A Year on the Allotment - January - Preparing Ground

A Year on the Allotment - January - Preparing Ground

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A Year on the Allotment
A series that aims to help new allotment growers to get started and produce lovely crops to eat.
This post is about getting your plot ready for growing, but not all at once, doing it one bed at a time. That way you can see visible progress and get some crops growing quickly.

1.1 January - Preparing Ground

January is the time to start thinking ahead, planning and preparing for the new growing season.

Its a great time of year to get going and start looking forward to warmer and sunnier days ahead.

It is too early for sowing or planting most crops, but any preparation work that you put in now will pay dividends later in the year. Besides - there is not a lot else to do on the plot at this time of year.

Clearing Ground on the Allotment

Preparing growing beds is a key job and a fairly simple one, although it may be hard work, depending on what you are starting with. I love working on the plot at this time of year, anticipating the Spring and keeping warm by doing some physical work out in the fresh air.

If you've done a plan for your plot and crops - start by working on the beds where your first will be sown. I usually start the year with Potatoes and Broad Beans. If you haven't yet drawn up a plan, no matter, start in one corner of your plot and work outwards.

Planning Your Allotment

For more about planning and some help to get started - take a look at my earlier post:
Allotment Planning - Crops and Crop Rotation

First - a tip for new allotment growers, who have just taken on a new plot.
Don't try to do everything at once!

I've seen many new plot holders try to clear the entire space before getting any crops in the ground. Some do succeed, but many get discouraged by the amount of work and the lack of visible progress. They then often give up.

Clearing Beds - One at a Time

It is far better to work on one area at a time. Get one or two growing beds cleared and ready, get some seeds or plants growing, see some visible results.
So - choose an area to work on and get going!

First - mark out your bed with some string if it is not already defined clearly.

Dig out and clear any weeds. A hoe will be enough for most weeds, but and grass / turf may need digging out with a spade and fork. Add the weeds to the compost bin.

Growing Beds - Adding Compost

Next - if you have any - add a layer of compost. This will add nutrients and also act as a mulch to suppress weeds. Even better - again if you have any - add a layer of leaf mould first, then cover it with the compost.

If you don't have either, don't worry, crops will still grow. Making your own compost takes a year or so. One of the first things to do on a new plot is getting a compost pile going, which you can build up through the year, then cover and leave to rot down until the following Autumn.

Allotment - Compost Bin

Here is a post about building your own compost bin:
Building A Wooden Pallet Compost Bin

I  generally follow a "No Dig" approach to my growing beds. I don't dig any of the compost or leaf mould in, I just rake it roughly level and leave it on the surface. The weather and worms will work it into the ground for me.

Once you are done - you'll have the satisfaction of a new growing bed ready for crops later in the year. You may need to give it a hoe to remove any weeds that pop up, but that's about it.

Allotment Growing Beds - Ready for Planting

As mentioned above - two of the first crops that you might sow in Spring, maybe in March (depending where you are) - are Potatoes and Broad Beans. Both fairly easy to grow and will produce crops early in the year.

Here are a couple of blog posts with more about that:

Spring On The Allotment - First Sowings - Potatoes

Spring Sowing On The Allotment - Broad Beans and more ....

More posts for A Year on the Allotment coming soon.
Get inspired - get going.
Happy growing!

A New Year On The Allotment

St Ives Cornwall Allotment - Winter

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Another year on the allotment begins - with January blue skies and sunshine in West Cornwall.

This weekend I made a start on preparations for Spring sowing and planting.

I started on the bed where - under my crop rotation system - I'll be planting potatoes in March. I cleared the weeds, added a layer of leaf mould and then a layer of my own compost.

I found it really satisfying to be using stuff recycled and made from my own plot. The leaf mould has been rotting down since Autumn 2016 and is now ready to use and add structure to the soil. The compost bin that I've now opened was also covered and left to rot down in Autumn 2016.

The bed is now partly cleared. I'll clear the rest and then leave it for the weather and worms to do their work before planting the seed potatoes. It will just need a bit of weeding with the hoe and raking over in March.

