Awaiting another frost

Got back from Christmas in Cornwall which was lovely. Wet though. I took down some veg from Plot 35 for Christmas dinner (see below - note the lovely Christmassy thumb nail of my future mum-in-law).



The homemade plum gin also made an appearance as part of the meal - in the cranberry sauce. I was loosely following a Nigella recipe but replaced cherry brandy with plum gin and it worked very well.

I'm itching to get onto the plot to start tidying things up. See below for the how the plot looked a couple of weekends ago, before the frost really hit hard. So much to do.



Tomorrow will be my main opportunity this week as it will be dry (perhaps not on the ground though) and it is due to snow quite heavily on Tuesday.

Oooo, and I think I might be buying a wormery in the New Year.

Silly me...

The ground was so hard at the plot today that it was touch and go whether or not I'd be able to get any parsnips out for Christmas dinner let alone plant out any garlic. My fork bent with the strain. I think I chiselled just enough roots out for the 6 of us. I was surprised at how hard the ground was - silly me. I'll plant out the cloves in trays at home later.

The trick of leaving the cut stems of the Jerusalem artichokes over the ground to keep the frost off came into its own. It was easy to get some of those out to supplement the parsnips. Plus, a sweet little robin used the stems to perch and look to see if I was revealing any worms in the soil. I also took a cabbage to supplement the meagre number of sprouts produced in Bed 7 this year.

Just one other fellow plotter over there today but it was lovely to see him.

Leaving it a bit late?

Today, I came across the packages of seed garlic I received a while ago. I figure those should go in the plot asap. That's one of tomorrow's jobs sorted (there is also harvesting to do - parsnips, Jerusalem artichokes, chard, cabbage). There are 10 varieties in all - I fancied trying a few just to see. Fingers crossed that the ground isn't too hard.

Today, I tidied up the shed and lean-to at home a little bit and sowed some onion seeds. It is a bit early but I wanted to celebrate Midwinters Day somehow. Plus, I found some Christmas crackers in the shed so that was a bonus. I also got round to repotting the lemon and lime plants, bringing the lime into the house and putting the lemon in the lean-to to overwinter.

Too damp to dig...

...today. No-one else was at the site. The morning was nice and sunny but it greyed over in the early afternoon. I nipped over to Plot 35 (it had been ages) in my wellies to check things out. I was all ready for some digging but it was simply too wet for digging, soil sticking to the boots and all that. Nevermind. So I harvested some stuff instead.

I dug up a few kilos of Jerusalem artichokes which I'll take into work this week for colleagues to take home (reserving some to try mangocheek's stoved Jerusalem artichokes recipe). I also took a small handful of parsnips (first of the year), a cabbage, three small horseradish roots, a few baby leeks (to use like spring onions) and a couple of handfuls of Brussels.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the weeds hadn't taken over too much at the plot. I am looking forward to having some time over Christmas to tend to the allotment and garden.

mangocheeks was so right...

...with her prediction that the weather would not be suitable for gardening this weekend. It is still windy and wet here. I was hoping to get over to the plot this afternoon just to drop some peelings off but the rain has started again. I'll keep a look out but in the meantime I'll stick with GQT on Radio 4.

I did go through all my seeds yesterday so work out what I might need to buy for next year and to separate out some seeds to give away to colleagues. In particular, I am going to give away most of my packets of tomato seed because of the blight problem on our site. Nearly all of these tomato seeds came free with magazines - I don't have a particular tomato seed-buying habit (honestly). I have bought Ferline and Legend to try out next year. I have loads of seed in terms of types of veg rather than quantity but many of them could really do with using up next year. I am also going to give away any duplicates (again due to freebies - gratefully received) and some others that I don't fancy growing again (e.g. the Lady Godiva squash). It turns out that the only seeds I really need to buy are celery, celeriac, potato and pumpkin/squash. And I found a £5 garden centre voucher left over from my birthday some months ago so that was nice.

