Last visit of 2006

December 30th was my final visit to the allotment of 2006. Once again I hadn't managed to get there for a few weeks, so one of the first jobs was to put the black plastic covers back in place since they'd again got blown about a bit. Since the remaining winter cabbages had died and rotted, I pulled them up, added them to the compost heap, and added some more black plastic covers to the area where they'd been. There is now a large area covered over on plot 21B (see above). Next to the covered area is the plastic polytunnel housing the Broad Beans. Inside that they are making good progress (see below), and have grown on a bit from my previous visit.


The Onions and Garlic continue to grow well and are looking very healthy. Hardly any no-shows. Also, the Shallots are finally starting to sprout after their very slow start. As you can see below, they are starting to shoot up through the netting which will need to come off them soon. To the left of them are the Onions.


I picked some more Leeks and the first Parsnips of the year - although they've been ready for picking for some weeks now we hadn't actually needed any since we still have some of last years in the freezer! It was definitely a bad year for Parsnips. I had all kinds of germination problems, and only ended up with 12 parsnips this year - and they're of a smaller size than previous years. So, Plot 21B currently has growing: Parsnips, Garlic, Broad Beans, Leeks, Onions, Shallots and the Brocoli plants that have nearly died off now. All other areas of that plot are now covered, but need digging and manuring.


Not much has changed on plot 34B, it is completely covered apart from the Raspberry patch and Asparagus bed. I started weeding the Asparagus bed during this trip, but it needs further attention still. This plot also needs the ground under the covers digging and manuring. Plenty to do in 2007.