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Bee on a sunflower

Checking in with the neighbours

I fell ill last week so couldn’t get down to the allotment for a good few days. Sadly this meant that I was unable to get down to my allotment to water the plants in my greenhouse – this unfortunately ended the growing season for my tomatoes and peppers! No biggie though – I’ve harvested maybe a kilogram of beef tomatoes, and am currently home-ripening them on the window ledge.

I only had enough energy to do some watering and a small amount of weeding this week, so while my plot’s in need of a bit of attention and looking a bit on the scruffier side, I figured I’d take some time to have a look at some of my neighbour’s plots and share some of them here – they’ve given me some more ideas for my own plot, so I’ll no doubt be revising my future plans over the coming weeks (watch this space).

Pumpkin progress

The pumpkins are doing well – it looks like I’ll end up with three ripe ones by the end of the season this year, which is a major success for me!

Here’s a photograph of my ripest pumpkin – I’m not sure when to pull it out, so I’m sure I’ll leave it too late, but I’m quite pleased with it.

A pumpkin ripening at the allotment
A pumpkin ripening at the allotment

Berries galore!

The strawberries are in full flow now, producing excellent, juicy fruit on a regular basis.

The currant bushes and pared-back blackberries are still delivering too. This batch was donated away, but I’m assured that they were all delicious!

Strawberries, blackberries, white currants, red currants from the allotment
Strawberries, blackberries, white currants, red currants from the allotment

Flowers at the allotment

Here are a few shots of plants from my own and neighbouring plots at the allotment that I took during a stroll:

Hollyhock on a neighbour's plot
Hollyhock on a neighbour’s plot
Zinnias and marigolds
Zinnias and marigolds
Marigolds en masse
Marigolds en masse
Marigold flower
Marigold flower
Allium schubertii (from a neighbour's plot)
Allium schubertii (from a neighbour’s plot)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) on a neighbour's plot
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) on a neighbour’s plot
Delphinium, poppies, cosmos and snapdragon on a neighbouring plot
Delphinium, poppies, cosmos and snapdragon on a neighbouring plot
Cactus Dahlia on a neighbouring plot
Cactus Dahlia on a neighbouring plot
Dahlia on a neighbouring plot
Dahlia on a neighbouring plot

A pleasant stroll through Trews Weir

On the walk home, I realised that it’s been a while since I took a photo of the River Exe from Trews Weir bridge, so here are a couple of shots of that too…

Looking towards Exeter Quay from Trews Weir Bridge
Looking towards Exeter Quay from Trews Weir Bridge
River Exe from Trews Weir Bridge
River Exe from Trews Weir Bridge

Plans for the weekend

This weekend I’m hoping to get down to the allotment to do some long overdue tidying up – strimming and weeding, and also make a start on building some raised beds/cold frames for next season. I’m pretty hopeless when it comes to DIY, so I’ll no doubt make a pigs-ear of it all – I’ll try to get plenty of footage so you can enjoy the end result with me!