Onions and Garlic

It's hard to believe I've not written much on my blog the latter part of this year. Well, it is a diary and I have not been doing much at the allotment. Life has been keeping me busy but I did plant some japanese onions and some thermidrome garlic a few weeks. (-maybe a couple of months ago!?!)

Today we went to the allotment to pull carrots and look at the overgrown cauliflower. It is past its best - which is criminal seeing as how hard they are to grow.

Strawberry fields forever...

In The Grand Plan, I was following my hero Geoff Hamilton's advice and had my bed all ready to plant strawberries in August. Although I was stumped when I went online in July to order some plants and all the big sellers quoted delivery dates in October!?! Last weekend I was at Wisley, my favourite garden centre and I bought six Pegasus strawberry plants and six Cambridge Favourite plants. I really wanted Symphony but alas they didn't have them. The plants I bought looked so healthy and strong so I'm really looking forward to seeing them grow and fruit next year. I planted them through membrane to save on weeding.

I've been clearing up the plot today. I cut the beans down to the ground, leaving their roots in because of their nitrogen fixing quality. I pulled up the very successful courgette plants and pretty unsuccessful sweetcorn plants. My little one and I dug for treasure in the form of perfect potatoes and fabulous carrots that have been safe underground for months. Looking back I planted the potatoes in April and I've been digging up them all summer. Next year I want to grow a few International Kidney and also Maris Piper (-if they are blight resistant). The potatoes I grew in bags were fine although I think they were smaller and this is probably due to them drying out more than the ones in the ground. I am going to start my broad beans in root trainers next year and do them in two batches - probably Super Aquadolce again.

Bye Bye Summer

I've been neglecting my blog for ages now, I am sorry.

The allotment has been ticking over well. We've harvested untold beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and courgettes. The sweetcorn was okay but not fab the cobs were not very uniformed and I wondering if I should have watered them more when it was dry and the cukes for that matter. The carrots have never stopped coming, I should have sown some more. The tomatoes never really got blight, I don't know if it's thanks to the bordeaux mix or the change in weather conditions. We are enjoying a huge cabbage which grew spectacularly out from the bed where the broad beans had grown before.

Raspberries are a bit unwieldy and definitely shall have to construct some support system for next year.

I'm really looking forward for the cooler weather and a chance to finish clearing the rest of the plot and completing the paths.

The B word

It's like mentioning that Scottish play backstage. The 'B' word on the allotments brings fear into the hearts of all.

"BLIGHT!!

Two days ago I received an email from the Allotments Association warning of blight on the allotments. Recommending Spraying with Bordeaux mixture. Warning not to compost any of the plants but destroy them.

So let me tell you briefly about blight. It is caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans. It produces sporangia on infected leaves and fruit which love moisture and riding in the wind for hundreds of miles infecting potatoes and tomatoes alike. You can spray the plants with a copper based fungicide (Bordeaux Mixture) or mancozeb (Dithane) both are nasty chemicals. I checked on a couple of forums about blight yesterday and read that Bordeaux was acceptable by organic standards.

Off I went and got this horrid bottle of blue powder read on the bottle "NOT GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT" - strong words, also they were strong warnings about harming marine life. As I got to the allotments I saw my friends, 'the vegetarians' wheel-barrowing off their tomatoes - some of the first to be noticed with the dreaded blight. They showed me other plots that had it. Pointing out the brown marks on tomatoes etc. They said that mine looked great and no sign of any nasty blight. I was encouraged to 'save' then with the Bordeaux mixture. Regrettably, I very grumpily mixed up the solution and sprayed all my plants. Just to reiterate, I do not have any blight on my tomatoes (yet!)

I was miserable when I left the plots. What have I done? Sprayed some terrible poison on to my plot to save tomatoes that now I'm not sure I want to eat!! What should I have done? Picked all those little tomatoes (most are still small) and made chutney, and composted the plants? My innocent tomatoes are now all blue. And me all blue too.

And to make matters worse when I trawled the web looking for more info on blight last night, I find that bordeaux mixture is not accepted in organic growing and is banned in large scale use. I do not know what or who to believe. I shall fall back on RHS advice I think.

To quote the RHS website:

Tomatoes grown under glass are not always infected. Plants likely to be attacked - especially outdoor tomatoes - require protective sprays of mancozeb (Dithane) or copper (Murphy Traditional Copper or Vitax Bordeaux Mixture). Apply these before the symptoms are seen as a protection against attack. They will not totally prevent infection, but slow it sufficiently to save crop.

Allotment First Aid and a little love...

I scratched myself with the tip of my secateurs whist trimming leaves on my bushy tomatoes. A scratch it was not, in fact it was a small laceration on the top of the big knuckle on my thumb. I'll spare you the details but it was serious enough. I immediately went to my shed and pulled out a little first aid kit I had in there. I wiped the cut with an antiseptic wipe and applied some pressure to stop the bleeding. My hands were dirty and sticky from the tomato plants. Time to go home. It didn't bleed for long, but my tummy was feeling a bit sicky as a result. I'd cut straight through the epidermis a couple of millimetres down to the fleshy dermis (sorry, I was going to spare you the details.) I felt a bit alone. It was the solitude which I normally love the allotment for, it's my sanctuary and my escape. Now the solitude felt lonely. I wanted my Mum.

