Post holiday allotment bounty

Forgot to post all the photos of the goodies we picked when we first got home from our holiday a week ago.

Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th August 2008 - Weather: bright and breezy

Well, after our 2 weeks in the very sunny South of France, the allotment was resembling a tropical rainforrest, so I had permission from jim in doors to spend the weekend whipping things back into shape. The forescast was looking awful so I planned to get up there first thing Saturday morning and get as much done as possible before the forecasted rain came in. Well, glad to say, it didn't arrive until nightfall.

So, basically my day was filled with weeding. I started at the top end of plot number one. The gladioli that I planted a couple of years ago really look amazing this year. I have already taken mum a bunch of about 8 and I was able to pick a further 10 for me, and there are about another 6 to take to mum this coming weekend. I must must must plant more bulbs and flowers for cutting. Speaking of flowers, alongside the glads are a row of dahlias which I started from seed this spring. They are lovely, so bright. I don't plan to dig up the young tubers but mulch them well with rotted manure in the winter after the first frosts and then see if they came back bigger and better next year. I have some in the garden that I just forget about and they are improving all the time. As I worked along I rediscovered a lovely row of carrots, spinach and celeric. They all breathed a huge sigh of relief when they could see the sky again. I also spotted half a row of corriander which I had sown alongside the carrots and promptly forgotten all about. Hopefully as it is later in the year, this won't bolt toooo rapidly and I will be able to enjoy the leaves.

I tidied up around Mr Cardoon, who is huge and gave him a really good mulch of my home made compost. Hopefully he will be okay, he always looks so tatty at this time of year. I guess he has put all of his energy into producing 10 foot flowers. I moved on to the globe artichokes, who were litterally being choked by the creeping buttercup that my allotment seems to be blighted with at the moment. I really got in and was able to dig it all out. Plenty of young shoots I spied, so these also got a couple of barrows full of compost around them.

As I worked down towards the apple trees I stopped for a chat with old Jack, who has been diagnosed as borderline diabetic, so he is taking things easy and watching what he eats. He has chosen to give up one of his three allotments at the end of the year. He gave me a huge bundle of lovely big spring onions. The Laurette, the site secretary popped over to say hi. She is midway through a course of radiotherapy, but she looked great and complimented my monster cardoon. She has a bundle of young leek plants for me next week which is great. She also lets me use her mains water to fill up my waterbutts which is very handy. Then Joe, or is it John with the new shed arrived. Boy is he brown, but then he has just had 2 weeks in Turkey. He gave me a bag of cooking apples. Finally the Chapmans arrived and promptly lit a fire, only to be shouted at by one of the site neighbours, so they put it out again. We had a gossip about family and the school holidays and then my family all arrived.

Mark tidied the shed for me and found the wrens nest perched up on a rake which was propped up in the rafters whilst the kids played in the stream. I did some picking at this point as I know the families interest in the allotment diminishes very rapidly. I did weed almost to the apple trees though, which I was really pleased with.

During my weeding and digging I unearthed a bucket full of volunteer spuds - not ideal to leave them growing, I know, but a nice suprise as I dug up some pink fur apple, edsell blue, some very red skinned spuds, possibly red duke of york, and some white ones with red eyes, maybe kestrell. I also picked some sweetcorn, babycorn and salad.

Then Sunday came, again the forecast was supposed to be rubbish, but when I got out of bed, the sky was blue, so at about 11am I poodled off to the allotment again. I mananged to complete the weeding of allotment number one, unearthing 2 rows of lovely young leeks, purple beans and beetroot! Honestly, those weeds have a lot to answer for. I also turned my compost heap now one side was empty, and as I turned I discovered that half of the full side was already well rotted and looking lovely, so I have started heaping that about.

I dug up the remainder of the Kestrel spuds and raked the area over. I then chucked about 6 barrows of compost of the top and raked it level. I will leave the worms to do the digging in for me. This will be my onion bed as I have ordered 2 types of Japanese onions, shallots and garlic and they should arrive in September.

Finally had one last pick, sweetcorn, beans by the bucketfull, a few toms which have escaped the blight and a cucumber. Hope to get back to the plot with the kids in the week to sow some oriental greens and radish which can stand the winter. Also must get some green manure for the bare patches.

