Anyhow, last year was a little strange to say the least, so I will admit I wasn’t able to get any allotmenteering done at all. We kept up the growing of runner beans in the summer along with the fruit and herbs that are permanent allotment residents, but that was about it.

So 2021 is going to be a year of “resetting” – gradually getting things under control, taming the things that should be cut back, feeding the things that are looking a little sad and generally getting the plot back up to speed so that 2022 can be a productive growing year!

Fruit

The fruit will all be in need of attention, from cutting back the strawberries (that can only really happen after fruiting, so that’s a job for this autumn), cutting the raspberries down to ground level (possibly that can still happen up to April, although it depends on what growth there is on each cane), and tying in the blackberry bush (I’ve got a new “Gripple” kit to try out for that, in the hope it will be more successful than vine eyes that didn’t screw completely into the wooden supports!).

The rhubarb however seems to need very little extra attention, and just happily thrives on semi-neglect!

Herbs

The herbs tend to be left alone most of the time, but the fennel probably needs last year’s growth cut down to ground level. I should think the mint has taken over the flower section of the plot by now, seeing as that had already escaped from its pot a few years ago!

Flowers

I will admit my flower patch tends to not get too much attention other than cutting back the dead stalks after flowering. The flowers work well to attract pollinating insects, and also help to conceal the compost bin!

The main thing that remains to be seen though, is how much of this can actually be achieved this year, and what the plot will look like in 11 months’ time…

1. We’ve been talking about getting the Blackberry bush onto some kind of support for ages, and finally found some suitable stakes this week. I thought it was going to be challenging to get the stakes in the ground, but it was surprisingly easy – a couple of old socks on the end of the stake padded the top, while a large pebble-like stone worked as a makeshift hammer.
   

   

   
   All we need now are some suitably short vine eyes to screw into the wood, and we can get the wires attached.
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2. Rhubarb! It’s grown a lot in the last week, so this week we brought home the first few pieces – not enough to make a crumble(!), in fact it could be described as a “taste” of rhubarb rather than a sensible sized helping, but looking at the plants, I think there’s plenty more to come.
   

   

   
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3. We decided it was time to tidy the Raspberry patch before the autumn-fruiting raspberries grow too much. The grass sneaks into the patch every year, making the patch feel more like a jungle at times, but I want to try and keep it more under control this year. As you can see, it’s not the easiest ground to dig grass out from, but the lumps of grassy soil we removed, have been ‘recycled’ into steps at the side of the plot.
   

   

   
   There’s still a lot of work to be done before this is grass-free (or at least has a straight edge!), but I think the soil needs to dry out a bit more before we can get more digging done.
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4. Digging out the Cucamelon patch was a bit easier, although there’s a lot of huge stones lurking just under the soil. We’ve not planted anything in this section on a regular basis, and a couple of inches below the surface there’s pure clay…. I think this calls for a load of compost before we can plant anything!
   

   

   
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5. Several years ago, I bought this Penstamon and up to now it’s been looking great… unfortunately the green leaves it had last month, have all browned off. I’m guessing it didn’t approve of the cold and snow in March. A relative tells me I should “cut it back”, but didn’t tell me if it’s like Lavender where you don’t cut it back too much, or if it should be cut back as hard as possible. I’m reliably informed by Granny’s Garden that nothing should be cut until the risk of frost is over, and she cuts back to one green leaf on each stalk. Given that I have zero green leaves on the stalks, that might prove challenging, but I’ll give it another week or so just to check the chance of frost, given that the allotment site is so exposed.
   

   

   
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6. Finally, we have a Morrison’s Supermarket bargain buy… these Geraniums aren’t heading to my allotment, but we’re potting them up to grow on for a relative’s garden.
   

   

Don’t forget to check out the Propagator’s Six on Saturday and read through the comments section for more blogs to check out!

1.  Several weeks ago, I ordered a new raised bed – I thought the plastic corners would help make it more sturdy. After a couple of phone calls to chase the company, it finally arrived this week, so I was looking forward to getting it all set up on the allotment. There was a slight problem though… the plastic corners were all smashed to pieces.

   

   So we’ve now arranged to take this piece of rubbish back to the store for a refund, and I’m still needing to find a decent, sturdy metre-square raised bed! Anyone got any suggestions, given that my DIY skills are lacking at being able to make my own?
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2. I finally got around to weeding the second strawberry raised bed yesterday. It looks like the March snow killed off a few of the strawberry plants in this bed as well as the main one (no photos until I get a replacement frame for that!), so either I will use some of the spare strawberry plants from the garden or I might actually be reckless and buy some fresh plants to fill the gaps. Anyone have a favourite variety they would recommend? (My original 9 plants came from a newspaper promotion and I haven’t a clue what variety they are!)
   

   

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   The strawberry plants on the right are the Just Add Cream ones, and I planted out four Snow White on the left of that raised bed yesterday – they look absolutely minuscule, but these are the biggest four so far!
   

   

   
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3. According to my half-written allotment diary from last year, we were already picking rhubarb by this point. It’s way too small to pick right now, but it’s all growing really well so hopefully it won’t be long before Rhubarb Crumble season starts!
   

   

   
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4. No photo of the main potato patch, but this is the overflow patch! I have read that you can put black polythene down on the soil surface to save the need for earthing up the potatoes, so if I can find some I might give that a go once these sprout through the soil.
   

   

   
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5. The peas were looking a lot healthier than the spring onions, and I decided it was time they were planted out. The label on the pot just said “plant out as soon as possible” which was really informative! I’m hoping that the way I put the netting in a zigzag will mean it’s not too challenging to pick the peas (assuming they grow!).
   

   

   
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6. And finally, I have no idea whether it was a deer, badger, the wind, or just the cabbages wanting to escape, but I think we need to work on replacing the fleece covers!
   

   

Here’s hoping for some more dry weather, so the plants can recover from all that cold and snow last month.  Don’t forget to check out the Propagator’s Six on Saturday and read through the comments section for more blogs to check out!