Some unwelcome visitors

 When we arrived at the allotment last Saturday we had a nasty shock--the plot had been broken into.   An attempt had been made to break the big padlock but having failed at this  a panel had been pulled out of the gate to enable the intruder(s) to climb over. As we walked up the plot we could see there was no damage to the vegetable beds but the shed door was open and various boxes and tins had been opened and left strewn about the benches. We don't keep any valuables on the allotment so there was nothing worth stealing and we know from past break-ins on this site that it's always the power tools which get stolen from plots. There were other plots which had been broken into on Saturday and some things had been stolen, so we were lucky.

So things could have been much worse and after a chat with our neighbour on the next plot we set to work on our jobs for the day.  Richard's job was going to be to put up a brassica frame which he has been making, but that had to be put to one side while he mended the gate.

We've been enjoying our time spent at the allotment these last few weeks. The beds are filling up and looking green. In the pea and bean bed the first lot of broad beans I planted are now starting to form some pods and the first lot of peas also have pods which are beginning to swell. We are so looking forward to being able to harvest them.

I have two other lots of peas growing in another bed, one of them is a purple podded pea. Unfortunately these two rows of peas have been nibbled by pea and bean weevils--more intruders but of a different kind! They don't look very attractive at the moment but I'm hoping that they will all recover.

                                                     

In the roots bed I am now picking beetroot and sowing successional rows for throughout the season. I sowed some fennel seed a few weeks ago but there is little sign of germination. Old seed perhaps?

Looking in the fruit cages I could see that there are plenty of blueberries which will be starting to ripen in a few weeks.  Fruit are appearing on the raspberries which I planted last year. In the other cage there are blackcurrants and the branches of the redcurrant bush are heavy with fruit. The gooseberries don't seem to have much fruit, but they have been moved this year to another bed and so might need time to recover. And the rhubarb just keeps on going. I freeze some and give some to friends.

Over in the brassica bed things are growing well. Weeks ago I planted two rows of cabbages--Kilaton and Greyhound and these are looking great. They've not hearted up yet, but could be picked for spring greens if we needed any. I do hope the slugs keep well away from them. I will be planting more cabbages next to them soon as well as cauliflower.  At the other end of this bed are kale and brussels sprouts. It's a big bed and needs to be netted against pigeons and cabbage white butterflies. So this is what Richard has been doing recently at home--making a wooden frame with netting fixed to it which can be put in place and then moved each year to another bed as we rotate the crops.

Well that's my allotment update for now, I'll be back again soon, and let's hope the intruders won't return.

Blackberries down the lane

The blackberries started ripening early this year and there have been so many too. Last year I missed out on picking them down the allotment lane, by the time I got there everyone else had got there before me and there were none left. So this year needing to stock up my freezer supplies I was determined to get my share of them. Accompanied by my grandson, whenever we went down to the allotment, we finished our allotment work by walking down the lane to fill a box with blackberries. My grandson took his rake with him so he could pull down branches for me to pick. The best ones are always just out of reach. I was the one who got scratched filling my box, he just ate the ones he picked.

On the plot I've been picking blackcurrants, red currants and gooseberries. Luckily they are in a net cage which keeps the birds off, as I'd left it a bit late before I finally got around to picking them. But I still think I lost quite a lot through them dropping off.

I was pleased to get a few more red currants this year. The blueberries were a disappointment but I think again I'd left it late to pick and many had dropped off.

My fruit freezer is well filled up now and will keep us going in fruit for the coming year. Now I need to start thinking about making jams and fruit gins.

A fruit cage at last!

 Ever since we've had the allotment I've struggled with finding a secure way of netting the fruit. Last year I thought I'd netted the blueberries well but arrived on the plot one day to find one of the plants completely stripped of its fruit. Throwing a net over might deter the birds for a while but they will soon find a way in if they really want that juicy fruit.

We've been working on the fruit bed for a couple of years and now it's finished and planted up my dream has been  to have a proper fruit cage. It would have to be a home made one as we try not to spend too much money on the allotment.

The last few weeks as I've seen the fruit slowly ripening I knew we'd better get something in place before we lost the fruit again. As usual Richard came to my rescue with his DIY and recycling skills.

