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Happy Gardening.
Cazaux
Monday, 16 January 2012
Friday, 30 April 2010
Rabbit food
First crops of the 2010 season are ready for the picking.
Back in late March I made my first sowing of radish French breakfast. These were covered under fleece along with a disastrous carrot sowing; I think I have five carrots showing from two small rows. (Old seed and crap weather) and a very successful Salsify sowing (also old seed but these all germinated - go figure!)
Growing radish isn't a labour of love like your average Brasica. Along with Spinach which is also ready for its first cut of baby leaves, it’s probably the easiest and quickest cropper you can plant.
Both have the same growing/sowing instructions. Start by drilling a shallow line into your prepared soil using a hoe/bamboo stick (Whatever really, they will grow even if you leave them on the surface). Sow thinishly, cover up if you can be bothered and then keep the seed bed moist. After several days they will emerge. Thin the emerging seedlings to a few centimetres between plants. Then in just four weeks or so later you eat them.
Sow every where you have a bit of space, in my opinion there’s no point having a radish or spinach patch. Mine grow between potatoes, salads - anywhere there’s some free space. You need to grow a lot of spinach as it wilts down to next to nothing.
My wife loves the radishes and the kids love them because they can sow, grow and munch in a very short space of time and then plant something else.
How to eat them? Well they don’t cook too well like the winter Mooli. These are strictly salad fodder. The French get on their velo and ride to the bakers for a crusty baguette which is then buttered with Buerre Normandy. A little "salt well" made up on the plate and of course the radishes cleaned and de-headed. Crunchy, simple, and delicious! Goes down a treat with a pint of Abbots ale.
So the humble radish - nothing to get ecstatic about unless like me a few years ago, it was the first thing I had ever taken home from the allotment and I nearly pissed myself with excitement.
Spinach on the other hand does make me far more exited. This is another crop that takes on a whole new dimension when grown fresh. The leaves picked young are bouncy and snap with freshness. The taste is something you will not experience from the commercially cleaned, hydroponically grown vacuum packed isles in Waitrose.
Spinach is very versatile. You can add them to salads, Juice it; it goes great with fish steamed with a tiny amount of lemon juice and rock salt once plated up. I personally don’t thing red meat is its best companion. By far my favourite, and also the favourite of anybody I recommend it to. Is to lightly fry off some spring onions with lots of their green leaves too, blend the spinach into the onions for a few seconds and then crack open some gifted chicken or duck eggs and make a runny omelette seasoned with a little salt and plenty of cracked pepper. Fast food that I would take over fine dining any day of the week. Goes well with abbots Ale and grainy bread to lap up the juicy bits!
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Purple sprouting Broccoli – It’s a Sin!
This delectable vegetable was said to have been first cultivated by the Romans some 2000 years ago. Italians must have kept this a secret because it’s not until the nineteenth century that it began to be more widely cultivated in the UK.
Now I love Calabrese too, but comparing it to home-grown purple sprouting broccoli is like comparing a decent table wine with a cheese roll to an aged grand cru served with canapés of fois-gras.
The taste when cooked Al dante is exquisite. Just two minutes in a roaring pan of water without salt is all it takes. The flavour is a textured, unsullied succulent treat on its own. Add a little slightly melted salty butter and pepper and you could be making noises that people would pay a premium chat room to hear.
Getting it on your plate is another challenge. April is the time to plant the seed. Making sure you don’t get root rot from overwatering or choked from lack of, potting on as required. Then Planted at a whopping 60cm equidistance in June into deeply dug soil with plenty of the rotten down good stuff. Do a rain dance around them to firm up the soil, water in and net. Failure to net at any stage of its growth will see your efforts razored to stumps by its nemesis - the evil pigeon.
In addition to the pigeons you need to fight off Slugs, snails, cabbage white butterflies and white fly during the summer months. Keep the ground clear of weeds (mulching really does help) and feed with organic tonics and regular water in the summer. Then stake towards the end of summer as the plants become top heavy with foliage. The plants have to be big strong brutes come spring. Don't do what half the plot holders do and rip it up because it looks a bit droopy in winter or early spring. There will be a flush of new growth in spring which means the pants are entering the business end. When this begins I chop off the old craggy leaves and the plants put even more effort into bud development
Once you are luckily enough to get to the budding stage then be vigilant. Pick regularly and pick smart. Don’t cut the buds if they are too small or it will be a waste. More importantly if the buds are becoming loose and bobbly then the plant is doing its best to flower and cut these off without delay. The trick is to get them somewhere in the middle without letting the plant go to the yellow flower stage at which point you'll have no more lovely purple sprouting broccoli until the following year.
This delectable vegetable was said to have been first cultivated by the Romans some 2000 years ago. Italians must have kept this a secret because it’s not until the nineteenth century that it began to be more widely cultivated in the UK.
Now I love Calabrese too, but comparing it to home-grown purple sprouting broccoli is like comparing a decent table wine with a cheese roll to an aged grand cru served with canapés of fois-gras.
The taste when cooked Al dante is exquisite. Just two minutes in a roaring pan of water without salt is all it takes. The flavour is a textured, unsullied succulent treat on its own. Add a little slightly melted salty butter and pepper and you could be making noises that people would pay a premium chat room to hear.
Getting it on your plate is another challenge. April is the time to plant the seed. Making sure you don’t get root rot from overwatering or choked from lack of, potting on as required. Then Planted at a whopping 60cm equidistance in June into deeply dug soil with plenty of the rotten down good stuff. Do a rain dance around them to firm up the soil, water in and net. Failure to net at any stage of its growth will see your efforts razored to stumps by its nemesis - the evil pigeon.
In addition to the pigeons you need to fight off Slugs, snails, cabbage white butterflies and white fly during the summer months. Keep the ground clear of weeds (mulching really does help) and feed with organic tonics and regular water in the summer. Then stake towards the end of summer as the plants become top heavy with foliage. The plants have to be big strong brutes come spring. Don't do what half the plot holders do and rip it up because it looks a bit droopy in winter or early spring. There will be a flush of new growth in spring which means the pants are entering the business end. When this begins I chop off the old craggy leaves and the plants put even more effort into bud development
Once you are luckily enough to get to the budding stage then be vigilant. Pick regularly and pick smart. Don’t cut the buds if they are too small or it will be a waste. More importantly if the buds are becoming loose and bobbly then the plant is doing its best to flower and cut these off without delay. The trick is to get them somewhere in the middle without letting the plant go to the yellow flower stage at which point you'll have no more lovely purple sprouting broccoli until the following year.
Monday, 19 April 2010
Farmer Hoofs
Check out this farmers hoof.
Back to work with scraped knuckles and perma-dirt under the nails and skin.
I washed these for ten minutes last night and again when I showered this morning.
One of the plus sides of the sitting around watching tele or the go down the pub gang is that they do have lovely hands. Mine were too - but now they are f@'ked and I think I may have a bit of arthritis developing on the index knuckle.
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Mid April
On inspection yesterday evening I noticed that the Home guard Potatoes and a few other earlies have made it to the surface. I could just about make out the dark browny green leaves pushing though the soil in the raised bed planted spuds. This came as a bit of a relief as we ignored the advice of buying the hens egg sized tubers and purchased the larger ones from the East Anglia potato day. We then cut them in to chunks with three or more chitted bits on them before planting. Twice the seed - half the price, but only if they don't rot off of course.
One of the strawberry plants has flowered - these are now in their third year and look a picture of health so I don’t think I will change them unless they begin to reduce their yields. They have been getting regular bucketfuls of the noxious smelling tea made from all the weeds I have been digging up.
The weed tea stinks to high heaven. Max won’t go near it and a few plot holders have turned their noses up at sixty paces. But I don’t think the plants can smell it, and it must be doing them no end of good. It’s in a big green water butt and gets refilled with water whenever I take from it.
I dug out a couple of trenches twelve feet long and half filled them with manure and compost. Then back filled them and set up a bean frame with the help of railway Steve (he’s six foot four - a bean frame himself). There’s a lot of Steve’s, Bobs and Allen’s up the plot so each gets their own tag.
I'll be setting up another four frames for growing several different varieties for their pods, Shelly beans and dried for winter recipes and reckon I'll need to bring around 200 seeds for the supports and another 100 flageolet bush beans to plant between the sweet corn. I had been looking for Tarbais for ages without any luck. There was one French company willing to send them but 100 grams of seed would have cost almost twenty pounds with the postage. My wife found some tarbais in a Jardiland in France a few weeks back - she's a good gal.
The peas have grown an inch (couple of centimetres) since the weekend. I whacked in some stakes and netted up one side and it looks really smart. But ran out of netting to do the other side. Planted thirty each of Triomphe de Farcey and Major Bush beans that I had germinated and brought on in my little greenhouse. They went between the two rows of peas on Sunday and sparingly applied slug pellets to give them a chance.
Looking closely at the peas and it looks like something’s having a go at the leaves. There are small semi circular notches taken out of a lot of the leaves. Most likely a mouse or maybe something bigger. I can't really lay traps about because my boys would somehow manage to stand on one or play with them when my back was turned. So they are welcome for now to a free nibble, as long as they don't start killing the seedlings because that would be a declaration of war.
One of the strawberry plants has flowered - these are now in their third year and look a picture of health so I don’t think I will change them unless they begin to reduce their yields. They have been getting regular bucketfuls of the noxious smelling tea made from all the weeds I have been digging up.
The weed tea stinks to high heaven. Max won’t go near it and a few plot holders have turned their noses up at sixty paces. But I don’t think the plants can smell it, and it must be doing them no end of good. It’s in a big green water butt and gets refilled with water whenever I take from it.
I dug out a couple of trenches twelve feet long and half filled them with manure and compost. Then back filled them and set up a bean frame with the help of railway Steve (he’s six foot four - a bean frame himself). There’s a lot of Steve’s, Bobs and Allen’s up the plot so each gets their own tag.
I'll be setting up another four frames for growing several different varieties for their pods, Shelly beans and dried for winter recipes and reckon I'll need to bring around 200 seeds for the supports and another 100 flageolet bush beans to plant between the sweet corn. I had been looking for Tarbais for ages without any luck. There was one French company willing to send them but 100 grams of seed would have cost almost twenty pounds with the postage. My wife found some tarbais in a Jardiland in France a few weeks back - she's a good gal.
