Organic Allotment

Garlic Time

We planted garlic at the allotment today. We would have liked to have done it earlier but the weather has been so awful that there hasn't been a chance. We planted half the bulbs straight into the ground and the other half into small pots in the greenhouse - it's the first time we've done it like this so it'll be interesting to see if the plants with the extra pampering indoors are any better than the ones that have to tough it out in the great outdoors. We've also got some soft neck garlic to plant but that doesn't go out until spring so we'll be keeping the bulbs in a cool, dark place until then.

If you haven't planted your garlic yet there's still time until the end of the month. It likes a weed-free, sunny bed in well drained soil so it can be good to add sharp sand to improve drainage if your soil is on the heavier side. We bought our bulbs from a company based on the Isle of Wight but you should be able to pick them up at your local garden centre. You could of course plant bulbs from the supermarket but there's no guarantee of how good the results will be. You need to separate the cloves then push them into the soil about 3cm deep, with the pointed tip upper-most. They need 10-20cm between bulbs depending on the size of the garlic. You may find that, when they start to produce green shoots, the birds won't be able to resist pulling them up. If they do just make a little hole and push them back into the ground.

I love growing garlic because it really does taste better than any you can buy and is a crop that you can easily be self sufficient in. The bulbs in the picture are from this year's harvest and will keep us going until the ones that we've just planted are ready to be picked next summer.

Vanishing of the Bees

Last night I went to see Vanishing of the Bees a new film that has been supported by the Co-operative. The film investigates the plight of the bee with particular focus on colony collapse disorder that has decimated bee communities across the United States. Worryingly similar symptoms are also being detected in bee hives all over the world, including here in the UK. The film is beautifully made but also terrifying at the prospect of what will happen if we don't do something to protect out bees. What the film really showed me is how important gardeners and allotment holders now are to help save the bee. Providing that we haven't left it too late to halt this devastating collapse in their communities....

The film made me really sad at the mess that we are making of our planet, and that many people seem determined to continue making, but it also prompted me to have a think of what we can all do to make the world into the kind of place that bees are able to live a happy and prosperous life. Here are some things that I will be doing to help them and I hope you will be able to do some of them too:

• Only buy food that is seasonal - the pesticides and industrial farming used to grow crops out of season are bad news for the health of bees (and probably for our own health too)
• Buy food from local farmers where possible to support a diverse plant ecology that bees love and to support your local farming infrastructure.
• Only buy British honey to support our beekeepers.
• Buy organic were possible and campaign for better research into pesticides and the effects that they have on eco-systems.
• Try and have flowers in your garden as much of the year as possible so that bees always have something to eat. Here's a list of what they really like.
• Think about keeping bees yourself.

And what's the significance of the picture? Bees are the emblem of my city (Manchester) so it seemed an apt place to use a snap of one of the beautiful bee mosaics that are featured all over Manchester Town Hall.

Fair Exchange

This morning I went to visit a friend of my Dad's who had offered to give me some advice on some work that I am currently developing. Obviously there is nothing I like better than spending Saturday morning talking about accountancy and finance and there was no motivation in my visit at all to get to have a look at their beehive...! When I go to visit people I always like to take some produce along as a gift if I can so today I took one of my Turks Turban winter squash. One of the best things about growing things is having enough to share with other people and the pleasure it gives them to receive some fresh veg, a bunch of cut flowers or a jar of home made jam - simple things in life but still the best!

Today was a particularly good day because, as I mentioned earlier, my squash was in exchange for a look at my host's bees - firing me up even further that honey is the next produce that I want to have a go at harvesting so this is where I will be going in spring to start putting that plan into action! In addition to that John and Pat are also keen growers themselves so I went away with this beautiful, sweet bunch of grapes that they grew in their conservatory. I can tell you they didn't last long after I took the photo...

Nosing Around

I love having a look at other people's allotments. It's fascinating to see what they're growing and the way that they lay out their plot. I'm also interested in the solutions they've found to get water to their plot or the constructions that have been created to act as sheds and greenhouses. Whether I get a fleeting glance from a train or bus window or can poke my head over a fence to look more closely it always puts me in a good mood to see a well cared for allotment flourishing.

I was up in Berwick-Upon-Tweed a week or so ago and that's where I saw these wonderful allotments right in the centre of town. For those of you who have never visited Berwick, it is a beautiful, old walled town right on the border between England and Scotland. As with many similar places like York and Chester space is limited within the walls so many houses do not have gardens at all; historically most growing would have taken place outside the walls with people living inside the walls for protection. This lack of space is what makes it all the more admirable that the people of Berwick have managed to find space to squeeze in these allotments; and they've been there for some time by the look of the big old wall that surrounds them.

Out of a matter of interest the house that you can see on the right of the picture has its own interesting story to tell. Lowry used to spend a lot of time on holidays in Berwick and did many paintings up there. In fact, he loved it so much that he wanted to move up there and this house is the place that he really wanted to live. Unfortunately this never happened but, if it had, we may have had some atmospheric Lowry paintings of allotments inspired by the view he would have had out of his window!

Ups And Downs

It's getting to that time of year when it's all busy, busy, busy tidying up the plot in anticipation of the onset of winter. It may be a time that marks the end of one growing year but for me that isn't a bad thing because it also marks the beginning of another new one with seeds to be chosen, garlic to be planted and plans to be drawn up of what will be going where in the new year. This means that it is also a good time to have a think back and consider what has done well and what has been a disaster in the season that is drawing to a close. So, here it is for me...

Success Stories

Florence Fennel - the best year ever for this. Plenty of big, fat tasty bulbs and still going strong so we've got much more crunchy aniseed fun to come!

Swede - okay, so these aren't so exciting but I really love them and it's the first time I've ever grown them so I'm pretty proud of the results.

Pumpkins and Squash - a slow start with these but they're finally doing excellently, with just enough time left for them to ripen before it gets too cold.

Sunflowers - not a veg I know but I grow loads of cut flowers and these have been amazing this year. We've had big bunches of friendly, sunny blooms in the house pretty much constantly since mid-summer.

Big Fat Failures

Celery - it all started so well.. Then the weather got cold at the beginning of summer and the plants fell into a state of suspended animation that they have never recovered from.

Sweetcorn - the squirrels got to them before I did.

Tomatoes - ruined by blight again... Not sure what the answer to this is. It may mark the final year of tomatoes at the allotment though. I think we'll have a better chance of success in the garden so that's the plan for next year. I've got everything crossed that this will work...