This year I'll be using Pentland Javelin again, as last year they grew well as both a first early (June) and second early (July onward) crop.They also stayed blight free, although there is no guarantee that will happen again this year!

My Winter crops are coming to an end, with just a few leeks, turnips and swede still in the ground. My Winter spinach has failed to come through. But one unexpected bonus - this lovely Romanescu. We had this with Sunday dinner.

Finally to complete a lovely day on my plot, my little friend the Robin has returned and was with me for most of the afternoon.

More news as Winter passes and Spring returns - soon.

Growing and Harvesting Backyard Potatoes

Growing and Harvesting Backyard Potatoes

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This year I reduced the space for potatoes on my allotment, as they have been badly hit by blight for the last three years.

Then - as luck would have it - 2017 has been a blight free year, with a really good crop. I wish I'd planted twice as many. Such is allotment growing.

Every year I also plant up a bag of potatoes in my back garden / yard. These tend to be less prone to blight and generally deliver a good crop.

They are grown in a big plastic bag - bought from Poundland. I put about 8 inches of compost in the bottom, place a couple of seed potatoes on top, then add more compost to cover, about another 6 inches.

The potatoes sprout after three weeks or so. Once the green growth is six inches tall I earth up with more compost. I then continue to earth up every week or so as the plants grow and until the bag is full.

This year (2017) I grew first-earlies - Pentland Javelin. They were ready to harvest by early July - but they were still growing on well, so I left them to grown on, hoping for a bigger crop.

I cut back some of the foliage - and they still kept growing! Also - no signs of blight. I finally dug them out this week - as my store of spuds harvested from my allotment in June and July had started to run out.

As you can see - a really good harvest. So - "Backyard Potatoes" are well worth growing, particularly if you only have limited space - a small yard or even just a balcony will do.

Allotment Growing - Turnips - Thinning Seedlings

Allotment Growing - Turnips

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When sowing fine seed like Turnips its quite difficult to get them evenly sown and spaced.

The results is often dense growth of seedlings that crowd each other out and prevent good sized plants from developing.

So they need to be thinned out by pulling out some seedlings leaving the stronger ones more space to grow on.

Oddly - I always find it slightly painful and counter-intuitive to pull out healthy young plants - but it needs to be done to get a good crop. So that's what I've just done with my turnips sown a couple of weeks ago.

The result is fewer but better spaced plants that will get more light, air and water. I've left in a few more than I will eventually grow. I will see which develop best and then thin out again, if needed, in two or three weeks time.

They should now grow on quickly and produce a nice crop soon. Turnips are best if picked when fairly small - between "golf ball" and "tennis ball" sized. Having said that - you can grow them on much larger. They will be tougher and less sweet - but absolutely fine for soups and stews.

Saturday On The Allotment - Late Summer Growing

St Ives Cornwall Allotment - Late Summer

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A sunny Saturday on my allotment - and a real contrast to today's rainy weather - so pleased that I got out there.

More harvesting - as last week more turnips and courgettes - also another nice Summer Cabbage.

Also - my first harvest of Spinach. I sowed seed about 6 weeks ago and I'm very pleased with how its grown. Lovely to eat and easy to store in the freezer. I've cut the leaves and left the plants in - so I hope for another picking a two or three weeks.

Elsewhere on the plot I've also sown some Giant Winter Spinach. This is just starting to germinate, so I hope that will grow on and deliver harvests through Autumn. Part of my plan for Autumn and Winter Crops - more on a previous blog post here ......

Allotment Growing - Autumn and Winter Crops

More Pumpkins and Squash are starting to fruit. I should be able to harvest some squash in the next couple of weeks. The pumpkins will be ready for Halloween. Not the best things to eat in my opinion  - but I love sharing them with the local kids to make lanterns.

More Sweetcorn cobs are forming - but I really hope we get some sunshine over the next few weeks to help them to ripen. I've given the Three Sisters bed, where these are growing, a good dose of my home made Nettle and Comfrey Liquid Fertiliser. Everything seems t be growing well - so my preparations last Spring seem to be paying off. See my earlier post -

Spring Preparations on the Allotment

Finally - in the wildflower area of my plot - my first Sunflower is opening!

