A New Year on the allotment

After a fairly mild spell of weather, it has now turned very cold. We made our first visit to the allotment of the new year this week. It was a lovely day, although very cold. I needed veg so we went mainly to dig up some leeks--they are doing really well this year and are a good size. I cut some kale leaves too--those are not as good this year as in previous years. Next to the kale I noticed that the little cabbages which I had planted in the summer were growing well--still quite small but plenty of new leaves coming.  They should provide us with some nice early spring greens or small cabbages, as long as the pigeons and slugs don't get them first.

The plot was looking quite tidy and we were pleased with that.  We haven't been to do any work since the middle of October because I have been quite poorly with Rheumatoid Arthritis and was unable to walk properly or do anything with my hands.  On this last visit we had cleared most of the beds of dead vegetation, topped with home made compost and covered with membrane.

There's still work to done but nothing urgent:

• clear away the dead sweetcorn stems
• cut down the asparagus
• clear the old tomatoes and cucumber plants from the greenhouses
• prune the fruit bushes
• sweep up leaves from the paths

and as the weather improves and I get a bit more mobile we will work our way through the jobs.

 We sat awhile at the garden table with our flasks of hot tea  and slabs of Christmas cake, watching the birds and admiring the plot.

It was good to be back.

Harvesting, planting and weeding on the allotment

sweetcorn

We've had some welcome rain at last and the water butts on the plot are full again. The temperatures have cooled down too making it so much easier to get our gardening work done. The plot is looking good.

A couple of  weeks ago I  planted kale, purple sprouting broccoli  and calabrese. These are later than I normally plant them, but I didn't want to miss out on them, they are good winter veg.

the brassica bed covered with netting

There are an awful lot of cabbage white butterflies around at the moment so all our brassicas are well covered with netting although they are clever creatures and seem to be able to find the tiniest gap to get in and lay eggs.  The brassica bed is now full and there's no space left for anything more to be planted. At one end of the bed are the young kale and broccoli plants whilst at the other end are the cabbages I planted in the spring. We ate the first of these last week and it was really good. It was as good looking as any you find in the shops and tasted so much better.

the onion bed cleared and a row of late peas coming through

Onions now drying out in the greenhouse

I have been running out of planting space in other beds too. Last weekend I started planting out the leeks and had to search around for suitable places to plant them. The onion bed is now empty but I didn't want to plant the leeks there because they are part of the onion family and  disease could spread. So I spent some time time weeding and hoeing in other places to prepare the ground for the leeks. Leeks are one of our favourite winter vegetables and I have an awful lot of them to get in the ground.

leeks ready for planting

This hot summer has been good for some vegetables, but not for others. The climbing beans have gone mad. I have frozen some and given lots away to friends and neighbours and we have been eating lots of them. There are plenty of courgettes too. I planted more plants than I would need in case any got eaten by slugs. there are two varieties--'Black Beauty' and  'Tondo Di Piacenza' which is a round variety. In past years I have never had good crops of courgettes, so of course this year when I planted too many I have loads. What do you do with so many courgettes? I have made soup and used them in several recipes. They go well with tomatoes, make a good risotto with prawns or bacon or another veg such as beans. This week I may try making courgette burgers.

too many courgettes

Earlier in the year we moved the blueberry plants to a place where they would have more space and Richard made a fruit frame to cover them. We have had a good crop of them for the first time. The sunflowers both at the allotment and at home in the garden have grown to a magnificent height. I don't think I have ever grown any so tall before.

sunflowers

As I work through my jobs list, it's good to cross things off. But I never get to the end of the list because other jobs get added all the time. One of the jobs which always gets left to the end is weeding. The plot boundaries and the pond are in need of a really good weeding but never seem to get done. Each year I think I will make a bigger effort, but something else always takes precedence.  There are two corners of the plot which are getting taken over with bindweed and I really must try to get rid of it. Perhaps when I've got the rest of the leeks planted I'll be able to do it.

A sunny start to the new year

January is a rather dreary, dark, and depressive month and I often feel that way myself. We hadn't been to the allotment since November and I hadn't felt inclined to do so, but motivated by a few sunny days, we got down to the plot to start work.

Not having been there since November meant there were quite a lot of jobs to be done. It was quite cold so we took soup and hot drinks to keep us going. I set to work weeding beds whilst Richard followed on topping the beds with manure. It looked much better once we'd finished--all covered up and snug for the winter. The leeks are not looking very big yet, they might need a boost of chicken manure pellets which I usually do at this time of year. I was pleased to see the garlic which I planted in November is coming through now.

My next job was to clear some weeds and cut back the dead comfrey leaves growing under the hedge. Once I'd cleared these I was pleased to see daffodils shoots coming through.

