Went down the allotment and Completed Digging of Plot

Today I went down the allotment for 3 hours and despite the cold weather got quite a few jobs I planned to do, done. I took up the remaining compost from where the long raised bed was and found out there was weed liner underneath with a small sheet of weed liner however the weed liner had a few holes in so I have relayed another piece of weed liner on top. I have then covered this in chip bark. I have also put the deep raised bed behind the greenhouse and filled it up using 2 x JAB Tub and Basket Compost however I think it may need a couple more bags of which 1 I have. I have also taken out the weeds from the soil behind the polytunnel and evened it out so I can put weed liner here to hopefully tomorrow. One more thing I was able to do was complete the digging of the vegetable plot as the weather conditions and soil conditions allowed and hopefully will be able to rotivate it tomorrow so it is ready for planting and sowing into.

                                                    Compost behind one of the raised beds

                                                    The ground is a lot drier now

 

Behind the Polytunnel

                                                                Piece I dug over today

Easter Sunday - Current Weather Conditions 31/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Sunny Morning with cloudy afternoon and sunny evening with a hard frost overnight. Hard frost expected overnight once again. Maximum Temperature: 6 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: - 2 Degrees Celsius

Crawley Horticultural Society

Today I brought the following from Crawley Horticultural Society:

- 1 x Sinclair All Purpose Compost - 75 Litres - £5.50
-  2 x J Arthur Bowers Tub and Basket Compost - 35 Litres - £2.00 each - £4.00
- 1 x 6 inch Labels - £0.85
- 1 x J Arthur Bowers Farm Manure - 50 Litres - £2.95

Easter Saturday - Current Weather Conditions 30/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Sunny Day with occasional light snow showers, a cold night last night and there is expected to be a frost overnight tonight. Maximum Temperature: 5 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: - 1 Degrees Celsius

Easter Weekend Jobs to do 29/03/2013 - 01/04/2013

These are the jobs that need to be done over the Easter weekend:

- Repot Melon Seedlings and Sweet Pepper seedlings into bigger pots
- Secure the Greenhouse down by using pegs and if needed guy lines
- Build raised bed at the back of the Greenhouse on allotment
- Cut blue MDPE Pipe brought last year to create another Brassica bed
- Put weed liner down in raised bed and around the paths then wood bark
- Tiller the allotment with rotivator
- Clean down Polytunnel cover using Jeyes Fluid and warm water

Transplanted Melon 'Antalya F1' and Sweet Pepper 'Romano Mixed' seedlings

Today I transplanted the following seedlings and put them back into the Heated Propagator in the Heated Greenhouse:

- 12 x Mr Fothergills Melon 'Antalya F1' into 3 inch square pots (Sown 14/02/2013)
- 11 x Mr Fothergills Sweet Pepper 'Romano Mixed' into 3 inch square pots (Sown 07/03/2013)

I also moved the following out of heated propagators and into the heated greenhouse:

- 5 x Courgette 'Tondo Di Piacenza' plants (Sown 11/03/2013), 3 x Courgette 'Parthenon F1 Hybrid' (Sown 18/03/2013), Kale 'Dwarf Green Curled' (Sown 18/03/2013) , Autumn Cauliflower 'Drakar F1' (Sown 18/03/2013), Basil 'Christmas' (Sown 18/03/2013), Winter Cabbage 'Tundra' (Sown 18/03/2013). 

Good Friday - Current Weather Conditions 29/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Sunny day with some very light snow flurries. Was a cold night last night and expected a cold night tonight too. Light North easterly wind. Maximum Temperature: 5 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: 0 Degree Celsius

Current Weather Conditions 28/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Sunny for most of the day but also some cloudy periods and a light northwesterly wind. Hard Frost Expected overnight Maximum Temperature: 4 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: - 3 Degrees Celsius

Went down the Allotment - Erected Walk in Greenhouse

Today I went down the Allotment for about 1 1/2 hours to erect the Walk In Greenhouse that I brought a few weeks back. I have taken up the middle raised bed and leveled up the soil. I then built up the parts of the Greenhouse in the Polytunnel before putting them together in place. I then put the cover on and now have to secure it fully at some point. I now aim to put a salad raised bed behind it at some point using the deep raised bed I took up a while back and I have put the other raised bed I took up today and leaned it on another of the raised beds but I will put this permanately on top of one of them to make it deeper.

