Digging over Bed 3

I headed over to the plot for a dig today. There are several beds that need tidying up but Bed 3 was selected as today's focus. See its poor state below.



Just as I put the fork into the ground, a new allotmenteer entered the site. As he passed by Plot 35, we engaged hellos and introductions. He has just taken on Plot 21 and was on his way to have a bonfire. We had a nice chat and he commented on both types of artichoke on my plot. He likes the Jerusalems but is not so keen on the Globes. I think it was just us two on the site at the time. It was a chilly but sunny day.

I got back to Bed 3 and found that the soil had just about dried out enough for digging. A marked improvement on the last couple of weeks. Some of the small cabbages in the bed have been nibbled by something so I decided to leave them there for a while.



A couple of hours later, Bed 3 was dug over and looked much improved. I tried to take piccies to record my effort but the battery on my camera ran out (I'd only just charged it so time for a new battery methinks).

Merry Christmas

Belated Merry Christmas to one and all. I haven't posted for a while due to flu, kitchen installation (keeping me busy with wall preparation and painting - not ideal when poorly) and having lovely people round for Christmas. I aim to get back to the plot today or tomorrow for some fresh air and digging. The mound of veg peelings will be taken over to the compost heap too.

It was a shame that the Brussels didn't work out on the allotment this year (bloody rabbits!) but it has made me determined to get them sorted this coming year. I'll sow them nice and early and will cover them as much as possible once planted out. I may sow a few small batches rather than a single large one so that any losses can be replaced easily.

The parsnips, on the other hand, were a complete success. The ones I dug up a couple of weeks ago for Christmas lunch were huge. On Christmas Eve, I heard on the grapevine that one of my neighbours was in need of parsnips but couldn't get any. I nipped over to the plot very briefly before darkness fell to get some for her. They were absolutely enormous and seem to be appreciated. Any chance for me to show them off. Apparently, their enormity caused a fair amount of giggling in my neighbour's house. In return, my neighbour brought me over a portion of yummy parsnip soup. I will definitely grow parsnips again. The trick is to keep the seeds moist in the ground before they germinate (pre-chitting didn't seem to work out). And they are very low maintenance once they have germinated.

It will soon be time to start sowing again. I need to write sowing dates in one of my new calendars so that I can keep up with it all.

Need some more photos on here...

Her indoors

...that's me that is.

No allotmenting yesterday because it mostly rained. Today, it was a drier but I stayed indoors with the lurgie.

Nothing regarding the plot to report this weekend unfortunately. It might be a good time to report on the spuds I have ordered for next season. I ordered the following from the Organic Gardening Catalogue:

- Amorosa (1.5kg, First Early, Organic, New variety with long, oval tubers and moderate resistance to tuber blight, scab and lead roll virus).

- Remarka (3kg, Early Maincrop, Organic, Large tubers, which can be left in the ground for longer for really big spuds, with good all-round disease resistance).

- Anya (2kg, Early Maincrop, Long, waxy tubers with high resistance to scab and moderate resistance to blight and slugs).

Once I receive the spuds, I'll be giving some to the future in-laws for their new veg patch and some to a colleague at work (who may, fingers crossed, be getting a full-sized allotment soon).

To the same order, I added a pack of Lady Godiva squash seeds. These have shell-less seeds which can be eaten raw or roasted. I like the sound of that. On top of that, I ordered a sprouting jar and starter pack. So there will be something healthy to eat over Christmas (other than the nice Jerusalem artichokes and parnsips from the plot).

Assuming I'll be fighting fit again next weekend, I may get to do some gardening between bouts of cooking in our new kitchen which is being fitted later in the week. Can't wait.

Now, I'm off to Bedfordshire (that's bed for those who haven't seen Bridget Jones).

Who's been nibbling my parsnips?

That's what I'd like to know.



I have left the nibbled parsnip in place in the hope that no others get touched. I might have to dig up the parsnips next week for Christmas to ensure that I have enough for the special day.

Today was cold and the frost on the ground didn't budge at all. The picture below shows the frost still lingering on the grass after 1500.



The walk over to the allotment was quite treacherous as the pavements were all frosty and slippy. Don't get me wrong - I am very happy to see it. Hopefully, it will kill off lots of pests and diseases. Apparently, the temperatures are slightly lower than usual at this time of year.

I think I was the only one on the allotment today. I popped over to check on things and to dig up some Jerusalem artichokes. Under the glass of the raised beds, there are some seedlings emerging from the sowings I made 3 or so weeks ago. There is clearly some warmth under there. No sign of the garlic I planted a couple of weeks ago. There may be a chance that the frost has put a stop to them. If I don't see any sign of them in a couple of weeks, I will assume they didn't make it.

The piccie below shows the results of 1 of the 5 Jerusalem artichokes I planted back in Feb.



I took them home before scrubbing and peeling them. I sauted some onion (red - from the allotment a few months back) and some celery (shop-bought) in some butter for 10 mins before adding 500g of the artichokes cubed. After a minute, I added some chicken stock (homemade) and simmered it all for 20 mins. I whizzed it up in a liquidiser and added some milk and seasoning. It was a lovely white colour and tasted fantastic, though I do say so myself. I ate some of it with a friend and neighbour. She loved it and has taken the leftovers home for her lunch tomorrow. She is not a big fan of veg and had never heard of Jerusalem artichokes. She knows all about them now. I still have some tubers left from today's harvest so I might try them chipped or roasted later in the week. I will hold a few back from each plant for planting in the New Year and for giving away to fellow gardeners.

Just to show that there was some nice sun today - below is a piccie of our cat sunning herself in a nice spot on the coldframe in the garden which catches the sun in the afternoon. She is not the lightest of cats so I hope she doesn't make a habit of sitting there, for the sake of the frame.