Friday moments at the allotment…

dd17 has graced us with her presence today….straight from her A-levels exam….she’s  brought her nice camera along…..

There’s this canal which runs through the middle of the allotments….little one has been fishing for a few weeks now but has never caught anything….well, today was her lucky day!!! …a newt and some leeches…

 

Sharon was tending to the bees today….we all got to taste the honeycombs….. you don’t know sweet till you’ve tried it….

 

and other nice pics taken on this nice warm May’s day…..

Wishing you all a peaceful and productive long weekend…

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

 

More cabbages and some greenhouse plants…

this is our second raised bed of cabbages ….a mix of savoy and greyhounds….

tomatoes coming along nicely…..mash’Allah

tempted to pick some chilies but we like them red better so a bit more waiting….ins’Allah

Aubergines ….I don’t know much about aubergines at this stage but I’m pretty sure that they will need some sort of support as fruits are quite heavy….so I’ll do some online research and build an appropriate support system insh’Allah

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

P.S  I found this great youtube video on aubergines….

A new dress….

same pattern as this one and this other one…money well spent…you might not think it by looking at her in the pic but little one is very happy with her new dress…she’s just not  a morning person….

I’ve already started on another dress, a new pattern altogether…watch this space….

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

First signs…..

hope….excitement….reassurance that I’m doing something right…..

we shall have plums!!!!!….insh’Allah….

And look at what else we’ve spotted today…..

the very first asparagus spear…..even though we are not going to pick any for the next two years at least I know that the plants did establish successfully and we are on track….insh’Allah….

 

and looks like we shall have some figs too!!!! I couldn’t help myself…..went in for sugar came out with a fig tree….only £10 …I’ve had a fig tree (if you can call it that ) for longer than I can remember but not a single fruit ….insh’Allah this one will produce the goods…

It looks pretty happy in the greenhouse next to the tomatoes and chilies….I’m debating whether to pot it on now or wait for a while……

 and those are the novelties for now….the rest of the plants are doing well too alhamdulilah….

wishing you a productive and peaceful weekend…

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

 

This is what it’s all about…

all the planning, the hard work, the digging, the sowing, the planting, the watering…..and then you harvest a bit of spinach, enough to add to a salad and you feel so proud of yourself, so satisfied…..there are folks out there that compare the feeling to giving birth….I wouldn’t go that far but I get what they mean…..

Today we have also planted out the kale seedlings that were growing in the greenhouse…..another first timer so quite looking forward to how they turn out…..

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

A non-gardening post…

the weather was kind of perfect for gardening but my eldest daughter had other plans in mind……long story short…. impromptu….. we have spent a couple of hours at the Modern Tate ……It doesn’t get any more random than that over here…lol…..

Little one has chosen to come with us too ….not sure how much she has benefited from the experience….hard to tell….well, she has been exposed ….

Definitely a different kind of day ….back to gardening tomorrow….insh’Allah….

Wishing you a very peaceful and productive week ahead….

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

Asparagus…

what a pleasant surprise I’ve had this morning…Sharon, my allotment neighbour, has shared some of her asparagus with us….feeling so blessed …

So guess what we had for dinner tonight?

Garlic and balsamic vinegar….less is more kind of approach when it comes to fresh local produce……

Wishing you all a peaceful and productive weekend….

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

Peas and other garden matters…

I have a confession to make…this year I have not hardened off any of my veg….I hope it’s not a decision I live to regret…..

Today it was the turn of the peas to move out of the greenhouse and on to the plot…

dd15 is turning out to be the best plot partner one could wish for….she is gaining so much confidence…she just gets on with a task while I’m doing something else ….like today she planted all the peas almost single handed…

Little one is also picking up a lot but she is rather busy roaming from plot to plot chatting with all our neighbours…..today she helped earth the potatoes …

Larry, the potato expert ( he has grown potatoes for 55 years since the age of 9!!!), was telling me that one earthing is enough, so I’m sticking to that…previously I had read at least three times…..see here…..how many times do you guys earth your potatoes?

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

 

In the greenhouse….

that moment when you spot the first fruit or veg…..no words to describe it…I’m known to do the happy dance or even the happy crying….yesterday it was the latter…don’t ask me why but I just cried at the sight of my first tomatoes and cucumbers…subhan’Allah….

 

and some chilies too!!!!

so I guess the 30 plus degrees inside the greenhouse it’s doing the trick…I cannot wait to eat the first tomatoes….insh’Allah…

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines

 

 

Rain is good…

us gardeners like a fair amount of it but preferably at night when we have done all the chores that need doing and we have had our chillaxing time in the garden but hey beggars can’t be choosers…..but someone explain to me what exactly happened….one minute I was eating al fresco after a very hot day at the allotment and the next it was raining …and still is…..

see that mushroom? it just grew …in one night…..it’s that wet out there…..but apparently we are going into Summer again…..let’s hope..insh’Allah….

And now I’m off to the allotment to water …..I know,I hear you, it’s raining but the greenhouse still chok-a-block with plants that need my attention…..have a nice one….

Salaams y hasta la vista,

Ines