Flighty's plot

that the new grow your own season starts once I’ve bought the onion sets and seed potatoes.  I did that this morning when I went to the horticultural society trading shed.

I got the onion sets Sturon which I always buy, and usually do well with. They will be the first things I’ll be planting out towards the end of March, providing the ground conditions and weather are suitable.

The seed potataoes are the same varieties as last year namely first earlies Pentland Javelin, second earlies Charlotte and main crop Picasso.  I’ll be putting these on the windowsill in a week or two to chit, before planting out around end of March into early April.

Last week I was plotting every day and I cleared the dead stems and/or leaves from the four clumps of Asters (Michaelmas daisies), the Crocosmia and the strawberry plants.  Having now dug out and sieved ten barrow loads of compost that freed up space to empty the contents of the plastic bin into the right-hand side of the heap. As you can see there’s still lots more compost on the left to dig out.

I won’t be doing much plotting next week as I’m otherwise occupied on Wednesday and Thursday looks like being a rainy day.

Have a good week, and take care!

The horticultural society is occasionally given various used gardening tools, usually when a member gives up their plot or passes away.  Depending on what they are, and the condition they’re in, they’re usually put on sale in the trading shed for a nominal amount with the money going to the local charity the society supports. Last Sunday I noticed there were some forks and spades for sale and looking at them found a border fork which I bought.  It’s the small one on the right in the picture.  The heavy duty green one in the middle I’ve had for some years but don’t use it often.  The wooden one on the left I was given when I took the plot on and have made good use of it ever since.

I’ll be eating the last of the stored second early Charlotte potatoes this coming weekend. They’re shown here on a 8 in/20 cm plate to give an indication of size.  They’re my favourite variety so I grow plenty every year. They generally do well, and grow and store without any problems.

I still have enough main crop Picasso potatoes in store to probably last me through this month.

It’s been dry this week, although variable, so I’ve been plotting every day and that looks set to continue well into next week, getting this month off to a good start.

Have a good weekend, and take care!

For three days in a row I’ve been plotting, which is the first time in at least a couple of months I’ve done that.  This morning I dug out and sieved another barrow load of compost, the fifth so far all which I’ve stockpiled. The robin was around whilst I was doing that, finding plenty to eat inbetween perching partly hidden in the rose Pretty Lady.

Looking round the plot I was pleased to see that my rhubarb is starting to show above ground.

However when I looked round the site I noticed how much better it’s doing on one of the other plots.

This morning I went across the road to the horticultural society trading shed to renew my membership for this year, and to see if the onion sets and seed potatoes were on sale.  They weren’t as they’re not expecting delivery for another week or two.  It was good to chat for a while as I don’t go there very often nowadays.

It looks like staying dry, although mostly overcast, next week with the temperature into double figures C so I hope to do plenty of plotting.

Have a good week, and take care!

There was plenty of rain last night, and today the temperature is into double figures C.  The downside to it being warmer is that later tonight there is going to be several hours of heavy rain and winds gusting to over 50 mph.

I took a potter round the plot this morning, and will be doing the same tomorrow to check that all is okay.

This picture shows two of the vegetable patches.  In the top one I’ll be growing potatoes,  over on the right sunflowers and cosmos in cosmos corner middle right below the dog rose. In the lower one there’ll be the onions, and over on the left (out of the picture) tomatoes.

Once new growth starts to appear I’ll then clear away the dead croscosmia foliage.

It’s still worth looking at the white meadowsweet,  by the end of the raspberry patch, despite it being just bare stems.

Have  a good week, and take care!

Last week it was chilly and dull with a bitterly cold wind so I mostly stayed indoors.  Yesterday was better as it was calm so felt marginally warmer and I went to the plot after lunch for a look round.

One good thing about the weather has been that it hasn’t rained for over a week which has given the ground a chance to start drying out and any standing water to drain away.    

Out front at home are three roses – a white Iceberg along with smaller red and yellow ones (varieties unknown).

Despite having virtually no leaves and plenty of hips there is still a single red flower and a couple of white ones.

Next week the weather looks like it’s going to get even colder so I’ll be doing plenty of armchair gardening.

Have a good week, take care, and keep warm!

This original art and short story is by Lizzie Jayne, who can be found on Facebook and Pinterest.

It was a place of warm sunshine and quiet. A place where bulbs were planted and seedlings would grow. The cat didn’t care much for cherry tomatoes or runner beans, but oh how he loved the smell of freshly mowed grass as he snuggled down into the rusty old barrow. The verdure would tickle his nose but he didn’t mind, for this was his favourite spot on Grandad’s Allotment. The silence was bliss and the cat drifted off to sleep, occasionally opening one eye to the sound of a spade turning the earth.

Have a good weekend, take care and keep warm!

of the list of annual flowers I like are Pot Marigolds (Calendula officinalis), which I call Flighty’s Favourites. I was originally given some seeds when I took the plot on in 2007 and sowed them the following spring.

I mostly grow them on the main flower patch where they flower from spring though to late autumn.  I let them self-seed, collect then save seed and even occasionally buy a packet. As well as the familar all orange and yellow varieties others include creamy-white (Snow Princess),  pinky-apricot (Canteloupe),  and buff and red shades. I don’t have a standout favourite as I like them all.

Over the years I have given a lot of online friends some seeds, and it’s always been nice to see photos of them in their gardens both in the UK and around the world.

David, a serious amateur photographer, sometimes shows his on Facebook, along with a mention that the seeds came from me. This is one of his outstanding photos.

I always smile at the Chiltern Seeds catalogue description for their Mixture of all Varieties which reads  – To bring fun into gardening this is a jolly mixture of Pot Marigolds to brighten gardens, lives and outlooks – Who could ask for more?

(The two photos showing Flighty’s Favourites flowering on the plot are from the archives.)

Have a good week, and take care!