An allotment month

Ok not technically an allotment month, there isn't much happening on the plot in January but there have still been things to harvest.

For Christmas my friend Charlotte got me a Gro Cycle mushroom kit and this bad boy is producing. Within about two days the mushrooms made an appearance, three days after that we had mushrooms we could cook with (they're delicious, seriously delicious).  

  

An allotment month

I've abandoned this little blog, life has been filled with work, the gym, family visits and time on the allotment getting seeds in the ground and preparing for the grow season.

In March photos from the plot are typically very brown, it's all soil and not much in the way of growth (unless of course you count the grass that has taken over during the winter) but the seeds are going in and tiny plants are making an appearance.

Seeds planted in March

• Kale: these went in a propagator on a sunny windowsill in the house.  The seedlings made their appearance really quickly and have subsequently been moved to the polytunnel and potted on (bottom left photo)
• Brussel sprouts: these went in at the same time as the kale and made their appearance in a similar time frame.  I've never grown sprouts before, I don't have much luck with the brassica family (with the exception of purple sprouting broccoli) but Malcolm on the plot across the way from ours does really well so I'm basically going to copy anything that he does and hope for the best
• Sunflowers: we're doing a bit of an experiment this year we've planted 12 seeds outside and 12 in the polytunnel.  The polytunnel seeds have made an appearance and look pretty strong so far (bottom right photo), nothing from the outside seeds yet...
• Broad beans: these were planted in February not March outside in a raised bed, they've made an appearance and don't seem too munched which is good (top right photo).  I'm hoping we'll be able to start harvesting beans at the end of May
• Purple sprouting broccoli: from a tray of seeds (approximately 30 seeds went in) I'm hoping to get four or five strong plants that will go through to harvest
• Spring onions: we've put these in the polytunnel this year, when the soil outside starts to warm up we'll put some out there, I know everyone who grows their own veg says this but in particular with spring onions when you grow your own you can taste the difference 
• Beetroot: we've put a couple of rows in the polytunnel and a couple of rows outside in a raised bed, so fair only golden detroits (the yellow variety)have gone in but we'll get the traditional purple ones in over the coming weeks.  You don't want to put all of your beetroots in at the same time, we like it but there is only so much you can eat in a short period of time.

Plants being harvested in March

• Purple sprouting broccoli: (centre photo) these plants take forever to get from seed to harvest, and I do wonder sometimes if I should use precious space on the plot for them, I then see how much they cost for a small tray of about 10 stems and I am vindicated in my decision to plant them 
• Kohlrabi: (bottom row, centre) we planted these seeds in the polytunnel bed in November and have been harvesting them since January.  There a very fresh, sharp tasting root but it's not an unpleasant flavour, we tend to add them to stir fries which add a nice crunch similar to water chestnuts

April is when things truly kick off and we start planting the flower seeds, butternut squashes, courgettes, beans, and strawberry plants.

The view from plot 39a

Found photos

I was taking some photos to put stuff on eBay (ugh so skint!) and found these on the memory card.  They were taken in late August/early September before other Sam joined us on the plot and before we had constructed serenity shed to shelter in when in rains (rather than hiding under a sheet of plastic!).

The spiral tendrils are from the butternut squash plant, once you give it a little support it climbs and climbs sending out these amazing spiral arms to grip onto whatever comes within it's grasp.  The apple trees behind the polytunnel where ridiculously abundant this year so many of the apples were just rotting on the ground next year we might try and make some cider with them.  Hopefully we won't go blind...

I'll do a proper update from the plot soon, it has been so rainy recently and the plot turns to sticky, heavy mud making it almost impossible to work on and no fun to photograph.  

Everyday adventuring

Eat/sleep/work/repeat

This last fortnight in particular has been crazy busy, with all the staff cuts at work there is no quiet time any more where we can catch our breath and do all of those jobs that aren't urgent.  My colleagues and I eat/sleep/work/repeat but hey we do it with colourful bunting and a smile on our faces so that's ok then...

Sarah and I did squeeze in a trip to the Bike Shed Theatre where we saw We This Way, the audience hold up different coloured glow sticks to dictate the direction of the story it was really interesting I would recommend it.

Christmas disappointments

I'm going back to a real Christmas tree, I tried a fake one last year and it just wasn't the same not nearly as Chritmassy and exciting as a real tree.  To celebrate this decision Sarah and I ordered a bunch of novelty decorations from ASDA sadly the order arrived incomplete and many of the decorations were broken.  Not entirely surprising really as many of them weren't even wrapped up and were knocking around in a box far too big for the contents *grumble*.

