paddyplot32

That's how it's done!

2011-03-28T20:50:00.003+01:00

Kevin would not allow the use of string or hoe - the right way or the highway! Use your shovel, toss left, toss right, keep going straight to the end. Put down a decent bed of manure and place your potatoes about a foot apart - get in there - don't be afraid to walk in it! Once in, start backfilling the same way.
Look at that for a March sky!
Sorry about the wide-angle lens, Kevin, you do look a bit stretched!

Please note

2011-03-18T22:48:00.002Z

Soup Time

2011-03-18T22:35:00.002Z

Just a quick visit to get some leeks for the soup. Trimmed them up and chopped the leftovers into the compost while waiting for herself to return from Tesco's. Car really hummed of leeks on the way home.

And they're OFF!

2011-03-18T22:29:00.002Z

St. Patrick's Day over and it's time to get in the Sharpe's Express. Jim is digging a nice trench and placing his tubers on a decent bed of manure. Time to backfill now and leave enough for later earthing up.

Hotbox Vanishes

2011-03-08T11:16:00.002Z

Beautiful day yesterday. Just had to get down to the allotment and pump up the barrow. Had a good look around - 4 more diggers on site. Spread a little manure, a spot of weeding, a little dig over of the early spud location, a chat with Jim. What is that blue plastic sheet doing there? Oh I use that as a base for my Hotbox. Hotbox? What hotbox? Gone and I'd never noticed it! Uh oh! Not good. It's started, says Jim. A lady found her orange barrow missing last week. Muise 'dhiabhail! Our local Sherlock Holmes reckons that barrow was used to move the heavy hotbox to a waiting van. No sign of it on our site anyway. What next? Security cameras secreted among the leeks? Oh well.

Is it aged enough?

2011-02-12T15:11:00.002Z

Kevin and Ger discussing the quality of farmyard manure on offer at the plot. Should be at least 2 years old, declared Kevin, to be any good. Ger reckoned this pile is a lot fresher than that!

Relocation Reorientation

2011-02-12T15:01:00.003Z

Cyril's shed went over in last week's wind (same as last year!) and the Carton Court Meitheal were once again sent for to see what could be done. Obair in aisce, of course, for the mighty Jim MacMahon had rowed in and righted the structure single handed!
Cyril decided to face her for the College this time, presenting a slimmer profile for the Western Winds. And while there he proceeded to harvest his bountiful Brussel Sprouts. Not a bad day's work!

May frost

2010-05-13T20:53:00.003+01:00

I laughed at the brother last year when he warned me to watch out for the May Frost! I was sure he was winding up the newbie. I'm not laughing now. Tried covering the earlies with fleece but still got discoloured blackened leaves. Big Jim advised me to get the fleece up off the spuds and suggested hooped willow wands as a support - lots growing along the hedge. Strange year so far. What are the odds on a June Frost?

Move clay while the sun shines

2010-04-22T11:00:00.005+01:00

'Er Outdoors puddlin' in the leeks.

Richard Van Gogh feeling the Spring Urges...

Last year's compost bin performed so beautifully, I decided to have two!

Quality Inspectors Jim & Mick admiring Cyril's Rhubarb.

Water Metering

2010-04-20T01:26:00.002+01:00

It's on the way, says Mr Gormley. Time to put the buckets out and save every drop. B&Q supplied this mini-guttering. Hasn't rained yet so I don't know how effective it's going to be. Small roof. I put in a waterbutt on the big shed at home and it's great. Filled up in no time.

Recent Activity

2010-04-20T01:00:00.004+01:00

Starting off the Sunflowers from last year's saved seed. This lot has been potted on and delivered to Kilcock. Too early yet to put them in the ground. The styrofoam casing around the propagator came from the packaging of a B&Q storage box - just fitted exactly!

Spuds chitting away in the spare, cool, bright bedroom. Odd lot Kevin got this year - Collen, Cara, Lady Balfour, Duke of York. A far cry from the Kerr's Pinks and Golden Wonders of yesteryear. And what about that great Irish potato - the British Queen?

Starting off the Sweetpea on the windowsill a few weeks ago. Nine of the 14 came up. They're flying out in the plastic house now.

