Allotment update after 2 week break

Things are looking grassy. Its not pretty.

I can't believe how much its grown in 2 weeks. Maybe if I was working on it full time, maybe I'd be able to keep ahead of the weeds, but I doubt I would have been able to anyway.

The wild flowers are loving it, as are the bees. So I'm feeling bad about having to dig them up. But I do not want them to go to seed for next year. 

At the least the carpet patch is doing its job!

Cleverly went to the allotment with my new boots. 

I had a quick check up on the tree cuttings I stuck in the ground.

 

Deed.

Again, things are looking bleak. I'd say most of the bits I put in the ground are dead. Fairly dead. I'd maybe need to plant them again at this time of year when the plants are dormant. However, nothing lost. It was worth a go.

There has been some success though! The American honeysuckle and the willow cuttings seem indestructible.

Hopefully by next year they'll start pushing up new shoots. Next spring, once the place has been rabbit proofed (the sooner the better really, I noticed a lot of the cuttings had been nibbled to death).

Speaking of rabbits, they have finished off all my onions that I put in the ground.
This is the patch the onions used to live in.

No onions. Replaced with poop. Probably infused with onions.

 

My brussel sprouts are looking good though! The lower leaves near the edges of their protective buckets are looking rather nibbled. However, they're looking so much better than they were a few weeks ago. Starting to really fill out. I hope they buckets protect them from the wind.

With any luck these nubbly bits will produce some sprouts! But we'll see. Ever pessimistic.

Back from holiday to a broccoli explosion

My partner and I have been away for 2 weeks to Tenerife. It was great, but towards the end I was looking forward to getting back to my plants.

It turned out that I'd totally forgotten where I'd planted broccoli and where I'd planted brussel sprouts.
The sprouting broccoli wasn't finished and there's now 2nd huge crop with much slower growing plants. Great! But many of them had gone to flower. If I'm extremely lucky I may get a few more heads before they die off for the winter.

Not only that, but I have 4 peas! Yay! I steamed them, shells and all, because to be honest I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with them, which variety I'd sown. After doing so, I can only assume they weren't designed to be eaten pods and all, haha. 

Broccoli bouquet

I thought I wasn't going to get any peas this year as I sowed them so late! But this is extremely cool. I know what not to do this year and so next year's will be better attempted.

Closh before and after

4 months difference between first planting and now. Not bad considering how rubbish the soil is and how close they were planted. Goes to show that its not impossible to grow things even in a tiny space!

Caterpillar Shenaniganary- not for the Entomophobic!

3 weeks ago I was out watering the garden after a few sunny days without rain. I noticed a trapped cabbage white. It couldn't escape for leaves in my box of of brussel sprouts. It only had half a wing on its left side and I felt sorry for it. It looked like it was having a hard day. So I moved the leaves aside so it could fly out.

No more than 3 minutes after its escape, it landed back on the plant, immediately laying eggs. I groaned. How could you butterfly, I thought we were friends, reproducing wasn't part of your release deal!
After it flew away I cut off the offending egg leaf to dump in the compost bin then searched the rest of the plants for more eggs. I found some more and removed them.

On this Friday past, I looked out the back door and found caterpillars on nearly every leaf, all munching away happily on my hard work. I don't know when or how they arrived. But there they were, having a party on my kale and sprouts.

I didn't want to move them until I was sure they were cabbage whites. A google later,  indeed they were. If they were red admirals or any other type of butterfly I would have considered leaving them, but they'd already eaten whole sections away from my plants.

On Sunday I decided enough was enough. I took a cup and a pencil and went about shoogling the caterpillars into the cup. I didn't have the heart to kill them, regardless that they were cabbage whites. They're only trying to survive. The only thing I kill with no mercy are midges. As a general rule, I'm not keen on anything that wants to take blood from me, GPs included!  

I didn't realise that caterpillars were so covered in silk. They were thoroughly stuck to the leaves and it took a lot of careful poking to dislodge them. Some leaves were so infested with them that instead moving them by hand, I snapped the leaf away entirely.

Years ago when I lived in Lerwick with my parents we used to have regular trips removing bucket loads of slugs from the garden.

I couldn't bear to pick them up myself, preferring to bully my poor younger brother into doing it for me. Once we'd (mostly he'd) collected a slimy pile, my parents would drive out to our regular slug depositing spot. It was a walled patch of long grass that was in the middle of a roundabout. No escape.

We only lived 2 minutes away from this spot, regardless, whoever was holding the bucket would panic as the slugs would slither closer and closer to the top of the bucket.
Unfortunately this roundabout no longer exists, otherwise I would have the caterpillars there! But I was about to relive the panic of escaping creepy crawlies.

