We Are the Champions!!!

I suppose when the weather's as bad as it is at the moment there's not much a gardener can do other than catch up on paperwork, plan forthcoming jobs, start some design work... or just mess around on the internet, watch old programmes of River Cottage, drink tea and post on my blog!

Fisrt up, we are now officially the best allotment site in Nottingham, regaining our trophy after last year's disappointment and winning the cup for the third year in four. We won the best site under 8 acres and the best overall site in Nottingham and so eagerly anticipate an invitation to the celebration event usually held at the Council House in September. The site has looked great this year thanks to the hard work and effort of all the plot holders, none more so than Cynthia who undertakes all the management of the site and chivvies us along when it looks like the weeds might be getting the better of us. She also puts up with no small amount of grief from the rest us plot holders and so a large amount of the success can be credited to her and the rest of the management team - well done all!

On the plot front the disappointment of the tomato blight is behind me. Having removed all vestiges of tomato foliage and roots, the soil was in perfect condition after the addition of mushroom compost earlier in the year. A liberal dusting of garden lime and the bed was transformed into my winter brassica patch with early and late purple sprouting broccoli and some brussels sprouts that will hopefuly produce in time for Christmas dinner. Protection from the dreaded pigeons comes in the form of two huge metal crates that held the two tonnes of blue slate walling for a recent landscaping project. So far they are working a treat and the plants are forging ahead with the copious amounts of August and early September rain. I have some spring cabbage and kale for the adjacent bed, which will be limed and planted as before when the weather lets me.

The courgettes have flourished in the wet weather and I picked a crateful of each type yesterday in between the showers. Note to self - I do not need eight courgette plants next year. The Jack O' Lantern pumpkin has four or five decent sized fruits which are just taking on their orange hue, although the single fruit on the 'Mammoth' pumpkin is anything but!

If the sun ever decides to show its face again it will certainly help to ripen the sweetcorn. It is a little later than usual but I anticipate a worthwhile crop in a week or two and there's nothing nicer than freshly picked sweetcorn liberally smeared with butter and with a dusting of cracked black pepper.

One of the most eagerly awaited duets at this time of year is the classic combination of Bramley apple and blackberry, be it as a pie, crumble or simply stewed and served with cream and/ or good vanilla icecream. We've already had several servings to keep on top of the glut and the remaining bramleys are swelling nicely now. Thinning the crop along the way will hopefully mean bigger apples come October, but will also help with the 'what are we going to do with all these apples, sigh?' situation of previous years. Answers on a postcard please to ...

There is not much else in the way of fruit to harvest as the remaining trees and bushes have either done their stuff for the year or are too young to produce. The greengage and Marjorie's Seedling plum have put on good growth so I expect the first fruits to form next year, same goes for the Doyenne du Comice pear. My apricot tree bargain from Aldi has flourished and it will be moved into the greenhouse for the winter once the leaves have fallen to help nurture it through the colder weather and also to protect what is beautiful but frighteningly early blossom. Unfortunately the peach tree bargain never really grew and is no more, but for £3.99 it was worth a try. Maybe I'll buy another next year.

Until the next time, happy gardening and keep the wellies/ waterproofs handy - it looks like we're going to need them!

Disaster...

Blight 1 - 0 Me

The action I took last weekend was to no avail. A visit to the plot this afternoon revealed the extent to which tomato blight can ruin a crop within a week. I was greeted by withered plants, their stems black and buckling, and a crop of wisened fruits falling from the trusses in their droves. I've salvaged what I could of the decent green tomatoes and will use them to make a batch of courgette and green tomato chutney. However, there will be no fresh tomatoes this year save for the three plants I have growing in the blight-free saftey of my garden. Out of courtesy to my fellow plot holders I have cut down and removed all the plants and the fallen fruits and have binned the lot.

I don't think I've ever been as disappointed as a gardener as today. Having grown the plants from seeds several months ago, I have nurtured them throughout their lives, growing them on in ever larger pots, hardening them off in the garden and protecting them from frosts and chill winds, before planting them out on the plot full of hope and anticipation for a bumper harvest...all for nothing.

With hindsight there were probably too many plants in the bed, which prevented air from circulating amongst them and probably contributing to the speed with which the blight struck. I probably could have been more asiduous with the pinching out, allowing too many of the side shoots to grow and adding to the cramped conditions. I probably should have grown the plants in a bed further away from last year's infected crop. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I will learn from all these things next year. But having to rip out all my plants without even tasting a ripe fruit after all that work and effort is a real blow. It also goes to show how fragile the aim of self-sufficiency can be. 'Growing your own' is enjoying a real boom, with many people turning to the health and taste benefits of growing their own organic vegetables. But in reality it only took a week for one of my main crops for the next few months to be ruined to show that, for all the positives, there can also be some negatives and it isn't always as easy as the experts and the tv programmes make it out to be. Oh well, at least I have my courgettes :-)

Courgettes anyone..?

