THIS WEEKS SHOWS
SATURDAY
Levenshulme Allotments Society Show
Highfields Rd, Levenshulme
2.00pm to 5.00pm
SUNDAY
Ackroyd Ave.Society Show
Ackroyd Ave.Openshaw
2.00pm to 5.00pm

Brighton Grove Garden Society Show
Birchfields Community Centre
Brighton Grove, Platt Fields
2.00pm to 4.30pm

Ivygreen Allotment Society Show
Ivygreen Rd, Chorlton
2.00pm to 4.30pm

Please try to attend one of these shows and support the Society.

Well it is now Thursday and I have only just got round to thinking about this weeks article, the Bank Holiday weekend, two shows and a working Sunday meant that the time has flown. The work on the plot must go on even so, picking and watering despite the other distractions.
The weeds keep growing, I haven’t done much about them, the crops are always producing more to pick so I just carry on.

The asparagus has produced a good solid bed of fern type fronds and should be building up a good root system for next years crop. I have Brussels sprouts ready for picking, indeed I have already picked some, but I still think it’s early.

The climbing beans are going mad at the moment and need picking every day to stop them going coarse and stringy. The squash are running everywhere, even where I don’t want them. They say that the three sisters, corn,climbing beans and squash should be grown together to help each other. As you can see I only have two growing together, if the beans were there as well how do you pick them with walking all over the squash?

The potatoes are still coming out of the ground a good size and with very little blight damage, so I’m happy. Red cabbage always look good and stand well for a long time and should be more popular.

As it’s so late in the weekI will shorten the rest of the article and summarise the weeks work and crops.

WORK DONE THIS WEEK
Every day so far I have just managed to pick and water with a little weeding

CROPS PICKED THIS WEEK
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Sweetcorn
Calabrese
Climbing beans, french and runner
Dwarf beans
Courgettes
Chillies
Peppers
Radish
Lettuce
Apples

Crumpsall and Cheetham do things differently from other shows, they use the land and facilities on site to have attractions other than just the vegetable and flower show. The grass areas at the side of the car park are used for childrens rides, stalls and a beer tent!

The Societies greenhouse is used as a shop to sell plants to the public and the small hall houses a canteen for drinks and snacks while there is a barbeque outside.

The Memorial hall houses the show and the large hall is full of tables laden with exhibits, all competing for a large number of trophies.

The entries in both the flower and vegetable classes were all of a high standard, although some of the classes had few or no entries due, no doubt, to the poor weather this summer.

The best in show was a collection of vegetables, entered by C Weekes, and was displayed on the table and a backboard.

This is a popular show with the local residents supporting the society well, by turning up in large numbers to enjoy the entertainment and show.

This year’s show was held on 25th and 26th of August in Collier Hall. The displays of Flowers, Vegetables and Crafts were of a high standard, but the weather had reduced the numbers of entries in the first two sections.

There were a good number of flower arrangements and the ‘Best in Show’ was one of these arrangements.

The vegetable classes produced some good collections of three vegetables and a good leek class. The onion and shallot classses were well supported too.

THIS WEEKS SHOW
Gorton Horticultural Society
Collier House, Wellington St, Gorton
Saturday 2.00 to 5.00 pm
Sunday 12.00 to 4.30 pm

It always seems to catch me out in August, I think that there is plenty of time to pick the produce and water the tunnels and the outdoor crops and still manage to carry on doing the other jobs that I want to get on with. The time just seems to disappear, it takes so long to go through a row of beans( I have two rows of climbing beans and a bed of dwarf beans) picking the beans that are ready.

Then there are the potatoes to dig and tomatoes to pick plus the cucumber, courgettes…… It really is a good time. The only snag is, those little things called weeds, they just love growing and making the place untidy!

The tomatoes have recovered from the blight attack, and are putting on lots of new growth and new trusses, so we should get a reasonable amount of fruit off them. I will have to stop them soon as they have now reached the tunnel roof. The sweetcorn in the tunnel now only has some secondary cobs on them, we might be lucky with them, and the outside blocks are catching up and will soon be ready for picking.

The weeds are doing very well at the moment, every time that I look around the plot there are more growing, so when I have finished picking it is time to pull a lot more out.

The onions are all in the tunnel finishing drying off, most of them were alright but some were not as firm as they should have been - we’ll see what happens. This weather is suiting the leeks which are growing well and standing up.

Some of the root crops sown earlier this summer! are now picking up and look as if they might give me a crop. I have sown a lot of carrots in tunnel 1 to make up for the poor germination in the carrrot bed.

JOBS FOR THE WEEK

1. Weed
2. Prepare base for shed
3. Plant up rest of tunnel

WORK DONE THIS WEEK

Sunday

Water

Pick

Dig potatoes

Side shoot tomatoes and cucumbers

Weed

Monday

Pick

Weed

Water

Tuesday

Pick

Water

Wednesday

Pick

Water

Thursday

Water

Pick

CROPS PICKED THIS WEEK

Potatoes

Tomatoes

Cucumbers

Peppers

Chillies

Aubergines

Grapes

Courgettes

Swetcorn

Lettuce

Cauliflowers

Calabrese

Beans runners and french

Cabbage

Radish

Southport flower show is the biggest independant hoticutural in the country, and it is right here on our doorstep. The NW Counties of the National Society as usual put on a stand, with a good deal of help from AMAS.

It is a similar type of show to Tatton, with professional gardens, stands and a competitive vegetable and flower show.

The professional stands are, as always, a magnificent sight and the work that goes into them is unbelievable, but the finished effect says it all.

How would you like to pick all these tomatoes, let alone set them all up in a picture!

Here are a few pictures of the competition entries.

If you haven’t been to see Southport show I can recommend a visit it is a good day out and shows you what can be grown.