I think I will dig up the paths on Plot 35 over the remainder of Autumn and the start of Winter so if I can't get out this afternoon, I'll focus on drawing up a new planting plan. If I do manage to get over to the plot, I'll pick up some Jerusalam artichokes and a cabbage to go with a patridge I bought from the Farmers Market earlier.

Plum gin gets the thumbs up

It was very windy and quite wet yesterday so not a good day for gardening. So, I spent the day doing stuff around the house including making mincemeat for the festive season and bottling up my plum gin which had been in the making for the required 3 months. My word, the plum gin is good! Nipped round to my neighbour's to try it with her. It was a hit. It tastes deceptively non-alcoholic which can only mean trouble.

It was drier and less windy today so I nipped over to the plot for an hour in the afternoon. I had lots of kitchen scraps and lawn mowings to take over. While there, I quickly dug over Bed 5 where the green manure was growing. The soil felt easy-going and I was impressed by the lack of weeds there. The green manure is a hit too then.

Fingers crossed for a clear weather window for next weekend...

Tubers revealed

I hadn't been over to the plot for a couple of weeks as I was laid up with a nasty cold. It was lovely to get some fresh air at the 'lotment today though. The ground was wet this morning with some drizzle but it cleared up a bit in the afternoon.

I was planning on cutting down the Jerusalem artichoke stems and was considering harvesting a few tubers. As it was, when I arrived, one of the bigger stems had been blown over revealing some its tubers. Bingo! I cut down the stems and lay them over the ground to keep off hard frost.

I checked Bed 7 to see how the sprouts were doing. I picked a handful (literally) as some were already looking blown. I also pulled up a cabbage and cut off a few small florets from the remaining calabrese plant going to seed. After washing the artichokes and a spot of raking over what was Bed 1, I left with my harvest.

The artichokes are now in a large batch of Jerusalem artichoke and carrot soup (some for me and some for my lovely neighbour who brought me soup when I needed it last week) and the calabrese florets are in my tummy.

What I did with that extra hour

It was quite sunny this morning but as I was going to leave for the plotment it starting to shower. It soon cleared and I headed over with the intention only to add some veg peelings to the compost heap (a bit too wet for digging). I stayed for a little while longer though to do a spot of handweeding round the leeks. I harvested the remaining beetroot, some of which I'll give to some friends. I also spotted a couple of parsley seedings nearby that were starting to put on some growth - remnants of one of the 2 parsley plants I transplanted earlier in the year. I dug them up to plant in the border at home. Hopefully, they'll continue to put on growth and it'll be possible to harvest some over Christmas.

There are a few sprouts appearing on the Brussels in Bed 7 which is very exciting. Only on a couple of plants but that's ok. Some look to have blown a bit but I might start harvesting a few next weekend to freeze if they are good enough. The aim is have enough for Christmas dinner. Fingers crossed.

Surprise in the garden

I didn't make it to the plot last weekend so there is lots of catching up to do. Last Saturday, I focused on the garden and tidied up one of the borders - planted out some herbs from pots and moving some perennials around. I also took some cuttings of said perennials as insurance.

Before leaving for the plot yesterday, I popped outside to water some pots. I went over to look at the leaves on the two vines that I planted out a few months ago. On Gardeners World on Friday night, there was a tip on there about removing leaves from a vine to allow more light to get to any grapes and encourage ripening. One of the vines has yet to fruit but previously I had spotted a couple of bunches of small green fruit. I was expecting to see them there but was pleasantly surprised to find they have turned a gorgeous shade of purple. I suppose I should try a couple before the birds do.



I finally headed over to the plot at lunchtime and there wasn't another soul to be seen. It was a lot warmer than I was expecting - a perfect day for gardening. So much to do - where to start? I decided to tidy up the raspberry canes at the entrance to the plot. They were a right mess and I'd been meaning to sort them out for months. I dug most of them up and lined them up along the path at the top.



