Wed 1 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny with showers and strong wind.
Progress : Shot in during the morning just to get a cabbage for dinner as we were off out for the day.

Thu 2 Oct 2008
Weather : Overnight rain with strong winds. Sunny day.
Progress : Took eight bags of stable manure onto the allotments in the car. Weeded plot 2a ready for dung spreading for the winter. Allocated a couple of Loganberry runners for one of my colleague allotmenteers. Weedkillered the central paths.

Fri 3 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny spells with strong winds.
Progress : Dug the Pink Fir Apple Potatoes which was just as well as I had lost sight of the fact that they had caught the blight so some were rotting in the ground. I will have to be careful about how I store them. They are a wonderful array of odd shapes, one looking like a duck. Gave a hand to the wife of my neighbouring allotmenteer as he is in hospital at the moment. He had given his wife some instructions but theye were not altogether clear.

Sat 4 Oct 2008
Weather : Dull morning, wet afternoon.
Progress : Tied up the Loganberry plants ready for next years crop. My son came onto the allotment with the baby to collect some fresh veg. They then came back to the house with me as it had started to rain.

Sun 5 Oct 2008
Weather : Wet morning, dull afternoon.
Progress : No work today. Attended a family gathering and had discussion with a brother-in-law who also has an allotment.

Mon 6 Oct 2008
Weather : Overcast.
Progress : Took the kitchen waste bin to the allotment for emptying. On arrival noticed the tell-tale sign of vandals having been on the allotments - leaves torn off adjacent plants and dropped on the ground. Found that my shed had been entered but luckily nothing disturbed inside on this occasion. Weeded through the root crops in plot 3d. Found a nice small Courgette to take home plus a good sized Turnip.

Tue 7 Oct 2008
Weather : Wet day.
Progress : A rapid visit to get some veg for dinner.

Wed 8 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : Took a couple of loads of stable manure onto the allotment. Scavenged a couple of giant sized flower pots from my sister. I had given them to her in the first place when I was clearing out the garden when we moved into our current house, but she has not used them. I took them to the allotment to be used to replant my Blueberries.

Thu 9 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : Bought four bags of ericacious compost, two of them cheap as they were split. These will be for replanting the Blueberries. Went to the allotment and moved the Rhubarb plants as they have been overshadowing adjacent Strawberries and Blueberries. I have actually put the Rhubarb back to where I first had it! This will be the third move in four years due to changes in the way I had the allotment laid out but it is fairly settled now. My sister called in so I sent her off with a bagful of Kale. Had a chat (some of it about gardening!) with one of my neighbouring allotmenteers. I told him that I had some spare Rhubarb roots and he thought that the new chap nearby was looking for some so I left the roots by his shed.

Fri 10 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : Took the car onto the allotments this morning with the bags of ericacious compost for the Blueberries. Weeded out around the Bluebery bushes then set to work lifting them out one-by-one, digging a large hole, placing the flower pot into the ground then replanting the bush into the compost. I had already planted them in ericacious soil-based compost but it seems they prefer peat-based. The pots will also make it easier to keep the plants well watered. I took the surplus soil to make up levels on plot 2d. Made up the adjacent row of Strawberries with plants from new runners. Picked the remainder of the Sweetcorn and also the one and only Aubergine of the season. Dug the first of the Sweet Potatoes. Lashed up the compost enclosure by plot 3d as it is starting to collapse.

Sat 11 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : On my was past coming back from getting my free flu jab, I noticed the new chap working on his allotment, so I called in to tell him about the Rhubarb roots. He was actually planting them as I got there so I was able to tell him where they came from. Went back later to pick veg for dinner.

Sun 12 Oct 2008
Weather : Misty start then sunny.
Progress : Not long on the allotment again today. Picked veg for dinner for four today as our son and his family are visiting. I have got some bags of veg ready at home for him to take. Got caught chatting to one of the ladies by my wife as she cycled past to the shops. Cleared up beer bottles and cigarette packet wrappers where the night visitors had been sat on a seat on the allotments.

Mon 13 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Barrowed down another bag of ericacious compost which I purchased yesterday. Replanted the last of the Blueberry bushes. Dug the remainder of the first row of Sweet Potatoe, finding that many of them have been holed by slugs. Topped up the compopst enclosure by plot 3d.

