Sun 1 Jun 2008
Weather : Overcast and humid.
Progress : Dug in the top dressing on plots 1 and 3c. Weeded an area of plot 2c and sowed one row each of Spinach (Spinnaker F1) and Spinach (Campania) then watered them in. Resowed the row of Dwarf French Bean (Teepee) in plot 3c as only one plant remains after what few other did germinate have been lost.

Mon 2 Jun 2008
Weather : Overcast and drizzle.
Progress : Weeded along the row of Purple Sprouting Broccoli (Early Rudolph) and planted seedlings into the spaces. Trampled the ground to firm it. Raked part of plot 1 then planted a row of four Courgette (Venus) plants and watered them in. Made up deficiencies in the Aubergines and Sweet Peppers with spare plants I had kept for the purpose. Sowed two rows of Climbing French Bean (Blue Lake) in plot 3c and will let these run to seed for use as Haricots. Found a few more Asparagus Beetles. There seem to be small patches of plants affected by the weedkiller in various parts of the allotment. I really would like to find out just exactly what has happened so I know what action I need to take with the plants. If there is any doubt, I will destroy the affected plants.

Tue 3 Jun 2008
Weather : Rain all day.
Progress : Twelve hours of heavy rain and the river is up at least 8" already and close to the top of the arch. Went do the allotment later in the afternoon for a picking and slug trap check. I also took some more photos of the spray damage to my crops. On further consideration it does seem more like a deliberate action but I still need to check with the person who recently sprayed an adjacent allotment. I have been in touch with the RHS who are willing to assist me even though I am not a member.

Wed 4 Jun 2008
Weather : Mostly sunny.
Progress : Got down to the allotment in the afternoon when the ground was getting dryer. Had a good hoe, mostly on plots 1 and 3a. Planted the surplus Sweetcorn seedlings to fill the blank spaces. Sowed the Parsley seedlings that I had raised at home. Weeded through the Spinach rows in plot 3a and transplanted some plants to even out the distribution. Sowed another row of Carrot (Nantes 2) and another row of Parsnip (Couness) in plot 2b. Watered in the seeds and the seedlings that I had planted. Serviced the slug traps which had become waterlogged yesterday. Found a few more Asparagus Beetles. Sowed some more Lettuce (Little Gem) at home in a tray. Put some netting over part of the Strawberry patch as the birds are helping themselves. Had a reply from the RHS asking me to send them a description of the effects of the spray on my plants and to send some samples. I will do that tomorrow so it arrives with them on Friday.

Thu 5 Jun 2008
Weather : Mostly sunny.
Progress : Started with an early visit. Planted some more seedlings of Lettuce (Little Gem) and in plot 2d I put in a row of Cabbage (Greyhound). Sowed some Pea (Delikata) into the spaces of the existing row. Did a bit of hoeing. Went back in the early afternoon to deliver some grass cutting from my son's house. On the third visit I weeded the Onions and garlic in plot 1. Also weede the Carrots which look as if they have an infestation of Carrotfly. Looking at my cabbage plants, they are not developing as well as they shoul and I suspect there may be Clubroot present. Checked for Asparagus Beetle. Treated the Blackfly. Put mothballs down the open Moleholes. Picked the first few trawberries of the season. I had purchased another cleaver for chopping vegitation and it arrived in the post today. The previous cleaver was flimsy and had broken. Did not send the plant samples to the RHS today as I have not had enough time to prepare them. Anyhow, they suggest samples are sent to arrive early in the week so they can be seen immediately and not linger over a weekend.

Fri 6 Jun 2008
Weather : Mostly sunny.
Progress : A quick visit first thing in the morning to check things over. Blagged a few Celery plants from another allotmenteer as those I had grown did not look too good in the pot and may have been affected by the phantom sprayer.

Sat 7 Jun 2008
Weather : Mostly sunny.
Progress : On holiday.

Sun 8 Jun 2008
Weather : Sunny and very warm.
Progress : Came back from holiday and went to the allotments to pick fruit and veg for dinner as our younger son is due to join us for the meal. Had a really good picking of Strawberries.