After a bit more digging I called it a day. I returned today mainly to collect some chard for a curry this evening. It was slightly cooler today and a bit wetter. Rain stayed off for most of the day but the grass around the plot was sopping wet. As well as the chard, I also took a Greyhound cabbage and some beetroot. There were loads of slugs in one of the cabbages. I evicted them and throw them into Bed 9. The buckwheat has flowered and is provided food and entertainment for lots of little flying critters. I'll give it another week before digging it in.



The crops that are there are generally flourishing. The leeks look like they are growing at least. The Jerusalem artichokes are reaching for the moon by the looks of things. I think they are taller than they were last year.



Things do look messy but I can sort that out over the next couple of months. I am seriously considering digging up all the paths between the beds because it is so difficult to get them tidy. I think that might allow me to make the plot look a lot tidier next year.

As well as the short spells of gardening, I have also ordered some garlic and blight-resistant tomato seeds. I look forward to getting the garlic in this month or next. I'll strive to get a more impressive harvest of the garlic next year and will try out some hardneck types with their edible scapes.

Autumn is definitely here

I don't think I'd been to the plot for 2 weeks until today. I was away last weekend. It hasn't rained for a while so everything looked bone dry.

I didn't know what to expect as things can change quite a lot in 2 weeks. Things looked ok. The cabbages are nearly ready to harvest so I'll probably take one next weekend. The green manure has grown to about 8 inches high already. The Jerusalem artichokes have grown to almost twice my height (I am about 5 foot 8 btw). Many of the leeks look like they are finally taking off. The squash has started to develop an interesting orange/green stripey look. The forecast suggests that there might be a frost later in the week so I wanted to harvest the squash if possible.



The first job was to plant a redcurrant bush into Bed 3. I dug it out of the garden yesterday as part of a tidy up and I figure that the soil in Bed 3 is too rough right now for veg. Might as well have something more solid occupying it.

Then I picked some blackberries and veg and added the courgette plants to the compost heap. I gave everything a good watering before coming home.



I am very pleased with my Autumn bounty.

Bean a while

A bit of a gap between blog posts here.

Last weekend, I dug over most of Bed 3 and added some grass clippings in a token effort to improve that bit of soil. It is very hard and dry so needs lots of TLC. Though clearly it is fertile because I am still picking lots of runner beans. Sssshhhh, don't tell anyone but I am quite glad that I was given some runner bean plants. Maybe I am converted and will grow them next year. I picked a couple of small yellow courgettes and the last of the peas before ripping out the pea plants. In their place, I planted out cauliflowers and purple sprouting. Before coming home, I did a spot more bramble and nettle chopping. At home, in an effort to use up some more plums, I made some plum sauce which I shared with some friends.

During the week, I harvested some cherry tomatoes from the pot on the patio. Not bad. I am very pleased to have some tomatoes this year. I ate them raw as I figured that cooking them would be a shame.

Just popped over for an hour today as I was away for the weekend. I harvested some chard, more runner beans, a couple of cobs of sweetcorn and a marrow. I also did a brief bit of weeding. I am currently cooking up some duck to have with the plum sauce made last weekend. To be served with some sweetcorn, peas and chard.

The buckwheat sown in Bed 5 is up which is great because last time I sowed green manure, it either didn't appear or it got munched by something.



And a few of the globe artichoke plants have been very busy producing suckers which can be removed to make new plants.





One of my more trusted books states that suckers should be removed in early Spring so I am a bit puzzled about what to do. Perhaps I'll take the suckers of one of the plants next week and see how they work out.

I need to spend some decent amounts of time over at the plot in the next few months to clear the bottom of the plot to make room for fruit bushes and strawberry plants that are taking up too much room at home.

Hope this isn't speaking too soon...

...but there seems to be signs of ripening amongst the cherry tomatoes in the pot on the patio. Cripes!

Two hours to kill

Just a couple of hours at the plot today but they were good. It was warm today but mainly grey. I was expecting more sun but I think that we were ahead of a rainy front to the West. Hey ho - it suits my English Rose complexion.

I sowed some Buckwheat seed on Bed 5 and covered over with some fleece.



