Well done boys.....we did it!

Last year my six year old wanted me to buy a pumpkin but I said "No, but i'll tell you what we will grow one". A fellow allotmenteer gave me some seeds to sow, April came along and in my diary was an entry plant pumpkin seeds. But how could I forgot when I kept getting reminded every so often. We managed by chance to get 1 big one and 2 smaller ones and here they are. The big one wasn't actually grown at the allotment but in our back garden.



Today as the boys had the day off for teacher training we decided to get the pumpkin ready for Halloween. First I had to cut a lid ready for some scooping out.

And plenty more scooping out.

At the weekend my older son decided what design he wanted on the pumpkin and this is it.

Next you have to prick the skin to give the outline.

Then you have to cut it out.

The Freaky Frankenstein pumpkin is now ready to glow!

Yes we had pumpkin soup for dinner and I will be making pumpkin lasgane and putting some in the freezer. I didn't scaped as much out as I could of done but I think I have enough to deal with.

A little help from my friends.

My Little Tot and Morris came down last Sunday to help do a spot of digging. Tot was well away with the spade building up his muscles and Morris did brillantly digging holes.
The butternut squash and french beans plants have all been dug up now and I gave it a dig over. I'm hoping our rotivator gets sorted out before next year so that it can go over it again. In one week you can see the weeds coming through already. Put some cardboard down over half this area to stop the weeds.

We are thinking of the potatoes going in this area next spring.

While the three of us were busy this side Hubby was in the fruit area digging one bed over.

No not the one guy in the blue shirt thats the scarecrow, yes I know you can hardly see him but he is there honest!

Went to the allotment today (Saturday 28th October) and planted my broad beans (Aquadulce Claudia) in the bed a prepared last weekend. This year I have planted 64 seeds straight in the ground compared to last year I planted in seed trays and planted out the following year.

Moved some cardboard around and that was about it for today and this weekend as I won't get down tomorrow. Picked some brocolli & kale for dinner.

I will not be beaten by onion seedlings!!

Decided to go and prepare a bed for sowing some broad beans after not really knowing where to put them. Dug it over and prepared with growmore ready for planting next weekend. This is the first time I have used growmore as last year I didn't use anything on the ground.

To the right of the picture are my parsnips with my shadow nicely over them. I'm hoping the parsnips are doing well as I want them for Christmas dinner. Can't believe Christmas is only a couple of months away.

Next I weeded around the garlic, don't they look fine. They came up in three weeks of planting, boy thats quick. Just shows how warm it been

Top of the picture are leeks and they got weeded too as I was getting well into the swing of it.

Next to the leeks to the left I planted onion's from seed. I've watched the grass growing well around them and not much going on with the onions, so I decided to weed. Speaking to other people they say they don't use seed as it too much effort but they aren't going to beat me. Weeding around them was quite relaxing but you just have to keep control and not let your mind wander as you would chop the onions down too. After spending a good while weeding I looked and thought "hold on a minute, they can go after the onion sets I planted" and moved them to here, look below.

So at the top are the onion sets that are just sprouting as I dug one up mistake and then the onion seed which will need to be thinned out next year. Hope they do ok me moving them. This ground will be better for them as its been prepared with growmore.

The lettuce seed are up too after only 5 days, now it just a case of getting them to grow before being eaten.

Picked this lovely broccoli weighing in at 400g, not bad going seeing someone said pull it up to make room for the next crop. Luckly I haven't used up all my plot this year so I could leave it in I suppose. I've also been told you can leave broccoli in the ground and cut off just above the surface and it will sprout again the following year.

Last thing sorted out the cabbage bed and pulled up the carrots that were at one end and sweet pepper plants as they aren't going to be growing any more and now that bed looks tidy too.

When we went down to the allotment today...

Wasn't it a lovely day very warm for October. We all went down to the allotment late afternoon with Morris too. I had 100 onion sets to plant not that it seemed like I planted that many. If you have been reading I did plant some jap onion seed but they really aren't doing very well, grass is now growing around them so they may be squeezed out. The garlic planted a couple of weeks ago are showing through. Hubby did a spot of digging & rotivating on the fruit plot (new plot).

