Wednesday 6th September 2006 - Weather: warm and wonderful!

So lovely to know I have a full day on the allotment today. Dropped the urchins at school and headed straight to the plot. Still really just clearing and weeding. Had already decided to dig up half a row of globe artichokes as we really don't eat that many and they produce so many heads per plant that it seems like a waste of ground. They have huge roots, so took some shifting, but I tidied them up and stuck them in a bucket to take home. I want a couple in the garden at the back of borders as they have such stunning flowers.

Started to sort out the raspberry canes and fruit bushes inside the cage. They didn't do as well as last year and I put this down to the drought. Am hoping to completely weed the cage out, hard prune the fruit bushes, carefully loosen the soil around the plants, water, and then mulch with plenty of leaf mould to try and improve things for next year. The cage needed a few repairs, thank goodness for string! Allotment number one is ship shape, which is such a relief!

Picked lots of tomatos again, and cucumbers, and courgettes! This rain has helped in a huge way. A lot can ripen and grow in 24 hours!

Things that are still in the ground are; leeks, parsnips, beetroot, bright lights chard, kales, cabbage, brussels sprouts, sprouting brocolli, carrots, spring onions, celeraic, celery, french beans, runner beans, tomatos, squashes (incl cucumbers, courgettes, melons, etc), spuds, and sweetcorn. Recently sowed and germinated is salad radish, black radish, beetroot, looseleaf lettuce and mooli. Perennial plants are the artichokes, cardoon and apsaragus. Fruits are raspberries, strawberries, black and red currants, jostaberries, white and red gooseberry, blackberry and anything growing wild in the surrounding hedgerows.

Have received the program for the autumn show. I hope to be able to enter a few catagories, including the jams and chutneys, although I will have to check the jars are the correct standard. Might have to pay my WI neighbour a visit. Daughter number one rather fancies entering so will have to make sure I am organised.

Weekend bargain! Husband purchased a rather smart petrol mower for the allotment from a carboot sale. Only cost £10 and it runs! At last I will have neat allotment paths.