So, what’s in the tunnel?

It’s surprising how big it is in there, but fortunately I was prepared and grew a few (!) plants in advance. Because it’s next to the old tree and there are ‘issues’ with roots at the top end, I’ve decided to mainly grow things in pots for now. And because I’m not sure whereabouts in the tunnel I want to grow them, I’m supporting them with canes. I know, I know, it’s asking for trouble but I have got plastic bottles or pots on them.

So after potting a dozen French marigolds (from the local garden centre) to attract pollinators and deter nasty things like aphids, the following are currently in the tunnel:

Tomatoes
Gigante Liscio x 2
Costolutu Fiorentino x 11
Roma x 7
Garden Pearl x 4
Japanese Black Truffle x 4
Chocolate Cherry x 6

Some of these are bigger than others though and probably only half of them are in there final (cannabis!) plant pots – for anyone worried about the cannabis connection, see the previous post!

Chillies
Ring of Fire x 5
Hungarian Hot Wax x 5
Jalapeno x 4
Padron x 3
Cayenne x 3
Unknown/unlabelled x 7

I bought a couple of different ones from the school garden open day, only I can’t remember what they were and the others are a result of my poor labelling! Could have sworn I’d sown some Joe’s Long earlier in the year though…

Cucumber/Gherkins
Miniature White x 3
Bimbostar x 1
Paris Pickling x 1
Unknown x 1 (but it’s going to be one of the above!)

and I planted a couple of pots of basil. Now when I was there this morning the camera gave up on me, but fortunately I went back later in the evening accompanied by my assistant keen to see the new polytunnel:

But it’s difficult to capture everything with the lens I have in there, but despite having 70+ plants in there, it’s in no way crowded.

Other jobs today…
I’m fighting a battle with squirrels or mice to get the few strawberries that have been ready so far, but I managed to get a couple first thing this morning.

Watered the polytunnel.

Made a frame for the cucumbers/gherkins to grow up.

Planted on some tomatoes and chillies, and the marigolds.

Planted some peas (Telephone). Sadly my dwarf ones have been eaten after I proudly boasted earlier this year that mine always grew without netting them, and then the tall ones I planted either didn’t germinate or got eaten.

Planted some radish, lettuce and two types of salad leaves, undercropping the beans and peas.

Then picked up various squash plants to plant out up at plot no. 2, stopping off home for some lunch of home grown salad first.

Plot no. 2  grows weeds exceptionally well, and after the rain at the weekend I was in danger of losing the potatoes yet alone the onions!

This was taken a couple of nights ago, just as the light was fading hence the flash, but it’s difficult to see the spuds in there! Fortunately I’m pleased to say it’s much better now and you can see both the potatoes and onions. And the potatoes have been earthed up!

I then planted out some courgettes (All Green Bush), pumpkins (Crown Prince) and a squash (Gem Store). Then my time was up and it was time to get the kids from school, but I managed to find another four strawberries to take with me.

Around the plots
At this time of year there is a fair amount going on:

Alium bed, the giant ones going to seed, the others just coming out now

Broad beans, with potatoes behind, comfrey in flower and covered in bees and the entrance to the plot is somewhere behind there!

Blueberries, and if I don’t get some netting over them they’ll be going the same way as the red currants – i.e the birds are going to eat them.

Foxglove, suffering from a lack of water and only about two foot high.

Gooseberry bush – it does so well, I just wish I liked them!

Lettuce intercropped between the french beans to the left and (hopefully) peas to the right

Self-seeded phacelia

‘Cottage Garden’ up on plot no 2, with a cosmos in the foreground, with cornflowers behind and some carnations fighting for some space with them, dahlias (going out of shot to the left) and foxgloves and gladioli behind. This is how I always hope the garden at home will look, but it never does!

At least it wasn’t cold!

Having packed Mrs D and the kids off round to friends to knit and play respectively, I wasn’t about to let a bit of rain put me off a couple of hours on the plot.

The plan was to plant up six of the rhubarb crowns to a bed at the front of the plot and then move the raspberries to the same bed. It wasn’t too bad on this bed at the front as it had been covered over since last Autumn but digging out the raspberries was very muddy. The mountain of bind weed and couch grass roots that came with them didn’t really help with this, but it is very satisfying to get them out. I’ll need to dig this bed over again as I’m sure there will still be plenty more in there. Not to mention sort of the paths around it.

I also straightened up one of the long suffering apple trees (possibly Discovery?). The problem is, it too is congested with bindweed round there and I’m not sure if it might be easier to dig up the tree to weed around it and then plant it again, with a stake this time. It’s still quite small so is a possibility.

The rhubarb and raspberries were then all planted up in the near dark, by which time I was thoroughly soaked too and headed off home for some dry clothes. OK, I admit it’s not easy to see in the picture!

Earlier that day…
I’d dropped off a few of the rhubarb crowns to their new homes this morning and placed my first order of the year via the allotment shop at the nearby site. I’ve ordered 2.5kg of Charlotte, Pink Fir Apple, King Edward and Desiree, all very traditional and for the princely sum of £9.70. I’ll probably share some of these with my Dad and then get some others to go with them. Possibly some Salad Blue and some other maincrop variety.

Wot no snow and ice?

Well OK I was lying about the ice, but it had defrosted enough to do some work down on the plot to do some work. Strictly speaking it was too wet to be doing much, but you know, time, opportunity, etc.

Just after arriving I spotted an interesting looking bird in the tree. It then helpfully flew down to the plot not long after. Sadly I was too slow with the camera and my knowledge of birds isn’t so good, but chatting to the neighbours later they seemed to think it could have been a sparrowhawk. Sadly it didn’t seem to be scaring any pigeons away. I finally find a use for the tree and the council are going to get rid of it…

Having chopped down the rose bush came the task of digging out the root. I’ve never like roses! Some time later, most of it is out. The rest is going to rot in situ. Hopefully. I tidied up along the wall where the rose was, weeding as best as possible in the conditions. I discovered a couple of blackcurrant bushes I’d put in a couple of years ago as rooted cuttings from the old blackcurrant  bushes. Seem to be doing OK, although couple probably do with being moved.

Wot no rose bush?

Further down is the ‘triffid’ aka the loganberry (the sprawling mass to the left of the picture above). It’s doing its best to take over that side of the plot, so much so I’m going to have to consider putting in some wires to hold it back. Or train it, if you want to get technical. It’s also started to root in various places where has touched the ground. I have cut these away from the main plant and planted them a bit further away to get it to spread along the wall further – which I can’t imagine will be too difficult. I also game one away to Tim on the plot below, along with a few Jerusalem artichokes – along with suitable warnings of their ‘effects’.

In amongst the attempted weeding – mainly of the creeping buttercup – I cut down the raspberry canes. I was in two minds about whether to dig them up due to their poor performance last year, but they’ve had a reprieve for now – and I can’t remember why! I pruned the redcurrant and gooseberry, putting some of the cuttings in the ground to see if they take for new plants. They could both do with moving, but I’m not really sure where to!

So more weeding, moved the decaying dead rat (fortunately no pics!) and off home. Quite a few people around and stopped for a chat at the end, which was a mistake as the sun was going down by this stage and easy to get cold!