Recent articles

Allium Leaf Miner
Allium leaf miner, which attacks the allium family,onions,leeks shallots and garlic has been present in this country for twenty years but did not ventured north beyond the Midlands but now this has all changed and it is now in our part of the world; Yorkshire.
Runner Beans
A versatile and worthwhile crop to grow producing pods in abundance, the surplus which can be frozen throughout the summer. In late summer as the pods become fibrous and stringy the beans can then be left to form seeds to be eaten fresh and others for harvesting usually around mid October when the pods start to turn brown. These are dried to be used during the winter, after being soaked over night to add to soups and stews. With,of course beans to be saved for sowing the following season.
Clearing up the site 14th June 2014
Some photographs from our site clearup day on Saturday 14th June 2014.
SQUARE FOOT GARDENING
For several years now I have involved my grandchildren in my allotment but as two live in Sheffield and two live in Newcastle this has not been easy. Nonetheless they have a few raised beds in their gardens. I have one 9 year old grandson living in Leeds who sometimes helps especially when the strawberries, raspberries and peas are ready for picking. This year I came across the concept of ‘square foot gardening’ by Mel Bartholomew and decided to try it out although I had to call it ’30 centimetre gardening’ so my grandchildren could understand the idea.
Recent sowings
Sowed Tomato,sweetcorn, courgettess, squash and sunflowers. All these placed on a windowsill to germinate.
Recent planting
Two beds of potatoes planted,Red Duke of York and Lady Chrystal. I am taking a chance because last year we had a heavy frost, on the 16th May and this cut back the growth resulting in the crop being later. I have now planted a bed of onion sets and spaced them six inches apart in staggered rows to try and minimise the threat of white rot even though this particular bed has not had onions in it for at least 12 years.Onions from seed which was sowed on the 24th December are now growing on in a coldframe but will not be planted out until late April.
Planting By The Moon
The notion of planting by the moon goes back to ancient civilisations. You may be familiar with how the movement of the moon influences the rising and the falling of the tides. This influence is not restricted to tides only but actually affects plants and the soil they grow in.
Carrots. Success at last.
After minimal success in previous years with growing carrots, I decided to go down the designated carrot bed to be covered from sowing to harvest with Environmental netting.
ROOT CROPS
My attempts to grow root crops by sowing seed in the open ground have either failed or germination has been erratic. Also, I think slugs and snails have eaten the seedlings as they emerge from the ground. Yet plot holders on each side of me seem to have no problems! It must be my sowing technique.
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SQUARE FOOT GARDENING

For several years now I have involved my grandchildren in my allotment but as two live in Sheffield and two live in Newcastle this has not been easy. Nonetheless they have a few raised beds in their gardens. I have one 9 year old grandson living in Leeds who sometimes helps especially when the strawberries, raspberries and peas are ready for picking. This year I came across the concept of ‘square foot gardening’ by Mel Bartholomew and decided to try it out although I had to call it ’30 centimetre gardening’ so my grandchildren could understand the idea.

On my allotment plot I divided a six foot by four foot bed into twentyfour and my Leeds grandson planted these up with lettuce, radish, carrots, beetroot, a cabbage, a cauliflower, a broccoli, a tomato, a cucumber[this will grow up a frame rather than run along the ground], French beans, a sunflower, parsley and runner beans. My grandchildren in Sheffield and Newcastle have done something similar. Usually a bed is four feet square and to maintain a steady supply of produce more than one bed will be required but a regular contribution of salad is already proving worthwhile.

To find out more about this method visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_foot_gardening.

I intend to add my comments during the growing season, my first observation is that to grow at these spacing and to grow organically the ground should be very fertile. I will be comparing the produce with produce planted elsewhere on the allotment at the same time. My initial impression is that it is useful to grow in this way when space is limited and it is particularly helpful in engaging children in growing vegetables. I have been gardening almost 60 years and the pleasure of hearing a grandson say to his mother ‘here you are mum lettuce and radish I have grown’ is beyond measure. Perhaps as they grow older they might leave gardening behind for a while but hopefully it will be there for them as adults. For me coming along are my two youngest grandchildren, a baby and a two year old whose introduction to ‘granddad’s allotment’ has been to eat peas and raspberries.

Autumn 2011. This has proved to be an excellent method of introducing children to gardening. Apart from the French beans which really required several blocks for a worthwhile crop everything grew amazingly well and would have fared better if I had been diligent with the watering. For those with a small garden but space for a few beds it would work very well especially with salad crops which, with a bit of planning should provide salad almost all year.

SQUARE FOOT GARDENING