Monday 21st July 2008 - weather: hot and breezy

Today was a picking visit and there was plenty to pick. I had also purchased a tray of onions to plant out so I needed to oik out the broadbeans and plant the hunions. I didn't actually dig the plants up but cut them at ground level so they can release that all precious nitrogen back into the soil. This does often mean that the plants reshoot and I have been known to get a bonus crop of young beans in a month or so's time. I also filled my trug with the first French Beans of the season, a lovely amount, a variety I brought in France last year, a long slender pod with darker blotches. Of course I cannot remember the name. The onions all went in and filled the old broadie bed. Hopefully they will grown and provide me with a few decent bulbs as the overwintering onions didn't do so well this year thanks to the dreaded white rot.

From here I went over to plot number one and picked the peas. Of course, can't remember the variety but they are one of the leafless varieties, all tendrills and pods. Easy to spot the pods but boy do they get tangled up with all of those tendrils. Anyhow, whatever the variety is, it's a winner as it has produced loads of lovely long pods packed with up to 10 peas in each one. These were shucked and in the freezer within a couple of hours of picking, sweet as the moment and all that.

Then into the fruit cage I ventured. The raspberries are still covered in fruits at all different levels or ripening, but I suspect there will be only one or two more decent picks before the fruits start to become thin on the ground. I stripped the red gooseberrys as they were all sweet and juicy and picked the blackcurrants from one of the bushes. This one is different from all the others, much larger currants and already ripe. The others dotted around both of my allotments are still very sharp and would probably benefit from another 2 or 3 weeks of sun and rain before I pick them. Next visit I will strip the redcurrants as they are pretty much ready now.

Picked a couple of little gems - might try that recipe where you braise the little gems with peas. Never had it before....should give it a go really. Also pulled 4 spring onions. Never had any luck with these, but this is going to be their year on my allotment as I have several rows and they are all looking amazing.

All in all, both plots are looking in good shape. Plot number 2 could do with a weed in the sweetcorn/squash area, but the weeds won't do much harm now the other plants are romping away. I also need to take the netting off my strawbs and get in there and give them a serious weed. I also want to tidy up around the globe artichokes as weeds have crept in there and because they are permanent, I don't tend to bother much with them.

Hope to get back later in the week for a couple of hours.

Saturday 12th July 2008 - Weather: damp and humid

Danbury and Little Baddow Horticultural Show - Summer 2008

My entries plus awards.

Vase of mixed perennial flowers - between 5 and 10 stems - Top Vase award, 2nd prize, £5 gift voucher.

Peas - first prize

Raspberries - first prize

Vase of 3 sweetpea blooms - second prize

Bowl of annual flowers - first prize

A summer minature - a display smaller than 4 inches - second prize

Broad beans, 9 - third prize. Compared to others, my pods were smaller and not as uniform.

Gooseberries - third prize. Mine were the only red fruits and they weren't as large and ripe as the other winners.

Any other fruit - Josterberries - second prize

Rhubarb, 3 stems - third prize

Potatoes, 5 (International Kidney) - first prize

Lettuce - cos type (little gem) first prize

Any recipe with strawberries - strawberry roulade - first prize and highest award in homeware section - silver trophy

The childrens entries

Saturday 5th July 2008 - weather: RAINING!

I know, I know, it isn't exactly nice weather, but for me this is bliss. All of my seedlings on the plot will be able to grow, the waterbutts will start to refill, and the giant marrow will be able to swell some more. Thanks rain dancers everywhere!

Friday 4th July 2008 - Weather: clear blue sky, light breeze

Another stunning day, although rain is forecast for tomorrow, and as a gardener, I have to say my fingers are tightly crossed that it will pour as the allotment is starting to look like a desert...or is that dessert...?!

Anyhow, not a long visit today as I worked until 12.30, so arrived on site at 1pm and needed to leave by 2.45. Really todays visit was to pick as I has spotted the other day that there were plenty of raspberries for picking, so into the fruit cage I went. The rasps are really settled and growing well. The variety is Glen Ample and the fruits are ample. A good size, sweet and strongly scented. I don't tie in the canes but let them wander and do their thing. It does make picking rather challenging, but to be honest, time is precious on the plot so if I don't need to do something, I don't. In the fruit cage the red gooseberries are turning colour and the greens are also softening and starting to look slightly yellow. The blackcurrants and jostaberries are also ripening nicely. The redcurrants look a little patchy this year which is a shame as they have always done so well in the past.

