The Great Plant-Out: A Commandeered Paddling Pool, Greenhouse Flips & Pure Allotment Fear
A May heatwave followed by a wet June means the allotment is finally planted out! Here is how a kids' paddling pool saved my seedlings while I was on holiday, why the greenhouse flip was a success, and why the scale of my squash patch is currently terrifying me.
We have officially transitioned from the wild weather of late spring into the frantic rush of early summer. The last week of May gave us a proper, scorching heatwave, which then immediately dissolved into a thoroughly wet first week of June. For an After-Hours gardener, this kind of rapid-fire weather shift is exhausting—but it did make for some rather brilliant, desperate improvisation.
1. The Holiday Paddling Pool Hack
Leaving a patio full of unplanted seedlings for a week-long holiday is stressful at the best of times, but when that week coincides with a sudden May heatwave, it is pure panic.
Knowing I wouldn’t be around to water them, I officially commandeered the kids' paddling pool, filled the bottom with a few inches of water, and turned it into a giant, makeshift bottom-watering tray for the patio.
It worked flawlessly. While I was away, the seedlings just sat there happily drinking from the base. Thanks to this stroke of parental desperation, my only losses during the scorcher were a few beans and brassicas. Coming back to a green patio rather than a crispy wasteland felt like a massive victory.
2. The Great Plant-Out (And the Impending Fear)
Once home, the wet first week of June provided the perfect damp conditions to get everything out into the allotment. Now that the dust has settled, the sheer scale of what I’ve done is starting to sink in.
The weed membrane experiment is currently a success. I still have more of it to lay down, but the sections that are in place feel like they are absolutely going to do the trick against the weed army.
However, looking out at the volume of squash and tomatoes now in the dirt, I have a confession: I have no idea how this is all going to pan out, and it’s making me a little bit scared. The squashes are already incredibly established, and the scale of the potential jungle is slightly terrifying.
Because everything took so well, I am now facing the "Leftover Bottleneck." The beds are completely full, and I have a mountain of spare plants. I’m currently trying to hand them off to colleagues, friends, and anyone who stands still long enough. But honestly, it’s hard to let them go until I am 100% sure I won't need spares (even though a replacement mission is looking highly unlikely at this rate).
3. The Greenhouse Flip & Losing the Sowing Rhythm
While the allotment feels like a gamble, the greenhouse has been a total triumph. I’ve officially executed the summer flip. All the winter and spring leftovers are out, and the summer heavy-hitters have moved in: aubergines, chillies, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a few spare beans have taken over the staging.
The downside to all this frantic planting is that I am seriously falling behind on my succession sowing. I urgently need to get some more spring onions, salad, and dwarf beans started. I am also thinking about a highly speculative, incredibly late sowing of parsnips. It's risky this late in the day, but that’s the theme of June so far.
📊 The 2026 Harvest Tracker (Target: 100kg)
The late May heatwave completely supercharged the scales, pushing my final May total a full kilogram up on my previous predictions. As of the first weekend in June, we are flying.
- Current 2026 Total: 8.800kg
- Remaining to Target: 91.200kg
We are agonizingly close to the 10kg milestone, and that number is about to explode. The beetroot is looking incredible and is practically bursting out of the ground—in fact, I’m planning a harvest tomorrow.
Let's see how it all pans out...
