25 August 2008 - We have a Plan

The passage of time on the plot is a continual shock. One minute you are sowing onions in the bedroom (don't ask), the next you are pulling them out of the ground and admiring their heavy beauty. Obviously with quicker crops such as radish and rocket one does not get that small frisson as the clock ticks much faster for them. With the slower crops it is a different matter. You inevitably reflect how things were this time last year - even with the aid of the blog it can be difficult to recall precisely what went where and why - and what they were like when you were sowing the seed back in the dark January days.

We are beginning to feel the slow yet urgent rhythms of the soil as it gathers up its energy for the grand finish of the so-called summer crops beans, courgettes and the extravagantly showy corn. However we still have around 10 butternut squash slowly ripening on the vine, raspberries, sprouting broccoli or some mystery cabbage, the January King winter cabbage and of course the leeks to keep going. Harvesting is a regular activity - as I write French bean and courgette pickles are being made.

It also means that the 3 small bare patches in Beds 1, 2 and 4 offer us more opportunity to think about Winter and Spring. But having done that, we then have to address the matter of eventual Spring/Summer growing next year because of the principles of crop rotation. It is a little like the popular party game of our youth, Twister. Of course we were still in the throes of establishing the plot architecture this time last year and really did not have the scope we have now, with good soil and well established beds.

After all that, here is The Plan.

1. Winter Bed 1 Leeks, chard, overwintering onion - the two latter from seed sown today
Spring/Sumer Bed 1 Roots - carrots, onion, chard, parsnip

2. Winter Bed 2 Spinach, overwintering spring onions, winter lettuce (sown today), overwintering onion from the seedbed after carrots gone
Spring/Summer Bed 2 Other - Garlic, spinach, onions, salad

3. Winter Bed 3 Green manure
Spring/Summer Bed 3 Brassicas - calabrese broccoli, raddicio, other brassicas

4. Winter Bed 4 Winter cabbage, spring cabbage
Spring/Summer Bed 4 Roots - maincrop potatoes (first earlies on the bank)

5. The extra potato patch at the top we have put green manure on and will use that for the pumpkin next year.

6. The main potato patch will be green manured after the potatoes are dug up and this will be the main bed for peas, beans, courgettes and corn. And maybe some more garlic.

7. The fruit cage will continue but we will introduce more strawberries.

The planning so far ahead and remembering to succession sow are two of the most difficult skills for the allotmenteer. We wonder about how we will improve our soil on the beds that will be in constant use between seasons. And there is the question - again - of timing. We assume that certain crops will be ready when they may not and some may linger on long after their bed time. What is undeniable is that there is a real thrill in sowing seeds now near the end of the main growing season for crops to eat in a few months time. We want to be able to grow all the year round and who knows - we may even beat the credit crunch with a vegetable crunch all of our own.

17/24 August 2008 - Death or Glory

Two weekends in one I'm afraid. Standards are slipping but not for lack of will, just energy. It takes us all ours just to keep up with the courgettes at the moment let along share our feelings with you lot.

Last weekend, 17 August, saw the death of the peas. They had done heroically until the downy mildew got them. It is a nasty grey thing that just creeps up from the roots and even though there were still some peas at the top it clearly was near the end. It took a long time to dig it up, disentangle the various sticks and canes and netting and drag the peas back to our green compost bin at home for St Albans to deal with. We couldn't compost it because of the downy mildew but a commercial facility will be far hotter and be able to kill the bugs. We have 5 or 6 good size bags of peas in the new freezer (dragged up there using ingenious acrobatics and a good deal of nerve from Yours Truly who is quite short - the freezer is now also operational after a visit from A Bloke). RIP Peas. But we still have some growing on Bed 3 anyway.

We had to do a lot of strimming as the bloody weeds had threatened to take over in some far-flung corners of the plot.

Another RIP but not so tragic was that for the Volunteer Potatoes which showed distinct signs of some unpleasant ailment. They were accordingly dug up and were ginormous. They of course had been in the ground right from the beginning as it were. Very interesting as a biology experiment. A couple were donated to our Next Next Door neighbours who were delighted. We would enter one for the biggest potato in the forthcoming St Stephens Gardening Club Show (yes, it really is coming up again - thanks for sticking with us all this time) but it has minute holes which indicate The Maggot.

