May 2017 at the allotment

What a mixed bag the weather has been this month! We hadn't seen a drop of rain in weeks and then it rained for days before the heatwave arrived! The mixture of moisture and heat has come at just the right time as we have such much stuff in the ground now at the plot that it has helped our produce so much.

We have a new addition on the plot in the shape of another shed. Next door have given up their plot and said we could have the shed. Never say no to anything allotment related! It was immediately taken over by the Junior JabberJabbers as their den.

We've also benefited from the generosity of our other neighbours across from us. A couple of weeks ago they came round with a tray of six tomato plants. We hadn't sown any this year so this was perfect timing. I don't think I have ever seen such healthy plants! We've also found broccoli and sprouts on our plot so I can only presume they have donated them as well.

I'm pleased with the progress of the peas so far. I wasn't sure about sowing them directly into the ground but they are coming along well. They already have a net over them to protect them from bird damage.

Hopefully we're in for a bumper crop of pears this year. Last year the pears ended up rather small and withered so there wasn't much we could do with them.

So many rows of plants in now. We started the runner beans off at home before planting them out at the plot. Behind them is one lot of the broad beans and a couple of rows of potatoes.

The bees are loving the raspberry flowers. It's such a delight to see them busy in their work and such a frightening thought that without the bees so little on our plot would survive.

Of course there is always the weeding! Rain, sunshine and fertile ground means weeds are thriving as much the rest of the plot. It's a tough job but we all have to muck in!