Dylan's Courgettes and Pumpkins were sown less than 2 weeks ago but are going absolutely mental. They need to be planted out even though it's frosty still. A bit of fleece over them should do the job. I didn't realize how big these were going to get last year - I put down some courgettes, squashes, pumpkins. Little plantlets. They ran riot and threatened to take over the plot. This year - no pumpkins - Dylan can bring them home. No squash - we didn't really take to it. Two courgette plants are going in - and they're going to be watched!

Green shoots - these onion sets all came on wonderfully in the plastic house and are now planted out with the carrots. Next lot coming on.

About Time

2010-04-20T00:48:00.004+01:00

The brother reckoned my strawberries will be OK if I put a bit of plastic over them. This will bring them on after the fright of the winter, he says, and they'll be flowering in no time. Must replace that painter's dropcloth with a stiffer piece of polythene.

Some newcomers on the allotment this year and lots more sheds. Property boom over? Not here!

These are the boyos to watch. Very hungry and very persistent! Net up!

Meitheal

2010-01-05T15:27:00.002Z

Cyril's new shed went over in the storm on the 30th December but the Carton Court Meitheal swung into action next morning. No damage done, seemingly. Field looks depressing at the moment, water and ice everwhere. Our winter cabbage looks very holey, despite the netting.

Home on the Free Range

2010-01-05T15:24:00.002Z

Thanks for the turkey Roger. My son-in-law declared it to be the best-tasting turkey ever!
Happy New Year!

Thanks Guys!

2009-09-13T15:13:00.003+01:00

Lots of largesse on display down the plots this week. Look at the size of that turnip, says Damien, take that one with you! You'll have to top and tail these beans, advises Gerry, there you go. And Tomato King Mark shoves this lot over to me - and the same amount for Kevin! Thanks a heap, fellas, much obliged. If you're wondering how the Golden Wonders might taste, wonder no more, cominatcha!

Latest on the Property Ladder

2009-09-06T11:31:00.005+01:00

Cyril finally gets a roof over his head on the Allotment with his shiny new B&Q shed. Wonder what the combination will be? We're all waiting for word of the shed-warming occasion...
(Architectural Digest please do not copy!)

A Treat for the Palate

2009-09-02T20:06:00.002+01:00

Noticed this original dining suite yesterday down the line from me. Ingenuity or wha?

Done Spraying

2009-09-02T19:58:00.003+01:00

Well that's that. We munched our way through all the Sharpe's Express, steamed right on through the Queens and fretted nightly about the fate of the Wonders and Pinks. All over now. Clipped all the haulm yesterday and threw a bit of clay over the drills. A fortnight now till we lift them. Let us pray.

Too Many Queens?

2009-08-30T20:00:00.002+01:00

Our poetic-hearted Gerry has come up with another literary parallel for our allotment lives:-

After Apple Picking

My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree
Toward heaven still.
And there's a barrel that I didn't fill
Beside it, and there may be two or three
Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.
But I am done with apple-picking now.
Essence of winter sleep is on the night,
The scent of apples; I am drowsing off.
I cannot shake the shimmer from my sight
I got from looking through a pane of glass
I skimmed this morning from the water-trough,
And held against the world of hoary grass.
It melted, and I let it fall and break.
But I was well
Upon my way to sleep before it fell,
And I could tell
What form my dreaming was about to take.
Magnified apples appear and reappear,
Stem end and blossom end,
And every fleck of russet showing clear.
My instep arch not only keeps the ache,
It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.
And I keep hearing from the cellar-bin
That rumbling sound
Of load on load of apples coming in.
For I have had too much
Of apple-picking; I am overtired
Of the great harvest I myself desired.
There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch,
Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall,
For all
That struck the earth,
No matter if not bruised, or spiked with stubble,
Went surely to the cider-apple heap
As of no worth.
One can see what will trouble
This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is.
Were he not gone,
The woodchuck could say whether it's like his
Long sleep, as I describe its coming on,
Or just some human sleep.

Robert Frost

Ready to drop

2009-08-30T19:57:00.003+01:00

My Sungold tomatoes have been changing colour over the past week. Must be ready so. Going to chance one tomorrow.

The Fingernail Test

2009-08-16T00:39:00.001+01:00

Dylan checking the ripeness of the pumpkins he sowed way back when.