Current Weather Conditions 27/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Sunny morning but a cloudy afternoon with a light north easterly Maximum Temperature: 5 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: 0 Degree Celsius

Popped Down the Allotment

This morning I popped down the Allotment and it still looks as if its still wet and the weather is still very cold. The raised beds appear to be frozen on top so they are not able to be used yet although the soil on top of the raised beds appears to have dried out.

Current Weather Conditions 26/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Cloudy Day once again with a few snow flurries but nothing major. No snow from last night and will be a cloudy night tonight. Maximum Temperature: 2 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: - 2 Degrees Celsius

Transplanted Summer Cauliflower, Summer Cabbage, Broccoli (Calabrese) seedlings and Tied up Sweet Pepper Seedlings

Today I transplanted the following in the Greenhouse and placed them all in the heated greenhouse:

- 12 x Summer Cauliflower 'All the Year Round' Seedlings into 2 x 6 cell trays and
  3 x peat pots (Sown  07/03/2013)
- 12 x Summer Cauliflower 'Candid Charm F1' seedlings into 2 x 6 cell trays (Sown 07/03/2013)
- 11 x Summer Cabbage 'Derby Day' seedlings into 2 x 6 cell trays (Sown 07/03/2013)
- 11 x Summer Cabbage 'Hispi F1' seedlings into 2 x 6 cell trays (Sown 07/03/2013)
- 12 x Broccoli (Calabrese) 'Beaumont F1' seedlings into 2 x 6 cell trays and
  3 x peat pots (Sown 07/03/2013)

I also tied up the 6 x Sweet Pepper 'Summer Salad Mixed F1' plants to split green canes before placing back into the heated propagator.

Curren Weather Conditions 25/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Cloudy and Cool Day with an easterly wind. Chance of some snow overnight. Maximum Temperature: 2 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature - 2 Degrees Celsius

Current Weather Conditions 24/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Light Snow Flurries in the morning into early afternoon before drying up and being very cloudy. Light but very cold eastly wind. A cloudy night is expected.  Snow looking likely during the week around Wednesday and Thursday. Maximum Temperature: 1 Degree Celsius Minimum Temperature: - 1 Degree Celsius.

Crawley Horticultural Society

Today I brought the following from Crawley Horticultural Society:

- 1 x 50 x 4 Inch Labels - £0.50
- 1 x Marker Pen - £1.85
- 1kg Second Early Potatoes - 'Carlingford' - £1.10 per kg - £1.10
- 1LB Shallot - 'Red Sun' - £1.30 per IB - £1.30
- 100 x 18 inch split canes - £0.20 per 10 - £2.00

Current Weather Conditions 23/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Heavy snow in the morning  and into the afternoon with it settling in places during the morning however the snow turned to rain during the day so washed the snow away before it came back and dried up in the morning. Dry but cloudy night expected before further snow tomorrow.
Maximum Temperature: 2 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: - 2 Degrees Celsius

Transplanted Tomato 'Gardeners Delight' Current Weather Conditions 22/03/2013

Today I transplanted the following into 3 inch pots:

- Tomato 'Gardeners Delight' (Sown: 7th March 2013)

Current Weather Conditions: Cloudy day once again with rain expected however up north some deep snow. Possibly of snow tomorrow and looks as if it will rain cold. Maximum Temperature: 7 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: 1 Degree Celsius.

Current Weather Conditions 21/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Cloudy and cool day. Slight Southeasterly / Easterly wind. Maximum Temperature: 7 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: 0 Degrees Celsius

Current Weather Conditions 20/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Cloudy day with some light rain, expected to be a cloudy night Maximum Temperature: 7 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: - 1 Degree Celsius Greenhouse Temperature: About 25 Degrees Celsius

Current Weather Conditions 19/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Mostly Dry and sunny day with some cloud and  quite chilly. Some very light rain this evening however it will be a cloudy night and more rain is expected tomorrow. Maximum Temperature: 7 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: 1 Degree Celsius

Courgette, Basil, Tarragon, Rocket, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Kale and Brussels Sprout Seeds Sown and Current Weather Conditions 18/03/2013

Today I sowed the following in the Heated Greenhouse in heated propagators:

- Thompson & Morgan Courgette 'Parthenon F1 Hybrid' 3 Seeds sown into 3 x 3 inch pots
- Thompson & Morgan Basil 'Christmas' sown into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Tarragon 'Russian' sown into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Cauliflower 'Deakin F1' sown into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Cauliflower 'Drakar F1' sown into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Cabbage 'Tundra F1' sown into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Kale 'Dwarf Green Curled' sown into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Brussels Sprout 'Trafalgar F1' sown into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Cauliflower 'Cheddar F1' sown into a 3 inch pot

I also sowed the following but just in the Heated Greenhouse:

- Thompson & Morgan Rocket 'Salad' into a 12 cell tray

I also took the Tomato 'Roma VF' out of the small heated propagator and staked them with split canes before putting them in a bigger propagator without a lid on. I also took the Onion 'Red Baron' seedlings out of the heated propagator and placed them in a tray in the heated greenhouse.

