Are we there yet?

Sorted in successes and failures...

( 101 things in 1001 days - success )

( Failures... )

So... 44 successes to 40 failures although I did fail to think of 17 more things. Given the year that I had I'm surprised that I did as well as I did although a few things only just got in (paying off the debt being one). I'll have to think about the next challenge.

( Pics for SJ - broc first then plot )

It hailed while we were there! It was horrid. I had to hide in the shed. Important jobs done now, though. I can't believe how neat the plot looks - and I've got loads of veg I can eat so I'll have to think about what I'm cooking. I ate the first heads from the brocolli -delish.

While I've been incapacitated (again) Dad has been doing some reconstruction work on the plot. I've three beds where there were two, moving further up toward the trees. So we've a little bit more planting space.

I've done the seed list and the buying for the year. I know when things can go in but haven't done the planting plan or the successional sowing list. There are things, though, that cannot wait for such things so I'll have to go down this week and put in the onions (red and white), garlic and shallots as well as plant parsnips[1] and radish. This isn't too onerous a task and I should be able to do it. More difficult will be the broad beans so I might pot them at home for now.

The dining table is now covered with seeds for this year. Aubergine, Courgette, Pepper and sprouts in one tray, with tomatoes and melon Celeriac in my new heated propagator. I've two small seed trays I'm going to try growing lettuce in at home as well as my windowsill propagator which will get the herbs: sadly I ran out of potting compost yesterday and will have to get some more. To be planted next month are the squash, cucumbers and golden courgette and they are hanging about on the mantelpiece.

On the plot are leeks, still, cabbage and purple sprouting brocolli just coming into season. I can see me eating a lot of that in the coming weeks.

[1]It's got personal now. I can grow carrots. Why can't I grow parsnip?

	Barber and Clark	Ding	Krasnostein	No preference	Hold over	Total
Australasia	64	3	14	1	-	82
Europe	24	2	7	2	-	35
Rest of world	-	1	-	-	-	1
Total	88	6	21	3	-	118=118

With more than 50% of the first preference votes, the GUFF administrators are happy to announce that barring force majeure Sue Ann Barber and Trevor Clark will attend Eastercon LX.




The administrators thank all the candidates, their nominators, and more than 100 members of the various fannish communities, for participating, and in the process raising around AUD1400.




It is possible that some of the regional attributions may be incorrect, and one or two votes may have been mislaid. Revised numbers may be published at a later date. Nonetheless, the administrators are confident that the decision of the voting populace is clear. In keeping with the traditions of the race, a list of voters names will be published in a paper fanzine... although obviously not how their votes were directed.

Paul Merton was off sick, leading to this exchange between host Jack Dee and emergency guest Frank Skinner...( Read more... )

Poppy collector outside Sainsbury's. Poppies on table and selection of different things (badges, stickers, you know). Guy is talking to a man and kids - I don't really catch what he is saying, something about a pound. I throw the change out of my purse (about £2.50) into the tin and pick up my poppy to a cry of, "Are you just helping yourself?" "Yes, I didn't realise it was that closely monitored". Turns out that there was a heirarchy of poppy goodies based on donation level and they were being checked on it. Doesn't this go against the legion principles? Don't they want people to wear their poppy with pride? I've always just been able to reach into the box and pick one up. I know it costs more for the fancy pants stuff but really.

I'm rather saddened.

Of course I lost the poppy before I'd even left the shop.

The Boss Hoss didn't really impress me that much until they covered "Word Up". This was obviously the song they were created to sing: ( W.O.R.D. UP! )

Well, not really, but I've cleared all the summer vegetable beds and pulled down the tomatoes. The courgettes and cucumbers are still producing so survived the autumn tidy up. There are all sorts of things to do but the active sowing, weeding and growing season is over for me and it's just left to keep a watchful eye on my brassicas.

The sky is blue. THE SKY IS BLUE. For the past couple of weeks trips to the allotment have been for a couple of hours, in drizzle, to collect produce or do urgent jobs. The highlight was thinning the leeks in the rain last week.

Yesterday it was almost dry so I took advantage and finally lifted my King Teddies. I've lost some to wireworm and I had a couple of plants which had god knows what and produced small, knobbly, completely red potatoes (which I binned) but in the main the crop is good. They are drying in the shed now and I'll bag them later. We've done well in tatties this year, wll, we've done well in everything, really.

The tomatoes are bad again, it's a virus I think and while they've set some fruit it's been a long time ripening. The cucumbers have once again thrived under Dad's watchful eye and I've a few peppers forming although I'm not convinced I'll get any aubergines. The grapes look like they might actually fruit this year as we've not had a dry spell and their doesn't seem to be any mildew in the greenhouse. I'm not sure what is happening with the melons - I think I've not looked after them properly so today I might do some trimming.

The late strawberries are just coming out now. This is a really good idea except for the woodlice. I really can't believe that I've lost most of my strawberry crop to woodlice. I think it's because Dad used rotting wood to make the bed and it meant that they could colonise the sides and take a short stroll to my strawbs. The wet weather hasn't helped.

Blackberry bushes died in a series of tragic accidents and this needs to be sorted out. The raspberries are away, happily putting up shoots for next year, both the summer and autumn fruiting varieties. The pear and plum tree look alright but I think the cherry might be dead, I'm not sure why. At the moment it's a glamorous stick in the ground. Over at the apple trees we've good fruiting again although I suspect we are going to start getting wasp attackes. I might pull some fruit today if I can fight my way through as...

Dad has loads of compost and wood stored on the allotment and it's really annoying. I can't move round the plot properly, I can't get to the apple trees to feed the birds, I can't wheel my barrow from one end to the other. I think we will be having words at some point. He wants a storage point so we need to sort that out. Perhaps put some paving stones down at one end or something. I do want my little patio back.

On the veg front everything has gone right this year. I've had my first ever successful pea crop, the mangetout have come on and on, salad veg have done well, herbs have grown, beans are everywhere. We've enjoyed some mini-cauli although my cabbage aren't doing particularly well. I netted everything apart from a couple of sprouting broccoli plants and I noticed them getting comprehensively munched by cabbage white caterpillars yesterday. I'm starting to think about preserving some beetroot for winter and perhaps putting some broad beans into the freezer. Annoyingly I realised today I forgot to sow my perpetual spinach earlier in the year but luckily I can sow some now for the winter. It's a top veg.

So yes, a good year for growers last year and a relief after the struggles of last year. I've only bought fruit and the occasional bit of non-seasonal veg for the past few months and I reckon I've saved about five quid a week... there's a chance the potatoes might last me all the way through this year!