Making paths
My neighbour Peter told me recently that one of his allotment regrets was having grass paths in between his beds. I had been thinking that they looked pretty cute and that mine would probably go the same way, but he’s right its way to much hassle, I have no strimmer or mower to keep on top of them and it only encourages more weeds to creep in. So I’ve decided to put down bark paths in between my beds, my dad bought me 2 100 litre bags and I had newspaper and a black fabric weed barrier. The bark only managed 3 paths, but as ever its a work in progress.
I think the result looks pretty good!
Home made things:
1. chalkboard jars - we used blackboard paint and masking tap to create new labels for our jars
2. Painted plant labels - I picked up some very cheap wooden plant labels from Wilkinson’s and some tester paints - I’ve got a sharpie pen and some varnish i think these will really brighten up the plot!
Freezing Broccoli
I have had an unexpected glut of Purple Sprouting Broccoli, and have only just let it go to seed so that I can collect the seeds for next year.
I store broccoli by blanching it for 2-3 minutes, blanching destroys certain enzymes and bacteria and helps to preserve the colour, texture and flavour of the vegetables. After its been cooled and drained I lay it out on a plastic chopping board and freeze it, this means that the broccoli doesn’t clump together and I can easily take out the amount I need.
Then i just let it defrost and heat it up in a small pan with butter and salt and pepper - delicious!
My mum bought me this totally cute retro gas cooker for the allotment - I love it!
I am looking forward to hot soup at lunch time and maybe a bacon sandwich or two, if only there was a toilet on site I’d probably never leave!
Progress at 13th May 2012
I think that everything that can go in the ground is in.
Here is a quick summary of whats going on:
Bed 0 - broad beans
this isn’t a real bed but it was the only space I had when I wanted to find room to overwinter broad beans - not a very successful experiment as this spot gets shaded from mid-afternoon by the fence. But they are mostly still growing and will hopefully soon begin to produce pods.
Bed 1 - Brassica
Red cabbage, green cabbage, swede, romanesco
Bed 2 - Brassica
spouting broccoli, turnips, sprouts, kohlrabi, broccoli
Bed 3 - Legumes
peas, broad beans and a small patch of raspberries that will be moved next year
Bed 4 - Legumes
mange tout, runner and French beans soon to be joined by Gerkins, outdoor cucumbers and a winter squash (once hardened off)
Bed 5 - Potatoes
This is a spare bed this year so I’ve put in potatoes but next year this will be asparagus
Bed 6 - Allium
shallots, onions, leeks and spinach - soon to be joined by a small patch of baby sweetcorn
Bed 7 - cucurbit
currently home to salad leaves, radishes and Swiss chard, soon to be joined by courgettes and marrows
Bed 8 - roots
Early potatoes and cauliflower (I know this is a bit strange but I’m following a plan in a Joy Larkcom book so it must be ok)
Bed 9 - roots
Carrots, parsnips and beetroot
Bed 10 - fruit/herbs
Strawberries, blackcurrent and rhubarb on one side then all my herbs on the other, tomatoes will go in the middle.
How to Make Your Own Cabbage Collars
http://fionagrowsfood.wordpress.com/2012/05/17/how-to-make-your-own-cabbage-collars/
This is brilliant - a very simple how to guide - I will definitely have to give this a go.
Ants in my compost bin
I appear to have a rather large ants nest in my compost bin, every time I open they lid the scurry off to take their eggs out of my sight. I started to wonder if ants had any benefit to a compost heap and I found this post on a composting website:
There are ants in my compost pile. What should I do?
Large numbers of ants are usually an indication that the pile is too dry. To encourage them to leave the pile, moisten and turn it or stir it with a pitchfork to disrupt their colonies. Put a sticky barrier (household glue, sticky tape) on the handle of the pitchfork or shovel you are using to make it more difficult for the ants to crawl up the handle. After stirring the pile, leave it alone for a time to give the ants a chance to leave.
If there are many ants in your yard, they may return to the compost pile. But take heart! Ants may actually benefit the composting process by bringing fungi and other organisms into their nests. The work of ants can make compost richer in phosphorus and potassium by moving minerals from one place to another.
So my compost heap is too dry - that probably is true and very easy to remedy! But otherwise I think I’ll leave them be as they don’t seem to be doing to much harm and they are very interesting to watch.
I’ve been waiting for this moment for three years. One of the main motivations for getting an allotment and dealing with monster weeds and a massive pile of bricks was to grow my own asparagus. English asparagus in season is a true delicacy that knocks spots off the insipid imported stuff we get year round, even before you take into the horrendous environmental cost of flying it half way round the world. It’s one of the things where growing your own really makes sense as the flavour deteriorates quickly after picking. But you do need a lot of space and patience.
We got the allotment in 2009 and it took us a year to clear just half of it. I planted 24 asparagus crowns in a carefully prepared raised bed in March 2010, digging deep trenches and arranging the roots over little mounds before back filling with soil and compost. For two springs, I’ve watched the spears emerge and then let them grow tall and put out leaves and berries. Mr Shah on the next plot thought I was mad and advised me to grow more potatoes.
This year, I can finally start cropping it. Our first taste came a few days ago when we had just enough spears to make a small portion that was steamed and eaten within half an hour of picking. And was it worth the wait? Most definitely.
I’ll be cutting the spears as they come through until early June, a little later next year as the plants get bigger. I feel particularly pleased with myself as this year’s weird weather has severely damaged the commercial crop in many areas, with flooded fields and the cancellation of the British Asparagus Festival. At least with an allotment that sits on a old brickworks, I have decent drainage.
Next year I am determined to plant asparagus. I told myself when I started out that I would only plant asparagus when I was 100% sure I could stick with an allotment. I love my allotment, but still, 3 years is quite a commitment…
Very first harvest of 2012 - Rhubarb!
As my rhubarb has only been in the ground for 1 year I have only taken a small amount as it should be spending it’s energy developing it’s root system. So this is more of a rhubarb, apple and kiwi crumble - absolutely delicious!
I put half the crumble on top when I cooked it and the other half on a sheet of greaseproof paper to get nice and crunchy.
