Tue 1 Jul 2008
Weather : Some hot sunny spells.
Progress : Trimmed the vegetation along the bank. Resowed both varieties of Parsley in plot 4. Weeded throught the Brassicas in plot 2d then watered well. Watered the second early Potatoes which are very parched. Lifted the Shallots then cut off the blighted foliage from the Onions in plots 1 and 2a. Had another go at the Asparagus Beetle grubs but with a spray this time.

Wed 2 Jul 2008
Weather : Overcast with rain.
Progress : Weeded the edges of plots 3b and 3c adjoining the track then did some watering of the Legumes. Hoed where necessary in plot 1. Our daughter-in-law called in with her friend and their respective babies to pick some fruit and veg. Conversation revealed that the friend has a source of rotted manure freely available so I will be arranging to make collections ready for the winter dig.

Thu 3 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny spells and rain.
Progress : Popped in early to remove my rubbish and recycling bags for disposal. I keep three sacks in my shed, one for general rubbish, another for recyclable items and the third for green waste not fit foo composting. Later I brought in a carboot load of fresh horse dung, just managing to get onto the allotment round a dogwalker's car parked across the gateway. Weeded where necessary in plot 3d and tidied the edges then watered. Chatted to a neighbouring allotmenteer who tells me that there are loads of pallets available to be taken away from next to his workshop. I could use some of these to make a container for all the stable manure I have been offered. At home I found that the Broad Beans that I had picked today had some pods in which the beans had a brown scabby band around the edges.

Fri 4 Jul 2008
Weather : Warm sunny spells.
Progress : A visit late in the day to do some watering where necessary. Had a good picking of Raspberries much to the annoyance of a Blackbird which seems to think they belong to him.

Sat 5 Jul 2008
Weather : Overnight rain. Warm sunny spells. Very windy.
Progress : Some general work today. Cut off the blighted foliage from the Onions in plot 3c. Weeded through the second row Climbing Beans, put in some watering funnels then put up the sticks. Tied up the taller Tomatoe plants and put in some horizontal sticks between them and the Potatoes to keep the Potatoe foliage back. Had what looks like the last picking of Strawberries. Put in a few sticks to define the edge of fruit area 2 so that pickers do not wander onto the rootcrops, although, as not much is germinating it probably doesn't matter.

Sun 6 Jul 2008
Weather : Wet morning, brighter later.
Progress : Scuttled down in the wet this morning for some emergency Potatoes then went back a bit later for some Rhubarb for my brother-in-law.

Mon 7 Jul 2008
Weather : Thundery showers.
Progress : Risked a trip to get some fruit and veg but got caught in a deluge and arrived back home to laughter from my wife.

Tue 8 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny intervals with showers.
Progress : Had a picking session of fruit today. Gathered all the Red Currants now that the birds have had their fill. Had a cood crop of Raspberries, some Loganberries and an unexpected helping of Strawberries. Had a very talkative allotmenteer next to me for a while but managed to keep working whilst I heard his life story.

Wed 9 Jul 2008
Weather : Rain all day. Windy.
Progress : Managed to get down to the allotment to get fruit and veg for dinner. Noticed that the stream was up by about 6".

Thu 10 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Used the back-hoe to drag out the weeds in the path between plots 1 and 2. Did some hoeing in plot 1. dug up the row of Garlic I had salvaged earlier in the year as the foliage had now become badly blighted and was not going to survive. Had just finished my fruit picking and was about to go home when our daughter-in-law arrived with her baby son to gather some goodies. When I got home I realised that I had dropped my set of house keys so went back to find them but without success.

Fri 11 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Started by looking for my lost keys again but no luck. Dug the remainder of the first row of Arran Pilot Potatoes, disposing of the last three due to the potential poisoning. The tubers are mostly of a really good size. Dug out the Campania Spinach which has gone to seed in plot 2c. Sowed a row of Turnip (Snowball) in plot 2d. Planted a row of Cabbage (Tundra) in plot 1 as there was no space in plot 3b. Did some hoeing. Found to my surprise that some more Parsnip seeds have germinated. I checked these after one of the other allotmenteers told me that some of his had also suddenly appeared after he had given up. Must be ideal growing conditions for them at present. Removed the some of the netting from the Brassicas in plot 3b where they are now big enough to resist Pigeons. Cut down some more of the old stems of Broad Bean in plot 2d. Put in more canes to hold back the Broad Beans in plot 2a.

Sat 12 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Weeded where the Shallots had been in plot 2a then weeded through the adjacent Onions. Hoed around the legumes. Put up the remaining uprights for the second sowing of Climbing Beans. Sowed bean seeds where there were gaps in the dwarf and climbing beans. Found that the slugs had eaten nearly all the few Parsley plants that had germinated. Made the first picking of Black Currants. Was given a couple of nice Beetroot.

Sun 13 Jul 2008
Weather : Overcast but some sun
Progress : No work today - doing other things.

Mon 14 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Just a brief visit to gather some veg for dinner. Cut the first Courgette. Watered the Peppers and Aubergines as they were looking dry.

