The last couple of Sundays have mostly been spent at the allotment. The one before yesterday, a friend from Ireland came over and helped out. He says it's relaxing and therapeutic. Who am I to say no? He dug up the blackberry roots in about 1/3 of that back part I have been avoiding!
While he was busy with that, The Male, decided to cut down the nettle in the Wild Section. We're going to have a rethink on all of that. It's just too wild. I'd much prefer a bunch of Marigolds to a bunch of nettles. I sprayed everything again and not a moment too soon. One of the Calabrese heads was infested with white fly. We harvested 10 Cauliflowers and the rest of the main Calabrese heads. I also pulled up half of the overwintered garlic and left half to see if there is any difference when the scapes stand up straight. This week on the culinary front has mostly been a war to get through the brassicas in the fridge. We gave two caulis away, froze two heads into individual florets with a tedious microwave blanching method that helps to retain the vitamin C and then froze them on trays before bagging them. I've made cauliflower and broccoli salad, which is truly awesome. Caluliflower cheese, of course. I had brocolli cheese and rice one day when I was alone and froze the rest. Finally, we had a Spanish version of brocolli with onions and olives. Still there are three heads of cauliflower and one head of brocolli staring at us in the fridge-with the ever looming thought of side sprouts growing at the allotment!
Wouldn't you know it-yesterday when I went to the allotment, some of the Calabrese side-sprouts were as big as the full sized heads..
I also harvested peas. Using medium sized freezer bags, there were about a half a bag of completely over-ripe petite pios, a whole bag of mangetout, and another half a bag of sugar snap peas. The last radishes, which I sowed a few days after planting the tomatoes, were ready. And, we had our first courgette. It was an immature baby marrow, but who's counting??
Besides harvesting way too much veg, I have been doing some heavy weeding of the alliums, and while I do that, I am fingering (the process of loosening the soil around them) all of them that I can in the hope of bigger bulbs. I also planted 10 more of the sweet corn plants that were in wait, one of the purple artichokes that looked like it could hold its own, and the two pepper plants that survived even the foulest shade in the back yard. That's one Habanero that overwintered on the window sill and one Yolo Wonder sweet pepper.
More to the topic of marigolds and other flowers - the Pot Marigolds are coming into their own on the allotment with huge amounts of flower heads. I seem to have a line of them up front mixed with poppies, cornflowers, and a few others I cannot identify from a wildflower seed packet I sowed oh so long ago. I promise pictures next time! I also have to get out a recipe for Calendula hand creme. The French marigolds are planted around the four borders of the tomato patch. They are all just getting going with one flower each. The nasturtiums that I sowed next to the apple trees in the new potato patch are flowering in profusion and threatening to take over the courgettes and marrows.
As I said in the title, I must remember not to plan any vacation after the middle of June.
While he was busy with that, The Male, decided to cut down the nettle in the Wild Section. We're going to have a rethink on all of that. It's just too wild. I'd much prefer a bunch of Marigolds to a bunch of nettles. I sprayed everything again and not a moment too soon. One of the Calabrese heads was infested with white fly. We harvested 10 Cauliflowers and the rest of the main Calabrese heads. I also pulled up half of the overwintered garlic and left half to see if there is any difference when the scapes stand up straight. This week on the culinary front has mostly been a war to get through the brassicas in the fridge. We gave two caulis away, froze two heads into individual florets with a tedious microwave blanching method that helps to retain the vitamin C and then froze them on trays before bagging them. I've made cauliflower and broccoli salad, which is truly awesome. Caluliflower cheese, of course. I had brocolli cheese and rice one day when I was alone and froze the rest. Finally, we had a Spanish version of brocolli with onions and olives. Still there are three heads of cauliflower and one head of brocolli staring at us in the fridge-with the ever looming thought of side sprouts growing at the allotment!
Wouldn't you know it-yesterday when I went to the allotment, some of the Calabrese side-sprouts were as big as the full sized heads..
I also harvested peas. Using medium sized freezer bags, there were about a half a bag of completely over-ripe petite pios, a whole bag of mangetout, and another half a bag of sugar snap peas. The last radishes, which I sowed a few days after planting the tomatoes, were ready. And, we had our first courgette. It was an immature baby marrow, but who's counting??
Besides harvesting way too much veg, I have been doing some heavy weeding of the alliums, and while I do that, I am fingering (the process of loosening the soil around them) all of them that I can in the hope of bigger bulbs. I also planted 10 more of the sweet corn plants that were in wait, one of the purple artichokes that looked like it could hold its own, and the two pepper plants that survived even the foulest shade in the back yard. That's one Habanero that overwintered on the window sill and one Yolo Wonder sweet pepper.
More to the topic of marigolds and other flowers - the Pot Marigolds are coming into their own on the allotment with huge amounts of flower heads. I seem to have a line of them up front mixed with poppies, cornflowers, and a few others I cannot identify from a wildflower seed packet I sowed oh so long ago. I promise pictures next time! I also have to get out a recipe for Calendula hand creme. The French marigolds are planted around the four borders of the tomato patch. They are all just getting going with one flower each. The nasturtiums that I sowed next to the apple trees in the new potato patch are flowering in profusion and threatening to take over the courgettes and marrows.
As I said in the title, I must remember not to plan any vacation after the middle of June.
1 comments:
Rachael said...
I haven't heard about 'fingering' before. I wonder if it would have worked on my garlic, which has the most pathetically tiny bulbs, but it's probably too late now.