A bit of culture - Thanks Gerry

2009-08-14T20:47:00.002+01:00

ALLOTMENTS

Lifting through the broken clouds there shot,
A searching beam of golden sunset-shine.
It swept the town allotments, plot by plot,
And all the digging clerks became divine –
Stood up like heroes with their spades of brass,
Turning the ore that made the realms of Spain!
So shone they for a moment. Then, alas!
The cloud-rift closed; and they were clerks again.

(Richard Church 1893-1972)

Start 'em Early!

2009-08-12T20:50:00.002+01:00

Dylan (3 next month) getting stuck in. Digging the spuds with Daideo!

What Smashing Spuds are these?

2009-08-12T20:36:00.002+01:00

This crop looks particularly healthy in light of the many blighted specimens in the field. Late blossom as well, I notice. Is this one of those Hungarian Sarpo varieties, I wonder?

A Fresh Flag

2009-08-12T20:27:00.001+01:00

Looks like new management at the Fisheries. Place looks wonderful. Wonder how this will impinge on Allotment Life?

Keeping Up Appearances

2009-08-11T18:46:00.003+01:00

First Coat of this one-coat stuff - gonna need at least another!

HOTBOX Part Deux

2009-08-09T20:08:00.003+01:00

So Flan came up with some sheets of glass - the posh kind, double-glazed and away I went to the Kilkock Sawmills to purchase some more of his wonderful treated timber - enough for two cold frames. Safe enough on the roof rack all the way home but disaster struck while bringing the planks in around the back. I left the first two pieces up against the pergola and went back out to fetch the rest. A sudden gust of wind blew up and I glanced back to check if they had shifted. They hadn't budged but the garden door had and I walked into the edge of it full tilt. Now I have a nice shiner on my forehead, a massive multicoloured bruise on my stomach from the hasp, a gouge out of my right arm thanks to bashing it off the windowsill and my ribs seem to be not totally connected at the back. So - what happened to you? "I walked into a door." Yeah, right!

I love Broccoli!

2009-08-08T06:21:00.003+01:00

I'm astonished that I never thought to sow broccoli seeing as we use such a lot of it. Too late now, of course. On the list for next year. This here is a gift from my globe-trotting neighbour. Thanks, Seán.

Green is the colour ...

2009-08-08T06:07:00.002+01:00

of ENVY! Green is also the colour of my own poor tomatoes. These are not mine, alas! They are gifts from The (green-fingered) Brother. Sunny SouthEast. It's all true...

First Cauli

2009-07-29T02:40:00.004+01:00

Begob, I wasn't expecting this one. Just lifted the net to check the cabbage and suddenly noticed the cauliflowers are ready for lifting. No one more surprised than myself. Great stuff. Mind you, we started on the British Queens today and they are not a patch on the Sharpe's Express we've been gorging on for weeks. Herself had a go with the courgettes today - poaching them with garlic for 10 minutes, then olives on top with mashed garlic, basil, thyme, lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning and into the fridge for hours before finally topping off with Parmesan cheese. Hmmm....

Barrel out of business

2009-07-26T10:23:00.002+01:00

Seems the monsoon season opened just about the time Sean installed this state of the art water barrel. Coincidence? You think?

Tomato House Update

2009-07-25T17:24:00.001+01:00

Dunno if it's Mark's Magic Mixture or Richard's Red Tomorite but something is working!

First Carrots

2009-07-20T19:30:00.002+01:00

Kevin suggested parking my Carrot-Fly Phobia so we lifted the fleece and found Good Stuff! We went on to discover edible Parsnips. One of the Kerr's Pinks looked a bit dodgy so we investigated and they're eating new Pinks at No. 46 tonight!

Don't cramp your Caulis

2009-07-17T16:04:00.002+01:00

Cauliflower was fighting with the netting on the hoops so it was time for the Trip to Kilcock to pick up some more timber from the sawmills out the old Galway Road opposite the Trim Turnoff. Knocked up another 2X1 frame, 27 inches high, draped with netting, home for lunch.

Damn those New Spuds!

2009-07-16T20:36:00.003+01:00

This is what happens in the potato press when the new potatoes come onstream! All those totally dependable Tesco Roosters abandoned - thrown over for the latest bright young thing. Ah, the injustice of it!