Allotment successes

We've not had too bad a year on the plot all in all, you'll see Sam holding up some peppers that we FINALLY managed to grow, we think we know what we've been doing wrong all of these years so with any luck next year we won't be able to move for peppers we've grown.  

Exciting news from the plot as well.... we have a new plot share, the lovely Sam (different Sam it's confusing for all when I ask Sam/Sam to pass me something) and guess what, she turns up to the plot and works on it!  What a miracle!!  I will do a separate post  to show you the amazing progress she's made already :)

The view from 39a

Lazy, hazy summer on the allotment

I had an unexpected long weekend at home this weekend (long story), Friday was a washout as it rained most of the day but for me that's perfect as I pottered about the house getting all of those jobs I've been meaning to do for ages sorted.  Saturday, Sunday and Monday however were beautiful and sunny so we spent some serious time on the plot.

I haven't grown sunflowers for a couple of years which is such a mistake as I love them!  The first year we had our plot we planted loads for our wedding and they looked amazing I really enjoyed growing them but they seemed like a luxury plant in comparison to all the fruit and veg we wanted to cram onto the plot.  Mistake!  They do a great job of attracting pollinating insects and I love looking at them so how is that just luxury?

The ongoing saga of the woman who took over the other half of our plot but has done nothing with it is almost at an end, she has had her letter of warning and we've had confirmation that if she doesn't pull her finger out we can have the other half back.  If/when we get it I'm going to grow so many flowers to attract the bees and add some colour to our plot!

Speaking of colour...

Look at these tomatoes!  I love that on one vine you have a fruit at every stage of ripening, the smell of tomato plants isn't rivalled on the plot and to me it just equals the smell of summer.  I am delighted to confirm that the variety of tomato Sam has decided to specialise in (we lost the label so don't actually know what it is so have to save seeds at the end of each season for next year) is really tasty and plentiful.  I ran out of boxes to hold the harvest and had to carry this bunch home in my t-shirt, nice.

Success!

Over the years we've had rubbish luck with growing peppers, whilst other occupants of the polytunnel have boasted massive fruits and plenty of them we've always struggled to get our plants past flowering into fruiting stage.  This year however we seem to have done well, we kept our plants on the inside of the raised bed nearest the 'wall' of the polytunnel away from the walkway and draft of the doors, they seem to like it and have started to produce these:

Butternut squashes are loving it in the tunnel as well this year with this beast making an appearance (even though it doesn't look that big in this photo, it's epic I can't wait for it to ripen up and get it in the oven). 

Cooking up a storm?

With all the veg finally ready to pick it means our kitchen is constantly fired up, this week I made spicy passata and runner bean chutney, the chutney needs some tweaking as it's a bit vinegary at the moment but I might add some cauliflower or courgette to tone it down a bit.  

If the weather holds out we'll try for another weekend on the plot this coming weekend I'd like to make a start on a path going down what is currently the border of our plot and our neighbours but if she gives it up it'll be down the centre which will be great as it will avoid us compacting soil we want to grow stuff in.

Anyone got any suggestions for stuff to make?  In particular how to preserve courgettes, any suggestions welcome!

The view from 39a

The best time of year

Oh my days the allotment is in full swing now and I'm loving it!  This little pink and white beauty is a new variety of beetroot we grew this year and it is delicious, I cut this one up and put it on a pizza (dough made from scratch, passatta made from home grown tomatoes, home grown herbs, spring onions adorning the topping, smug much?).  The beetroot was so sweet it was delicious eaten raw, with some of the others we've grown I'm going to grate it, mix with carrot and have with falafel in a pitta much nom!

Our little cherry tree is fruiting this year, if we want any fruit we have to get in there quick before the birds get them.  This little fella looked good but was a bit tart, I think I'm going to have to cook our crop up into jam but that is no hardship.

Don't judge me

So my most favourite vegetable ever is baby corn, I love it on pizza, steamed or just raw it's so tasty.  I've tried growing sweetcorn before but outside and it didn't fared that well (but that may have been down to my inconsistent watering) this year we've grown some in the poly tunnel and as you can see its doing well as it towers over me!  

I can't lie I'm a little bit obsessed with the corn, it's so alien looking but beautiful as well, the photos don't do the plant justice as these fronds are so pink and red and amazing!  I picked my first corn yesterday, it seems a shame to pick them so young but if you want baby corn you gotta do it and frankly I got over it pretty quickly.

