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This above all; to thine own self be true. 
William Shakespeare

There is peace of mind in a garden

The calmness and satisfaction gained from Natural  Growth

Great crops~~Devastating winds~~28/09/2013

30/9/2013

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PictureA barrow full of allotment harvest~~
 This barrow-load of produce is an example of the rewards and satisfaction to be gained from the hard work involved in growing your own on an allotment.
 I am now in the process of digging out my main crop potatoes, they have grown very well and I am very pleased with the results. 
  M
y well-filled barrow mainly contains courgettes, quite a number of the new round variety and one or two quite large courgettes that have grown into marrows. There is also a butternut squash included, some sweet corn, raspberries and cultivated blackberries.

The two pictures above show the devastating effects of our cutting fierce Norfolk winds. My runner bean wigwams were caught by a gust of the dreaded northeaster. I will have to take them down altogether now as it is virtually impossible to resite blown-down canes. Fortunately I have quite a good crop of beans on them to harvest, as I remove them.

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 Late September and there are still quite a few flowers in bloom in the garden at home. I really am impressed with the performance of the blue rose that I bought and grew for Margaret. This is the second burst of blooms we have enjoyed this year. It really is quite surprising how many different species of colourful plants are in bloom so late in the year. I love the Agapanthus in a pot, this always reminds me of our trips to Australia where they grow in great profusion in the wild.

The hard work goes on, the weather has been so nice  I decided to take this window of opportunity to cut the lawns. Margaret was there with the camera at the ready, I like the effect of the suns rays on one of these photographs.
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Update 25th September 2013

26/9/2013

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There have been some really beautiful butterflies around this month~~I photographed these lovely creatures on a Buddleia bush recently~~I believe they feed on nettles not allotment produce. 
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September 25th 2013~~  A very busy month of  August~~ In the garden and on the allotment

25/9/2013

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PictureMargaret's special Blue rose
OUR GARDEN
One busy month later from my last Blog post. I cannot believe how fast the time has flown this month. 
 There has  been quite a nice display of colour,  in both the front, and the back parts of our garden. We have had quite a good crop of cherry tomatoes in pots and my blueberry bushes have produced some lovely fruit. I am truly amazed at how well Margaret's blue rose has flowered once, and has returned to flower again so beautifully.

 The lawns have required the usual extra effort as the summer growth of the grass takes off. My friend and follower, the robin, appeared, and pounced on any form of insect life that the mower blades turned up. I am certain he is feeding his family in a nearby nest. 
  We had some friends to stay and w
e were able to make good use of our new garden furniture. We were able to enjoy some wonderful al fresco breakfasts in the garden as the weather has been beautiful. We also had a barbecue and we enjoyed just sitting and chatting in the garden until quite late.
PictureA steam train passing the allotments
OUR ALLOTMENT
I was working on the allotment a bit later than usual when I managed to take this great photograph of a steam train passing by, on the way to Sheringham. 
 So far we have had some good crops of onions and garlic, first and second early potatoes and many courgettes; both the conventionally shaped, and a wonderful new variety that is round shaped and very easy to cook. 
 It has been a very good year for soft fruit, starting with masses of strawberries followed by beautiful raspberries then cultivated blackberries. 
 I followed up a tip from the "Gardeners World" television programme and I cut all the old foliage from my strawberry plants when they had finished fruiting. This is a brilliant idea that I have never tried before and the plants are looking very healthy for their haircut.
 I have grown, lettuces  radishes and beet-root and we have enjoyed some very tasty salads. My tomato plants look very healthy and strong and thankfully there is no sign of the dreaded blight :( anywhere on the allotment site so far this year
 The over-winter broad beans were good and my french beans also did very well. The runner beans are exceptionally good and as my photographs show, they look very pretty when in flower, as I have two varieties with different colour flowers climbing the canes together.
 Margaret has asked me to grow some sweet corn this year and they are growing very well.

This has been a very unusual year for the number of butterflies that are around. I have never seen so many cabbage white butterflies, they are everywhere, on the allotment, in the garden, wherever you look. There are also many beautiful red admirals and peacocks around~~
BUT THESE PESKY CABBAGE WHITES
ARE A DISASTER
I happily wandered on to my allotment one day to find my Cabbages, Sprouts and the rest of my Brassicas covered in yellow and black caterpillars that were munching away on the lovely fresh young green leaves. They were everywhere even eating the leaves of my radishes and turnips~~See the dire photographs below to try to empathise with my feelings of total shock and horror at this cabbage white butterfly mayhem. 

Declaring war, I sought eradication advice from all quarters.
Chemicals and sprays are absolutely out of the question for an organic gardener like myself. My allotment neighbour, was also suffering and fighting the good fight.
"Pick em off put them on the floor and squash em"~~ I decided against accepting this advice on the grounds of the thought of millions of distasteful squashed caterpillar bodies all over the place. The final chosen remedy, was a bucket of thousands of drowned caterpillars deposited on my compost heap~~~~~~~~~Slaughter!!
I am now hoping that my plants will get over this terrible shock and grow some new edible leaves.

THE MASSED RANKS OF THE ENEMY ACTUALLY GOBBLING UP MY VEG
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8th. August~~Main Crops arriving fast~~Early morning starts to harvest the produce~~

24/9/2013

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Picture
  In spite of the inclement and unpredictable weather we have been experiencing here in Norfolk~~This has been the hottest spell we have had here for years, much to the delight of the local trades people.~~The allotment has been very productive and I am very satisfied with the results, so far.
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    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.

    Picture
    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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