Marigold Memoirs

Free Plants - primroses

2009-10-20T22:42:00.004+01:00

Earlier in the year, I followed the instructions on Gardener's World for taking green seed from primroses. With all the slugs and snails in my back garden, it was hard to find one seed head barely hanging on the plant below:

You can barely see it but it's there! And from that, I got 7 new plants by pressing the green seed gently into some compost - after taking it off the seed head, of course. I then sprinkled a little compost on top and sat the small pot in some water. Once it was soaked, the idea was that while it drained, it would act as a vacuum, causing the seed to go down further in the soil. I just left it outside by a mostly shady wall and finally planted them out when they were bursting out of the pot. I've planted them in groups of 2 and 5 to try to mimic some of the most naturally occurring numbers in nature. Ever heard of the Fibonacci Numbers? Here's a link to the wiki article:

And while I was in that area of the garden I found this strange specimen. I think it's a bay tree, germinated from the bay tree that's sitting in a pot down the sidewalk. I'm going to try to pot it up and grow it on to one day have a set of two in two posh pots.

I'll have to train them though so they look the part.

I have similar hopes for these (almost free -one pound something for 6 ) buxus plants I got earlier in the year.

Coldframe, stocked for the Winter.

2009-10-20T22:03:00.003+01:00

I've put the cold frame over the area that had the Butter beans and sweet peas, leaving the roots which break down into usable Nitrogen for the plants. To the left, there is cultivated rocket on the bottom, a borage plant that was growing there anyways. Up top there is a row of land cress (or is that lambs lettuce?) and a row of perpetual spinach. Everything on the left was already growing in the garden, so I just transplanted the spinach and rocket. In the pots are a few herbs still hanging on after a Summer of neglect. You really do have to water frequently with small pots!

On the left I have some plug plants that just came in. I totally cannot grow sweet lettuces in the back garden, so am hoping that the best start in life will give them the extra boost. The lollo biondi did well earlier in the year... Let's keep our fingers crossed! From left to right we have a row of rainbow chard, and the two other rows are either Winter Density or Arctic King. One's a Romaine type, the other a butterhead, so it should not be hard to distinquish the two. I think Arctic King is the one on the far right. In the bottom right corner are five Wild Rockets.

I feel better about this Winter's cold frame than I did about last year's. Last year, I had a tomato plant that continued to fruit for a while with cherry tomatoes, but by the time they were ripe, I was unenthusiastic about picking it, so it just rotted there. I also sowed some seed that didn't produce much of interest. I did enjoy the rocket that was already growing several times. That inspired my choice this Winter. I might also pot up some of the more tender herbs I have growing in pots.

Sweetcorn!

2009-10-20T21:40:00.002+01:00

Well, these had well and truly gone over to the starchy side by the time I picked them all. I did get a few that were nice and sweet though. Anyways, this is the Dolce Sweetcorn - a heritage variety that gets a pinkish hue on the kernels and the green plant material.

Proof that I can grow a pumpkin!

2009-10-08T22:42:00.003+01:00

This one is the Galeaux de Eysines. It's the biggest and just starting to show its characteristic "lace" on its skin. It was on its side until today.

This is the Crown Prince. It's the only one I can see on the vine. Maybe the others are hiding !

Anyway, there they are - just in case something happens to them before my planned time to harvest them right before the first frosts. Apparently, the longer you wait, the better they taste.

Reflections on growing my own this year

2009-09-13T13:07:00.010+01:00

Post under construction - please come back later to see the finished product. (I have accidentally hit "publish post")

At this time of year, one can really start to see the difference in the way plants grow. Many are dying back or dead, some are quickly putting on weight in their roots or fruit to insure a chance next year or in the subsequent generation. Me, I'm just glad the nettles and other weeds seem to have stopped growing as fast as they were. Now, it's up to me to stop the seed some of them have set from getting back into the soil! It also seems to be a good time for setting pen to paper (so to speak) while the memories are still fresh to reflect on the main growing season. Best not to wait until a cold day in December or January, when frost-bitten hands look over seed catalogues with a sun-deprived nostalgia that could make the worst performing vegetable of the year seem like a good idea for next year!

On the allotment

Leeks - the ones I grew from seed were beginning to look hopeful but then what I thought was rust turned into some type of grubby worm that shredded them to pieces. The leeks that I got from Delfland nursuries did well overwinter, however.

