An Organic Lifestyle (Organic Growing Pains)

The plot is taking shape but the weather is not helping, which is everybody's complaint on this windswept isle.In view on the left side are onion beds, 1 red baron and 2 white then potato beds.Across the back fence are raspberry canes ,rhubarb and globe artichoke ,all moved from the previous plot at the Hydro Farm. White fleece, back left side is covering one of Billy's raised beds. I sowed carrots, Pak Choi and beetroot in the bed today and covered with enviromesh, even the carrot fly may be deterred with the cold weather, but covered the bed 'just in case' ! The second raised bed is empty awaiting top soil and manure to sow courgettes which are on the bedroom windowsill as I speak hoping the weather will improve before June to put them outdoors. There is a space left beside that bed to take the Sweetcorn which are struggling in the back garden at the moment. I had moved them outdoors at home to harden off but had to cover them today with fleece to protect th...

We have had a lovely week weather wise, sunny days but cold & frosty nights.These photos have been taken over a few days both on the plot and at home and are not in any particular order. Today on the allotment the onions went in, these are Sturion and there are 2 rows of shallots which we have not grown before. I paid 2.45e a lb for the onion sets in a garden centre and there are 2 lbs of them in this bed. One of my fellow plotters told me Lidl are doing a lot of garden items next week and one of them is onion sets for 1e.He got them last year and said he had great onions from them.We are doing a second onion bed so Lidl will go in there and we will be able to compare the two. The cover is the enviromesh that covered the carrots last year, I thought it may as well earn its keep protecting the onion sets from the birds and frost.There was not enough to cover the whole bed so it will be interesting to see what if any difference it makes to cover the onions. Some people are very organ...

With all the tooing and froing of the last couple of weeks I have forgotten to take photos of our take home harvest which has become a daily bounty now with the warm weather. Our first earlies, Charlotte are being dug and are blight free and unmarked, anyone who has had them has been full of praise for their taste and of course the dry weather has kept them clean skinned.They are being sprayed for blight every week and so far so good. We have had a bumper crop of strawberries and the raspberries are just beginning to redden, hence the fruit net being put up in a hurry. Rhubarb is growing apace, the new plants seem to be catching up with the older ones. We are getting very excited about the Sweet corn for once it has the correct temps and is almost growing while we are looking at it! The salad bed is producing spring onions and lettuce, we have quite a bit of lettuce staggered around the plot even on the Asparagus bed which I had to put net around as we are being over run with rabbits! ...

I spent most of today on the plot and remembered to take my camera and more importantly remembered to take some photos!I had a small harvest to bring home but anything at this time of year is welcome.Rhubarb with which I made a rhubarb and pear crumble, its like a sweet and sour desert!The lettuce is from the greenhouse and is the winter cos which is a lovely crunchy lettuce with a tight heart and some spinach leaves to add to the salad. The salad bed, I have two lots of spring onions, the lisbon and purplette. There is an iceberg lettuce under the fleece,the name escapes me but the seeds were on a tape it is the first time I have tried this and will give an update on progress.Ruby swiss chard went in today as another plotter had too much and kindly passed on the excess to me.In the background is the garlic bed, I am still not sure if they are developing rust but I cut all of the yellowed leaves and tips off of them and they seem to be growing quite well. I soaked them today, I know ga...