It's about a month since my last post, but in reality not that much has been happening down at the plot. At this time of year there is always a bit of a lull, now that the main growth spurt is over, and fortunately the weeds have slowed up enough for me to just about keep on top of them. It's also been a busy few weeks with the business, so time on the plot other than for harvesting has been at a premium. That said, I undertook a two-hour weeding blitz on Sunday 27th July in preparation for the allotment inspection the following week. Our site lost its 'Best in Nottingham' crown last year, after what can only be described as some rather dubious judging on a terribly wet day, having won the title for the previous two years. The pressure was on this year to regain our prize so I couldn't let the side down. I have to admit that the weeding was more cosmetic than thorough but it appeared effective. The judging was apparently very positive so I'll keep you informed of progress when I know the results.

We've had our fair share of sun and rain over the past month and that combination has brought the courgettes on a treat. They really are producing a huge crop now and we currently have a bucketful of each variety (One Ball and Kojak) that were picked last weekend. There were plenty more embryo fruits still forming so I expect another bumper harvest when I visit the plot tomorrow. Courgette soup anyone?

Another star performer is my Jack O'Lantern pumpkin. It has really started to motor in the past month, with its vines and tendrils reaching far and wide across the plot. I am training the vines as best I can to maximise the growing space available and so as not to swamp its (currently) less vigorous companion - the butternut squash. This flush of growth is now carrying a heavy crop of fruit, so I'm hoping for plenty of football-sized pumpkins come the autumn.

One rather worrying sight has been the beginnings of blight on both the potatoes and tomatoes. Last year's monsoon brought about an early and severe attack which decimated the tomatoes in particular, so last week I took some drastic remedial action and removed about 50% of the leaves from the tomato plants. This won't eradicate the blight completely, but I'm hoping it will stave off its worst effects long enough for the majority of fruits to ripen. The first Sungolds were just starting to change colour last week, so it won't be long before we can dispense with the tasteless, watery offerings from the supermarkets and feast on frest, tasty, homegrown tomatoes for the rest of the summer - hopefully...

Potato blight has become an annual problem on our site, so I'm seriously thinking of growing only first and second early potatoes next year to avoid it altogether. That said, I'm partial to my King Edwards so there might always have to be a small space allocated for them, regardless of blight problems. They should be ready to lift in early September and what they lack in quantity of crop they certainly make up for in quality. They are the 'king' of roasting potatoes and for the past few years we've managed to store some of our harvest long enough to have them for Christmas dinner - yum!

This summer's first decent haul

Today is the first time this year we've come back from the allotment weighed down with produce. It was especially pleasing as our friends came along for the walk and fresh air and went home with a bag of new potatoes, raspberries and lettuce for their tea!

Things still appear to be about 2-3 weeks behind where I'd expect them to be but most plants are now strong and healthy and looking like giving a decent crop. I picked the first handful of French beans today and the runners have loads of pretty red flowers for the bees to pollinate. The courgettes are just starting to bear fruit and we shouldn't need to visit the greengrocer for potatoes or onions again for a long time!

Most exciting for me, the first of my Mammoth pumpkins has set fruit. I have a number of different squashes growing but this is the one that I'm focussing my attentions on. It will have little culinary value, save for supplying a few gallons of pumpkin soup over the winter, with the main aim being to grow as big a pumpkin as I can. I will nurture this first fruit, allow a second to form as a back-up, and then pinch out any further female flowers so the plant can focus its efforts on producing me a whopper! It will be fed weekly with seaweed extract and organic tomato food and be ready for picking some time in early October. I'm not setting any real targets for size, other than I want to carry it off the plot with the help of a wheelbarrow!

Tomorrow I'll be back to the plot to start planting some of the winter veggies. It seems bizarre to be thinking of winter already but they need to go in now to have sufficient time to establish. Musselburgh leeks and some of my sprouts will go in where the broad beans have finished and the Purple Spouting Broccoli will take over from the onions and garlic.

Midsummer update - pigeons and gales!

It's been nearly a month since my last post, namely because I've been incredibly busy with the business. The longest day has been and gone and I should now be in full picking mode. I'm probably a fortnight behind where I'd like to be, but still quite a lot has been happening down at the plot, with most beds now full of plants, so here is a quick resume of the last month or so:

All the tomatoes are in and doing well. They are surrounded by French marigolds and the bed is looking quite pretty. The first flower trusses have appeared and I anticipate a good crop given a half-decent summer.

The courgettes and squashes were planted nearly a month ago and most are doing well. They have sulked a little in the cooler, damper weather of late but a few warm sunny days should see them spread their wings. Unfortunately all of my One Ball courgettes were destroyed by the weekend gales, snapped of at the base, so I've had to pop a few more seeds in and anticipate a late crop.