Onions - More trouble than they are worth? The over-wintered ones were such a small crop and they came at a time when there wasn't too much to harvest that they were welcome, but the main crop in August was such a burden. Just yesterday, I got around to trimming them and getting rid of the ugly skins and leaves. I did string them, rather unsuccessfully. You really have to have a place to hang them, which I don't! So they sat in boxes in my breakfast room until yesterday, when most of them went into a hessian sack. The ones that looked like they wouldn't last I put in a container for cooking soon. About five that looked rather suspect got thrown away after I found two that had completely rotted. Ew. If I grow them again, perhaps I will grow them through horticultural fabric and balance the main-crop with the over-wintered so that I don't have so many on my hands at once. They are nice to have fresh, but in the end, they are just onions which can be had very cheaply, even the organic local ones.

Shallots - Completely worth it! The ones that I put in with the main crop onions grew faster than the ones that over wintered.

Garlic - I had better luck with the over-wintered store bought variety. Last year, I used sets from the gardening center that did well even in my back yard, planted in late February.

All in all, for the alliums, I am a convert to buying sets of garlic, shallots, onions, and plug plants of leeks from reputable garden centres and nurseries. Spring onions are another story!

Brassicas

Turnips - I don't seem to be able to eat them as fast as they grow. The second sowing is sitting rotting in place. The first sowing with the parsnips were a welcome addition to the plate for the most part.

Swede - two rows on the go at the moment. Looking forward to it, I think.

cabbages, cauliflowers, and broccoli - The ones I put in over-winter were all great with some minor problems like birds and snails on the cauliflowers and the cabbages that never resulted in a full grown head, but the brassicas I planted in early Spring were over-whelming, especially the cauliflowers and calabrese and just didn't sit right as Summer vegetables. I did in the end find a cauliflower and kidney bean curry recipe that I liked, but you know what they say about having too much of a good thing. The cabbages were great though. I'll just grow less of them.

I have about 35 or 40 Winter brassicas on the go. Instead of buying 10 of each type this year, I got plug plants in packs of 5 of 6 or 7 different varieties of sprouting brocolli, cauliflowers, and brussel sprouts. I did get 10 of the same type of cabbage that promised to sit in the ground until I wanted to eat them. I'll make a post about the Winter brassicas later on in the year.

Root veg

Carrots - Must learn to cover them with fleece. The yellow ones seem to have an unusual earthy flavour, but I never get many of them. The ones here were all dug up a few days ago as I was tired of looking at the row. Hasty perhaps, but the ones that don't have damage are nice to roast or saute whole. Large carrots, like main-crop onions can be had cheaply.

Potatoes - Even with the fears of blight, burrowing insects, and strange green spots on some of them, they have been a delight to have around.

Legumes - Must grow more of them for eating small, fresh, and green. Although, I have enjoyed the new experience of eating the mature beans fresh.

Peas - I'm not at all impressed with the amount of shelling that goes on in trying to get enough fresh peas for just two people in one meal. And I hate the fact that the pods are green and blend in with the foliage. The mangetout goes over faster than you can pick them and are in the end just another green pea to pod. I really enjoy the purple podded ones, though. The Dutch ones that I saved from last year are lovely fresh, they pod so easily, they are easy to spot and they grow to about as tall as me, so I don't have to strain my back or my eyes to pick them. I've been using them as "decoration" in stews and other recipes like risotto over the last few weeks. I think I'll leave pea side dishes like mushy peas to the experts in my frozen vegetables section in the grocery store!

Broadbeans - overwintered ones were goners before I wizened up with the organic chrysanthemum spray and they got moved more than once, so I might suspend judgment for another year. The last sowing in the Spring was a great success.

Borlottis and greenbeans - Great, just need to grow more of them. And, as with the peas, the taller ones are more of a delight to grow.

Runner beans - Love these organic Enormas. The butter beans in the back yard are just getting going so I haven't tried them yet, and the Limas at the allotment are just getting their flowers. I am doubtful that they will ever amount to anything

Squash - This yellow crookneck is the first one I've had off of the only surviving plant. There are a few more setting now. This one looks like it might have crossed with a something like a courgette.. or is that green colouring normal?

The courgettes and marrows have been amazing. The marrow plant gave up the ghost a while back and lost all its leaves. There is now one small, lone marrow growing from it. The organic Dundoo F1 has been the best producer. And the yellow courgette plant is just getting started because I had to move it as I didn't anticipate how large the other plants would get. The pattypan squash didn't survive the move.

Pumpkins - No complaints yet. There is what I believe to be a full grown Crown Prince on one of the vines, and about 10 Galeaux de Eysines that have started growing in the past week or so. They are all growing away happily amongst the nettles that I never got around to digging up, by the way. If they all successfully ripen on the vine or elsewhere, I will stick with sowing them direct. The ones I sowed at home all died.

Cucumbers - I've gotten a couple of good sized cucumbers from the lone vine at the allotment. There are a few growing slowly in the back garden. I'm watching with excitement the golf-ball sized crystal lemon cucumber at the moment!

