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Planting Sweetcorn watched by A Partridge on a shed roof

20/6/2013

Sweet corn planted and looking good.

Margaret is keen for me to grow sweet corn again on the allotment this year. I grew baby sweet corn last year and we had a very tasty crop. I sowed some seed earlier this year but none of them germinated and nothing came of the exercise. I managed to purchase two dozen very healthy looking plants from a car boot sale on Tuesday for the amazingly cheap price of £2.50 and I planted them today. I think, considering that a packet of sweet corn seeds would cost about that price, this was clearly a bargain.
I planted the seeds in trenches so they will be protected from the wind and any rainfall we get will get straight to the roots of the plants.

I heard an unusual clicking sort of a noise from the roof of a neighbouring shed, when I looked up I noticed I was being watched by fully grown male Partridge. I pulled the camera out and quickly shot off a few quite nice photographs, I think he probably has a nest somewhere in the vicinity and he is on the lookout for danger or opportunities to forage for food.

All the vegetables are now growing very well and it is all systems go for a very promising year. I planted some more Leeks Brussell Sprouts and Broccoli that I have grown from seed and everything looks very healthy. The hard part is the ongoing weeding and pest control that is a never ending rhapsody on a theme of beautiful gardening~~Peace

Home grown Salad for tea,with our first New potatoes

15/6/2013

My friend Derek advised me to lift a couple of my potato plants as he has harvested a good number of new potatoes already this season. I usually wait for the plants to flower before I dig the potatoes but I gave it a try and the results are pictured here. I took home some onions, lettuce radishes and these very tasty new potatoes from the allotment yesterday and Margaret and I enjoyed a beautiful home grown salad last night.
I spent a couple of hours weeding and tidying up around the shed. I planted some leeks that have been grown from seed, and I sowed another row of radish seeds to follow on from the radishes we are eating now.

My first new potatoes with assorted salad and some rhubarb stalks.

Allotment progress and the first blue rose in the garden~~~ 12th June 2013

12/6/2013

This is our first Blue rose of this Summer. I bought this rose bush as a present for Margaret about six years ago and we have had some marvellous blooms over the last few years. The blue refers to the dark purply pink colour of the petals and it was the nearest thing to a true blue rose avavilable at the time.

The clematis is still thriving, but it is coming to the end of the flowering cycle.
The plant in the picture on the above right is a potted Lilac bush that is three years old now.
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The allotment is showing signs of accelerated growth and the weather has improved enough to allow the plants to thrive. I have transplanted most of my baby brassica plants into the beds and I will be passing on the spares to my friend Tony.
The upturned yoghurt pots showing in the photographs do a fine job of supporting the nets I need to put over the baby plants to protect them from the attention of the birds. Then unfortunately I also have to add a liberal dash of slug pellets to protect them from being eaten by slimy visitors overnight.
All for for the superb taste of home grown vegetables :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baby Starling On a feeder in the garden

11/6/2013

I put some dried meal worms in a coconut shell feeder that we have in the garden, and some of the babies that have recently fledged from a nearby nest have got into the habit of feeding there. Sometimes there is a mad struggle, as three at once try to feed at the same time. This little fellow saw the others off this time. An example of the survival of the fittest?

A foraging Blackbird on the allotment~~~~~~~~~~9th June 2013

9/6/2013

I was hard at work planting some Courgette plants on the allotment that I have grown from seeds at home. Suddenly I became aware of my new friend hunting worms as I turned over the soil. He is obviously feeding a family in a nearby nest as he has a beak full of goodies to take back. This bird has a song that I always think is far sweeter and more melodic than a nightingales or a song thrush. There is nothing quite like getting woken up in the morning to the sound of a blackbird's song~~ Have a lovely day~

7th. june 2013~~Bluebells, Cabbages and Kale~

7/6/2013

I just managed a couple of hours on the allotment today as I had an appointment at the opticians to have my eyes checked out in Fakenham, which is about 20 miles away from where we live here in Sheringham. On our way back, the traffic was diverted through the country lanes due to a road traffic accident. Margaret and I spotted this wonderful bluebell wood, I stopped the car and we spent a couple of minutes taking some stunning photographs~~

