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.