Miscellaneous

Artichoke - one brave plant growing away. We'll see next year.

Sweetcorn - They are starting to bulk up. I had one on Friday at the allotment, it was skinny but sweet!

Beetroot - I have done three different sowings about a month apart. Each sowing has been successful. Now, we have to start eating them, which shouldn't be a problem, as we love beetroot boiled, either hot as a side dish or cold in a salad. The beetroot featured in the runner bean photo was from the second sowing, I believe. I am thinking of cutting off some of the older leaves and using the new leaves as lettuce this Autumn.

Black Salsify - I haven't harvested any yet because I thought it was something I dug up in the second year, but on Friday, I saw flower buds on one of them.

Chufa nuts - still waiting... I dug one up last week. There were small nodules on the roots, but nothing to write home about. I replanted it to see what happens.

Spinach and salads - The spinach has bolted in short order on various sowings. Sometimes it was down to the weather. Other times, I just plain forgot it was there. The perpetual spinach is looking magnificent, but I haven't tried it yet. I really should stop growing things like spinach in gaps in the rows. I cannot walk through them most times and the weeds confound the problem. I might have a dedicated salad area next year. Once again I am left with that continental salad mix (and three cos plants I "found" as I was weeding Friday) as the only viable salad crop on the allotment. It isn't bad, even with some of the bitter types of leaves as a green salad, if you make up a really nice vinaigrette with chopped up shallots, of which I have plenty!

Bronze Fennel - It seems to have bolted - more on this later.

Strawberries - I haven't had many. Most of my plants are first year plants. I am thinking of putting them in one bed with horticultural fabric underneath soon.

Gooseberries - None yet, but I have a nice bush forming.

Apples - I should get some next year because the stems will be two years old on the two trees I espaliered. I want to put in some more this Winter.

Cherries and Pears - Those two trees I am sure are dead...

Currants - Ditto. I planted these too late.

Horseradish - Now, if only I could find where I planted it! There are some strange huge-leaved things growing along a row from where I put the root on the edge of the new potato bed - must investigate.

Jerusalem artichokes - They are starting to fall down under the weight their monstrous 10 foot high stems. I'll have to find some recipes for them. I know I don't like them boiled.

Tomatoes - believe it or not, but the last tomato plant standing still at the allotment is the organic Falco Rosso (sp?). It does have a bit of blight but it doesn't seem to be spreading. I harvested three ripe tomatoes from the vine last week.

I have however been diagnosed with an acid reflux problem lately, so I haven't tried them. I can see oven dried tomatoes preserved in olive oil in my near future...

I have to give up what seems to me all the fun-stuff in life this month - Coffee, tea, anything with caffeine basically, citrus, tomatoes, spicy foods, alcohol..... Thank goodness for Dandelion Coffee!

Noir Trifele Tomato

2009-09-05T21:12:00.005+01:00

Here we have a perfectly ripe Noir Trifele (or Japanese Black Trifele) tomato. It's really Russian. I thought an entire post about it was in order. So what if it wasn't vine ripened? You cannot buy it in the stores - not the ones I shop in anyway. I grew it because some TV chef said it has the most awesome, tomatoey flavour of all his favourite tomatoes.

I must say that I was not disappointed. Here it is all cut up with sticks of Mozzarella, olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper, and an assortment of basil growing in my garden. I found it useful to cleanse my palate with red wine between samples of basil. Yum.

That dark purple basil is by far my favourite. It has such a true basil taste, perfect for fresh tomatoes. The green one with its liquorish-like taste belongs on a pizza. The variegated one was grown inside. It was originally one of the purple ones, but the lack of light inside weakened it considerably in both colour and taste.

Variety, finally!

2009-08-29T19:22:00.006+01:00

These are the beans I sowed early on in the season, direct. I'm sure I put their name on the blog back then. You can see the pods and the beans at different levels of ripeness. As the pod grows in colour so do the beans - unless they've cross pollinated or something. I did sow another type on the same canes that are yellowish with little white beans, not pictured here as there weren't very many. I have a whole bag of these in the fridge.

Encouraging results on a couple of the parsnips I thinned from the rows.

The monster beetroot. I pulled it because I was advised that they get woody if they get too big. The banana is there for scale.

from left to right, we have Dutch purple podded peas, an organic Enorma runner bean, three Lilia spring onions (the one on the left is what they all look like on the inside. the skin is just a facade!), one cucumber, a garlic scape gone to seed, and a leek I pulled to see what it looks like. The Winter sown garlic were all a flop. I found about 4 heads that had all started to split for the next year. I wonder if I can plant the seeds from the scape. The leeks also all have rust, so I'll have to research what to do. If I have to pull them all, it'll be roasted baby leeks for us - not a bad situation to be in!