Superb~~Let your imagination go

Back to the subject of my allotment where I began.
My couple of hours were spent watering all the seedlings and some of the established plants. There is nothing quite like lugging two full watering cans at a time from the dipping tank to the plot as an exercise to keep one fit and healthy. I planted some more Cabbages and Kale on the Brassica beds~~

Another Bluebell Wood photograph

6th. June 2013~Another Productive week on the allotment and in the garden

6/6/2013

Thrush on the feeders in the garden

The allotment is making wonderful progress~~I have now planted several types of Brassica plants. We have Brussell Sprouts, Kale, Purple Sprouting Broccolli, and Cabbages in two of the beds, and I have also sown some Turnip seeds. I used to grow Turnips a long time ago with reasonable success and having received a free packet of seeds with a magazine I purchased, I have decided to try growing them again.
The soft fruit is growing very well and my strawberries are covered in flowers with the fruit setting very nicely. The Loganberry bushes are covered in flowers and I should get a nice heavy crop of those as well,
All of the Potato plants have pushed their way through the soil, they are growing well, with very nice fresh healthy looking green leaves on display.
The weather has improved and the tender vegetables that need the warmth to germinate and survive are beginning to respond, my Runner Beans are just showing in some places under the wigwams and I have some spare plants growing in pots.

All good news and good eating to look forward to~~~

The back garden is looking very good and we have had a good tidy up and replaced our garden furniture, the old table and chairs were beginning to show their age and were well past their best. I hosed down the paving stones on the patio and we rearranged our pots. I am having to mow the lawns at least once a week now as the grass is growing very fast.
The geraniums and the sweet peas in the pots at the front of the house are coming on and I have given them a good feed to promote some healthy growth.
Sadly, as expected, our beautiful Tree Peony has now finished flowering and is shedding large pink petals all over our lawn at the back, Everything has a cycle of growth and the forget-me-nots are also looking tired and past their best.

Now that Spring is almost Gone~Did we get one? ~~The plants say~Yes~Friday 31st May 2013

1/6/2013

There will never be enough hours in my life to keep up with all the work on my allotment and I am loving every minute of it. The feeling of accomplishment and pure satisfaction as the plants begin to push through the soil and show their first tender leaves is priceless.
I really am so pleased that in spite ot some very cold grey misty coastal weather here in Norfolk, visible progress has certainly been made. The seed bed is bursting and we have enjoyed some beautiful salads. Cabbages and Kale have been planted and covered with netting as protection from the attentions of my avian friends. The asparagus is producing spears of excellence, all-be-it sporadically, the strawberry plants are busting with flowers that bode a very good crop on the way for when that first tennis ball is struck at Wimbledon ALL~GOOD~NEWS~SO~FAR~FINGERS~CROSSED~WELCOME SUMMER :)

Potting on my tender seedlings Nurturing my babies ~~These are hot cayene peppers~Watch this space~

Meanwhile Margaret's creative cookery

The back garden still looking splendid

Author

John~~Battling with the elements, pests and diseases in my struggle to keep the garden growing. A constant daily struggle that will be recorded here.

Gardening is such a delightful pastime. I spend time on my allotment almost every day of my life, and the sensation of pure satisfaction never ceases to amaze me. I get so much out of this pleasure, I think the benefits are so huge that the government should legislate and make it more available to everyone. I will list just some of the obvious reasons here. ~~
1) Fresh fruit and vegetables and other produce.
2) Fresh air and an intense feeling of getting close to Nature.
3) Healthy exercise without the necessity of machines that are found inside a gym.
4) The satisfaction obtained by growing plants and watching and caring for them through to maturity.
5) A regular occupation that you can make into a routine, somewhere to go to at a certain time every day.
6) The companionship of like-minded people, with whom you can get ideas and swap tips on your mutual interests.

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