I’ve just realised I haven’t sat down to write a blog since the end of April… That was a whole 3 months ago! Time really has flown and I can’t quite believe that we’re halfway through July already, I originally thought lockdown was going to give us a little more spare time so I could focus on the blog and the videos but boy was I wrong! We’ve been so busy with work that we’ve had very little time to do much else, and the time we have managed to have off we’ve been enjoying delving into other hobbies and spending quality time together.
So much has changed on the allotment front, everything has suddenly burst into life and the harvests are starting to come thick and fast. The weather has been kind to us too, we’ve had plenty of sunshine and a good sprinkling of rain here and there to keep everyone happy, including the weeds! So far we’ve been managing to keep on top of them but the plot is calling for a day (or two) of weeding now, if I’m honest I’m actually quite looking forward to it, there’s something so therapeutic about it.
The courgette glut of 2020 has officially started with the prolific ‘Romanesco’ courgette, so far we must have harvested around 12 from this one plant but now the yellow ‘Sunstripe’ has started to contribute with the other 3 plants yet to produce anything (which in a way is good!) We also dug up a few of the ‘Charlotte’ potatoes last week and even though they are perfect and delicious, the crop isn’t huge which we have put down to the dry Spring we had and the lack of nutrients which we never added to the soil earlier in the year.
The cut flowers have also been growing beautifully and so far the Ammi Majus and Sweet Peas have taken centre stage. Everytime I visit the allotment I come home with a handful and it makes me so happy! Now the Gladioli are starting to put on a show and I can’t tell you how excited I am about to see them, I was so torn whether to pick them or not because I didn’t want to ruin the display but I’ll be heading there later today to harvest a few stems. The multi-head sunflowers, cosmos and Zinnias are also starting to bud and have produced one or two blooms so far. Even though I adore the sweet peas, I really can’t wait until I can head to the plot to pick more then just sweet peas and Ammi Majus though!
The queen of the allotment so far though has to be the Calendula and I can say, hand on heart, that it has become my favourite thing to grow on the allotment. This is the first year I’ve been able to grow such a huge crop of it and the decision to line the front of the middle pathway with it was the best decision yet! I can’t help but smile when I see those bright orange blooms and they are so abundant right now, so far I’ve taken two cuttings from them and they keep on giving. My plan is to dry the flowers to make into infused oil which will hopefully be used to make salves and balms with, that’s the dream anyway!
I take that back, growing Calendula wasn’t the best decision of the year. Our best decision? to join forces and share one plot! So far it’s worked out so well and both the plot and our mental health is thriving. We work together pretty well and share all the jobs equally, no fights have broken out and we’ve even found time to just sit and enjoy the space we’ve both created together. It will be quite interesting to see how well it thrives out of lockdown, when the garden show season is up and running and we’re back to working away from home every weekend. But right now we’re both so very happy with how it’s all looking, our hard work is starting to pay off and we are over the moon!
