We had a very distinguished visitor on 16 January - my old friend Matthew who is an organic farmer in Hungary! Readers will appreciate that I was more than a little nervous on conducting such a notable visitor to the plot. Frankly, most of our visitors know Bog All about growing veg so one can get away with wittering nonsense about blight and green manure. Not with this one. He pronounced himself impressed with our garlic harvest, offered helpful apple tree pruning advice and cautioned against the over-use of our Magic Veg Juice on actual crops, though we should slosh it all over comfrey. He thought the mystery brassica was indeed broccoli and that the yellow leaves were just a natural part of what happens. Anyway, we passed inspection and that is the main thing though it was of course lovely to see him too.
Lots done at the plot this weekend. That is because for once it was neither freezing nor raining. That doesn't mean to say that it was not cold - it was - but that it was not freezing. And the sun was shining and we had a picnic lunch. You could almost imagine that spring... What am I doing?! It is winter and we are now officially in recession. We must not imagine the green shoots just yet. It is the longest we have spent on the plot for what seems like months.
The comfrey which looks dead and thus able to be moved was dug up and put to one 
side. It will be planted on the bank. We then dug the green manure into that area including where the extra potatoes had grown last year. We originally wanted to create a very raised bed for the carrots in that space, so that they can grow straight and true, However, the soil did not seem over stony so we thought we would have an extra normal bed at the end and look elsewhere for the carrot bed. We now have to think about what to put there before doing anything else in the way of soil improvement. It is now Bed 6.
The carrot bed eventually was agreed to be situated between the side of the pallet compost shelter and what will be the side of Bed 5 (corn, courgettes, peas etc). It is not huge but will be sufficient, provided that there 
is enough height to it in which to put the non-stony soil. N has made a good start in constructing the sides from an old chest. It is now officially known as Bed 7.
On the advice of our Hungarian visitor, we decided to dig in the green manure on bed 5, leaving the cabbages and kale intact. The plants are not entirely broken up so there is scope for spreading it about further once the crops have been eaten. I also discover a whole bag of manure so we should be OK, as this bed will definitely need feeding up for the greedy crops that will be on it.
Although we have committed to a special carrot bed, I still sow a few seeds of Amsterdam Forcing early carrots in Bed 1 out of curiosity. There is no reason why we cannot grow carrots in both and see how they do. A word about potatoes - we have now got our seed potatoes - 20 each of Arran Pilot (which we loved last year, Lady Balfour (a second early) and Sarpo Mira (maincrop and related to Sarpo Axona that we had last year). They are chitting away, although - would you believe it - our kittens have hidden the labels so we cannot have full confidence in which set of potatoes are which, apart from Arran Pilot which is pretty distinctive. The curse of the broccoli continues.
Because it was so nice and sunny, we had a good old shed sort out and put up the new calendar. Tools and equipment were taken home to be given the annual Jeyes Fluid baptism and sharpening (OMG Jeyes is probably not organic - aaarrggghh!). We see that Jan and Pat are doing the same in their new shed as they prepare for life on their new plot.
The next day our long unused digging muscles are aching. But we forget the pain as we take part in the Allotment Association winter drinks event based at the communal shed. Sunshine, a hearty fire and mulled wine - who could ask for anything more (other than smoke not getting in the eyes)?
Well, not really, as it turns out. Having consulted a few books and YouTube, and armed with a fresh pair of secateurs, we went up to see about winter pruning our apple trees. You think you know a tree, just because you walk past it frequently, or because you planted it, or because you've eaten its fruit. But until this afternoon, I actually would have been hard pressed (apple banter) to sketch an outline of either of our trees' set of main branches. And they're both a lot smaller than I would have guessed this morning. (Although most of the trees on YouTube were quite large.)The goal of Beginner's Pruning is at least four-fold. First, to clear space so that (the eventual) buds and apples get plenty of light and air (nobody likes, for example, a cramped crotch). This includes removing growth heading downward, or across the middle of the tree or across other branches. Second, to promote subsequent growth (you tend to cut back the previous year's growth by two-thirds, which seems harsh, but makes the plant try all the harder). Third, to remove dead or diseased material.The trees, then, with the simpler first. Our, Cox, though not yet really growing in the desired 'vase' shape, is a vigorous little fella. We felt informed enough to trim here and there (always cutting back to the upward-facing bud). The Scrumptious, however, doesn't really have the shape we're familiar with from online videos. It's been growing well, but with its branches shooting up rather than out. Almost as if it was intended to be trained as an espalier, with its branches pinned out along horizontal lines. Hmmm. We withheld the secateurs until next weekend, by whic time we will have borrowed (yet) another book with pruning advice.