Next to dig some International Kidney spuds. These are a family fave and if I don't grow anything else, I will always grow these. They are in the ground for quite a short time and yet they reward you with pots full of egg sized spuds. Mind you, as time goes on these new taters do start to get big so by the end of the row I could end up with some bakers.

From here to the broadbeans. Lovely lovely broadbeans. I adore them, but I am alone in my desires - all the more reason to grow them. I only picked the mishapen, blunt or marked pods because I am trying to save the nice thick perfect pods for the village veggie show in 2 weeks time. Picked plenty, and there are still loads on the plants and the plants are still covered in bloom, and the dreaded blackfly that had moved is seems to have buggered off so the plants are really looking healthy again, unlike my onions, but you win some you loose some.

Cut the huge lollo rosso lettuce that I was hoping to save for the show, but it was getting so large I could just make out the start of a flower cluster, so salad for tea. I also cut 2 lovely courgettes, a round one and a long one. I did water the plants to try and encourage the fruits to swell, but my waterbutts are now empty so it is down to mother nature.

All of this harvesting is very time consuming, but it did leave me about 20 minutes to start to weed around the sweetcorn and squash plants. That is the big job for my next visit, next week all being well. Now, could we all do the rain dance please!

Wednesday 2nd July 2008 - Weather: damp and dreary



It was just a flying visit today, just to water the monster marrow really. It is still growing well, and we have had some rain which will certainly help. I must look into secret watering recipes to try and make it MASSIVE!



Picked 2 courgettes and a lovely lollo rosso lettuce. There is plenty to pick but I wasn't prepared. I noticed masses of pea pods which are starting to fill, so again, a drop of rain will really help them along. There are flowers on all of my beans now, runners, french and dwarf and the seeds I sowed last visit are already starting to poke through which is fab.



Fingers and toes crossed I will get to the plot for an hour or so on Friday where I will pick the raspberries and weed plot number 2 around the corns and squashes. I shall also try to remember to take my camera.

Thursday 26th June 2008 - weather: hot, breezy but cloudy

I would just like to say how happy I currently am. Why? Because it is 11pm and it is raining, glorious rain. Spent today at the allotment and boy was it hot and dry so this welcome rain will really help all of my seedlings along.

Anyhow, back to business. The plan of attack for the day was to start at the shed end of plot number one and weed my way to the top, which I did. On the way I dug some Kestrel spuds, very nice, plenty there but still small which is fine, it was only a test dig and pulled an armful of rhubarb. Picked a punnet full of raspberries, and another of strawbs and sowed some peas, carrots, radish, coriander and little gem lettuce. I also planted 40 leeklets and 20 beetroot seedlings. As you can imagine, at the moment plot number one is chock full. I am wondering what I will plant in the gap left by the spuds? Might start a load more brassica's off.

Next over to plot number 2 where I scrambled under the brassica cage and started weeding. After the pigeons strolled around my brassicas and stripped the leaves, I am glad to report that all the plants are now regrowing well and I probably only lost about 6 plants in total. In the various gaps I sowed some cavalo nero kale, spring onions, winter cabbages for transplanting later and some swedes.

The onion bed is looking okay, not as good as I would have liked though due to the white rot. I did lift an armfull of Japanese onions which had been bent over by the stong winds last weekend. I will dry these off in the conservatory. I then tied up my sweetpeas and tomatoes. I picked 2 lovely little courgettes and can report that the killer marrow for the show is still growing fast. This drop of rain will certainly help.

I barely stopped all day and my legs are now paying the price. Of course, foolishly I forgot the camera today....well, when I opened my shed, what was looking at me but 3 baby wrens. They all flapped around and mumma was outside shouting at me to go away, so I left the door open and one by one they all went off on their merry way - so cute! Then, whilst sitting having my lunch I saw a big shadow on the ground, and what was flying above me but a huge heron. Honestly, should have had my camera.

So there you have it. Next visit I shall weed around the beans, sweetcorn and squashes. I do have vacant space now so am wondering what to sow to fill it. I guess I have moolis and oriental greens to go in. Also Old jack has sown a row of wallflowers for transplanting to his garden. Maybe I should do that. Will have to have a good sort out and see what I have. Hopefully, back on the plot next week.

