Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Rhubarb...

Some things seem to just want to grow despite you.  We got given a crown of rhubarb when we got the allotment last May and buried it in one of the first patches we cleared of weeds.  After a few months there didn't seem to be any growth on it, so we dug it up to make room for a couple of blackcurrant bushes and lobbed it on the weed-heap.  A couple of months later and Kasia noticed it had, phoenix-like, managed to spring to life.  It was re-dug into a new patch and, hey presto, we've just harvested our first rhubarb from this  unlikely specimen.

In fact, our fledgling rhubarb patch has done just fine in all this grimly wet weather.  All of the crowns we got hold of have grown well and it's sorely tempting to harvest a bunch more.  We've read that you're not supposed to cut the stalks in the first year though so we'll probably leave it be now.  Our first home-grown rhubarb went into a crumble, which was magic- didn't need too much sugar.

Armfuls of Fun

In other news, we've planted a few more courgettes out.  These were sown in defiance and frustration when almost the entirety of our first batch were devastated by a git-horde of slugs.  This second wave of courgettes hasn't taken any serious damage yet although it is early days.  Gloriously enough, Will the courgette (see here) has sprung a few flowers, soon, with some help from friendly bees, to become courgettes.  Hurrah for Will!

We got round to some weeding, planted out some baby gem lettuces and sweetcorn, harvested a few spuds from sickly looking plants and harvested some more broad beans.  We also knocked together a cane and net wig-wam for some cabbages, which (touch wood, fingers crossed etc) are looking not too bad.  If we end up with some cabbages, that'd be amazing.  Last year they got club-root and withered.  This year we've limed, (organic) slug-pelleted and scattered oats around the place- a three pronged attack on the forces of catastrophe in cabbages.

Lastly, a trip to Homebase resulted in the unexpected purchase of a much-discounted mini-greenhouse.  Huge thanks to Wojciech and Marilla who put themselves out to help us get the brute back to the plot.  Hopefully our germination rates will now go through the roof!