Then I cleared some more brambles at the bottom of the plot. Starting to make some headway in time for some Autumn digging.

The brassicas in Bed 7 are looking ok I think (see below).



The calabrese plant has come on leaps and bounds but I don't know whether it will go much further before going wild.



Next weekend, if not before, I will pull out the pea plants and replace them with purple sprouting and cauliflowers.

More marrows...

...from the Marrow Fairy. Managed to give one away to a neighbour.

Yesterday was a day for the Beer Festival which was very pleasant. Even tried some gooseberry wine. Also popped in on the local Flower and Veg Show where there were the largest cabbages I have even seen. Lots of prizes for fellow plotters on our site. Next year...(I said that before)

Went over to the plot today. It was sunny and warm with just a bit of cloud about. I started by digging over Bed 5, removing the tiny onions I as went. Must do better with them next year.

Then I cleared some brambles, nettles and bindweed from near the compost bins at the bottom of the plot. The brambles will need digging out properly sometime but a lot of the nettles came out by the roots when pulled. Still lots to do but it'll be a bit at a time.

Clearing bugs

It was quite hot today though I was indoors all day. Nipped over to the plot for an hour this evening to check on the brassicas (again!) and it was lovely to get some fresh air. I also took some Bug Clear over in an effort to get rid of some whitefly. Bumped in a couple of other plotters over there which was nice. The lady who swapped lettuce for plums with me at the weekend said that she liked my idea of using the plums for gin so has also made up a batch. Am I driving people to drink now?

More Cabbage White eggs on the cabbages and sprouts. I had 6 leftover brassica seedlings so I put them in the gaps. Might be a bit late now but you never know. The cabbages look to be starting to heart up now so perhaps I'll be harvesting those in a few weeks. I need to find some room at the weekend to plant out the cauliflower and purple sprouting seedlings that are in the lean-to. Busy busy busy :-)

More marrows

As expected, today was warm. It was loads warmer on the allotment, which is a suntrap, than at home. I went over to the plot in the afternoon.

One of the regulars was there, 2 plots down from mine. We had a nice chat though much of it focused on blight. His tomatoes had got gotten unfortunately so he ripped them out. He had planted his potatoes next to them so he cut the haulms off them too to be on the safe side. He even asked for my advice. Cripes.

I started by sowing some carrots, spring onions, lettuce and beetroot in Bed 4. I covered the seeds over with a tunnel cloche to keep them safe from carrot fly and whatever else fancies its chances.



Then after some more nattering, I cleared a bit more of the patch behind Bed 8 (see below):



I am not very good at taking photos but I quite like the one below with a shield bug on one of the runner beans.



Before leaving, my fellow plotter gave me 5 marrows (he really doesn't like courgettes once they get past a certain stage). I gave 2 of them to a neighbour when I got back. While cooking one up for my tea, I took 2lbs of plums, pricked them and added gin and sugar. Fingers crossed for plum gin for Christmas.

Green tomato chutney

It was quite hot today. I was up fairly early anyway so I was at the plot at 1000 (early for me!). After a comment on Gardeners World last night, I thought I'd plant out the 7 chilli plants I had in the lean-to. They were still in the 3 inch pots they were started off in so they were bursting to get out. A couple of them were fruiting though.

When I arrived at the site, I bumped into one of the regulars. I asked him whether he had sprayed his tomato plants yet as I knew he did last year (it didn't stop the blight it turns out). He showed me his tomato plants - Fantasio I think he said - which are believed to be blight resistant. Sure enough - lovely big fruit with no real sign of blight though one fruit I spotted had a brown bottom. Could be blossom end rot or something. He removed it then and there. I asked what the taste was supposed to be like as I assumed that a compromise would have to be made between taste and blight-resistance. He said that he would let me try one when they are ready. In return, I gave him 2 of my chilli plants.

I was thinking of planting the chillies in Bed 7 in the space vacated by the tomatoes but I could do with putting some more brassicas there. Bed 4 offered more promise. I ended up digging over the whole bed around the globe artichokes and mint. Then I planted out the 5 remaining chilli plants and watered them in.

