Category: Allotment

I honestly wasn’t expecting a huge harvest from our allotment this month. We only started planting two months ago, and the weather hasn’t been great. And despite a huge amount of work, it being our first season in this new plot… well, I wasn’t overly hopeful. But, as it turns out, the ground is fertile, and the rain has helped!

Our fellow allotmenteers, who had all started sowing and planting and getting seedlings going before we even had a plot – and a wonderful friend who started off some seedlings for me –  were all very generous, and things progressed rapidly.

First in the ground was a row of salad greens, but they didn’t make it – just a patch of curly parsley has come up, so it withstood the slugs and frost that killed off the rest.

The kids planted beans in early spring at their playgroup and home ed group, and while they’ve grown beautifully, they haven’t produced anything. We’ll see if they do.  We did have a huge struggle with slugs early on, and after a few rounds of Epsom salts, coffee grounds and prayers didn’t work, I chucked down a thin layer of slug pellets. That helped, but I still pick ’em off every day!

My friend Sara found some onions in the back of her cupboard growing legs, so she gave them to me and not really knowing what to do, I stuck the in the ground. I’m told they won’t produce onions, but they are going to seed, so I’m going to see if I can do anything with those. If nothing else, they are pretty to look at.

I have about 6 tomato plants growing, but so far only two have flowered. We’ll see what that means for the rest.

The apple tree that came with the plot is loaded with beautiful looking red apples. I’m excited to see what comes of them, and so far they are insect free, despite the huge caterpillar nest I took off the tree a few weeks ago.

Our harvests so far have been small, but that’s understandable. That radish is huge though. I’ve never liked peas, so I was keen to try a fresh one, and I love it. I ate it pod and all. And the carrots are sweet. I’m so excited by this first harvest.

We have three average sized rhubarb bushes on the plot, but they are producing plenty too.

The second harvest this month was really just kale and mint and spearmint. Made delicious kale and paprika chips with it, and added a mint layer to the strawberry yoghurt ‘ice creams’ my children enjoy.

The third harvest was the biggest so far. We are running out of carrots which is a shame, but I shall plant some more this weekend. I figure they may still work out if we have a later summer than normal. With any luck, maybe even an Indian Summer, then they should have plenty of time.  More kale – the plant is a champion producer! We also got our first gherkins. I need to figure out how to start their pickling process as the rest of the plant is still just swelling, rather than showing actual fruit (veg).

And finally, our neighbouring plot is inhabited by a lady named Carol, who has an artichoke bush – and apparently I’m the only one she knows who likes artichokes… lucky me!

So, June’s thrown a few learning curves our way, and there are some bits in the beds that I’ll do differently next year, but for now, progress is forward motion, and I’m thrilled!