We also found time to make our very first courgette chutney - 4lbs courgettes, ginger, 2 heads garlic, 2.5lbs onions, 2.5lbs brown sugar, malt vinegar, cayenne pepper. God knows what it will be like. It filled about 14 scavenged jars and is safely stored in the garage. We will know in 3 months whether it was worth it. It took me back to the time I worked in a pickle factory for the summer before university - halcyon days. It is the first time that either of us has done anything remotely like this. Is it a natural part of the aging process? Or have we only now got with the real zeitgeist?

Today (24 August) was a different kind of trip. It was full of banter and wisecrack with our various friends and neighbours up on the plot, including a revelling in the mighty victory of N, Pat and Jan in the recent St Stephens Garden Club Quiz. In fact, Burydell took 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes. Beijing forsooth.

Other than the normal weeding, we were alerted to the presence of bloody caterpillars on some of our protected cabbages. This led to a mild tantrum from one of us especially as we had spent so much on the mesh. However, it was a useful reminder of the importance of tending - general looking and checking. There can be interesting revelations. Tending the purple sprouting broccoli for caterpillars I suddenly thought - these are not purple sprouting broccoli at all - they are some kind of cabbage. Ho hum.

The other crop we mentioned last time as being on its way out was also duly shuffled off. Thank you broccoli - Ironman lest we forget - for your fabulousness. Mr G told us today that though he didn't like broccoli, he did like ours. Perhaps we should send some to George Bush. N noted that its root system was very complex and also threw up new shoots. Does this mean that if we had left it a whole other load of plants would have come up? We decide to experiment and plant a couple of shoots in the newly-cleared bed.

This means that we now have three half-beds clear. Beds 1, 2 and 4. We have raked them and got them ready for their next crop.

No-one had warned us how hard crop rotation is. We spent 2 hours going through Rubik-cube like diagrams and discussions, querying different definitions of plant groups, and generally panicking. We now have A Plan. And we shall share that with you tomorrow.

10 August 2008 - Cornucopia

A little bit of everything today. We have been on holiday for the last ten days and have visited the plot intermittently only for harvesting and basic weeding purposes. It is truly a productive plot and we have spent some of our holiday thinking about how to preserve our crop. It is not just the joy of trooping up there and thinking "I'll just pick a bit of this and that for me tea" - it is also the responsibility incumbent on anyone who grows more than they can reasonably eat or give away - to store. The upside down picture to the left is of the sweetpeas.

Storage is thus An Issue and not just confined to Ikea shelving systems or rearranging the garage.

There are three basic methods of storage. Firstly, keeping in a cool, dry, place and using as needed - this is for potatoes (though they prefer the dark) and garlic (so far). Secondly, freezing. And thirdly, making preserves (e.g. chutney). We have not yet tried the latter but fully intend to do so and have been blagging jars off our Neighours.

Plaiting the garlic was a truly absorbing pastime. This is what people did before telly. After some cursing, replaiting and storming off in tears we created 4 garlic plaits containing 13 bulbs each. The elephant garlic bulbs are prepared similarly but are way too dignified to plait. We have already had some roasted with chicken and they are indeed milder than the smaller variety. Apparently they are not even garlic but are related to the leek. But that's another story.

The second method has led us to purchase a small freezer as our existing facility is filling up quickly which has been put into the loft and a Bloke is coming to install electricity up there. Seriously folks, we just don't want to waste it, even if it is courgette. We have been freezing courgette, peas, broccoli and beans. However, don't be thinking that we are a bunch of meanies - we have given away a significant amount of produce which has been much appreciated by friends, home and plot neighbours, lady from shop and family.

Back to the plot. The courgettes are still throwing out fruits but we worry (!) that they appear to be slowing down a touch. Magic Water is duly applied. We have become adept at courgette recipes and fully intend to make some chutney.

We have three kinds of beans - tiny thin beans, French beans and good old fashioned runners (in the Pagoda). They are all doing well. We are beginning to recognise that period of pomp when a plant is at its most productive and to make the most of it. The next crop to be harvested will be the corn - we had two cobs today but it was too early, though they were delicious nonetheless. The raspberries are threatening to deluge us soon and the onions are pushing themselves up and over. The "show" onions look magnificent but we have to wait.