Another plotter came past and commented that the pods on my remaining broad beans plants were ready to be picked for seed. I thought they had gone black because of a disease so I was going to rip them out and discard them. Apparently, they blacken when they dry. Lots of seed for next year or for swapping then.

It was getting a tad warm so I nipped home for a spot of lunch. While there, I set about making green tomato chutney (thanks to my friend Ben and his Nanny Foo Doo for the recipe). As luck would have it, there were just enough tomatoes for the recipe. See below for the result...



...though I haven't taken a photo of the ruined pan.

While waiting for the chutney to cook down, I watered some plants and sowed some chervil (from saved seed from the plant on the windowsill that had gone to seed), rocket, lettuce, dill and coriander.

I popped back over to the plot this evening to start clearing the area behind Bed 8. Lots cleared ready for digging tomorrow. Lots of comfrey for the compost heap and loads of bindweed and brambles. Beats the gym any day. Plus, I spotted some ripe yellow plums growing on a young tree underneath the willow - don't think I'd seen that before. That's breakfast sorted.

Plums for lettuce

I nipped over to the plot after work. It has been a fine sunny day with some cloud. Perhaps the most Summery day for a month.

Given the tomato blight that was discovered earlier in the week, I wanted to get the main crop potatoes out. They've had their 20 weeks in the ground. I also want to get to the back of Bed 8 as there seem to be some other potatoes growing there, amongst weeds and brambles, which I didn't plant out this year (see below).



I am guessing they are volunteers from previously dumped bits of potato or foliage. Not sure.

After a bit of digging and a lot of fighting with bramble, the spuds filled a small hessian sack. There only seemed to be about 2 tubers per plant but many of them were very large and will make fantastic baked potatoes. Quality not quantity I suppose. I have bagged up the foliage ready to burn or throw away.

I was being watched while working...



The first cat I've seen on the site I think.

Before leaving, I set about picking some plums from the tree at the top end of the plot. Every now and again, there is a bang when a fruit falls down onto the water butt next to the shed so it is a good sign that they are ripening. That and the already fallen plums on the ground that have been squished by passers-by.

While I was picking plums, one of my fellow allotmenteers called over to ask if I wanted some lettuces. I have been admiring their lettuces every time I've worked over to Plot 35. They always so lush and healthy (see below).



Apparently, they were growing them for a party (a lettuce party?!?) and went a bit overboard so had plenty to spare. I gave some plums in return for 3 heads of lettuce.

I have lots to do this weekend including more digging and cooking up the green tomatoes and plums. I will also make up some plum brandy for the Winter.

Not again

OMG! Blighted tomatoes again!



I was half expecting it though given the wet, mild weather in the past month. I have ripped out all the plants and have picked off any of the unripe fruit. I need to see if I could possibly make green chutney out of the unblemished fruit. That way, it wouldn't be a total loss. I'll ask for some advice from some fellow plotters on a forum. Has anyone reading this blog made chutney from similar tomatoes?

I brought home quite a harvest though including the first pick of runner beans, my first cucumber (Miniature White - that yellow thing in the foreground), some peas, some globe artichokes and lots of plums.



This evening, I made an improvised spicy lamb stew with the first chilli of the year harvested from the windowsill and the remaining artichoke hearts that I marinated some days ago. I think I'll marinate artichokes again but not in such a lemony oil as it limits what you can do with the them. I don't think that lemon and cheese go together (does anyone?) so I couldn't use them as a pizza topping or on cheese on toast. They were lovely in that stew though.

Now, what to do with those plums? Plum gin maybe?

One cleaner, tidier shed

After a lazy morning, I made it over to the plot. No rain today though it was cloudy and a bit grey at times. It was quite warm too.

On the way to Plot 35 across the site, the Cabbage White flutterbyes were everywhere. On the plot I noticed that there were a couple of them inside the netting on Bed 7. I allowed them out but checked over the brassicas. Sure enough, there were some eggs on a couple of the plants (see below) as well as a couple of small caterpillars.