Lastly, three of the tomatoes are almost fully ripe. Er, there were three, until the salt and basil talked me into eating one...

Pink Fir Apples

2009-08-26T14:24:00.002+01:00

Look! It's a whale!

This is what I got from digging up one of the pink fir apple plants. I didn't bring the soil up around the plants because by the time I had any inclination to do so the plants were quite tall and hard to get through. I think the shade blocked out much of the light and there weren't any popping up out of the soil. Next year, I'll bank up the soil quite early, just in case.

Now, all of the potatoes are dying down. I'll remove the stalks and hopefully remember wheere they are and dig them up when needed. I'll try to dig at least two up a week, though, because there are lots left. I think there are about 6 rows of these, 2 or 3 rows of Picasso, 1 of Belle de Fontenay, about 4 rows of Charlottes, and a couple plants of the Red Duke of York and Edzell Blue left. There were about 6-8 seed potatoes per row, so that makes at minimum 78 plants to dig up. I had some extras in the vegetable drawer of the fridge to plant for Christmas potatoes this Summer but I couldn't be bothered. I may just cook them and see if I like them for next year. So far, I have liked every potato I have cooked from the plot. We had a couple of the pink fir apples roasted whole last night. They had a very complex flavour, sort of like a chip from the chip shop, but nutty with something extra that I can't quite place.

The Great British Blight continues...

2009-08-19T00:52:00.006+01:00

Those were the Noir Trifele variety. All those, the Marmandes, the Gardeners Delights, and Harbingers...RIP. This happened last year too. And the year before that, but not for me because I did not grow anything that year. I sort of knew it was coming because I saw that the other allotments on the river bank all had blighted tomatoes last week. It was raining though so I quickly threw the Bordeaux mixture dust over them without making a solution. Too little, too late.

The Organic Falco Rosso and this one (I think it's the blight resistant Ferline) are still hanging on. I have one of each.

I've picked the best looking ones off of the blighted plants and will try to ripen them in a box with a banana, like last year.

You're never alone with a vegetable marrow.

2009-07-29T20:58:00.003+01:00

Seriously, this is only half of what I ended up with after only one week of not checking for more courgettes. The half baguette is there for scale. Over our breakfast of bacon, sliced courgettes, and fried eggs, we pondered over whether local produce created French culture or whether French culture dictates what people eat. New Orleans was a popular example. We also discussed why the baguette encourages one to eat bread with a meal in place of how sliced bread encourages more meals of sandwiches or toast with breakfast. The conversation ended on a high-note when the male cleverly asserted that my allotment was basically the equivalent of a French produce market.

Last week's Harvest

2009-07-22T15:12:00.003+01:00

The last of the overwintered garlic. The softneck one on the far left seemed to do the best. It had completely died down. The ones with the scapes did bulk up a little more. Perhaps I should have waited a little longer. The scapes were almost standing up straight, but I needed the space for 8 Lima O Del Papa Lima beans... We'll see how the late Winter sown ones do. Those have scapes already and a lot of nettles to keep them company.

About 5 Charlotte potato plants worth here that came out of the row to the left, where I then immediately sowed swede and radish. One plant might have been a Belle de Fontenay.

Close up.

The tiny pink fir apples. Unfortunately, they were lost at the bottom of the bag of charlottes and started to develop mold by the time I found them on the third day.

Allotment Flowers

2009-07-17T23:51:00.005+01:00

What's growing at the allotment

2009-07-16T10:29:00.011+01:00

Besides carrots, tomatoes, garlic, and potatoes?

Dutch Purple Podded Peas

A cluster of leeks that really need to be spaced out.

Still have a few cabbages and some sprouts growing on the Calabrese left for the taking... In the empty space I sowed parsely, Tom Thumb, that red romaine, and the baby salad leaves and continental lettuces collections. I have to order more of the last two as they have been very successful at the allotment.

Jerusalem Artichokes

The pumpkin seeds have germinated and these are the last that haven't been munched. I spead this manure over a bunch of weeds in the beginning of Spring, I think it was, and then I covered that with the horticultural fabric. This was the result after uncovering it. I then rolled the fabric over onto a row of nettles growing alongside. Win-win!

Lilia spring onions. They are purple which is great because a lot of my recipes call for raw red onion and if they don't get pulled up small they will grow into storable onions.

One of the new strawberry plants. This one has pink flowers. I planted them rather close to a row of pink fir apple potato plants, which quickly grew so big and flopped over and threatened this plant's life, so I pulled that row out and discovered a couple of handfuls of small pink fir apple potatoes. More on those in the upcoming Harvest Thread.

