Continuing with the description of my plot I will carry on down the beds. Bed numbers 3 and 4 are seperated from beds I and 2 by flower beds to add all year round colour and interest, plus they also attract many insects which are beneficial.

Bed 3 contains polytunnel number 2 together with a permenant bed of strawberries for half the length and this year a bed of garlic.

Bed 4 is going to be the onion and leek bed this year with probably a block of sweet corn leaving room for other crops.
At the top end of bed 4 are two stepover apple trees which have been planted for three years and nearly stretched the width of the bed. These are matched by two stepover pears at the end of bed 2, these were only planted last year and so have room for growth.

JOBS FOR THE WEEK
1 Erect frame for brassicas. – Done
2 Plant out hardened off brassicas.- Done
3 Sow more successional salad crops.-Done
4 Transplant seedlings as needed. – Some
5 Continue digging legume bed.
6 Dig out and compost remaining leeks which have started bolting.-Done

WORK DONE
Sunday
Transplant several brassicas from modules into small pots.
Transplant brassicas and lettuce from trays to modules.
Erect brassica frame.
Earth up potatoes to protect young growth.
Move trays of large pots into cold frame to harden off.
Yes water again.
Plant out lettuce from cold frame.
Sow winter cabbage, sprouting broccoli, lettuce,calabrese in seed trays.
Monday
Transplant two varieties of cauliflower into brassica frame and cover with netting.
Water.
Tuesday
Remove side shoots from grape vines and tie in leaders.
Start digging up leeks from leek bed, this hot weather has started them bolting.
Water tunnel and cold frame.
Water all crops in the ground plus apple and pear trees.
Wednesday
Finish clearing leek bed ready for digging.
Sow more rows of carrots in frame.
Water tunnel and frames.
Thursday
Earth up potatoes.
Water tunnel and frame.
Start digging the old leek bed.
Friday
Water.
Finish digging old leek bed.
Earth up potatoes.
Saturday
Earth up potatoes all but a handfull are now through .
Water
Manure the old leek bed dug this week.

CROPS PICKED
Asparagus
Rhubarb
Last of the leeks

FROM STORE
Potatoes
Onions
Tomatoes

Things are coming on at a fast pace now, this hot weather has made plants grow fast. My carrots are through and begining to show their first leaves and the potatoes are growing too.

I have erected the canes for the climbing beans and climbing peas, this year I have put landscaping fabric between the canes to stop weeds growing under the plants. I have also covered the beds in the new polytunnel to reduce the weed growth as this is the first year since it was cleaned from the wild.

I have planted my cucumbers in the new tunnel as they were getting a bit large for the pots, and for the same reason I have planted two of the courgettes outside. My tomato plants are in the polytunnel to get used to it before I plant them into the beds.

The brassica bed is filling up with plants and I have planted out some seedlings of mixed lettuce.

The old polytunnel is filling up nicely with plants sown in the beds, and the parsnips sown in tubes are showing a little growth.

My plot is split into 8 beds with flower/shrub borders between each bed. Bed 1 is 3/4 covered by polytunnel 1, at the side of which is a small area with 3 Rhubarb plants gowing to provide us with some early fruit.Then there is a bed of Comfrey which I use to make an excellent liquid fertiliser, the remainder of the side of the tunnel is an Asparagus bed now in its third year and providing some excellent spears.

On the other side of the central path is bed two, which this year is the root bed, and will grow my carrots, in a covered frame, the beetroot in a bed the width of the plot and in another similar bed a mixed group of other roots. I have already sown the parsnips and a few rows of beetroot together with a row of turnips and some spinach.

JOBS FOR THE WEEK
1 Erect frame for carrot bed – Done
2 Sow carrots in bed – Done
3 Transplant hardened off onion sets out – done
4 Prepare brassica bed and erect frame for protection
5 Sow more seeds and continue with successional sowings of salad crops
6 Earth up potatoes as they come through the ground. – In progress
7 Finish digging the onion/leek bed. – Done

WORK DONE THIS WEEK
Sunday
Transplant some lettuce seedlings into modules.
Transplant several types of brassicas from modules into small pots.
Soak all transplants in trays of water until they are well watered.
Erect carrot frame and rake out ready to sow seed.
Transplant onion sets out of modules into onion bed after raking and levelling the soil to provide a suitable bed.
Transfer cauliflowers, cabbage and lettuce from the polytunnel into the cold frame to harden off before planting out in the ground.
Last but not least water all seedlings in the tunnel, coldframe and the plants growing in the tunnel borders.
Monday
Sow seeds of autumn and winter cauliflowers and calabrese in seed trays in the tunnel.
Water tunnel crops and seeds/seedlings and water the coldframe.
Fill water butt in the tunnel.
Tuesday
Tie the new growth on one branch of the flame seedless grape in polytunnel 1.
Sow carrots in part of the carrot bed.
Water again – a non stop job this now for the rest of the summer.
Wednesday
Sow climbing peas in modules.
Weed Asparagus bed.
Spread manure onto side bed in tunnel 2.
Spread manure onto recently dug area on bed 8.
Water.
Thursday
Transplant seedlings into larger pots.
Water.
Friday
Finish digging onion bed.
Water.
Saturday
Transplant seedlings from modules to small pots.
Water.

CROPS PICKED THIS WEEK
Asparagus on a daily basis.
Leeks once or twice a week.
Purple sprouting broccoli once.
Rhubarb one picking of each variety.
Pick some spring cabbage.

FROM STORE
Potatoes
Beetroot
Onions

The Levenshulme and District site is to hold its second Volunteers’ Weekend, 28th & 29th April, with more work needed on the new recycling and waste area. Our first weekend attracted more than 20 plot holders to come together for the first time, clearing the over-grown space, sorting the waste and preparing the ground for recycling bins to be erected.

Click here to see some shots from the days.

There’s a huge amount to do on the site – with 208 plots it is the largest in the North West, and with so much previously uncultivated we are all excited at the prospect of more people to give it a more well-loved look!

**1** marks the spot for our recycling and waste centre!!

I must start this post with an appology for calling this series of articles abut the Sharpes cup winner, I was asked to write them but I did not check my information until last week when I discovered that the wrong cup name had been used, sorry.

Since the last post a lot of work has been done and many things have been growing.

I have done a bit of work in the fruit cage tidying up the ground cover and removing flower from the trees as this is the first year for most of the bushes.
The carrots have been sown in the carrot bed and covered with mesh to stop the carrot fly getting in.
I have transplanted some of my brassicas into the brassica bed.

The potatoes are now coming through and have been earthed up for the first time.
In the greenhouse the seedlings are coming on well and will soon be ready to transplant out after hardening off.