Monday 23rd June 2008 - Weather: Very sunny and hot



A flying visit today. It was incredibly windy over the weekend and I had fleeced my rocket, radish, carrots and peas to try and keep the worse of the buggies off, and I was fearful that the fleece would now be on it's was to Italy so a mad dash to check things over. Well, much to my relief, everything was exactly where I left it on Friday. So I did a spot of weeding around my runner beans, little baby flowers developing already, hoorah, cucumbers getting bigger, yum, and then went and picked another big bowl full of raspberries, my faves, and a few strawbs. The ground is rock solid, even after the rain on Saturday, so I will need to water the 'leek' bed well before I start planting out later in the week. All being well, I have left myself Thursday and Friday with no work so I can get to the plot for the day on Thursday and get the leeks in, try and find some room to sow more seeds, and generally weed. Wonder if there will be a couple of courgettes ready? I noticed lots of open flowers on my toms.

Friday 20th June 2008 - weather: Lovely

What a lovely day, a little breezy, but just perfect allotment weather. Today, plenty to do, the first thing being, have a little excavate around my International Kidney spuds, just to see what was occuring below ground level. Joy and jubilation, handfulls of perfectly sized, perfectly formed new potatoes. Always a worry with taters. They quietly do their thing in the dark depths, having to cope with slugs and eelworms, blight and drought, but this curious weather seems to have treated them well. No slug damage, and a good bounty from each plant. Of course, as the weeks wear on, the spuds will get bigger, but I shall just dig them as I need them.

Next, to have a looksie at the broadbeans. I think they were called Express, but they haven't been very fast. They have been in situ since late winter and I hardened them off properly, gave them lashings of lovely well rotted compost, and planted them carefully with love, and now, in mid June, finally we have beans. Of course, I don't want a glut as I am the only family member who eats them. Anyhow, picked a good handful of pods all packed with young beans - I love them younger when you don't have to worry about skinning each individual bean....but don't get me wrong, I also love those monster, fatty beans with that strong broadbean flavour. Some plants are now suffering from the expected attack of the blackfly, but to be honest, the infestation isn't that bad, so I am not going to try and tackle them. I squished them as I picked, that'l do.

Now to examine the various courgette/cucumber/marrow plants that have been in since May. They all seem to have stood still in the ground since going in, but the weather has been so chilly at times, I can't say I am suprised. However, fruits are starting to form and I picked a small, but perfectly formed, 'de nice a round fruit' courgette. You can imagine my tea tonight can't you? I also spied some very small cucumbers developing, and the first marrow, which we have to love lots as hopefully we can enter it in the village show in the heaviest marrow section. I could do with some secret watering tips if any of you readers have any ideas on how to get a monster marra.

From here to the fruit cage. What a bountiful day. Picked my first bowl full of lovely yummy delicious raspberries. Rasberries are, for me, the most wonderful of all the berries. I adore their scent, their colour and they fabulous taste. I am always blown away by their flavour and cannot help but eat them as I pick. In the same vein, blackcurrant are my fave currants for all of the above reasons, but mostly because of the scent from the foliage, I would wear it as perfume if someone had made it. Anyhow, back on track, and glad to report that the redcurrants are starting to blush and the gooseberries are filling out nicely. Under the netting, I also picked some strawberries. There won't be masses this year as I moved the plants in the autumn, throwing away a lot of the old, worn out plants, and pegging out lots of new runners. But there will be enough for us to almost get bored of them.

The last pickings for today was spinach. Well chard actually. The plants were from last year and they had gone to seed, so I dug them out, stripped off all the younger leaves and chucked the rest on the compost heap. This cleared a lovely long row which I will plant my leeks in next week - of course, if we don't have any rain between now and then I will have to water the ground first to soften it up enough for me to work.

Once all the exciting picking was completed, I started to weed around my baby seedlings. There are parsnips, carrots, turnips ( which the flea beetles are enjoying!), curly parsley (I obviously wear the trousers as I have such a lovely thick row of them), little gem lettuce, lollo bionde lettuce, celeriac, rocket (again, a fave of the flea beetle), radish (yes, flea beetles again), spring onions, beetroot and dahlias. Very pleased to see everything germinating quite quickly and gaps being filled. The dahlias are being grown not only for cut flowers for the house, but also for the village show in September, so high hopes.

