Berry Good Fruit

The strawberries I planted in the spring have been excellent - although we haven't had very many they have been big, sweet and juicy. The children have picked them and put them straight into their mouths, so some of them haven't even made it home!

I did rescue a few and made some shortbread biscuits for dessert and put a large juicy strawberry on top of each biscuit (see picture). They were delicious.

It was Peter's birthday earlier this month and as he likes desserts I made a plain cheesecake and topped it with fruits (blackcurrants, raspberries and strawberries). It was a good combination for a topping as the blackcurrants were quite sharp and went well with the sweet raspberries and strawberries.

Both receipes have been very successful and will have to be repeated when more fruit arrives next year - hopefully in greater quantities!

That's Shallot

Thought you might like to see a photo to see how my shallots are growing. I planted them in April in ground that is fairly heavy clay and didn't really expect them to do too much as they were beginning to sprout because I was a bit late planting them. But as they were a freebie that I got with all my onions and garlic I thought I would stick them in and see what would happen.

As you can see they have not only thrived but they have positively bloomed. What I now need to do is to see when they can be harvested and then what to do with them. The only thing that comes to mind is making some pickle. Now that's not such a bad idea.....

Plants for Winter

Last week I had an email from Thompson & Morgan (seed specialists) from whom I normally order all my seeds etc. They were having a half price sale for one week only and I took the opportunity of snapping up some packets of seeds so that I can keep the crops going throughout the winter.

Here's what I ordered:-

Lettuce Arctic King - sow August-October & harvest April-May

Cabbage Kalibos - sow March-May & harvest August-October

Broccoli Sprouting Redhead - sow May-June & harvest March-April

Cabbage Minicole - sow April-June & harvest August-October

Radicchio Treviso Precoce Mesola- sow April-September & harvest August-December

This is just the start of my winter crops that I want to get going, and hopefully there will be plenty more to follow, but as the saying goes "you've got to start somewhere"

Over the next few weeks and months (as time permits) I want to create a big wall chart with what to plant when, how, harvest time etc and see where the gaps are and then try and "plug" those gaps so that I will be further on with my long term plan of being almost self-sufficient in vegetables all year round. It's a big task so will take some time, but will be worth it in the long run.

Planting Time

The past two weeks have been extremely busy at the allotment digging, planning and planting. The new plot is so overgrown and infested with weeds that each time I go I fill up 4 old compost bags full and take them to the local re-cycling centre. These places are great and you can pick up some bargains that would otherwise be sent to landfill. One lady was going to bin a beautiful rosemary bush that was too big for her garden, so that has made its way to the plot and is planted next door to the thriving blackcurrant bush.

The other "find" at the centre was a butler sink (which weighed a ton, or so it seemed) which is now sitting proudly in our front garden at home waiting for some love and attention.

Back to the allotment - the runner beans and French beans have been planted and are climbing nicely up their sticks, and although they have gone slightly pale in colour I am assured that they do this sometimes, but production is not affected. Today I noticed that there are some flowers that have just blossomed on one of the French beans. On the bed above them I have planted 6 courgettes, 6 cauliflowers, 2 broccoli (for the time being) and 5 sweetcorn (for the time being).

The bed to the right of the brassicas is full from top to bottom with white and red onions and shallots. The garlic is next to the compost heap (which is full to bursting). I have planted some spinach, but it looks very weedy and seems to be struggling to grow so will have to see how it turns out.

The fruit is growing well - I picked the first strawberry yesterday and the blackcurrant bush has produced lots of currants which are bright green at the moment.

On the new plot I have planted 13 plum tomatoes and 21 beef tomatoes. Peter is frantically digging at the bottom of the plot where the ground is very heavy and we will put in the last of the potatoes there to break up the earth a bit, besides we ran out of space on the main potato bed so am glad that they will have the right amount of space to grow in and not be squashed somewhere too small.

I am now digging below the tomatoes to prepare the ground for the cucumbers as they are nearly ready to be planted outside. They have been hardening off for about 10 days now so will hopefully be planted next week.

One man at the allotment gave me the two broccoli and 2 chilli plants and another man gave me 2 sweet pepper plants. I haven't offered them any of my seedlings as their plots are full to bursting and always look professionally grown. They are my inspiration and example, so instead I spend time talking to them. Maybe one day I can return the favours.

