In association with OUT OF DOORS
POLITICS
The Voice of The Allotment with Barry Cuff It’s been a busy month - here’s how June worked out for us on the allotment (all our vegetables are grown from seed in plug trays, modules and small pots): May 30th - Plant out 48 Swift sweetcorn in a block. Plant out a block of lettuce. June 1st - Plant against canes about 40 Moonlight runner beans. These are a white flowered variety which are less attractive to Sparrows. Weeding and watering. Sow into plug trays Cardinal broccoli. Now harvesting lettuce as required. June 2nd - Plant out about 30 Safari dwarf French beans. Weeding and watering. Put straw under strawberries and then covered with a net to protect from Blackbirds. June 4th - Plant out 10 Vert Petit
de Paris gherkins. Dug first new potatoes (Foremost). June 6th - Patched fourth line of Hurst Green Shaft peas with seedlings from plug tray. These were to replace those damaged by the Weevil before they emerged. June 9th - Sow Witloof chicory, coriander, carrot and beetroot. Pick first sweet peas. June 11th - Plant out 3 courgettes and 8 Winter squashes including 2 Crown Prince. Plant out 4 cucumbers against wire to give them support as they climb. Harvested Garlic (planted in November).Quite a poor yield this year. June 13th - Picked first strawberries. A few were slug damaged. Planted a line of Cendis cauliflower. This is the variety that produced some very large curds last year, the largest
weighed in at 3.7 Kg. Planted part line of Early Purple Sprouting Broccoli. June 14th - Gave potatoes 20 litres of water per line. June 15th - Sow lettuce in a module (repeated each month for a succession of plants). Sow in plugs Medallion Spring cauliflower and Traviata savoy cabbage. June 18th - Some welcome rain. Weeding in the rain. June 19th - Patched beetroot and carrot rows. Picked first broad beans. June 20th - Plant out Cheesy and Violetta di Sicillia cauliflower. Plant out a block of Greensleeves celery. Dug more first early potatoes. June 21st - RAIN! June 22nd - Plant out Ironman calabrese and Natalino Romanesco.
Barry’s allotment in Sturminster Newtin, under a typically stormy May sky. The net cloches are to protect the newly-planted out Red and white cabbages and Brendan brussels sprouts from pigeon damage.
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