I thought I'd to put a plaster on it to keep it clean until I got home and properly dress it. I knew it would be a bit awkward to do one-handed. I saw a neighbouring plot holder not far away who I'd spoken to her before, she had two girls with her, they looked about 10 years old. A mother, she'd help me. She'd offer me some sympathy whilst my courage wavered momentarily. What was wonderful about her was she looked at the cut and nodded agreeing it was mildly serious, then stopped, holding my hands she looked me in the eyes and asked in a genuinely heartfelt way "Do you feel all right?" her head tilting to the side as she spoke.

"Yes, I'm fine" I said, my chin twitched, really I was ready to start blubbering. Silly me, I was fine. I was just so touched my her kindness.

She washed her hands, well as best you can without soap under the tap. The girls wanted to see what I'd done, seeing it they both took sharp intakes of breath then preceded in 'show and telling' me about all their scars. My kind nurse applied Savlon and a plaster and then she told me to go home. "Thank you, I will."

Growing up I was often called Basha because of my proneness to have accidents. I'm not squeamish, I know how to clean up a injury, medicate if necessary and get on with it. What my dear plot holder offered me was the magic ingredient of kindness and love. Thank you. For that really was the healing factor not to be overlooked.

As a result of the accident, I have now scaled up my first aid kit in the shed, included some rescue remedy in case I really am on my own and some large latex gloves, which might make up for the lack of sterile hands.

What to do with all those courgettes: #3 Hugh's Glutney

Hugh says: This is a ‘multiple choice’ recipe for chutney, designed to help you use whatever seasonal fruit and vegetables are in full glut at the time. For me, the courgettes/overgrown marrows are pretty much a staple in August and September, and they may give way to pumpkins and squashes in October and November. Tomatoes and plums are around at roughly the same time, though the tomatoes will start early – particularly if you use green ones.

Of course, no two batches of glutney will ever be quite the same – but that hardly matters. You should also feel free to play fast and loose with the spice bag. And if you like a really hot chutney, add as much dried chilli as you dare.

Serve with cheese, cold meats, terrines, pork pies etc. But also remember what a useful ingredient chutney is, with a ready-mixed blend of sweet, sour and spice. I frequently add it to curries, soups and stews.

To make about 10 jam jars’ worth:

1kg marrows/overgrown courgettes, unpeeled but cut into dice no bigger than 1cm (discard seeds from really large marrows) OR 1kg pumpkin, peeled, seeds and soft fibres discarded, and diced no bigger than 1cm
1kg red or green tomatoes, scalded, skinned and roughly chopped OR 1kg plums, stoned and chopped
1kg cooking or eating apples, peeled and diced
500g onions, peeled and diced
500g sultanas or raisins
500g light brown sugar
750ml white wine or cider vinegar, made up to 1 litre with water
1–3 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp salt

for the spice bag
1 thumb-sized nugget of fresh or dried ginger, roughly chopped
12 cloves
12 black peppercorns
1 generous tsp coriander seeds
a few blades of mace

Put the vegetables and fruit in a large, heavy-based pan with the sultanas or raisins, sugar, vinegar and water, chilli flakes and salt.

Make up the spice bag by tying all the spices in a square of muslin or cotton. Add the spice bag to the pan, pushing it into the middle.

Heat the mixture gently, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer for 2–3 hours, uncovered, stirring regularly to ensure it does not burn on the bottom of the pan. The chutney is ready when it is rich, thick and reduced, and parts to reveal the base of the pan when a wooden spoon is dragged through it. If it starts to dry out before this stage is reached, add a little boiling water.

Pot up the chutney while still warm (but not boiling hot) in sterilised jars with plastic-coated screw-top lids (essential to stop the vinegar interacting with the metal). Leave to mature for at least 2 weeks – ideally 2 months – before serving.

What to do with all those courgettes: #2. Pasta with Zuccini sauce

Neil Perry is one of my favourite Aussie chefs, this recipe is really easily and tasty! Don't be put off by the anchovies they dissolve in the oil and just add 'taste'... trust me on that x

Ingredients

200g/7oz pasta (any orechiette, fusilli whatever)

3 large zucchinis

extra virgin olive oil, for cooking

6 whole anchovies

3 cloves garlic

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

dash fried chilli flakes

fresh parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook 'al dente.

2. Meanwhile, grate the zucchinis and place aside.

3. In a large frying pan, heat plenty of olive oil and add the anchovies, crushed garlic and sea salt. Fry for about 3 minutes, stirring continuously until the anchovies start to soften.

4. Sprinkle in the chilli flakes and freshly ground pepper, followed by the grated zucchinis and a dash more olive oil. Stir for a further 2 minutes.

5. When the pasta is cooked (it should take 10 minutes), drain well and add to the sauce.

6. To serve, toss the pasta through the sauce and spoon onto plates. Grate fresh parmesan over the top and finish with freshly ground pepper.