Harvested two leeks - we're down to about 15 left in the ground, thinner and thinner, but still delicious. And a cabbage (I didn't know about the slugs until I read K's previous blog). Still have some kale upright. The various green manures are suffering from the recent frosts, but no matter because we are due shortly to dig them in.
Am pondering the best formation for a raised carrot-bed at the plot's top (by the shed), where the soil is so stony that it's near-impossible to dig. Raised beds would, at least, give us control over the soil conditions. And judging from the shapes of our carrots, they could use a soil that makes it easy to grow downward.
Work to do in the coming weeks on restoring our fence, which has suffered somewhat by being constructed by a non-fencer, and from vandals taking shortcuts through them.
As K wrote, death to slugs. Of all kinds.
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Welcome to the New Year here at the plot! We hope all our readers had a suitably festive season - we certainly did, sustained by the ongoing consumption of fresh produce from the plot. It has been quite marvellous to think that - almost - we are self-sufficient. OK, so there is not that much variety but we now appreciate the seasonal aspect of eating.
Our main staples have been kale and leeks, and we have recently had the first cabbage (though these are riddled with slugs - must do something about that). Added to which, we have been eating our store of potatoes and onions; the latter has just managed to last, though we are now down to the last 5 red ones - and there is still plenty of garlic in good condition, and 4 small butternut squash. All seems to keep very well in the garage. Not to mention the frozen veg from the summer (beans, carrots, courgettes, broccoli and the most splendid of all, peas). And the chutney which is actually quite nice and has been given as presents to special people.
We managed a visit to the plot on Christmas Day just as a courtesy to our readers. Mainly we have only been up doing the odd bit of weeding, clearing, woodchipping and preparing the beds for growing next year.
The seed audit is now complete, and we have no gaps in our provisional harvest other than kale - which we most certainly will do again, as it is a most tasty and nutritious vegetable. We shall seek runner beans from our friend Mr B.
Other events of note have been the weather - which has been uniformly unpleasant, albeit with picturesque amounts of frost and generally too 
cold to stay outside for any length of time - and an even more unpleasant spate of vandalistic attacks over a short period. This latter has been very distressing and although we have fared pretty lightly compared to our neighbours it has been annoying to say the least. Our shed was forced open but nothing taken. Measures are currently being taken and the police have been brilliant. We have to learn to be more proactive about how to protect our plots. The only positive side has been that no crops have been taken or damaged. We can only suppose that the perpetrators wouldn't recognise a vegetable anyway.
Today we went up to plant garlic. This year (just think - now we are saying this year!) we have planted around 100 cloves of Solent Wight, closer together than last time. Unfortunately we missed the autumn planting spot but this variety can be safely planted between now and March. We also sowed two large bulbs of large Solent. We have one Elephant Garlic from last year and are pondering whether to plant it in our garden. There was hard frost on the ground and ice on the water but as bed 2 had been covered after it had been composted, it wasn't too hard to break up the soil.
We have covered a good deal of the bank so as to increase our growing space. We think first earlies to begin with, followed by squash as they didn't have enough room last year.
The other crop that is still growing is the (we think) purple sprouting broccoli. It seems to be growing but afflicted with something that makes the leaves go yellow.
This year's motto = keep on growing great vegetables and defeat all slugs.
