by Philippa | Oct 19, 2014 | Allotment
It is now officially Autumn given we have entered October but the weather is unseasonably warm. We have picked one or two large bright red strawberries on each visit over the last week or two, along with lots of blueberries and while the squash are almost ready to be picked, the dahlias continue to bloom next to them. It is lovely to see but we can’t help but wonder what the impact on the next growing season will be!
Speaking of strawberries, we covered the asparagus bed with well rotted manure and the strawberry runners we potted on and cut off can rest there until there are ready to be planted out.
We cleared out the greenhouse beds on plot 118 and in order to make good use of all that space we buried some dahlia tubers from plants that had not lasted quite as long as some of the larger ones that were still flowering well.
Neil was on a mission, a manure mission, and put about eight barrows on the plot to be dug in at a later date. It really does feel like Autumn when the expanse of dark manure takes over from the green.
The basket of goodies has also taken an Autumnal turn, with gluts of tomatoes replaced by beetroot, apples and grapes making regular appearances. Although it is sad to think that the tomatoes, peppers, chillies and aubergines are gone for another year it is made better by the anticipation of parsnips, squash and kale and is totally forgotten in dreams of crumble and other treats to come!
by Philippa | Jun 12, 2014 | Allotment
Oh well. With all the rain we’ve had I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised. This last week seems to have been more about feeding the local pest population than growing produce for our plates! The flowers we had planted out last week were the favourite targets, some sunflowers had been totally decimated. We had bought some more organic pellets during the week and within about five minutes of arriving at the plots we had used almost a full bottle! To fill the bare spaces we planted out some chrysanthemums as they were bursting out of their tray.
We also planted out the ipomoea. We had grown some last year but left them and left them and they were never put out but even then they grew some beautiful deep purple flowers shaped like trumpets. This year I was determined to do them justice. Having wanted some more information about where they are suited to and how they grow I did some googling and discovered they can grow up to 5 metres tall! Not sure I realised that when I bought the seeds! Or that they are the same family as bindweed. They grow in the same climbing fashion, twisting round things. As soon as I told Neil that, he wasn’t keen on planting them out in case they run riot with their roots! As a compromise I planted them along the back fence of plot 118 as this gives them something to grow up without risking them spreading further.
We did a lot of watering, the tomatoes were ready for tying up and needed side shooting again. I also gave them some feed for the first time this season. They’ve grown so big in the last week they needed moving to their final spacing which meant Neil had to dismantle the side staging to make room. We potted on the peppers (new ace) and the chillies (jalapeño) and everything looks quite tidy in plot 97 greenhouse.
Outside things were looking quite good. The beetroot and carrots I sowed (or in the case of the beetroot replanted!) had germinated really well, as had the turnips which I thinned out as they were already a good size. The chard and parsnips were fairing slightly less well, so I’ll check their progress next week and see if any more sowings are required!
Despite the warm weather Neil did a mountain of digging! He cleared enough space for the hoops and canes that will cover the brassicas in the next week or two.
The sun also meant we have signs of ripening, the redcurrants are turning blush pink and there were quite a few strawberries tantalisingly close to being ready. Am just hoping the liberal scattering of pellets means the slugs will have left some for us!
And a sunny note for the end, thanks to Bob for a lovely bunch of beautiful sweet williams to brighten up the living room!
by Philippa | Jun 2, 2014 | Allotment
We knew that Neil’s ironman next weekend would mean that our visit would likely be limited to watering, so Bank Holiday Monday was a whopper of a day and fortunately it was dry and sunny all day. We had loads of planting out to do and suddenly we realised we didn’t have much space left other than areas which still needed digging over. It’s funny how you soon fill everywhere up! So Neil was a digging hero and just kept on going, which meant we had room for the dahlias, sunflowers and lupins. Some of the taller sunflower varieties needed stakes next to them so we can tie them up as they grow.
We also tied up the climbing beans which are starting to wind their way up their cane wigwam. The potatoes had gone from just peeking through the top of the soil at the end of last week to growing fully above the soil so Neil earthed them up.
We always try to avoid the brassicas getting too leggy, which can be a challenge at this time of year when the weather varies from hot to cool and back again and greenhouses are not the best place for them for very long. But put them out too soon and they are vulnerable to slugs, caterpillars and other pests. Some were ready to be potted on and to be kept outside of the coldframe, so we potted on the cabbage (candissa, red drumhead and pointed red kalibos), cauliflower (snowball) and the Brussel sprouts. The hastings variety of sprout had done much better than the Wellington variety we have previously used and so I only actually potted those on, consigning the others to the compost pile. There are only so many sprouts a two person household needs, even with Neil’s love of them!