Mon 9 Jun 2008
Weather : Sunny and very warm.
Progress : Started by mowing the grass then lent the mower to another allotmenteer who is always plying me with spare plants. Weeded through the Onions and Shallots in plot 2a. Dusted all the Onion and Garlic plants with sulphur against the blight. Weeded through the Cauliflower and Cabbage plants in plot 2d. Also weeded around the few Parsnip plants that have germinated in plot 3d. Carefully watered the plants that I had disturbed with the weeding. Also did a bit of judicious watering elsewhere as necessary, being careful not to wet the leaves in the very hot sun. Refilled the water tanks. Dug up an example of a damaged Pentland Javelin potatoe plant and an Artichoke plant and sent them off to the RHS at Wisley for analysis. Came back later for a picking of Strawberries for our elder son and his family. The biggest Strawberry weighed 40 grams.

Tue 10 Jun 2008
Weather : Sunny and warm.
Progress : Planted a row of Squash (Hunter) seedlings in plot 1 and four Tomatoe (Roma) seedlings in plot 3a then watered them in. Did some hoeing, mostly in plot 1. Weeded the Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts in plot 3b and watered the plants. Did a small amount or watering elsewhere. Went back later and picked about 2½ lbs of Strawberries.

Wed 11 Jun 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Weeded the remainder of the Brassicas in plot 3b and watered. Picked out the Asparagus Beetle bugs. Lifted the remainder of the Garlic left over from last year, then prepared them for storage. As they were immature and too small to dry, I cleaned them then froze them on an open tray. Picked 3½ lbs of fully ripe Strawberries so then delivered shares round to various relatives in the district. The adjacent allotmenteer that I wanted to speak to about the spraying of his plot with weedkiller was on site today. I told him what had happened and I was pleased that he was able to confirm that he had not been near my allotment with the weedkiller and also that he had used a watering can which could not have caused an accidental spray. As the incident now looks like it was deliberate, I will report it to the police.

Thu 12 Jun 2008
Weather : Overnight rain. Sunny spells.
Progress : Found a couple of gardening magazines by my shed which will have been left by my neighbouring allotmenteer for whom I cut his grass. Put straw around the Strawberries in fruit area 3. Put nets around the Redcurrant bushes. Double dug a trench in plot 1 ready for the Swett Potatoes. Dug out the Artichokes which may have been poisoned and replaced them with some spare plants that I had kept by. Cut the first Lettuce of the season. Picked another 2½ lbs of Strawberries. Gave the Onions and Shallots another dusting of Sulphur powder.

Fri 13 Jun 2008
Weather : Overnight rain. Sunny spells.
Progress : Doube dug another trench in plot 1. Did a fair bit of hoeing whilst the soil was slightly softer to break up the surface as well as kill the weeds. Weeded through the Onions in plot 3c. Tied up the new growth on the Loganberries. Ate the first Raspberry. Carefully weeded sections of the first sowing of rootcrops looking for germination of which there seems to be hardly any. Watered the second sowing of rootcrops then topped up the water tanks. Went back later for a picking which included the first Carrots - these have been very poor in germinating this year. Looking at my Onions and others on the allotments, it looks as if the blight may be setting in. I have not reported the vandalism to my plants as the on-line reporting system on the Nampshire Constabulary website is currenty off-line. Having given the matter some more thought since having discounted accidental damage, I now have a shrewd suspicion who may be to blame, and it is not anyone from the allotments.

Sat 14 Jun 2008
Weather : Mostly sunny spells. Some late rain.
Progress : Double dug the final trench in plot 1. Turned up a coin which proved to be a modern 2p piece. Several interruptions for chatting including a couple who have just been allocated a plot and wanted to identify which one it was. No picking today as we are going out for dinner tonight.

Sun 15 Jun 2008
Weather : Mostly sunny spells. Some late rain.
Progress : Used the draw hoe to remove the weeds from the failed rows of Parsnip and Salsify in plot 3d. Hoed through the Brassicas in plot 3c. Cut the first of the Spring Cabbage (Greyhound) which are late. Pulled the largest clump of Shallots. Put up the pea netting for the Delikata in plot 3c. Noticed a couple of butterflys which made me think that I had not seen any around for the last few weeks.

Mon 16 Jun 2008
Weather : Sunny spells with rain later.
Progress : Used the draw hoe to remove the weeds from the failed rows of Scorzonera having first exposed the few plants that have germinated. Turned in the remaining top dressing on plot 1 and planted the Sweet Potatoe (Beauregard) slips which have all taken root well. Watered the Sweet Pepper, Aubergines, Courgettes and Squash. Cut the blighted foliage from the Shallots and adjacent Onions in plot 2d. Picked the first of the Peas (Kelvedon Wonder) big enough to be shelled. Also picked some small pods of Pea (Meteor) to eat as mangetout. Sowed a second row of Pea (Delikata) which is being grown as mangetout. For a bit of fun I made a short movie showing the layout of my allotment. The rain set in just as I was finishing but I hope to get back later to pick the Strawberries.

