Sat 1 Aug 2009
Weather : Wet all day
Progress : A short picking session in the rain.

Sun 2 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny
Progress : A picking session for our son to take home also for dinner for famil visitors from America. Made the first picking of Climbing Beans.

Mon 3 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny and showers
Progress : A short picking session.

Tue 4 Aug 2009
Weather : Wet
Progress : A short picking session.

Wed 5 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny and showers
Progress : A short picking session.

Thu 6 Aug 2009
Weather : Wet afternoon
Progress : A short picking session. One of the allotmenteers has a patch of Marrows which has produced a huge crop. Someone remarked that it looked like a hanger full of zeppelins!

Fri 7 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny later
Progress : Picked the daily veg. Managed to mow the grass paths and trim the bank but the ground is still too

Sat 8 Aug 2009
Weather : Hot and sunny
Progress : Dug the King Edward Potatoes and got over 30 tubers from each plant giving a total weight of exactly 3 stones, thats 5lbs from each plant. Hoed and weeded plots 2c and 2d.

Sun 9 Aug 2009
Weather : Hot and sunny
Progress : Hoed and weeded plots 2a and 2b then drag-hoed the central path. Had a good picking of Runner Beans and Dwarf French Beans. Got extra veg for dinner as our son and his family were visiting then some more for them to take home.

Mon 10 Aug 2009
Weather : Becoming wet
Progress : Hoed and weeded plots 3a and 3c then drag-hoed the central path. Hoed and weeded plots 2c and 2d. Found a few late Raspberries which were much larger than the earlier crop. Cut down and composted the remaining row of bolted Spinach on plot 3a. Topped up the compost with fresh horse dung. Took some surplus veg to my sister.

Tue 11 Aug 2009
Weather : Hot and sunny
Progress : Dug up and composted the roots of the remaining row of bolted Spinach on plot 3a. Checked the Tomatoe plants with a view to cutting off some of the surplus growth and noticed that blight has just started on them. Looking back at my Potatoes to see if the blight had come from them, I realised that they have all been knocked over by blight in the past few days and I had not properly noticed. Cut off all Potatoe foliage and bagged it for removal. Cut down the old growth of the Loganberriers and bagged it for removal. At home I picked out the Apple tree as the fruit has been falling rather freely. I put a trayful of them outside the front of the house for passers-by to take. I will prepare and freeze a good lot as well because this variety (what ever it is) does not keep for long.

Wed 12 Aug 2009
Weather : Some sunny spells
Progress : Delivered five bags of fresh horse dung. Did a healthy picking to stock our son and his family. Took away the bags of green waste for disposal. Went back later and cut down all the Tomatoe plants as the blight had visibly increased since yesterday. Bagged up the foliage to take away but gathered a bucketful of green tomatoes from which I will make some chutney. Picked veg for our own dinner, including this cluster of Carrots. Found three large Marrows which were hidden in the foliage. Eat the last of the Foremost Potatoes today - they have been excellent.

Thu 13 Aug 2009
Weather : Hot and sunny
Progress : Picked a large punnet of Blackberries whilst I was out this morning. They will go well with some of the Apples that I picked on Tuesday and I wil freeze the rest. Dug the row of Catriona Potatoes from plot 3b. The 10 plants yeilded 130 tubers weighing in total 32 lbs. The largest tuber was 1½ lbs. Also dug the row of Kestral Potatoes from plot 1. The 10 plants yeilded 90 tubers weighing a total of 34 lbs. The largest was 1¼ lbs. Most potatoes were scabby but ther was virtually no worm damage. Had a decent picking of Climbing French Beans. Tied the Cucumber runners to the teepee of stick that I have erected over them. Then had another thought and cut some of the runners away as there are too many of them. Did some weeding and hoeing. Came home and washed the Potatoes. Put some Climbing French Beans in for freezing. I have started up the third freezer cabinet as the second is now full of fruit.

Fri 14 Aug 2009
Weather : Hot sunny spells
Progress : Did some weeding at the top of plot 1. Did a good picking to give to our daughter-in-laws parents who are visiting her. Found a few nice large late Raspberries. Back at home I made up 8 bottles of Green Tomatoe Chutney. I have still got one bottle left from 2006! Noticed that the Lettuce seeds I sowed in a tray have germinated.

Sat 15 Aug 2009
Weather : Mostly dull
Progress : Mowed the grass paths then did a bit of "hit-and-miss" hand weeding to remove some of the larger weeds before they go to seed. Seemed to do a lot of chatting today as many of the weekenders were there today. Had another good picking of Runner Beans and Dwarf French Beans. Dug another bunch of Carrots that look like a Chinese puzzle. Planted out the leftover Lettuce seedlings. The allotments have been inundated with Cabbage White butterflies for the past few weeks and we are all dreading the onslaught of the caterpillars that will follow.

