Wrap up!

Greetings Follower!

What can I say....I'm lazy and have not been keeping you up to date with fings.  And how are fings?
Fings have been up and down...literally!

We had us a few storms ....near Hurricane Albert ....or Angus...or suchlike caused a few problems....got up to the plot and generally everything was looking ok......all the leaves of the apple trees had been blown away....fab. A few bins had been rolled about....no problem. Then I got up the top....and after a "THF" moment and a second glance and a feeling of "I'm sure there was something there before" ... then the dawn gradually  was realised......and yes the Polly was gone! It was an ex Polly! Polly was no longer! All that remained was a patch of earth where Polly had been.

So I looked high and low....left and right .....and to cut a short story short.....yep it's not rockety science....I found Polly in the neighbours plot. But oh no...not in clean neighbours plot where its all nice and tidy....but in untidy neighbours plot where everything is overgrown with brambles and the like. Bugger!(Sorry kids...naughty word!)

I crawled in and rescued Polly.....a little battered  but not terminal...and she lives to fight another day. Phew!

So to link to today's title...this is a wrap up for 2016.....a bit of a mixed bag....a fair amount of success to be fair....progress made in keeping the plot clear and improving it to a workable standard...a few veggies grown.....and the orchard got  cropped by Manuel whose going to turn it into....Cyderrrrr! Can't wait for a few bottles to come my way.

Cheers!

That's a wrap.
Keep on keeping on
Abitot!

Stalled Summer

Greetings
Its been too long Followers.....my humble apologies.
Well we've moved! Yes indeed....got evicted form my old plot cos I was only ghosting and so have had to find myself a new home. As luck would have it my neighbours introduced me to the fair Maid Marion....75 years fair....and it is a marriage made in Heaven!

Her plot is  only a barrow ride away down the track and my what a plot  ! Twice the size....mature apple trees and pear trees....a huge shed filled with all sorts of tools and stuff...a tea chalet....oh yes indeed....a massive fruit cage(in need of some repair) a  greenhouse (now we have his 'n hers) a poly tunnel....raised beds.....aplenty of water butts.  Its Brilliant! Twice the work but twice the fun.

I had a field of Jersey Royals....my best crop yet. Jersey Bananas (aka yellow courgettes) are on line.I have  a herb trough and a huge row of parsley. Marion grows sweet peas and I helped by planting out and training them. She only went and won at the local show! My Glads have flowered brilliantly too. Transplanted rhubarb has taken fine despite the shock. Not quite as good as last year but it's only to be expected. Lots of lettuce. Broccoli and sprouts looking good. Toms, aubergines, chillies, butternut squashes and melons all doing well.
All in all a great start.

Keep On!

Abitot.

A'While

Greetings Followers!
Been away A'While.....so sorry!
Well the Seasons almost over now and it's been a mixed bag to be fair.

Tomatoes....Fab and I've a been making my own Sauce!
Chillies...I have a few.
Rhubarb....Great as always....Ice cream...Yum!
Golden beets....huge!
Onions...red and white....good crop.
Courgettes....lots.
Sweet corn....a few.
Peas....lots and taste like the mushy type.
Raspberries.....quite a few and turned into...Ice cream....Yum!
Strwaberries...not so many
Chard.....huge!
Glads, daliahs, sweetpeas..... all lovely.

Not a huge variety of stuff but all good! I hope you haven't been too sad that I haven't been keeping up.
Keep on keeping on!
Abitot

Spring

Greetings Followers

Spring is sprunging! Oh yes! daffs, crocci, camelia ....a veritable schmorgasboard of loveleyness!

On the plot rhubarb!......not a lot else actually as neither my onions or potatoes are showing yet.

Just waitin now............

Abitot!

New Year New Fings!

Greetings
I know Follower that you have been sadly neglected in recent times. Probably largely due to nothingness happening on the plot. But that's all a changing!

Onions...seeds sown including Kelsae Champion s! And sets in! Yep plantin's a happenin'!

Also half a tray of Royals and some others Pip gave me....in!

I now have a garden path and I've been terracing....fab.

Weather's been  a bit changeable recently.....rain and wind and a bit of sun too.

It's all begining to happen!

Keep on.

Abitot.

Twas the month before Christmas.......

............Seasons Greetings!

I know..I know it's only November......the bonfire's hardly out and my nuts are still warm!

But nevertheless it is that Season for being Jolly......and jolly I am but not for any particular reason.