These are about 10 Red Brunswick onions I grew from seed some time in January, I think.

Yellow onion sets, main crop.

Spring planted shallots, growing huge.

All of the main crop shallots and onions. They are starting to flop over. And, I weeded them just for the picture.

Another marrow growing. I also have green and yellow courgettes nearby but none producing yet. I'll let this one develop to its full potential.

Runner beans making their way up the pole. Some have flowers already.

Black salsify. I sowed hundreds of seeds for these four or five plants!

One (!) yellow Jaun du daubs (sp?) carrot and one leek gone to seed.

Bronze fennel. I don't even much like fennel but they say it's good for you so I am going to experiment with some recipes soon.

Sweet corn.

Monster beetroot.

Second sowing of broad beans coming along nicely. To the left, we have some newly sown spinach sprouting.

In this jungle front left to right we have parsnips, mangetout and snap peas in the middle (you cannot really see them), and pole beans that I sowed direct a long time ago.

Chufa (or tiger) nuts for Horchata.

In this bunch of leaves we have perpetual spincah and a second sowing of turnips. I am not going to thin them to see what happens. They say you can just leave them in the ground until you need them. I am hoping that is true of many of the root vegetables. There are a few more things growing, like the continental lettuce, artichoke, etc. but I think you get the picture.

Along with the lettuces mentioned above I sowed endive and another try at chicory, more beetroot, green cos, and little gems in a desperate last attempt at lettuce. The last sowings didn't go anywhere. I think I now have one red cos growing in the bak garden. The ones at the allotment came up in little rows and then disappeared, either from slugs or from the fact that I didn't water them over a couple of weeks of no little or no rain. I also sowed a couple of rows of Swede Best of All, Black Tuscany Kale, and Rougette radish.

I might have sown a couple more things that I am am forgetting at the moment. I'll update if I think of anything.

The Allotment Robin

2009-07-14T17:13:00.004+01:00

Every gardener here has one, but I like to think this little robin comes to visit only me.

They can spot worms and bugs from miles away, I think.

Not a good time for a vacation!

2009-07-06T13:27:00.003+01:00

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.

More Sweet Peas

2009-06-30T15:09:00.002+01:00

These smell fantastic and match the paint on the breakfast room wall so well! We'll save some of these seeds for sure at the end of the season.

Overwintered Onions - The Harvest

2009-06-24T11:32:00.006+01:00

Japanese Onions and French Shallots. A row (approximately one half) of the shallots had some white mold on the bases so they are not shown here. They will be caramalized and eaten before the mold knows what's up.

This week, I did some harvesting. I swear, last night I came home with a trolley full plus two bags of lettuce and spinach. The male asked if I had already contacted Christian Aid.

What's left of the first sowing of turnips are full sized now. One even cracked. About time too, because the parsnips are growing large leaves and requiring more space. I hope they don't bolt.

We are still picking Continental Lettuce mix and Spinach from the Baby Salad Leaves mix. The mizuna or mustard (not sure which) already bolted.

The Calabrese are ready. We gave one to an allotment neighbour and have cooked one so far. Five more await their fate in the fridge. We have taken to making bubble and squeak as an easy fix for two heads of cabbage at a time. It is lovely with the Red Duke of York potatoes we are slowly making our way through.

I dug up three Belle de Fontenays and two Edzell Blues. Well, I picked the top potatoes out. I'll dig up the row when I get to the end of it. This will give the potatoes a chance to harden their skins before introducing them to the wide world. I have another reason for delaying the completed harvest.

Blackleg or Early Blight.

Not sure which, but whatever it is, some of the stems turn black and some of the damaged tubers succumb to black looking rot with a horrible smell. There are also brown looking freckles on some of the leaves.
The Edzell Blues are great roasted and the Belle de Fontenays are larger than expected. We had two large ones baked last night with a little creme frais, cheddar, butter and chives, it was divine. I've started to spray with Bordeaux mixture for the blight just in case. Even if I make it through Early blight, there is still Late Blight to worry about. I have also taken to spraying most everything else with Vitax Organic 2 in 1 Pest and Disease Control for the various flies. You should see them fly away when using this stuff! it is made out of good stuff like Chrysanthemums. It's the same concept behind planting Marigolds all over the place to detract certain pests but in a spray form.

Sowed

Beetroot Detroit 2
Beetroot Organic Boro F1
Some Organic Spinach F1
Carrot Organic Jeannette (last year's seed - not expecting much)
12 Crown Prince squash. (the three I planted out at the allotment were munched!)
4 more Galeaux de Eysines (sp?) pumpkins. (The one I planted has made it through but its stem is looking a little worn.)