I have also made up 26 3 inch square pots and 25 3 inch square pots for the windowsills indoors, for both Dwarf French Beans and Sunflowers of which I will sow tomorrow.

Current Weather Conditions: There was rain overnight and a frost which caused the rain to freeze. Rainy day with some heavy rain at times. Will dry up later to leave a cloudy but dry evening. Maximum Temperature: 6 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: - 2 Degrees Celsius. 15:00

Current Weather Conditions 17/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Heavy Rain overnight but now Light Rain and expected to carry on throughout the day. Snow is forecast for this evening before clearing away leaving a dry and cloudy night with temperatures around 2 degrees Celsius  Maximum Temperature: 6 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: 1 Degree Celsius

Crawley Horticultural Society

Today I brought the following from Crawley Horticultural Society:

- 1 Litre Maxicop - £3.35
- 40 x 7cm Square Growers Pots - 5p each - 40 x £0.05 = £2.00
- 1 x 50 Plant Rings - £0.90

Current Weather Conditions 16/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Heavy Rain during the night as well as in the morning but a drier afternoon before more Rain in the evening and will be more overnight. Strong Southwestly Wind. Maximum Temperature: 9 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: 5 Degrees Celsius

Squires Seeds

Today I brought the following seeds from Squires:

- Thompson & Morgan Courgette 'Parthenon F1 Hybrid' (5 Seeds) - £2.99

The following where on 3 for 2 offer:

- Suttons James Wong's Homegrown Revolution Asparagus Pea (30 Seeds) - £1.85
- Suttons James Wong's Homegrown Revolution Radish 'Mooli' (400 Seeds) - £1.85
- Suttons James Wong's Homegrown Revolution Strawberry 'Wild White' (240 Seeds) - FREE

Current Weather Conditions 15/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Drizzly Morning and Some Rain and a Cloudy Afternoon Maximum Temperature: 7 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: 6 Degrees Celsius

Sowing Dates - Brassicas

Sowing Dates - Brassicas

March

Brussels Sprout ‘Trafalgar F1’ – Late November

(Late March) Brussels Sprout ‘Revenge F1 Hybrid’ – Mid December

Cauliflower ‘Cheddar F1’ – June

Cauliflower ‘Drakar F1’ – November

Kale ‘Dwarf Green Curled’ – September – December

Cabbage ‘Tundra F1’ – October / November

April

Brussels Sprout ‘Petit Posy’ – November / December

Brussels Sprout ‘Trafalgar F1’ – December / January

(Mid April) Brussels Sprout ‘Revenge F1 Hybrid’ – January / February

Red Cabbage ‘Ruby Ball F1 Hybrid’ – September

(Early & Late) Savoy Cabbage (Winter) ‘January King 3’ – November / December / January

Cauliflower ‘Mystique F1’ – February

Calabrese ‘Belstar F1 Hybrid’ – June / July

Broccoli ‘Extra Early Sprouting Rudolph’ – January Onwards

Cabbage ‘Derby Day’ – July

Turnip ‘Golden Ball’ – June / July

Cauliflower ‘Gipsy F1 Hybrid’ - August

May

(Mid / End May) Savoy Cabbage (Winter) ‘January King 3’ – February / March

(Early / Mid May) Cauliflower ‘F1 Triomphant’ – Christmas / Early January

Cauliflower ‘Cheddar F1’ – August / September

Cauliflower ‘Drakar F1’ – December / January

Cauliflower ‘Mystique F1’ – March

Cauliflower ‘Winter Aalsmeer’ – April

Calabrese ‘Belstar F1 Hybrid’ – July / August

(Mid May) Broccoli ‘Sprouting Redhead’ – March

Kale ‘Dwarf Green Curled’ – December – March

Cabbage ‘Greyhound’ – August / September

Swede ‘Brora’ – September Onwards

Cabbage ‘Hispi F1’ – August / September

June

Brussels Sprout ‘Petit Posy’ – January – March

Red Cabbage ‘Ruby Ball F1 Hybrid’ – November – (Over Winter Storage)