More news soon as Summer fades into Autumn in Cornwall.

Allotment Growing - Autumn and Winter Crops

Allotment Growing - Autumn and Winter Crops

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One of my new projects for this season is my Winter Garden.

What I hope to do is extend my growing - and cropping - season through Autumn and into Winter.

So I came up with a Winter Growing plan and chose the following crops:

• Leeks
• Red Cabbage.
• Swede.
• Brussels Sprouts.
• Purple Sprouting Broccoli.
• Winter Butternut Squash.
• Autumn King Carrots.
• Giant Winter Spinach.

Planning for the late season needs to start early - as you need to get seeds sown and seedlings established well before the weather starts to close in.

First of these crops to be sown was Leeks - sown way back in March. These generally germinate well but take a long time to get going - so they need to go in early. I sow these in deep pots - then transplant into a growing bed when the plants reach "Spring Onion" size - usually around June.

In June I started sowing the other crops -
some in pots to transplant as seedlings, some direct into the ground.

I grew my Red Cabbage as seedlings in pots then planted them out in June. They are growing on well - not yet hearting up - but they will and I hope to harvest these from October onward.

Next to them I've sown two rows of Swede - the variety is Lomond - which can be grown on and harvested through to February.

At the same time as the Red Cabbage I grew then transplanted some Brussels Sprouts, also growing nicely.

Last of the Brassicas - Purple Sprouting Broccoli - which should grow on through Winter and start delivering a harvest for picking in February. Growing nicely so far.

I've grown lots of Squash this year - many will be ready to harvest in early Autumn - but I'm hoping that the Winter Butternut will keep me going with crops a bit later.

I've set aside four of my allotment beds for these late crops - two had Broad Beans and Potatoes growing before - harvested in June. So I'm getting a double crop from the space. I added compost and chicken manure pellets to both beds to restore some fertility.

As my other beds are cleared I'll sow them with Green Manures, as I did last year.

So - hoping for the best for some good eating from October right through to February.
But - as ever - time - and the weather - will tell.

Sunday On The Allotment - August Harvest

St Ives Cornwall Allotment - August

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Its been a strange Summer in Cornwall weather-wise. Not only changing day to day but often hour by hour. Switching from August sunshine and warmth to October-like cloud and cold.

So I've had mixed results with my crops - but mostly pretty good so far. A great harvest of Peas, lots of Potatoes, Turnips, the usual glut of Courgettes from just three plants.

Today was another good day on the plot, with some nice things harvested and lots more to look forward to. Today's haul included turnips and courgette.

I harvested my first Summer Cabbage, grown from seed - particularly satisfying. This will be on the plate tonight with Sunday dinner!

More cabbage to come - they are growing on really well and hearting up very nicely. This year growing them under nets for protection seems to have paid off. The variety is Earliest Of All. I also have Red Cabbage growing on for an Autumn and Winter harvest.

More on my Autumn and Winter growing plans will be posted here soon.

Not ready to harvest yet - but growing well - my pumpkins. The plants are sprawling over the plot which is just what I hoped for. Several fruits have emerged - but this is the largest so far. You'll see that I've built a little cairn of stones under the fruit. I do this with all of my pumpkins and squash. It keeps them dry and so helps to prevent any rot. Also raises them up a bit towards the sun and so helps them to ripen.

My first sweetcorn cob is growing - won't be ready for harvest until September - but something to look forward to! The corn is part of my "Three Sisters" bed - planted alongside beans and squash - you can see the squash leaves and flowers in the photo.

I've mulched this bed with leaf mould - which keeps the weeds down and retains moisture in the soil.

This year I've grown more flowers than ever. To attract bees, for cut flowers to take home and for the sheer beauty of them. Above is my wildflower bed with Evening Primrose blooming, Nasturtiums, Sunflowers and more alongside.

Finally - now that my Peas have been harvested - the Sweet Peas that I sowed amongst them are in full flower. Adding more beauty - and attracting more bees - to my plot.

More to come soon - just hope that we get a bit more sunshine and hot weather!