Sun 16 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny and hot
Progress : Did a picking. Got plenty of French Beans so I will be freezing some this evening. Cut the first Cucumber. At home I cropped a bowlful of Elderberries for freezing.

Mon 17 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Dug the Desirée Potatoes and had to make two trips with my wheelbarrow. The blight had reached a few of the tubers, also the was some scab and just a little slug damage. A few of the tubers were quite disfigured with the scabs. The total haul was exactly 11 stones which works out at an average of nearly 4½ lbs per plant. There were plenty of good sized tubers over 1 lb but also many small ones. Had a good picking of Runner Beans.

Tue 18 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Made a morning visit and started by tying up the Loganberry runners but ran out of string before I finished. Had another good picking of Runner Beans. Tied some string braces to the beanpoles as strong wind is expected later in the week and my poles are loose and the beans are very top-heavy. Watered the Runner Beans and Climbing French Beans. Sprayed the central paths with weedkiller. Went home and bagged-up the Potatoes that I dug yesterday. After a trip to the seaside, I went back to the allotment to refill the water tank. I had brought another ball of string so I finished tying up the Loganberries. Watered the Aubergines and Capsicum. Picked some veg for a near neighbour whom my wife is visiting tomorrow to give her a hairdo.

Wed 19 Aug 2009
Weather : Hot and sunny
Progress : Made a morning visit and dug the Picasso Potatoes. They were generally clean but with some worm damage and some blighted. The yeld completely filled my barrow and was 8¼ stones which averages out at a little over 6½ lbs per plant. Many tubers were between 1 and 2 lbs. After going off to look at steam trains, I returned to do the daily picking. Cut back the Marrow plant on plot 1 as it is going over now and showing signs of disease.

Thu 20 Aug 2009
Weather : Hot and sunny spells
Progress : Called in first with the car to collect the bags of green waste for disposal. Came back later on foot and started by weeding through the rootcrops on plot 3c then watered the disturbed Carrots. Watered the Runner Beans then picked three types of bean plus other veg for tonight and tomorrow night's dinner.

Fri 21 Aug 2009
Weather : Heavy showers
Progress : No work today as we are on Grandson duties.

Sat 22 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny with showers
Progress : Called in early to pick for this evening as I am off to see the Bournemouth Air Festival today.

Sun 23 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Did a good picking this morning to gather for ourselves and our son and his family. Picked the first Sweetcorn in the hope that it is ready.

Mon 24 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Mowed the grass paths. Gave a general hoeing all over whilst the ground is dry. Clipped back the spreading growth from the adjacent unattended allotment where it is growing over the path that I use to get to the water pump. Found the first caterpillars. Cropped the first Spring Onion. Had a good picking from which I left the surplus Courgettes outside the front of the house for passers-by to take (They went in no time at all - not surprising when they are £1 each in the shops). Went back later to water the Beans. Froze the surplus Beans that I had picked. Had the most tender French Beans and Courgettes fried in garlic butter with dinner.

Tue 25 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny spells with some rain
Progress : Clipped the grass path edges then weeded along the outer edge of plot 1. Found hoards of caterpillars just emerging on the Sprouts and Brocolli. Prepared a bag of veg to give to a lady that my wife was visiting. Dinner was a stir-fry including tender homegrown Courgettes, Carrots and Mangetout served with French Beans and Cabbage.

Wed 26 Aug 2009
Weather : Wet day
Progress : Managed to deliver three bags of fresh horse dung. On the way in I found one of my bamboo canes alongside the gate but on checking, I could not see any other disturbance on my allotment. Had another purge on the emerging caterpillars whilst I was on site.

Thu 27 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny spells and windy.
Progress : Went up late and had a major picking (including some contorted carrots) to provide for our daughter-in-law's parents whom she is visiting this weekend. There has been word of theft of vegetables from the allotments over the past couple of weeks but the word today is that someone has had their entire crop of Runner Beans stripped out. I checked my stored Potatoes this afternoon as they were starting to smell. I found that virtually all the Desirée, which amounted to about 1½ cwt, have been taken by the blight.

Fri 28 Aug 2009
Weather : Changeable and very windy.
Progress : Weeded the outer edge of plots 3a and 3b. Removed the netting from two of the Blueberry plants and weeded the area. Picked the few remaining berries plus one stray Raspberry. Had another purge on the caterpillars - they are really going to spoil our winter crop..

Sat 29 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny spells
Progress : Removed the netting from the remaining Blueberries and weeded around. Planted 1½ rows of Lettuce in plot 3b from seedlings grown at home.

Sun 30 Aug 2009
Weather : Sunny start. Wet afternoon.
Progress : Did some general picking prior to receiving an inspection visit from my wife. Went on the caterpillar hunt. Finished up with some weeding.

Mon 31 Aug 2009
Weather : Damp start then sunny spells
Progress : A brief picking session plus a bit of a chat with some allotmenteers. Picked off the caterpillars.