Free Bounty

The more times I go to the allotment, the more people I meet and talk to, and two people in particular have been very generous to us and our plot. One lovely lady, Eileen, has given us a big clump of chives to start off our herb bed. I placed them in a bucket of water for half an hour or so as they were quite dry and then planted them quite deep with plenty of compost and drainage. I gave them a good water and they are sitting there quite happily and look very much at home.

Another chap, Rupert, is also very kind and is always helping out people. He found a couple of rhubarb plants tossed onto the bonfire patch and he rescued them and brought them up to me. I don't particularly like rhubarb, and I don't think my family do either, but a free gift is not to be sniffed at, and I have a very good neighbour who loves it on her cereal, and there is also the challenge of making some rhubarb & ginger jam for example.

The next time I saw Rupert he brought up a loganberry bush that had been discarded on the bonfire. The bush looked very healthy and after soaking it for an hour or so while I found a spot to plant it and then prepared the ground, it looks like it has settled in nicely. It is between the blackcurrant bush and the strawberries for the time being, but I may move it next year if it needs more room.

We have also been given some piping to make a framework for netting over the fruit to protect it from birds, it is temporary water piping so I am told and it is ideal for making cloches etc. as it is very flexible.

I always feel I want to repay these kind people for what they do and give, but their plants and plots are far superior to ours and they seem to be very content to hand out their advice on a regular basis, and I think for them that is payment enough. Hopefully the time will come when I can do the same for others who are just starting out.

The Plot Thickens

Having now paid my rent for the extra ¼ plot and after waiting for the markers to be moved we are now in business.

Last Saturday we arrived at the allotment early and I managed to strim the whole of the new plot. It was really hard work and as the sun was extremely hot that day, I guess I must have burnt off quite a few calories! The children helped by raking up some of the grass and consigning it to the ever-growing compost heap, and while I was strimming I found one of our tools, a "masher" which we had lost the previous week. That just shows you how tall the grass was because the masher was completely hidden and I almost strimmed that too.

Two days later in the searing heat Peter dug across the whole length of the new plot to a width of about 1 ft, so we are on our way. The plan is to try and dig about the same amount each time we go and plant as we dig with no particular plan other than to use the space as an "overflow" plot this year. We have already used up all the space in bed no. 3 with the potatoes and we still have the late maincrop to plant, so they will go in the new plot and help break up the ground nicely. I shall also plant some of the tomatoes and peppers there and possibly some garlic.

Next year the ¼ will be organised into a series of beds, but there is no time for those niceties this year, the main thing is to get it dug and planted even if it is a bit haphazard - after all so long as the crops grow, what's the problem?

For now I am thinking of what I can plant permanently there next year. I fancy some fruit trees and maybe some more berries and fruit bushes, but I mustn't get ahead of myself, but it's OK to dream!

Extra Measure

A few weeks ago I spoke to the Allotment Secretary about the possibility of having an extra ¼ of a plot which adjoins our existing ½ plot. The man who has the adjoining ½ plot next to ours has only ever cultivated the far end of his plot and the ¼ next to ours is in a very sorry state. When I mentioned it to her she said that she would raise it with the Committee, who were shortly having a meeting, but as there were about a dozen people already on the waiting list, it maybe that I would have to stay with my existing ½ and the adjoining plot split in two.

However, she did say that as we had done so well with our existing plot in our first year and were very keen, that would go in our favour, so she said "wait and see".

When we came back from a weeks holiday there was a message on the answer phone from the Allotment Secretary saying that if we wanted to have the extra ¼ it was ours for the price of £13 per year! would we? You bet!

So a few days later I duly paid my £13 and as soon as the markers are moved, we can start digging this new patch. When we went down to the allotment on Monday of this week, both Peter and I dug one spade's worth and although the earth is very nice it is full of...guess what? masses of bindweed and covered in grass. It is much worse than our existing plot was when we took it over, but I am sure that will the same hard work and planning it will be up and running in 6 months or so. I will let you know the progress that takes place.
Just for the record, here's what it looks like at the moment. Later on I will take some more photos so you can see the difference.