Tuesday AND Wednesday

2009-07-15T00:46:00.002+01:00

These white early turnips were supposed to be picked at tennis ball size but this one escaped notice. Enough for two days. Five minutes boiling is as much as this kind can take. A few transplanted thinnings is all that's left of these boyos. High time to sow the swedes!

It's Not Just Cabbage, you know.

2009-07-12T21:00:00.002+01:00

Great to see a bit of art and colour about the place and hang the Recession! I note that some mulch has been spread about since last week - could this be the work of the longed-for "young lads"?

Bring You Back?

2009-07-12T20:55:00.002+01:00

Yeah well, we're back from beyant and it's a damp welcome we got last night. No need to water anything then, just as well. And today the first pea-picking expedition. Must be fifty years since we ate them fresh from the pod hunkered down in the rows. Muise.

Ok lads, we're away!

2009-07-04T00:29:00.005+01:00

And we are Cumbria Bound...Jim Mac says he'll throw some uisce on the green stuff if there's a drought. Good man Jim. I left the blue barrel full of water for you. Hope it showers enough so you don't have to bother. Best. Paddy.

Sharpe's Express sa mhála

2009-07-03T01:17:00.003+01:00

There's your dinner now. First Earlies. Sharpe's Express. No Blossom ar all, seemingly. The blooms I saw belonged to renegade Golden Wonders! Forget the Cholestrol - Bring on the Kerrygold!

Special Delivery

2009-06-27T20:50:00.001+01:00

Kevin the Cabbage Man rang the bell at noon to hand over this fine specimen, causing a dash to Tesco for the centre cut ham and a forkful of new spuds. Ah lads!

Lament for a lost lid

2009-06-27T20:42:00.002+01:00

Alas, the Tommy Connolly Memorial Hotbox is no more.
A barrow borrower regrettably reversed into it and made smithereens of the famous table top plate glass. Fortunately he lived to carry on weeding and promising to go home soon and enjoy the dab of Dettol! No harm done, buíochas le Dia!

Now THAT's a Windbreak

2009-06-27T10:35:00.001+01:00

Those Runner Beans are gonna love this smashing shelter.

Tá siad ag teacht!

2009-06-26T20:53:00.002+01:00

They're here! The promised Water Tanks have arrived onsite and should be ready to use any day now. Well done, Roger!

Fine Crop

2009-06-26T20:36:00.004+01:00

Unfortunately, these are very prolific weeds - I think they are called Redshank - and they are about to flower and set seed! Anybody home?

Abandon Hope...

2009-06-26T20:33:00.002+01:00

And here is the Finished Article. Looks smashing in the evening light, Mark. Blends in lovely with Tomato Central. You'd need to be Eating Your Greens to lift that massive lid!

If You Go Away...

2009-06-26T20:30:00.000+01:00

This is the kind of thing you may expect to meet upon returning, right Seán?
But if you have the Diarmuid Gavin Gloves it'll take you no time to sort it out!

Don't Bleed on the Carpet

2009-06-22T21:58:00.001+01:00

A few thinnings of Beetroot to try out this evening. A straightforward 30 minute boil, I think, nothing fancy. Just twist off the tops, scrub and dunk.

Getting Edgy

2009-06-22T21:51:00.003+01:00

I used to think that a hoe was like a spade or a fork - you used it and put it away. Not so, I learn. You carry a file with you and sharpen the working edge EVERY 15 MINUTES! That' s Uncle John's (RIP) old file there and it still brings up bright steel on the push hoe and the draw hoe. Makes a huge difference to the weeding business!

Kevin's Cabbage

2009-06-22T21:47:00.001+01:00

Kevin's cabbage patch is looking well since he cleared out the bolted radishes. Hearting up nicely. Time to be looking out for a nice bacon joint...

First Spuds ...but

2009-06-21T01:11:00.002+01:00

Yeah well, here's a few of the First Earlies. I hadn't intended to pick them until Kevin pointed out that two of the potato plants did not look well. So I pulled them out and got rid of the haulm just in case. Now we have NEW POTATOES for tomorrow's Father's Day Barbie! Going to keep a sharp eye on the rest of the Sharpe's after this scare.

