Worthing and District Allotments and Gardens Association

Sunday, 28th June

What a smashing weekend! OK, yesterday morning wasn't all that special, doing the weekly grocery shopping but the weather was lovely again and just right for picking loads of strawberries, loganberries, French beans, raspberries and red currants. Won't be long before we're picking the gooseberries either. Of course not all that was from my allotment but you go down to the plot, you get chatting to people and before long they're offering you all sorts of things. In exchange some of my raspberries have probably gone this afternoon. That's what's so good about allotmenting, isn't it, the camaraderie and sharing - which reminds me - it's Pub Night again this Tuesday coming.

In the afternoon Mrs N and I went along to the Worthing Horticultural Society's Summer Show. It was so hot and sunny the first thing I did was head for the refreshment stall for a cup of tea and a piece of cake hewn by Les. I'm sure you should get more than 4 pieces from one gateau but I'm not complaining! The Mayor was there having a cuppa with his wife and the Youth Mayor but they all moved away when I sat there. Then I had a look in the children's tent and the results of the potato growing competition; my wife was thrilled that their pre-school achieved a Highly Commended.

There were some very familiar names on the winners' cards (Arthur Burt, Peter Webb, etc) but several I did not recognize this year so let's hope they carry on.

Today I was back on the plot doing battle with the grass paths and sneezing like mad. I haven't had hay fever for years so it must be very bad this year. Didn't affect me this evening though when we went for a walk on the seafront in the late sunshine. It does you good to remind yourself sometimes how lucky you are to live by the sea.

Thursday, 25th June

Today, I have been squidging blackfly, on my runner beans. Seems it's a good year for blackfly but not if they come near my patch. The beans don't seem to be putting on the growth they should and they can do without the life being sucked out of them by these little beasties. And I give them a sporting chance - I could just blast them with the insecticide but I don't like relying too much on chemicals so I just run my finger and thumb up the beans and if they seem me coming and are quick enough to get out of the way, they live to die another day. I probably miss several anyway but catching those I do gives me great satisfaction. In this dry weather especially the beans need all the help they can get so most of the rest of my time has been spent watering.

On the pleasanter side, the raspberries are now coming thick and fast and I am also enjoying picking and eating my friend's strawberries for him while he is away on holiday. This coming Saturday I shall enjoy going to the Worthing Horticultural Society's Summer Show on Broadwater Green. As well as the excellent flowers on display I shall have to take in the tea and cake stall just to make sure they are maintaining standards and I shall be interested to see how the children got on in the potato growing competition. The Association will also be giving out free French marigolds to children for them to grow on for our September show. So go on, give yourself a treat and go. If you spot me there I might even treat you to a cup of tea so long as you say, "I know you; you're Ned Gardner."

Monday, 22nd June

The fine, dry weather continues and persuaded me at last to put out some courgettes in the garden at home today. They should be OK with the elements now but it's the little critters I worry about and this weather has brought some of them out in very large numbers, specially blackfly. I never realised they were so partial to artichokes but practically every plant I walked past today on the allotment was smothered in them. Several beans also had a fair covering. But it's not just the vegetarian bugs you have to watch out for; a little while back something bit/stung me on the back of the hand. At first there was just a couple of red spots and an itch, then a slight bump but after a few days my hand was so swollen that you couldn't even tell where my knuckles were meant to be. After about a week the swelling went down and all you can see now is the mark where I scratched it. Well, it did itch! Then today I was stung by a bumble bee while mowing the lawn. There I was, minding my own business, when I felt a sharp little prick on the back of my ankle. Now I know our lawn's no bowling green but I was pretty sure it had no nettles in it so I looked down and there he was still having a go. I flicked him off and away he flew. Two misconceptions smashed at once: 1. bumble bees don't sting & 2. When a bee stings you it leaves its sting behind and dies. Well, obviously bumble bees do stings and don't die. Apparently they have a smooth sting like a wasp which they can safely withdraw and use again. Nice! And he kept coming back and attacking my lawnmower even when I moved to different parts of the lawn, never flying above 6" above the ground so I'm afraid I kicked him away on several occasions. What had I done to annoy him? I was glad to finish and escape indoors. I bet he's waiting for me when I go out again!

Friday, 19th June

Yet another fine day here in Sunny Worthing, most of which I spent in the garden. I had thought of entering the front garden in the Best Front Garden competition but much of it is lawn and this "lovely" weather has not been too kind to it - just too little rain so it is not looking an attractive shade of green. We're on a meter so I'm definitely not watering it. For the same reason I am unable to wash the car very often. Shame!

So what have I been doing in the garden? Mostly planting out flowers I raised from seed and which are now fully hardened off, trays of nicotiana mainly and some more bidens aurea which has gone into baskets and containers. All my tomatoes are now staked in the greenhouse but I have yet to plant out the outdoor ones. They're hardened off but I'm just so afraid the slugs will make short work of them and I don't like using the pellets. At the moment they're in pots raised quite high off the ground.

I've also planted some more nicotiana on the allotment this week to encourage the bees especially to the runner beans although neither are yet in flower. It has to be said, the nicotiana are looking better than the beans, a couple of which have passed on to the great allotment in the sky. I suppose most things on the allotment are suffering a bit from the dryness,especially the strawberries even though I do water them from time to time. I don't think the fleece was a good idea either - bees can't get in to pollinate, weeds love it under there, poor air circulation and stawberries going all limp on me. On the other hand I think it's working well on the cabbages and compared to those on neighbouring allotments mine have not been attacked by the gobbling pigeons.

