Composting Galore

We finished off the remainder of the composting today and managed to get it all into the bin – we’d left it so long that some of it was forming its own compost outside the bin already, LOL! So it may not take too long to rot down. The good news is that both our secateurs are fully mended and doing an excellent job of cutting things up.

Here is the fresh compost for you:

And here’s the compost from last year (we have two compost bins on the allotment which we use in rotation), which we hope to be able to use later this year for protecting the dahlias, and anything else if there’s any left over:

The one-year old compost is quite dry (as you can see from the pic above) so we gave it a quick soak before putting the lid back on.

Apart from that, there’s not much to do around the allotment of course, but the nasturtiums are still looking beautiful:

And we have a small harvest of sprouts as we’re now saving the rest for Christmas:

Just enough for Sunday lunch. Have a lovely Sunday, everyone!

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The great compost pile and an unusual harvest

We didn’t manage to get to the allotment last week as we had too much to do in the garden at home, but we did get there this morning, which is great news. We were the only ones there too! Though another lady did arrive just as we were leaving.

Anyway, the cosmos are still in bloom, which is astonishing. I decided not to harvest them though as there are some late bees around so I thought they could do with the nourishment.

The nasturtiums are also continuing to look fabulous:

There are even a few roses here and there, but I left them too.

We have now taken out the gladioli and stored two buckets of corms in the shed ready for next year. We then raked over that bed and admired the true glory of freshly-raked soil – which does really have a magic all of its own:

The gladioli leaves have been added to the huge pile of composting we absolutely need to do soon! As have the dahlias in the perennial bed, which I have now cut back.

We did have a decent stab at it today but there is still a whole lot left to do, LOL!

Our excuse for stopping was that neither of our secateurs was working that well, so we have brought them home to clean and oil to improve their performance. Hence the unusual harvest shot this week!

Still, at least there are sprouts for lunch tomorrow. Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Planting for Spring

Lovely autumnal weather today so perfect for the allotment – there was however only one other person there apart from us this morning, so no idea what they are all doing!

Anyway, we’ve got the tulips in for spring and have covered them with netting and sticks to put the pesky squirrels off:

We’ve also cleared out one Brussels sprout bed:

And so are left with the second bed which is still going strong and which we hope will last us till Christmas:

As you can see the nasturtiums are still doing wonderfully in the perennial bed though I think the dahlias are now over:

And the cosmos just don’t know when to stop!

So today’s harvest is sprouts, a few small courgettes and the cosmos:

And here are the cosmos at home:

Have a lovely weekend, everyone, and a peaceful Remembrance Sunday to us all.

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Dodging the downpours

It’s been raining most of the weekend but we have somehow managed to visit the allotment during the forty-five minutes it actually didn’t rain so have been very lucky!

It’s good to see the remembrance wreath has gone up on the gate:

Here are some views over the plot to give you an idea of what’s going on:

K mended the netting over the newer bed of sprouts as it was a bit beaten down by the rain, and I took out some of the asparagus for compost as it was getting in the way of everything:

The Brussels sprout leaves are looking pretty chewed now but the actual sprouts seem to be fine, so that’s good news for winter harvests:

Meanwhile, the courgette plants is really on its way out and I’m not sure that many of the fruits will get any bigger but at least they are hanging on there:

The cosmos is also hanging on and still has new buds coming through:

It’s the perennial bed that’s having the most fun this autumn though and it still looks incredibly green, with more nasturtiums and roses on their way:

One of the white roses looks really incredible:

So, here is today’s harvest of Brussels sprouts, beetroot, one courgette, roses, gazanias, gerberas and dahlias:

And here are the vases at home:

Have a lovely Sunday, everyone.

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Daffodil Planting

A lovely morning at the allotment today – the weather was really good. Which is great as huge storms are forecast for tomorrow!

The cosmos continues to bloom:

And the yellow dahlias are looking stunning:

Meanwhile the nasturtiums are taking over the perennial bed and looking really pretty. I love the leaves as well as the flowers. I’m hoping they’ll seed themselves around so we get more next year as well, though I’ll also probably buy a few:

We have planted the rest of the daffodils in one of the spare beds so that’s one spring preparation job done:

The courgette plant is still producing and one of the fruits was large enough to crop this time:

So today’s harvest is very colourful indeed and consists of sprouts, beetroot, one courgette, roses, dahlias, cosmos, one gazania and one gerbera:

Here are the vases at home:

Flower arranging tip – always put the roses on their own as they really dislike being with other flowers, LOL! Have a lovely weekend, everyone.

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The fluffy chicken moves in …

At the allotment today, we discover that the fluffy chicken has now moved in and is sharing our plot with us …!

We are of course deeply honoured and suspect we know the identity of the chicken kidnapper which could only really be one of our allotment friends (Helen, I’m looking at you!), but we feel the chicken might be a bit bored after a while as our plot is at the end of a row so not that sociable for chickens. So we have placed her back at the entrance in a handy pot where she can have a chat with anyone who comes in. She certainly looks happy!

Anyway, we have done a heck of a lot of watering as the allotment is now like a desert. I suspect we’ve lost the sweet peas for the season now and the nasturtiums looked sad. But nothing stops the gladioli and they are even flowering where we didn’t plant them in the first place!

The gazanias also look amazing but, sadly, don’t last that well in their vases – so I think next year I shall take them home and plant something else on the allotment instead.

The courgette is doing well but none of the fruits are large enough to harvest this week:

Meanwhile, the soft fruit cage is going utterly crazy and we spent quite some time picking gooseberries, white currrants, redcurrants and blackcurrants (hidden underneath the white currants on the right). We’re certainly pleased with the harvest (and look at the numbers of French climbing beans too!):

Here are the flowers too, which include gladioli, roses, sweet williams, gazanias, dahlias and one alstroemeria:

And here are the flowers at home:

Have a lovely weekend, everyone.

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