Sweetcorn at last!

We love sweetcorn, which is why my attempts to grow it for the past 5 years have been so disappointing (the first year however was a roaring success). Each year I carefully nurture my seedlings, sown in modules in the greenhouse, then moved to a bed that's been lovingly weeded and layered with compost. I water them and underplant with beans and squash (the 'three sisters'). And what happens? Well, I get sweetcorn but only a few and much later than everybody else.

My neighbours' have tall proud sweetcorn plants with multiple ears of corn. They take pity on me and offer me some to supplement my meagre pickings.  I ask them what they do - they manure/compost just as I do. They water, just as I do. They block plant; several try the 'three sisters' approach. My crop is poor; their's is bountiful.  Well not this year! This year I have tall, proud, multistemed sweetcorn and I have plenty of it and have been giving it away.

What I have in inadvertently discovered (I think) is that sweetcorn doesn't like being confined in a 2 by 1 metre bed and/or being raised in modules.

This year I grew two batches of sweetcorn (I accidently bought two packets of seeds). The first I grew in modules then planted into a 2 by 1 metre bed that had been weeded and manured.  The other was planted directly into a large area in my second plot; it had been the site of the chicken run so was well manured for 3 months. Both were underplanted with pumpkin and french beans.

The module-grown sweetcorn grew pretty much as normal (for me that is). All the plants grew, they most produced one small sweetcorn - but there were gaps in the cobs where not all were fertilized. However with the directly planted sweetcorn only about 15 of the 30 seeds grew into mature plants, a pretty poor survival rate I think, but each plant that did survive has thrived and produced bigger and better sweetcorn that the module-grown sweetcorn.

I thought this was a really interesting result and next year I'm going to try again - this time reversing the planting to see what happens. Module grown seedlings can go into open ground and the bed will be directly sown.  I might also add a few directly sown into open ground just to make sure I get some sweetcorn.

Watch this space!

Jimmo remade

Jimmo - after his makeover

Elizabeth and I popped along to the plot yesterday to pick up Jimmo and bring him home. He was looking very sad and worn. When we started peeling back the layers we found his nose and his hat flat against his face hiding his face.  The only bit that was still intact was his stuffing of newspaper inside plastic bags. 

After an afternoon's work he has new clothes, a new covering for his head, extra stuffing, a heart and a new (handmade) hat. Oh, and a smiley face. Doesn't he look lovely?

Jimmo's smiley face

And whilst I was there today I did some weeding around the sweetcorn and onions. Here's a view across the plot, showing my sweetcorn.

A view across the plot

Poppies

I think it's fair to say that I have a poppy problem! Every bed, in the paving, everywhere there are big pink poppies. I can hardly see the plot or what's growing on it for poppies. I usually let a few grow but this year I've been a bit preoccupied selling my home and trying to buy somewhere so I've only rushed down to water the greenhouse. I haven't carefully thinned the poppy seedlings down to a managable number and have been over run! I'm not sure if you can see that from the photograph.

It's not bad though, there are plenty of bees and other pollinators, my crops are all doing well (have a regular supply of strawberries for Elizabeth as well as raspberries, gooseberries and soon the blueberries start cropping.

My sweetcorn is doing well, and the interplanting with beans and squash seems to be working this year. The three free roses are fantastic and I've had cut flowers with loads left on the plant for the insects for a month now.

My greenhouse is overflowing with tomato plants and it's a mammoth task potting them all on and more importantly finding pots!

I was also pleased to see the broad beans are thriving despite the odd bit of blackfly. And more pleased to see that there were loads of ladybirds, ladybird larvae etc feasting on the blackfly - its year three and my no chemical principles seem to be paying off.

My next big challenge is how to keep the greenhouse watered whilst I'm in Iceland. Think I need to beg a few favours - they should be able to help themselves to the first crop of tomatoes that will ripen in the next week or two.

Time flies

It seems like absolutely ages since I last spent time at my plot! I've made the dash down there to water the greenhouse but not much else in the last few weeks (my weekends have been taken up with visits to relatives, friends and my Hut).

Absence however has this remarkable power - the allotment goes wild. I now have metre-high poppy plants everywhere (the first one is in flower, a lovely large pink bloom). The weeds are also huge (despite pulling them up everytime I see one - how do they escape!).

On the plus side I do have lots of fruit this year - a bumper crop of pears, apples and plums (see pic) and it doesn't look too bad on the cherry and gooseberry front either.

In the greenhouse things are going well - I had over 100 tomato plants of different varieties but have managed to give many away (hurray!) and potted on the others. Still many toms in pots they have outgrown but will hopefully get to those this weekend. There are quite a few toms already on the plants - some the size of golf balls!

I've finally managed to grow carrots - after my third attempt at sowing seeds. Wonder what I did wrong. And I've only got about 4 parsnip plants after sowing nearly 3 packets of seeds!!!

I've also planted out sweetcorn and squash as well as beans (trying the 'three sisters' again this year).

Harvesting-wise I've had a continuous but small supply of strawberries (they rarely make it off the plot), a few early onions, asparagus and lettuce. The cherries are ripening and I guess the garlic will need lifting soon.