Look at that!  I mean what the hell!? I never knew that each little kernel on the cob gets it's own strand.  You peel off the outer leaves and then gently pull the corn out from it's leafy casing and this is what comes out, amazing isn't it?  (I told you I am obsessed with the baby corn.) I'm delighted to report that it was delicious as well, next year I might just shoulder out some of the tomatoes and grow a full bed of corn!

What we've been doing on the plot

• Battling with bind weed, I doubt we'll ever get rid of it entirely but it's a lot less invasive than it was before
• Battling black fly, we've got a full infestation on the runner beans which is an arse but I'm trying garlic infused water and just scraping the feckers of the plant, guess which method is working best?
• Harvesting the last of the broad beans and turning it into pesto to stock up our freezer.  Also when your broad beans have finished fruiting cut it off at the base but leave the roots in the soil to rot, they have a lot of nutrients in them and will do your soil the world of good
• Thinning out the apple tree, remove the weedy looking fruits so you only have a couple per bunch it will make the apples you do harvest a lot sweeter

I'm on holiday this week so will hopefully be spending a lot of time on the plot tidying up and planting more seeds!

Wardrobe wishlist

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7

The allotment edition

Internal monologue whilst choosing items for this post: *don't pick a smock, don't pick a smock* so what do I do - I only go and pick a bloody smock!  Damn it.

I used to wear mostly jeans and ratty old t-shirts to the allotment but over the years have moved more towards dresses.  This is not in an attempt to be glamorous on the plot or anything but dresses allow more freedom of movement which when you're digging and weeding is really useful.  Pockets are a bonus and for the summer months anything that covers your shoulders to protect from sunburn (how old do I sound?).

Essential attire

• A decent pair of sunglasses are a must, the ones above are made of wood I NEED them!
• Wellies are another essential, I've actually got a pair that I've had for over ten years that only cost me £3.50 in the first place and despite wearing them all year round on the plot there is no sign of them giving up on me which is great!  If they were to give up on me I think I would need to fuel my addiction to stripes with these wellibobs, the ankle height appeals as you're not shifting the extra weight of a full sized boot around (after four or more hours working on the plot you feel that extra weight!).
• Although I haven't included them in this wishlist a hat and a decent pair of gloves are a must.  I wear a soft leather pair of gloves as they are sturdy and allow me to get in amongst the brambles without damaging myself, if you're not keen on leather sturdy cotton are also good but might restrict your movement if you get too big a pair.

Essential extras

• Is a mug an essential extra?  Personally I think this spaceman mug is :)
• Anyone who has worked outside during those cold winter months will know that you need to take care of your hands, I don't think I will ever grow out of loving the satsuma range at The Body Shop.  I've loved it since I was a teenager and still love it now.

The view from 39a

Oh hello again nature

Whilst I enjoyed my time away in Boston and NYC immensely returning to the Shire and to the allotment was truly awesome.  I'd only been away two weeks and the grass had shot up to about hip height I couldn't believe it!

Rather than get demoralised by it we got the strimmers out and cut it all back, I've laid the grass out on pallets in the sun to dry out, the hope is I will be able to use it for mulching the strawberries next year.  It will probably have to be stored in the polytunnel over winter to keep it dry but that is a potential saving right there (I know hay isn't expensive but it's an experiment in recycling and re-purposing.... I'll let you know how it goes).

Here are a few more updates from the plot:

Neighbours become good friends?

No.  Our plot neighbours are a pain in the arse, they haven't done anything on their side of the plot since May, the sad little broad beans they put in have been abandoned and the spinach they left in the plot is taller than me and has gone to seed (I look forward to having spinach pop up on our side of the plot next year then).  It seems such a shame that there are people on the waiting list champing at the bit to get a plot and there are people like our plot neighbours who are stopping them from using the land to it's full advantage.  If the council think they can claw back unprofitable allotment land due to lack of use they will and then we all lose out.  (Rant over.)