In the Gutter

2009-06-20T01:43:00.006+01:00

Saw this notion on Gardeners' World -
grow lettuce in guttering.
It works a treat. I just pop a small pot on each end of the guttering temporarily to stop the compost falling out while transporting. Two weeks or so in the Hotbox and they're ready to slip into the raised bed.
First time I tried it they didn't slip so easily but Mark gave me a hand and saved the day. Now I run a sliver of wood along the bottom first to break the grip and then they slide right into place. We're on our third round now. That's Lollo Rossa and Webb's Wonderful growing there.

Pisum sativum 'RONDO'

2009-06-17T20:25:00.002+01:00

Flowers on the peas. Wahoo! Here's to a bumper crop!

Radishes on the Run

2009-06-17T20:22:00.001+01:00

Looks like Kevin's radishes are trying to fly the coop. They must be getting tough and stringy by now. Should have sown their replacements earlier!

Sharpe's in Bloom

2009-06-17T20:19:00.001+01:00

Finally my First Earlies are waking up. I expected to be sampling these on this day - it's 12 weeks since they went in. I'll wait a fortnight more, I think.

Love Your Weeds

2009-06-17T20:16:00.002+01:00

If you take your eye off the plot for a minute those weeds go mad. Nothing for it but down on the knees and start pulling. It's quite therapeutic really once you get started. Wish I'd bought those kneepads when they were in Aldi.

Bring Your Wellies

2009-06-17T20:12:00.002+01:00

Could do with a good load of wood chips, huh? They're on the way, according to the grapevine.

Changes We Can Believe In

2009-06-16T01:06:00.007+01:00

A new hothouse has been spotted under construction down near the hedge. Looks like R&M may come in for some tomato competition.

There's that Rotovator again - wonder where The Ploughing is on this year?

Innovation is the order of the day when it comes to Compost Bins - Perfectly acceptable pallet-based bins (as recommended by Gardeners' World) have been dismantled by the neighbours in favour of a massive solid single box. What next?

And here's a Scarecrow. Does it work, I wonder. The brother put up one at home that moves in the wind. Might try that.

Blowing in the Wind

2009-06-13T21:54:00.006+01:00

Paddy (Blanch) was ahead of me with a good SOLID windbreak.

There was a killer Westerly breeze blowing here a while back so I picked up this fine netting in SPACE in Prosperous to use as a windbreak. That particular wind died away so I never got round to putting it up until yesterday when I was tidying the shed. Of course the wind is from the opposite direction now but when it turns we'll be ready for it. Should help protect the delicate courgettes, squashes and pumpkins.

Fleeced

2009-06-12T12:20:00.004+01:00

Put the fleece on the hoops in April but the water tended to run off instead of penetrating - much like a tent, too taut, I suppose. So here's the current version - not half as good looking, rickety as hell but it does allow watering. Hope I haven't boxed in that pesky low-flying Carrot Fly now!

Rocket Bolts

2009-06-10T20:17:00.002+01:00

I had to take all the Rocket out and dump it in the Compost Bin. I left a few bits to go to seed, hoping to save some for a later planting. Nice blossom, huh?

Looking Glass

2009-06-10T19:47:00.001+01:00

Roger set up this mirror at the gate to facilitate safe exits. I'm sure it would be better at the far side of the road.

Toolrack

2009-06-10T19:42:00.003+01:00

Don't put the toolrack at the side of the shed, I was told, or you'll cut the head off yourself! So measure the shed width, saw a piece of timber to size, lay it on the ground, place the tools in their positions and hammer in some long nails to support them. Then nail the plank to the back uprights. Wow, it works! I haven't met a hoe or a rake face-first since I did this!

Nettle Tea

2009-06-10T19:37:00.004+01:00

Lots of nettles down by the hedge - "Pick them and put them in a bucket of water, " says Mac, "they are mighty on the spuds." So I wore gloves but still got a few stings on the wrist. Two weeks later I had a container of seriously foul-smelling stuff. I poured the lot on the First Earlies undiluted. Maybe I should have cut it a bit?

West Coast Cooler

2009-06-10T19:25:00.001+01:00

Flan brought me this barrel from West Clare for my water supplies. Maybe it will rain tonight and fill it for me - otherwise it's the Trudge to the Tap tomorrow.

