The Penguin
Just to show it is not all work, I could not resist showing Lianna’s penguin made from vegetables. Four weeks earlier and I think it could have been a worthy contender in the Bathford Flower Show.
This was after a hard morning helping me to harvest and also clear the peas and sweetpeas to leave room to put the strawberry runners. Not sure how many will take but we’ll see.
Strawberry runners
Crown Prince pumpkins
I decided not compete on size this year and just as well having seen the monsters growing. Instead we chose these blue / green pumpkin called Crown Prince. Only two pumpkins out of three plants so not really sure where I went wrong apart from lack of water.
cucumber
Decorative gourds
These are amazing and great value from just five plants. This is still the same 79p packet from Lidl last year and there is enough seed for next year. There are at least another half dozen on the plants including a light green bottle type. The only snag is that when sowing or transplanting I have no idea what I will get until they form the fruit.
There must be some secret ingredients here since I have never been able to grow carrots before but my grandaughter Lianna gave me some for my birthday last year and success at last.
Lianna with carrots
She also helped with digging up the Main crop Desiree potatoes around 26Kg in total. Also shown here are the second early Kestrel which I left drying far too long. Out of sight (in the garage) is another full 25kg bag of first earlies Pentland Javelin from some time earlier.
Second and main crop potatoes
As a consolation prize here is the infamous “duck potato” mentioned last time!
Duck Potato
Well, thanks to my granddaughter Lianna, I decided I really ought to enter for the show even though the entries had to be in on Wednesday and my sister Rosemary’s funeral was on the Thursday. A regular forced day off on Friday left time to recover from that and Saturday morning saw me rushing around picking and selecting.
Here is the unexpected result – a second prize to go with my first from last year. This year the onions arrived just days after leaving for holiday and so they sat in a jiffy bag by the back door for nearly three weeks gradually rotting. I decided to plant up what I could and managed to lift around 45 New Fen Globe and 55 Red Baron that were reasonable.
The day of the show and I desperately tried to find three matching onions in reasonable condition and this was the result. Next year may be less daunting and I’ll try to do a better job of whipping the necks.
Also unexpected was the third prize for these runner beans – Aintree. They have been erratic but again I managed to find five similar ones to display.
Just to show that everything isn’t always easy, I also entered french beans, courgettes, beetroot, shallots and the longest runner. I was going to enter the cucumber but it was only about 5 inches long and I preferred to let it grow and eat it.
I also was in trouble as I forgot to enter the novelty potato that we dug. A Desiree shaped like a classic rubber duck.
Next year I might try the “4 veg in a seed tray” to show off the others such as garlic and squash that look and taste so good.
After last years prize winning pumpkin but less than thrilling squash I am pleasantly surprised by the first Festival squash picked on Monday night. About 5 – 6 inches but aesthetically wonderful. Several more on their way but some time off I think. Other cucurbits are coming along but not photogenic yet. (cucumbers, pumpkins and decorative gourds)
My sister is very ill and so this and other family issues leave little time for the allotment at the moment but it is still wonderful to be able to sit and think by the chamomile lawn and lavender bush and keep the stress down. Joan bought an echinacea plant after seeing it on mtp a couple of weeks back but it is in the garden at the moment until I decide exactly where it should go to add to the sense of calm.
It is very reassuring to see that the allotment will produce its bounty even without me attacking the weeds. I just need to remember that I do need to sow or plant first.
Below is a selection of lettuce ( Webbs Wonderful, Lollo Rosso and others), peas (Hurst Green Shaft – not impressed so far), runner beans ( Aintree ), courgettes (Pomodoro and AN Other), beetroot (Chioggia) and carrot thinnings.
The onions will need to be lifted soon as the necks have all gone over. No prizes this year I suspect!
Summer Selection
I also cut back almost all of my tomatoes in the garden yesterday as the blight had got to them. I’ll try to save those few left but interestingly of the four varieties, only the cherry type ( Red Alert) was least affected. The left over plants that I put in the mini greenhouse look more promising now even though they are still in 4″ pots and on a liquid diet.
Black Red and White currants
Eschallot Grise
The shallots have dried out nicely so I trimmed them to about 3 ins and will hang them in the string bag. About 1.5 Kg (189 bulbs) from 12 surviving plants. I lost four to rot and then another before I decided to cut my losses and lift them several weeks ago.
The broad beans plants were all lifted and some left over runner and french beans put in their place as a second crop.
Lollo Rosso and Winter Density lettuces doing well in their nursery between the leeks. Also just sown Webbs Wonderful, Ice King, Mixed Shades and Salad Bowl to give me some later lettuces.
Just to show that there are other things going on – a shot from the North East corner looking up and across the allotment.
Broad Beans
Back from holiday towards the end of April and at last there is a chance of broad beans this summer.
Just to show that the garlic and shallots planted last November are still going strong along with the weeds!
Also in the background is the rhubarb – Timperley Early – chucked in the ground last year before finalising the plan. We had that a week ago in a rhubarb and almond crumble and it was excellent.
Sweet Peas
Too many other events in life so just a little later than planned.
At the end of March and just before leaving for a holiday my sweetpeas arrived from Simply Sweet Peas. I could not expect them to survive in the packaging so though it best to get them in the ground.
The hazel sticks came from next door and I spent Monday and Tuesday night before the holiday carting most of the tree onto the plot. The left group are the “heirloom” so should be very fragrant next to the bench. The others are “blue skies” and are more modern blue ones for cutting.
The lettuces in the front are Webbs Wonderful that lasted through the winter under a cloche and still tasted good last week.
Garlic
Sundays weather was changeable to say the least. From cold to sunny to heavy rain to sleet and back to sun again.
At least some things are working well on the plot. Above shows the Albigensian garlic and behind that the Purple Moldovan that was planted in November.
Eschallot Grise
Also going well are the Eschallot Grise planted around the same time.
The Elephant garlic has yet to show but I may have planted that deeper.
Slightly disappointing is that a number of the potatoes that have been chitting for a while now have gone rotten. No idea why but they are all from the same supplier. Others I bought from a different supplier are much healthier and are likely to go in “real soon now”
Jerusalem Artichokes
Finally got back onto the plot this weekend and decided to clear some of the rubbish. Three apparently dead Jerusalem Artichoke plants yielded the lovely harvest above and also half a dozen potatoes left over from last August that look good enough to eat.
The stainless steel spade works wonders on the clay I have in many places at the moment. I should have bought one ages ago. It is noticeably easier to work where I added manure last year so in a few years the whole plot should be happier.
I’ve dug over two of the potato beds and covered one with fleece to get a head start. I’ve got carried away this year with Pentland Javelin first earlies and Kestrel seconds. I then couldn’t resist some Desiree main crop from Lowden Nurseries and finally fell for some Swift very earlies which are in planters to beat the lot.
I should be getting the onions later this month so I have dug over and levelled one of the beds for that but then wanted to plant the bulb of Solent Wight I bought in the Isle of Wight last year. I’m interested to see how it performs against the other garlic that I planted in November that is looking good so far.
The broad beans are still showing few signs. Just three are poking their heads up from the 96 I planted in modules and none from the second sowing in the ground yet.
The Purple Sprouting broccoli is showing signs of recovery having been netted again to keep the pigeons away.
Last but not least I still have the last of the parsnips and sprouts to collect before they finally rot, and I lifted the first of the leeks. There are still swedes (admittedly small) and cabbages that I cannot see will be ready before next winter.
Hopefully I’ll get a bit more time as the days lengthen but lets hope the economy doesn’t mean I have too much time!
