Had to make a replacement garden gate this year as the current one had simply rotted and fell off its hinges.

However, I was able to salvage part of the wood and made this herb planter which sits right outside our kitchen.

Plants are very small right now but they will soon fill up and the thyme’s will spill over the sides. I also planted up the large tea cup with thyme, mints and sages, all for the kitchen.

Varieties planted are Green Fennel, Archers Gold Thyme, Purple Sage, Variegated Lemon Balm, Common Thyme, Lime Mint, Black Peppermint, Common Rosemary.

Last year I moved the two rhubarb plants I had into the fruit section of the allotment into another really sunny position. They absolutely loved their new home. However, they outgrew their home to such an extent I have this year moved them back too their original position. It is still in lots of sunlight and they are responding well already.

Filled with lots of chicken manure and fish, blood and bone meal I hope to get an even better crop this year.

The very first signs of giant onions. These are the onions I sowed on 10th January when it was trying to snow.

Ive got these in a closh which is in the greenhouse and I have also protected the seedlings from frost by putting fleece over the closh as well.

I will have to be careful they don’t dry out or suffer wilt.

Slowly but surely I am tidying the allotment and have had numerous fires.

All the ash from these fires will get dug into all the fruit beds.

This is what’s left of a large hedge that ran down the side of the fruit section of my allotment.

Last year I thought that it would be a good idea to utilise the spaces around the raspberry canes and plant lots of strawberry plants. However, what happened was that the raspberries lost a lot of nutrition too the greedy strawberries and I did not get a good crop of rasps.

Now I have weeded and lifted all the strawberry plants as well as putting down a lot of chicken pellet manure, I hope this will aid this years raspberry crop.

I have read that tying or grouping the canes together helps protect the canes in high wind and I am pleased I have done so as we are suffering really high winds in the North East right now.

Last year I ordered Heritage onions quite late in the season but they still grew to huge proportions.

This year, I am going to experiment and try to grow the same variety but from seed.

Arriving in the post this week Shirley’s Giant. Bizarrely, I am sowing these while it is trying to snow and the wind is at near hurricane proprtions even here in the North East.

The beginning of the year, when the ground is not frozen is a great time to cut down raspberry canes. these are the Autumn late fruiting variety.

The early and main crop varieties are left as these canes will bear this years fruit.

I am also starting to creosote all the fences in the allotment again. I have pushed back soil so the boards can dry out a little before I apply a coating of creosote.

I had to purchase some logs at the wood store today in order to burn a great pile of refuse that was simply sodden. After getting the fire up to a hot temperature it will burn anything, and it did.

Although they put on a good show, they have strangled the lavender underneath and I will  probably have to buy new Lavender next season.

Tall single variety planted in the spring has clearly found a comfortable place to flourish. However, these seeds were the off-spring from last years plants. I am amazed the seeds made it though the winter at the allotment and are flourishing right next tot he compost bin.

Quite rightly, the Nasturtium  does belong in the allotment as they are edible and as such earns its keep.

After a woeful tomato season, I have hardly picked one ripe one, I was sure that I did not even have enough to produce any green chutney this year.

Today the clocks go back and I have left it as late as possible for the few tomatoes to grow on in order to gain any crop at all.

Cropping and cutting down the plants  is a really satisfying experience, clearing the way and the greenhouse for new things to come.

The recipe I used stated that the ingredients should cook for one and a half hours. Three hours later I was still simmering this concoction down so the flavour I hope will be really intense. A little conscious I have added 2 chillies this year I hope I have not added too much heat as I only made this addition for a little extra level of taste without any intention of making the chutney spicy, we shall see on this one after its 2 months maturing in the cupboard.

I will try and save a jar for the last day of the fishing season again.

Well, its that time again when the remainder of the tomatoes need to be picked, made into chutney and the plants lifted.

Its a time of year when the greenhouse really appreciates a good clear up.

After ordering my tomatoes in February this year they have just arrived! I wont be doing that again. July is really too late to be planting tomatoes. However, planted they are and hope fully with the very good weather we are currently having it will push them on a bit. Hopefully I will get a crop from them.

Cayenne chilli’s have their first flower on them and the other chilli’s I am growing are coming on well, but no signs of any flowers on them yet. Other varieties are Ghost Scorpion and Butch T.

List of varieties: Anna Aasa, Black Krim, Pink Pink Pong, Bonnie Best, Grandpas Minnesota Hardy, Green Grape, Cosmonaut Volkov, Marizol Purple, Cuban Yellow, Frosted Green Doctors, Summer Cider, Cluj Yellow Cherry, Beefmaster, Kosovo, Cherokee Red.

2013 saw me reserving the few fruits we had from the young first year strawberry plants I had recently planted. Saving them up in the freezer until I had around 2lb in weight of fruit.

Obtaining a fool-proof jam recipe, I set about adding the same amount of sugar to the strawberries, along with the juice of half a lemon. Bringing this too the boil and then turning down to simmer. I kept a close eye on the mixture for some time, stirring occasionally. Foolishly, I left the mixture for perhaps 60 seconds while I made a cup of tea and when I returned I could see it was over done. I still potted the mixture up, but upon opening some days later to try the jam, we required a jack hammer to get anything out of the pot it had set that hard. Gutted would be an understatement, I had wasted all the fruit we had for the year.

2014 has seen a better crop of strawberries in their second year, and I set about making a Rhubarb, Raspberry and Strawberry Jam.

Same recipe, same method, although this time I did not leave the stove!

Picture of six jars of raspberry jam