Planted

8 Enorma Runners (at allotment in the middle of courgette and marrow patch, where the first earlies were.)
8 Butter Beans (they grow like runners) in back garden on a wigwam, inter-planted with sweet peas.
22 Dutch Purple Podded Peas (about 15 at allotment where the overwintered broad beans were -yup they died without producing much of anything. about 6 on a wigwam in the border in back garden)

Moved

The bolting leeks and what I think is a bolting Spring Onion out of the veggie plot to the flower border. Some of them don't know if they want to stand up or not, so I have tied their leaves to sticks to give them a hand. Waiting on a show!

Sweet Peas!

2009-06-16T15:35:00.001+01:00

The first of many!

Overwintered Shallots and Beetroot

2009-06-13T22:38:00.003+01:00

I've put them on a throw pillow and by a jar of mustard for scale. I can't believe how big these shallots are getting. The leaves aren't even yellow yet. And all those came from one shallot. The beetroot were pulled just out of curiosity. I'll probably add the stems to a salad. There are plenty of shops that stock Polish food around here, so I'm planning for large pots of Borsht, with perogies (dumplings) and smetana (a thick sour cream).

Today and a few days ago, I planted 4 outdoor cucumbers, 1 Pumpkin Galeux de Eysines, 3 crown prince squash, 2 yellow crookneck squash, 1 Organic Dundoo F1 courgette, 1 courgette gold rush, 2 marrow long green bush 2 improved, 1 pattypan squash, 14 corn plants, 4 French Marigolds Bolero, 5 or 6 more tomatoes. I might be forgetting something in the haze of post-allotment brain-fog. Do you know what I mean? It's like you're all happy, content and relaxed, but at the same time it's like you've downed a pint of lager and are somewhat inebriated.

--

I have nearly killed all the broad beans with a strong solution of Fairy dish-washing liquid and water for the blackfly. It was supposed to be 1 part soap to 10 parts water... All the leaves started turning black within minutes. It'll be a miracle if they survive. I'll have to get some proper horticultural soap and be sure to measure correctly in future. The tomatoes have greenfly, so that I can see a trip to the nursery in the very near future.

Also having to change the menu for the next few weeks to deal with the onslaught of potatoes and brassicas...

Growing Your Own is growing on me.

2009-06-07T21:57:00.008+01:00

From left to right, carrot thinnings, Red Dukes of York, Edzell Blue, and green shallots. In the bowl are three pointed cabbages. I didn't quite realize how soon they would be ready. In the next three weeks, I'll have 27 more mature brassicas on my hands! The calabreses are already heading up. In the bags are more baby turnips and their greens that I still have to go through. I am thinking of making a big pot of greens tomorrow in the slow cooker while I go to the allotment. And there are of course, the big ubiquitous plastic containers in the fridge full of baby spinach, mustard, continental lettuce, and rocket.

At the allotment, I had a big weeding session and planted out a few things. Now the main crop onions can breath a bit more freely, I reckon. Since I have to walk to there, I am taking a few plants at a time to go in their final positions. I planted:

Three Marmandes
One Ferline (or Harbinger :-) )
One Gardener's Delight
12 Bronze Fennels
6 strawberries (1/2 Elan F1 and 1/2 Florian F1 - all continuous fruiters until Autumn)

The plan has changed somewhat for the corn, beans, and squashes. The area in the back is much harder to dig than I thought so I am going to try and dig it slowly over the next 5 months while putting in Winter veg. I must also remember to only plant 5 of each type of brassica. If you play your cards right, you can have fresh cabbage, broccoli, or/and cauliflower 11 months out of the year. Me thinks I'll save the freezer space for rarer fruit and veg.

A few days ago, I added a herb border in the front of the veg plot in the back garden. In all, there are 10 thymes, 4 sages, and 2 new rosemaries.

Time to Thin The Carrots

2009-05-29T23:00:00.006+01:00

There are lots of carrots now and they are starting to put on weight. These came from the first row I sowed in late Winter. The others that I thinned were much less impressive, so I put them on the compost heap. I don't know if I'll get back down to the allotment for another week or so. Already, it's been nine days since the last time I was there since I was busy with studying and work. I hope to get more done after the 5th. Also in the pic are three of the Japanese Onions. I'm so impressed. They are the biggest onions I've grown so far. The rest are still in the ground to see if they'll get bigger. I read that they are suppose to come up in late June.

I cut the spinach back as it's starting to bolt. We are now in need of a spinach and feta tart recipe. I thinned the radish and turnips again, and picked the purple sprouting broccoli and four large broadbean pods. Those greens last week were awesome! The few small broadbean pods that I picked last week went into a mushroom risotto pods and all. Yum.