The peas have grown an inch (couple of centimetres) since the weekend. I whacked in some stakes and netted up one side and it looks really smart. But ran out of netting to do the other side. Planted thirty each of Triomphe de Farcey and Major Bush beans that I had germinated and brought on in my little greenhouse. They went between the two rows of peas on Sunday and sparingly applied slug pellets to give them a chance.
Looking closely at the peas and it looks like something’s having a go at the leaves. There are small semi circular notches taken out of a lot of the leaves. Most likely a mouse or maybe something bigger. I can't really lay traps about because my boys would somehow manage to stand on one or play with them when my back was turned. So they are welcome for now to a free nibble, as long as they don't start killing the seedlings because that would be a declaration of war.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Plentiful Peas
Question: How many peas should you plant from a packet?
Answer: All of them, and then some more.
The peas are up. I planted a packet a few weeks back and they are already a few centimetres tall. The variety was douce Provence. Apparently you can overwinter these but I have seen other plot holder’s attempts at overwintering this same variety and this winter must have been too much for them because their crops are patchy and many have black stem so I will stick with spring plantings.
The next week I found another packet of peas so planted those too. This time they were Feltham firsts
The onion sets and shallots I have planted have finally rooted well and are no longer being pecked at by the dirty pigeons.
But the Purple sprouting broccoli I planted several months ago is just putting on serious amounts of leaf growth. It’s annoying me as my plants are far larger than those on other plots around me but theirs are in full swing pumping out the good stuff whilst mine is just taking its time occupying the best soil on the plot.
Other sowings are now pushing though the soil including the radishes (French Breakfast), Salsify, Early Nantes carrots, spinach, baby beets and bolt hardy beats.
In the greenhouse the First bean sowings are standing proud (Triumph de Farcy and Major) both bush varieties. My little Jenson helped put together the Root trainers, fill them with soil and push the seed into the soil and water them in. Amazing how a four year old loves to help daddy. Whilst Max was very helpful to in sweeping the greenhouse floor and tidying up dads mess.
Also in the greenhouse we have Drum cabbage, Calabrese, cauliflower and Savoy all being potted up from their sowings.
Sixty four Swift sweet corn are in the root trainers. A tray of Swiss chard and salads galore.
This weekend promises to be kind, although Mother Nature has a nasty habit of breaking her word but you can live in hope.
Answer: All of them, and then some more.
The peas are up. I planted a packet a few weeks back and they are already a few centimetres tall. The variety was douce Provence. Apparently you can overwinter these but I have seen other plot holder’s attempts at overwintering this same variety and this winter must have been too much for them because their crops are patchy and many have black stem so I will stick with spring plantings.
The next week I found another packet of peas so planted those too. This time they were Feltham firsts
The onion sets and shallots I have planted have finally rooted well and are no longer being pecked at by the dirty pigeons.
But the Purple sprouting broccoli I planted several months ago is just putting on serious amounts of leaf growth. It’s annoying me as my plants are far larger than those on other plots around me but theirs are in full swing pumping out the good stuff whilst mine is just taking its time occupying the best soil on the plot.
Other sowings are now pushing though the soil including the radishes (French Breakfast), Salsify, Early Nantes carrots, spinach, baby beets and bolt hardy beats.
In the greenhouse the First bean sowings are standing proud (Triumph de Farcy and Major) both bush varieties. My little Jenson helped put together the Root trainers, fill them with soil and push the seed into the soil and water them in. Amazing how a four year old loves to help daddy. Whilst Max was very helpful to in sweeping the greenhouse floor and tidying up dads mess.
Also in the greenhouse we have Drum cabbage, Calabrese, cauliflower and Savoy all being potted up from their sowings.
Sixty four Swift sweet corn are in the root trainers. A tray of Swiss chard and salads galore.
This weekend promises to be kind, although Mother Nature has a nasty habit of breaking her word but you can live in hope.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
April Attire
Whoohoo. We are finally getting regular double digit days.
How many of you were becoming so desperate for spring that you contemplated sitting in your car, revving the engine thus releasing a couple of kilos of dirty-dirty carbon into the air whilst eating de-foresting McDonalds and drinking bottled water from a far flung corner of the Alps?
Well I thought about it! But in the end I didn't, but not on moral grounds. My wife had taken the car out shopping for the day, McDonalds chips are a bit salty for my liking and finally Evian is not as good as eau d'East Anglian water authority straight out of the tap.
Spring finally broke despite of my lack of efforts to speed up global warming allowing me outside more often. It’s not SAD I get its "four-wall" syndrome AKA "recycled air" dementia and I got it bad!
April may be the month of showers. For me it’s also the month of the year I constantly get my choice of gardening attire wrong. For instance a week or so ago I wore my Jack Pyke wellies to the plot. These babies are insulated which was great walking up to the allotment.
But by the time I got there and had dug over for a few minutes my poor feet felt like they were going to melt off it was so warm. The thermometer on my shed showed 17oc. That’s flip flop weather!
Then the very next day I look out of the window to beautiful blue skies so put on only a thin top and cotton trousers. No sooner had I left the house I felt a chill on the wind which I chose to ignore - putting it down to the early start I had made. This time, by the time I got to the plot I was cold to the bone.
The blue skies swiftly disappeared and in its place, a rotten grey overcast front formed.
I got rained on. Not just the speck of rain that catches you out sometimes, this was Mother Nature’s wayward sense of salop humour soaking me to the skin. My shoes caked in mud from the paths which just hoovered up the rain waters and turned back into slosh as I ran home.
I put on my pykes, changed into warmer clothing and made my way back to the plot. But the rain stops, the clouds part, the sun dips back into sight - and I'm wearing the wrong blinking clothes again!
How many of you were becoming so desperate for spring that you contemplated sitting in your car, revving the engine thus releasing a couple of kilos of dirty-dirty carbon into the air whilst eating de-foresting McDonalds and drinking bottled water from a far flung corner of the Alps?
Well I thought about it! But in the end I didn't, but not on moral grounds. My wife had taken the car out shopping for the day, McDonalds chips are a bit salty for my liking and finally Evian is not as good as eau d'East Anglian water authority straight out of the tap.
Spring finally broke despite of my lack of efforts to speed up global warming allowing me outside more often. It’s not SAD I get its "four-wall" syndrome AKA "recycled air" dementia and I got it bad!
April may be the month of showers. For me it’s also the month of the year I constantly get my choice of gardening attire wrong. For instance a week or so ago I wore my Jack Pyke wellies to the plot. These babies are insulated which was great walking up to the allotment.
But by the time I got there and had dug over for a few minutes my poor feet felt like they were going to melt off it was so warm. The thermometer on my shed showed 17oc. That’s flip flop weather!
Then the very next day I look out of the window to beautiful blue skies so put on only a thin top and cotton trousers. No sooner had I left the house I felt a chill on the wind which I chose to ignore - putting it down to the early start I had made. This time, by the time I got to the plot I was cold to the bone.
The blue skies swiftly disappeared and in its place, a rotten grey overcast front formed.
I got rained on. Not just the speck of rain that catches you out sometimes, this was Mother Nature’s wayward sense of salop humour soaking me to the skin. My shoes caked in mud from the paths which just hoovered up the rain waters and turned back into slosh as I ran home.
I put on my pykes, changed into warmer clothing and made my way back to the plot. But the rain stops, the clouds part, the sun dips back into sight - and I'm wearing the wrong blinking clothes again!
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Just a little longer
Let’s not forget winter still holds the upper hand and is only very slowly beginning to show signs of releasing her grip allowing spring to break through.
Heavy ground frosts continue to check the growth of my purple sprouting broccoli. Icy Rain and winds have delayed the growth of spring bulbs and fruit buds.
So when I saw several plot holders using last years planning diaries to forge ahead with the planting of their early potato seed and sowing carrot, parsnip and beetroot seed unprotected I had to laugh (at them not with them).
Why go to all the trouble and back-ache of digging your plot and buying seeds only to guarantee failure or at the very least disappointment from germination failure and bolting beets? It’s difficult enough to afford the time with the plot what with the family and the job as it is. Impatience to get going regardless of the season must be reaching fever point but don’t get suckered in.
There’s really no need to use a calendar to determine when to plant first earlies. If the grass in the garden doesn’t look like it needs it first trim of the year then don’t bother about planting anything in the ground until it does. You may get away with a few peas and broad beans if they are protected by cover. Onion sets can go in too but in my opinion anything else would be a waste of time and seed. I hope they prove me wrong.
Everything will be later than last year, but surely it’s better to grow under the correct conditions than to plant now whilst winter remains dominant. On the plus side - The bugs must have taken a hammering this winter so organic gardeners may find it slightly easier when the weather finally breaks.
Heavy ground frosts continue to check the growth of my purple sprouting broccoli. Icy Rain and winds have delayed the growth of spring bulbs and fruit buds.
So when I saw several plot holders using last years planning diaries to forge ahead with the planting of their early potato seed and sowing carrot, parsnip and beetroot seed unprotected I had to laugh (at them not with them).
Why go to all the trouble and back-ache of digging your plot and buying seeds only to guarantee failure or at the very least disappointment from germination failure and bolting beets? It’s difficult enough to afford the time with the plot what with the family and the job as it is. Impatience to get going regardless of the season must be reaching fever point but don’t get suckered in.
There’s really no need to use a calendar to determine when to plant first earlies. If the grass in the garden doesn’t look like it needs it first trim of the year then don’t bother about planting anything in the ground until it does. You may get away with a few peas and broad beans if they are protected by cover. Onion sets can go in too but in my opinion anything else would be a waste of time and seed. I hope they prove me wrong.
Everything will be later than last year, but surely it’s better to grow under the correct conditions than to plant now whilst winter remains dominant. On the plus side - The bugs must have taken a hammering this winter so organic gardeners may find it slightly easier when the weather finally breaks.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Forking Finally
Popped over to the plot for a reccy on last weekend, expecting the usual flood plain of stagnated rain waters and frozen compost. I was in no mood to do anything other than dump the weekly contents of our food scraps onto the heap and head home. I'm not a SAD sufferer, but the last two weeks of February and beginning of March are grinding away at my resolve to be outside.
