Allotment Surprise

After a few weeks absence, I ventured to the allotment today and was I in for a real shock when I got there.  In my last post it had looked like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These photographs were taken back towards the end of April and I did visit in May and things had grown  a bit more, particularly the potatoes which aren't yet visible here.  But imagine my shock when on this visit the allotment looked like this.

 

 

 

 

It was like The Day of the Triffids, but in a good way.

 

 

I only had a couple of hours to spare as I needed to take my daughter to the doctor's straight from school for her second MMR jab, so I didn't really know where to start.

 

In the end I started by weeding a little, taking out the most obvious weeds and ones in danger of seeding themselves any time soon.  Then I cut the flowers off the horseradish which is huge and is a bit of a menace as it is so invasive.  I didn't want to get into trouble if it starts seeding itself everywhere on other people's plots.

 

I also thinned out the rhubarb by harvesting a colossal amount.  It was covering the strawberries which were desperate to get a bit of sunshine and it was starting to hang over onto next door's plot too.

 

Unfortunately, there were a few casualties.  The carrots had succumbed to carrot root fly and had to be pulled up.  I salvaged 3 which looked okay but were a bit forked.  They will still get eaten though. The radish had started flowering and had largely gone woody so they had to come out.  Some had grown to a reasonable size so I could harvest them.  The others I had to compost.  I harvested a few spring onions too and a couple of lovely frilly lettuces which are now enormous and plentiful too.  I don't have room in my fridge to pull up more at the moment.

 

Here's a picture of the full harvest this visit.

 

 

 

 

In addition, the chives were in full flower and looked beautiful with bees buzzing around them.  The broad beans were nearly as tall as me, but no sign yet of any beans on them and the artichokes were just starting to produce their lovely heads.  A promise of what is yet to come.

 

 

 

I planted out some beans up canes whilst there and a couple of tomato plants as my corner plot is a real sun trap.  I watered them in and then had to go, so I didn't have time to take any more photos, but I think I might have to go back again this week as there's lots more work to do.