Tue 17 Jun 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Dug in the top dressing on the remainder of plot 3b and planted two rows each of Kale (Winterbor) and Autumn Cabbage (Winnigstadt). Watered them in and covered them with netting. Serviced some of the slug traps and put down more around the Strawberries in Fruit Area 2. Re-arranged the netting around the Red Currant bushes. Went back later for the daily picking and got another 3lb of Strawberries. Found some more netting to cover the Strawberries where the Blackbirds have been helping themselves. Hoed through the first sowing in the rootcrop area of plot 3 ready to resow in desperation. Went to the local nursery and bought a couple of Cucumber (Telegraph) plants [£1 each !!] as mine are not germinating well. On reflection, despite the seemingly good growing conditions, not many vegetables have started well, and this is repeated on all the allotments. A moment of realisation later revealed that we had been undercharged for our shopping at the nursery which meant that we actually got the Cucumber plants for nothing.

Wed 18 Jun 2008
Weather : Overcast with spots of rain.
Progress : Prepared the ground and resowed the Parsnips, Salsify and Scorzonera in plot 3d. I ran out of the Salsify seeds so hope to be able to buy some more. Planted the two Cucumbers in plot 1 in space left after the Spring Onions had been pulled. Picked the first Raspberries. Came back later with the car to deliver sacks of fresh horse dung for the compost.

Thu 19 Jun 2008
Weather : Windy overnight with rain. Sunny spells.
Progress : Called in early to get a fresh Lettuce for our salad sandwiches at luchtime. My daughter-in-law went over to the allotment this morning to pick for her family. Went to the Seed Merchant to get some Leaf Salad seeds, a ball of string and a new bucket. The bucket is required to getting water from the pump to the tanks as the previous one fell apart earlier thia week and all the other have holes in them. On the way up the street I found a packet of Lettuce seeds which someone had dropped - handy!. Dug the first of the Pentland Javelin potatoes. Served them later rolled in butter and chopped Parsley but they were actually flowery and not as nice as expected. Cut down and composted the Spinnaker Spinach which had gone to seed. Sowed some more Climbing Beans into the spaces of the first sowing where germination has not taken place.Topped up the compost enclosures with fresh horse manure. Picked another 3lbs of Strawberries. Amongst the veg I gathered was an interesting Carrot.

Fri 20 Jun 2008
Weather : Mostly overcast with some light rain.
Progress : I tweaked my back earlier in the week so I put myself on light duties today. I started by mowing the grass then went home for a cuppa. On the way to the allotment my flask had fallen off the wheelbarrow so I lost my tea rations. Went back and trimmed the edges of the grass paths also re-defined the edge of plot 1 which had become overgrown. Dug up some more rogue Artichokes then put systemic killer on the remainder as they are so deep that I can not get them up properly. There is a very ragged Robin on my allotment so I tried to take a picture of him but only got a couple of poor shots. Dug a couple more early Potatoe plants. Cut down those Broad Bean stems which had finished bearing pods and tied up some of the new growth. I do not usually bother with the new runners but as the beans are not suffering with rust too badly this year it is worth a try for some extra cropping. Lastly I put a new covering of black fabric over the shed door as the black plastic sacks I had previously turned out to be bio-degradable and were bio-degrading. Back at home I sowed the Leaf Salad (Lettuce Mixed) into a broad pot also repotted the Parsley that my sister had given me. Made a late trip to pick veg and fruit for tomorrow.

Sat 21 Jun 2008
Weather : Rain on and off all day.
Progress : Had a day off today.

Sun 22 Jun 2008
Weather : Mostly sunny.
Progress : A brief visit today to pick fruit and veg. Spotted a large Toad in amongst the fruit bushes in area 2 and he will hopefully be keeping the slugs off the Strawberries.

Mon 23 Jun 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : Planted a row of Leeks (Musselburgh) adjacent to the existing rows in plot 3c and a further two rows in plot 1. These were from seeds I had grown in a pot at home and will provide extra crops during the winter to supplement the expected deficiency in rootcrops. Managed to pick another containerful of Strawberries which I gave to our daughter-in-law to take with her when she visits her family tomorrow. Started to put up the sticks for the earlier sowing of Climbing Beans as some of them are starting to get lanky.