The various climbing beans have started to wind their way up the supports and the first flowers are setting. They seem to be suffering from the wind, which tends to unravel them, so I've been tying them in with soft twine. I hope for a really good crop of French beans, which seem to be a week or two in adavnce of the runners even at this early stage.

The bl00dy pigeons have decimated my red cabbages, pak choi and kohl rabi. The only survivors are the five or so red cabbages under a cage. I hate using netting, mainly because it's ugly and can also cause problems for birds, but I think it is now a necessity on my plot.

The potatoes are looking really healthy with no signs of blight at this early stage. The first earlies should be ready in a fortnight and then it should be regular cropping until late September, when I'll dig up and store the maincrop.

Finally, the soft fruit is staring to ripen, with strawberries and raspberries leading the charge. The blackbirds have managed more than me so far with just the odd berry ripening, but soon there'll be more than they can eat and I can take over! Looking forward to plenty of fresh fruits then a batch or two of jam.

I've taken a few pictures of the plot so they'll be uploaded when I get the chance. After the pigeon attack and the midsummer gale, here's hoping for some warm sunny weather and a few night time showers to really get things growing. Happy gardening!

Bank Holiday update - beans a plenty?

Around about the late May bank holiday is usually the earliest I would consider to plant out my tender crops. This year we had typical bank holiday weather - three days of grey, cold, cloudy weather with a strong easterly wind more reminiscent of March than late May. Not the ideal weather to plant out beans, courgettes and pumpkins, which were basking in the relative shelter of my plastic greenhouse, but something had to give. Being incredibly busy with work, my visits to the allotment are currently of the fleeting variety, so when a free hour or so became available yesterday afternoon, I had to make use of the time. It was the beans - Polestar, Borlotti, Cobra & Purple Teepee - which went in, probably much to their annoyance, but they were far too large for the greenhouse anyway and some had started to wrap around each other, as climbing beans without anything to climb up tend to do.

I choose to grow mine up wigwams of 5 canes, basically because it makes best use of the space available and also because, unlike many fellow plot holders, I see no need for a 10m double row of runner beans. 5 plants of each type are more than sufficient for us and a few friends and neighbours - after all, there's only so many runner beans you can eat! Also, as I don't have a permanent, dedicated bean trench, I can move my five canes to a space in any bed to fit around my other crop rotations. It is flexible and works for me.

So in they went, with some chicken manure pellets for company and some soft twine to encourage them to climb the canes in the face of a force 8 gale. They were well watered in, although I needn't have bothered as it has rained here ever since! I'll check on them at the weekend, when if it's mild and benign, I might consider putting in a few tomatoes and courgettes. The cucumbers will have to wait at least another couple of weeks as they still look too fragile.

The Darling Buds of May

It's amazing what plenty of rain followed by some warm, sunny weather can do. After a cool early spring, trees, shrubs and hedges are now wearing their bright new green leaves and everywhere is bursting with life.

At the plot, after a frantic few weeks, all the seeds for this year have now been sown, most have germinated, and a hardy few are taking advantage of the current sunny and warm weather.

I have, in no particular order:

Tomatoes - Sungold F1, Gardener's Delight, Golden Sunrise, Alicante.
Chilli - Cayenne Pepper
Cucmbers - Burpless Tasty Green and Crystal Apple.
Courgettes - Kojak F1 and One Ball F1
Squashes and Pumpkins - Cobnut, Mammoth, Gold Nugget, Baby Bear, Jack O' Lantern.
Beans - Cobra, Barlotti 'Lingua di Fuoco', Polestar, Purple Teepee.

The last to emerge will be the Sweetcorn Honey Bantam F1, which currently reside on my window sill in their toilet roll tubes - they only went in last night!

Thanks to a recent decking job I have finished off the last of the raised beds at the allotment. I hope to be down there this weekend to cull the dandelions and get on top of the profusion of weeds before the above plants go in after the late May bank holiday. I plan to take a few pictures and upload them to the blog as I am proud of my efforts this year and there are some lovely sights. 'Best of plot' at the moment must be the fruit trees - the bramley and the morello cherry are full of blossom and the bees are busily working away on the flowers. I anticipate a great crop this year, provided there are no late frosts and I can net the cherries before the blackbird gets them.

We've also picked the first two crops of asparagus - enormous fat spears - and steamed them only an hour or so after picking. They tasted great, but it does make your wee smell funny :-)

Finally, before signing off, a word of warning for anyone who might be tempted to tackle nettles with a strimmer. Make sure your skin is completely covered before trying this. Nettles may sting when you touch them, but boy does it hurt when you are showered with tiny fragments of nettle being blasted by a strimmer. Ouch!