Bbrrrrr. It is bloody cold. We are having what is officially known as a cold snap. Having woken up to snow this morning we decide on a pragmatic approach to the plot, notwithstanding the hilarious misunderstanding with the Council this week which had sent us a "non-cultivation" letter in error - the allotmenteer's biggest dread apart from vandalism. However, we comfort ourselves with purchasing some horse manure from a well known local garden centre (rather than waiting and hoping for local mechanisms to take effect) and having the Seed Audit.
The Seed Audit revealed a good deal of the packets had passed their plant-by date so these were evicted. However, some goodies remain. We discover that we have four courgette seeds left and some leeks and onions. We think that we will sow a few of the left-overs as a tribute - but 
add to the variety also. It is tempting to stick with those plants that did well, but of course, we want to expand our knowledge and experience.
We then purchased most of our seeds from the same garden centre, a list of which will be produced in due course and inserted into next year's spreadsheet. K has done an end-of-year spreadsheet which will help in making decisions. However, we can reveal that we have got some mangetout and rainbow chard seeds. We can hardly contain ourselves. We also obtained 4 runner beans from an old pod and lots of sweetpeas from dead pods. Decisions have to be made about potatoes and garlic though which cannot be put off for much longer.
Thence to the plot. All looks cold, damp and as it should be - we note that the cleared bank now means that we have a clear view of the field behind the bank a
nd the sheep within. The overwintering onions so lovingly tended last weekend look still to be OK. The transplanted cabbage seedlings have survived, though we put a thingy over them in view of the cold snap. The cabbages continue to expand and the leeks are delicious. Something is bothering one of the kale plants so we dig it up in case it infects the others. We shiver, inspect and harvest all in the space of 20 minutes and rush home to the warm.
This will be a pictureless - or blind - blog as neither of us had our phones with us to take pictures. But we know you have active imaginations and it is more important to blog than not. You have also been there with us on the long journey to get as far as we have with the plot so let the power of imagination whirl you away.
Last weekend, we took a whole load of home compost up to the plot and today we removed the compost holder and had a good old fork over. There was lots of nice crumbly well rotted stuff which N used to refresh bed 3 (we did a bit of thinking earlier about which beds needed what for next year's fun and games and not all our beds need compost) along with a bag of leafmould from last year's leaves. This bed is covered with black plastic and looks officially gone to sleep. We of course removed the last crops from it, which were three leeks left over from the main bed.
K then removed the spring cabbage (though we won't be sure what they are until they begin to grow if previous form applies) and overwintering onion seedlings from the seedbed. The seedbed was made almost entirely with top soil last year, so we put half a bag of mushroom compost and more leafmould into it and again covered with black plastic. It will then be reactivated as it were in February when we sow the leeks and brassicas as we learnt that those started from seed in the soil definitely grew better. And it's a lot easier than piffling about with seeds and such at home. Three raspberry infiltrators were removed and donated to our neighbours.
The spring cabbage seedlings were then moved into a freshly composted bit of bed 2 - as this is where the brassicas will be next year. And one - only one dammit - raddicio seedling. Apart from one superb specimen, they look a bit bitten and weedy but here's hoping. The onion seedlings were then repatriated with their brethren in bed 1 - a lot of jiggery pokery and sorting out of crowded seedlings into their final positions leave us confident that we have a good healthy lot of onions coming in June (last year the rabbits got them but this year we are quietly confident that our security measures will prevent them doing the same).
N manfully pulled up and generally hacked a good portion of the bank on our side of the ditch. It looks bleak and empty but we think of potatoes, moving the comfrey and giving the butternut squash/pumpkin much more room on this new site. We don't think rabbits eat any of these. The next step will be to cover it in plastic, though we don't want to inhibit the lovely daffodills that will emerge in spring.
The kale is producing well and we regularly eat it, now of course we are eating leeks too. The cabbages and broccoli, though a little tatty, appear to be growing. It is interesting how the whole pace of growing slows down as the days are so short. The green manure is now well established and we just have to make sure that we dig it in at the right point.