But what was this? To my surprise the skies were a wonderful hazy blue with the low hung sun doing its best to gently warm the super-chilled soil.
The rest-bite from a few days without rain coupled with some decent winds blowing through the mouth of the Thames Estuary had dried up the heavy clay on the paths somewhat. Enough so, that it didn't clump and stick to my boots as I ambled up the path to my patch on Plot 40.
I like to blame the weather on the state of my plot at the moment, but in truth I have been a little reluctant to starting the "big dig" this year. Overwintered perennial weeds are scattered all over. The heavy rains have brought untold stones to the surface. Its not a pretty sight!
So I found myself pottering and stood their pensively scanning my unkempt weed patch over what to do. After several minutes I dared to open my shed and pull out the digging fork.
Thinking it best to test the high ground I went to the top end of the plot. With the first stab, the fork sunk into the topsoil. I turned the earth and smashed the clump with the back of my fork, then pulled out a few stones and tap roots . Wonderful I thought as it broke into a mash of dark crumbs - the soil is finally improving after a couple of years adding all manner of humous, compost, manure and mulch.
Two hours later and several layers of clothing removed. I cleaned down my trusty fork having done the first couple of honest hours work on the plot this year.
The Vim has returned and I look forward to getting back over at the weekends until British Summer time kicks in and I'll have a few evenings a week to play catchup.
But what was this? To my surprise the skies were a wonderful hazy blue with the low hung sun doing its best to gently warm the super-chilled soil.
The rest-bite from a few days without rain coupled with some decent winds blowing through the mouth of the Thames Estuary had dried up the heavy clay on the paths somewhat. Enough so, that it didn't clump and stick to my boots as I ambled up the path to my patch on Plot 40.
I like to blame the weather on the state of my plot at the moment, but in truth I have been a little reluctant to starting the "big dig" this year. Overwintered perennial weeds are scattered all over. The heavy rains have brought untold stones to the surface. Its not a pretty sight!
So I found myself pottering and stood their pensively scanning my unkempt weed patch over what to do. After several minutes I dared to open my shed and pull out the digging fork.
Thinking it best to test the high ground I went to the top end of the plot. With the first stab, the fork sunk into the topsoil. I turned the earth and smashed the clump with the back of my fork, then pulled out a few stones and tap roots . Wonderful I thought as it broke into a mash of dark crumbs - the soil is finally improving after a couple of years adding all manner of humous, compost, manure and mulch.
Two hours later and several layers of clothing removed. I cleaned down my trusty fork having done the first couple of honest hours work on the plot this year.
The Vim has returned and I look forward to getting back over at the weekends until British Summer time kicks in and I'll have a few evenings a week to play catchup.
Friday, 22 January 2010
2010 - Third year for this soiler toiler
The snow which gripped the nation has finally gone in East Anglia - Its gloomy outside but each day brings a couple more minutes of daylight.
A little stump no larger than a coconut is all that is left of our snowman, hopefully he'll have melted by the rain today and we'll have had the last of the snow for the year.
I'm sowing Salads, spring onions in the house and digging out my packet of Giant cabbage for planting this weekend. Apparently they can grow to monsterous proportions. Its way to cold to germinate anything in my little greenhouse outside so they will get a window box in an unheated bedroom once germinated.
The Brunswick Giant Cabbage
The search for sources of potatoes is back on, so as the get the best seeds available and to get them well chitted for March or April depending on the weather.
Winter seems to be racing along now and in only a couple of months the food factory will be back in full swing. It may be cold and gloomy outside but I'll have to wrap up and carry on with the preperation of my plot if I am to get the most from the short growing season.
Last year was my "year of the tatty". I went to the Suffolk and Essex potato fair on the 14th February. There were so many varieties of potato to choose from it went to town buying about 140 seeds of different type and varieties. If you are growing potato in your veg patch this year I would definately recommend going to one. They are organised events around the country where you can also buy seeds and tools.
My family had never been fans of the "new potato". Being tricky to peel because of its size and the fact they are not keen on eating the skins. However the "Pixies" were a great success. Their little pink eyes were a novelty to the kids who were happy to eat them mashed with skins on. The blight resistant sarpo's and the Mayan gold were the disappointments from the main crops. Sarpos being an inferior cooker and the Mayans being of good quantity but too small and in cumbersome for my wife and mother law to appreciate. The reliable Desiree was the most appreciated main crop for uniformity, flavour and minimal slug and wireworm damage. The Anya was to die for, a revelation in the kitchen.
I'll be scaling back the potato growing this year to about half of that of 2009. It was backbreaking work and brought a tear to my eye as my lower back popped on a couple of occasions whilst earthing up and had to take time off from work. Will be growing more Main crop than Earlies as they kept better but will have a small mixture to ensure I get to enjoy freshly dug spuds throughout the season.
If you are planning on growing potatoes I'd love to hear which varieties you intend to grow and why.
Thursday, 24 December 2009
Solstice Week
Where do you begin when you have left it so long? That uncomfortable feeling you get when you have left a promised call, email or letter in the back of your mind longer than was socially acceptable and the embarrassment/uncomfortable feeling you have which stops you from picking up the pieces and saying I’m sorry.
The blog, amongst many things has not been kept up to date for some time now. The plot is still there albeit under several centimetres of snow. Dormant, sleeping – but still providing tasty pickings of Brussels sprouts, Swede, leeks and cabbage on my weekly amble up to the patch.
For now, Nature has taken back the site; Foxes stealthily eying the fattened woodpigeons who have massed in numbers and swoop down from the bare trees to scratch out a meal on the naïve or lazy toilers un-netted brassica. Robins follow in the hope you will provide some much needed fat. Slowworms, toads and frogs take refuge in the warmer sanctuary of the composts. The low lying sun casts blue-grey shadows throughout the site, affording only hazy, almost insignificant light during the week of the winter solstice.
Spare a thought for the wildlife that reside in this place and rely on meagre pickings during these fallow months. Anything cooked and appropriate that might otherwise be binned in your household would make a welcome meal to our plots permanent residents.
With that I wish you good health and a bountiful 2010. One life, make it count!
The blog, amongst many things has not been kept up to date for some time now. The plot is still there albeit under several centimetres of snow. Dormant, sleeping – but still providing tasty pickings of Brussels sprouts, Swede, leeks and cabbage on my weekly amble up to the patch.
For now, Nature has taken back the site; Foxes stealthily eying the fattened woodpigeons who have massed in numbers and swoop down from the bare trees to scratch out a meal on the naïve or lazy toilers un-netted brassica. Robins follow in the hope you will provide some much needed fat. Slowworms, toads and frogs take refuge in the warmer sanctuary of the composts. The low lying sun casts blue-grey shadows throughout the site, affording only hazy, almost insignificant light during the week of the winter solstice.
Spare a thought for the wildlife that reside in this place and rely on meagre pickings during these fallow months. Anything cooked and appropriate that might otherwise be binned in your household would make a welcome meal to our plots permanent residents.
With that I wish you good health and a bountiful 2010. One life, make it count!
Monday, 8 June 2009
Onion Harvest and Navarin D'agneau
Its been a bit busy this last week. My contract at work has been extended until the end of the year which is reassuring. Being a freelancer its always a bit daunting as you enter the last weeks of your contract as to whether it will be renewed or you will be told that your services are no longer required. Fortunately for me I havent been without work since I left a permenant post several years ago and took a gamble on going solo. Nows not the time to ask for a rise though, just count your blessings that you havent become a victim of the resession. So high five, I'm surviving thus far.
My parents are also on their UK tour, currently performing child-minding and the likes around our house for several days so we went to the Science Museum in Kensington, lunch in Belgos and Hamleys on Saturday and Bowling on Sunday. Quite a weekend and as much as I love my lotty, it was a great couple of days out and a pleasant change from the norm.
Anyroads - Over on the plot the onions had tipping over by the score suggesting that they had given up on bulb development and were finally ready, they were planted on september the 16th last year. So as I popped over last week I pulled a couple, then some more and just kept going until I had a mountain of red, yellow and white onions. Glorious fat bulbs of the yellows and whites. The Reds were satisfactory but by no means show winners. The shallots were also ready so up they came too. I struggled to get them all into the boot of my car and the smell from several hundred freshly dug aliums lingers to this day. When I got the back home I let them dry off for a few days outside. I stuffed them into the gaps of the trellis in our fence to keep them off the ground. Then after a few days rain beckoned so I cut some lengths of cable and hung them in the garage to continue curing. About thirty of the onions had developed "Fat neck" which happens when the central stem of the onion develops a flower head. Lot of people throw them straight onto the compost heap and don't eat them. I say thats a ridiculous reason to throw them, you just need to eat them or make preserves as soon as possible before the central stem begins to brown and eventually rot. These ones have been cut back of their foliage and are being used as a priority.
I Popped over to the plot quickly again on Saturday evening to show my mum the progress. We had dinner planned for Sunday so we got busy filling up a swag bag.
Firstly I pulled a big Kos Lettuce which was actually for Saturdays supper, it was a little bit past its best so quite a few of the outer leaves were composted. we then grabbed several beetroots. These where the first beets I had taken this year. They came out of the ground nice and easily, partly becasue they have been growing in a raised be but also because of the rain these last few days. I have to say that these were much taster than last years. We shredded them through the roto slicer and nearly fainted when my wife, with her life long abhorance of beetroot tried a bit at the dinner table and proceeded to put some on her plate and finished the lot. The variety I'm growing are the ones with the white flesh and pink rings inside. Maybe it was the colour that put her off, I tend to think it was the over abundance of pickled beets on the canteen menu at school.
Then I moved onto the broad beans. These are the over wintered ones which are short podded and contain 4-6 beans in each. After that my mum picked a couple of small pots of strawberries, most of them made it home but wheres the fun in growing strawberries if you can't eat them straight from the plant?
The early Nantes carrots have been ransacked a lot of late. That day was no exception as we pulled another thirty or so of them. Then the peas......Oh my god the peas........I have only had a tasters of these so far, last years peas where very mealy so it was a joy to snap them off and munch on several pods right there and then, about eighty pods still made it into the swag bag - so sweat I could live on these for weeks.
Max has been growing turnips and had given me the all clear to bring some home too so ten beautiful purple topped specimens were taken out of his plot and added to the haul.