Another job which needed doing was to clean out the shed. This was a job I had been putting off as it had got quite untidy and dusty over the summer and I know that there are some really big spiders which live in the shed. But first I had to sort out the onions which were being stored in there and taking up a lot of space. I decided it would be better and more convenient to store them at home in the garage. There's nothing worse than running out of onions at home just as I'm preparing a meal. So I trimmed the onions and put them in net bags ready to take home.

It was hard work cleaning the shed but it looked much better once I'd finished. It had a lovely fresh disinfectant smell too. I only found a couple of spiders which I swept outside, but they always seem to find their way back in even though there is a step.

I filled up the bird feeders which hang from the conifer hedge. This  hadn't been done for weeks and within minutes of me filling them and putting  them back, the sparrows and blue tits were there pecking away. We sat watching them whilst we warmed up with our soup.

In the last week the weather has turned cold, wet and snowy, so I was glad we managed to get the jobs done. We never know when the next spell of fine weather will be.

A few little jobs

On Saturday I popped down to the allotment  to do a couple of jobs whilst Richard was busy in the garden doing repairs to the fence. I went just to fill up the bird feeders, pull some leeks and the last of the cabbages. But once I was there, I decided to hoe and tidy the beds where I had been pulling up the veg. Then I decided to give the leeks a boost with some chicken manure pellets. I also noticed that the purple sprouting broccoli needed staking so I sorted that out too. There are always jobs to be done even in the winter.

When I arrived at the allotment site there was a pile of bark shreddings on the car park which had been left for the allotment people to take. I was quite pleased about that as I had been wanting to renew the bark mulch which I had put down on the path through the woodland wildlife area at the top of our plot.

The woodland wildlife area was originally made as a play area and den for the grandchildren. But they have grown a little older and have lost interest  in the allotment. Not me though, I love this little space. There is a bug hotel, a nest box on the big sycamore tree and shade and woodland loving plants. There's an old bench at the top, where it's good to sit and look down on the allotment. I found that putting the bark down has helped to suppress the weeds and it looks good too.

So another job I decided to do was to take a couple of barrow loads of bark from the pile on the car park. We both returned on Sunday to continue with the work, Richard barrowing the bark whilst I did a bit of tidying up and then spreading out the bark. The woodland garden is looking much better now.

At last the leeks are planted

One of my favourite winter vegetables is leeks and I like to grow as many as I can. We've usually had a good lot of leeks to harvest down at the allotment, but last  year they didn't do at all well. So I'm determined to do better this year.

We have been planting leeks for a few weeks now as space has become available. The first lot were planted at the end of the onion bed in late May, another lot were planted a few weeks later in what I call the spare bed which is not part of the plant rotation. The last lot were planted this week.

I łove planting leeks, it's so different from planting other vegetables. Make a planting hole with a dibber, pop the leek plant in then fill the hole up with water. Easy but back breaking! It's also a job which the grandchildren enjoy doing.

I sowed two varieties earlier in the year-- Autumn Mammoth and Blauwgroene Winter Bandit. Two problems we have with our leeks are bolting and rust. Blauwgroene claims to have some resistance to both of these problems so I am hoping for better results this year.

All the leeks are planted now, and the first lot are doing well. I am now dreaming of all those lovely leek dishes, soups, cheesy vegetable bakes, stir fries and more.

A busy time down at the plot

It's been a busy few weeks down at the allotment, getting seeds sown and plants in the ground.  We've had some lovely weather too which has made our time down there much more enjoyable. Gradually the beds have been filling up as plants have started to grow and it's started to look like a proper allotment full of produce. I love to see rows of vegetables and peas and beans climbing up frames.

climbing beans

The onions got planted early on and the leeks were put in a couple of weeks ago. We still have another variety of leeks which I would like to plant but there's no space left. I might have to find some big containers to plant them in. I particularly wanted to to grow these as they are supposed to be rust and bolt resistant and those are the problems we often have with leeks.

The brassica bed is looking very neat and tidy at the moment with cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, swede and five sorts of cabbages. The whole bed is covered with a netting frame to deter the pigeons and cabbage white butterflies.

brassica bed

There are two double rows of broad beans, three rows of peas and two wigwams with climbing beans. The first lot of carrot seeds I sowed in April and put a fleece cloche over, but not a single one germinated. We don't give up easily though so another lot has been sown, along with parsnips and beetroot. Courgettes and sweetcorn are also in the ground now.

sweet peas, sweetcorn, beetroot and more

It gets to the stage at this time when there's the mad rush to get everything in the ground and just when I think I have it all sorted, I remember that there is still fennel to sow and celeriac to plant and where am I going to put them.

As well as the vegetables, I have been planting annual flowers which I grow for cutting. There is no space for a separate bed for them, the fruit and vegetables take priority, but I always manage to squeeze a few in  various places, between crops, at the end of a row or in amongst the fruit bushes. The sweet peas though are allowed a special place with a big frame. I love sweet peas and so do the bees.

