Welcome to the awesome allotment July update. I cannot believe I have had the allotment for 7 months already. It has gone really quickly. Whilst there are always things to do in the allotment, I do find this time of year relaxing. Most plants are growing away nicely and as a result I have just fallen into a maintenance pattern of weeding, watering and feeding, and of course harvesting!
Introduction
July has been an interesting month in my allotment! A lot wetter and more miserable than we have been used to of late. Now this has had both positive and negative results for the garden. Firstly, the positive is that the additional water coupled with some warm weather has looked after the plants and encouraged them to grow nicely with minimum intervention. Of course this means less lugging of watering cans back and forth which can only be a good thing right?
Secondly, and the negative, is that the moisture has brought out slugs and snails, in what feels like the thousands!! In fact, I didn’t realise I even had dahlias as they have been munched the moment the shoots broke the soil! However, I do have some tips to prevent the damage and if you READ HERE you can have them too!
Awesome allotment recap
So, what did I intend to do this month, and what have I actually done???
Fill my spaces with catch crops
✅ Well I have done this, not as much as I would like, but then that is because the other plants have been growing so well I have struggled to find space. A good problem to have maybe 🤷🏻♀️
Sow at least 5 different catch crops
✅ & ❌ I have sown radish (my first sowing all got eaten), spring onions (not growing yet, may have got eaten), beetroot ( are just starting to germinate but a few have been eaten), lettuce ( marginal success with a mixture of soggy leaves and eaten leaves), and finally rocket (success! Phew). As you can see, there is a theme this year 😣. I think the rocket did better as they are a bit more peppery and they are raised up. One to remember!
Start to propagate perennials for next year
✅ This has been a success!! I have sown asparagus from seed – who knew it would be so easy, and have now planted 9 little seedling out. Also, I have sown some perennial cut flowers which are doing nicely, including dianthus, geums and achillea. And, I have taken cuttings of roses, lavender and rosemary in my garden which I will grow on and bring to the allotment. All in all, not too bad really!
Sweet pea allotment heaven!
So I think my biggest success this year so far HAS to be my sweet pea tee pee. Look at the difference in these two pictures – there is only 2 months difference!
Furthermore, have a peak at all the bunches I have had so far, and these are not all of them! To keep them growing, follow these tips 🌸:
- Every few days, harvest all the flowers on your plants. If you leave any and they go to seed, you wont get any more blooms.
- Sweet peas are hungry plants, so I feed mine with all purpose plant food. It seems to work!
- I have given them space to grow nice and tall too. Height to climb is good!
Allotment Flower Beds
Another thing I am happy about is how much my newly formed cut flower beds are progressing.
If you remember I had three flower beds at the top of my plot. One of them I have squeezed in some soft fruit as as well as flowers, in an attempt to disguise the berries! The other two are proper flower beds. I have planted with a mixture of both perennials, annuals and bulbs. I eventually want to have flower beds that are self seeding and self regulating as well as looking fabulous. That might take a bit of time though. So far I have cosmos, sunflowers, delphiniums, lupins, lavender, scabious, gladioli, antirrhinum, cerynthe and dianthus.
One of my favourite discoveries this year so far has been gladioli, in a vase with cosmos. I really wish I had put more gladioli corms in. Next year, I may dedicate a whole bed to them. Because they grow vertically, you can really jam them in and get loads of flowers. Plus, if you sow them a few weeks apart, you can have a steady harvest of them.
Allotment Veg Beds
I’m not gonna lie, so far my veg has been a bit disappointing. I think it’s because I haven’t planted enough, and what I did plant I didn’t grow on enough at the beginning of the year. However, it’s not all bad as I have harvested some veg and I have plenty more coming 🤞.
I did invent a lovely broad bean, feta and mint salad – if you want to see it then follow me on instagram HERE
A modest harvest of beetroot, baby courgettes, french beans, broad beans and runner beans. Enough for mean for two.
Nice big tomato growing in my greenhouse. I have some fruit coming on the plants in the allotment too!
Grapes are coming on very well in the greenhouse this year. Just need to plant how to use them now!
My first (and only) cucumber of the year! 😆
Conclusion
July this year has been a different and at times difficult month. However, I think I have the slug control sorted, the flowers and veg are growing on nicely and the sweet peas are still blooming, so I can’t really complain.
Gardening is as much about trial and error as it as anything else, and I have certainly learnt a load already!
Happy gardening!
JT x