Sowed some more lettuce seed and this time I put porridge oats and tea leaves down to try and deter the slugs from eats them. Watching TV this morning and an organic garden had the idea of using hedgehogs for eating the slugs and snails. Now my next challage is to find some so that we can use them on our allotment too. It would mean we would have to fence them in as you wouldn't want them eating blue pellets from other plots but I don't mine a fence.

Most of the time I was looking after Morris he had a brill time digging and sniffing around our allotment, I bet he sleeps well this evening.

Picked some small broccoli florrets which I now refer than having a big florret as you get a couple of leaves on them too and french beans which we had for dinner. Picked and cooked by an hour you can't beat that can you.

I planted some carrots ages and ages ago (May) and I though we might have some ready now and I dug them up and they haven't really grown. Wonder why?

Thats it really didn't do much at all.

Did I say I like rain??

Well i think we have had enough now.

All fun and games with this weather isn't it. Very hot still at times, then cold and here comes the down pour just as the children are coming out of school.

Well in the back garden I have another cucumber coming along and the aubergine are still growing to my surprize.

The tomatoes in the conservatory are how upto third truss and tomatoes growing, gave them some feed yesterday to help them. Another Allotmenteer did a trial and said if you want nice good quality tomatoes grow in pots for as long as you can before you plant them in the place as you don't get such big leaves and this looks to be true.

The cauliflower seedling are doing ok so far, just replanted in trays and have to keep them till next year before they can go in the ground at the allotment. Now thats the hard bit, getting them to grow bigger without being eaten or not watered enough. This time I have brought John Innes compost hoping that paying more i'll have better results.

Cauliflower seedlings

And while I was taking all these pictures in the garden the chickens were making noises so i had to take their pictures too.

Allotment News

Popped there this evening a quick visit mind you as it gets dark so early.

All my lettuce seed that sprouted have been eaten, yes all of them so looked like i'll have to try again. Now i'm not wanting to you those blue pellets anymore so if anyone else has any tricks please let me know. Radish are doing good and the spinach I sowed the other week is just coming through.

Sprayed the savoy, spring cabbages, brussel sprouts & curly kale to try and reduce the white fly. Cut some of the brussel sprout leaves off don't know why just felt like it.

Picked a small handful of french beans to go with dinner tomorrow and now it was dark and time to go. Boots caked in mud trying hard to get it off before I got in the car.

I better not go butternut squash...

I did think at one point that I wouldn't get any butternuts squash growing on my plants but then they went mad. I went down to the allotment in the week to cut most of them off as the news said we could have a ground frost so I thought I better cut them off just incase. I cut the biggest ones and left a few on because they aren't really ripe yet, not turned the light orange colour. Now i'm not sure cutting them early do them as good as I find they don't turn orange at home unless it takes a few months. Any recipes please other than soup or rissoto to help me use up my harvest greatly received...

Picked the last of the french beans and couldn't believe blackfly are starting to take over but there aren't many more flowers left now so I left them too it.

One lonely courgette that wasn't growing any bigger for it to become a marrow over the last two weeks so that got picked too. All the courgette plants have been pulled up and the area dug over ready for whatever is next.

Lettuce & radish are starting to come through but just to keep the lettuce warm I though i'd use my little poly tunnel that I brought last year for ?1. How sweet i'm I.

Brought some onion sets at the garden centre as i've not quite given up on the seed ones I planted but I don't hold out much hope. They haven't grown at all & the grass is taking over. I'll leave them there and see what happens. Mind you I haven't feed the ground like I read some allotmenteers do perhaps I should.

We have made a start on our new plot. Our allotment manager strimmed it all and Hubby went down today to start rotivating only for the rotivator to start falling apart so it good be back breaking work to follow.

Yes we must be mad

I can hear you wondering now whats this she's growing here looks like a lot of weeds to me and you would be right because infact its a new plot we have taken on for next year. It continues on from our one we have already and as my husband said "why not" when I mentioned it to him I jumped at the chance. All the grass which is upto my shoulders needs cutting down and then we will rotivate. We are hoping to get it done this year (can't see why not) and then put cardboard & mulch on top to stop the weed growth. The aim is to use this plot for fruit, strawberrys, cape gooseberry, rubuarb, melons & I bet a find a few more. When planning our other plots this year I realised to get a good harvest of strawberrys you need quite a few plants and as they stay in the ground all year round it would take up a fair amount of space.

Photo taken looking passed our plot to the new one in the distance.