Introducing my new boy!

Little One Number 2

Hello my blogger friends! He doesn't yet have his own wellies but he'll grow up on the plot like Little One number 1. He was born in October - actually a little early and since then we've been on wonderful babymoon!! 

Well, I hadn't been to the plot for absolutely ages. It was being rampaged by weeds when I saw it in Sept/Oct. I was a little daunted to go a visiting, as I'd built up the amount of work it would take to sort out in my head. But when I popped in last week it was quiet and still in the winter light. The fact that it all stops growing in winter it good as it isn't running away from me - it's waiting for me now!

I pulled some fine parsnips and carrots and left very optimistic for 2011.

I've returned !

It's not only the blog which has been neglected, the poor lottie has been rather left too. I have been totally lifted out of my life for a whole month for work and now dropped back in. I'm playing catch up with life. My son. My man. My home. My garden...and my plot.

Although the plot has had occasional waterings it has had to survive without me. If I'm honest I was totally devastated when I finally got back down to my plot. The weeds were 2-3' high. The courgettes had stopped producing and two enormous marrows lay in the leaves. Broccoli gone to flower. Beans were alive but hadn't grown with any particular vigour. Tomatoes had survived but needed serious tying in and trimming.

So I've had time for two visits in the last week. I've pulled out many many weeds. Drenched the beans. Tied, trimmed, watered and feed the tomatoes. Eaten raspberries. Harvested carrots and a single beetroot. Tied in cucumbers, and harvested a few. Hauled out the majority of the onions and garlic, leaving them in the shed to dry on a mesh rack. The garlic seemed smaller than last year. Onions could have been bigger too I think.

But mostly I've wandered the plot six months pregnant, contemplating. I feel guilty that I haven't monopolised on everything growing. The gooseberries I did pick went mouldy in a bag in the fridge - If only I'd put them in the freezer! The rest of the goosegogs went too far on the bushes and popped. The raspberries and the tayberries are rampant and need controlling. The weeds. Oh the weeds. The paths need covering. Oh, I haven't had the best season on the plot. Will next year be any better with a baby in tow? Maybe it shouldn't be all doom and gloom, after all nothing was dead! Perhaps with a a few more visits I shall get on top of the work and shan't be as daunted by it all. It can be revived and invigorated soon again. Here's hoping!

Allotment Layout

The first home grown strawberry of the year!

Click on image to enlarge

The yellow line marks the boundary of my plot. There are also borlotti beans along side the runner beans and peppers and chillies in the tomato bed. I have a little space in the herb beds and room next to the tayberries (where I was hoping to plant a blackberry bush, finances permitting!). I have bunged the squashes in the courgette beds but it's a temporary arrangement, they will need more space. It's looking tidy today with all my recent weeding efforts. My lovely under-gardener put up with another 5 hours there today. We had a lovely picnic and our sweet lottie cat friend came to visit us as usual. It was a truly delightful day.

The many jobs of June!

So many things to do.... so little time to blog.

At home I've been rescuing tomato plants which cooked whilst I was in Morocco and temperatures soared here. I've potted on about eight plants at home, with basil and marigolds and the rest are destined for the allotment. I lost my cucumber but sowed another.

At the allotment it would be easy to be overcome by the weeds and the all the other of jobs to do, especially being pregnant and knowing I really have to watch I don't overdo it. I have worked on one bed at a time and I seem to be making steady progress. I really want to get my paths covered as it is ridiculous to be continually weeding them, but they are always low priority.

So I have planted on the plot this weekend:- Calabrese Broccoli, Celeriac, Runner beans, Borlotti beans, Butternut Squash, Cucumber, Sunflowers and Peppers. Along with weeding, constructed the bean support, netted the fruit, put straw under the strawberries and prepared the tomato bed. Courgettes went in about a month ago now and are doing really good. The broad beans have come up fine not as tall as last year and the blackfly are worse also. I really think it is worth over-wintering them like I did last season. Note to self: -I will try to sow for over-wintering this November but the new arrival may make that a little tricky!! (and carrots for that matter.