The weeds are taking over

Today, while the sun was shining, I tried to knock back all the weeds on the undug parts by stomping on them. I hoed the interior paths, which have hundreds of nettle plants. I've noticed that the back area is covered with that sticky willie weed, which is becoming very tall and invasive. And some of the old nets from the Winter brassicas are covered with them.

I weeded and raked the area where the cauliflowers were. I'm thinking of putting some of the corn there because the space is free. I really don't know if I'll get that back part dug in time. As it is, Summer and Winter squashes need to go out there. I might put the courgettes over where I am digging up the First Earlies. I dug up three today, and gave away what was under one plant to an allotment neighbour who kindly gave me a cup of tea. They are doing a great job over on the far side of the plots by the river with hard landscaping, pergolas, decking, wooden cold frames, and tons of fruits. I'm jealous!

Thinking ahead

I sowed mangetout and snap peas where I sowed peas the first time. Only one germinated from that bunch.

In the asparagus bed, I ripped out the dead crowns, weeded and sowed the lettuce that I ordered last week. I figure it will give me a chance to use the bed for a while until I can properly dig it over and manure it for new crowns later on. I read somewhere that the end of May is pretty much your last chance to sow lettuce before it gets too hot.

Good news! Two of the purple artichokes germinated and are now hardening off in the cold frame. I'll plant them out and dream of artichokes for next year!

Some time over the weekend, I mixed cosmos, rudbeckia, phalecia, gypsophilia, and pot marigolds together in a bag like the guy on Gardeners World did a few weeks ago. I then spread them around a bare spot in the back border. A few have germinated already. I started putting in some flower bulbs. I can't remember the name right now, maybe I'll mention it when I plant some more in a few days to keep them blooming for longer. I think they are some type of gladiola. The Irises are blooming in the pond and the lavender is beginning to bloom in the border just as the Forget me nots are fading away. I have resown some of the Lima beans. The first sowing rotted in the pots because it was way too early for them. Finally, I've started off 9 butter beans that grow like runners and 9 regular runner beans called Enorma.

Red Duke of York - May 20

2009-05-20T19:36:00.006+01:00

This is what came up today from under two plants that were just opening a flower or two. Don't ask me why there is a strange looking brown one in the bunch, 'cause I don't know! Going to do the proper thing tonight and have these boiled to go with lamb cutlets, peas and mint. The mint is from the back garden. Sadly, I don't have any fresh peas ... Yet!

Tomorrow, I'll make turnip greens Southern style with the thinnings taken today. I picked a ton of very large radish, more of that early lettuce, and a handful or two of purple sprouting broccoli. We're getting spoiled with fresh salad around here lately. However, the lollo biondi has a bitter taste, so it's still sitting in the fridge. Perhaps, if I mix it with a another lettuce and a heavy dressing, that will make it better? To make sure that I get some really good lettuce at least once this year, I have ordered the following seeds:

Tom Thumb
Red Cimmaron Romaine
Little Gems
Romaine Paris Island Cos
Chicory - Di Bruxelles

Today at the allotment, I sowed 10 Tiger Nuts. They were smaller than expected. I hope for a big crop. If not, I'll save whatever I do get for next year's planting.

Weekly round up - May 16

2009-05-16T21:48:00.010+01:00

Just today, I made the first cutting from the lollo biondi lettuce. It's pretty nice, light green with frilly edges, sort of like an iceberg lettuce but cut and come again instead of a head. It smells like lettuce too, if you know what I mean. So many of these salad leaves are nice but they don't have that destinctive lettuce smell.

Not much happened this week, though. I finished sowing the last of the main crop potatoes on Monday. I noticed while I was there that most of the last sowing at the allotment have germinated, except for the parsley and coriander. I buried some frozen sprats that we don't ever plan on eating under about 2 feet of soil, where I plan to put the tomatoes. Today, I planted the last remaining morning glory plant that was standing in the tray I sowed them in. Sometime during the week, I started leaving all the plants outside. I am getting a little tired of having all these plants in the house. This is almost half a year now! Yes, a few didn't make it, especially the little tiny flower plants like the russian campion and carnations. I am going to have to get a greenhouse in future to raise a wider variety of plants. The magic hollyhocks came through stunningly and are now at home in the back of the border. And I planted the borage by the runner bean wigwam. If the marigolds and cornflowers make it through a couple more nights, they are going in the ground soon too. In a fit of conscience, I brought them in as it is going to be under 9 C for a couple of nights with gusts of up to 40 mph. The tomatoes are looking a little purple..

