Blueberries, apple blossom and garlic

What weather we have been experiencing! - it's beautiful and all that but please my darling friends, know that this is climate change and we can't with all good consciousness celebrate it popularly. This is a problem and we should not be sunbathing in April with temperature records being broken and being portrayed as exciting - this is not right.

In saying that I am sitting outside with my two boys (Andrew and Toby the wonder dog) drinking a cheeky shandy in the shade and having a lovely late afternoon. If that makes me a hypocrite I'm sorry but it is brightening my mood and depression is an evil mistress....

So, what does all this weather mean for the allotment? Well let me tell you, the hosepipe ban from years ago is still in affect and that is a little annoying. We all have thirsty seedlings and trees in our plots and most of us are not young and fit enough to use umpteen watering cans (back and forth over and over again). I'm sad for a lot of of my plot pals but that's life I guess.

But anywho - at the plot we have got our new blueberry plants in and are excited; very excited at the glorious blossom on the apple trees (see also the new header when I finish it) . I am obsessed with blossom and all new growth these days - such HOPE!

The blueberries are a variety called Vaccinium ( blueberry) 'corymbosum' which you can learn about here. For a comprehensive guide to growing delicious blueberry bushes you can not go wrong with following the advice of the RHS. Here is the relative link, I encourage everyone to give them a go 😀 

We also planted out the young garlic plants! It's the first time in absolute ages that we have had to use new stock as last season saw the end of the 'Gault' strain but we are happy and optimistic about 'Cristo'  and the root systems looked very healthy.

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I am collating a list of our permanent fruit varieties and the seeds we are growing this year so you (and we) can see how well they do over the coming months. It will have it's own page which you can click into on the menu bar. Remember we are in Northern Ireland so much of what we experience weather wise may be different than yourself.

Hugs and love
Carrie

12th season on the plot!

It's a Saturday afternoon and here i find myself all alone. Andrew is off in the Mournes hiking and Toby has found a little rectangle of sun through the patio doors to lie in. I sit here with my thoughts which is OK because I haven't felt well enough to write in ages and now I can.

It's our 12th year on the plots! That's pretty amazing, right? One down side is that we need to replace all the fencing and all the timbers for the raised bed edging but on the good side, we don't mind the hard graft and are excited to see it all look new and with improvements. (Frown turned upside down).

The potatoes were finally planted last weekend into the 4 or 5 big pots we have for them. We're only doing Pentland Javelin this year because we like them and because we can never eat all we grow. (We didn't plant all of the above by the way). Sadly there isn't a place here where you can get unusual varieties or choose a few different loose ones and try experiments.

I spent a long time clearing the very neglected blueberry bed of grasses, thistles and dandelions. We have dug up the old bushes and are getting new ones to replace them as after 12 years they're a bit tired. We also really wanted to put a path down the side of the bed to help with harvesting; sadly the plants were where we wanted that path.

But, look..I found this little self seeded strawberry plant in there. I have it here at home now in a little pot out in the back garden :)

There are beautiful blossoms on the apples and plum trees, I love me a pretty blossom. In the same bed, the new rhubarb crowns are settling in nicely and maybe next year we can harvest a couple of stalks.

Elsewhere on the plot, the beetroot has started to bolt magnificently so I lifted a good few for consumption and the leeks continue to get fatter and stronger (we lifted a few of those too - yummy).

Apart from that we have broad beans and garlic here at the house looking good in their seed trays and hopefully soon to be planted. Plus new baby leeks, kale, peas and spring onions are hopefully germinating and will soon poke their leaves through.

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I have a feeling we are going to have a good season at the plot and the allotments in general have a happier air about them with abandoned plots being taken over by new excited people and more evidence of everyone getting suck in :)

Hugs and love
Carrie x