There was some sowing to be done in the greenhouse as all of the remaining squash were ready to be sown before the end of May. We have autumn crown, metro pmr f1, little gem rolet, bon bon, buttercup and crown prince f1. I also had to do some re-sowing. Only one or two Savoy cabbages survived the hot greenhouse a couple of weeks ago so I sowed some more. The cucumbers that we put into the greenhouse beds on plot 118 were ready to go into their final spots. Outside, either a hot burst of weather or a gang of slugs had meant that the germination of beetroot and parsnip had been pretty patchy so I sowed more of these also. The new sowings outside included turnips (snowball and Milan purple top) and carrots (early market, flyaway f1 and autumn king 2).
There were two remaining beds on plot 97 that we had yet to dig over and add manure to and given it will only be a couple of weeks until they have to have plants in, now was to time to do this job so that the soil isn’t too acidic with manure when plants go in. One of the beds was where we had taken the strawberries out from a few weeks ago. They had probably been in for three or more years and once the plants were removed you could really see the difference between that bed and the others which have had manure and compost added to them a couple of times each year. So we added much more matter to it than we usually would, just to get it up to the same depth as the rest.
We also planted out the pak choi which look super healthy at the moment and will hopefully benefit from being in a partially shaded bed so that they don’t bolt. We even managed some comprehensive weeding, meaning that both plots were in a great state to be left for a further week or two before our next visit. This year seems to be the year of the mare’s tail, I’m waiting for it to be declared a delicacy in the finest restaurants so that we can feast like kings as we are certainly experts at growing it! Fingers crossed there won’t be much more of it when we get back this weekend!
by Philippa | May 3, 2014 | Allotment
Glorious sunshine on Saturday and given the forecast worsens for the rest of the bank holiday weekend and Neil has the minor distraction of another marathon to run on Monday we thought we would make the most of it today.
In a fit of giddiness of being ahead with our ‘things to do’ plan we did some more planting. The first of the seeds to be sown straight outside this year were parsnips (countess and imperial), spinach (medania and perpetual), chard (red and rainbow) and beetroot (boltardy, forono, golden and barbabietola di chioggia).
More planting in the greenhouse of green and purple basil, melon (Blenheim orange), courgette (zucchini, jemmer, tondo chiaro di nizzi and dundoo) and cucumber (gherkin and burpless tasty green). Things that had not even germinated last week, such as the cucino cucumbers or Savoy cabbages, had grown pretty tall, all in six days. Some of the brassicas were growing so well that they needed thinning out, especially as we have no need for 50 plus red cabbages! Neil got busy snipping with the scissors-cruel but necessary! He also pricked out the pak choi and in a bit of an experiment put some in black growing bags and some in a seed tray to see which fares best.
Due to the warmer weather the onions and garlic looked like they could do with some water so I watered them with some organic feed which should perk them up. I always worry about how much this feeds the weeds too as I’m sure things like mares tail must love it! We did some outside sowing of flowers too. Cornflowers were sewn in ‘deep masses’ and poppies were cast in ‘majestic drifts’ according to packet instructions. Otherwise known as fling ’em in and see what happens!
Neil, always one to be tempted by an internet purchase, had added a white marker to his order when getting some seeds online and now it had arrived was keen to try making some signs for our crops. So we used it on some slate pieces that we have previously written on with chino-graph pencil with only short term success. Apparently it is waterproof but can be easily removed with soapy water. Stand by for reviews of its progress in a few weeks time. Meanwhile Neil thinks any allotment judges will like the extra effort to make the place look nice!
Having emptied the manure bay on plot 97 with recent loads to dig into the plots, Neil filled it back up again while there was spare manure in the communal bays. He also put about 6 barrows of it at the end of plot 118 which was only cleared of the kale a couple of weeks ago. I’m sure digging it all in will appear on the ‘things to do’ list for coming weeks! So much for being ahead, there are always jobs to be done!
by Philippa | Apr 20, 2014 | Allotment
This recipe served two but is easily scaled up or down and can use lots of things you might bring home from the plot. This weekend we came back with the last of our leeks which have been a great crop this year as well as a tray of purple sprouting broccoli which has been the most successful we have ever grown despite an inauspicious start. But there is no reason why you couldn’t use other veg, such as spinach, chard or peas as alternatives, depending on what you have available and what you like to eat.
Knob of butter
Splash of olive oil
2 large leeks, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Leaves from a few sprigs of thyme
150g orzo
1 tin of cannellini beans, drained (or flageolet or butter beans)
Bunch of sprouting broccoli (or other veg as suggested above)
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp cream cheese
Handful of grated Parmesan cheese
Block of halloumi cheese, sliced.
Melt the butter with a splash of oil over a medium heat. Add the leeks, garlic and thyme and cook down for about 10 mins until tender. Meanwhile add the orzo and the beans to a pan of boiling water for about 8mins. Halfway through this cooking time add your broccoli or any other veg you are using to the boiling water. When done, drain and add to the leeks with the lemon zest and juice and a generous amount of seasoning.
Heat a frying pan to medium high and fry the halloumi in a splash of oil until golden on both sides. Stir the cream cheese and Parmesan through the leek, bean and orzo mix and serve with the halloumi on top. Enjoy!
adapted from a recipe appearing in April 2014 issue of Delicious magazine
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