Page 28 - ALG Issue 4 2017

General
On the Kings Plot from June to early September 2017
Well the weather on my plot during June, July and August was a mixture of warm sunny days, including some that were very hot and a mixture of light and sometimes heavy thundery showers from time to time. I would sum it up as good growing weather and certainly my crops have looked superb this year.
At the end of June and early July the runner beans didn’t like the warm days and nights for successive days as this causes stress and when this happens the owers drop rather than set beans. Keeping the plants cool in the evening with plenty of water is the answer but not easy on an allotment where you can only use a watering can, so on a 6 meter row I was carrying 8-10 gallons of water per night on a double row.
The secret of a good allotment is keeping the ground full; I nd
a full plot is easier to keep clean than one that is half empty. So as early crops were harvested and spaces became vacant through June, July and August I lled them up with lettuce, radish and dwarf french beans. Peas that were in a net cover were pulled
up after cropping very well and the net space was used again for winter greens: sprouting broccoli, Savoy Cabbage, kale and winter cauli owers. So remember when placing your seed orders this year that a full plot is a productive plot.
When the plot is very productive, harvesting takes up a lot of time each week, but it is amazing how many friends & family become available to help you out with any surplus produce. This year I have been picking courgettes, runner beans, French beans and salad crops by the bucket full.
In late August I started picking my sweetcorn, probably the best vegetable you can harvest and eat straight from the plot when fresh and juicy, bearing no comparison to the dried up, tasteless shop-
bought corn that is available. This year I grew sweetcorn Earlibird F1 and Goldcrest F1 as this will give me a longer harvest period and these have been delicious raw or cooked for two minutes per cob in the microwave.
One of the real successes this year has been my beds of
cut owers. These have created a colourful display and a lot of favourable comments from fellow plotholders. This year I grew Spray Chrysanthemums from my own cuttings, then from seed I grew Aster Duchess Mixed, Zinnia Dahlia owered and Statice Art Shades mixed. These have all made some colourful bunches in the home. Growing next to these I have had a superb crop of outdoor tomatoes, especially Mountain Magic with a heavy crop of tasty red fruits. These once again have not had any sign of blight, making this variety a must for all plotholders.
Every year on our allotment site at Capel St Mary we have a best kept allotment competition. This is judged at the end of May, end
of June and again the end of July. We are not told what day the judges will arrive so plots should be kept clean at all times. WELL THE RESULTS ARE IN; and this year I am delighted to announce
my plot won the best kept allotment, which makes all the hard work worthwhile. I scored 294 points, with my nearest competitors scoring 288 and 286 so it was a very close competition. I also won the best kept polytunnel plot, the rst time anyone has won both in the same year. I must say my tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers within the polytunnel plot have been outstanding this year, especially tomato Shirley, Cucumber Carmen and Chilli pepper Hungarian Black.
This year on the 2nd and 3rd September the Capel St Mary Allotment Association held its annual show. Once again the standard of exhibits at the show was very high and had over 600 entries,
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