Things are growing at a ridiculous pace on the allotment at the moment, so here's a little update on what we've been up to (before it turns into a fruit and veg jungle!)
I last posted an update on here mid March. At the time we were still preparing the ground, digging in manure and getting the beds ready (you can find the post
here).
We've now got plenty in the ground, our spuds went in on Anwen's birthday (mid March), the onions are in and doing well, and the broad beans and climbers are coming on nicely too. I've even managed to negotiate a small patch for some cut flowers, although it took quite some determined convincing! So there's some sweet peas climbing up a branch like frame which I can't wait to pick.
One of my highlights down there recently was a coffee and cake morning we hosted last month. I'd planned to let all the other plot holders know with plenty of notice but, naturally, I left it to a last minute email the day before! We invited anyone who fancied joining us down there for tea/coffee and cake (which ended up being Sam's legendry salted caramel milionaire shortbread!)
Despite the short notice, so many plot holders showed up (more than we've ever seen all at once) joined us and we even had an impromptu seed and plant swap. Lots of people commented on how much they enjoyed and I've got a good feeling about planning something else over the summer. I'm sure weeding and wine or a mid summer bbq will go down well!
The kids love each and every visit down there. They've discovered a little sandy patch on a neighbour's plot where they take themselves off to most trips.
They help out with the watering too. Although I'm quite thankful we've relocated this butt for now as Anwen has been quite over enthusiastic about giving EVERYTHING a good soak.
We've also enjoyed a few pizza nights down there (one being last night while the kids are still at my parent's). Sitting on buckets eating pizza next to the strawberry patch is my new favourite thing!
Our strawberrys have gone wild this year. We bought 6 small plants from Aldi last year and planted the runners we had from them. These two photos were taken just a few weeks apart and it looks like we're going to have a great crop. I might even get a jar of jam out of them.
The raspberries (and whole fruit cage) are getting going too. The gooseberry bush has some fruit on it already and I'm looking forward to trying some new recipes out. We're harvesting rhubarb like there's no tomorrow and thoroughly enjoying scoffing it as compost on our cereal. You can read my post with a rhubarb cordial recipe
here.
Hopefully it won't be too long before we're harvesting even more and I'm sure things will change very quickly from here on.
I'll be back next month with another update. If you've got any tips or recipe suggestions I'd love to hear them!
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