More autumnal delights are the butternut squash which are going great guns, so much so that we decided to "nip" some off to encourage larger fruit. They also need more room, poor loves. The leeks we transplanted with bated breath seem to be more than happy in their new home. The winter cabbage, sharing a bed with the broccoli, looks expansively cabbage-like and the kale, also transplanted with bb, at least has not died. It needs to acquire more leafage. The purple sprouting broccoli looks better than it did.

Today we sowed raddicio, overwintering onion and spring cabbage in the seedbed; and carrots, pak choi and spinach in amongst various crops. The carrots say you shouldn't sow after June but we thought - to hell with it. We also intend to sow overwintering spring onion when we can find a suitable space.

We have two crops that appear now to be past their best - but we salute them for their heroic performance. The peas (first lot) alas appear to have downy mildew and although there are flowers on the plants it all looks a bit dire and production seems to have slowed to a halt. The broccoli are still throwing up "tasty sideshoots" (quoted from the packed) but are taking up a lot of room. We feel uncomfortable like at the end of a visitor's stay - just when are they going to leave? We still are eating carrots as and when, usually as a juicy crunchy starter.

Other activities included N removing the cross-struts (or whatever technical term is appropriate) that had precluded the act of walking upright in the Pagoda. Brilliant. N also did a useful bit of wood-tidying into a handy new organiser made out of a pallet and fixed to the shed (thanks to Pat for that idea). The second peas needed some remedial work and now have a new set of poles and a home-made net.

Issues to resolve: what to do about strawberry "runners"; what to do with summer-fruiting raspberries in terms of support

Weather note: sunny, showers, moody

26/27 July 2008 - Elephant, Man

So much to recount, so little time to blog.

Yesterday was a big day on the plot. Apart from the usual chores of hacking weeds, chiz*, and watering, we did a lot of remedial work on the various crops. The peas, which are coming thick and fast (we have several small bags frozen in the fridge) need extensive weeding and some culling of plants which have either been cut accidentally or just manky from not enough room. The broccoli needed some attention, removing some large leaves that had gone orange. The courgette steadfastly continue to grow - upwards - and if I had not had my inspection spex on, we would not have discovered the french beans waiting to be picked. We finally realise of course that these are dwarf beans and that is why the vast majority of them have not climbed the wigwam. Chiz again. It does means that we have a whole 'nother crop to consume.

Nature lovers: On the right is a picture of a newt, exposed by the removal of the potatoes. On the left, a bumblebee having fun in a sunflower.

There are many aspects to the work of the allotmenteer. An important one - which perhaps we should make more of - is what is commonly known as "tending" the crop. Tending not onlyy includes feeding and watering - but regular inspection to make sure all is well. Otherwise diseases and pests can get a grip before you know it (ok, I sound like a gardening book). Or you could miss some poor vegetable's moment of glory by mistake.

Another important aspect is the on-going cycle of waste and compost. We dragged another load of kitchen compost up to add to the comfrey already in the compost bin. We anticipate Black Gold at the other end. The "Magic Juice" from our compost is having a stupendous effect on Bed 3 (or C depending on whose blog you are reading).

N dug up the last of the first early potatoes which were enormous, and will keep us going for a while. And then he dug up the garlic and the Elephant Garlic - 57 and 9 bulbs respectively. The disinterment of the Elephant Garlic, which took some time due to the enormity of their rootage, was reverently witnessed by Jan and Pat who offered us a suitable libation for the occasion. We remembered that it was the first crop that we properly put in, a long time ago now we think (note to self: must check blog for when) and felt a little nostalgic. The bulbs of both crops were extremely respectable - the largest Elephant Garlic belonged to one that we had left to flower. Jan and Pat offered to dry out the garlic in their greenhouse after which we will plait it and hang it in our kitchen to keep out those pesky vampires.

We also think it is time our readers met Jan and Pat, our trusty allotment neighbours. Here they are in their own splendid plot.