Tue 14 Oct 2008
Weather : Light rain in the afternoon.
Progress : Dug the remaining Sweet Potatoes. Having looked up how to store them I found that I had done entirely the wrong thing yesterday in cleaning them and storing them cool, so this lot will be done properly. I will also try to save some to cultivate for next year's crop. Cut down the Sweetcorn stems and chopped them into pieces ready to compost. Found another dozen cobs hidden away amongst them. Cropped the remaining Butternut Squash fruit. Also cut the last two Cucumbers then chopped up the foliage and composted it.

Wed 15 Oct 2008
Weather : Overcast.
Progress : Earlier in the week I had been talking with a relative who lives nearby about providing dung for my allotment. She said that as a result of keeping eight horses she had piles of it in her field and that I was welcome to help myself. Today, I did just that. I filled 18 bags with well rotted stuff which is about two years old. I took it straight to the allotment where I loaded it out onto plot 3c for spreading later when the ground is cleared.

Thu 16 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Just a picking session today.

Fri 17 Oct 2008
Weather : Overnight frost. Sunny day.
Progress : On holiday.

Sat 18 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny with cold wind.
Progress : On holiday.

Sun 19 Oct 2008
Weather : Overcast with cold wind.
Progress : On holiday.

Mon 20 Oct 2008
Weather : Wet and windy.
Progress : Returned from holiday. Short visit in the wet for picking.

Tue 21 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : Pulled the last of the Carrots on plot 2b then double-dug the first trench, using compost from the enclosure for the lower spit. Had to dig a self-sown Parsnip which was in the way. One of my neighbouring allotmenteers was admiring the tilth of the soil resulting from previous double-digging.

Wed 22 Oct 2008
Weather : Overnight frost. Sunny.
Progress : Delivered 9 bags of stable manure in the morning. In the afternoon I went to get some more old manure but the people were out. Went up for a picking late afternoon. Pulled a ½lb Carrot from plot 3d.

Thu 23 Oct 2008
Weather : Damp and windy.
Progress : No work today - off to France for a holiday.

Fri 24 Oct 2008
Weather : Bright and windy.
Progress : At my brother's place in France. He has a good-sized piece of land on which he is embarking an an allotment. I will send him a copy of The Allotment Specialist which I find so useful

Sat 25 Oct 2008
Weather : Damp and windy.
Progress : No work today - returned from France.

Sun 26 Oct 2008
Weather : Rain.
Progress : No work today.

Mon 27 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny strart. Rain later and getting cold.
Progress : Picked all the Beans that I had left on the vines to mature. most of the Climbing Beans will be for storage as Haricot Beans, the others will be for seed next year. Picked all the remaining Sweet Peppers before the frost gets them. Double-dug another trench in plot 2b. Looked up a piece on the Gardners World website that had been broadcast last Friday about Sweet Potatoes. It seems that the Beauregard variety that I had grown fared least well of all, being undersized and prone to slug attack. We shall be eating the first of our crop this evening.

Tue 28 Oct 2008
Weather : Overnight frost. Sunny.
Progress : Double-dug another trench in plot 2b. All the carrots that I pulled today were very spronkled. Pulled a Turnip which we had for dinner and it was extremely tender.

Wed 29 Oct 2008
Weather : Overnight rain followed by frost. Sunny but cold.
Progress : Double-dug another trench in plot 2b.

Thu 30 Oct 2008
Weather : Overnight rain. Cold wind.
Progress : Delivered a couple of bags of fresh horse dung in the morning. Whilst there I took away a bag of rubbish. I keep three bags in my shed to collect items for disposal - one for general rubbish, one for recyclable items such as bottles and cans left by nightime drinkers and one for recyclable organic matter that can not be composted or dumped on the allotment. Later I delivered a bootload of rotted dung then double-dug another trench in plot 2b. My digging was interrupted by the postman who was passing asking me to help a lady who had got her car stuck on the bridge. He does not drive so could not assist himself. The lady had got too close to the parapet so I manoeuvred the car away and parked it. I have had to challenge her in the past for parking across the allotment gate when I have been trying to get my car in.

Fri 31 Oct 2008
Weather : Sunny. Cold wind.
Progress : Double-dug the final trench in plot 2b. Found a couple of caterpillars still munching the cabbages which is surprising in these cold conditions. Went to the garden centre later and purchased a tree stake and ties to support the Apple tree that has keeled over with the weight of fruit and prevailing winds.