I removed all signs of Cabbage White activity though I think I might have to check the brassicas again. I thought that the 1.2mm gauge (is that the right word?) of the netting would be small enough to keep them out - the two that were trapped in certainly had some trouble getting out.

I didn't get to do too much gardening though. My main job today was to clean out the shed. Last weekend, there was an awful pong coming out of it when I opened it up. I thought that something had crawled in there and died! I wanted to get in there and sort it out. So that is mainly what I did today. I think some rats (or something bigger though I don't think anything bigger could actually get in) have just had a hell of a party in there. Nice. Anyway, the shed is much tidier and has had some disinfectant applied liberally to all surfaces. I am quite proud of my achievement particularly given the number of large spiders I, being seriously phobic about spiders, had to dodge. It has certainly taught me a big lesson about keeping the shed tidier. Learnt me good.

A visit from the Marrow Fairy

I was feeling bad about the brassicas in Bed 7 pushing up against the tunnel cloche so I finally nipped over for an hour this evening to remove the cloches and to cover the plants with netting (see below). It has been wet all week (yesterday was particularly bad) so it was the first good opportunity.



I picked a handful of peas and harvested a single bright yellow One Ball courgette. Some of the sweetcorn plants do look like they are starting to grow nicely upwards and the squash plant climbing up the surrounding wire has got a healthy-looking fruit on it.



Dammit though - I have just read up on the Lady Godiva squash and it seems that the flesh is not worth eating. I got them because the seeds are shell-less and very nutritious and tasty but I didn't realise that the flesh would not be worth eating (according to reports on t'Internet). That'll learn me. "Grown for their seeds" actually means "don't bother with the flesh".

However, I won't starve because the Marrow Fairy has paid a visit. The nice fairy left me a marrow and 2 courgettes on my water butt.

Marinated globe artichokes

This afternoon, while listening to Radio 4, I have had a go at making marinated globe artichokes. It was based on a BBC Good Food recipe for Chargrilled artichokes with lemon but I didn't bother with the chargrilling. I prefer artichokes with a fresher rather than a BBQed taste.





I don't think I have the prepation technique right yet because I seem only to be left with the base of the heart of each artichoke. I'll wait a day or so before trying them to give the flavours chance to develop but the finished product will only keep for a week. I'll pop the carrier bag full of peelings over to the plot another time...

Globe artichokes, anyone?

Today was warm with a few clouds. The odd small grey one threatening but no rain. Tomorrow will be a different story with rain coming in after 1100ish.

This morning, I weeded around the sweetcorn in Bed 9. One of the nearby squash plants is using the wire surrounding the sweetcorn to climb on:



The sweetcorn are looking good and stocky but I hope they get taller soon. Courgette production is starting to speed up now - see the 'One Ball' below:



I then moved onto the peas in Bed 6. I removed the orange netting stuff and weeded around them. I picked my first little lot of pods. I really should have removed the netting before the plants got attached to it. Some of them found it hard to let go and had to be wound around the canes again.

I nipped home for lunch with a sizeable harvest (the swede was given to me by a lovely fellow plotter):



After lunch, I nipped back to plant up a couple of small sweet potato plants that one of my colleagues gave me. Lots of other colleagues asked what they were when they were sitting on my desk yesterday. They are small and perhaps a bit late going out but fingers crossed they settle in and grow. See below for a piccie of one of them:



I also took some other photos of the tomatoes that are growing nicely, the runner beans that are starting to grow and a chard plant that is facing some healthy competition from a Florence Fennel plant.









So what did I fancy for tea with all this grub? I made my first risotto. It contained onion. broad beans, peas and courgette from the plot. It looked like a risotto and it tasted ok too. It was incredibly filling.



So, tomorrow, when it is too wet and windy to venture onto the plot, I can spend some time cooking up the artichokes. I don't want to speak too soon but the globe artichokes are definitely in the running for the biggest success of 2009 on Plot 35. Still time for more though...