I have been using the allotment and buying plants as a reward for doing certain tasks at work and around the house. I was going to buy some asparagus and globe artichoke plants from Delfland's nurseries earlier in the week, as none of the crowns have shown any sign of life and the artichoke seeds never germinated. But by the time I got the task done and went to order, they had stopped delivering them! Oh well, I guess that's it for those plants for this year unless I hunt around for some more. I think this might be a good chance for me to get the asparagus bed in really good shape instead of just slapping some plants in where lots of weeds will eventually grow. Perhaps, this is why I procrastinated so... I dunno... The chance was also missed for celery, celeriac, and rhubarb plants over the past couple of weeks.

I have plans now to get some herb plants and make a nice border around the veg plot in the back yard. It is turning out to be a pretty salad garden. Almost all the salad leaves I sowed last month are growing away happily. I'm also in the market for tiger (chufa) nuts, if it isn't too late in the season.

Finally, I sowed a couple of yellow courgette seeds the other day.

Oh yeah, I also harvested all the cauliflowers. A few were a little ugly, but cooked up well enough in a massive cooking session of 6 heads for cauliflower cheese. I froze it in individual servings for later. I gave one of the nice heads away to an allotment neighbour, and have one more left in the fridge to do something with.

The plot in early May

2009-05-06T22:14:00.010+01:00

The Black Salsify is coming up nicely.

The turnips are getting quite bushy. I'm wondering whether I should trim them or wait until the turnips start bulbing up. To the left are the beetroot and the second sowing of garlic. The parsnips have their first true leaves now. They look a little like flat parsley leaves. Maybe this is why they are called "pars" nips?

I've staked the broadbeans, which have flowered like crazy. I've planted 8 petis pois I started in the cold frame under the tri-pod.

Look a baby broadbean pod!

The rhubarb is still struggling on.

Here's a partial panoramic view of the plot so far:

The potato patch just gets bigger and bigger. I hope we'll be able to get through them all! Right now, I am trying to get the last of the Pink Fir Apple and Picasso in.

The strawberry plants are flowering. I am pulling the ones from these off since I know it's their first year so that the plants can grow nice and big. The spinach has come up somewhat sporadically. There are about ten plants around the strawberries. To make up for the small amount, I guess I'll sow a few more but in the mean time, I've bought a big bag of baby leaves. It goes well in a salad with tomatoes, crunchy bacon bits, and raspberry vinaigrette.

Some of the Japanese Onions are bolting. I've pulled one up so far and I am going to leave one or two to flower to give me some seed. So far only one of the Winter sown shallots have bolted. I pulled it up and put about half of them in a Coq Au Vin today. It was so much easier to use this way, rather than having to peel 8 small shallots.

Speaking of onions, from the onions and leeks I sowed in January, I ended up with 60 leeks and 10 Red Baron onions. I planted them out at the allotment on Saturday.

On Friday, I had a mad sowing session here on the plot. I sowed a line of each of these:

Carrot Jaune du Doubs
Lilia spring onion
Carrot Nantes 5
Continental Salad - produces delicious continental flavours in a mix of Romaine, Frisee, Lollo Rossa and Lambs Lettuce.
Coriander
Peas - organic mange tout
Pea - sugar snap
Green Windsor - Broad beans (baby leaf lettuce in between these -produces a succulent spicy mix of Spinach, Mizuna and Red Mustard.)
(French breakfast radish in between overwintered broadbeans)
Beetroot Boltardy (over by the other beetroot plants)

Over by the spinach, where the White Sprouting Broccoli was.

Perpetual Spinach
Pak Choi
Turnips
Parsley

Also, sown over the past week, I forget the days:

6 Crown Prince - Pumpkin
6 Galeux d'Eysines -Pumpkin
6 Yellow Crookneck - Squash

and a few days after that:

3 Organic courgette Dundoo F1
3 Marrows
45 Dolce sweetcorn

I wonder where I'll put them all!

First Fruits; or rather, first (cauli)flower - May Day 2009

2009-05-01T20:30:00.005+01:00

I was a minor celebrity down at the allotment today. Three people came by and took the grand tour of Marigold's allotment. Each one seemed super interested in what was under the cauliflower netting. I admit, I made a b-line to that netting when I arrived so maybe that sparked the interest. I wasted no time in harvesting my first head of cauliflower!

Isn't it HUGE?

On the left are the radish thinnings from the first sowing at the allotment this year and on the right are a few tired looking rougette radishes that have been growing all winter in the cold frame in the back garden. All that stress made them super hot.

The first big harvest of lettuce from the super early lettuce. Also in the container are early elderflowers. I'm going to start making cordials with the elderflowers and I might even put some in my echinacea and raspberry tea tonight. Both elderflowers and echinacea have anti-viral properties. I'll take all the help I can get right now with Swine Flu lurking and all!