This was last year’s sunflower, to prove what can be done with the right seed and favorable growing conditions from June onwards (I guess I planted it about the lay May bank holiday weekend last year – this picture dates from September).

I’ve just checked and we’ve been allotment holders for a year. In fact, this is week 53. For the record, we were originally going to share our (half) allotment with another couple, but they quickly dropped out. If I remember correctly, it was about four weeks before we managed to plant anything substantial because of digging over the patch and putting up a chicken wire fence, but it is interesting to see how we’ve come on.

A year ago, it looked like this

From Allotment 11 May 08

And today, from roughly the same angle, it looked like this

From Allotment May 16 09

I went back this evening, its been one of those nuts days when we’ve had weather for all seasons but this evening there was the lovely sunny thing. For the first time, our trees (of undetermined species) have fruit on them and I’m fairly sure they’re going to turn into plums. I know the focus is all wrong in this picture, but the blurry thing in the foreground is the first sign of fruit. As these trees did nothing last year, I’m VERY chuffed about this (even though there’s only signs of about 10 fruit at the moment – what shall I do with these next year?)

From Allotment May 16 09

Also good signs of gooseberries. Last year, we didn’t really collect these (I rather think the birds got them first but I’m not entirely sure) so I’m going to keep a beady eye on them.

From Allotment May 16 09

And finally, The Mystery Of The Peas. My peas didn’t do much last year (I blamed the mice) and this year there was no signs of germination. I went to have a closer look this evening, and realised that the pea seeds were on the surface.

From Allotment May 16 09

So peas need to go deeper and better buried – I’d have thought they were deep enough but obviously not. I’ve poked some holes and dropped them down and so we’ll see what happens.

And finally.. as well as the first view of leeks, gooseberries, plums… I also saw my first rat on the allotment this evening. . I rather suspect the rats ate most of last year’s sweetcorn, and he certainly seemed to be a fat thing.

At 7:30 this morning, when we were both awake, we declined going to the allotment on the basis that we needed more sleep time. We didn’t sleep and, naturally, when we did make it down to the allotment at 9:30 it started raining. So it was a quick half hour down there, coping with the rain adn the weeds which seem to have emerged in the past few days with abandon.

Some signs of good stuff though. The first/second earlies are now fully heaped up and I caught site of my leeks (I’m sure that they weren’t there last time). Although the overwinted Broad Beans (Aquadulce) didn’t seem to come to much, the ones I put in a few weeks ago are doing something and the onions are starting to really look like onions.

Anyway, its been blowing a gale all day here, but it is dry again now. So do I dare go back for another half hour and maybe even (whisper it) plant some sweetcorn…?

And whilst we’re on the habit of successful things happening at the allotment, take a look at our onions and garlic..

From Drop Box

From Allotment in May

From Allotment in May

Hopefully that will keep pesky pests away from our stuff…. new carrots planted underneath the tight mesh today, and more broad beans under neath the anti bird mesh.