Pumpkins Harvested!
23:30 - Posted by marigold - 3 comments

Surprisingly after a few weeks of not visiting the allotment, there were three Galeaux d Eysines pumpkins, and one of them is a real whopper! The one in front, which was featured in an earlier post seems to have been stunted by my turning it off its side, but it's starting to turn a nice looking orangish/salmony colour. I ended up with only one Crown Prince, so I hope it's good. It would have been nice to get several of those because they are the perfect size for giving away as gifts.

Also featured in the picture: romanesco cauliflower, cos lettuce, yellow courgette, beetroot, the first swede of the year, and cavolo nero kale.

I have quite a few things left going at the allotment - some of which needs to be harvested before the first frosts:

  • beetroot
  • parsnips
  • potatoes, some red dukes of york are sprouting again already!
  • reddish cabbages (just hearting up)
  • romanesco cauliflower (starting to make heads)
  • sprouting broccoli
  • chufa nuts
  • Jerusalem artichokes
  • globe artichokes
  • horse radish
  • carrots
  • black salsify
  • swedes
  • perpetual spinach
  • cavolo nero, kale

I am pretty sure I need to get the beetroots, carrots, and chufa nuts out sooner rather than later.

And I need to get some things sowed:

  • broadbeans
  • overwintering onions
  • garlic
It's looking quite nice down at the allotments lately. The council have put up new metal fences around the property, large concrete bays for rubbish, manure, and compost. And, they'd been clearing all the overgrown allotments that aren't taken yet! I got there today and my usual view of the 8 foot high brambles that border my plot to the back were gone! It makes my plot look bad... I'll have to remedy that... I've gotten a folding wheel barrow and some black plastic to start to make inroads on that last part at the back of my plot. Thank goodness Summer's over! Now the real fun begins!


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3 comments:

    Rachael said...

    I'm impressed with your romanesco (well I'm impressed with all of it) - I tried it this year and it was a complete failure. What are chufa nuts? They sound interesting!

  1. ... on 12 November 2009 16:35  
    2. marigold said...

    Hi! What I call Chufa nuts are the same as what you guys in England call Tigernuts. They are sweet little nut like things that grow on the roots of the grass like plant. In Spain, they use them in a sweet, cold drink called Horchata de Chufa. It tastes like almond milk, sort of. I bought 5 of them online from some specialty store, but I am told that they sell them at fish bait shops because the carp love them too!

    All my brassicas come as plug plants from Delfland Nurseries. They grow organic plants and ship them out monthly in packs of 5. Since they supply commercial growers, the varieties are almost guaranteed to grow really well in this country. Many of them are also F1 varieties which also helps.

    I usually double dig before planting them. I then walk all over the area to compact the soil. After that I add in old eggshells, lime (when needed), and compost around the plug plant and pack the plant in firmly. I saw that trick on gardeners world for some allotments that had culbroot all over the place. Apparently, if you put enough of this mixture around the root of the plant, it is guaranteed to give good results. One time, I added only manure, and they well then too. Many time, I put the plug plants in pots at home for a couple of weeks to let them grow on in organic compost.

    Hope this helps!

  2. ... on 17 November 2009 18:56  
    3. marigold said...

    PS: I also plant them deeper than the soil level of the plug plant or container. This helps because plug plants don't grow tap roots well.

  3. ... on 17 November 2009 18:59  
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