Today (Sunday), it being really hot and everything, we thought we would finally move the kale, leek and purple broccoli seedlings to their proper homes. Readers will recall that the plan was originally to move these to the vacant spaces left by early potatoes and garlic - and that indeed is what we did, although we have fears that we have left it too late. Mr G is of the view that the plants (which can no longer be described as seedlings) may not take and are altogether too comfy to move. We decide to do it anyway to make better use of space - and we are also of the view that the plants would be far better off with more space. We do not plant all - some of the weedier broccoli and kale is kept for instant use, with only the largest and strongest specimens. We worry that it is also too hot for them.

Notwithstanding the fact that we ignored his advice on this occasion, Mr G is an invaluable source of knowledge and opinion and we are sure that readers will be thrilled to learn that he thinks our broccoli are the best on site. He also envies our peas as he cannot grow them. Such accolades are meat and drink to the novice allotmenteer.

The leeks are divided by grower (Mr G - see blogs passim/us) and have their tops snipped off. The ones sown as seed directly into the ground definitely have the longest and strongest roots.

When we return later, with The Neighbours plus visiting parent and two dogs, the kale and broccoli do look extremely sorry for themselves, all wilty. We tell them to pull themselves together and look to the winter cabbages for inspiration.

We are going to make chutney. Of whatever we have to.

Weather note: hot hot hot. K stood under hosepipe several times and N did Water Hat.

Chef's note: all our veggies taste delicious.

* For younger readers," chiz" is a term used by Nigel Molesworth in "Back in the Jug Agane" and other classics written by Geoffrey Willans, illustrated by Ronald Searle (as any fule kno). It means general feeling of cheesed-off-ness.

Bounty - 20 July 2008

With the exception of a post-party visit to the plot with friends (pictured below, sideways), we have largely ignored the plot while planning for, and recovering from, our summer party.

Despite our inattention, all of our plants have been busy growing. Exceptionally well, it turns out, since we've had loads of sun and rain. Working across the plot from left to right (as you face the pasture beyond:

Our main-crop potatoes are thriving, with many beautiful white and yellow flowers. These were torn off yesterday, when Mr G said they draw energy away from the spuds. (This I knew, in theory, but I also thought there was something to do with the flowers that would signal harvest time.)

Leeks and kale in the Fruit Cage have come on, too. Leeks now too big to move out (as we had planned). Kale very leafy with bright purple stalks. Marigolds, sweet peas and sunflowers (pictured below) are also bursting with colour and growth. Raspberries growing nicely (but short on fruit so far). Blueberry bush fruiting. Strawberry plants died down, but I don't think we were expecting them to crop again. Apple trees have little apples on them (again, predictable, but exciting).

In Bed 4 (?), the Elephant Garlic is still some time from harvest, but we had one of the regular garlic bulbs for dinner with courgettes (more later). Very tasty and, being fresh, the cloves were visible but with no dried wrapping between them. We've had carrots from this bed, too.

Bed 3 has a few carrots in, too, but is specialising in peas. Yesterday we harvested all the pods that were ready, which, if we still used shopping bags, would have filled half a bag.

From Bed 2, we took about eight broccoli, heads the size of a person's head, but a little smaller, many of which we gave to friends and other plotters. Word is that they will continue to crop.

In Bed 1, the corn is tall and have those corn wispy things poking out. Butternut squash are growing slowly but surely. Beans and peas are on the ascent up their frames. The most amazing crop, so far, is the courgettes (zucchini) who can, literally, grow a few inches a day in the right conditions.

Sunflowers on the bank and by our fence are beautiful - and look just like the sunflowers you see on television. Who'd have thought.

Despite being sunny, the day was overshadowed by a creeping concern that we won't be able to cope with the harvest. Of course we know this is nonsense, because we can always give it away, but we had two full carrier bags to take home yesterday, even after sharing most of our broccoli. (Oh, yes, lessons to be learned about planting little and often, rather than everything maturing at once.)

But we also turned our thoughts to dining in the coming winter - with this in mind we froze some broccoli and the peas, after blanching and (this was fun) plunging them into iced water. We may need to get a bigger freezer.

We were heading out (into the big city) to our friends John and Ray's celebration of their recent civil partnership, and thought we'd bring them a basket of goodies. So, on a bed of kale, there's broccoli, two carrots (one of them rude) and two courgettes. Happy eating!