Lastly I thought I'd show off my first earlies to my mum so took out the trusty fork and dug into a pile with some Pixie first earlies. It was dissapointing to only find six or so worthy spuds for the swag bag. They are pretty though with little pink eyes. I will give these a few more weeks as the Maris bards and home guard seem to be doing so much better. Presides I had about a kilo at home from the previous visit so I resisted temptation to dig any more.
So what do you do with all these spring vegetables I wondered. Well my mother in law had the perfect recipe and at the risk of upsetting 50 million French people I will impart with one of their old skool favourite recipes named Navarin d'agneau - Spring lamb stew to most of us. Its a delicous mix of spring vegetables at their very best and brings out the very best in lamb.
Serves - Too much for six hungry adults
1.5 KG Lamb Diced - Large n chunky - big is better
4 Medium Onions (sliced fairly chunky - think one centimetre)
4 tbl spoons of Plain Flower
1/3 bottle of dry white wine
1 Bouquet Garni
50 Grams of Butter
80 Podded peas
40 Podded broad beans
500 grams of New Carrots - Topped and tailed in skins - Chopped in half or three
500 grams of New Potatoes - washed in their skins - chopped in half if larger than an egg
500 grams of Turnips - Topped and tailed, peeled - same size as potatoes
6 white rooted small beetroot (optional) -Topped and tailed, peeled- same size as potatoes
Salt and Pepper.
This works great in a big heavy casarole - Everyone went back for seconds and it went down a storm with some home made bread cut up into doorsteps to mop up the sauce.
Add half the flour into the pan and throw in the cut lamb and cover the lamb as best you can with the flour. Then add the four chopped onions into the pan and add the rest of the flour.
Turn on the heat on the hob to HIGH and add the butter - Brown off the meat for several minutes turning regulary to ensure the onions do not burn. (Its normal to see brown at the bas of the pan, its the flour, lambs fat and butter).
Add two large glasses of wine, then the bouqet garni and then add water so that the liquids are a tad above the level of the meat and onions.
Cover and simmer for forty minutes.
Add Carrots, Potatoes, Turnips, Beetroot and another wine glass of Water. Salt and pepper as liked.
Cover and simmer for thirty minutes.
You can turn it off now if you have pre-prepared this. Or if you are eating straight away. Add the peas and beans. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat - let it stand for five minutes and give it a good stir.
Repeat stirring "genty does it" after another five minutes and serve in deep plates with bread and the remainder of the wine.
Just the trick for a Sunday that was ten degrees celcius less than the previous week.
My parents are also on their UK tour, currently performing child-minding and the likes around our house for several days so we went to the Science Museum in Kensington, lunch in Belgos and Hamleys on Saturday and Bowling on Sunday. Quite a weekend and as much as I love my lotty, it was a great couple of days out and a pleasant change from the norm.
Anyroads - Over on the plot the onions had tipping over by the score suggesting that they had given up on bulb development and were finally ready, they were planted on september the 16th last year. So as I popped over last week I pulled a couple, then some more and just kept going until I had a mountain of red, yellow and white onions. Glorious fat bulbs of the yellows and whites. The Reds were satisfactory but by no means show winners. The shallots were also ready so up they came too. I struggled to get them all into the boot of my car and the smell from several hundred freshly dug aliums lingers to this day. When I got the back home I let them dry off for a few days outside. I stuffed them into the gaps of the trellis in our fence to keep them off the ground. Then after a few days rain beckoned so I cut some lengths of cable and hung them in the garage to continue curing. About thirty of the onions had developed "Fat neck" which happens when the central stem of the onion develops a flower head. Lot of people throw them straight onto the compost heap and don't eat them. I say thats a ridiculous reason to throw them, you just need to eat them or make preserves as soon as possible before the central stem begins to brown and eventually rot. These ones have been cut back of their foliage and are being used as a priority.
I Popped over to the plot quickly again on Saturday evening to show my mum the progress. We had dinner planned for Sunday so we got busy filling up a swag bag.
Firstly I pulled a big Kos Lettuce which was actually for Saturdays supper, it was a little bit past its best so quite a few of the outer leaves were composted. we then grabbed several beetroots. These where the first beets I had taken this year. They came out of the ground nice and easily, partly becasue they have been growing in a raised be but also because of the rain these last few days. I have to say that these were much taster than last years. We shredded them through the roto slicer and nearly fainted when my wife, with her life long abhorance of beetroot tried a bit at the dinner table and proceeded to put some on her plate and finished the lot. The variety I'm growing are the ones with the white flesh and pink rings inside. Maybe it was the colour that put her off, I tend to think it was the over abundance of pickled beets on the canteen menu at school.
Then I moved onto the broad beans. These are the over wintered ones which are short podded and contain 4-6 beans in each. After that my mum picked a couple of small pots of strawberries, most of them made it home but wheres the fun in growing strawberries if you can't eat them straight from the plant?
The early Nantes carrots have been ransacked a lot of late. That day was no exception as we pulled another thirty or so of them. Then the peas......Oh my god the peas........I have only had a tasters of these so far, last years peas where very mealy so it was a joy to snap them off and munch on several pods right there and then, about eighty pods still made it into the swag bag - so sweat I could live on these for weeks.
Max has been growing turnips and had given me the all clear to bring some home too so ten beautiful purple topped specimens were taken out of his plot and added to the haul.
Lastly I thought I'd show off my first earlies to my mum so took out the trusty fork and dug into a pile with some Pixie first earlies. It was dissapointing to only find six or so worthy spuds for the swag bag. They are pretty though with little pink eyes. I will give these a few more weeks as the Maris bards and home guard seem to be doing so much better. Presides I had about a kilo at home from the previous visit so I resisted temptation to dig any more.
So what do you do with all these spring vegetables I wondered. Well my mother in law had the perfect recipe and at the risk of upsetting 50 million French people I will impart with one of their old skool favourite recipes named Navarin d'agneau - Spring lamb stew to most of us. Its a delicous mix of spring vegetables at their very best and brings out the very best in lamb.
Serves - Too much for six hungry adults
1.5 KG Lamb Diced - Large n chunky - big is better
4 Medium Onions (sliced fairly chunky - think one centimetre)
4 tbl spoons of Plain Flower
1/3 bottle of dry white wine
1 Bouquet Garni
50 Grams of Butter
80 Podded peas
40 Podded broad beans
500 grams of New Carrots - Topped and tailed in skins - Chopped in half or three
500 grams of New Potatoes - washed in their skins - chopped in half if larger than an egg
500 grams of Turnips - Topped and tailed, peeled - same size as potatoes
6 white rooted small beetroot (optional) -Topped and tailed, peeled- same size as potatoes
Salt and Pepper.
This works great in a big heavy casarole - Everyone went back for seconds and it went down a storm with some home made bread cut up into doorsteps to mop up the sauce.
Add half the flour into the pan and throw in the cut lamb and cover the lamb as best you can with the flour. Then add the four chopped onions into the pan and add the rest of the flour.
Turn on the heat on the hob to HIGH and add the butter - Brown off the meat for several minutes turning regulary to ensure the onions do not burn. (Its normal to see brown at the bas of the pan, its the flour, lambs fat and butter).
Add two large glasses of wine, then the bouqet garni and then add water so that the liquids are a tad above the level of the meat and onions.
Cover and simmer for forty minutes.
Add Carrots, Potatoes, Turnips, Beetroot and another wine glass of Water. Salt and pepper as liked.
Cover and simmer for thirty minutes.
You can turn it off now if you have pre-prepared this. Or if you are eating straight away. Add the peas and beans. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat - let it stand for five minutes and give it a good stir.
Repeat stirring "genty does it" after another five minutes and serve in deep plates with bread and the remainder of the wine.
Just the trick for a Sunday that was ten degrees celcius less than the previous week.
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
High point/Low Point
Rob from A plot too far wished me a happy anniversary and asked me what were the high/low points during my first year attempting to turn dirt and seeds into something fit for the dinner table.
The Highs really outweighed the lows although there were a few; I had to think harder to include them to balance out the post.
High point/low point
High Point: Kids Got involved in the sowing, growing and harvesting which opened their eyes and filled their bellies with the freshest veg money cant buy and only a hop skip and jump (into a puddle) away from our family home kept them active and more importantly away from the play station and television.
Low point: Kids had a theory of why plant one seed when one hundred would be more fun. The carrots were a disaster as was the early salad sowings I didn't thin out too much either. The carrots came out in tangled clods looked like a banshees hand and were impossible to clean or eat unfortunately.
High point: Learning from mistakes was invaluable from planting spacing (see above) to calculating cropping times for follow on crops and grouping of vegetable types so that you can concentrate on a bed knowing all the plants need the same treatment. This year has been much more rewarding already and nothing has died (yet).
Low point: Grew three Aubergines outdoors and cropped one "bitter" aubergine. Haven’t bothered this year. May try them in the green house next year but they are off the food factory floor for 2009.
High point: Eating Sunday Roast with my parents with every single veg including Potatoes, Sweet corn, Cabbages, Swede, Peas and of course the courgettes which I took my own body weight home in Last Autumn.
Low point: Not netting up my Purple sprouting broccoli and finding it razored by the mauling pigeons and having to rely on handouts from kind plot holders to taste what I was missing.
High point: Taking in a fantastic evening over the plot with Michael and shooting dead several fat pigeons from their vantage points in the oak trees. We prepared them on the spot and had a barbeque of pigeon breast, courgettes onions and sweet corn. They eat our veg, we eat them.
Low point: Having prized marrow and produce pinched. They always took the best that I had and it annoyed me to think it was probably fellow plot holders rather than kids. The oiks that do occasionally cause a bit of hassle are more intent on destruction of property and kicking your veg about than pinching it.
High point: health and well being has been improved no end. With a farmers tan and losing a bit of weight I feel better now than I had for years.
Low point: Shed being broken into and kids tools being burnt in the shed was a "bad day". Fortunately I shrugged it off and bought some replacements so to the idiots who did it. I’m over it and you're still losers most likely doing community service by now……parp.
High point: Kindness in these times from complete strangers is a rare occurrence. Not on the allotment though. Far from it, I have seen sincerity; kindness and fellowship flourish into friendships in a short space of time. My boy’s love it too as there are so many kids to play with.