A Glimpse of a Moroccan Potager

Oranges

Cabbages

Tomatoes

Lettuces

Courgettes and Squashes

I was very lucky to spend a week in Morocco. The beautiful hotel we stayed in in Marrakech had a great potager. Just so productive. They grew all the things you would think - tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, aubergines, onions and garlic, all the herbs, fantastic fruit - figs, oranges and pomegranates. I was surprised they had huge cabbages but equally not surprised there hadn't been a single slug or snail mark on them! The ground was clay and as you can see in the lettuce picture that they create troughs to aid watering I suppose.

Allotment in April (and an announcement!)

from the top: Broccoli Raab, 2x rows Beetroot and the Broad Beans

Rejoice! as we've had some sunshine and warmth. The barbeque has been wheeled out at home and the evenings are lovely and light. I'm also pleased to say that I have finally passed through a big patch of nausea and ridiculous tiredness caused by my new pregnancy - yes! - you read it here 1st!! So now I can start to enjoy this year and also play my "Get out of digging card free." This growing season I shall be taking it a little easier than last.

A couple of trips to lottie in the last week has seen me do some weeding, watering and a little sowing. With the brief help of my fella and a mate, soil has been turned and paths have been weeded and a bean trench has been readied. The broad beans are coming along reasonably. The broccoli raab has got loads to go in the next 30 days (-if it's to make it's 'ready in 60 days' harvest deadline) but is growing well and onions and garlic all shaping up fine. Interestingly, I have so many onions and no potatoes this year which is a turn around from last year. This is good though, as I don't eat that many potatoes, they are cheaper to buy than onions and the whole blight thing at the allotments last year really freaked me out. The onions mostly look after themselves which is definitely good for me. I almost totally forgot them last year and the several I grew last year were a gross underestimation. My boy and I sowed some beetroot and sunflowers, whilst at home the seedlings all need potting on. I'm slightly panicked that I don't have things started that I should and I think I'm going to run out of space on the plot!! oh no!! and breathe!

“Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed. Robert H. Schuller

This is a bit of a religious quote for me but it grasps the potential of seeds. From one the possibility for life is endless. Springtime is seed time.

So what did I sow?

In the propagator:-

Tomatoes: Marmande, Cuor di Bue, Datterini.

Basil: Lettuce leaved and Bush

Marjoram, Dill, Parsley

Cayenne Chilli Pepper

Courgette: Alberello di Sarzana

Cucumber: Picolino

Leek: Pandora

At the allotment:-

Onions: Red Baron and Centurion

Broccoli: Raab

As I walked up to my plot I inhaled the sweet smell of the earth. I felt enlivened by it. I was very pleased to find that the broad beans were poking out of the ground with only a couple of duds, so there I popped in replacement beans. I was most upset to see my chitting potatoes devoured by a rodent though! An intruder in my shed no less. I'm thinking no chitting next time, I'll just get them in the ground. I have some Raab broccoli seed from a Grow your Own magazine last year and I thought I'd give it a go. It's a dwarf variety ready in 60 days, it will be interesting to see what it's like. I took my whole seed box with me thinking I'd get some other things in but I did lots of weeding and wondering but got nothing else sowed. I think the weather is going to be ok for Saturday but I did notice the first blistery pox of my boy's back tonight so I think I'll be playing nurse to my sweet boy and his chicken pox this weekend instead!

I have been very kindly presented with this Award from Jo at The Good Life - I feel very privileged to receive it and has left me feeling proud and appreciated. Thanks again Jo.

Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn. ~Quoted by Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

I love this quote, it's so perfect.

It's been a long weekend with my 3 year old burning a fever and the constant driving rain keeping us indoors for the most of it. Cabin fever. I was delighted to wake up to sunshine this morning which meant one thing to me - Allotment!