Broken through 1000 visits

Hurrah! Over 1000 visits now.

I didn't make it to the plot today. I had some very lovely friends over for lunch (which included salad potatoes, broad beans and marrow from the allotment) and when I was about to leave the house afterwards to visit the allotment, the heavens opened. It brightened up later in the evening so I did partake of some potting up and seed sowing in the garden.

I potted up the chard and brassicas that had been sitting in trays and sowed some parsley and sorrel. A bit late for sorrel according to the packet but I'd really like to try some. I then stripped back the Garden Pearl tomatoes, just like I did yesterday with the plants on the plot in Bed 7. I staked them up with bamboo canes too. I will give them a feed shortly. While my hands were dirty, I pulled up the lemongrass clump that has been growing not that successfully in a pot on the patio. Some very thin foliage and very little happening underneath the soil. I stripped back some dead bits and divided the clump into 4 pieces. I potted each piece up and have put these in the lean-to. I'll see what happens. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I hope to visit the plot after work tomorrow to do a bit of hoeing. Might have a courgette to harvest from Bed 9 too.

Out with potatoes, in with leeks

I spent about 4-5 hours on the plot today. It was mainly sunny and warm though it got cloudier with a bit of spitting after 1600ish though I'd left by then. It was a great day. I had started digging up the early and salad spuds when a research student came over with a questionnaire to find out what we were growing in Worcestershire. I took her around the plot to list what I am growing. I asked her what she had uncovered so far and she mentioned that after only 7 or 8 interviews, she had found a chap growing some sort of veg she'd not heard of as well as another person growing a veg from saved seed since the 1940s. The researcher plans to do some data gathering in a much bigger city soon where she hopes to see people growing all sorts of exotic veg. I said to her that globe artichokes is as exotic as we get on our site. It was 10 mins earlier that one of my fellow plotters pointed at them and asked what they were.

After digging the spuds up in Bed 8, I focused on the tomatoes in Bed 7. A couple of the plants have some fruit now. Earlier in the week, I had come across a forum discussing the removal of leaves and trusses below the first flowers. Apparently, it drastically improves the likelihood of ripening. So, taking the advice to heart, I stripped loads of the tomato plants. Some flower buds came away but hopefully the ones left behind with actually ripen.

Back in Bed 8, I planted out the leek seedlings. Fingers crossed that they grow ok. I covered them with some netting to stop the birds taking them before they are settled in.

Talking of pests - there is talk of a young badger on the rampage. He/she took somebody's root veg being grown for show. Apparently, it is making its way over from the far side of the site.

I remembered to pop over to a neighbour's plot to see if there were any courgettes to harvest. I should have gone over a few days ago. There was one large marrow, 3 very large courgettes (or small marrows depending on your outlook) and a couple of nicely sized courgettes. I have kept the marrow but gave the rest to a couple of other allotmenteers. I was wondering what to cook for some friends who are coming round tomorrow and now I know. Stuffed marrow anyone?

I spent a good few hours at the plot today. It started off cloudy and a bit grey this morning but it got sunny at around 1130ish. It turned into a warm day. As the soil was a bit damp, hand-weeding was easy-peasy.

I got loads done. I weeded Beds 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7, along with bits of Bed 6 and 9. See piccies below:

Bed 1



Bed 2



Bed 3



Bed 5



Bed 7



I'd planted chard and brassicas in there after thinking that the fennel didn't germinate but 3 fennel plants have come through.

The globa artichoke plants are still producing like mad...



Below is a piccie of one of the cucumber plants that has started fruiting.



I harvested a handful of beetroot and lots of Anya potatoes, plus my first courgette of the year.

For tea, I thought I'd make something summery with some globe artichokes, broad beans and the courgette. And some pesto I knocked up earlier in the day between gardening sessions. I ended up with the following pasta dish...