Now I am hoping for our work to ease off a bit with just the odd row of salad leaves or radish to sow every couple of weeks.  I'm not sure it will though, there's always plenty to do on the allotment and as I write this we have had a day of drizzly rain which wasn't enough to fill the water butts but it was enough to get the weeds growing.  I know what my next job will be.

What's growing on your allotment at the moment?

Manuring fruit beds and pulling leeks

With the cold, wet, windy weather we had in the last week, followed by snow I think most people would have been sensible to stay indoors and watch TV or read a book, but not us. We took advantage of a dry afternoon and off we went to the allotment. All we seemed to have been doing recently is manure the beds, but then that's the main job that needs doing. I decided to manure the fruit beds on plot10b, but first I had to clear up all the cat poo which Ziggy the allotment cat had kindly left for me!

We have two manure bins on each of our plots.  I used the manure from the bin on plot 10b which had been rotting down all year. In the meantime Richard went off to get more manure from the communal heap up the lane to fill up our other bin. We were rather tired after all that shovelling and barrowing, but felt pleased with all that we had achieved.

A tidy fruit bed

Ziggy  watched us constantly from her little bed of straw which I have made for her under the shed. She occasionally came out to ask for food (she's a very greedy cat). She thanked me for the food by leaving another pile of poo on my newly manured fruit bed! I think I shall have to get some cat repellent.

During the week I worked on plot 8 clearing  leeks from the big bed where we will be growing peas and beans this year. The leeks were looking messy, so I pulled them all up, cleaned and trimmed them. Some were past their best and needed throwing on the compost heap. It's a big bed and there were a good number of leeks so it took a while to do. I had intending to pull the leeks, weed and manure all in a couple of hours. That will have to wait for another day and as the weather has now turned very cold and snowy it may be sometime before we are down there again. I will be making lots of meals with leeks!

A snow covered plot 8

Soup and silence

Food is becoming quite important to us at the allotment. Yes I know it's important because we grow it, but I mean the food we take to keep us going for a long day of digging and hard slog.  I've written about food before so I may be in danger of repeating myself, but the right food can make the day so much better.

Cake is essential. Nothing sticky or messy--a wholesome fruit cake or banana loaf is ideal. The sort of thing you can munch on whilst wandering around looking how your seedlings are doing or counting the caterpillars on the brassicas or admiring the sweet peas.

Last week we had lunch down there. I took soup--home made leek and potato--made with our allotment leeks. It was perfect for a chilly day. We sat just outside our home made shed in the winter sunshine, enjoying the soup, watching the long tailed tits on the fence and listening to the silence. It was all very good, so good I just had to tell you about it.

Ways with leeks

This year our allotment grown leeks on plot 10b have done fantastically well. We have never before been harvesting our leeks before Christmas and they are huge too! We also have more of them growing on plot 8, we should be pulling those up in the new year. I don't know why they have done so well, maybe an earlier sowing, better soil now we have a new allotment, a good source of manure, but whatever the reasons, we are really enjoying our leeks.

Leeks are one of my favourite vegetables, there are so many ways to cook and enjoy them. Sliced thinly and stir fried they go well with fish or chicken dishes. Leeks are also a good addition to vegetable soups, leek and potato soup is especially great at this time of year.

One of my favourite leek recipes is leeks and bacon in a cheese sauce:

Fry some streaky bacon pieces until crisp, then cut the leeks into chunks and fry gently until softened. Put the leeks and bacon in an ovenproof dish, add cheese sauce and top with grated cheese. Cook in the oven at gas mark 7/425F/220C until the cheese topping is bubbling and golden.

This week I made a cheese and leek flan using an old Cranks recipe. If you're as old as me you may remember the Cranks vegetarian restaurants. I have a couple of their recipe books.

Leek and cheese flan
Serves 4--6

10oz/300gr wholemeal shortcrust pastry
2 large leeks
1oz /25gr butter
large pinch cayenne 
large pinch ground nutmeg
3 eggs
3floz/75ml milk
3floz/75ml soured cream
large pinch salt
6oz/175gr cheddar cheese

Line a 9"/23cm flan tin with the pastry.
Clean and thinly slice the leeks.
Saute the leeks in melted butter until tender. Season with cayenne and nutmeg. Leave to cool.
Whisk the eggs, milk, soured cream and salt together.
Sprinkle half the cheese over the base of the flan.
Spread the leeks on top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Pour the egg custard over the flan.
Bake in the oven at 200C/400F/gas mark 6 for about 30 to 40 minutes until risen and golden.

Wholemeal pastry may not be to everyone's taste, it is a bit heavy, but I'm sure that this recipe works just  as well with normal shortcrust pastry.
I used normal double cream and Lancashire cheese because that's all I had.

Do you have any good recipes for using leeks?