Feedback

I have received some kind words of encouragement (see comments on previous blog post) from fellow allotmenteers/bloggers this week and a Blog Award too from Jo at the Good Life Blog. Thank you Jo. Jo at Good life and Damo at Two Chances Veg Plot Blog have some good quality advice on their blogs and I'll be a regular visitor to both sites as I continue in my quest for allotment knowledge. The Idiot Gardener's Blog is just hilarious and makes compelling reading and his advice about the vodka is the best I've received to date. Check out all three sites on the links below:-

http://jo-thegoodlife.blogspot.com/2010/02/planting-potatoes.html

http://theidiotgardener.blogspot.com/

http://www.twochancesvegplot.co.uk/

Sack o' Spuds

There was a sack of seed potatoes from Kings Seeds waiting for me when I got home from work tonight.

I had missed the catalogue deadline for ordering seed potatoes and was forewarned to expect some substitutes in place of my chosen varieties but as it happens they have delivered everything I asked for; 3kg of each of the following:-

First earlies - Duke of York
Second earlies - Estima
Early maincrop - King Edward
Late maincrop - Golden Wonder.

I now need store them in a cool airy frost-free place and read-up on planting times and chitting theories and work out what to do with them for best results.

The only things outstanding from the Kings seed order now are the 12 asparagus crowns and 3 rhubarb crowns which will be coming in March. I did pick up a couple of asparagus crowns and rhubarbs in Morrisons a couple of weeks ago. Couldn't resist at £1 a go. I also got some onion sets at same price; 40 red onions and 40 yellow. Still need to order the grapevines.

I popped into Wilkinson at lunchtime today. They had a few allotment related bargains and I came away with a fleece tunnel, an armful of 8ft canes for the runner beans and french beans and some 10 inch clear plastic bell-shaped cloches with pegs . Saved myself about £20 on what it would have cost at the local garden centre. Would have saved a bit more if I'd waited and bought my propagators from there instead of from the garden centre this weekend.

I will go back to Wilkinson when I have made a list of things I'm likely to need on the plot this year. Things that spring to mind at the moment are a watering can, netting to keep birds, butterflies and slugs off the fruit and veg, gardening gloves and some fertiliser.

Activity on other plots

After setting a few chilli pepper seeds off in the propagator this afternoon I went out for a stroll. Naturally this took me to the allotments. No sign of the topsoil and raised beds yet but there was some activity taking place on a couple of the plots. Nick (Plot 15) was glazing his new greenhouse, Chris and family (Plots 13 & 14) were laying a paved base for a shed and Rick's 14 tonnes of farmyard manure was simmering away gently on Plot 11.

Propagation

Today I have started to propagate my first batch of seeds. I have sown french beans, spring onions, maincrop onions, dianthus and marigolds into a couple of propagators in the spare bedroom. Fern has also sown some strawberry seeds. I have also put a batch of onion seeds in the coldframe outside and will compare their progress with the onions in the propagator.

The dianthus and marigolds are intended to be used as "companion planting". The idea is, I think, that if I plant them in my veg beds they will repel insect pests. Either that or they will attract the pests to their flowers and in doing so keep the pests off my crops. Or are they supposed to attract the good insects? I'm not sure. If the theory doesn't work at least the flowers will add a bit of colour to the plot.