Produce popping up!

It's all looking really, really good at the plot except that we have both neglected the weed situation so everything is growing on top of each other! Bind weed has made a come back and is suffocating the strawberries, fennel and the compost bin. The turnips have been severely nibbled which is very annoying but the fennel is doing really well. Broad beans have been massacred again and we have various squashes growing out the back that will hopefully surprise us when they grow their produce. We have pumpkins, courgettes, marrows, butternuts and Karl's favourite 'pink banana'!
Apparently the carrots are at baby stage if we want tiddly tasty ones but otherwise we can pick later on for big ones! Probably an idea to pick a few now to start thinning them out. Must make mental note to pick carrots in the evening else the carrot fly will smell them!
Onions are brilliant although I'm sure we planted more than I can see. Shallots look very tasty already! Runner beans are shooting up and seem to be clear of blackfly (Hurrah!)

Nibbled Turnips

Probably the last of the rhubarb but what is eating the poisonous leaves? Weevil?

I give up with broad beans... :(

Pumpkin? Butternut? Pink banana? Courgette? Marrow???

Strawberries are running again. Need to keep them off the path this year!

Fluffy carrot tops and marigolds!!

Fat sunflower leaves - these are (hopefully) going to be mighty tall!

Yellow Courgette!! Fabulous looking produce!

French bean

Big onions

Shallots

Sweetcorn

Runner beans running high

Fennel hearts

Fennel Tops

Bind Weed Flowers

Compost bin under attack...

Blackfly, Beans, Bottles and Booty

It's all growing but being attacked at the moment! Climbing french beans aren't climbing much, blackfly has invaded the broad beans again, turnips are being nibbled by something but the carrots are doing brilliantly!
Runner beans are also getting a fair amount of blackfly but I'm getting myself up the allotment as much as I can spray the buggers off with washing up liquid mixed with water. Broad beans have been hit hard and you can see the damage they cause in a week. Hate them!!
We stuck all the beer bottles and cans from the BBQ on top of the bean frame to keep the birds off - they poop on the leaves! Onions, courgettes, sunflowers and tomatoes are also doing rather well. Will have to stake the tomatoes before they get heavy with fruit and flop over. (One thing that annoys me about tomatoes is that they are a bit flawed - top heavy with thin stalks - daft really!)
The back of the plot is gradually being dug up and progress is starting to happen. Now that I have my booties I can squelch in the muddy bits and get all that couch grass out!
Both myself and Karl have picked all the strawberries (bucket loads!) and Karl is now making Strawberry Wine in his demi-john pot thing.

Climbing french beans...errr?

Nibbled Turnips

Prize winning carrots maybe?

Ill looking broad beans

The perils of blackfly - blackened stems and leaves

Runners gradually climbing

More carrots!

Onions & Shallotts

Sunflowers!!!

Yellow fruiting courgette - should be interesting?!

Bottles and cans keeping the birds off with their 'reflecting' qualities

Cherry tomato plant

Looking green and plentiful!

Strawberries Galore!

Strawberries which Karl is making wine with!

Get a welly on!

I've had to take a brave step and buy some plain old green wellies. No flowers or purple stripes, just plain old wellies. With so much rain going on at the mo I need something waterproof on my feet! I'm going to have to decorate them somehow tho!
Karl and Dave are off to Glastonbury so of course they're wellied out too! :D

Allotted Time

I've started reading this book called "Allotted Time" which I picked up in the Fopp DVD/CD Shop on Queen Street. It's actually a refreshing read as you can sympathise with the two guys desperately clearing land to grow veg.
They build a shed with the conditions that it cost no more than £10 and be able to house both of them to drink tea and talk bollocks. Their quest to define the difference between a shrub and a tree as well as their discovery of God who is in fact, Bob Flowerdew!
Recommended!!

Lots of space and lots of seeds!

We've managed another trip up the lotty!! All is going so well that we can even pick and choose our beds this year. It's great how far we've got getting the plot ready. I assembled this 8' x 10' frame at the weekend which is quite an achievement for a 5'3" short arse! I balanced on a chair to tie the tops!
I put the runner bean plants from the seed bed into place by the frames and gave them a good watering. There's manure under all of them so they should be good. Unfortunately a couple seem to have black fly so we'll have to spray them some time this week. :(
Karl put down some paths with some pine needles which were on offer at the bottom of the hill. Nice and spongy!
I took the nets off the broad beans and also planted some sunflowers by the greenhouse. Fingers crossed we get some nice tall ones this year!!
We've also scattered some pumpkins in between the black plastic at the back of the plot and put some butternut squashes in the middle of the bean structures. We have a teepee shaped structure at the front of the plot for some climbing french beans. The slugs seem to be hot on the trail of these seedlings tho so it's a bit of a battle!

Bean poles up and ready!!

Karl laying down the path

Pre-grown seedlings of runner beansTansy popped up for a rest after her and Karl's afternoon run.

Left-hand side of plot is doing spectacularly well

Our small teepee climbing french bean at the front of the plot

Greenhouse from the side

Hidden in the plastic we have pumpkins on the go....this will be interesting!

Cherries starting to show!!

Carrotts getting a bit bigger

Uncovered broad beans