The plot as the classroom

Every single year the plot teaches us what we can do better and how to manage what we grow a little more efficiently, this year has been no different.  Here are a few things we have learnt:

• Strawberries: every year put a new plant or two in to ensure a continuous crop.  We shoved some plants in three years ago they fruited wonderfully and we carried home bags and bags of strawberries to make into jam but of course the little plants have a three year fruiting life span.  We've put new plants in this year but won't have the crop levels we've enjoyed in the past which is a real shame because in previous years we've made enough jam to see us through until the next strawberry season with enough to spare to give away as presents.  Each year the plants will give off runners which will in turn form new plants we've had mixed success with these, I would recommend placing the runners in pots of compost whilst they're still attached to the mother plant, then when they're strong enough cutting them off and over wintering them in a polytunnel or greenhouse.
• Corn: I tried growing corn out on the plot the first couple of years we had an allotment and they just didn't fruit very well.  This year however I thought I would give it one more try, of the nine seeds I tried to germinate only three made it but I've put them into the polytunnel and they seem to be doing well.  Plant them close together so they can pollinate one another and water generously everyday if you can.  I'll let you know how I get on with these...
• Hoe: The hoe is your best friend.  Once you've done all of that back breaking work digging out weeds just spend ten minutes or so every single visit to the plot giving the soil a quick hoe to keep the weeds down, if you don't they'll come back in no time!  Plus hoeing is a lot less effort than digging in the long run. 

Do you ever have the feeling you're being watched?

I'm not a huge fan of anything slimey, or scaley so frogs and slow worms freak me out but I have to recognise the benefits of having them around the plot as they eat the slugs and snails that destroy our crops.  I was in the polytunnel yesterday potting on our sunflowers, moved a bag of compost and had this little fella leap out at me, happily there was no one else in the polytunnel to hear the litany of uncouth language that poured out of me.  I popped the bag of compost back and when I was watering the veg gave the patch I found him in a little sprinkle to encourage him to stick around. 

Well I'm off to a car boot sale this afternoon, then a bit of time on the plot followed by an evening celebrating my friend's birthday.  Not too shabby a Saturday, what are you up to this weekend?

The view from 39a

The countdown begins

This past weekend Sam and I took to the plot to try and get things tidy and in order before I go to Boston and New York in less than two weeks!!!  (This trip is approaching quickly and I'm feeling really disorganised, last year I had every detail of our San Diego trip planned but because it's just me this time I'm taking a much more relaxed approach, not necessarily a good thing.)

In the polytunnel we found our first strawberry of the year and it tasted gooooooooooooood.  I seem to remember we had more fruits by this time last year but then it was considerably warmer then it has been this year.  

Getting ahead of ourselves?

In March I started some runner beans off in the polytunnel, as you can see they've come along nicely and have completely outgrown their tray so we planted them out which is a touch early and a bit of a risk but they really needed some root space.  We don't have a cold frame or a particularly sheltered spot on the plot so we planted them, tied them to the bean supports and put fleece around them.  I'm really hoping this coupled with the thorough blanket of slug pellets I set down will protect them and we'll get lots of pods.  Last year our plants were completely destroyed by slugs, and birds, and rabbits in fact pretty much anything that happened to be passing by had a go at my runner beans *huff*.

Returning to the plot

I've mentioned before how last year was a bit of a dip for us on the plot, enthusiasm hit a low and not an awful lot got done, one of the things that slipped off the list last year was planting sunflowers which was a real shame as the bees love them.  I suspect the lack of flowers on our plot resulted in a number of the butternut squash flowers not getting pollinated so we've rectified that this year and put in three different types of sunflower to cater to all the bees.

With a little bit more work on the plot this week and next weekend I'm hoping there won't be lots left for Sam to do when I'm away, and for that matter when I get back!  One of the next tasks we need to tick off is to construct the pumpkin pyramid (in actual fact we're going to be using the structure to grow butternut squashes - butternut squashes proved too much of an alliteration challenge for me).  Fingers crossed there will be enough time to get it all done...

The view from 39a

I realised yesterday that I've been posting a lot about the gym and have neglected to mention anything about the other great love in my life,  the allotment (made ya feel queasy yet?).  In actual fact Sam and I have been working really hard on the plot recently, last year was a bit of a blip we lost motivation in the face of the never ending tide of weeds, but this year we're back on track.