The fruit cage was put together in a morning using the old net brassica frames which had been used on the raised beds on Helen's old allotment. These had originally been made using recycled wood, so they were put back into use again. Held together with string and a few screws it may not stay put for very long, but as long as it's in place until the fruit can be picked that's fine.

The blueberry bushes are on the other side of the bed to the rest of the fruit so had to be netted separately, but there were some smaller net frames which could be used. It's always good to be able to reuse and recycle.

We can now watch our fruit ripening and hopefully we won't have to share it with the birds. I'm also looking forward to some jam making sessions.

Rose hips, sloes and a lovely walk

According to those who know these things, this year is a bumper year for foraging. Well there are certainly lots of blackberries about in the hedgerows. I always pick the blackberries from the lane down at the allotments. This year there have been lots and I also found some at the top of plot10b where we haven't cleared yet. I've made a mental note not to cut these down when we eventually start to clear this area.

My freezer is quite full of fruit now from the raspberries, rhubarb and gooseberries grown on the allotments this year, but I managed to find room for a few pounds of blackberries.

I mentioned before on my blog about how I like to make fruit gin and vodka with the blackberries, raspberries, and rhubarb from the plot.  The one thing I've also been wanting to make is sloe gin and as  I haven't found any sloes in the area around the allotments, we had to look elsewhere. So on a lovely sunny afternoon recently Richard and I set off walking in the direction of our local scout camp where I had been told there were plenty of sloes. It was lovely to get out walking on such a beautiful autumn day, it's quite a steep walk, but the views are fantastic. As we walked up the lane we noticed that the hedges had been cut, so if there had been any sloes here there weren't anymore. There were plenty of rose hips though, so I collected those I we walked. I like to dry these for Christmas decorations, so I gathered a bag full, leaving some on the bushes for the birds.

The path went through the scout camp and onto the fields, where we spotted what looked to be sloes in the hedge. We weren't disappointed, we picked nearly 2lbs of them. I was well equipped for foraging with plastic boxes and bags.  My rucksack was a bit heavier as we set off back over the fields.

The sloe gin is now prepared and will be ready for Christmas. I also made damson vodka using damsons from a friend's garden and gooseberry gin with allotment gooseberries, which at the moment looks a bit like frog spawn. I'm sure it will taste good.

July on the allotment

Well here we are in July, halfway through the year, how time flies. There’s no let up in the jobs on our two  allotments at the moment. It’s a race to make sure seeds are sown at the right time and plants are got in the ground.  But everything is looking good.  I love to see the rows of vegetables starting to get bigger and I always think that once the bean frames are up in place then it starts to look like a proper allotment.  After a long dry spell of weather, we finally had some proper rain which has given the ground a good soaking and filled the water butts up.

We've been picking lettuces and radishes for a few weeks and last weekend we picked the first of the peas and broad beans.The brassica beds have been planted up with white cabbages, red cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale and purple sprouting broccoli. In the roots beds the parsnips and beetroot are coming along nicely.  Also in those beds  are fennel and celeriac. These are both fairly new to us crops. I tried growing celeriac a few years a go without success so I am giving it another go now on our new plots.

In the fruit beds, the gooseberries are ready for picking, the blackcurrants need to ripen yet and the rhubarb is enormous. I've already got a few pounds  bagged up in the freezer.

The weeds are growing fast. We try to keep them under control in the beds, but around the rest of the plot they grow at an alarming rate and I keep hoping I will soon have time to tackle them but there are so many jobs to do. I have a list of allotment jobs to do which never gets any shorter. As I cross jobs off, more are added.

This weekend I emptied the containers of  the first early potatoes (Rocket), picked more gooseberries, thinned out some of the flower seedlings in the cut flower bed, planted a pumpkin, fixed up some supports for the cucumbers and tomatoes in the growhouse and made up some comfrey feed. I was really pleased to cross all those jobs off my list.

Next week I hope to plant out  leeks and  celeriac, pot on basil and parsley seedlings, sow fennel and cabbage for the winter and do lots of weeding. 

