At last there will be something to write about happening over at the allotment now that we are starting our best veggie growing season here in Brisbane after a long hot summer.
The big change this year is that I have taken on a second allotment, again. I used to have two but last year decided to cut back to one in 2014 but it left me feeling “land challenged” when I had to decide what to plant in such a small area – 8 square metres. Mind you, the result was rather pretty as you can see from this pic I took at it’s growing zenith. (Love using that word!)
I made the decision to leave my allotment fallow over the summer (as a preventative measure against heat stroke – mine, not the veggies) so I covered it in a thick layer of horse manure from the adjoining paddock, and then a thick mulch of straw and left it for the worms to work their magic.
Nevertheless I found that some things revel in the heat despite my neglect.
I was given a few snake bean seeds by my allotment neighbour and in a state of summer lethargy stuck my finger in the ground (5 times) and popped in a seed, and left them to it. This is what happened. I reckon Jack is living at the top.
Those five seeds have kept me in beans for months. It’s an interesting plant, the beans grow up to a yard long in the tropics, mine certainly reach 35cm and would grow longer if I left them, but I like them young. Prolific isn’t the word! A big bunch every couple of days. I’ll be doing my own seed-saving so I can pass on the seeds.
This weekend I’ll be over at the lottie putting seeds into the ground …. and picking beans.
Happy gardening.
Allotment Adventures with Jean 