Conamara East

2009-06-10T19:22:00.003+01:00

What a great notion! Instead of just flinging the stones we come across in our plots it's possible to do something useful and ...artistic with them!

Met Éireann Warning

2009-06-10T08:29:00.004+01:00

Blight Warning from Met Éireann this morning -
Conducive Weather so I'm heading down again to dish the Dithane.

Soil Sieve

2009-06-10T01:06:00.005+01:00

Got the idea for this from the new Gardeners' World presenter - have a gander at
Toby Buckland's Soil Sieve Plans.
It has been really useful for filling up the raised beds with fine soil and it's been handy for earthing up the potatoes as well. Just put it atop the barrow and fire away.

Spuds in Bloom

2009-06-10T00:48:00.007+01:00

Blossoms appearing on all of them now - the Sharpe's Express (First Earlies) are trailing the field, possibly because they were the only ones I sowed unsprouted. They went in on the 25th of March.

Blight Fright

2009-06-09T00:09:00.003+01:00

May 17th, I'm earthing up the British Queens when I notice a yellow leaf. I pick it off and then notice some other leaves with brown patches. Oh no! Can't be the blight - it's too early. So I come home and discover that Met Éireann have a Blight Warning out! Don't PANIC! Find last year's DITHANE, borrow the knapsack sprayer and pump that handle. Spray and Pray. Return the sprayer and ask the owner about the brown patches. "Don't worry about them," he says, "that's not blight. You'll know the blight!"
I'm down every 7-10 days now spraying away. They look all right and there's a fine blossom on the Queens. We could have spuds yet!

Rocket Takes Off

2009-06-08T20:05:00.002+01:00

This tasty stuff is a trifle tardy to show up but when it comes it goes mad. You only get the good out of it for a fortnight or so before it gets too hardy and then it bolts.
So the lesson is - sow a little, maybe two feet of it, every week or two.
Here endeth...

Hoopla

2009-06-08T15:02:00.004+01:00

Went looking for ideas on crop protection and happened on this lot:-
weedwhackinwenches

So I had a go myself. Got the heavy duty half-inch plastic pipe in Barrett's and discovered that the loppers was the quickest way to cut it. Bought the timber from the sawmill in Kilcock and made the yoke to fit outside the raised beds - that way I can just lift the whole contraption in order to weed or get at the produce.

Tomato CITY

2009-06-07T13:12:00.002+01:00

More from the R&M Design Factory.
Great results are expected from the Secret Formula!

First Shed

2009-06-06T22:49:00.004+01:00

I missed the first week of allotment activity - holiday away - I expected to find a veritable shed city when I returned but nary a one! Up to B&Q for the 140 and we assembled it by car headlights. Thanks Flan & Ger. It's tending towards the East but it will do. All the usual suspects have The Combination!

Wrong Number

2009-06-06T21:40:00.005+01:00

Flan prepared this as a present for my new allotment but of course the numbers were all changed by the time we actually took possession. I'm really at Plot 32. Not going to change it now - quod scripsi, scripsi! So - here's to Confusion!

First: A Posh Cloche. Then: A Pale Imitation, but mine own

2009-06-06T21:28:00.000+01:00

First up is Mark and Richard's cold frame - truly a Posh Cloche - since it boasts Double Glazing! Below that is the Tommy Connolly Memorial Hotbox, made up to fit the glass top of Tommy's (RIP) table. It is MAGIC. Anything goes in here it gets accelerated into growth! Thanks for the inspiration, neighbours!

Prettiest Plot Competition

2009-06-06T21:14:00.001+01:00

These guys are the WINNERS hands down. Mark & Richard have designed a boulevard through their plot where all is straight, square and level. Everything is accessible and no danger of barking your shins (something I'm an expert at!). And they very kindly donated two spare raised beds to me to start me off. My heroes!

Costa Rica At Home!

2009-06-06T11:52:00.000+01:00

Some people have the GREENEST Fingers!
Good luck with that one, Mark!

The Way We Were

2009-06-06T11:47:00.000+01:00

Before the topsoil arrived.

Rabbit Warning

2009-06-06T11:38:00.001+01:00

Seen nailed to a post near the gate. Might be time to consider a FENCE? Somebody mentioned Cleary's of Kilcock for the chicken wire.