Lastly I did some weeding and tidying over on plot number 2 around the beans, corns and tomatos. Glad to see the sweetpeas are in flower, should be a few blooms for the show in 3 weeks time. A few of the corn plants withered and died for no apparent reason, so in the gaps I stuck spare tomato plants that I had left. I also sowed a row of mixed french beans, white and purple, mixed because both of their boxes spilt in the boot of my car, and life is to short to sort them beans out, so they all went into one box and can all grow happily together. So that was my day. Busy, and exhausting, but a really productive day.

Produce that I am hoping to have for the village show in July: Gooseberries, redcurrants, raspberries, rhubarb, broadbeans, little gem lettuce, lollo rosso lettuce, new potatoes, peas (?), sweetpeas, courgette.

Tuesday 10th June 2008 - Weather: hot but cloudy

A brief visit to the allotment today, only 3 hours before back home to change to go to the kids school sports day. So the plan of attack, cut back all the daff foliage and plant a row of tomatos over them, plant the rest of the young dahlia plants, get in the 2 cucumber plants I had to buy after the slugs scoffed my home grown offerings and weed my seedlings. A very productive 3 hours during which time I mananged to once again get sunburnt on my neck, and yes, I did have suncream on. One minor crisis, the bl**dy pigeons have strolled under my netting and make a meal of my brassicas, so I spent a good 40 minutes sorting out the netting and blocking all possible entrance holes. Hopefully the brassicas will grow away again and catch up. If we get the expected rain over the next few days, I am certain they will put on plenty of new growth.

The last job of the day was to have a peak at the garlics as they had flower buds developing. Because I have such rampant white rot on the allotments I keep the alliums in for as short a time as possible and as soon as I am suspicious that the plants look poorly, the lot come out. Well, apart from lots of rust, the garlic plants looked healthy enough, and just look what I discovered as I dug! These were purple necks I think - the label is still on the plot with the other block of plants. They aren't quite as advanced as these as they went in a month later. Thrilled to bits with this harvest, and they are now in the conservatory to dry before being platted.

Back at the allotment Thursday afternoon for a couple of hours where I will be sowing yet more seeds, and hopefully getting some leeks in, if only I knew where!

Sunday 1st June 2008 - weather: dull but warm

As promised, I arrived back at the allotment just after lunch time today. Again, so many people working away. I suppose as I tend to me a weekday allotmenteer I don't see as many people, but with my increasing workload, I am going to have to spend more weekends on the plot so I guess I will see more of the same faces.

After the mammoth plant out yesterday, everything was looking lovely and perky and those pesky slugs hadn't eaten anything...yet! Today I planned to spend on plot one sowing seeds so first job was to complete the weeding of the parsnip/spring onion/beetroot/etc area. So far only 10 'snips have germinated so I sowed along the row again. I also sowed a row of little gem lettuce next to the 'snips as they will be long gone by the time the 'snips are getting big. I also 'beefed up' the beetroot row as that was patchy. Everyone is moaning about seeds not germinating or whole rows of seedlings being there one day and gone the next, and I am certain the slugs are to blame. The ground is silver with slug trails and as I was sowing I could see them everywhere. Anyhow, along with the 'snips, beetroot and little gems, I also sowed some lollo bianco lettuce, more beetroot and plenty of carrots. I feared that my parsley had not germinated, but as I looked down the row, sure enough there are a scattering of plants, enough for our needs. The flat leaf parsley though I fear is a no show. I might so some in a tray in the greenhouse and transplant at a later date. I then weeded through my row of peas - these were sown direct, a petit pois variety whose name escapes me. The meeces seemed to have totally ignored them so I have a good thick row of plants up. I planted a row of peas the otherside of their netting, a variety called misty, so hopefully as one lot finishes, the next will kick in. The last job of the afternoon was to plant some of the dwarf beans I had started in a pot. The variety was purple queen and there was probably only 24 plants, but I will sow some directly for later picking and as I have lots of different beans planted this year, I think that will be ample.

So, the old allotment is shaping up well. Fingers crossed I will squeeze a couple of hours in again on Friday where I will weed around my gladioli and dahlias and get the rest of the dwarf bean plantlets out.