Tue 15 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny and warm
Progress : Weeded through the Brassicas in plot 3b and thinned out the Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts. Watered where the roots had been disturbed. Did the daily picking and found a Cauliflower ready to cut. Topped up compost enclose 2 with leaf clippings from home.

Wed 16 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny and warm
Progress : Mowed the grass then trimmed the bank. Watered the Beans. Put in watering pots for the Tomatoes, Aubergines and Peppers then filled them up. Three youths came onto the allotments up at the other end so I kept an eye on them. It wasn't clear at first if they were up to no good but it soon became clear when they started ranging about and pinching fruit. I had my camera with me so i went round to head them off just as one of them pulled a handful of carrots. I took a photograph as I approached them then challenged them. The youth with the carrots said he had an allotment there to which I said I did not believe him. He then said his mother had an allotment. I told him that if she did, it was not the one from which he had just taken the carrots. He apologised and put them back, promising not to do it again. All three youths left. Luckily, one of the allotment reps was on site and saw the event and said he would contact the owners of the allotments which had been targetted. Received an email from the RHS about the samples of poisoned potatoes that I sent them. It seems that they lost track of it before their examination was completed when a member of staff left.

Thu 17 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny spells. Drops of rain.
Progress : Bought myself a nice border fork at the recycling centre this morning which will replace the tatty one I already have in my shed. Started by planting some Parsley seedlings which I purchased at a nursery this morning. Moved some slug traps closeby to try to protect the plants. Sowed a row of Carrot (Nantes) in plot 2b although is is rather late in the season. Hoed a bit around the carrots which are just showing in plot 3d. Did a bit of watering then went to refill the tank but the pump packed up. Tied up and braced the poles for the later Climbing Beans in plot 3c. Had an afterthought about the youths who were pinching fruit and veg - at least they are getting a healthy diet, but not the way Jamie Oliver has been promoting.

Fri 18 Jul 2008
Weather : Overcast
Progress : Another busy day. Dug the remainder of the Arran Pilot Potatoes, scrapping the last three plants in the row again due to the suspected poisoning. This variety has cropped very well. Sowed two more rows of Carrot (Autunm King) in plot 3d. Sowed a row of Radish (Sabina) in plot 1. Watered the seeds in. Weeded the Leeks in plot 2a and watered where I has disturbed them. Watered the Beetroot in plot 2b. Tied up the Tomatoe plants and cut off the side shooots. Watered the Raspberries and Loganberries but too late I think. Had a major picking session to get enough for two days and included Courgette, Carrot, Turnip, Peas, Broad Beans, two varieties of Spinach and a sprinkling of Strawberries, Raspberries and Loganberries. I picked extra Broad Beans as they are in danger of getting the rust then froze the surplus. I also cropped a row of Onions from plot 2a then chopped and froze them as they will not dry store due to being affected by blight. Good job that I took the wheelbarrow with me to carry all that lot.

Sat 19 Jul 2008
Weather : Warm sunny spells.
Progress : A brief visit today to water anything that urgently needed it. Our daughter-in-law had called in earlier today to collect an up-to-date picking diagram so that she knows what is available.

Sun 20 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny spells. Windy later.
Progress : No work today - went out for lunch.

Mon 21 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny and warm.
Progress : Started by picking a large containerful of Black Currants. They are now well developed and quite sweet and I took them home for freezing. Did some general hoeing where necessary. Cropped the remaining row of Onions from plot 2a. I took these home to prepare and freeze. I noticed that someone has been onto my allotment over the weekend and taken 1½ dozen Onions from plot 3c. Luckily these are not the best I have and are fairly blighted anyway. On the brighter side, someone had found the keys that I lost and had left them out for me. Did some watering. The fruit is dissappearing from the Blueberry bushes, most likely due to the birds, so I placed a net over the only bush with much fruit left. Whilst storing away the Arran Pilot Potatoes that I dug last week, I found this silly potatoe.

Tue 22 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny and warm
Progress : Spent most of todays visit in watering the legumes and other deserving plants. Cropped the first of the Cylindra Beetroot which cooked up easily later but did not have the taste of the Boltardy which I usually grow. Had another good picking of Black Currants. Spoke to one of the allotment reps about the pump that does not work and he says he has been on to the council to get a replacement washer. We have two adjacent pumps out of action at present which is not good during this dry spell. On the way home I found some of the Onions that had been taken from my allotment and had been discarded in the verge. I would not mind quite so much if thay had been used properly and not wasted.

Wed 23 Jul 2008
Weather : Sunny spells and warm.
Progress : Took the netting off the newer Brassicas in plot 3b, weeded and watered. Later I decided to put the net back over the latest sowing of Winnigstadt Cabbages as they are still small enough to attract the pigeons. Did plenty more watering of things that did not get done yesterday. Our daughter-in-law called in do gather some veg. Put a finer weave net (old net curtain) over the Blueberry bush as better protection. Put a piece of water weed into one of my water butts to encourage the water creatures. Weeded where the Onions have been cropped in plot 2a. Had another Email from the RHS saying that they can not find any disease on the Artichoke sample and that the problem may have ben due to poison but that they can not test for that. They will contact me again later with a report on the Potatoes.