Low point: Weeds. Do they ever give up? I watched the gardener’s world and uktv gardening programmes in disbelief as they potter around doing the planting, potting up and designing. Not once have I seen them in a situation where they have left the kitchen garden for a split second to find half the plot has been swamped in Fat hen, dandelions, couch grass and bind weed.
High point: Seeing James happy as a kid with a box of matches with his new toy. Scorching up the weeds and his paths with a flamethrower.
Low Point: Driving up to my plot after several days of torrential rain only to get the car stuck in a rut and having to walk home and get the wife and mother in law up to help me tow it out. This caused a stupid argument over my stupid actions. Needless to say I apologised and no longer drive in the bog.
High point: Coming home from summer holidays to find that several plot holders had been kindly watering for me whilst I was away and the whole garden looking fantastic.
Low point: Spending several months looking after the pumpkin plant only for them to get a few nicks taken out of them and going mouldy. Still I had one decent one and you can only eat so much.
High Point: Appreciating the seasonal changes with every passing day leading up to the summer equinox through to the stillness of its winter opposite. With the exception of the bitter February it was always a pleasure to be in the open experiencing with new eyes the changing of the seasons.
Low Point: Tomato Blight - It’s a bitch.
The Highs really outweighed the lows although there were a few; I had to think harder to include them to balance out the post.
High point/low point
High Point: Kids Got involved in the sowing, growing and harvesting which opened their eyes and filled their bellies with the freshest veg money cant buy and only a hop skip and jump (into a puddle) away from our family home kept them active and more importantly away from the play station and television.
Low point: Kids had a theory of why plant one seed when one hundred would be more fun. The carrots were a disaster as was the early salad sowings I didn't thin out too much either. The carrots came out in tangled clods looked like a banshees hand and were impossible to clean or eat unfortunately.
High point: Learning from mistakes was invaluable from planting spacing (see above) to calculating cropping times for follow on crops and grouping of vegetable types so that you can concentrate on a bed knowing all the plants need the same treatment. This year has been much more rewarding already and nothing has died (yet).
Low point: Grew three Aubergines outdoors and cropped one "bitter" aubergine. Haven’t bothered this year. May try them in the green house next year but they are off the food factory floor for 2009.
High point: Eating Sunday Roast with my parents with every single veg including Potatoes, Sweet corn, Cabbages, Swede, Peas and of course the courgettes which I took my own body weight home in Last Autumn.
Low point: Not netting up my Purple sprouting broccoli and finding it razored by the mauling pigeons and having to rely on handouts from kind plot holders to taste what I was missing.
High point: Taking in a fantastic evening over the plot with Michael and shooting dead several fat pigeons from their vantage points in the oak trees. We prepared them on the spot and had a barbeque of pigeon breast, courgettes onions and sweet corn. They eat our veg, we eat them.
Low point: Having prized marrow and produce pinched. They always took the best that I had and it annoyed me to think it was probably fellow plot holders rather than kids. The oiks that do occasionally cause a bit of hassle are more intent on destruction of property and kicking your veg about than pinching it.
High point: health and well being has been improved no end. With a farmers tan and losing a bit of weight I feel better now than I had for years.
Low point: Shed being broken into and kids tools being burnt in the shed was a "bad day". Fortunately I shrugged it off and bought some replacements so to the idiots who did it. I’m over it and you're still losers most likely doing community service by now……parp.
High point: Kindness in these times from complete strangers is a rare occurrence. Not on the allotment though. Far from it, I have seen sincerity; kindness and fellowship flourish into friendships in a short space of time. My boy’s love it too as there are so many kids to play with.
Low point: Weeds. Do they ever give up? I watched the gardener’s world and uktv gardening programmes in disbelief as they potter around doing the planting, potting up and designing. Not once have I seen them in a situation where they have left the kitchen garden for a split second to find half the plot has been swamped in Fat hen, dandelions, couch grass and bind weed.
High point: Seeing James happy as a kid with a box of matches with his new toy. Scorching up the weeds and his paths with a flamethrower.
Low Point: Driving up to my plot after several days of torrential rain only to get the car stuck in a rut and having to walk home and get the wife and mother in law up to help me tow it out. This caused a stupid argument over my stupid actions. Needless to say I apologised and no longer drive in the bog.
High point: Coming home from summer holidays to find that several plot holders had been kindly watering for me whilst I was away and the whole garden looking fantastic.
Low point: Spending several months looking after the pumpkin plant only for them to get a few nicks taken out of them and going mouldy. Still I had one decent one and you can only eat so much.
High Point: Appreciating the seasonal changes with every passing day leading up to the summer equinox through to the stillness of its winter opposite. With the exception of the bitter February it was always a pleasure to be in the open experiencing with new eyes the changing of the seasons.
Low Point: Tomato Blight - It’s a bitch.
Friday, 22 May 2009
First anniversary
A year ago today I popped into the council offices and picked up two keys, signed a contract and handed over less money that I spend on a night out to the cinema.
Today - looking back to a year ago my life has improved and I'm happier for it.
Heres looking forward, not back to the next year. #
Chin Chin
Today - looking back to a year ago my life has improved and I'm happier for it.
Heres looking forward, not back to the next year. #
Chin Chin
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
May Cazaux Time
It was a wonderful May evening and I have misplaced the keys to my shed. Not wanting to miss out on this fine spring sunset. I grabbed the camera and snapped away.
Heres a few pictures. The rest can be located here.
The flowers smell so sweety-sweet. Hello gardner, nice to meet. Berries are my favourite thing. Birds and flowers, it must be Spring.
One potato, two potato, three potato, four,
five potato, six potato, seven potato more.
Icha bacha, soda cracker,
Icha bacha boo.
Icha bacha, soda cracker, out goes Y-O-U!
I always eat my peas with honey;
I've done it all my life.
They do taste kind of funny
but It keeps them on my knife.
There was a young man from Prestatyn,
Who fancied he ought to learn Latin,
He said; 'I shall speak,
Of my hatred of leek,
But the Welsh don't have words to put that in.'
Sit while I sing you a fanciful song,
Which tells of the cabbage's lore.
It's not that exciting and not very long,
For the cabbage is often a bore.
How best to picture this much-maligned fruit
That has troubled the wisest of sages?
It is leafy and green and yet looks rather cute
When it's squashed in a book with large pages.
Fitted with wheels on its sides, it becomes
The most truly extraordinary car.
And when covered in tinsel and circled by plums,
It resembles a rather small star.
The cabbage was never the smartest of fruits,
But its uses outnumber its brains.
The leaves can be used to make edible suits,
And the stalk for unblocking the drains.
I hope you have learned of the cabbage's way,
And recall it if salads are bleak.
But now you should leave, for I fear, if you stay,
I will tell you the tale of the leek.
My Uncle Lionel
Is a spinach leaf,
The iron'll do you good
Boil him up for half a day
He'll taste like mashed up wood.
Beans, broad, the musical fruit
The more you eat, the more you toot!
Beans, broad, they are good for your heart.
The more you eat, the more you fart.
The more you fart, the more you eat,
The more you sit on the toilet seat!
Hot Corn, cold corn, bring along the demijohn
Hot Corn, cold corn, bring along the demijohn
Hot Corn, cold corn, bring along the demijohn
Fair thee well, uncle Bill, see you in the morning
Yes sir
They fell in love, then they married
A tomato bouquet she carried
Tomatoes cooked to perfection
Were served up at the reception
As they drove off they were showered
...Not with tomatoes but flowers!
Si tu me miras
Watching the sunset
Si tu me miras
Taking a picture
Of the sunset
Cauliflowers fluffy and cabbages green,
Strawberries sweeter than any I've seen
Beetroot purple and onions white:
All grow steadily day and night.
Heres a few pictures. The rest can be located here.
The flowers smell so sweety-sweet. Hello gardner, nice to meet. Berries are my favourite thing. Birds and flowers, it must be Spring.
One potato, two potato, three potato, four,
five potato, six potato, seven potato more.
Icha bacha, soda cracker,
Icha bacha boo.
Icha bacha, soda cracker, out goes Y-O-U!
I always eat my peas with honey;
I've done it all my life.
They do taste kind of funny
but It keeps them on my knife.
There was a young man from Prestatyn,
Who fancied he ought to learn Latin,
He said; 'I shall speak,
Of my hatred of leek,
But the Welsh don't have words to put that in.'
Sit while I sing you a fanciful song,
Which tells of the cabbage's lore.
It's not that exciting and not very long,
For the cabbage is often a bore.
How best to picture this much-maligned fruit
That has troubled the wisest of sages?
It is leafy and green and yet looks rather cute
When it's squashed in a book with large pages.
Fitted with wheels on its sides, it becomes
The most truly extraordinary car.
And when covered in tinsel and circled by plums,
It resembles a rather small star.
The cabbage was never the smartest of fruits,
But its uses outnumber its brains.
The leaves can be used to make edible suits,
And the stalk for unblocking the drains.
I hope you have learned of the cabbage's way,
And recall it if salads are bleak.
But now you should leave, for I fear, if you stay,
I will tell you the tale of the leek.
My Uncle Lionel
Is a spinach leaf,
The iron'll do you good
Boil him up for half a day
He'll taste like mashed up wood.
Beans, broad, the musical fruit
The more you eat, the more you toot!
Beans, broad, they are good for your heart.
The more you eat, the more you fart.
The more you fart, the more you eat,
The more you sit on the toilet seat!
Hot Corn, cold corn, bring along the demijohn
Hot Corn, cold corn, bring along the demijohn
Hot Corn, cold corn, bring along the demijohn
Fair thee well, uncle Bill, see you in the morning
Yes sir
They fell in love, then they married
A tomato bouquet she carried
Tomatoes cooked to perfection
Were served up at the reception
As they drove off they were showered
...Not with tomatoes but flowers!
Si tu me miras
Watching the sunset
Si tu me miras
Taking a picture
Of the sunset
Cauliflowers fluffy and cabbages green,
Strawberries sweeter than any I've seen
Beetroot purple and onions white:
All grow steadily day and night.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
The miricalgrow of life.
I'm expecting babies very shortly.
