The Soya Bean Adventure Starts Here!

I've just ordered 'Elena' soya bean seeds to try. I buy frozen soya beans to put into various dishes but it will be great to use some I've grown myself. I feel very excited! As soon as the seeds arrive I'll be up to the allotment to plant them. 


Meanwhile I'm picking 'Kelvedon Wonder' peas and waiting for the sugar snaps to put in an appearance. 

Well-Rotted!

When this pile of manure arrived in Spring it was considerably bigger. I had no idea what a ton looked like! There'll be enough for next year too. I've never used manure before and it was hard work chopping up the lumps with my spade. I hoped that if I spread it over the soil the worms would do the work but they didn't have the time - should have done it in the autumn and I will - next autumn! 

The result has been lumpy soil this year but the plants have grown in spite of that. I have my own broad beans in the freezer for the first time in my life. I don't like broad beans unless they're very young or peeled (squished out of their seed skins). The early potatoes are delicious - a variety called 'Rocket'.

"It's a Dirty Allotment!"

This is what my half allotment looked like the first time I saw it.

When I was told it was 'a dirty allotment' I wasn't surprised, after all. I thought the words 'dirt' and 'allotment' go together. But that was not what it meant! The phrase meant 'covered in weeds'. By the time I took the plot over it was November and all the weeds had seeded! It took me weeks to fork out all those weeds.