With the help of my young under-gardener, I dug over last year's garlic and onion bed. I had tried to grow sweetcorn after the alliums, although pretty unsuccessfully. I sowed two rows of Nantes carrots and one row of Cobham Improved Marrow parsnips. I'm hoping the parsnips and the carrots will be happier than the corn! I had dug in a little manure before the sweetcorn so I think by now the soil will be about the right richness for the carrots. It's definitely not a good idea to put grow carrots in freshly manured ground as they will 'fork'.

I weeded the raspberry bed while my darling fella, who'd made a rare but happy visit to the plot, dug over one of the long beds in which the potatoes and courgettes had grown last year. Time flew by and when my little one cracked me on the nose with a bamboo cane - AAwOOuch! - it was time to go home.

I do hope it's sunny tomorrow as I really want to go back and get more done, I'm hooked again.

xx

The beginning of the season...

Super Aguadolce broad beans, first planting under cover.

Pomodori Italiano!

A few days ago I started to get a little buzzy feeling about this year's growing season. Opening my seed box and seeing all the potential is such a thrill. I think I learnt a lot last year, my first true season. For a start, I sowed far too many tomato seeds and each sprout I potted on, and on, and I found it impossible to throw any away. Not only did I become consumed by tomato plants, I left myself with no space (in the conservatory) to sow anything else. Also during the season I wasn't prepared with what to put in after things had finished. This year I want to have brassicas or something ready to go in after my broad beans. I may only put a couple of tomato plants at the allotment because of the whole blight thing last year which totally depressed me. I now have a strange grudge against last years tomato bed. For me it seems poisoned. I don't know what I should plant there. Perhaps I'll find something that will help clarify the ground?

I am sure it's because I have some italian blood coursing through my veins that tomatoes are very important to me. I worked on an Italian film last year, as the UK art director and I got a tip from the production designer that the best flavoured tomato to eat straight is a variety called Datterino, it's a cherry sized tomato. I tried immediately to source it on the internet but couldn't get anything in England. Fortunately I have a 'almost' Auntie in Italy, she brilliantly sourced me a couple of packets. The other variety I am keen to grow is Cuor di Bue, which top chefs Giorgio Locatelli and Raymond Blanc both champion as a cooking tom. Finally I realised last year I absolutely love beef tomatoes so I am also planning to have a couple Marmande plants.

Mmm.. what else shall I be growing?

Oh yes, Diary: today I planted some broad beans, Super Aguadolce variety in the ground which I prepared with some pongy poultry manure and lime. I covered them with my cold frame which I made last year. Note, last year I put the broad beans in in October and over-wintered them, they did quite well. I wanted to try starting them in root trainers this year, which I will but today I saw an opportunity to see what would happen if I tried them this way - we'll see eh?I also pruned the autumn raspberries to the ground too. They need to be weeded around and be fed/ top dressed.

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.

What to do with all those courgettes: #1. Dolce Zucchini Cake

To ensure that this courgette and pine nut cake has a sweet taste, it is best made only in early summer, when the courgettes are still very small.

Ingredients

150g Unsalted butter, softened

175g Caster sugar

3 Eggs

225g Plain flour

1 tsp Baking powder

225g Sultanas or dried vine fruits

300g Small courgettes, grated

70g Pine nuts

1 Lemon, finely grated zest and juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/gas 4. Grease and line the base of a 20cm high-sided flan tin or springform cake tin.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating constantly
3. Sieve the flour and baking powder in and fold in with the sultanas, grated courgettes, 50g pine nuts and the lemon zest and juice.
4. Transfer the thick batter to the tin and scatter with the remaining pine nuts. Bake in the centre of the oven for 40–45 minutes.
5. When ready, the cake will be slightly brown on top and a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin before turning it out.

Lovin' in a Mist

Perfection in white, need I say more.

Click on for detail.

Carrot Lovin'

"Birds do it, bees do it,

Even educated carrots do it

Let's do it, let's fall in love!!"