Wed 1 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny and breezy
Progress : Trimmed up some of the edges of plot 1. Watered the seedlings and noted the germination of the Radish and Brussels Sprouts. Picked the remainder of the Curly Kale tops where the plants have run to flower. They will be nice for dinner. Cut down the Nettles and Dandelion flowers along the bank.

Thu 2 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny and breezy
Progress : Delivered some bags of fresh horse dung and made up levels in the enclosure on area 1. Watered where necessary.

Fri 3 Apr 2009
Weather : Misty start then sunny
Progress : Mowed the grass paths then paused to chat to mn and grandson who called in. Picked the first of the new leaves from last years Spinach which has over-wintered well. Eat the last of our frozen Broad Beans this evening.

Sat 4 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny after a dull start
Progress : Scraped out a shallow trench along the edge of plot 2 to define the edge of the path. Started to savage the Purple Sprouting Brocolli plants in plot 3b as they are going over now. Dug over an area of plot 3b. Sowed a row of Spring Onion (White Lisbon) and a row of Lettuce (All the Year Round) in plot 1. Spotted the first Cabbage White butterfly on the allotments.

Sun 5 Apr 2009
Weather : Cold night. Sunny day
Progress : Cropped the last of the Purple Sprouting Brocolli then cut up and composted the plants and bagged the roots for disposal. Watered the seedlings. Noticed that the Cauliflowers, Calabrese, Turnips, Spinach and Peas have germinated. Was given a stack of old pallets by an adjoining allotmenteer which he wanted to clear to make space for a toolbox.

Mon 6 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny start. Rain later
Progress : Dug over more of plot 3b. Cleared out the stray Strawberry runners and spread dung between the rows. Noticed that the Asparagus has started to shoot. Dug up some renegade Jerusalem Artichokes where they were sprouting in plot 1.

Tue 7 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny
Progress : Day off today.

Wed 8 Apr 2009
Weather : Overnight rain. Sunny
Progress : Delivered a couple of bags of fresh horse dung for the compost. I got boxed because just as I arrived another allotmenteer brought his car in behind me so I worked a bit longer than I had anticipated. Planted a row of Potatoe (King Edward) to complete plot 2d. Noticed that the early Potatoes are just starting to show above ground. Dug over over half of plot 2c whilst waiting to get off the allotments. Cut a bagfull of Curly Kale sprouts for dinner. Picked off some Dandelion heads. Has a brief chat with a new starter who was clearing the allotment on behalf of his son.

Thu 9 Apr 2009
Weather : Overnight rain. Dull day.
Progress : Dug out some soil from the bank to earth up the Potatoes in plot 2d. The quality of the soil is excellent as it has all come from matter discarded from allotments. It did need cleaning from stones, pernicious weeds and uncompostable waste such as rope and plastic sacks. Dug the last of the Scorzonera.

Fri 10 Apr 2009
Weather : Wet
Progress : Called in to pick the remainder of the Curly Kale flowers. Whilst there I decided to plant some Blackthorn runners that I had cleared when digging the bank yesterday. I put them in where the bank had been dug back by the gate so as to form a screen eventually.

Sat 11 Apr 2009
Weather : Overcast
Progress : No work on the allotment today, however, at home I sowed some seeds into 12 compartment trays. One tray each of Bush Tomatoe (Roma), Sweet Pepper (Ace) and Aubergine (Moneymaker). I will bring these on in the conservatory before planting them out.

Sun 12 Apr 2009
Weather : Damp overnight. Sunny spells
Progress : No work on the allotment today.

Mon 13 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny
Progress : Planted a row of Potatoe (Catriona) and four rows of Potatoe (Desiree) in plot 3b. Had a chat with a new starter who wanted advice on planting his potatoes then he gave me 1½ dozen Kestral seed potatoes which were surplus to his requirements. I have run out of space on plot 3b as the Curly Kale is still cropping and I don't want to take it out yet so I planted the Potatoe (Kestral) in plot 1 where I will also plant my remaining Potatoes. Had a hoe around whilst the ground surface was dry.

Tue 14 Apr 2009
Weather : Some sunny spells
Progress : No work on the allotment today - fully occupied looking after grandson.

Wed 15 Apr 2009
Weather :Windy night. Some sunny spells
Progress : Planted two rows of Potatoe (Picasso) in plot 1 as the allocated space in plot 3b has the Curly Kale still in place. Hoed whilst it is still dry. Was given some seedlings of Cabbage (Wheelers Imperial) by another allotmenteer.

Thu 16 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny later.
Progress : Mowed the grass paths then lent my mower to the allotmenteer who gave me the Cabbage plants yesterday. Trimmed the path edges and trimmed the bank. Watered all the seedlings as the forecast rain has not materialised. One of the allotment supervisors came by and advised that the first round of judging of the allotments will take place early next month.

Fri 17 Apr 2009
Weather : Some sunny spells. Drizzle later.
Progress : No work on the allotment today as we were looking after grandson. However, he and I popped in to pick some Spinach and French Parsley. A letter arrived from the Town Council today announcing the details of the "Best Kept Allotment" competition. The idea is to encourage allotment holders to keep their plots attended so there will be a cup presented annually by the Town Council Allotment Committee chairwoman and charitably funded by herself. Whilst in town later I bought a packet of Parsnip (Tender & True) seeds. The seeds that I already had were from last year and I saw on a program on TV that Parsnip seed does not keep.

