Organic Allotment

A Well Stocked Cold Frame

The seedlings are really racing ahead now after the spell of sunny weather that we've had. I've had a good tidy out in the greenhouse today and moved the bigger ones into the cold frame to make room for the little ones that are coming through. In this picture you can see kale, turnips, beets and parsnips which will all soon be ready for the move out into the big wide world.

For the kale and parsnips these are the only ones that I'll plant this year, though I have got another batch of parsnips that I started straight in the ground. In a week or two I'll put them outside where they'll stay right through the winter until we're ready to eat them. For the beets and turnips they are just the first batch of many that will be planted in succession throughout the season so that I've got the longest possible harvest. I'm trying five different varieties of beetroots which will be planted in roughly fortnightly intervals, with the same regime used for my turnips.

It may seem a bit of bother to spread things out like this but it is really worth the effort to extend your picking season, no matter how small a plot you're working on.

Cauliflower Challenge

I’ve never grown cauliflowers before so was really pleased to accept these cauli seedlings that I was given by my allotment neighbour, Brian. I’ve always heard that they’re quite tricky to grow but Brian assured me that they’re not so bad if you prepare the soil properly and make sure they’re not allowed to dry out if things get parched in the summer.

I should probably point out at this juncture that our neighbour is extremely good at growing everything he plants. He did have a couple of cucumber plants that died on him last summer, but only when I was looking after them for him when he was away on holiday. He’s one of the old hands at the allotments and has had real experience of growing most veg knowing when’s best to put things in and what grows well where. In fact he’s been a font of all knowledge since I took on the plot and I’ve now come to accept that if he hasn’t got his onions in yet or put out his runner beans I probably shouldn’t be doing either.

This isn’t to say that I just copy everything he does – I’m not an allotment stalker! It’s all organic on our plot and his isn’t. When I first moved on I suspect he thought some of my methods were frankly crazy but now that I’ve got a couple of years’ successful growing under my belt he does occasionally ask me questions about stuff I’m doing on the plot. The caulis will be a test though. Will ours turn out as well as Brian’s? I’ll keep you posted…

Winter Oaks

Last spring when I was tidying up the plot I found a couple of acorns which must have been buried by a squirrel during the winter months and which were well and truly sprouted and fighting for life. One of my big problems as a gardener is that I can't stand to let any plants die if I can possibly help it so I decided that the best course of action was to pot them up and see how they got on. As seems typical with an unplanned or not strictly wanted plant they flourished, grew tiny oak leaves in summer, shed them in autumn and did great over the winter to such an extent that they're now nearly out growing their little pots.

The problem I now face is to find a home for my 6 tiny oak trees! Clearly I can't plant them on my allotment or in my garden because there simply isn't enough room - it's a big deal growing a tree the size of an oak and I think there's nothing worse than seeing a tree squashed in where there isn't really space. Another option is to plant them in the woodland park next to the allotments and see how they get on but I'm quite attached to them now and don't know what chances they'd have of survival in the big, wide world. Maybe the best possibility is to put them on Freecycle (if I can't get rid of them there I never will) and pass on the responsibility and guilt to another unsuspecting gardener.

A Little TLC

A rhubarb plant or two is a common sight on allotments everywhere but as a plant it is much neglected (well it certainly has been on my plot anyway). Part of the problem is that pretty much whatever abuse you throw at it it'll carry on growing so its needs often get forgotten in the wake of the demands of more demanding crops. It is probably this lack of care, combined with the rotten weather, that meant that I had a less than glorious harvest last year; there was lots of rhubarb but it was a bit weedy and the stems weren't strong at all.

This year I decided to buck the trend and give my rhubarb bed a little TLC and if you want to do this now is the perfect time of year. I had a general tidy around the bed as well as giving each crown a good covering of about 3 to 4 inches of garden compost which will serve to give them a good feed but also protect the early growth from any frost in the coming months. Now is also the time to have a go at forcing rhubarb as well if that's your thing; I've never done it myself but it means that the stems are more tender, sweeter and don't need to be peeled.

All you need to have a go is a container to exclude light - anything will do like a dustbin, a big plant pot, a bucket... If you place this over the rhubarb as soon as it begins to show signs of growth the lack of light and the heating effect of the container will rapidly bring on the rhubarb and it should be ready for eating in about four weeks, a good month or so before rhubarb that is not forced. When the rhubarb is picked (or it outgrows the covering) remove the covering and leave the rhubarb to recover for next year.

Pretty in Pink

As the nights get longer and the leaves on the trees start falling there isn't much colour left on the plot. A few hardy calendula are still hanging in there and the nasturtiums will stick around until the first frost but for colour at this time of year the humble chard is hard to beat. This variety is called Bright Lights and the colour on the leaves has to be seen to be believed - the photo can't even do it justice. They come in vibrant reds, yellows, oranges and pinks and they're fairly hardy as well so, in our increasingly warm winters, they'll probably hold their own right until spring.

