Harvest

I know we harvested some curly kale a while back but today felt like the first proper veg harvest - our first courgettes and first crop of green beans! My parents and sister were visiting too and helped pick the beans but fortunately there were enough for five to go with our roast dinner

Preserving

So I've posted all the harvesting we've been doing.... We've realised there are only so many fresh raspberries two people can eat! I'm very excited that it means we're graduating into more interesting preserving of our supplies.  We've done a bit of rhubarb and gooseberry stewing to freeze those for crumbles later in the year …

It’s a real live carrot!!!!

Albeit a tiny one - I may be slightly overexcited about my carrot thinnings (they smell like the carrotiest carrots I've ever smelled!)

Planning – Planting

So, like many people I've fallen into the trap of getting an allotment and immediately going mad with seed buying.  I'm going to blame years of trying to grow crops in pots on various balconies (with wildly varying levels of success) for this.  I've looked at so many things for so long and wished I …

Update from the plot

A catch up on the happenings, some ups some downs: First proto-courgettes - very exciting!  Raspberries are really getting into their stride But the spinach has bolted! So harvested the spinach, some curly kale and a lot of raspberries! 

Fruit, fruit, fruit

Lots of delicious fruit! More gooseberries, raspberries and the first blackcurrants. Also A LOT or rhubarb gifted from a next door plot.

Rabbits

Another not great start today - Arrived at the allotment to see a small rabbit next to my newly planted borlotti beans.  It scarpered practically before I'd even seen it but it's left its mark. I ran to the beans and it's completely stripped the new ones to the stems.  After a quick look around …

Gale force winds

So it's been pretty blustery in West Yorkshire this past week and I've had a hard lesson in the need for studying the weather forecast and planning accordingly. I planted out 3 summer squashes that I've been growing from seed but the wind whips across our plot and all 3 have been killed or badly …

Potatoes!

Finally after nearly a month the potatoes are doing something!!! They're not dead after all!

First ‘real’ bed

So up to now we've been digging over and working with the 4 beds that we could still see outlined on the plot. But today we've finally finished the first bed that we've dug from scratch. After many hours of digging and weeding - I've got a but of a love hate relationship with grass. …