Saturday rush-job

It was a bit of a rush job on Saturday @ the allotment. Half ten til one, so no digging for me. However, I did do lots of weeding and watering, as well as getting on with more sowing.

This time it was some mangetout, 3 sets of 3 seeds next to a bamboo tripod. I covered the seeds with plastic bottle sections to protect the shoots from birds and to focus my watering. 

I also planted some sugar snaps next to the pea trellis. I made a second trellis frame and sowed the sugar snaps. I thought some cornflowers scattered amongst them would look nice, so they went in too.

This is how that bed now looks. Sugar snaps & cornflowers under the two polytunnels on the left, the mangetout tripod in the centre with protective plastic bottles and the far right, 2 polytunnels of peas.

I also planted out some sunflowers into pots as I am worried about the direct-sown sunflowers still not making an appearence. Perhaps I planted them too early? It has been cold overnight. Well, I can but wait and see what happens. If they're all a no-show I'll simply try some more seed. The sunflower plant pots went into my mini-greenhouse with the rest of the potted seeds. The yellow scallop squash has started to show, and some courgettes. Hopefully everything will germinate soon.

I planted two hollyhock plants last time I was at the allotment but I don't think I mentioned it. They're at the 'shed end' next to the globe artichoke there. There is a white one and a scarlet red one. Looking forward to seeing them. They're such magnificent flowers. That's them, next to 'Bob' my plastic pigeon :)

My spring flowers are also coming on well. New to flower are these narcissi...

...and some tulips in red. There are white ones to follow.

There will be irises and ranunculus to follow. The big bushy plant to the far left of the photo is 'Black Stockings', which I put in last year after loving it at Hidcote Gardens. The smaller green plant is a Lady's Mantle (love the fan-type leaves!) and in the plant pot is the mint.

Bad news on the tomato front on my balcony... I did something really dumb and I fed them with too strong a mix, I think. They're looking very sad and I am not sure if they will recover. Damn. Human error!

Clingfilm magic & other jobs

Don't you just love pound shops? You can get all sorts of goodies. I picked up these mini poly tunnels for 99p each. I bought 4 to see how I go with them. I'm currently growing some peas under them - single rows of Kelvedon Wonder either side of the trellis.

The daffs are now in full bloom and look very nice in the strawberry bed :)

Tackling the grassy wilderness is my next 'to do' task. I marked out some strip beds (and on Sunday I dug one out into 3 mini beds with paths between).

Brew on!

Nick spotted a palette box and salvaged it. He's super-pleased with his clingfilm cold frame. It is pretty impressive you have to admit.

I put up some willow trellis on the side of the shed for my sweet peas.

The pulmonaria is now in bloom. So pretty!

Nick bought some Orla potatoes which should be ready to plant very soon.

I planted out lots of seeds under the cold frame...

L-R: spring onions, broccoli, radish, kohl rabi, leek, celariac.

We got a fire going to clear the dead leftovers from last year. Mucho smoke!

I moved the two black compost bins to the 'road end' of the plot and filled them up.

Nick dug over the large 1st bed.

And I put down some chipboard to cover up the sticky mud puddle outside the shed door.