Isn’t it amazing that after nine months and several billion cells splitting, us human beans are able to make a mini us's.
Two eyes for watching television, two hands for playing play station, two feet for kicking people with on a Saturday night after drinking twenty pints of Stella. A mouth to swear with and ears to stick I-pod headphones in. Such is the miracle of reproduction and adolesance in our glorious twenty fist century thug land.
Only the other day I was in my local corner shop, three kids walked in and racially insulted the owner. Demanded he sell them Cigarettes and alcohol. I was happy to see Petre the owner flash his bat at them and practically threw them out.
Crikey - what has the world come to I thought? I must be getting old! Petre told me not to worry; he gets it all the time.
As I left the shop I thought to myself that When I was a kid back in the early eighties. We would have never in our wildest dreams done something like that, no way. We would have created a distraction and quietly just pinched a sherbet dip. No need for the insults.
I’m going off on one.....Back to the subject.
My babies by contrast have been ten months in making, it’s been a long and difficult conception, and in only a couple of weeks, I'm going to eat them with a cheesy béchamel.
Whoohoo, yep, I'm talking about my beloved brassica. Last night I made a very happy discovery - My Cauliflowers are finally heading up.
A few weeks back I blogged about these, so won’t repeat my self too much about the efforts involved.
I was considering giving up on them as my patience was running thin, and I need some space to plant out my gherkins. However, after much discussion about them with fellow plot holders, about these huge plants with nothing to show for them after so long, A few suggested that I might cut off a few of the outer leaves to stimulate/shock them a little bit.
Hesitant at first, because you are told they dislike conditions anything short of perfect. I decided to test this suggestion, and cut three to four mammoth leaves from a few of them. Michael keeps chickens and happily took these for them to peck on.
Any roads - A week later and I have half a dozen "farmer Fists" sized heads. The are very tightly packed and I am quietly confident that these are going to be beauties.
I picked off and disposed of several snails and bugs lurking in the bed. Looks like snail season has begun. Hosed them in Comfrey tea and threw in some blood and bones to the mix.
Another sight that brought a smile to my face, and will have my boys going mental do-lally is that we have a dozen strawberries turning from lime green to pink. Oh yes. Vanilla Ice-cream has been added to the shopping list.
The salad days are well and truly here now with Kos lettuce, sweet cut and come again, mountains of fresh spinach, radishes, basil, beet leaf, lambs lettuce, all year round salad and spring onions.
Turnips and Kohlrabi are beginning to fatten up nicely. I’m looking forward to a tagine couscous by my wife with these.
The over wintered onions, shallots and the not too rusty garlic continue to fatten up. What am I going to do with 200 onions? Maybe I'll take a load as a gift to Petre as payback for all those missing sherbet dips. He didn't escape the courgette glut last year and always asks my how my garden grows.
Isn’t it amazing that after nine months and several billion cells splitting, us human beans are able to make a mini us's.
Two eyes for watching television, two hands for playing play station, two feet for kicking people with on a Saturday night after drinking twenty pints of Stella. A mouth to swear with and ears to stick I-pod headphones in. Such is the miracle of reproduction and adolesance in our glorious twenty fist century thug land.
Only the other day I was in my local corner shop, three kids walked in and racially insulted the owner. Demanded he sell them Cigarettes and alcohol. I was happy to see Petre the owner flash his bat at them and practically threw them out.
Crikey - what has the world come to I thought? I must be getting old! Petre told me not to worry; he gets it all the time.
As I left the shop I thought to myself that When I was a kid back in the early eighties. We would have never in our wildest dreams done something like that, no way. We would have created a distraction and quietly just pinched a sherbet dip. No need for the insults.
I’m going off on one.....Back to the subject.
My babies by contrast have been ten months in making, it’s been a long and difficult conception, and in only a couple of weeks, I'm going to eat them with a cheesy béchamel.
Whoohoo, yep, I'm talking about my beloved brassica. Last night I made a very happy discovery - My Cauliflowers are finally heading up.
A few weeks back I blogged about these, so won’t repeat my self too much about the efforts involved.
I was considering giving up on them as my patience was running thin, and I need some space to plant out my gherkins. However, after much discussion about them with fellow plot holders, about these huge plants with nothing to show for them after so long, A few suggested that I might cut off a few of the outer leaves to stimulate/shock them a little bit.
Hesitant at first, because you are told they dislike conditions anything short of perfect. I decided to test this suggestion, and cut three to four mammoth leaves from a few of them. Michael keeps chickens and happily took these for them to peck on.
Any roads - A week later and I have half a dozen "farmer Fists" sized heads. The are very tightly packed and I am quietly confident that these are going to be beauties.
I picked off and disposed of several snails and bugs lurking in the bed. Looks like snail season has begun. Hosed them in Comfrey tea and threw in some blood and bones to the mix.
Another sight that brought a smile to my face, and will have my boys going mental do-lally is that we have a dozen strawberries turning from lime green to pink. Oh yes. Vanilla Ice-cream has been added to the shopping list.
The salad days are well and truly here now with Kos lettuce, sweet cut and come again, mountains of fresh spinach, radishes, basil, beet leaf, lambs lettuce, all year round salad and spring onions.
Turnips and Kohlrabi are beginning to fatten up nicely. I’m looking forward to a tagine couscous by my wife with these.
The over wintered onions, shallots and the not too rusty garlic continue to fatten up. What am I going to do with 200 onions? Maybe I'll take a load as a gift to Petre as payback for all those missing sherbet dips. He didn't escape the courgette glut last year and always asks my how my garden grows.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Garlic’s- R- us t
As mentioned in a previous post the Garlic I planted last year was a mixture of heads purchased on a week’s holiday to Provence - France, plus a gift from my parents who live in sunny Spain. The holidays a distant memory now, but the Garlic plants, which until now have looked a picture of health, have served to remind me of that fantastic family break.
They where planted in the middle of September last year in the bed I had used to grow Maris Peer Second early potato’s and another bed that was used to grow Broad beans. Can’t remember the type of broad beans that they where as they where shop bought plants.
The soil is in good shape! The cultivation of the potato’s and the added compost and sharp sand for added drainage for both beds has changed the structure of the soil remarkably for the better.
We have had a stinking cold winter, but dry by all accounts which by most internet references suggests ideal conditions for getting the garlic off to a flying start and providing the conditions that are needed to split the bulb into several cloves rather than one large onion like bulb.
I haven't watered them directly this year, which should be fine as there is plenty of moisture below surface. So my question is what could have encouraged them to develop early signs of Garlic rust?
Spacing certainly isn't the issue as I have followed the 10 centimetre on rule and added a bit more for good luck
Could it be that the fat cloves of garlic which I planted were infected with this fungal infection and I should heed every seed sellers advice and only use certified virus free stock? I hope not.
Could it be that the water tank just up from me broke a few weeks ago pouring water through my plot for days on end caused the fungal infection?
Or maybe everybody that grows garlic suffers from rust and I'm rantign for nothing. I know Peter and a couple halfway down grew it last year and both theirs developed rust too but we had a very soggy spring in 2008 so I put it down to moist conditions, but maybe there’s more to it.
This is one of the painful moments of keeping a plot, the disappointment and realisment (yankism) that something you have had high hopes for is going to shit.
This is an extract from the most useful page I found whilst googling that answers most of these questions.
Puccinia allii (or rusty garlic): This fungus has caused major epidemics in California and some losses in Arizona. California isolates did not infect leek, shallot or elephant garlic. However, P. allii in Europe is extremely damaging on leek.
This fungus may over winter on dead plant material, in soil, or on wild hosts. When seed cloves collected from rust-infected garlic plants were planted in studies by the University of California, none of the plants that grew from these cloves developed rust (Counts out the infected bulb theory).
The rust is autoecious and same-season re-infection by urediospores is common. Severe losses are reported when excessive rain, fog, or irrigation are present (Looks like the water-tank maintenance fault then).
Highest infection rates occur at cool temperatures (50-59° F) and 100% relative humidity. Temperatures below 50° F and above 75° F inhibit the disease.
Symptoms: Initial symptoms include small white to yellow flecks and spots. The spots enlarge and become oval to elongate or diamond shaped and take on an orange cast as uredia develop. Later in the season, black oval to elongate telia develop. These telia may or may not break through the epidermis. Telia of a related species, P. asparagi, found occasionally on onion, tend to be dark brown rather than black. Heavily infected plants have an orange cast, outer leaves may yellow and wither prematurely, and bulb size may be reduced.
No resistant garlic lines have been identified.
More to the point, what can you do about it?
Organic control:
Nada, nil, zilch. You can try cutting back infested leaves which will have an impact on the size of the end product but it won't cure it. - I was hoping nature had the answer. Sounds like athlete’s foot for Garlic! Maybe I'll get some talcum powder and put clean socks on them daily......
Chemical control:
Dithane F-45 Rainshield at 2.4 quarts/A on a 7-day interval. The addition of a Latron surfactant will improve performance. Do not apply more than 24 quarts/A/crop or apply to exposed bulbs. Do not apply within 7 days of harvest. 24-hr re-entry.
Manex at 1.6 to 2.4 quarts/A on a 7-day interval. Do not apply more than 24 quarts/A/season or apply to exposed bulbs. Do not apply within 7 days of harvest. 24-hr re-entry.
Quadris at 6 to 12 fl oz/A on a 7- to 14-day interval. Do not apply more than one (1) foliar application of Quadris or other Group 11 fungicide before alternating with a different mode of action. Do not apply more than1.5 lb a.i./A per season of azoxystrobin-containing products. May be applied the day of harvest. 4-hr re-entry.
So this leaves me with four options, one of which I deplore as it uses a non-organic approach.
1) Napalm them with a cocktail of Dithane/Manex/Quadris - Not even sure if this stuff is available to average Jo – Occasional allotment gardener. Sounds more like the makings of a Molotov bomb than an answer to my problems.
Verdict: B"$%^ks to that, Id rather eat a creamed slug sandwich.
Who in their right mind would treat their crop with this poison? To me it’s like saying I have a sore throat and somebody advising you to drink turpentine as that’s what they give camels in Morocco after they have travelled through a sand storm. Sure your sore throat will go away, but you liver will pack up and you may get stomach cancer but what the hell, if its good enough for them camels why not give it a go?
