That cucumber looks a bit round to me!

So the cucumbers I was growing up some supports on the plot turn out to be pumpkins! Obviously there appears to be some sort of a labelling problem that I should attempt to rectify next year, but they do look quite similar plants in my defence.

What I thought they were....



How they turned out...



The supports have now gone and they are now growing apace along the ground, with the pumpkins resting on some straw.

Potatoes
The site got hit by potato blight, but somehow I managed to avoid this. Mainly by growing very few and having dug they up shortly before it appeared. The yields weren't great - something to do with poor soil preparation I think - but the Pink Firs did look great and are currently challenging for first place in the site 'unusual veg' competition!





Burn, burn, burn
Now we've managed a few dry days in a row I've been taking the opportunity to get rid of some of the hedge that I've cut down some time ago, and other assorted non-compostable waste. Several bonfires later I still seem to have a huge pile of stuff to burn ;>( And having somehow broken my loppers (probably shouldn't have bought some cheaper ones from Wickes in the first place), it's taking a long time to chop up the bigger pieces to burn. Best hope that the dry weather keeps up.

What to do?
As I'm harvesting this years' crops I'm not planning on putting anything in to replace them. I'm concentrating on preparing te site for next year. Or I would be if I could decide how to divide up the plot. The fruit bed is mainly sorted and actually looking quite good - i.e. weed free! - and we're managing a few raspberries now and again. The veg area though is still undecided. I can't decide whether to terrace the allotment with wide beds, using the remaining scaffolding boards to walk across the soil so as not to compact it, or to go for smaller raised beds with paths between them. I'm leaning towards the former as it (a) easier to construct and (b) gives a greater planting area.

Green Manures
After the rains and all the water that has washed over the allotment, there probably aren't many nutrients left in my soil :>( So I've bought a few different green manures to plant to try and bring the soil back to life a bit. I bought Crimson Clover, Buckwheat, Hungarian Grazing Rye and Phacelia Tanacetifolia from Garden Organics. Actually I bought 3kg of Buckwheat and Hungarian Grazing Rye to share amongst fellow allotment holders and keep the costs down.

I sowed some of the crimson clover last night and am currently working out where to sow some of the Buckwheat and Phacelia Tanacetifolia. I chose the Buckwheat and Hungarian Grazing Rye as they will fit anywhere in the rotation system, and the Rye is winter hardy as well.