Progress update

1. This will be the final year of fruiting for these strawberries, we had a much larger patch at the front of the plot but have moved the new growth to a raised bed towards the back of the plot.  We need to plant something new in this part of the plot as the strawberries have been in situ for three years and we need to mix things up.  We're probably going to put runner beans here, they're great for getting nutrients into the ground, once they've finished fruiting you cut the tops of the plants off leaving the roots in the ground to decompose giving the soil a good feed.
2. I've got spring and autumn fruiting raspberries here.  I planted then in September, they died off over winter convincing me that I'd lost them but they're coming back strong now, I doubt we'll get much fruit from them this year but hopefully next year I can get some jam from them.
3. RAGE!  The whispy lady who took over the other half the plot has done nothing!  I'm being harsh, she's dug over a patch the size of a single mattress and put in some leggy looking broad beans o_O.  Oh how I regret giving up the other half of the plot!  The positives of this situation are that I want to distance myself from her lack of activity so have gone all out to dig our side of the plot over and get it looking as neat as possible.  
4. Two new raised beds installed housing broad beans, beetroot, spring onions and strawberries.  They're made up of boards and bricks, they're not the most professional looking raised beds in all the world but I absolutely love them!
5. The purple sprouting broccoli has finally gone to seed so I dug it out yesterday, I've left it on the plot for now because there were loads of shield bugs and ladybirds hidden amongst the flowers and I wanted to give them a chance to find new homes before I hack it up and chuck it in the compost bin.

What next?

We want to get another raised bed in the patch left after removing the purple sprouting broccoli, we've got just enough bricks but need to source some boards (we scan every single skip we pass at the moment) if anyone has any they would like to donate they would be gratefully received!

I'm hoping to get the runner bean structure up today with a view to planting out the 12 or so plants we have in the polytunnel when things get a little bit warmer.

Butternut squashes!  These are one of my favourite things to grow, and thanks to Pinterest we've learnt about squash structures, we have everything we need to build an A frame with netting to train the squashes up.  This has two benefits, firstly it reduces the amount of space the squashes take up (they trail a couple of metres per plant) and keeps the fruit of the ground reducing the risk of rotting or insect attacks, I'll let you know if its a success or not! 

A bank holiday weekend digging weeds out in the rain might not be to everyone's taste but I like nothing more than getting stuck in, getting mud under your nails and at this time of year starting the see the fruits of your labour.  The only other thing better?  Perhaps that feeling of taking your boots off, having a cup of coffee and as biscuit and relaxing aching muscles on the sofa infront of Amazon Prime!

Introducing... the plot

So here is the most dramatic photo taken on the plot that I could find, did it catch your attention?  The allotment as I mentioned in my first post has been such a great place for Sam and I, taking it on was one of the best decisions we made.  Now don't get me wrong it hasn't all been skipping around bare foot marvelling at the delicate petals or the majestic flight of a bumble bee (in fact there has been none of that, the plot is riddled with red ant nests if you went around bare foot you'd be bitten and if you have ever been bitten by a red ant you will know that you don't think there is any majesty in those feckers *shakes fist*).

Anyway, we have had the plot for coming up to four years now, we were called to say we could have it (after being on the waiting list for a year) a couple of months before our wedding in 2011 which was perfect as it meant we went into full on sunflower growing mode!  We had sunflowers decorating all corners of the farm we held our reception on, it looked great, we were so chuffed with ourselves.

To begin with we shared the plot with two other people, the first lady drifted off to another plot pretty quickly (to be fair things were a bit crowded), the second our good friend Laura was hit hard with work and family commitments which meant the plot was a struggle to maintain.  We took over the whole thing last year but struggled to keep the weeds at bay and lost most of our motivation for it.  We gave up the left hand half (in the photo above) last year with high hopes that an enthusiastic newcomer would tackle it with energy and vigor.... Nope!  We finally saw the lady who has taken it over a couple of weeks ago she's done nothing to it since she took it on and things are becoming overgrown and the dandelion seeds are drifting onto our patch *huff*.  We'll see what happens, with that, I've told her I'm happy to take back part or all of it if she can't manage but I think she might have her head in the clouds, she doesn't realise the commitment having a plot takes.  It means evenings and weekends toiling away.  Not fun for everyone and not something you can put off until later.

This all sounds very negative, it isn't intended to be, like any sort of community thing there are so many politics involved.  But what makes it all worth while?  The seedlings poking through the soil in spring, the flowers coming on the strawberry plants which means it won't be too much longer until you're cooking up a batch of jam (seriously you cannot beat homemade jam it's epic), steaming the purple sprouting broccoli you picked from the plot ten minutes ago or taking out a tub of broad bean pesto from the freezer during winter and stirring it through your pasta reminding you of the summer sunshine when you picked and made it.

These are the things that keep me coming back to the plot and digging out the weeds and lugging the heavy watering can about.  When you work a desk job like I do there is immense satisfaction in working towards a tangible result, that steaming pot of soup packed with veg you grew, the salad packed with cucumbers and tomatoes you nurtured from seed.  It's ace despite the aching muscles and the politics!