Don’t believe me? Check this out on the Chinese grower’s choice Dithane.
2) Dig them up and consign them to a bonfire.
Verdict: To early to tell how bad its going to get.
3) Cut all the affected leaves off and hope for the best
Verdict: I want fat bulbs, cut the plant cut the chances of a decent crop and they won’t store.
4) Do nothing, leave them be and possibly mulch with potash -Bonfire soot and hope for the best. The chances are it will have little effect on the final crop other than reducing the size of the bulbs slightly and you won’t be able to braid them.
Verdict: Do nothing – Live in Hope – Stop stressing – Cazaux Likes.
The question is…..What would the infamous garlic farm on the Isle of Wight do in a situation like this?
Your advice would be very much appreciated.
They where planted in the middle of September last year in the bed I had used to grow Maris Peer Second early potato’s and another bed that was used to grow Broad beans. Can’t remember the type of broad beans that they where as they where shop bought plants.
The soil is in good shape! The cultivation of the potato’s and the added compost and sharp sand for added drainage for both beds has changed the structure of the soil remarkably for the better.
We have had a stinking cold winter, but dry by all accounts which by most internet references suggests ideal conditions for getting the garlic off to a flying start and providing the conditions that are needed to split the bulb into several cloves rather than one large onion like bulb.
I haven't watered them directly this year, which should be fine as there is plenty of moisture below surface. So my question is what could have encouraged them to develop early signs of Garlic rust?
Spacing certainly isn't the issue as I have followed the 10 centimetre on rule and added a bit more for good luck
Could it be that the fat cloves of garlic which I planted were infected with this fungal infection and I should heed every seed sellers advice and only use certified virus free stock? I hope not.
Could it be that the water tank just up from me broke a few weeks ago pouring water through my plot for days on end caused the fungal infection?
Or maybe everybody that grows garlic suffers from rust and I'm rantign for nothing. I know Peter and a couple halfway down grew it last year and both theirs developed rust too but we had a very soggy spring in 2008 so I put it down to moist conditions, but maybe there’s more to it.
This is one of the painful moments of keeping a plot, the disappointment and realisment (yankism) that something you have had high hopes for is going to shit.
This is an extract from the most useful page I found whilst googling that answers most of these questions.
Puccinia allii (or rusty garlic): This fungus has caused major epidemics in California and some losses in Arizona. California isolates did not infect leek, shallot or elephant garlic. However, P. allii in Europe is extremely damaging on leek.
This fungus may over winter on dead plant material, in soil, or on wild hosts. When seed cloves collected from rust-infected garlic plants were planted in studies by the University of California, none of the plants that grew from these cloves developed rust (Counts out the infected bulb theory).
The rust is autoecious and same-season re-infection by urediospores is common. Severe losses are reported when excessive rain, fog, or irrigation are present (Looks like the water-tank maintenance fault then).
Highest infection rates occur at cool temperatures (50-59° F) and 100% relative humidity. Temperatures below 50° F and above 75° F inhibit the disease.
Symptoms: Initial symptoms include small white to yellow flecks and spots. The spots enlarge and become oval to elongate or diamond shaped and take on an orange cast as uredia develop. Later in the season, black oval to elongate telia develop. These telia may or may not break through the epidermis. Telia of a related species, P. asparagi, found occasionally on onion, tend to be dark brown rather than black. Heavily infected plants have an orange cast, outer leaves may yellow and wither prematurely, and bulb size may be reduced.
No resistant garlic lines have been identified.
More to the point, what can you do about it?
Organic control:
Nada, nil, zilch. You can try cutting back infested leaves which will have an impact on the size of the end product but it won't cure it. - I was hoping nature had the answer. Sounds like athlete’s foot for Garlic! Maybe I'll get some talcum powder and put clean socks on them daily......
Chemical control:
Dithane F-45 Rainshield at 2.4 quarts/A on a 7-day interval. The addition of a Latron surfactant will improve performance. Do not apply more than 24 quarts/A/crop or apply to exposed bulbs. Do not apply within 7 days of harvest. 24-hr re-entry.
Manex at 1.6 to 2.4 quarts/A on a 7-day interval. Do not apply more than 24 quarts/A/season or apply to exposed bulbs. Do not apply within 7 days of harvest. 24-hr re-entry.
Quadris at 6 to 12 fl oz/A on a 7- to 14-day interval. Do not apply more than one (1) foliar application of Quadris or other Group 11 fungicide before alternating with a different mode of action. Do not apply more than1.5 lb a.i./A per season of azoxystrobin-containing products. May be applied the day of harvest. 4-hr re-entry.
So this leaves me with four options, one of which I deplore as it uses a non-organic approach.
1) Napalm them with a cocktail of Dithane/Manex/Quadris - Not even sure if this stuff is available to average Jo – Occasional allotment gardener. Sounds more like the makings of a Molotov bomb than an answer to my problems.
Verdict: B"$%^ks to that, Id rather eat a creamed slug sandwich.
Who in their right mind would treat their crop with this poison? To me it’s like saying I have a sore throat and somebody advising you to drink turpentine as that’s what they give camels in Morocco after they have travelled through a sand storm. Sure your sore throat will go away, but you liver will pack up and you may get stomach cancer but what the hell, if its good enough for them camels why not give it a go?
Don’t believe me? Check this out on the Chinese grower’s choice Dithane.
2) Dig them up and consign them to a bonfire.
Verdict: To early to tell how bad its going to get.
3) Cut all the affected leaves off and hope for the best
Verdict: I want fat bulbs, cut the plant cut the chances of a decent crop and they won’t store.
4) Do nothing, leave them be and possibly mulch with potash -Bonfire soot and hope for the best. The chances are it will have little effect on the final crop other than reducing the size of the bulbs slightly and you won’t be able to braid them.
Verdict: Do nothing – Live in Hope – Stop stressing – Cazaux Likes.
The question is…..What would the infamous garlic farm on the Isle of Wight do in a situation like this?
Your advice would be very much appreciated.
Friday, 1 May 2009
Homegrown corn on the cob is out of this world
Hands up who has ever grown Sweet corn and rushed home with a bunch of fat ears, ripping off the outer layers on route to expose ten inch yellow hand grenades, perfectly formed without a missing corn or a weevil in sight?
I have, it took me 23 minutes to get up and back from my plot, rip off half a dozen little beauties and back home again to a big old pan I started boiling before I sat off. I ripped off the outer leaves and threw them all in the steaming pot as quick as possible to get the sweetest corn that literally no amount of money can buy you from any market in the world.
This was the highlight of 2008's season; I can't recall anything that I grew last year that had the "Oh My God! Pat yourself on the back farmer - you've just cultivated sex on a cob" factor as I munched through three of them, butter dripping from my chin and an Ice cold beer. Max was just as impressed although he's six and had to settle with a soft drink, I think this was the day we both developed the obsession with corn on the cob.
On that 6th September 2008, I made a promise to myself to grow more than the 16 plants I had experimented with, and this year I will be hoping to beat the 23 minute bar.
Why is it so important to get them from plot to Cocotte in the fastest time possible? Well, it is because the natural sugars that are in sweet corns begin to turn into starch from the moment you pick them. You could do a taste test to compare that within just two hours, there is a marked difference with the taste that most people, especially sweet teeth would notice.
Leave it another day and 60% of the natural sugars that exist may have turned leaving you a very different product from your food factory.
The same can be said of peas, that's why many people adore the frozen variety as the farms scoop up the entire plants, shell them and fast freeze them within a matter of hours to capture the sweet flavours, but find the peas to pod from your local supermarkets and vegetable stalls quiet mealy.
Growing sweet corn is a doddle.
I Started by buying root trainers or you could use toilet rolls three weeks back, then placed a single seed into each cell filled with general compost, planting 64 in total. Then I take a pencil and push them gently into the compost, cover with a bit more compost and drench them with warm water from the kitchen sink. Pop a lid on your sowings and leave for a week or so.
After a week or so you should find most of your sweet corn has popped up and you can take the lid off and drench them once again in Luke warm water but leave the lid off this time.
Wait another week and they should be six inches tall and if you are feeling confident that we are going to have the hottest summer in living history then you can prepare to plant them out now.
You can prepare the plot for them by digging deep and incorporating as much organic material as possible. I personally dumped four bags of horse muck and a couple of barrow loads of home brew compost. Then I borrowed James Mantis and tilled the area and piled it up so the bed was raised above the natural level of the plot. I cover the area with gardener’s membrane and slit holes every 18 inches (40cm) leaving 22 Inches between rows so you can sent you kids in to pick them.
From the 64 I planted I was happy with 63 that germinated.
Last weekend I planted five rows of nine plants, I have held back four in-case a few don’t take and gave the remaining thirteen to Bob, he gives me way too much stuff so it was great to repay the compliment. I think he was happy as he was still chitting his corn (Something I don’t bother with).
According to many threads you can plant closer than this but in doing so you run the risk of reducing the yield. At these distances you should expect 1.5 (Average) cobs over your crop so I’m going to be eating plenty come August with a bit of luck and some supercharged summer days.
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Cauliflower rant.
Im back from holidays in Mexico - Its been a couple of weeks - Time for a post.
In about a month’s time, I'm hoping for a return on my investment of time and efforts with the over wintered cauliflower experiment. They are looking very healthy now but with these vegetables being particularly fussy and the odds stacked against you in many respects, you can only do what you can do and wait several months before you find out if you did it well or you ended up with a sweaty sponge of minuscule proportions.
Growing the humble Cauliflower it’s kind of like going to war as a Spartan. Death or Glory. Actually is nothing like that at all as Cauliflowers can't throw spears and don’t look menacing enough to be considered a warrior race. But in essence - You either fail miserably or glory in your marvellous achievements’.
Mine have been in the ground since August last year. I started them from seed in June. I have watched patiently, weeded regularly and protected the bed with a "ring of Steel" to fend off early sabotage attempts by feathered brassica jihadists.
Throughout the winter I watched over the caulis wondering "what’s the point of this over wintering ball hocks". They just sat there without much sign of growth, which then ground to a complete halt whilst being battered by cold harsh frosts, snow and no sun light.