Now is the time to start ordering and thinking about the varieties of things we want to grow. A large glass of wine and a few gardening mags should do the trick. We should do a proper seed audit to see what we have left - and decide now we have missed the autumn garlic planting spot - and whether to use our own garlic.
One of us was feeling decidely low par when entering the plot. Leaving it a couple of hours of hard work later equilibrium of a sort had been restored.
Once again, an unconsciable lack of communication regarding the plot for which the usual drivelling apologies. Two reasons mainly - first, K's mobile, which had the latest plot pictures on, broke and had to be sent off to be fixed; and second, we snuck away to France for a much-needed two week holiday. Having now retrieved the phone and pictures, bloggery can commence.
Unfortunately, the site was subjected to a particularly unpleasant attack of vandalism about a week before we left. Our neighbours Jan and Pat suffered the most and had to rectify all sorts of damage on their return from holiday. Our famous saloon bar entry gate somehow caused offence to the morons concerned and was kicked away from its hinges. Appropriate action is being taken but it seems as though other local sites are also been targetted. The only mildly positive note is that the produce itself was not trashed, only people's "hardware" (sheds, equipment, etc).
The weekend of 4 October we spent some time weeding and tidying the plot, and discovered much to our astonishment that the so-called "pumpkin" had in fact been masquerading as a butternut squash, of which it managed to produce one. We were still able to pick carrots and of course the trusty raspberries and kale, which is pretty good when you think about it.
The green manure (field beans and clover) was beginning to get well established. We shall have to remember to dig it in at some point. We. are unsure as to whether field beans actually produce any beanage.
N pulled up the dead courgette plants and, because this variety grows kind of upwards, it was very obvious to see where a fruit had been removed. N counted 89 such marks - from 4 plants! We were amazed and pronounce it the most productive of our crops this our first year. Everything looked sad and wan, but we still managed to find a few runner beans and although the sweet peas were definitely beginning to flag, their flowers still smelt sweet.
Fast forward to 1/2 November - quite a lot has happened in the intervening period. We suspect that there have been many raspberries in our absence as there are still some coming now (though not as many of course). The leeks look really leekish and we have chosen one for N to pick for supper tomorrow. The most exciting thing is that there was a heavy snowfall earlier in the week (in October!) while we were still away and while other structures on the site yielded and buckled under the weight of the snow, the Pagoda stood firm. N is quietly smug.
Otherwise, the kale is still good and very tasty. The cabbages that K had thought of as purple broccoli are now looking significantly better, presumably because the cold has killed off whatever was eating them. Indeed, they look uncannily like January King (JK) cabbages. The other cabbages, that K thought of as JK cabbages, now look as though they are purple broccoli. There was obviously an elementary slip-up in the process earlier. It shows the importance of good labelling but does add a certain element of "je ne sais quoi" to the growing process.
Disappointingly, the seeds planted in September in Bed 2 failed to materialise. The overwintering onions in Bed 1 are still there but not as many as we would like, and the chard has been munched on. The seedlings in the seedbed (spring cabbage and overwinterinig onions) seem to be OK, though the cabbage has been a little eaten. (If indeed it is cabbage as I seem completely unable to identify the damn things again after sowing.)
Bed 4 (ex-courgettes, beans, sweetcorn, butternut squash) has now been completely cleared and dug over. We intend to put compost on and cover it though want to make sure we are doing the right thing for what we want to grow next year. Bed 2 (ex-carrots - got the final ones up today) etc - needs digging/composting also.
We also stripped the last vestiges of dead sweetpeas, beans and thousands of nasturtiums from the Pagoda. It is sad to do this yet very satisfying at the same time.
We look at the bank with its weeds and stroke our chins meditatively. We hope to acquire a free greenhouse from somewhere and want to put it on the bank (once cleared). It's going to be another busy winter.
The beginning of the end of summer on the plot. Last weekend was mainly essential maintenance and the first Allotment Association bbq, which was an unqualified success, due in part to the great weather. Great to see our renovated shed up and ready for use.
