Mon 1 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny with showers and strong wind.
Progress : Did a pick and looked for more caterpillars.

Tue 2 Sep 2008
Weather : Overnight rain with strong winds. Sunny day.
Progress : Someone has opened the shed door again overnight. When I finish today I will put a bag of horse manure and a bag of smelly rotted weeds inside the door as a deterant. Had to tie the Cucumber supports back up after the strong wind last night. Also some of the Artichoke stems had collapsed so I cut them down and composted them. Found just a few more caterpillars. Refilled the slug traps around the new seedlings of Spinach in area 4.

Wed 3 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Did a pick and found just a few more caterpillars. There are still loads of Cabbage White butterflies around, and also some Yellow Brimstones today. Did a bit of hoeing. Picked the first of the Sweetcorn today and it is deliciously tender.

Thu 4 Sep 2008
Weather : Variable.
Progress : A rapid visit to collect some Sweetcorn to give to my son and his family.

Fri 5 Sep 2008
Weather : Wet and windy.
Progress : A short visit to collect some veg for my sister-in-law to take home after her stay. Only found four caterpillars today but I did not look too hard as the weather was pretty unpleasant.

Sat 6 Sep 2008
Weather : Variable.
Progress : Popped up to the allotment between showers. My neighbouring allotmenteer gave me a recent gardening magazine which he does now and again after he has read it. He tells me that a deckchair is missing from his shed but by way of small compensation, he found a 10p piece by his shed - hopefully it came from the pocket of the thief. Our culinary trained son is staying with us with his fiancee this weekend so I picked veg to order for the fish meals he is cooking for us today. Popped some mothballs down some of the mole runs as he is getting active.

Sun 7 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Our other son is providing dinner for us this evening so I met him on the allotment in the morning to fulfill his order list for veg. Cut down and composted the Baby Leaf Spinach p[lants that have been blown over in the wind recently.

Mon 8 Sep 2008
Weather : Variable.
Progress : Back to work today. The caterpillars are starting to make inroads again. Weeded around the service area at the top of plot 1. Also weeded where the last lot of Carrots have been harvested. I went back later to mow the grass paths. Also whilst there I dug the first of the Pink Fir Apple potatoes which turned up a few strange shapes.

Tue 9 Sep 2008
Weather : Heavy rain all day.
Progress : No work today (Actually went on a day trip to the seaside!). The seed catalogues have started to arrive in the post so I shall have to think about starting to plan for next year.

Wed 10 Sep 2008
Weather : Variable but mostly dry.
Progress : Picked some veg including the first Swede which turned out to be a bit woody. I noticed that the level of the stream has hardly risen despite all the rain that has fallen. Went to the Town Hall to pay the annual rent which became due this month. £30 paid, £15 for each plot.

Thu 11 Sep 2008
Weather : Some sunny spells.
Progress : Besides the regular picking I weeded through the Asparagus plants. Cropped the first of the Leeks today and they are unfortunately a bit tougher than they should be. Had a chat with one of the allotmenteers who started this year and is doing very well.

Fri 12 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny, cloudy, rain.
Progress : Topped up the compost enclosure with a sack of grass cuttings from my sons garden. Cut out the old growth from the Loganberries then tightened up the wire supports. Weeded round the Autumn Cabbages in plot 3b. Topped up the slug traps around the Courgettes as they are coming under attack. Had to go back home as I had forgotten to bring a spare Asparagus plant that I had grown in a pot also a few Lettuce seedlings for planting.

Sat 13 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Hoed through some of the bald patches in plots 2a and 2b where new weeds were showing. Pottered about and did some picking, looking especially for more tender beans.

Sun 14 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : All I did today was call in to pick a couple of Sweet Peppers for dressing for a barbecue this afternoon.

Mon 15 Sep 2008
Weather : Mostly sunny.
Progress : Did some more hoeing then weeded around the Cabbages at the top of plot2d. Amongst the veg I picked today was the first of the Butternut Squashes.

Tue 16 Sep 2008
Weather : Overcast.
Progress : Mowed the grass paths and clipped the tufts which the mower could not reach. Cleared out the mangetout plants from plot 3c, stored the netting away then weeded through.

Wed 17 Sep 2008
Weather : Some sunny spells.
Progress : Took the kitchen waste bin to empty into the compost bin. Trimmed the edges of the grass paths. Noticed that the grass has been mown today which was to be expected as the annual allotment holders meeting is to be held tonight. Chatted with various colleagues on the allotment about this and that. The Allotment Holders meeting in the evening was inconsequential and dominated by one vociferous and irritating person who had concern only for his own interest.

Thu 18 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Re-aligned the front edges of my plots along the access track and put the bits of turf removed into low spots on the track. Dug out the weeds where Cabbages had been cropped in plot 2d.

Fri 19 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : Not many caterpillars left today but still some butterflies around. Dug the remainder of the decent sized Beetroot from plot 2b then cleared the weeds. Cleaned the mud out of the old tin bath wich I use to clean my boots. The mud went onto the compost. Started to sort out the Raspberries ready for the next season. Came back after lunch and completed that. My sister called in whilst I was there so I stocked her up on Swiss Chard which is one of her favourite vegetables.

Sat 20 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : A short visit today. Watered the Raspberries as I had disturbed the roots yesterday and forgot to water them then. Did a comprehensive pick today (including the first of the Celery plants) to provide for our son and his family who are returning from holiday today. Amongst the carrots that I pulled up was one which was forked, and is what my mother and her father before her called spronkled

Sun 21 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : Another short visit today. Watered the Raspberries again also found some spaces between plants so I replanted some of the roots I had taken out. Watered the Peppers and Aubergines as the ground is getting dry and no rain is forcast for the coming week.

Mon 22 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny spells.
Progress : Had a bit of a tinker around before doing my daily pick.

Tue 23 Sep 2008
Weather : Some sunny spells.
Progress : Just a couple of short visits to deliver the kitchen waste and do the picking. The second visit was to collect what I had forgotten the first time.

Wed 24 Sep 2008
Weather : Overcast with light drizzle later.
Progress : An even more brief visit late today to get some Cabbage (a nice Winnigstad Autumn Cabbage) and Sweetcorn.

Thu 25 Sep 2008
Weather : Overcast but bright later.
Progress : Took down the rakings off the lawn at home to put on the compost. Mowed the grass then lent the mower to a colleague to do his paths. Did a fair bit of watering as there has been no rain for a couple of weeks. Picked a nice Turnip from the later sowing.

Fri 26 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : No work today - on holiday at the seaside.

Sat 27 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : No work today - on holiday at the seaside.

Sun 28 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : No work today - on holiday at the seaside.

Mon 29 Sep 2008
Weather : Sunny.
Progress : Just a short visit to pick some suitable vegetables for a stirfry. Also did a little bit of watering whilst I was there

Tue 30 Sep 2008
Weather : Overcast with some light rain.
Progress : Took the kitchen waste to the allotment for composting. Found a few clusters of caterpillars which I recycled. Dug out the stalks of the finished Cabbages in plot 2d and weeded through. Did some emergency watering as the ground is now very dry. My daughter-in-law called in on her way past then we got interrupted by another allotment holder who likes to linger and chat.