The horticultural show

We have a horticultural show in our town every year. You know the sort of thing, people exhibit things in a variety of classes, like fruit, veg and flowers. I'm ashamed to say that although we have lived in the town for 29 years we have never visited this show before.  My daughter decided that this was the year to go.  She wanted to enter some of our allotment vegetables, but we weren't sure what sort of standards were expected.  So we looked at the list of classes to enter and decided to just enter our chutneys this year and see what might be expected in the veg and fruit stuff so we can prepare ourselves for next year.  Mine was apple and cranberry and hers was beetroot.  I did wonder if my chutney was a bit old as I'd made it last November, but it was still tasting good, in fact I thought it had improved with keeping.  I had one jar left.

We arrived early in the morning to leave our chutneys before the judging took place.  There were two other chutneys there, we wondered if any more would arrive.  We went back in the afternoon after the judging to see how we had done. Sadly neither of our chutneys got placed, but we didn't mind, we wandered round looking at the other exhibits.  There were cakes and biscuits, we thought we could do that next year. I think my shortbread is worthy enough to be entered.  There were a lot of handicrafts on display, but we thought we would have liked to see more fruit and vegetable classes.

We admired this wonderful cabbage and onions.

There were some important people there too.

Now we know how it all works we'll be well prepared for next year's show.

Fruity

It must be a good year for fruit. I have never seen so much fruit in my garden.  Well I only grow strawberries and raspberries, but there are loads of them.  I keep thinking this will be the last good picking I have of them.  Then a day or two later I go up to the top of the garden and there they are again, waiting to be picked. Then there's the allotment-- gooseberries, blackcurrants and rhubarb.

In the kitchen there are bowls of strawberries in the fridge waiting to be eaten, trays of raspberries and blackcurrants in the freezer, and more fruit already bagged up. I'm considering buying another freezer for allotment produce.  I think though that I really need to get into jam making, that is the answer I'm sure.

Coming along just fine

 

When we are down at the allotment working on plot 10b we are often asked by our allotment neighbours, "How's the other plot doing?" Well I'm happy to say that our other allotment--plot 8 is coming along really well.  After weeks of rubbish sorting and trips to the recycling centre, we can at last see the ground.  And after lots of back breaking digging, clearing of bricks and rubble the original layout of the plot is appearing.  There are flagged paths surrounding beds, and some fairly decent soil in them too.

We didn't expect to be growing much this year on the plot, but in the four small raised beds which were left by the previous tenant we have planted onions, climbing and dwarf french beans, radish, spring onion, beetroot and sweetcorn.  There are two small strawberry beds planted by the previous tenants which we decided to leave for this year to see how productive they were. We now have two new beds which Richard has weeded,dug over and filled with well rotted manure. One of these has been planted up with courgettes and pumpkins and will soon have some squash in there too.

There is an apple tree which was full of blossom a few weeks earlier and we will be hoping for plenty of fruit later this year. Helen and I dug over the area around the apple tree last week. We decided to make this a fruit growing area. I have a rhubarb and a couple of gooseberry plants to be planted in there.

Richard dug up a couple of conifers last week and that area is now being prepared to make two big beds either side of the drain. The soil there is very dry as it was full of roots, so it needs lots of compost and manure adding before we can grow anything.

The pond area is starting to look colourful now the yellow irises are in flower, but there is a lot of work to be done there yet. We discovered that the pond liner has cracks in it and the pond has become more of a bog than a pond.  There are frogs on the plot, but we are not sure if the tadpoles survived when the pond dried up. Sorting it out is a project for next year I think.

At the top end of the plot is a big tree and we think the best thing to do there  is have a woodland wildlife area.  It's also a lovely place for the grandchildren to play and have a den.

So that's where we are up to on plot 8.  We still need to build compost bins and Richard wants to make a shed out of some of the materials we have lying around on plot 8 and plot 10b.

It's all looking good and we are really pleased with how things are progressing.

Cold

Well it was really, really cold, but we still went to the allotment. Richard wanted to put some drainpipes into his dug out drains on plot8, Helen and I wanted to do other things.