(Early June) Cauliflower ‘F1 Triomphant’ – Mid / End January

(Mid June) Cauliflower ‘Winter Aalsmeer’ – April

Calabrese ‘Belstar F1 Hybrid’ – September / October

Calabrese ‘Marathon F1’ - November

Broccoli ‘Extra Early Sprouting Rudolph’ – January Onwards

Broccoli ‘Sprouting Redhead’ – April

Cabbage ‘Tundra F1’ – March / April

Swede ‘Brora F1’ – September Onwards

Turnip – August / September / October

July

Cabbage ‘Hispi F1’ - November

August

Calabrese ‘Aquiles F1 Hybrid’ – March (Polytunnel)

Turnip ‘Golden Ball’ – November / December

September

Calabrese ‘Aquiles F1 Hybrid’ – June (Transplant March)

Sown Carrot 'Amsterdam Forcing' and Radish 'Scarlet Globe' seeds, Transplanted Onion 'Ailsa Craig' and Brussels Sprout 'Evesham Special' Seedlings and Current Weather Conditions 14/03/2013

Today I sown the following in the Heated Greenhouse:

- Thompson & Morgan Carrot 'Amsterdam Forcing' into a 10 Litre Pot
- Thompson & Morgan Radish 'Scarlet Globe' into a 9 inch pot

I also transplanted the following:

- 18 x Brussels Sprout 'Evesham Special' into 3 x 6 cell trays (Sown 14/02/2013)
- 28 x Onion 'Alisa Craig' into 28 x 3 inch square pots (Sown 03/01/2013)

The Greenhouse is filling up really quickly and I have noticed that space is beginning to be squeezed but when weather improves hopefully I will be able to construct the new plastic greenhouse down the Allotment.

Current Weather Conditions: Sunny and Cool Day outside with occasional cloudy spells and a very light wind. Maximum Temperature 6 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature -1 Degrees Celsius

Current Greenhouse Temperatures: 36 Degrees - Morning 17 Degrees - Evening

Current Weather Conditions 13/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Sunny and Cool day with some snow showers in the afternoon and Icy in patches as a result of the melting snow. Some snow still lying around. Very light northerly wind. Maximum Temperature: 6 Degrees Celsius

Current Weather Conditions 12/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Overnight there was heavy snowfall once more adding to the accumulations of yesterday. Icy underfoot and further snowfall this morning but much lighter. Still strong winds but beginning to get lighter. Sunny conditions this afternoon allowing a little thaw before turning cloudier and then clear for the night with temperatures falling away. Winds are due to turn more to a northerly position throughout the day and night. Maximum Temperature: 2 Degrees Celsius Minimum Temperature: -3 Degrees Celsius

Sown Courgette Seeds and Current Weather Conditions 11/02/2013

Today I sowed the following into the Heated Greenhouse into a Heated Propagator:

- Mr Fothergills Courgette 'Tondo di Piacenza' (6 Seeds) into 6 x 3 inch pots

Current Weather Conditions: Heavy Snow and expected to continue throughout the day getting heavier. Strong wind with gusts of up to 45mph. Overnight there is expected to be further snow. Maximum Temperature: 1 Degree Celsius

Crawley Horticultural Society

Today I brought the following from Crawley Horticultural Society:

- 2 x 50 x 4 inch Labels - £0.50 each - £1.00 - correction £0.80
- 20 x 18 inch split green canes - £0.20 for 10 - £0.40 - correction £0.20
- 2 Pencils - £1.10 - correction £0.90

Current Weather Conditions 10/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Cloudy Day and much colder than of previous days. Some snow expected to move up from the south overnight into Monday morning so might be some snow tomorrow. Very cold and strong North Westly wind. Maximum Temperature: 5 Degrees Celsius

Jobs for the week 11/03/2013 - 18/03/2013

These are the jobs I expect to do over the next week:

- Transplant Melon Seedlings
- Transplant Brussel Sprout Seedlings
- Transplant Onion 'The Kelsae' Seedlings into 3 inch pots
- Transplant Onion 'Ailsa Craig' Seedlings into 3 inch pots


Future things to do:

- Buy a Cherry Tree which is eatable.
- Replace Apple tree
- Repair polytunnel cover
- Make a cage which Brassicas are able to go into for protection from Cabbage White Butterflies

Allotment Plan March / April 2013

Used Mantis Tiller on the Allotment

Today I decided to go down to the allotment and try to rotivate the plot however found it to be to wet to properly enable me to rotivate it. I managed to rotivate approximately 1/4 of the plot however it needs to dry out before i can do it again and go deeper.

