Making Leaf Mould On The Allotment

Making Leaf Mould On The Allotment

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Last Autumn I spent a fair bit of time collecting fallen leaves - see my earlier blog post -
Autumn Allotment Jobs - Making Leaf Mould

Many bags of these were added to my leaf mould bin on the plot - and by the end of October it was pretty full.

Its spent all Winter composting down - and the volume has reduced by at least three quarters.

This is normal and exactly as expected.

In the Autumn I'll throw it onto the growing beds - to act as a mulch to keep weeds down - and to act as a soil improver.

Then I'll start collecting more fallen leaves to make more of this wonderful stuff.

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Allotment Growing - Making Leaf Mould

Broad Bean Robbery

Broad Bean Robbery by Mice

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I arrived at the plot this weekend looking forward to seeing the progress of my Broad  Beans - sown back in March.

To my dismay I found that four entire rows of seeds had been pilfered !

A very neat circular hole at each spot in the rows where seed was sown.

Exactly who - or what - is the culprit I don't know for sure.

I suspect a mouse - a view supported by my neighbouring plot-holder Richard - who has had similar problems.

This is the first time in years that I've not had a good crop of Broad Beans growing in April.

The Autumn sown batch failed - see my earlier blog post:
St Ives Allotment - Spring Is Here

I hope its not to late to sow more - I'll be growing some in pots to plant out later.

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Allotment Growing - Broad Beans

Allotment Scarecrow - St Ives Style

Allotment Scarecrow - St Ives Style

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If you're going to make a scarecrow - you might as well do it in style.

This sculpture has recently appeared on one of the plots on the St Ives allotment site.

Looks amazing - and shows that we like to do things differently here in West Cornwall.

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Allotment Growing - Managing Your Plot

Sowing Leeks In Pots

Leeks Sown In Pots

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One small regret / lesson learned from last season is not growing any leeks.

As time sped on and Spring progressed - I simply didn't get round to it.

So I'm putting that right this year.

Leeks need a long growing season - so its worth getting the seeds sown early.

One benefit of this is that they will provide a Winter crop - they will keep on growing after other crops have long been harvested.

Part of my Allotment Plan to this year is to grow more Winter crops - so this fits in nicely.

Some growers use a "nursery bed" for leeks. They need thinning out before transplanting into their final growing bed.

I prefer to start them off in pots - in my back garden where I can keep an eye on them. I've used fairly deep pots so they can grow down well into the soil.

Once they are about "pencil" thickness I'll carefully separate them out and transplant them into a growing bed on my allotment.

They should be ready to go out around the end of May.

Then they will grow on through Summer and Autumn - and provide me with a nice addition to my Winter soups and stews.

Leeks freeze well - so any surplus can be preserved through to the next harvest.

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Allotment Growing - Autumn Jobs - Planning

Storing Potatoes In Clamps

Storing Potatoes In Clamps

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Last Autumn - after harvesting most of my maincrop potatoes - I decided to try leaving some in the ground over winter. The variety - Pink Fir Apple.

Clamping - keeping root crops in the ground - is an old way of storing and preserving crops.

Some growers build clamps from well draining material such as sand.
Crops left in waterlogged soil are likely to rot.

My plot is fairly free draining -  so all I did was earth up the rows of potatoes some more.

Just before Christmas I dug some up - with good results.
See my earlier post:
Sunday On The Allotment - Winter Harvest

But I didn't have time to harvest them all, so left about half a row in the ground. When I returned to my plot this month, I didn't expect any of the potatoes to be left in an edible state.

But I dug up the row anyway - and was pleasantly surprised they were in good condition - and had a decent amount to take home.

So - I'll definitely give this a try again this year - and maybe try clamping other root crops such as carrots.

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Allotment Growing - Backyard Potatoes

Wildlife Pond - Frog and Frogspawn

Wildlife Pond - Frog and Frogspawn

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A couple of years ago I created a small pond in our back garden - simply by sinking a plastic washing up bowl into one of the beds.

Simple - and cheap !

I simply filled it with rainwater from the water butt - and left it alone for nature to take her course.

I was delighted when a frog took up residence after a few weeks. I'd heard that frogs will always seek out water and move in - but wasn't sure if it would work.

Last summer I was even more pleased when a second frog moved in.

This Spring - for the first time - there is frogspawn in the pond.

It just shows - even a small pond like this can foster wildlife. Well worth doing - can't wait to see if we have baby frogs later in Spring.

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Allotment Growing - Wildlife

Sunday On The Allotment - Sowing Peas

Allotment With A Sea View - St Ives Cornwall

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I managed to dodge some of the showers and get out to the allotment for a couple of hours - Spring is here - lots to do - and enjoy.

My task for the day was sowing peas.

Two varieties - Meteor - a first early variety.

Hurst Green Shaft - a second early.

I dug out two shallow drills - about an inch deep - with the hoe.

I then sowed the pea seeds in a double row in each drill.

Seeds spaced about four inches apart.

Backfilled with soil, marked out the rows.

Finally - covered with net cloches.

This will provide protection from birds and other wildlife - as the seedlings emerge.

I've also sown some pea seeds in cardboard tubes - at home in my garden.

These will provide some more seedlings - as backups in case any of my sowing on the plot fails - or additional seedlings for some additional rows.

More - Allotment Blog - Sowing Peas In Cardboard Tubes

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Visit my website - Allotment Growing
- for lots more information, growing tips and photos:
Allotment Growing

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Allotment Growing - Peas