19. Lazy Days

I had a bit of a low day at the allotment today. I think it was because I am in holiday mode, coming to the end of a week and a half off work. I am feeling pretty lazy, but there is a lot to do at the allotment.

The tomatoes and tomatilloes are taking over the greenhouse, so much so that I find it difficult to water them! Although they have a hydration system, I know some of the spikes are blocked, but can't get to them to unblock them. However, I don't want to hack at them too much as there seems to be tomatoes on every shoot. I think all I can do, is vow to keep them in better shape next season so I can water them etc better. However, I did manage to pick some ripe tomatoes, and more then two this time!



Outside, there were also some ripe and almost ripe tumbling tomatoes, but the plants themselves are looking a little past their best. I thought that the good weather we had had in the past few days would have made them perk up, but they seem to have sunk too much in the water tank, so that they aren't actually tumbling over the tides as they should.

I was very disappointed that something has eaten my sugar snap peas, that have only been in the ground for a couple of weeks. Although there are a few peas growing still, so I will look into what has eaten them, and see if I can prevent more damage.

On the rest of the beds there are weeds everywhere, so I packed up my tomatoes and went home in a sulk.

However, when I got home, I forced myself to make some chutney with the tomatoes. As I was adding my home grown onions and chillis to the chutney, I realised that maybe I had done better than I thought in my first year on the allotment. I have one and a half jars of chutney for a start. It won't be for 3 - 5 weeks before I get to test my chutney making skills, however!

18. A Foraging we will go...

We had another good harvesting day at the allotment a week ago. Finally, two tomatoes were ripe and ready for picking - only another 999 to go! I was particularly proud of this chilli pepper, although it was the only one on the plant. And we also found a potato that hadn't been dug up a few weeks earlier. I have a few chilli plants, but the one that seems to have the most is one I kept from last year. I plan to keep this years that I have grown from seed and see if they are also better in their second year. Although I also have some romano pepper and sweet pepper plants, I haven't got any peppers growing on any of them. I don't know why, but I have never been able to get any decent peppers, whether they have been in a greenhouse or on a windowsill.

We also went foraging along the paths of the allotments and got a full tub of blackberries, and another tub of plums. There are also loads more of each still to ripen. We also met a really nice man, who said we were welcome to go to his allotment if we wanted more blackberries, as he was over run with them! He had a basket on the front of his bicycle that was full of tomatoes, peas and potatoes, that put my small tub of produce to shame. Still, it was good to see someone else working an allotment, as a lot are vacant and full of weeds.

Later that day, we took the dog for a walk along the canal near our house, and picked two more tubs of blackberries. What was good to see, was the three other couples that had had the same idea as us. I can't believe that people pay money for blackberries in supermarkets, when there are so many growing wild on public property, just waiting to be put into a jam or crumble. As Matt has fallen in love with our breadmaker, the blackberries were straight into the breadmaker, with some preserving sugar, and put on the jam setting. Of course, it had to be tested, on a slice of toast the next morning. Delicious!

17. New arrivals

I have had trouble getting seeds started recently, so I have been buying young plants instead. As well as my onion and garlic harvest, I have also harvested my potatoes (a little disappointing in numbers but great in taste), mange tout (excellent crop) and peas. So I have quite a bit of space now - well all of it really, there are just the soft fruits left in the ground now.

I have been purchasing most of my plants from our local City Farm. It was them that first introduced me to tomatilloes, that no one else I know has ever heard of. And last year, they were growing quite a few yellow courgette plants. They are also very reasonable. In the last month, I have bought 4 courgette plants, 1 butternut squash plant, some lettuce plug plants and a half tray of sugar snap peas. So hopefully there will be some more harvesting days soon!

Finally, there has been a new recruit at the allotment. Beth is a two year old staffy that me and Matt adopted last week. She has already made an appearance at the allotment and loves the place. I didn't manage to get a photo as she didn't stay still long enough! She will mainly be in charge of entertainment. She did apply for a security role, but when tested (my brother came round to meet her), the initial noisey warning worked well, but it was followed up by licking his hand, so that role is still open. After she spent five minutes running round the allotment with a broken broom handle in her mouth, entertainment officer seemed much more fitting for her. Surprisingly, no plants were harmed during her visit, so she will make another appearance again soon!