Keep making wishes....new water tank......getting the greenhouse fixed.....vraicing .........manuring.......if only Santa's Little Helper could.....well.....help!

Need to do a little weeding and sorting on the plot....otherwise it's all hunky dorey.

I have no idea what I'm going to do next year................

Abitot

Oh Woe is me!

Greetings Faithful Followers of Shallotment!
I jest ....all is not woeful but I have sadly been very much neglecting you. I have no excuse save general laziness which I much regret as I should be entertaining you with all my adventures.

So to give you all a little Summer update the results are......
Strawberries....a few handfulls
Onions.....plentiful and huge!
Broad beans.....fair crop.
Beets....pretty fantastic. Got plenty pickled.
Runner beans.....pretty poor!
Squashes....non existant.
Courgettes.....fabulous.
Kale.....great.
Chard....great.
Rhubarb......brilliant.
Glads and daliahs ......great.
Tomatoes.....tomtastic.
Chillies....disappointing.
Melon.....one the size of a tangerine! (but perfect!)

Plot improvements....slab path down the middle with a super willow archway!

Generating a nice compost in the compost dalek!

Need to really sus my water capture this year.....been rather lax and need to get things sorted.

The Wife has joined the RHS and we're off to Chelsea next year. FAB!

That's all for now Folks!
Keep on keeping on.
Abitot.

Growing pains .....

Greetings!
Growing is painful.....from the top of the plot it's looking a bit like this....
Carrots......fab.
Strawberries....not so bad but some are getting nibbled by critters.
Broad beans....slowly getting there but  being attacked by black fly .
Leeks...looking great.
Beets.....holding their own.
Onions .....loads and loads.
Rhubarb.....great.
Lupins...beautiful but being swamped by aphids.
Spuds.... Started slow but finished fine... A touch of blight but nothing to worry.
Onions.....more!
Runner beans....beginning to run.
Sweet corn.......slowly slowly .
Toms...rampant
Chillies......coming along.
Parsnips.....doing ok.
Melons.....! Lol!
I think that's about it....all in all not so bad indeed. No real surprises and no disasters ...yet.
Growing conditions are perfect ....getting lots of sun and a bit of rain.
Loving it all.
Keep on Carrying On!
Abitot.

Royal Visit.

Greetings.
Well not quite ...but almost as Georgina and Camilla came to visit today. So I was up on the plot early and got weeding and tidying in readiness . So I've put a new step down onto the plot and planted the willow branches on either side to make an arch. Looks fab. Did a bit of planting out and potting on....toms and chillies or are they peppers....? Anyway I also sorted the melons so the greenhouse is done. Just got to plant out the rest of the beetroot once I've dug the rest of my spuds.
Have I mentioned the lupins? Producing tons of stems. And the strawberries .....huge!
And the weather has been unusually good too....sunny and warm. Beautiful!
Keep on Keeping on.
Abitot.

Wet Wet Wet

Greetings...
Not just a group!
Been pouring all week....great for me onions and corn and beans and berries and stuff but not good for cats.
Just got beetroot to get planted out now and my mellons to get sorted in the greenhouse and that will sorta be it for a bit. Chillies begining to show well. Toms continuing to please.
I love it!
Keep on enjoying.
Abitot.

Great weekend

Greetings.
And what a scorcher she was! Lots done out on the plot.....more beans....courgettes......kale.....in! Spuds almost all dug......not a huge harvest but not bad tasting. Toms setting and growing madly.
Just have my beets and parsnips to plant out. Strawberry crop loking fab.
On the downside the plot is drinking me dry......half a tank left already. Woe.
On the upside....it's all good!
Keep on keeping on.
Abitot

Nursery

Greetings.

Very sunshiney today and forecast to get only better. Fab.

A nest of tiny golden spiders has hatched on my barrow. They're amazing!

Lady Di beans seem to be struggling a bit. Sweet corn doing great. Tom's are rampant. 

Delighted with progress ......looking forward to Saturday as I intend to dig the rest of my spuds...plant out my courgettes and beets and kale. Lots to do but a sunny day will make it brilliantl.

Keep on enjoying.

Abitot

Eurovision

Greetings Followers!
Happy Eurovision Day and Happy Liberation Day for yesterday. Yes Followers Jersey was ooccupied during W W 2.
Today it has been mainly sunny... hurrarh!  On the plot I've planted out my sweet corn and my Lady Di beans. I hope they don't get blown away.
Me onions are all picking up....that's a relief cos I thought I might haves lost some. Leeks looking good. Picked my first spuds....better than last year ...maybe need a couple more weeks. All going great! Fab.  Keep on enjoying. Abitot

Vacances ....