Several things had to be relieved of their misery - the second 
sowing of peas had alas resulted in more downy mildew, the french beans had ceased to produce and the spent sweetcorn. The courgettes, bless them, are still going. However, there is little point in denying that the end is nigh for the main growing season.
We had to harvest our butternut squash now as well, as the plants appeared to die overnight. We suspect downy mildew. Although the plants themselves had died, we have harvested 9 squash, ranging from small to medium. They are drying on our conservatory window ledge, looking rather like pears. We know that the butternut squash seedling we had donated to Pat and Jan is still flourishing and growing, so it definitely was a premature end to our harvest.
The mini-pop sweetcorn is left in to provide an attractive windbreak, but we won't be eating their cobs unfortunately as they were bred to be eaten small. Letting them grow was a miscalculation. Bigger is not always better.
The sweetpeas are dying down as are the runner beans. Elsewhere in the fruitcage, the raspberries are in full flood. We have even frozen some. They are delicious. There is even the chance of a second crop of strawberries as some flowers have appeared.
Of the seed sowings we made recently - of winter crops that grow over winter - only the chard and overwintering onions seem to be thriving. The spring cabbage seedlings in the seedbed have been protected by our famous home-made cloche system. We sow some winter spinach, winter spring onions and lettuce at home to get started in the cold frame.
The cabbages are doing well, albeit some have been severely attacked. We are at a loss as to what to do - they are protected by environmesh after all which should keep out the white butterflies that lay the caterpillar eggs. However, it was pointed out that by protecting our crops against pigeons we are also preventing other more helpful birds picking off the caterpillars for a juicy snack. Quid pro quo it would seem. We hope that the forthcoming cold and winter will kill them off anyway. The plants that are not attacked are thriving.
The leeks are looking good, though not as big yet as we had hoped. The 
green manure on the erstwhile potato patch is making its appearance, though slowly. Guess that's because of the time of year. The kale is looking splendid - quite Japanese in its curly purple beauty.
We also had a visit from Penelope, N's mum, who picked raspberries and blackberries most diligently. Over a tuno mayonnaise sandwich we mused on the therapeutic properties of allotmenteering.
N did a sterling job of laying more (free) paving slabs to increase the 
firm and weed-killing barriers and footways between essential areas of the plot. It will make an enormous difference in terms of mud and weeds. And it looks neat too.
Weather note: finally we have had a taste of summer, a lovely wistful Indian summer. We have felt warm and enervated by the sun. A shame it couldn't have happened earlier is the general view amongst the various plot holders. But you learn to be grateful for whatever you get.
We had a very distinguished visitor on 16 January - my old friend Matthew who is an organic farmer in Hungary! Readers will appreciate that I was more than a little nervous on conducting such a notable visitor to the plot. Frankly, most of our visitors know Bog All about growing veg so one can get away with wittering nonsense about blight and green manure. Not with this one. He pronounced himself impressed with our garlic harvest, offered helpful apple tree pruning advice and cautioned against the over-use of our Magic Veg Juice on actual crops, though we should slosh it all over comfrey. He thought the mystery brassica was indeed broccoli and that the yellow leaves were just a natural part of what happens. Anyway, we passed inspection and that is the main thing though it was of course lovely to see him too.
The comfrey which looks dead and thus able to be moved was dug up and put to one 
side. It will be planted on the bank. We then dug the green manure into that area including where the extra potatoes had grown last year. We originally wanted to create a very raised bed for the carrots in that space, so that they can grow straight and true, However, the soil did not seem over stony so we thought we would have an extra normal bed at the end and look elsewhere for the carrot bed. We now have to think about what to put there before doing anything else in the way of soil improvement. It is now Bed 6.
is enough height to it in which to put the non-stony soil. N has made a good start in constructing the sides from an old chest. It is now officially known as Bed 7.
Because it was so nice and sunny, we had a good old shed sort out and put up the new calendar. Tools and equipment were taken home to be given the annual Jeyes Fluid baptism and sharpening (OMG Jeyes is probably not organic - aaarrggghh!). We see that Jan and Pat are doing the same in their new shed as they prepare for life on their new plot.
