make wine from them.

I planted two pumpkin plants from saved seed in early June - the variety was supposed to be Jack O'Lantern. However, one plant has come 'true' to the parent but the other is a hybrid, probably crossed with a Sweet Dumpling that happened to be next door to it last year. The hybrid is producing a number of large squashes while the pumpkin seems to be intent on producing one large fruit. (Below - Jack O'Lantern pumpkin growing well - the bottom image is the smaller but more prolific hybrid cross).

Finally, the rescued hens have been on the plot for a week now and are settling in well. I'm getting at least two eggs a day, with the odd day seeing three laid. The hens have taken to scratching around in their enclosure and it's a pleasure to see them have the freedom to walk around. They are great fun, each with their own character - though I must say without feathers they are rather ugly (but don't tell them that). They've been named after characters in the BBC radio soap, The Archers - we have Clarrie, Lillian, Jennifer and Jolene. Yep, I know, that's what happens when you have a wife and kids ...

Bye for now'.