Sat 18 Apr 2009
Weather : Some sunny spells
Progress : No work today.

Sun 19 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny
Progress : Called in this morning to dig the last of the Salsify which when eaten ;later turned out to be quite woody. They have been in the ground too long so it was not surprising. Many of the new starters were busy tending their plots. Did a small bit of hoeing whilst there also picked all the Dandelion heads from the paths around my allotment, The holder of my adjacent allotment has been unwell and unable to tend his plot so a few of us have volunteered to keep it tidy for him so he does not forfeight it. His wife was on site today so I put it to her and said we would do it but only with her husbands permission, however, she was adamant that we should not touch it.

Mon 20 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny
Progress : Cut some Curly Kale flowers and leaves for dinner tonight and also made the first picking of Rhubard. Did a bit of hoeing and dug out along the edge of plot 1. Dug out the rogue bits of Artichoke left over from last year then picked all the Dandelion heads from my paths. Had a word with the allotment supervisor about my neighbours wife being unwilling to receive help as I know he was going to have a word with her.

Tue 21 Apr 2009
Weather : Hot and sunny
Progress : Picked some Spinach for dinner and it was tender and delicious. Double dug another trench in plot 3d and used my home-made compost both for the lower layer and top dressing. Watered the Asparagus which is shooting now. Picked all the Dandelion flowers which had appeared overnight in my paths. Dug a good sized Parsnip which was a left-over from last years crop. Took a picture of the Apple blossom which is looking good.

Wed 22 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny but clouding later
Progress : Picked some more Spinach for dinner. Watered the Blueberry bushes and Cabbage seedlings.

Thu 23 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Delivered a couple of bags of fresh horse dung plus I also brought a bagful of grass cuttings from my sons garden, all to make up my compost. Planted a row of Cabbage (Greyhound) which I had brought on on a seed tray at home. Set-up the cold frame and put in the Aubergines, Sweet Peppers and Tomatoes that I had started in trays at home. Cleared all the Dandelion flowers in my paths yet again. Watered the seedlings getting the ground wet in advance of the forecast rain in a few days.

Fri 24 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Mowed the grass paths then lent my mower to another allotmenteer who had given me some Purple Sprouting Brocolli yesterday. Sowed a row of Carrot (Nantes 2) in plot 3a whereas I should have sowed it in plot 2c! Sowed a row of Parsnip (Tender & True) correctly in plot 3a. Dug some more earth from the bank and started to earth-up the King Edward Potatoes. Also useds some of the earth to fill in some of the wheel tracks left by the excavator. My Sweet Potatoe (Sweet Georgia) slips arrived in the post today so I put them into water to recover.

Sat 25 Apr 2009
Weather : Light overnight rain. Sunny spells
Progress : Didn't go to the allotment today but at home I potted up the Sweet Potatoe slips and put them into the conservatory.

Sun 26 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Called in during the morning to pick some Spinach for dinner. Found that my shed had been entered since my last visit but nothing seemed to heve been disturbed. Checked the shed on the next but one plot and found that had also been entered but I could not tell if anything had been taken. Did a bit of hoeing whilst there also noticed that the Desiree Potatoes have started to show on plot 3b. At home I sowed a tray each of Squash (Hunter), Courgette (Tuscany)Cucumber (Moneymaker). I was going to sow some Sweetcorn but found I did not have any seed! Went back to the allotment in the afternoon and resowed the row of Kelvedon Wonder Peas in plot 2b as only a few of the first sowing have germinated. Sowed a row of Dwarf French Bean (Purple Teepee) in the little space left in plot 2b. I would liked to have sown them in plot 3d but it would have meant doing some digging immediately. The alternative was to sow them in trays at home but I had run out of compost. Picked the Dandelion flowers off the paths again. Managed to catch a Cabbage White Butterfly - one less to spoil my Cabbages.

Mon 27 Apr 2009
Weather : Rain
Progress : Rain at last! Didn't go to the allotment today as I was busy putting up some kitchen cupboards.

Tue 28 Apr 2009
Weather : Rain on and off
Progress : No work again today as we were visiting relatives. Whilst out I bought a packet of Carrot (Eskimo) for winter supplies.

Wed 29 Apr 2009
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Delivered two more bags of fresh horse dung plus the kitchen waste. Noticed that the main crop potatoes are now starting to show above ground both in plot 1 and 3b. Dug in the top dressing to part of plot 3b and sowed four rows of Sweetcorn (Applause) which I purchased today. Dug over some more of plot 3a. Cut the Curly Kale flowers for dinner and also picked some leaves. Removed the bird netting from the Curly Kale and put it over the Summer Cabbage in plot 2a. Also put a net over the Purple Sprouting Broccoli in plot 3c.

Thu 30 Apr 2009
Weather : Rain on and off all day
Progress : No work today. Bought a packet of Runner Bean (Best of All).