Photo Journal June 29th 2012

What a difference 6 weeks makes in the allotment!  (I did take some pictures 3 weeks ago, but then went away on holiday and forgot to post them. )

 The dwarf french bean bed, with some onions guesting at the back

The ones in the middle of the bed were raised inddors and planted under cloches in mid-May. At the same time I sowed the ones at the front direct.

 This variety is called purple teepee. Lots of flowers now. Hopefully lots of beans later.

 The peas are doing well...

 The onions that Iwere sown in the spring are looking healthy.

 The shallots have done well this year - some of this year's shallots are bigger than many of last year's onions! They are starting to yellow and will soon be lifted.

 This year my onions have been superb - ok a few of them have bolted, but the rest are huge. Whether it is because of all the rain we have had this year, or whether because this year I decided to grow the alliums in well-manured land vacated by the spuds I can't say. Next year I will certainly put them in after the spuds again, and water thoroughly in dry weather.

 The 2 broad bean beds. The 2 white poles show where there ought to be a path - it's a bit of a struggle to get down there though. The autumn-sown broad beans on the left are starting to come to the end of their ife and are yellowing slightly. It's difficult to think, though, that the 2 beds were sown nearly 6 months apart.

 Here is my 5 potato field, looking healthy as anything. I have grown them on the flat, with only minimal earthing up,, each potato about 18 inches from the next in all directions, in 5 beds. I did see one where the leaves were starting to roll, so pulled that one up straight away. It might (or might not) be potato leaf roll virus, but I'm not taking any chances.

 The sweetcorn has gone in where the sprouting broccoli was 6 weeks ago. I started them off in pots and put them out at the beginning of June, and they are growing quickly now.

 The squashes and marrows look widely spaced just now, but in a few weeks I expect there to be a forest. The pots next to the plants are for watering, at least for the first few weeks. By the time the leaves cover the pots I expect them to be able to look after themselves.

 My first courgette of the year.....

 Beetroot and friends

The bed wearing hairnet is full of umbelifers, ie members of the carrot family. This is part of my  battle against the dreaded carrot fly. Unfortunately the net is a bit too tight for the parsnips.....

 Here you can see my summer cauliflower interplanted with lettuce. Unfortunately they were eaten by pigeons 3 weeks ago and are just recovering. The lettuce meanwhile seem to think that the bed belongs to them.......

My first system of trying to keep the birds off didn't work, so I am now using plastic milk cartons over bamboo sticks to support nets which are pegged down.

 

The tomatoes in the greenhouse have started to set fruit, though it will be a few weeks before they are ripe.

Chillies and sweet peppers in the greenhouse border.

 A prize bloom in the middle of all the vegetables.

The summer cabbages.