Hey there! Nice to see you back catching up with my awesome allotment progress. Don’t forget, if you want to monitor progress on this more often, as wel as get loads of growing hints and tips, follow me on social media here //Linktr.ee/tgwsap
Introduction
So, its been a bit of an odd 4 weeks, with the latter part of May nice and hot and then a wet and pretty dull start to June. However, all the moisture has been good for the allotment and as a result we are starting to see real growth on the plot.
In particular, over the last week, the sweet peas have started to bloom and are fabulous already, so I can’t wait to see how many bunches I get from them. Also, the cerynthe which was munched on by either slugs or pigeons, has really come into its own now.
Nearly all the beds are full of plants, so all that is left to do now, is sow ‘catch’ crops and keep them all alive! No small feat I assure you 😆.
In this update, I am going to show you the plants that I have sown and grown, how I have looked after them, and what produce I have so far.
As always, if you want to see where I started you can read the previous instalments of allotment x potager journey here:
Awesome allotment recap
So lets recap on what the objectives were for June and how well I achieved them.
Keep my plants alive
✅&❌ Well. This has been a bit hit and miss if I am honest. I have planted 3 lots of savoy cabbage, all of which have been eaten. Now I thought snails and slugs were the culprits, however it turns out it was pigeons! So, I have planted my final supply of cabbages and covered with them with netting and guess what – so far so good! Whilst I may not have many cabbages, I am hopeful I will have some 😆
Try and sow more succession plants
✅ This has been marginally successful, especially with herbs. Although I still think I need more. In fact, I am going to buy some more sweet peas so that I can have a longer season of them.
Enjoy my produce!
✅ It’s early days, but in the last few weeks I have already had some great bunches of flowers, some really tasty strawberries and some rocket leaves. My courgettes have little baby fruits, and the onions and beetroot are well on their way to harvest. In the coming months, I will be sharing recipes for my veg.
Allotment Planting and sowing
Well, if the beginning of May was productive, the end of May and beginning of June has been fabulous!
Whilst my goal is to be in a position where I have year round veg from my allotment, I also want to have as many cut flowers as possible. So for this reason, there are three beds solely dedicated to flowers. If you want to know what my favourite cutting blooms are you can read all about them HERE.
This month, I have sown a number of seeds: Zinna, asparagus, basil, corriander and cucamelons, all of which are growing nicely. But, my main update this month is to show you how my beds are progressing and the fruit, veg and flowers I have planted. I have also given you a few tips that may help you too!
Planting
Central Sweet pea teepee
So I have to start with my favourite part of the allotment and that’s my sweet pea teepee! I have already had numerous bunches, and they smell amazing! It is my hope to have sweet peas climbing to the very top of the teepee! I have edged by teepee with Lychnis coronaria aka rose campion.
🌸 Tip – in order to keep your sweet peas flowering, when you cut your blooms, take all of them that are ready. If you let them go over into seeds they will stop producing flowers and no one wants that!
Bean beds
Broad beans are planted here with rosemary, nasturtiums and the whole bed is edged with celeriac. I planted a second beds of broad beans because I wasn’t sure the first one would survive the wildlife! Surprising it did.
🫛 Tip: I have covered the second bed with netting, and you can just about see the savoy cabbage inside, my 4th planting! This has definitely made a difference and all the veg inside is still alive and whole. I have sprinkled some organic slug pellets in there too, which have done wonders.
Climbing beans and step over fruit
The next bed is my climbing bean bed. This is where I am growing borlotti beans, french beans and runner beans. I have planted nasturtiums as a companion plant, and the end of the bed is bordered by my step over pear.
🍐Tip: If you want to create your own step over fruit, start with a bare root tree in spring. When you plant it, cut the growing stem down to step-over height just above a bud. Make sure you don’t cut below the grafted root. Then wait until the bud sprouts. Once it is long enough, gently bend it so it’s horizontal and secure it to a bamboo cane for support. Do the same on the other side then keep tying it in.
Allotment Catch crops
My beetroot seedling are now romping away! I will need to sow some more so I have successions of lovely beetroot.
🌱Tip: Sow your beetroot in between other slower growing veg, or at the ends of your beds. Make sure you cover the seeds with a form of netting to stop birds eating the seedlings. I used wire netting.
Leeks as a companion crop
I have a whole bed of leeks, onions and garlic, but I also had some leeks left over. Therefore, I planted them at the end of my broad bean bed because they may also help prevent bugs eating my beans!
🥬 Tip: To plant your leeks, dig a trench and place your leeks in it without backfilling the soil. Then water your leeks so that the water drags the roots into the soil. Then you can back fill.
Allotment cutting flower beds
So, I have a mixture of cutting flowers in my bed, which are both annual and perennial. These include: lupins(p), gladioli(p), snapdragons(p), sunflowers, lavender(p), rudbeckia(p), cornflowers, cerynthe, dianthus(p), dill, daisy(p), phlox(p), peonies(p), scabious(p), verbena(p) and cosmos. The perennial(p) flowers will grow back bigger and stronger each year, thus giving me more blooms. And the annuals will gently self seed.
🌸 Tip: my baby plants have been covered with wire netting to keep the birds off. Use a piece of old pipe to ensure the plants don’t get squished by the netting and plant the taller plants at the back of the beds and the shorter ones at the front.
Strawberries
You will hear most home-produce growers banging on about how their fruit and veg tastes so much better than shop bought. Well, they are right!! And there is nothing that proves this more than a home grown strawberry. My little strawberry bed is just establishing, but I have already had some berries. They don’t make it home however, as I always eat them before I even leave the allotment.
🍓Tip: make sure you cover your strawbs with netting else the birds will scoff them. Also, tuck them in with straw so they don’t get muddy or eaten by slugs.
Squashes
In one of the other awesome allotment beds, I have planted squash, sweetcorn, marigolds, fennel and artichoke. The squash will grow in the ground through the sweetcorn and up the squash arch. This way I am making the most out of the space in terms of volume. And, diversity of plants helps with disease and bugs.
🌽 Tip: plant your sweetcorn in blocks, not rows. The reason for this is that sweetcorn is pollinated by wind, so you need to hedge your bets which way the wind is blowing and surround your baby corns with as many of its siblings as you can.
Conclusion
As you can hopefully see, the allotment is progressing nicely. I am impatient though and want to start eating my veg now! But, I think in a few weeks I will be and then I can start cooking with all my lovely home grown produce.
So for next month, my objectives are:
- Fill all my space with catch crops so this will minimise watering and make the best use of my plot
- Sow at least 5 types of catch crops
- Start propagating perennial plants that I can use in the allotment next year
Happy growing!
JT x