I suppose the job to get on with at the moment (apart from watering) is hoeing as the weeds don't spring back to life in this weather once you've sliced through them. They just wither and die. This week I'm looking after someone's well stocked greenhouse while they're on holiday so let's hope none of their plants do the same!

Monday, 15th June

Well, yes, I have to admit, I've been skiving again. A few days in Norfolk this time meeting up with old friends, eating, drinking and general merry making and reminiscing of course - "I remember when .......", although some of us now have trouble remembering yesterday. As it was Norfolk there was a bit of a boat ride as well and we spotted a few birds I'd never seen before: marsh harrier, crested grebe (on a nest), white throat and a few others I've forgotten already. The nearest I came to anything horticultural was admiring our hosts' garden and it did deserve admiring. Certainly puts mine to shame when you consider I've been living here for getting on 30 years.

Down to earth with a bump today, catching up on the allotment. I've been hand-weeding strawberries, beans, carrots and onions as well as a bit of hoeing in less dangerous areas. This meant removing the fleece and so far it appears to be keeping the beasties at bay effectively although the weeds love it under there too. While the fleece was off I did a bit of watering too; a neighbour did tell me there's been some rain while we were away (none in Norfolk, wall to wall sunshine) but there wasn't much evidence of it on my plot. It was nice to pick a few strawberries too but the rhubarb looks a bit sorry for itself now, rather limp. The home garden looked fine as it had been well looked after by a neighbour. Time to start planning my next break now - must get my ticket request in to Ken for the trip to Wisley on 8th August (see Plotholder).

Thursday, 11th June

Went for a nice little walk yesterday along Ferring rife to see the orchids, irises and bullrushes. It wasn't the sunniest of days but it kept fine which is the main thing. If you want to go and see the orchids I should go in the next couple of weeks or they will have disappeared for another year. There are many Worthing residents completely ignorant of their existence. One of our group yesterday was an 80-year old who's lived in Worthing all her life and she'd never seen them. Amazing how we take for granted such little marvels on our own doorstep, isn't it?
The garden and the allotment have appreciated the recent rain but it's going to take more, I think, for the lawn to green up properly. The purple carrots I'd given up on are now up and the cabbages seem to be doing OK under their protective fleece. Mixed blessing that fleece in some ways as the weeds love it under there too and when you want to get at the weeds or pick the strawberries you have to take the fleece off then put it back again BUT it does keep out the butterflies and birds. I shall soon extend it to the carrots to keep the dreaded carrot fly at bay - if I'm not too late.
Lots of gardening openings and fetes and things at this time of year. Pop along to Ambrose Place on Sunday which opens its gardens to the public one day a year. As well as seeing BBC Sussex's Jean Griffin from the Sunday morning "Dig It" programme you might also espy our MP, Peter Bottomley, and his wife, the lovely Virginia as they have a house and garden there in the scheme. They're probably keen gardeners as they're members of our Association, believe it or not. It's also the Findon Flower Festival this weekend so if you're not too busy on the plot or in the garden get out there and see what others have been doing.

Sunday, 7th June

I had to go to our Stores/Shop today to buy some more canes. How is it that the canes we save from year to year seem to grow shorter? I'd already used the longest to support my runner beans and those I had left weren't even long enough to support my tomatoes so I had to fork out and buy some new ones. They're 6' long. Now I don't expect my tomatoes to grow 6' tall but this way perhaps the canes will last a few years.
While I was there I also picked up a 2009 show schedule. Now I know the show is not until the 5th September but it helps to know what the categories are well in advance. I'm not very competitive myself so I shan't change what I'm growing but Mrs N likes to look at the cookery section so she can have several practice runs before the real thing. I'm all in favour of that; I really enjoy testing the results of the practice runs.
Down on the plot recently I have been uplifted by the number of people who have reacted to my groaning and moaning about poor germination with my runner beans and squash. So far fellow allotmenteers have donated about half a dozen runner bean plants and a few squash. Doesn't it warm your cockles? And all I have to offer in return is a few courgette plants and some stunted tomatoes. I've also had an offer of climbing French beans which I haven't taken up yet but might depending on my runners. This is what allotmenting is all about, isn't it?

Wednesday, 3rd June

Our blue tits have gone. All fledged and flown the nest(box), probably straight down the throat of one of the thousands of marauding neighbourhood cats. The mortality rate of birds in their first year is very high and the youngest are particularly vulnerable. On a more cheerful note, I've seen quite a few bees around lately after I'd been worried they'd all been wiped out be some nasty virus. Bit late for my apples though; looks as though we'll have very few if any this year.
Today I've been planting my runner beans and it was lovely and sunny on the allotment. In fact these last few days have been a treat, haven't they? Unfortunately the beans themselves haven't been such a treat: I bought some new seed this year and less than half of them germinated so I'll have to have another go. Obviously they were all treated the same so it's a bit of a mystery. A neighbouring allotmenteer complained about his too. Has anyone else had similar problems this year? I've also been planting out my cabbages and covering them up and more have germinated at home along with broccoli and lettuce. My next job will be to stake my tomato plants before they all fall over.
In the flower garden I've been potting up a load of trailing pelargoniums (geraniums, if you like) and making up more hanging baskets. In the big one I'm using magenta surfinia petunias and bright yellow trailing bidens I grew from seed. I love these subtle pastel shades, don't you?