What have you done on the plot today?

[The Family Cyclist]

Should probably be in wows tribute it's raining page but this morning I did nothing on the plot or in the garden. Woke to glorious rain so got an extra 45 minutes at home rather then a quick breakfast and going to plot.

[ElyDave]

Tied in all the outdoor tomatoes and removed some of the sideshoots.  Planted out the last of the cucumbers.  Cropping the lettuce quite well now, strawberries also producing.  Courgettes will not be far behind.

Also took arrival of my new Niwaki Japanese right-handed weeding hoe, 'tis a thing of beauty indeed.

[ElyDave]

blackcurrants today, about a pound so far and half a bush left.  Gooseberries almost ready.  The blackbirds have found a way into the net

[madcow]

So far we’ve had new potatoes, lettuce and strawberries. Mostly consumed fresh.
Garlic was disappointing,not sure if it was the dry weather or heavy soil.

Today the first gooseberries, which had turned a nice shade of purple, were turned into jam.
Peas also going in the freezer, along with some broccoli. Plants still in situ so will get some secondary florets.

Plot is almost full but I’ve still got some savoy and winter broccoli plug plants on the way from Sutton’s.
Hoping that the first peas will be cleared leaving room to plant those.

I did have a cracking row of shallots ( first time that I have grown from sets). Unfortunately,my neighbour was a bit free with the glyphosate and wiped them out. The next row of onion sets,just inches away were untouched.

[ElyDave]

had an idea ping into my head the other day whilst I was making a list of wood needed to replace some raised beds.  I had been planning to also buy some posts to go at the corners to drape netting over.  Then I remembered that I had a coil of 15mm PE pipe in the shed leftover from some work, and a bought-in fleece cloche with the fleece now ragged, but the wire supports OK.

Result of half an hour's work, drilling holes at the required intervals, tubes held down/straight with pegs. Need some new netting though as the stuff I have now is a bit ragged



Much easier to get into to weed as well, and can also hold a fleece for winter protection.  I have enough for another one as well, which will be all out of pipe, as a portable structure. 
Genius if I do say so myself

[MikeFromLFE]

Weeding and more b weeding.

While Mrs M picked oodles of blackcurrants, raspberries, goosebumps (autocorrect), tayberries, loganberries, broad beans & peas.

[SteveC]

We have had a man in to mend the steps going from the patio to the lawn and the brickwork of the raised bed next to said steps.
This weekend we have been planting the bed up with various herbs.
Today I have been sorting those herbs which we do not want in the main beds into their permanent pots, four different mints and some comfrey.
The pots are quite big, 16-18", so take a lot of filling. I use a mix for permanent plants, based on that used at Kew Gardens in the palm house, as recommended by James Wong in the  Guardian some time ago. This is equal parts of composted bark, loam, grit and perlite. We, of course, did not have enough of any of this. So, three garden centres later...
And I have used all the perlite I bought along with most of the grit.
And I'm knackered (although this morning's 10k run may have contributed to that).

[The Family Cyclist]

Went to dig out earlies. Disappointing yield despite regular watering. Couple of the regular and helpful allotment folk wandered past and said that the rocket spuds I'd planted weren't a very good variety so will plant a different early next year

Got a good tub of raspberries and probably the same again eaten by my children while collecting them.

[ElyDave]

picked the rest of the blackcurrants, another 400g, went into the freezer.  Around 750-800g total from the one bush, but whilst doing so noticed that the blackbirdss have got inside the netting and stripped the gooseberry bush - bastards.

Bought a new lawnmower yesterday, went with a Stiga, owners of Mountfield, but historically sold in Europe. Battery model, battery interchangeable onto other tools like a hedge trimmer, electric chainsaw etc.  Used it today, cuts very well and clears damp grass much better than the old one - bigger chute area and better flights on the blade.  Much easier to push about as well without that lump of an engine and being made of plastic.  Half a battery charge took care of both lawns.  With wheels only, its stripology is not quite as good vs the roller, but you can't have everything

[ElyDave]

more farting about with poly-pipe and nets to keep the butterflies off the brassicas.

Resorted to mid-day sprinkling of water around the greenhouse, veggie patch and bonsai over the last couple of days, not to water, but to lower the temperature and give a bit of humidity.  It's looking like a much better year this year for the edibles.

Tomatoes in the green house are now hitting the roof, and the fruit are getting bigger by the day, but not ripening yet. 
Cucumbers fruiting prolifically, first jar of pickles made this week. 
The outdoor stuff is now producing well. The tomatoes are so vigorous I've largely given up on trying to keep them as cordons, but it looks like we have some very good fruits coming on. 
Enough runner beans for a family meal yesterday and plenty more to crop next week.
Courgettes cropping well, left one on long enough to get to stuffing size for today's dinner.
Beetroot now reaching a good size and all the greens going well.  Sowed another tray of pak choi in plugs, will have those as both salad leaves and leave some for main crop.

[The Family Cyclist]

Only had brief spells recently but got up allotment for a couple of hours tonight. Loads of weeding and then giving the desert, sorry the plot a good soak. I might set my strava to see how far I walk watering

The main crop spuds look ready from the foliage dieing back but still got lots of earlies to eat so don't really want to harvest them yet. Found my kids has sown all the cauliflower seeds in about a 4 inch line.

