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Field Allotments at Amerton
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By Mrs FM
Hartley.
Unusual
& Old
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Trees.
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By
Alan J Hartley
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JUNE. Everything Is Coming
Up…….!
The first year at my new home I
concentrated on the back garden, but this year I have started work on
the front. The first job was to make 2 little borders by removing the
diseased Privet hedge which had to go to the Tip, but when I dug up a
strip of lawn at the edge of my drive to make another little border, in
a U shape - I put the turfs into the Compost bin on my Allotment. It is
always said that rotted turfs decompose to make good, fine soil and the
best way to do this is to simply stack them upside down. However, mine
were just mixed in with the other compostable waste from my Plot.
After making the new plant bed and mixing some cheap potting compost
into it to improve it, I decided to plant some Korean Chrysanthemums.
Those on my Allotment were shooting nicely and recently I had taken some
Cuttings as it was the right time to do, so, so I planted some of the
young plants in the new bed along with a few trailing, Blue, Aubretia
and a few Cowslips that don’t mind it being a little dry.
I intend making another little border in front of the house by removing
a further strip of lawn, where it will be quite shady for much of the
day. In the back garden I have a nice big Hosta that I brought with me
from my old house and that I can divide, so that will proved a couple of
suitable plants. Also I intend to put in a lovely, red, Dicentra, if I
can get one instead of the usual White. A couple of Helebores – White,
or Red and some Ferns of course, will join them. All of these will be
happy in the shade, but I may find a few other things.
The Daffodils that I planted earlier where the hedge was removed, have
put on a good show, but now I intend to plant over them with other
seasonal bulbs to flower at different times. Recently I saw on TV that
Daffodils exude a poison that kills other plants. I don’t know if this
is true as people do mix their plantings and grass certainly grows over
them. However, I do know that they do actually contain a poison in their
foliage and bulbs, that is used in medicine and farmers are now growing
them, on plantations in Wales, to harvest this chemical from them.
Apparently, the poor soil conditions there increase the concentration of
the chemical.
I am going to plant Crocosmias, with the Daffodils, that have been dug
up from large clumps that were growing on my Allotment. They have
multiplied up well in the few years that they were growing while they
were being used for cut flowers. Flowering time is late Summer when they
have Orange/red Flowers on tall spikes that waft in the wind. Also, I am
planting naturalising Gladiola that I got a bit earlier from my
Sister-In-Laws garden, along with pink Kaffir Lilies and Alstroemerias,
also dug up from my Allotment, that had multiplied up well.
Alstroemerias make excellent cut flowers as well, but they are not easy
to dig up as they are deep rooted and actually not a bulb at all, but a
Rhizomous root. At the same time that I planted the Daffodils I put in a
few good old fashioned, blue flowered, Muscari that were dug up from my
back garden.
I have been very busy weeding my Allotment plots just lately, as,
although, it has been good growing weather and ideal for seed
germination with even my parsnips starting to show their tops outside,
in the ground, the weeds are doing even better! In fact it is keeping me
really busy just staying on top of it all! The weeds have been growing
in my garden as well and when I recently weeded it, I managed to dig up
a dozen, or more lovely, little, self set, Cowslip seedlings. I have
tried several times, unsuccessfully to germinate Primula Veris, to give
them their proper name, from seed, but Nature can do it just like that.
Isn’t nature wonderful! Maybe my seeds got too hot in the propagator as
some seeds go dormant if the temperature goes too high and it could be
that the Primulas need the lower temperatures of natural conditions
outside. Recently I bought a very pretty and fancy flowered Primula
Vialii that was expensive, but I managed to divided it into 3 separate
plants - all with roots on. That made it a worthwhile buy!
In my back garden I have planted a 3 feet high, large leafed Eucalyptus,
which will act as a wind break, for my new Greenhouse when it gets
bigger. It is of course evergreen so it will keep its leaves on to keep
giving shelter during any winter storms. It was grown from a mixed
packet of Eucalyptus seeds only last year. From a different packet of
seed this Spring I germinated a lovely Lemon Scented, “Lemon Bush,”
variety along with a dozen, or more of the common Gunnii, that are
perfectly formed, but tiny trees at about 3 inches high and growing
fast.
On the other hand my Licorice roots that I harvested earlier on in the
season are proving very slow to develop as I thought they would shoot
quicker and develop much better. In fact they are starting to shoot
better from the big, established plant on my Allotment!
On my Allotment I have started planting and sowing more tender things
directly in the ground. Back in the middle of May, the seeds for my
Runner and French Beans went in, which may have been a bit early, but
other plot holders are planting out their young plants now anyway. I
have also planted out some Kohl Rabi that were started off in my new
greenhouse as they are a bit tender. I was worried that they would go to
seed if I put them out too early, but instead the Pigeons have got them!
Hopefully, they will leaf up again, and they are relatively quick to
crop, so I could get 3 crops, or more if they are sown in succession. My
Outdoor Ridge Cucumbers came up nicely as well, but I think that I got
the seeds for my Courgettes and Squash too wet and they rotted. Flat
seeds like these have a tendency to do that, so they need to be sown on
edge. At the beginning of this month – June, I bought some replacement
Courgettes and Squashes and planted them in my Plot along with the
Cucumbers. My Tomatoes and Leeks will have to be kept in large pots just
a little longer though until the first of the Potatoes and Broad Beans
come out. Other than those, my plots are pretty much planted up. It is
just a case of keeping up with the weeding now and doing a little
watering if the dry weather continues!
 
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