The caterpillars using the leaf as a climbing frame, started to climb upwards. I poked them back down again, hopping in the car. Of course, like cartoon ants, more caterpillars marched up the leaves replacing the ones I poked down. I didn't have anyone at the house who could have accompanied me as caterpillar container,  I just had to go, QUICKLY. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. I should have put them in a better container. Preferably one with a lid! 

As I was driving, again they were nearly at the top. I nearly went off the road more than once trying to keep them from spilling out into the car. The idea of finding caterpillars in the car for weeks was horrifying. I don't mind bugs, but I certainly don't want them crawling over the gear stick or pupating on the rear mirror. The thought makes me itchy.

As I parked the car, this is where they'd got to! ARGHH. Seconds to spare!

After arriving in an innocuous enough spot away from gardens, I pulled in and RAN carrying the cup. I half dropped, half poured them out onto some grass with the infested leaves as a last supper.

More likely as not they'll starve, or be picked off by birds. But at least they might have a chance.

Next year I'm going to cover my brassicas with netting, prevention rather than cure.

For the rest of the day, every time I closed my eyes I could see imaginary caterpillars crawling around. And writing this whole post has given me the shivers and itches.

Weeding the allotment

After my second day volunteering at Turriefield I made it my mission over the weekend to clear as much as I could.

I visited the allotment several times to weed it before but then I'd mostly been pulling things up by hand. The plot's weeds had a growth spurt after some rain. Deaf nettles, and creeping buttercup infest it.

After 5 hours or so I cleared this patch. It didn't look too bad.

But in the larger context its like a spit in the ocean. 

After a second session things were looking better. But there is still so much to do.

Its my goal to try and get at least HALF of the ground cleared before winter really sets in. Its a slow process though. By far the worst culprit is creeping buttercup.



At the moment this is my most hated weed. Each plant put down an deep tap root. Then it shoots off runners like a strawberry. Each plant can have up to 10 runners or so. Every runner roots and creates a new plant, that creates more runners. Of course if you leave a single root in the ground, it will create a new plant.
Its a nightmare to dig it all up.

2nd Volunteering Saturday at Turriefield

Since my first visit, I'd told my mam all about Turriefield. I recruited her to come and help for the day. I knew she would be inspired by what they were doing. She is much more into growing flowers and isn't keen on vegetables, where as I'm the opposite.

We arrived on another lovely day. Our job for the morning was to weed the chard and beetroot patch. The only annoyance was that the wind fell away entirely. Penny and Allan provided midge repellents which was a lifesaver.

Hard at work.

This is one of my favourite pictures I've ever taken of my mam.

Hundreds upon hundreds of peas and beans. 

One of my relatives said he wouldn't want to be a weed in my presence haha. 

The sun threatening to shine! 

We were fed another amazing lunch including toasted marshmallows to celebrate one of the volunteer's birthday. Ian and Penny are fab hosts. Their bannocks are some of the best I've ever had anywhere. My mouth just waters thinking about it.

I didn't take any photos of them, but my favourite part of the visit this time was seeing the progress of the Turriefield polytunnel pumpkins. They were HUGE. Pumpkins are something I would never have expected would have been able to grow up here, even inside. But its possible!

Now if only I had a polytunnel of my own so I could grow all these wonderful things. Some day!

Some people have fitness goals, I have veg growing goals

Wednesday 12th August was the Cunningsburgh show. I took a half day off work and my mam, brother and I drove down. As the Voe show had been cancelled this year, this was our only agricultural show 'fix' for this year.

Previously I'd never cared about the vegetable and produce displays. In fact, I'd always thought they were the dullest part of the show. I'd drag my poor mam away from it as quickly as possible. Why would you go to look at them when you could spend time with the animals instead. 

How times have changed, haha.

I was so impressed with the variety selection that won. 

My rhubarb at home is more like the one on the right.
Look at the COLOUR of the left selection. Beautiful.

I loved the raspberry display. I could definitely do this.

My leeks are still the size of pencils. I can't believe how badly mine compare, haha

Herb display. This was the only one at the show!

Blue salad potatoes. Another thing I want to try to grow.

The most interesting thing was the presentation of the vegetables. Using sphagnum moss and heather to decorate the containers was a common theme. Wicker baskets and old ceramics was another.

Just LOOK at the olive eggs in the center. To die for.

Someday I'd love my own hens to compete in this too.

I'm going to try my best to compete in the Voe or Cunningsburgh show next year. I can definitely do this.