One gave up the ghost and popped its clogs two days before Christmas. It was like loosing a family member. Its death cannot be explained. It looked in good health a week before hand, I found it keeled over looking rather slimy so I pulled it out and buried it in the bean trench so at least some good will come of it - for the beans at least. Not that I'm in the habit of burying family members in my bean trench so it wasn't really like a family member really at all, more like a pet goldfish or something I wouldn't think twice about lobbing in the bean trench if it died.
Then as the frosts rescinded, the surviving brood have had treats of blood and bone meal, well rotted manure and rain water from my butt (water). I have even given them a dose of diluted seaweed concentrate which is like a natural anabolic steroid for hungry plants.
Now the weather is warming and some serious growth has begun again, a new wave of lesser attacks have begun.
I have kept the white fly at bay with soapy water spray to clog up the little bastards breathing ducts. Snails and slugs found in the bed have been skewered onto a length of garden twine and their shrivelled remains hung up to ward off theirs friend and family.
Any outer yellowing leaves and the little suckers that sometimes grow at the base have been removed.
There doesn’t seem to be any advice in any of the publicised growing guides that I own so I have consulted Soilmans thread as he also loves the good fight that is the cultivation of Cauliflowers.
Hoeing this little bed is off limits, it's regularly hand weeded to ensure that all the available nutrients are available to my crop, and does not become a feast for the weeds which have gotten into full swing too now.
You can’t compare foreign imported shop bought mass produced long term vegegatbles that'll only cost you seventy pence from the non organic section of a billion pound a week supermarket. Home grown cauliflower is not easy, it can be a pain in the proverbials to avoid the pigeon attacks, adverse weather conditions, slugs and snails and if you don’t get their fussy little requirements’ just right, or forget to pick them on just the right day you still end up with a stinky - yellow - tennis ball sized - loose headed - crap end product.
Get it right on the other hand and you have bragging rights over your fellow farmers and gain respect from the old guard over the plots as you strap your gigantic beast like vegetables to the roof rack of your car and parade it around town playing bagpipe music from your cd player with all your windows down and a pair of ray bans on with one hand waving at the admiring onlookers.
Mine by contrast to Tesco’s perfectly formed jolly foreigners are 100% British and 100% organic.
There will be zero food miles in carting them home (Apart from the victory parade). Even if they taste like a cocktail of horse shit and seaweed and look like they have fallen out of the back end of a bison's bum they are going to get eaten.
So unlike the 65% of vegetables grown that never even reach your dinner plate there will have been a point to their existence.
In about a month’s time, I'm hoping for a return on my investment of time and efforts with the over wintered cauliflower experiment. They are looking very healthy now but with these vegetables being particularly fussy and the odds stacked against you in many respects, you can only do what you can do and wait several months before you find out if you did it well or you ended up with a sweaty sponge of minuscule proportions.
Growing the humble Cauliflower it’s kind of like going to war as a Spartan. Death or Glory. Actually is nothing like that at all as Cauliflowers can't throw spears and don’t look menacing enough to be considered a warrior race. But in essence - You either fail miserably or glory in your marvellous achievements’.
Mine have been in the ground since August last year. I started them from seed in June. I have watched patiently, weeded regularly and protected the bed with a "ring of Steel" to fend off early sabotage attempts by feathered brassica jihadists.
Throughout the winter I watched over the caulis wondering "what’s the point of this over wintering ball hocks". They just sat there without much sign of growth, which then ground to a complete halt whilst being battered by cold harsh frosts, snow and no sun light.
One gave up the ghost and popped its clogs two days before Christmas. It was like loosing a family member. Its death cannot be explained. It looked in good health a week before hand, I found it keeled over looking rather slimy so I pulled it out and buried it in the bean trench so at least some good will come of it - for the beans at least. Not that I'm in the habit of burying family members in my bean trench so it wasn't really like a family member really at all, more like a pet goldfish or something I wouldn't think twice about lobbing in the bean trench if it died.
Then as the frosts rescinded, the surviving brood have had treats of blood and bone meal, well rotted manure and rain water from my butt (water). I have even given them a dose of diluted seaweed concentrate which is like a natural anabolic steroid for hungry plants.
Now the weather is warming and some serious growth has begun again, a new wave of lesser attacks have begun.
I have kept the white fly at bay with soapy water spray to clog up the little bastards breathing ducts. Snails and slugs found in the bed have been skewered onto a length of garden twine and their shrivelled remains hung up to ward off theirs friend and family.
Any outer yellowing leaves and the little suckers that sometimes grow at the base have been removed.
There doesn’t seem to be any advice in any of the publicised growing guides that I own so I have consulted Soilmans thread as he also loves the good fight that is the cultivation of Cauliflowers.
Hoeing this little bed is off limits, it's regularly hand weeded to ensure that all the available nutrients are available to my crop, and does not become a feast for the weeds which have gotten into full swing too now.
You can’t compare foreign imported shop bought mass produced long term vegegatbles that'll only cost you seventy pence from the non organic section of a billion pound a week supermarket. Home grown cauliflower is not easy, it can be a pain in the proverbials to avoid the pigeon attacks, adverse weather conditions, slugs and snails and if you don’t get their fussy little requirements’ just right, or forget to pick them on just the right day you still end up with a stinky - yellow - tennis ball sized - loose headed - crap end product.
Get it right on the other hand and you have bragging rights over your fellow farmers and gain respect from the old guard over the plots as you strap your gigantic beast like vegetables to the roof rack of your car and parade it around town playing bagpipe music from your cd player with all your windows down and a pair of ray bans on with one hand waving at the admiring onlookers.
Mine by contrast to Tesco’s perfectly formed jolly foreigners are 100% British and 100% organic.
There will be zero food miles in carting them home (Apart from the victory parade). Even if they taste like a cocktail of horse shit and seaweed and look like they have fallen out of the back end of a bison's bum they are going to get eaten.
So unlike the 65% of vegetables grown that never even reach your dinner plate there will have been a point to their existence.
Thursday, 9 April 2009
If at first you don't suck-seed.
A month ago I was wondering if the growing season would ever begin, now it seems to be getting ahead of me. Greenhouse is cooking on Gas now after the disaster a few weeks back.
First of the 64 sweet corns and 80 borlotti beans poked their heads up from the root trainers yesterday.
27 of the 32 Courgette seeds have germinated. These are from self saved seed from last season’s bumper courgette gluts. A few of them were left to get to monster proportions. The seed was saved for this years planting. They are really nice with a cold one toasted in the oven too with the smallest amount of oil and salt.
8 Market more Cuke's and 12 Dwarf beans have smashed through the soil in their recycled coffee cup pots
50 - OMG - 50 Pepper plants have germinated. It looks like a near on 100% germination rate. I'm going to have to find the time to prick these out and pot then into a root trainer before Sunday.
96 Blue Lake Climbing French beans planted last night.
80 Musselburgh Leeks have been pricked out into three large pots filled with quality compost which will be taken up the plot because space or lack of it is becoming a real issue
A friend has offered the use of his greenhouse in exchange for some of the extras. I tend over plant expecting only fifty percent germination rates but at this rate there’s going to be plenty of happy potholders’ come the seedling swap up the plot in early May.
Last year was my first and I was chuffed to bits that so many people kindly donated their extras to me. Along with paying silly money from garden centres for plug plants. It was the only way I was able to make the plot productive I hope to be able to reciprocate those gifts this year and help out some of the recent joiners who are frantically digging over their newly acquired starter plots.
Have you seen how expensive the veg is in the commercial garden centres this year? £1.99 buys you four spindly broad beans or six peas at home base - Incredible when for the same price, you could have bought a pint of broad bean seed from the Suffolk potato fair in February, that’s around a hundred and fifty seeds. The crop you get from four plants would probably cost you the same to buy the beans in a supermarket in the first place. They are taking the royal piss if you ask me.
I may ask the grounds man Bob if I can rent the road that was marked between me and my neighbour.
Like a lot of intentions on the plot, the road never got going, as the width was miscalculated. It’s too narrow to use without driving over my raised beds "Which has happened several times - grrrr". Not this year though, railway Steve gave me a length of steel track which is going to be buried into the corner that gets the worst of it.
Let’s see if they like driving into that instead. I will paint a bright colour so it’s clearly visible though.
First of the 64 sweet corns and 80 borlotti beans poked their heads up from the root trainers yesterday.
27 of the 32 Courgette seeds have germinated. These are from self saved seed from last season’s bumper courgette gluts. A few of them were left to get to monster proportions. The seed was saved for this years planting. They are really nice with a cold one toasted in the oven too with the smallest amount of oil and salt.
8 Market more Cuke's and 12 Dwarf beans have smashed through the soil in their recycled coffee cup pots
50 - OMG - 50 Pepper plants have germinated. It looks like a near on 100% germination rate. I'm going to have to find the time to prick these out and pot then into a root trainer before Sunday.
96 Blue Lake Climbing French beans planted last night.
80 Musselburgh Leeks have been pricked out into three large pots filled with quality compost which will be taken up the plot because space or lack of it is becoming a real issue
A friend has offered the use of his greenhouse in exchange for some of the extras. I tend over plant expecting only fifty percent germination rates but at this rate there’s going to be plenty of happy potholders’ come the seedling swap up the plot in early May.
Last year was my first and I was chuffed to bits that so many people kindly donated their extras to me. Along with paying silly money from garden centres for plug plants. It was the only way I was able to make the plot productive I hope to be able to reciprocate those gifts this year and help out some of the recent joiners who are frantically digging over their newly acquired starter plots.
Have you seen how expensive the veg is in the commercial garden centres this year? £1.99 buys you four spindly broad beans or six peas at home base - Incredible when for the same price, you could have bought a pint of broad bean seed from the Suffolk potato fair in February, that’s around a hundred and fifty seeds. The crop you get from four plants would probably cost you the same to buy the beans in a supermarket in the first place. They are taking the royal piss if you ask me.
I may ask the grounds man Bob if I can rent the road that was marked between me and my neighbour.
Like a lot of intentions on the plot, the road never got going, as the width was miscalculated. It’s too narrow to use without driving over my raised beds "Which has happened several times - grrrr". Not this year though, railway Steve gave me a length of steel track which is going to be buried into the corner that gets the worst of it.
Let’s see if they like driving into that instead. I will paint a bright colour so it’s clearly visible though.
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