Allotment/Growing Update

It's been a while since I've mentioned the allotment (and since we got a chance to visit it lol!). We've harvested our first lot of potatoes today. Unfortunately having been completely useless the first half of this year the seed potatoes were put in late and consequently didn't receive much water (I think we put them in just before the dry period in May - yes we were very late!! - and then didn't get around to watering them - ooppps!) and it came back to bite us as our first crop was not very extensive.

NOTE: POTATOES NEED TO GO IN EARLIER NEXT YEAR AND NEED WATER LOL!

We also harvested some more redcurrants, raspberries, gooseberries and blackcurrants, fortunately these were all unaffected by neglect and actually the currant bushes are giving us our biggest harvest to date. From this I've have already made -

• 5 Jars of Redcurrant Jelly (more to be made soon)
• 9 1/2 Jars of Blackcurrant Jam
• 5 Jars of Gooseberry Jame
• Plus we now have an assortment of frozen mixed berries ready for desserts.

Seedling-wise, things have been dire.
I've planted 3 rows of carrots and only 4 individual carrots have come up.
Two rows of beetroot planted over 2 weeks ago and I'm only just started to get a few seedlings appearing on the 2nd row I planted.
The 2 rows of swedes I planted initially came up really well but then started disappearing despite slug pellets (I think birds might have had something to do with it!).
And today I've planted 2 rows of turnips and fingers crossed something might come up!
Parsnips ....errr well, I kind of forgot them, can you believe it!!! So at the end of June (a couple of months late) I planted 2 rows. Goodness know if they will come up or not, but it was worth a try.
The same for the shallots. I planted them at the end of June and then read that harvest are traditionally planted on the shortest day and harvested on the longest day. Another huge oopss then, I've got that one completely round the wrong way this year. Having said that though, they've all sprouted so you never know!

Our broad beans, peas and runner beans are in awful shape but the purple french beans have done OK and we were able to have our first portion of them today - delicious!

The sweetcorn, pumpkin and melon are doing OK although still no sign of any flowering on anything. I'm really hoping the pumpkin will produce as DS & DD will be most disappointed.

On the positive....I now have my very own greenhouse!!! It's so exciting!! The plastic one that I'd bought the year before last finally succombed over the winter (well actually I got fed up with it blowing over and taking everything inside it with it - I lost so many plants and seedlings). So now my proper greenhouse is up and running and with more time on my hands now I've already managed to get some winter cabbages started and a load of lettuces, so fingers crossed next year I can be far more organised and start things off a bit earlier without losing sight of all my window sills!

I'm started to think about next year already (I know, I know, summer's hardly here and here I am thinking about the new growing season!). I guess it's because this year has been so haphazard with things happening that have stopped me doing as much as I'd have liked to, so it has made me really focussed on getting a good crop of everything next year. Seeds needed for next year must include -

** NOTES -

• Mini Cucumbers - The larger ones although nice take ages to grow and then I never use a full one at a time. The mini ones grew quicker and were a perfect portion size.
• Tomatoes - Once again I have lots of green tomatoes and I think despite sowing 3 different varieties they are all going to mature at the same time. Next year I'd like to perhaps try some early varieties, plus have some in hanging baskets. Also perhaps not starting them all off at the same time might help stagger the harvest.
• Lettuces - I'm still not very good at sowing them every 2 weeks. I really must get a grip on this!!!
• Shallots
• Garlic