Blane Valley Allotments

Following on from the May report, September has brought abundance; our wall of sweetpeas disguises the French bean disaster which were eaten by mice and needed several replantings. Others have donated us their surplus. Tree fruits are coming on well and the communal apple cordons at the bottom gate are cropping well this year as are Plums.

The beetroot experiment worked well with clump planting being very successful allowing the picking of the biggest and leaving the rest to grow. Aronia berries were big and juicy where netted. There seemed to be strawberries on most plots and the jam makers are delighted with the blackcurrants. There was a glut of cauliflowers early on followed by broccoli. Potatoes and sweetcorn were OK and sprouts, kale and kalettes are coming along for later.

Squashes and courgettes have taken a while and but are starting to come. The runner beans were also slow but have really romped away and neighbours are delighted to get a bag of sliced beans to eat half and freeze the rest.

The cucumbers were lovely but early so there weren’t any for the Killearn show. Others from the Allotments and the village made a good contribution. Preparing the beds for the winter and next year means cutting the comfrey and using other mulching or growing to keep the soil alive using regenerative principles.

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