 I still have restricted movement in my wrist so wasn't able to do very much. I just watched and acted as director of operations. Helen put some staging in the ploytunnel on plot 10b and sowed some carrots in a tub to grow in there.  She also dug up the gooseberries and blackcurrants and put them in a new border which we had prepared along the front of the plot. We had originally planted these bushes in the autumn in another border, but felt that there wasn't enough depth of soil. They should be quite happy in their new border. Helen dug over the old bed after we had moved the fruit bushes.  It will be fine to grow veg in.

We also went over to plot 8 to see how work was progressing with the drains. We investigated the pond and to our delight we found frog spawn!  Hoping that means lots of frogs to eat the slugs.

 

Moving

We haven't done much work at the new allotment during December, the weather has either been very frosty or very wet. But everything is reasonably tidy, the beds are topped up with manure and the sprouts, leeks, broccoli and cabbage are growing well.

What we have done is clear our old plot which we are giving up at the end of this month. A few weeks ago Helen and I went down and lifted the blackcurrants, raspberries, gooseberries and rhubarb.  They are now replanted in the fruit beds at the new allotment. We've cleared away all the rubbish and pulled up the remaining cabbages. I also lightly forked over each raised bed so they are now tidy and weed free ready for the new tenants. It felt a bit like moving house.

When we first got offered our new plot--a proper allotment, I felt a bit sad to be leaving the raised beds plot. But as we started work on the new allotment I saw how much better it would be with sheds, a growhouse and more space. A space with a fence around and a gate we could lock. A space which wasn't encroached upon by other peoples' weeds, this was a major problem on the other plot which was a communal area.

So I'm happy that we've moved to another plot, but I do hope the new tenants look after our old one.

Plans and projects at the allotment

We've now got the most important work done on our new allotment, which means we can have a bit of a breather and ease up on the heavy work until we start with next year's projects.

My husband has now finished building the raised beds in the main part of the plot. There are 12 of them. This may seem a lot but we share the plot with our daughter so we are feeding 2 families on the produce we grow.  We also wanted to have as much if not  more growing space as we had on our old allotment.

 There are two beds where we are growing brassicas--red cabbage, brussels sprouts, sprouting broccoli, cauliflower, kale, spring cabbage and swede. Another two beds are planted with leeks and garlic. Three beds are going to be for growing fruit bushes and rhubarb. Last weekend we topped up the remaining five empty beds with manure which will rot down over the winter.

 

Also at the weekend we went over to the old plot where we cleared away the pumpkins, squash and french beans which had all gone over. We dug up the rhubarb, brought it back to our new plot and planted it up in one of the new beds. We still have  blackcurrants, gooseberries and raspberries to move to the new plot. We have the old plot until the end of the year, so we have time yet to clear the beds completely and move the  fruit bushes.

Back at the new plot my husband has been putting some cladding on the lower end of the fence to keep the weeds out.  He is also digging a border along the front fence where we want to grow some climbers and shrubs to give us some screening as it is very open and exposed at the moment.  It's not an easy job though, as there are lots of big boulders, stones and bricks below the surface.  We are getting quite a collection of rubble. I'm sure it will all come in useful in other areas of the plot eventually, but it's hard work shifting it and trying to dig. The cladding for the fence came from the old cabin which we demolished a few weeks ago. It's come in very useful for all sorts of things and there's still lots of it. Even if we can't use it all there are plenty of other allotment neighbours who have got their eyes on it.

Our plans for next year are to sort out paths between the raised beds and to clear the top end of the plot behind the grow house. The area behind the grow house is like a secret garden and my daughter and I love to spend time there cutting back the brambles and nettles, each time revealing a bit more space.  We haven't decided yet what we will do with that area.  We may have a wildlife area and perhaps one or two fruit trees.

 

Summer berries

 

There are lots of berries in the garden at the moment, that's if they've not been eaten by slugs in the very wet weather we've been having. Strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, they're all delicious. My favourites are strawberries and raspberries. You can just eat them as they are, with cream or ice cream, or make them up into flans, sorbets, mousse, cheesecake, the list is endless. I found this recipe for a berry compote whilst I was going through my recipe file the other day.  It's really easy to make and will keep in the fridge for several days.

