22. New Beginnings

I have been a little short of motivation recently at the allotment. I think it is the weather. I could be doing lots of tidying and preparing for spring, but instead, I am doing the bare minimum and then going home.

I went a few weeks ago before the snow and ice had arrived, and was pleasantly surprised to find some raspberries still growing nicely, and there were a few chillies on the two plants that I had left in the greenhouse. Beth was glad it was cold, as she has been wanting to show off her new allotment jumper...

During the previous cold spell, I had been nice and warm working away, and poor Beth was sat looking very sad and cold indeed. She is very good at digging, so I did think of putting her to work, however, she is a bit unpredictable as to where she digs, so I have decided a jumper would be a better investment.

So, these are my two recent mini harvests, the a fore mentioned raspberries, and the new potatoes that were used in our Christmas lunch.

I was a little disappointed with the potatoes, as I got about one potato per plant. I never have much luck with growing them in containers though. I seem to get a much higher crop when putting them in the ground.

My most recent visit to the allotment although brief, was well worth it. There was snow everywhere, making the whole place look beautiful. The sun was also out as well, which always make the colours richer and brighter.


I didn't make it to the allotment today, but have been catching up with the blogs that I read regularly. I have changed jobs recently, which means I am no longer stuck behind a desk all day. A great improvement, but it means that I haven't looked at the blogs for a couple of months. I have also added them both to my blog list should anyone else want to read a blog that is actually updated regularly!

Grow our own in particular has inspired me today, as I realised just how much planting can be done even at this time of year. And there was so much colour in the photo's, my allotment is mainly greens and browns at the moment. The only thing I have in the ground is shallots which will be ready in the spring.

So, I am off to trawl through the seed packets to find out when I need to start planting seedlings in the greenhouse, and find the bulbs that I had last year.

21. Them were the days...

I have just read the beginning of my last post. It seems so long ago!

Instead of it being to hot to work, I am now sat in the house sheltering from the rain that has stopped me yet again from going to the allotment.

I have been a few times since my last post, but it has been a few weeks since I last did any proper work.

The last time I made it, I planted some shallots for over wintering. I also had garlic and onions, which I have since lost!

I wonder if I will even be able to get in the allotment for all the weeds, I am sure they have been loving this wet weather.

20. Stop Thief!

With the weeds almost getting to the height that they were when we first took on the allotment, we decided we needed a full day at the allotment. I had high hopes of weeding, planting green manure and harvesting tomatoes. The weather had other ideas. It was hot and sunny. I am no good in the heat, I get sunburn after being in it for more than 30 seconds, and I have no energy to be able to work on an allotment!

We weren't beaten though, a friend from the City Farm that we volunteer at, came to see the allotment and dug out all the weeds from two beds. I then planted my green manure in one of them. The rest of the time, I managed to harvest some tomotoes and tomatilloes and I pulled a couple of tomato plants out as they were looking a little worse for wear and the greenhouse is overcrowded.

Other than that I sat in what little shade I could find and planted some dwarf beans in a container. They had been at the allotment a week already and were looking a little wilted, so I decided against putting them in the greenhouse for now.

Mark was there as well, and was quite annoyed to find that one of his pumpkins was missing. It was a pretty good specimen, and was next to another one that had obviously been eaten by animals - a messy eater that definitely wasn't the dog as she wouldn't waste anything! The pumpkin in question had been removed cleanly from the stalk(?) and there was still the indentation in the straw that it had been resting on. Nothing else in the allotment had been touched, tools, raspberries, tomatoes etc were all fine.

We decided it had to have been stolen - there are plenty of gaps in the hedge if you are skinny! We had heard the horror stories of weedkiller being used on people's crops, holes being drilled into cabbages and squashes so they couldn't be shown. And it was happening to us!

Mark was annoyed because he was very proud of the pumpkin, you never think that it is as easy as putting a little plant in the ground and leaving it to it, so he was pleased to have done so well. And then someone had knicked the thing! But in a way, isn't it the ultimate compliment to have your vegies stolen for a show? I don't suppose they will be bringing it back though with a little red 1st attached to it though, will they?!

I thought our allotment site was the last place this would happen. Half of them are empty and full of weeds, and there is a dumping ground just inside the main gate where an allotment used to be.

Talking of shows, I made my show batch of chutney last weekend, it looked much better than the last lot as there were hardly any green tomatoes this time. Although, I may have gone a little overboard with the chilli. It had quite a kick when I tried it fresh, so I hope they don't get stronger as it matures. The little old dears doing the judging won't know what's hit them! Which reminds me, I haven't got a label for the jar yet...

Weather wise, I feel like I am in limbo. The mornings are getting cooler and it is getting dark, but the weeds are still growing like mad and it was too hot to work at the weekend.

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!

16. It's not about you joggers...

It's about harvesting veg grown by my own fair hands (if slightly muddy).

I had my first harvesting day (mid July when I started writing this post!), and it was such a great feeling!

The car boot was full of onions and garlic, and it was a gorgeous day. As I left the allotment, I thought that this is what life is about. It might take away some hours from my free time, but in the peace and quiet of our allotment, protected by 8ft high hedges from the rush of city life, it certainly doesn't seem like a chore. And after a few months of turning up and doing a minimal weeding, I had a bumper crop. Admittedly, they won't be winning prizes, but I can confirm that they taste great!

And now to the weather...

Where has the sun gone?! I have possibly a hundred small green tomatoes in the greenhouse (I went a bit overboard), and they are not showing any sign of turning red. I have taken down the screening, that I had needed to protect my baby plants in the spring - back in the days when we had too much sun! Now the plants are as tall as me, and covered in flowers and fruits, the sun is nowhere to be seen. The weeds outside are loving the wet weather, however!

And of course, not forgetting the wildlife...

I am pleased to announce that we are doing our bit for the honey bees which are in decline. They absolutely love my tomato and tomatillo plants in the greenhouse (there are plenty of bee sized gaps between panes of glass even with the windows closed!). I have also bought a lavender plant, which will be a permanent fixture near the blackcurrant plant. My lavender plants at home are always covered in bees, so this should keep them coming back when the tomato flowers have finished.

Mr Fox has also had a fun time lately. Mark forgot to close the greenhouse door last week, and the fox got in and had a great time throwing gloves and empty fruit juice cartons around the allotment! I wish I saw him more often, so I could get a photo.