Allotmenticity - Wednesday 20th June

Just a quick addendum to yesterdays blog. As it was such a nice day I thought I'd nip down and grab a photo of the new nets kindly provided by Nursevon. As you can see they look very tasty. I also wanted to update the view from Compost Corner over the plot. It's amazing the difference from the first photo taken 4 months ago!
And finally I've managed to capture the Kestrel who pays his daily visit. He gave me half a chance by hovering nearby.
I used some of the Nettle Stew to spray on the Brassicas. PHEW!!! That stuff stinks, but hopefully all the pests will think the same and stay away.
OK that's all for now folks, off for a snifter.
The Captain.

Allotmenticity - Tuesday 19th June

Don't speak too loud but it's stopped raining! What with Father's Day and the recent deluges of biblical proportions it's been rather difficult to get down to No87 but finally I've managed a couple of hours. Boy do those weeds love a drop of rain! Also the peas have come alive and I've just picked a good lot for a couple of lunches, along with 1 new potato plant as you can see in the orange bucket. I'm going to have to be more careful with the fork as somehow you always manage to spear a couple of the precious ones!
The rest of the spud crop has really shot up now with the recent rain and the brassicas seem to have settled in now. There's a bit of pest damage but thankfully mostly on the end of the rows. Father's Day brought a sprayer so I've given the lads a good soaking of B&Q "Death to Bugs" which will hopefully help. I'm going to try the Nettle Brew I've made as well so all you Organicheads out there calm down. The turnips are really ready now as can be seen and I'm thinning the carrots. The one failure has been the onion sets which caught something that curled the leaves and really stunted their growth, so I've boldly ripped them all out and used the bed for some Tarragon seeds, more carrots and I'm looking for Spring Cabbage. The Raspberries and Strawberries are great and I've had a couple of punnets worth which considering they were abandoned twigs when I started is pretty good. tasty too!
Big congratulations to Mike & Anna on the new Cox, Rebecca Shelley. Looks like a headache on the way wetting her head!
Thanks to Nursevon ( The nets are Brill. Photo to follow!) and The Frog Princess for the comments it's great to know someone out there appreciates my waffle.
Also thanks to M&S for there kind remarks about my use of their bags.
A voucher might have been nice!!!
And sad to hear of the death of Bernard Manning. Although he was not liked by some people, I can only say that I worked with Bernard many times and found him one of the most kind & generous guys you could meet. These people who spend their life whingeing on about Political Correctness should remember this country was built on a sense of humour and God help us if we ever lose it!!!
Moan over!
Curry night calls,
Until next time,
The Captain.

Allotmenticity - Sunday 10th June

A great day today, Lewis Hamilton has won his first Formula 1 Grand Prix. Watching him do it meant I didn't get down to No 87 until gone 8pm, but what a lovely evening. Warm and still, with the Kestrel out hovering nearby. I'm going to get a photo of him soon.
I've finished the path onto the plot, with a few extra bricks from an old derelict shed. It's a bit better to get on now instead of wading through knee deep grass. I need to clear the rest of the top next, including the old shed.
The first of the fruit has suddenly arrived with Strawberries and Raspberries all starting to ripen, peas are starting to form and it will soon be time to try the first of the early spuds. Mr C, The Spudman, is anxiously waiting!
I'm trying an idea with nettles I read on a website. I've filled an old water tank from a loft I found with water, and immersed a bag full of nettles in it. I made a load of holes in the bag first so it would sink! Evidently it's a really good liquid organic plant food you can water on. Also it can be used as a spray for all sorts of bugs. One thing I do know, it don't half stink!!!!! I have to get spraying my cabbages though as something is finding them rather tasty.
Finally a word from Captain Tongo's Soapbox.
I wish that broadcasters would learn how to use the English Language. It drives me mad when certain presenters constantly use the word "Now" to start a sentence introducing a new item. On occasion I've even heard it used twice in the first few words, " Now we're going over now to the weather". Come on "Auntie" you should be setting an example!
Moan over, I'm off to watch a replay of Lewis. Good Lad!
Speak soon,
The Captain.

Allotmenticity - Sunday 3rd June

Well compared to Friday, yesterday was fabulous. Almost too warm to try any hard work down on No87. I was in the shed when the storm landed. My God I thought I'd been hit. There was an almighty bang and everything in the shed jumped, including me!!! And the rain....
I'm doing my thing for the environment by recycling old plastic shopping bags and using them as bird scarers over the brassicas. Mind you not just ANY old bags, but M&S bags. Sliced lenghtways into 4 and then tied onto twine stretched over my bent bamboo supports. I'm going to send a link to their customer services department. Are you watching Mr Rose?
I do like a bit of order.
The compost bins finally arrived from the council and have been put into action. The heat generated is amazing and the first one is nearly full. But then the next time you open it it's gone down. I'm using a mix of lawn mowings, weeds, home compost and grass with help from Garotta. (Sounds like a Brazilian footballer!!)
As you can see in the photo I've made serious inroads into "Compost Corner" lately, but I'm going to start afresh with the stacked up stuff I've taken off the plot previously and stored in the bins in front of the shed.
Flowers on the peas!!! They're doing really well. I've transplanted most of the Pak Choi. The seeds germinate SO fast you can hear them growing! (A bit like the Chinese economy!)
I've upped the production of my copper bracelets as the slugs are very lively at the moment. They seem to be working, but only time will tell.
We had some frost the other morning, but fortunately I escaped with only a handful of spuds affected. A couple of other sites had big problems. It seems to be all down to pockets of air and sheltered beds.
Welcome to a new member of the work force. Bethling bought me a funky fork for my birthday and it's been called into action immediately. I've also got a new Hoe, called Chi Min. I picked up a packet of Sulphate of Ammonia and have given the cabbages and brocolli a good feed, hoeing it in around the roots. The club root is still a worry , but they seem to be doing well so far so fingers crossed.
My next project is to get a useable path onto the plot which involves digging up a load of rubble and relaying bricks. It'll make it much more civilised so it's navvy time.
I'm also awaiting a delivery of some quality manure courtesy of "Johnny Plier-Hands". It's from a local stud farm, so that should give everything a boost for next year. (Wonder if it's got some Frankie Dettori in it!!! 15th time lucky, good on ya!)
I'm happy to say Nurse Von is finally moved and hopefully sorted, Tongo Jnr had a good day the other week and things are finally getting back to normal. We've a Big Band night on the 14th so things are gearing up for that. Where do I find the time?
Well that's it for now,
Happy Allotmenteering,
The Captain