Current Weather Conditions: Cool and cloudy day with occassional sunny spells Maximum Temperature: 7 Degrees Celsius

Current Weather Conditions 08.03.2013

Current Weather Conditions: Very wet and rainy day and a very light eastly / north easterly wind Maximum Temperature: 10 Degrees Celsius

Beetroot, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Leaf Salad, Tomato, Sweet Pepper, Onion, Pea and Lettuce Seeds Sown

Today I sowed the following into a heated propagator in the Greenhouse:

- Mr Fothergills Cauliflower 'All The Year Round' into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Cabbage 'Hispi F1' into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Broccoli (Autumn) 'Beaumont F1' into a 3 inch pot
- Marshalls Cabbage 'Derby Day' into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Cauliflower 'Candid Charm F1' into a 3 inch pot
- Thompson & Morgan Tomato 'Gardener's Delight' into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Sweet Pepper 'Romano Mixed' into a 3 inch pot
- Mr Fothergills Onion 'Red Baron' into a 3 inch pot
- Thompson & Morgan Pea (Mangetout) 'Oregon Sugar Pod' into a 24 cell tray
- Suttons Pea 'Hurst Greenshaft' into a 24 cell tray
- Suttons Lettuce (Iceberg) 'Match' into half of a 24 cell tray
- Thompson & Morgan Lettuce 'Little Gem Pearl' into half of a 24 cell tray
- Suttons Leaf Salad 'French Mix' into half of a 20 cell tray
- Suttons Leaf Salad 'Winter Mix' into half of a 20 cell tray
- Mr Fothergills Beetroot 'Boltardy' into a 24 cell tray

Current Weather Conditions: Drizzly and Cloudy Day Maximum Temperature: 9 Degrees Celsius

Lidl Gardening Products

Today I brought the following from Lidl:

- Walk in Greenhouse £39.99
- Gardening Foldable Mats (2 Pack) £2.99

Dug a bit more of the allotment and Current Weather Conditions 06/03/2013

Today I went down the allotment for about 1/2 hour and dug a little bit more of the allotment. The soil has dried out quite alot due to the relatively dry weather we have been having recently and where I have previously rotivated the soil is quite crumbly. The 3 little raised beds appear ready to plant in but the other 2 big raised beds need a little more attention.

Current Weather Conditions: Quite a cool and cloudy day with occassional sunny spells Maximum Temperature: 13 Degrees Celsius

Seedlings to be written off

Due to the hot weather of yesterday and the propagators not being open a number of seeds have unfortunately been scorched and therefore are no longer useable and will need to be resown:

- Marshalls 'Derby Day' Sown : 11/02/2013
- Lettuce 'Rosetta' Sown: 11/02/2013
- Cauliflower 'All The Year Round' Sown: 11/02/2013
- Cauliflower 'Mayflower F1' Sown : 11/02/2013
- Broccoli (Calabrese) 'Beaumont F1' Sown: 11/02/2013
- Cabbage 'Hispi F1' Sown: 11/02/2013
- Onion 'Red Baron' Sown: 11/02/2013
- Cauliflower 'Candid Charm' Sown: 11/02/2013
- Tomato 'Gardener's Delight' Sown: 11/02/2013
- Sweet Pepper 'Romano Mixed' Sown: 11/02/2013


Verbena

Current Weather Conditions 05/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Sunny Day and Mild for the time of year Maximum Temperature: 16 Degrees Celsius

Wilkinsons Seed Trays

Today I brought the following from Wilkinsons:

- Seed Trays x 3 - £2.50

Current Weather Conditions 04/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: Sunny and Cool Day Maximum Temperature: 10 Degrees Celsius

Current Weather Conditions 03/03/2013

Current Weather Conditions: There was a frost overnight with temperatures down to -4 Degrees Celsius, Cloudy and Sunny Day Maximum Temperature: 9 Degrees Celsius

Current Weather Conditions

Current Weather Conditions: Cloudy and Overcast day Maximum Temperature: 4 Degrees Celsius

Cauliflower 'Gipsy F1' Seeds sown

I sowed the following seeds today and placed them into a heated propagator in the Greenhouse:

- Thompson & Morgan Cauliflower 'Gipsy F1 Hybrid' into a 3 inch round pot

Current Weather Conditions: Cloudy day with some sunny spells Maximum Temperature: 7 Degrees Celsius