6 July 2008 - Independence Day Weekend

The title of today's blog is ironic - we are anything but independent as we scurry about at home doing very important home improvements prior to our party next weekend. So time spent at the plot is limited, sadly, to some maintenance, much harvesting and a little weeding. However our disappointment was tempered by the foul weather. Almost like old times in the winter, though now it is lighter and warmer.

I am pretty sure that we planted the first earlies in the rain, and readers, behold the joy that is about half of them - Arran Pilots - dug up in the rain. They are many and varied, with a spattering of pink maincrops that strayed over their borders. Unfortunately, I insisted on them mostly being dug up rather than just left in the ground until we needed them. Big mistake according to Derek and Jan, as first earlies bruise and don't keep for long periods of time. DOH. So spent some time grovelling and thinking about how best to store them, as well some probable deserving recipients of our largesse. And after all we are having a party with potato salad, so it should be OK. But lesson well and truly learnt.

Some more thought had to be given to the best way of protecting the peas. They get caught up in the netting, poor loves. I think they have grown so high because they are in intense competition. They are almost the height of beans. We gather a few for later.

There has been a bit of rain this week, and after today, a whole boatload. It is amazing how much this perks everything (including the weeds) up. The cabbages relocated last weekend are still looking sorry for themselves but are definitely not dead. The courgettes and beans are steaming ahead, and indeed we pick our first few courgettes which we have for lunch, along with two beautiful carrots as hors d'oevre, our first fresh garlic, and a few raspberries. The garlic looks very different fresh because the cloves are not so easy to spot being as the skin is not dried out, and we added it to mashed potatoes and the courgette. Fab.We suddenly realise that we will soon be able to eat things on a reasonably regular basis.

Other unexpected joys were the definite progress of broccoli - we nearly snaffle a head but caution was urged until the seed packet had been checked - and the joyous bloom of the marigolds. The butternut squash has suddenly decided to take matters into its own hand too. It promises to be a very busy and tasty time here soon on the plot.

28/29 June 2008 - Raiders of the Lost Ark

It seems as though we were premature in our predictions of blight. Mr G, older and wiser than us, said that our early potato plants were merely indicating their state of readiness to be dug up and eaten. This is great news. We have now eaten or disposed of the first plot of Belle de Fontanelle (small, tasty) and dug up a couple of the regular Arran Pilots (much bigger, tasty). Very interesting. The maincrops look blight-free and sturdy. Hoorah. Top left is a longitudinal view of the garlic in bed A and the beans etc in bed B.

This weekend was nice and sunny, allowing us to entertain by bbq a visitor from the States, Mr Haines, on Saturday. He graciously condescended to tour the plot and was extremely complimentary of our progress. He has started to grow his own in the States and we reflected on how our hobbies and interests change as we grow older while the sun set over the site. We served our potatoes with dinner - we could do no less for such a discerning connoisseur of taste after all.

We made an astounding discovery on the plot the next day. A dead snake!! (note the unusual use of exclamation marks, something we normally eschew but it did make N jump a bit). He had got tangled in a loose bit of net near bed B. We think he was a grass snake and only recently dead. Harrison Ford, eat our shorts.

Other than the perennial (excuse the pun) task of weeding, other tasks included moving the cabbage (January King) seedlings to their new home as they were clearly running out of room. We calculated that they could all fit on the brassica bed (bed C - I think). The less developed specimens were donated to two new allotmenteers, a young couple who have the daunting task of ridding their plot of nettles, carpets and an accretion of refuse dumped in less enlightened times.

We fed the burgeoning courgettes, corn and beans and snacked on fresh peas, raspberries and salad. We have pondered the use of mousetraps in view of the 3 robins trapped (yes, apparently Pat and Jan had found one in one of our traps, meaning that we have probably decimated the local robin population irredeemably). We have to hide the traps if we are to avoid further robin homicides.

The sweetpea plants are starting to look fab against the austere backdrop of the Pagoda, and the pumpkin plants are thriving, especially the one on the compost heap.

We have had somewhat of a dry and hot patch so some emergency watering was needed in the week to revive the poor cabbage seedlings. We are sanguine that they will regain their erect stature and adjust to the move.

We sowed some basil seeds for fun and radishes again. The second lot are already ready for eating - they are truly vigorous. Our plot looks full of produce and fun with no significant casualties thus far.

Weather note: sunny, cloudy, some showers, some hot days