Although we first got our plot with VERA (the Vectis Road Allotments Association) late in 2005, 2006 was our first full year on the allotment. We got off to a slow start as Sue was recovering from routine but fairly major surgery and couldn’t do too much during January and February (she’s absolutely fine now – thanks for asking). My role as the best post operative carer in the entire universe (Sue’s opinion not mine, but I’ll happily accept the compliment) took up most of my free time so it wasn’t until March that we really got going on the plot.

Although we’d started to clear the site during the previous autumn, there was still much to do and the whole of March and much of April was spent clearing, digging and shaping the beds. You just wouldn’t believe the number of empty beer bottles, bits of bike and other strange items unearthed. I even dug up an entire plastic dustbin buried about two feet down. The hole it left was big enough to keep Koy carp in! My finest find however was a plastic model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex which now proudly stands guard over my Dahlias.

We decided to leave about a third of the plot covered with black plastic for the summer as it was particularly bad in terms of brambles and perennial weeds. We hoped that leaving it covered for a few months would kill most of them off and bring benefit in the long term.

We didn’t plant anything until the end of April and then it all seemed to happen in a bit of a rush. We had ordered some seed potatoes earlier in the year and had been chitting them in the shed. Being new at growing vegetables we weren’t too sure about which varieties to get so we bought a starter pack containing seven different varieties; a mixture of first and second earlies and main crops. It was a big mistake really. We had far too many for the available space and crammed them in too close together. That, combined with the fact that it was such a dry summer, meant that they struggled a bit. It left us with a lot of very small potatoes when it was time to harvest them. Many looked pretty scabby and although they tasted fine and stored fairly well it was a bit of a disappointing crop.

During the end of April and May we planted a whole range of crops including cut and come again salad leaves, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, shallots, garlic, peas, Borlotti and dwarf French beans, carrots, beetroot, strawberries, raspberries, butternut squash and my favourite, asparagus.

Most did really well but the peas suffered from the drought along with the potatoes and didn’t really come to much. The cherry tomatoes were incredibly prolific. We planted a variety called Sungold and just three plants kept us in fruit for the whole summer with plenty at the end of the season with which to make tomato and chilli chutney. The chillies we grew in a pot on the decking at home. They too were fantastic and I’m still using them as they dried really well.

Now I used to hate Beetroot. As far as I was concerned it was the spawn of the Devil. It tasted of vinegar and squeaked when you chewed it. My friends taunted me with the stuff. Sarah at work loves it and used to bring in Beetroot sandwiches for her lunch, smile sweetly at me and then waft them under my nose just to see the look of agony and disgust on my face. Despite that, as she's a good mate, I thought I'd plant a row or two and take some in for her.

Well of course, the stuff grew beautifully and looked fantastic so, being a fairly adventureous sort of chap, I just had to try it. I boiled some, got Sue to peel them - well I wasn't going to touch it and get pink fingers - and with some trepidation took a bite. It was a revelation. That beet was gorgeous, sweet and succulent and I haven't looked back since. Try the variety Wodan. It's RHS recommended and doesn't seem to get woody no matter how long it's in the ground.

Now just take a look at my Butternuts. I can't tell you how much pleasure it's given me growing these this year. They take up a lot of space on the plot, are a long time in the ground and, towards the end of the summer the leaves start to suffer a bit and are not particularly pretty. The fruits however are fantastic. They taste too good to be true, store easily and long, and the cost in the supermarkets of the final harvest would have exceeded the cost of the plot for the year by about 50%. If you've got the space, grow them.There are a couple of recipes for them on the Plot to Plate Cookbook.

I was also really pleased with the asparagus. I planted 15 one year old crowns which produced a mass of ferns over the summer. There was of course no crop to harvest this year as they need time to establish before cutting any spears. I might be tempted to cut half a dozen this spring just to try them but it won’t be until 2008 that we can begin to eat them in earnest.

The association held its’ first produce show in August. Sue and I entered six classes; best three tomatoes, best ten shallots, best ten raspberries, best three beetroot, best vegetable collection on a tray and, most prestigious of all, the longest cucumber. I nursed that cucumber for weeks. It got so big that it lost all its’ green colour and turned yellow. It wasn’t the prettiest you’ve ever seen but by golly it was big. Not surprisingly, no-one wanted to eat it so it got fed to someone’s’ pigs.

Much to our surprise we won all six classes and best in show for which we were presented with an engraved trowel. It was definitely beginners luck but I have to confess that it has brought out a competitive edge that I didn’t know I had. Most of all it was really good fun with everyone entering into the spirit of the occasion and I think we are all looking forward to the 2007 show.

The biggest problem during the summer was the drought. There was a hosepipe ban, which is still in force despite the recent heavy rainfall, and although it didn’t apply to allotments, the association decided to comply with it voluntarily as a contribution towards conserving supplies. This meant that everything had to be watered using watering cans and both took a long time and made it almost impossible to water such a large area very well.  As I’ve already said, some crops suffered but by and large everything did pretty well.

Now, at the turn of the year, the plot is looking a bit barren. The great thing however, is that there’s still plenty of groundwork to do and it won’t be too long before we can start planting again. I can’t wait.