Allotment Diary August 2008

Sunday 31st August
Me, mum and dad took the compost in the morning and harvested one block of sweetcorn. We also harvested squashes including three good looking pumpkins. Dad weeded where the sweetcorn had been and I sowed some spring cabbage and cauliflower to be planted on later. Mum harvested some carrots and radish.

Thursday 28th August
Mum and dad harvested a further row of potatoes, these were white with a pink blush (King Edward), they appeared to have a lot of slug holes and some kind of scab on the skins. On the whole for a maincrop potato they were quite small and the return is not as good as the others we have grown so far. Mum put some of the previously lifted potatoes that had dried into sacks for storage. Harvested chillies, tomatoes, squash, courgettes, cabbage for chickens, carrots and beetroot.

Wednesday 27th August
Mum and dad went down and brought home three of the flagstones we got from Sarah and Phil to extend the patio area for the chicken run.

Tuesday 26th August
Mum and dad did some weeding and lifted some potatoes. All the reds (Desiree) are out now. Harvested salad leaf, radish, plums, courgettes and tomatoes. Planted wallflower seeds.

Monday 25th August
Mum and dad started lifting a row of potatoes while I flame weeded. I took over from dad on the potatoes and he spent some time weeding. I did further flame weeding after lunch and harvested courgettes and other squash. Mum, dad and me sorted through the potatoes we had lifted and put them in trays to take home. We also took a small amount of sweetcorn home to see if it is ripe. Dad cut back some grass under the fruit trees and removed the support from the plum tree as its trunk is now rather big for the strap that we had on it.

Saturday 23rd August
Me, mum and dad went in the morning for a few hours. Dad weeded on the top plot and tidied around. Me and mum weeded and lifted a row of potatoes. We all sorted through them to make sure none with slug holes ended up in sacks. Harvested salad leaf and a beetroot.

Wednesday 20th August
Mum and dad harvested remainder of second early potatoes, lots of them! Plus radish, plums, tomatoes, and squashes. A slugged cabbage for hens.

Monday 18th August
A wet showery day, mum and dad went down in the afternoon in between showers to harvest tomatoes, beetroot, salad leaf and radish.

Sunday 17th August
Me, mum and dad went for a hour or so in the afternoon. We all did some weeding.

Saturday 16th August
I made some tomato sauce, two big jars full.

Friday 15th August
Me, mum and dad went down just before tea to harvest and take compost. Mum made tomato chutney in the morning.

Thursday 14th August
Mum made some ratatouille chutney.

Wednesday 13th August
Mum and dad went down in the afternoon, mum harvested a few second early potatoes and dad harvested onions (absolutely masses of them).

Monday 11th August
Me, mum and dad went down for a couple of hours, we were all still tired from the wedding on Saturday. We all weeded, I weedkillered area between strawberries and currant bushes. Harvested tomatoes, radish, courgettes, a sweetcorn cob, cabbage and calabrese. Planted out the brassicas.

Thursday 7th August
Mum and dad went down in the afternoon for a couple of hours harvested cucumber, radish, salad leaf and courgettes. Weeded and watered in greenhouses.

Sunday 3rd August
Me, mum and dad went to the allotment at about 10:30am. It was cloudy and threatening showers, but we decided not to let that deter us. As the day went on it brightened until the sun was blazing down.
Mum and dad harvested french beans, broad beans and radish. Mum removed the beans from the pods later on (and found that we had two varieties planted!). Mum also harvested petit-pan squash and courgette. I harvested a turnip, kohl rabi and some more calabrese.
Me and dad set about burning the sticks that we have used for peas etc. as they are now too weak and brittle to re-use next year. The fire was used to dispose of plenty of weeds too.
Mum cleared some of the salad crops that have gone to seed and spoiled a bit. I cleared the overwintered cabbage that were surplus and ran out of room in the four dalek composters. We decided to build a new composting area from two spare pallets and a fence panel. This was soon fairly full as we lifted the broad bean plants as well as the cabbage waste that went in.
We all did some weeding across the top two plots mainly where we had cleared plants from and where we plan to sow some main crop turnips.