Lovely Jubbly Jersey

No gardening for me at the weekend as I flitted over to Jersey to see the lovely girl. Lovely jubbly time on the beach and here and there. Nice to sample some fresh air rather than the dirty filthy muck we're forced to breathe over here. Checked out the gardens at Samares Manor - they could do with getting on top of the weeding but very nice all the same:

Herb garden at Samares Manor

Japanese garden

More Samares

Nicotiana - I've forgotten the name, I think it started with an "m" - any ideas?

The lovely girl

The lovely girl and her friends

Plemont

Plemont again

Beach cafe at Plemont where the lovely girl's hubby is the chef

Peas and broad beans

It hasn't all been beer and skittles: I picked the first broad beans a week ago and since then they've been coming thick and fast. Likewise the peas, I've been frantically podding the both of them for the freezer.

First broad beans

More peas

In my garden

Blue verbena

Pink verbena

Erigeron

White foxgloves

Longest day whoop di do

Happy solstice and all that. It's all happening, the new potatoes and peas are ready for the eating so what with the last of the spring cabbage and the little carrots and the strawberries I've got no excuse for not getting my five a day. It's about the only thing I'm getting but that's another story. I've got a good mind to just eat cake but that would just be being facetious. Blimey that's a big word. Right, I think I've said enough.

Coldframes today

In this one are the leeks, the next lot of cabbages, broccoli for next spring and winter cabbage:


And in this one is what's left of the bedding plants which were meant to make my fortune (I gave most of them away in the end, better karma) and a few other plants which will all go to our site's stall at the community day on Stockbrook Street Park next weekend:

Carnations

Support put up today. They may not look like much now but just you wait.

Spuds

The row in the middle are the earlies which are just starting to flower; to each side are the rows of maincrop which are already flowering. Behind me (which you can't see) are the second earlies which aren't flowering at all. Very strange. I'm eating the earlies anyway. What the heck, as those lovely Americans would say.

Peas

Yea peas, ready for eating at last.


Successional sowings:

Brassicas

Coming along nicely:

Rusty garlic

So the garlic's still rusty, it's not like it's going to get better and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm loathe to dig it up before it should be ready for drying in August; I've been getting rid of the ones with white rot and eating some of it wet. It isn't really wet that's just the term for eating it before it's ready. Go figure.


Wet garlic bulb:

Summertime tra la la

Lovely weather for it. Some cold nights mind. Not so much to do now other than watch things grow. I've picked the first strawberries and baby carrots - nice to have something to eat other than cabbage. The garlic's looking a bit poorly, rusty and a few had white rot and needed hoofing out; it's the first time I've grown it and apparently these problems aren't uncommon. Mustn't grumble otherwise. Soon there'll be new potatoes and peas and broad beans and dancing in the streets no doubt.

Finger carrots

I sowed these in a trough in the greenhouse back in March, moving them outside when it got warmer.

Strawberries

In the garden

Campanula

Geranium Patricia

White Love-In-The-Mist

Frugal Living

Finally managed to get hold of a dvd of the programme from last year which features our site. It's a piece on frugal living for the regional current affairs programme Inside Out. The allotments segment is about 3 minutes in although it's worth watching the whole thing to see it in context. I get to pick a cabbage in slow motion, stare into space and say "yeah" about half a dozen times.

What a plonker

No not Gordon Brown, it's me this time. I hadn't sussed that actually I had been nominated for a bloggywog award, for my posts about Monsanto and raised beds. So many thanks to the wondrous Lia and Arabella for nominating me and please accept my humble apologies for not noticing. I'll try to keep up to speed in future.

So, no brownie points for me this week but I've decided not to resign and shall carry on blogging regardless. "I will not waver, I will not walk away, I will finish the work." Quite.

Skanking

Apparently it's going to rain all weekend which is just as well after all the recent hot weather. Also just as well that I skanked the afternoon off work to get the sprouts and carnations planted out.

Garden today

Geranium "Brookside"

Geranium "that pink one"

Geranium "that blue one"

Scabious