My kind of allotment...

I received the latest issue of the Guildford in Bloom Newsletter today and was delighted to see Compton Allotments getting the recognition we deserve !

Compost

We have constructed a frame using chicken wire and hazel posts to hold the leaf litter that we have been collecting, looking like a couple of old road sweepers.. still, who cares ?

Leaf mould will be put into the trenches when we are planting potatoes, as this is rumoured to a) reduce the risk of blight and b) give you nice clean spuds when they are dug up.

Tidying up

This morning we took some of the compost from the bins at home and spread it on the area which had been 'green manured' with red clover and this then dug-in. We covered the area with a large sheet of black plastic and this will be left on until next April when we will plant potatoes on the warmed-up soil.

Some of the compost had been sieved, and this was used to mulch around the base of the fruit bushes.

We pulled some leeks, celeriac and parsnips and cut some kale and a cabbage to see us through the week.

Earlier this week we sorted through our sacks of stored potatoes to check for signs of rot. A couple of nasty ones were found and discarded and the rest sacked-up again. We plan to check these every four weeks or so to prevent any rot from spreading and ensuring us a good supply of spuds for a good few months to come.

Autumn Review

We have cleared all of the old vegetation away and now just Cabbage (Red and Savoy), Celeriac, Leek, Parsnips and Swede have been left to overwinter.

We have been reviewing our 2008 results as we plan our planting for 2009.

• Beetroot : The Cylindra was excellent and we had a bit of a glut, but we intend to try Moneta in Spring. This is a monogerm seed so we can sow little and often with less thinning-out.

• Borlotti Beans : A lot of effort for little return and will not be tried again.
  

• Broad Bean : We grew Imperial Longpod and had good results, but the plants were very big and took up too much space. Our choice now is Aquadulce and an Autumn sowing has already been made
  

• Cabbage : Both Red (Red Drumhead) & Savoy (Tarvoy) have been very successful and we will be growing both again next year.

• Carrots : These were a disaster as carrot root fly infestation took hold. We will sow Autumn King and protect the beds with mesh to prevent the low flying insects reaching the seedlings.

• Celeriac : Brilliant has been slightly disappointing with smaller than expected roots. We will be trying Prinz next year.

• Fennel : Our crop of Monte Bianco bolted, and we will be sowing Pronto next year... earlier, so that we can harvest early.

• Kale : Tosco di Nero was good and will be grown again next year.

• Leeks : Mussleburgh have not produced good long stems and so we will be sowing Oarsman in February.

• Onions : Growing from sets, Red Baron produced exceptionally good bubs. Stuttgart Giant was also very good, but I prefer a rounder Onion and will be trying something like Setton in 2009.
  

• Parsnip : Cobham Improved have exceeded expectations, but Countess will be sown next year.

• Peas : Onward was sown late and became infested with Pea Moth grubs. We have made an Autumn sowing of Feltham First and will make a sowing later in the year when the danger of infestation has passed.

• Squash (Butternut) : We grew Avalon and had some nice fruits... we have some seed remaining and will grow this again.
  

• Swede : Virtue has been OK and we have sufficient seed to sow again next year.

We have used mainly F1 seed in our first year and have had consistent results, but it is expensive and we can't save the seed for the following season. Our intention is to move away from hybrid seeds and use more traditional, heirloom seeds that have proven results for performance and flavour.
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