En France.
Greetings. Yes I've had a few days away in France. All jolly lovely. Having said that I was dying to get back to the plot and sure enough when I got there all things going rampant! Toms are going to have a bumper year....I feel it!

Needless to say...rain again!

 Abitot .

Precipitation

Greetings!
Yes Shallotment people it is raining. This is good news. Plants need water. On the flip side my spuds are in raggy order and I don't like it!
I unpacked my new water pump today. It's Brill! I can't use it however due to rain. I need the sun out at midday to align the solar panel up. Fat chance of that today.

Seeds......hurry up!

Abitot.

Onions!

Greetings!
Well knowing your onions is one thing but planting them out is another! Another 100 planted out bring the total up to about 200.
The  Plot is now all weeded and Bobs Bean Gazebo is built....and what a jolly fine edifice it is. I may have already mentioned this but worth mentioning it again!
In the greenhouse all is going mad. Tomatoes ate looking fab, sweet corn is up, beans are up as are more beets. Melons are not showing yet and  snails have been having a go at my courgettes. As a result I've liberally spread loads of anti snail pellets. Hopefully that will sort them out.
The Girls are doing fine....averaging six a day. Pip is engineering a new run which should be an improvement on the current one.
And the suns coming out again!
Fab!
Keep enjoying.
Abitot

Engineering

Greetings!
Pip is the Great engineer. He loves it. Everything is straight level and upright. Much concrete and stuff to make things solid and long lasting. ......it's just not my way ....I love gardening and making things grow and making do. I will use Universal Glue to make things stick....Mud by any  other name. It works... Ok maybe only temporarily but it does the job. The football post bean grower was great last year.....beans grew up it and it worked. It did fall down though after the Winter storms.....not surprising really but as a result it gives me the opportunity to do something else. So this year I have Bobs Bean Gazebo! Four corner posts with cross members on top with the trellis resting over. Bamboo poles on three sides. Solid!
Also I've put some  scaffold boards on my pallet board fence as the weeds are smothering my Glads. Neatness things up.
Lovin it!
Keep on keeping on Enjoying!
Abitot.

Busy busy!

Greetings!
Much been doing! Since our last posting it's been growing great.
Toms have been transplanted in the greenhouse. I have sown sweet corn , beets, kale, courgettes,melons,peas and beans. Peppers and chillies haven't done much so will be re seeding. Currant cuttings have taken well. All looking very tidy.
Outside on the Plot....been cropping rhubarb....about 20 lbs so far. New potatoes in and growing nicely......got four rows with only a couple of misses. Strawberry patch weeded and looking good...a few flowers but hopefully should get a fairly good crop. Broad beans planted out as are about 100 onions. Planted out my asparagus plants....thought I was doing the right thing by planting them in a mound......then I watched a you tube clip and next year I'll be doing it properly!
More digging done and more beets, swedes  and chard sown.
So two thirds of the Plot under cultivation with one third to go.  Have me a plan for my runners ...I'm going to raise my trellis on four corners like a kind of gazebo and run them up bamboos .....should be great.
The weathers been pretty good all round...sunny in the main with a bit of rain to keep the dust down.
At home the fence is slowly changing colour.....
That's it!
Keep on enjoying!
Abitot

Absent

Grtings!
My apologies for being absent for  a while....

Been doing at home....fence being finished and painted....pruning wisteria, roses etc....(well Jenny my new find gardener has!) Garden looking lovely and Springy still.

On the Plot rhubarb has gone mad, greenhouse spuds are now outdoor spuds and outdoor spuds are in. Plot a little neglected but getting ready for planting out onions...of which I've just potted on 60 plants.

Broad beans sprouting as are parsnips and toms and a few other bits and pieces. Dang snails have had my mellons!

Girls are averaging 6 a day and we've even had eight on one day!.

All in all pretty great!

Keep on Enjoying.

Abitot

Turmoil

Greetings
In this World of turmoil and uncertainty let me say "Good Luck " to all Ukranians who value truth, justice and freedom.

On the Plot still not a lot I'm afraid.  It's warming up slowly and even the rain is becoming less troublesome!

A couple of trays of carrots in......spuds leaping ahead.

Keep on!

Abitot