Good neighbours

I feel like I've hardly been on the plot this past month. I am looking forward to at least 1 decent session on it this weekend. It might rain tomorrow so Sunday looks like the best bet. For my birthday earlier in the week, a friend gave me a fridge magnet which said "God made rainy days so that gardeners can get the housework done". So true. The weather does tend to dictate the state of our house.

I made a trip over to the plot this evening. Among the mess, a couple of exciting things to note. The 2 cucumber plants in Bed 6 look like they are beginning to fruit (my first cucumbers!) and there looks to be at least 1 courgette that might be ready to pick in a few days. Well, I think it is exciting ;-) I focused on cutting the couch grass on some of the paths to clear the way for weeding and hoeing the beds later in the weekend.

A couple of fellow allotmenteers were about this evening. A chap with a plot 3 or 4 away from mine came over to say that he is going to be on hols for 2 weeks and that I'd be welcome to harvest any of the courgettes that grow during that time. That should tide me over nicely which I am waiting for mine to kick off. I will keep an eye on anything on his plot that needs watering.

Before the light started to fade and some darker clouds came in, I decided to leave. I quickly watered (and fed) the cucumbers and tomatoes. I need to read into stopping the upwards growth of the tomatoes to encourage ripening.

Must take some photos this weekend...

Tomato jungle

Nipped over to the plot this evening. I've been meaning to get over to it for a few days but the rain has stopped me. I went over while the sky wasn't too grey on Sunday but after arriving and harvesting a handful of broad beans the heavens opened and soaked me. I was clearly not meant to do any gardening this week.

Anyway, the rain stopped for this evening. My focus was on the tomato patch in Bed 7. The plants have suddenly taken off and have toppled over and got tangled up with bindweed. I went through them, weeding, tying in the main stems and pinching out sideshoots. Hopefully they will continue to grow and flower before fruiting nicely without blight rearing its ugly head. I did manage to break one plant but the other 15 seemed to come out of it unscathed.

A couple of courgettes are starting to grow but there are a fair few slugs about so I sprinkled over some pellets.

I finished up harvesting some spuds and 1 globe artichoke. I look forward to tidying things up at the weekend.

Berry good

I've been away at a lovely wedding this weekend so have not had chance to attend to the plot. Fingers crossed that there will be lots more to harvest next time I go. I did do some allotment-related things today though. I cooked and ate my first 3 globe artichokes. They were small but very nice. I boiled them in lemony water for 20 mins and then put them in the oven with some olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning to finish cooking alongside some lamb spare ribs. The prep is a bit of a faff I suppose but I'd say that it is worth it. I'll see how I feel later in the season though when I will hopefully have prepared quite a few.

At home, I potted up some purple sprouting seedlings and sowed some cauliflowers. I resowed some Florence Fennel as the previous lot had got a tad leggy. I sowed some dill, borage and catnip in a wine box on the patio and some lettuce in one of the troughs.

Just now, I harvested 5 or so strawberries and raspberries and a couple of handfuls of redcurrants. I am just storing currants in the freezer until there is a decent quantity. I'm thinking either sorbet or a currant-flavoured liquer. Any suggestions welcome...

Long time no blog

Things have really hotted up on Plot 35. I was on holiday for a week leaving a fellow allotmenteer to water it (I will return the favour when he is away later in the Summer). I did expect to be able to harvest some spuds on my return but it turned out that there was much more on offer when I visited last Sunday.

The cauliflower that was the size of a cricket ball the day before the holiday, was full-sized a week afterwards.



There were 3 globe artichokes of a reasonable size to cut. The outer petals seemed to be starting to open so I thought it would be a good time to harvest them.



Some broad bean pods looked large enough to pick.



Though they won't be ready for 6 months, the Jerusalem artichokes are making their presence known.



In the end, I harvested the following little pile of lovely grub.



In celebration of Midsummers Day here and Midwinters Day in Antartica (see Andy's blog), I invited a couple of nice friends round for a roast chicken dinner served with the spuds, broad beans and cauliflower cheese. The beetroot and artichokes will be enjoyed another day.