Berry Compote
serves 6
8oz (225g) strawberries
8oz (225g) raspberries
4oz (100g) redcurrants
4oz (100g) blackcurrants
6oz (150g) sugar
3/4 pint (375ml) red wine
1 cinnamon stick
pinch grated nutmeg

1. Pick over the soft fruits, discarding hulls, stems and leaves. Quarter strawberries
2. Put the sugar in a large pan with the wine. Stir over a low heat until dissolved
3. Add prepared fruits, cinnamon and nutmeg. Simmer for 5 mins or until fruits are softened but still hold their shape.
4. Leave until cold. Spoon into dish, cover and chill for 1 hour.
5. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

 Nutrients per serving
calories 180 protein 0g total fat 0g (saturated fat 0g) carbohydrate 35g fibre 6g


I didn't have any redcurrants, so I used extra of the other fruit. I used last year's raspberries and blackcurrants  from the freezer it was a good way of using them up to make room for the this year's harvest. I didn't have any red wine so used up some port we had in the drinks cabinet. More expensive and probably a sweeter taste, but was  delicious and very boozy! Probably too boozy, I'll try with wine next time!

My allotment story

About 18 months ago my daughter  and I were invited by the council to an open evening down at the allotments site to introduce us to an new initiative.  They had taken over a plot of land and built 24 large raised beds( pods). People on the allotments waiting list were to be offered one of these raised beds in an effort to reduce the waiting list. The idea being that a full allotment could be quite a challenge to many people and this would be like a starter plot to introduce people to vegetable growing.

As we were both way down the allotment waiting list we knew it could be years before we got a proper allotment. We both have vegetable growing areas in our own gardens but wanted more space. So we decided to take on a raised bed each, and we were allocated ones next to each other.

The raised beds are very well built and down each side of the plot are several compost areas, cold frames, and benches. Each pod measures approximately 7ft x 15ft and the area around them is gravelled.  We took over one of the compost bins even though we both have compost bins at home. But we have large gardens and save all our kitchen waste, so we often run out of compost space.  We find it more useful to use the cold frame for storage and keep spare tools, membrane, fleece, canes etc.there. All the initial growing of tender plants is done at home.

We  got stuck in, dug over and weeded our plots, then added compost to improve the soil.
We decided to share our efforts and so we divided up our 2 beds to create a 4 plot rotation. Last year we planted onions, shallots and  garlic, sowed leeks, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, peas, broad beans and french beans. We planted cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and tomatoes.

Onions, leeks, parsnips and carrots

The bed at the back with the tripod and netting frame is one of ours growing peas, beans and brassicas

As the year went on it became obvious that not all the pods had been taken and the weeds were gradually taking over these pods.  Some people who had started off  full of enthusiasm were finding it difficult to spare the time to tend their plot. If these people could not look after a raised bed, then how could they manage a full allotment, we wondered.

However we were managing fine with our 2 beds and felt we would really like more space. So I phoned the council and asked if we could take on another raised bed, one of the ones which had not been taken.  The council said yes and we were given one which  was in a good position at the bottom of the plot. 

We thought about what we would grow in it, thinking at first that we could use the 3 pods as a 3 crop rotation system. But I was also wanting to grow more fruit. At home in my garden I have a Bramley apple tree, raspberries and some strawberries in tubs.  So we decided to grow fruit. We bought, 2 blackcurrants, 2 gooseberries, 3 rhubarb and an autumn raspberry and  my daughter brought summer and autumn  raspberry cuttings from her garden. There will also still be space between the fruit to grow veg.

We enjoy our trips to the allotment. We don't always go every week as we both have gardens at home to look after and my daughter is busy with a job and her family.  But we have managed to keep on top of the work. Its very peaceful there and we occasionally see other pod owners, have a chat and compare notes. But even though there are 24 pods we only ever see about 1 or 2 other plot holders at a time down there. Occasionally one of the nearby allotment holders pops down to have a chat with us, so we are getting to know people. Sometimes we take a packed lunch and sit on one of the benches.

Now we are starting our 2nd year of growing and we are loving it. We've made mistakes, had some failures, but we've learned a lot.  I shall blog about our progress as the year goes on.