The first job was shearing back the long grass on some of the paths. A bit dull but it made quite a difference. A fellow allotmenteer then came over and kindly gave me some leftover swede seedlings so I planted those next to the brassicas before going home for lunch.
Over lunch at home, I sowed some Cavolo Nero, perpetual spinach, parsley, swiss chard and cauliflower. These will all overwinter nicely, hopefully.
After lunch I focused on the onion bed. While weeding, which was very easy, I pulled up all the onions. Their stalks seem to have bent over so I figured they were ready. They are now drying on a table on the patio in the garden (see bad-quality piccie below).
The harvest is a bit weak - many are the size of pickling onions (which was not the intension). The best performers were a couple of large red onions (from sets rather than seeds).
As I was clearing the onion bed, another fellow allotmenteer came over to say hello. He asked me why I hadn't planted any runner beans. It does seem that everyone else has gone some and there are many pretty wigwams about the site. I told him that I don't really like them enough to grow them but that I do like other types of green bean. I am not anti-green bean or anything (allotmenteers - it seems - are a little suspicious of people who choose to have an allotment but who do not grow runner beans. He offered me 6 spare plants of climbing french bean. I quickly erected a wigwam and planted these in the bed just cleared of onions.
Allotmenteers are lovely people and very generous. I should start growing extra in future to give to other allotmenteers who are even newer than me. That seems to be the done thing. I'd better do my bit.
I did mean to sow some things directly onto the plot including fennel (bulb) and chicory but I didn't get round to it. That's for next week...
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