More Pumpkin Progress

The time has come to harvest the pumpkins before the frost gets them.  Today, we released Big Max from its plant along with other almost as large pumpkins.  Here are some pics.  They were so heavy it took two of us to lift them into the wheelbarrow!
They should be on display at our Harvest Event on Saturday 24th Oct, 11 - 3pm.  Come along and see them for yourself.

Pumpkin's Progress

Here's a pic of Big Max, the pumpkin.  It seems to have grown since last week.  We've rested it on top of the raised bed now as I thought the stem might snap under its ever increasing weight.

And here's a pic of a favourite of mine, Borage ...  Not just me that loves it, the bees do too.

I saw the young newt again in the pond, in the same place, sunbathing in the shallows.  But a real surprise was to see a rabbit in our "wild" area.  I've never seen a rabbit before at the allotment.  Wonder if we've any carrots left?!

And finally, I started to tidy up the herb bed which has grown very well this year.  Time to cut back the lavender so it doesn't get too woody.  Can you smell it?  A very pleasurable job.

Sunny Sunday

Such a warm and sunny Sunday after a rather windy & chilly Stapleford Carnival the day before.

Here are some pics from the allotment to show how lovely its looking at the moment.  If you haven't visited the allotment before, or for a while, and would like to come and join in with our informal gardening sessions please come along any Wednesday or Saturday morning between 10 & 12.  Just ring the doorbell on the side gate, someone will let you in.

Don't forget this year's Harvest Day event at Dig In

Saturday 24th October, 11-3pm

Ripening grapes - not ready yet

Pumpkin's filling out, hopefully ready
for Harvest Day at DigIn, 24th October

Baby newt, sunbathing

The orchard

Teasel next to the Bug Hotel - Bed & Breakfast for the bees :o)

Helen

Wildlife

Here's a pic of what I think is a Lime Hawk Moth caterpillar.  It was quite a chunky thing clinging on to one of our raised beds at today's volunteer session.
I think it must be trying to find a place to pupate.  If it is a lime hawk moth, it will dig itself under the soil to pupate and will remain in this state over winter.  It will emerge from pupation next May, so we need to take care when using Raised Bed B!
The adult moth is very striking having green and pink markings on its wings and has a wingspan between 70 - 80 mm, so quite a large one!

And here's one of a very busy bumble bee, buzzing the pollen loose from the poppy.  If it was the same bee, it made many (noisy!) trips to this one flower.

Volunteer Treat

The hard working volunteers were today treated to a Cook and Eat, skilfully prepared by Jill D and Mary.
We had a spicy vegetable stew, with ingredients being freshly picked from the allotment - carrots, runner beans, onions, garlic, courgette to name but a few, together with a fresh salad from lettuce and cucumbers grown in the polytunnel.  For dessert, blueberries were freshly picked from the plants outside, plus some more pastry treats from Dan (thankyou!).
It all went down very well and we had a good number of volunteers to polish the lot off.  Karen thanked the volunteers for their dedication this growing season and I'd like to take this opportunity on behalf of the vols to thank Karen for all of her help too and for putting up with us!
Many thanks to Jill and Mary for preparing such a tasty feast, it was enjoyed by all.

One of these cucumbers sacrificed for lunch ...

Dan with a duck-shaped patty pan squash - quackers!

SDGHA Show

It was the Stapleford & District Garden Holders Association (SDGHA) show today.  DigIn entered some produce into some of the show categories, namely longest Runner Bean, Most Unusual Shaped vegetable, Grapes, Runner Beans and Vegetable Marrow.

The most unusual shaped vegetable entered was a potato dug by Emma and Izzy which looked a bit like a seal.  The long runner bean was over 39cm when measured on the Weds before (forgot to measure it on the day!), the vegetable marrow was a yellow one that was spotted on the morning of the show, along with a selection of runner beans and bunch of grapes.

Once all  the entries had been displayed in the hall, the door was locked for the judging to take place.  After what seemed like an age, the doors were opened again and all could enter the hall to see the results of judging.
We were absolutely thrilled to find that DigIn had been placed 1st for Grapes, 1st for Vegetable Marrow and 1st for Most Unusual shaped vegetable.  Not bad going!

Here are some pics of the entries.

Grapes, 

Marrow, 

Seal spud

Longest Runner, DigIns is bottom row, 2nd from right

Runner Beans

Proof!

Well done and thank you to all volunteers who have helped to grow award winning fruit and veg on the DigIn Community Allotment.

Sunny Wednesday

A lovely sunny Wednesday session today, had a hint of autumn to the air.  The early(ish) sun inspired a couple of pictures of the pond and surrounding area.  Twelve volunteers enjoyed a good morning gardening and sharing in the produce.  Thanks to Dan for spoiling us all with some Italian pastry treats at tea break.

Pond

I loved the way the sun shone through the Mirabelle tree ...

Mirabelle

The little critter below is, we think, some sort of shield bug with very long antennae.

Shield bug