Parsnips poor germination. Only got about 8 from two rows. First pumpkins starting to form so probably should consider feeding them and the squashes but buried some chicken bedding and poo under them when I planted so soil should be good and rich.

Could have harvested some more chard if I'd remembered to take a bag with me but with the hot forecast I'll be up there a few days before work soaking it so can get some then

[andyoxon]

Watered my 12 tomato plants.  Can almost see the tomatoes turning orange/red before my eyes...   

[hatler]

Picked plums and greengages. I've never seen a tree with so much fruit on it.

[ElyDave]

Cherry toms are now cropping daily, the plum toms starting to ripen in the greenhouse. Beef tomatoes just getting bigger by the day! Some of the outdoor plants are now head height.

Runner beans now cropping heavily as well, as are the cucumbers and courgettes.

Whilst my plums and greengages are not ready yet, I'm taking half a dozen perfectly ripe figs off the tree every day.  You've never lived until you've had a freshly picked warm fig with greek yogurt and a few chopped nuts.

[The Family Cyclist]

Wife and kids went and watered the allotment before it got hot while I went for a cycle early for same reason. Came back with some rather large beetroot. I'd completely forgotten about them and thought it was chard which I also had growing next to it

[ElyDave]

The daily fig harvest at the moment

[rafletcher]

Trimmed back some of the huge leaders on our rambling roses, so we can get down the garden without being snagged and then soaked by the sodden foliage.

Cleared out some of the lower leaves on the Gardeners Delight and Big Daddy tomatoes we’re growing outdoors this year. The first of the cherry tomatoes are starting to turn. Unearthed some Big Daddy trusses I’d not really noticed before. Hope they ripen!

Untitled by Richard Fletcher, on Flickr

Weeded under the toms and the sweetcorn. After coffee I’ll feed them, plus the ever spreading spaghetti squash. We have a small plot. 5 2.4 x 1.6m raised beds. You have to grow at least 4 squash to be successful. Yesterday I read EACH plant can run 5m!  It’s a bit of a jungle on and around that bed, and they’re bloody prickly! 

[ElyDave]

I know what you mean re the squashes.  I have two plants, one of which is running down the walkway between greenhouse and 8x6 ft raised bed, which was where i'd planned on walking to harvest my beans. I now need to step carefully to avoid getting my legs scratched to pieces.  Goog looking tomatoes, mine have gone mad and I think I need to take out some of the very small immature fruit and new flowers to allow the existing fruit to ripen properly.

[ElyDave]

Greengages have gone from being rock hard to soft and splitting open in lesss than a week. I blame this weird hot/wet/hot/wet weather we are having.  They taste bloody good though, a local heritage variety called Cambridge Gage, the plums Wallis' Wonder are a bit behind them.

Anyone else had a significant amount of fruit rotting on the trees in this weather?

Wasps gorging on the over-ripe split figs

[The Family Cyclist]

I'm not sure on the rot but def a good year for wasps. Need to plan better next year as my allotments running pretty lean now. Got pumpkins, squash, carrots and kale left with some onions leeks and parsnips but lots of space which I'm going to put green manure into but need to improve my succsessional sowing and having plug plants ready for gaps. Pretty pleased though with it having been my first year

One thing I did find annoying my wife went to two garden centre/nurseries. Ones a small local one and one was a wyevale. Neither knew what my wife was after when she asked for green manure seeds. I was starting to doubt myself as had only read about it. Walked into farm shop I get my chicken feed from and they keep a few gardening bits which is handy as it's 2 minutes from my plot and they had green manure seed packs

[rafletcher]

One thing I'll be doing this evening, when I get home, is (hopefully) resurrecting the "Big Daddy" tomatoes. Despite being staked and framed in canes, the wind took all 9 down last night, and they're lying horizontal on the ground  . My wife says they look ok, so it's fingers crossed. And just as they were starting to ripen too.

ETA: No chance of resurrection, the whole support frame with all the 9 5ft tall plants was horizontal. We tried to lift them but they were individually too heavy, so we salvaged what fruit we could

Untitled by Richard Fletcher, on Flickr

Untitled by Richard Fletcher, on Flickr

Untitled by Richard Fletcher, on Flickr

And this is what’s left 

Untitled by Richard Fletcher, on Flickr

Next year I’ll molish a frame out of 2x2!

[ElyDave]

Bugger! I was worried about mine as well, the Feo-de-Rio-Gordo are my beef tomatoes this year, just starting to ripen as well.  Luckily I have a slight windbreak of a shrub, otherwise it would be a wind alley, and the canes for these and the runner beans held up.

Get them inside in the warmth and they should start to ripen, perhaps throw a banana in as well

[ElyDave]

change in wind direction to the north last night, and bloody blowy as well, one end took the brunt of it.  Not as bad as Richard F above, but enough trusses and stems broke to need to rescue some of them.

[madcow]

more farting about with poly-pipe and nets to keep the butterflies off the brassicas.

I used microfleece for the first time this year. I put it over some Savoy plug plants and it gave them a microclimate that they seemed to thrive in. From plugs to complete ground cover in 3-4 weeks. It was getting a bit muddy from constant handling to water the plants so it got put in the wash at 30 degrees.

[Flite]

I put horticultural fleece on the washing line and wash it with the hose pipe!