Tue 24 Jun 2008
Weather : Mostly sunny.
Progress : Put up the remainder of the uprights for the Climbing Beans. Planted the Lettuce (Little Gem) seedlings in plot 1. Had a good weeding session especially throught the Leeks and Lettuce. Watered where necessary, especially where the rootcrops have been sown. Put some additional netting over the Red Currants rather belatedly. Need to look into what is deforming the leaves of the Spinach plants. There was a Garden Photographer on site today. Sent off for another packet of Salsify seeds. Went to the seaside and when we got back I sowed a another tray of Lettuce (Little Gem).

Wed 25 Jun 2008
Weather : Sunny spells and showers.
Progress : Started off by having a conflab with a neighbouring allotmenteer. We tend to see what each other is doing and check progress and problems. He looked at my Spinach which seemed to be diseased but we found that it was infested. His suggestion was to cut down the existing growth to which I agreed. He told me about his Raspberries which were growing and cropping poorly despite having been fed on Growmore, fish, blood & bone, bonemeal, phosphates and manure. I told him they probably had indigestion! Completed tying up the sticks for the Climbing Beans. Did some more weeding and watering, especially around the crops in plot 1 and also the Asparagus. Cut down all the foliage on the Shallots as they are severly blighted. Cut the first of the Wingstadt Cabbages. Made the first proper picking of Raspberries, most of which have white blemishes on the fruit. The tops of some of the canes have broked in the recent high wind as they are heavy with fruit. Also the supports are not really high enough. Dug more of the Pentland Javelin Potatoes but will scrap the last two plants as they still look poorly after the vandal attack and may be poisonous.

Thu 26 Jun 2008
Weather : Mostly sunny.
Progress : Took my car onto the allotments to deliver some bags of fresh horse dung, also a bag of grass cuttings from my son. Topped up the compost enclosures. Did some weeding in plots 3a and 3b then hoed a little here and there. Watered the small plants. Pulled the first Turnip also started picking from the second sowing of Broad Beans. Back at home I consulted my book of pests and diseases and found that the Raspberries probably have a mildew which is likely due to a combination of too much growth and nitrogen. The book did not tell me which pest had eaten into some of the pages though! (The book had been in my allotment shed and a snail had got at it). I was told today that allotments in Staffordshire are experiencing a surge in theft of produce which is believed to be due to rising prices in the shops.

Fri 27 Jun 2008
Weather : Sunny spells and showers. Windy.
Progress : Dug up and disposed of the two suspect Pentland Javelin Potatoe plants although the tubers looked really good. Dug the first of the Arran Pilot Potatoes which has cropped well and produced some good sized tubers. Watered the remainder of the Arran Pilot potatoes and the Runner Beans. Put up climbing nets for the foliage of the Sweet Potatoes. Picked the Gooseberries - about 2½lbs of good sized fruit from two bushes, however, one of the bushes only produced four berries. Noticed that someone has been blundering about in fruit area 2 and has trampled the slug traps - hope it wasn't me! Carefully sprayed weedkiller on half of the central path in plot 3 before running out.

Sat 28 Jun 2008
Weather : Sunny spells. Windy.
Progress : Double dug the final piece of plot 3d which was hard going today. Hoed and watered through the young brassicas in plot 3c. One of my neighbouring allotmenteers showed up this morning after a long absence and says he is bringing his family in this afternoon to blitz his plot. Collected a bagful of Shallots for our younger son who is visiting this weekend. The Salsify seeds I ordered arrived in the post this morning.

Sun 29 Jun 2008
Weather : Mostly sunny.
Progress : A short visit today to pick for Sunday dinner also a bit of watering, mainly the legumes in plot 2a. Dinner was roast lamb and from the allotment we had new Potatoes, Cabbage, Peas, Carrots, Red Currants (as sauce for the lamb), Mint, Rosemary, Goosberries made into a crumble for desert and Strawberries to put into a glass of Elderflower fizz - that's living.

Mon 30 Jun 2008
Weather : Sunny with a strong wind.
Progress : Completed the resowing of the Salsify with the new packet of seeds that arrived on Saturday. Sowed two rows of Carrot (Autumn King) in plot 3d. Did a bit of watering. Removed loads of Asparagus Beetle grubs from the plants. Had the first picking of Loganberries as well as a good picking of Raspberries and some luscious Strawberries from fruit area 2.