Chard is a veg that you don't often see in supermarkets because it doesn't last so long once it's picked. That's their loss though because chard has a brilliantly earthy taste and you'd be hard pushed to get a healthier leaf. The leaves are pretty much the same as spinach in with regard to cooking but the colourful stems need a little more time so best to separate the two and cook them on their own. Tasty stuff and looks good enough to grow in your flowerbeds as well.

Catalan Veg Plot

We've had a break from our allotment spending the last two weeks in Catalonia. We had a week with my friend in Barcelona and a week walking in the Pyrenees. I don't know if it's just me but whenever I'm away I love seeing other people's gardens to get an idea of what they're growing and possibly pick up some tips to take home. On this theme we stayed at the most beautiful campsite in a village called Espot which had the feeling of somebody's garden that you were allowed to camp in.

All the camping plots were surrounded by beds of marigolds, dahlias and cosmos, with apple and pear trees for shade and an amazing veg plot which was fairly small but packed with a huge selection of veg. It reflected the style of the veg gardens throughout the village and was particularly nice because all surplus veg was for sale in the teeny "supermercat" in the village. Despite what greenwashed advertising campaigns to the contrary  may try to persuade us is true, you certainly don't get a service like that in my local supermarket - no, not event in the "finest range".

And the other good thing about the garden? It was a real conversation starter with the lovely couple who owned the campsite giving me a perfect opportunity to try out my less than perfect Spanish. The universal language of gardening you see - it means that you've always got something to talk about to fellow gardeners, regardless of the fact that that may be the only thing that you've got in common and it's one of the things that I love most about being a grower.

Just Add Sun.

The tomatoes in the greenhouse are coming on a pace - I can hardly believe they're the same tiny little things that were planted in February. The cool weather has actually been of some benefit to them because it's meant their soil hasn't been drying out so no blossom end rot for now!

These San Marzano plum tomato plants are being pinched out and grown as cordons but we've also left a couple of plants to go wild to see if the difference in yield is significant enough to justify the different in manpower involved in their upkeep. There's still a long way to go but it's looking neck and neck at the moment. What we really need now is a bit of sun to start ripening the fruit and it shouldn't be too long before we're finally eating homegrown tomatoes again.

The View From The Shed...

...In one word - horrible. Tried to spend a bit of time on the allotment this weekend but the torrential rain kept stopping play. The weather's been a disaster for loads of my crops as well. I've had to pull the onions because they were showing signs of white rot, which is always more of a problem in wet and warm weather but on the other hand it isn't warm enough for the courgettes - I've only picked two which is pitiful bearing in mind that this time last year we were picking about thirty a day!

My squash plants look really unhappy as well - they're desperate for a bit of sun and some warmth which is a real disappointment because they're one of my favourite things to grow. And as for the sweetcorn - they're ready to be planted out but the chance of them doing anything in this weather is pretty much non existent.

Fingers crossed for some sun then...

Protection

The growing of vegetables is so fraught with possible mishaps that it's a wonder that anything ever makes it from plot to table! Take for example these calabrese. First of all it was too cold to plant them out so I started them off in the greenhouse but they hate having their roots disturbed so need to be planted in paper pots so this doesn't happen when they get planted out. In addition to this they're also very sensitive to being transplanted in hot weather so you need to pick a coolish day to move them to make sure they don't wilt and die. If you successfully overcome these hurdles as soon as they're outside is when the real challenges start...

Nice young brassicas are one of the favourite snacks for slugs on my plot so the cup you can see in the middle of the picture is a beer trap to keep them at bay. The wood pigeons that live in surrounding trees also enjoy giving them a peck and nibble which means they need to be netted as soon as they're planted out and this also serves as protection from cabbage white butterflies whose offspring will demolish a bed of calabrese or any brassica in no time. If that isn't enough regular watering is crucial for them to form the heads of broccoli that you're aiming for.

Simple isn't it? If you make it past all of that your final challenge is to decide how you want to cook it and sit back and enjoy your meal!

Rain At Last!

The pictures on this blog may lead you into the belief that the sun always shines in Manchester. Sadly this isn't actually the case and, after the really hot weather in April, May has been a much more cool and soggy affair. The main benefit of this has been that everything on the plot is growing really well but at the moment it's the flowers that are the star of the show.

The alliums that I planted are all coming through in the herb garden and the oriental poppies look within days of flowering - I'll post a picture as soon as they're ready. And not to be out done the trees at the bottom of the plot in our little woodland garden are now covered in leaves, creating a peaceful haven where you feel like you could be miles away from anywhere. It's bliss!

I'm not neglecting the vegetables totally but at the moment they're no competition in the beauty stakes! I suppose that's the great thing about growing veg though - the expectation of great things to come. Take my potatoes for example which are in this picture. They aren't amazing to look at at the moment but I still can't get over the excitement of digging them - you put one in the ground and get maybe ten more in return if you're lucky. Simple pleasures I know but it still fascinates me!