In the field of opportunity.......

It's harvest time again!

The strawberry bed yielded a great crop this year - enough for jam and picking for a good 6 weeks with the odd everbearer still giving a few.

Still struggling to find a good setting strawberry jam but used redcurrant juice as last time and a very gentle set- but still lovely with croissants or on scones!

The cherry produced over 7 kilos of fruit- so a mass freezing, sore fingers from stoning and a search for new recipes- clafoutis always a favourite but cherry and almond pudding and hot cherries with cherry brandy and spices was lovely too.

We have had great success with broad beans, french beans are just beginning but onions only mediocre and garlic pretty pathetic again this year.
Potatoes so far- Internation Kidney and Charlotte good yields but Kestral huge potatoes and a good weight - hope these store well for jackets in the winter!

I made Elderflower Cordial again this year , and rather than waste the lemons and limes decided to try marmalade with them after the soaking and draining- what a success- I used a basic recipe and was slightly worried that because all the fruit was there it would produce a bitter result, but I pulped all the fruit in the blender and used that as the starting point, cooking the fruit with water then adding the sugar and boilling until setting point was reached.

Hot Bed

When we demolished the shed we saved as much wood as we could ( don't like to see any waste!) with the intention of making cold frames and raised beds . During the prolonged cold spring we made  a start.

The sides were made from old walls - easy enough to cut to size and the sides of the cold frames just cut through at the angle we wanted the cold frame cover to be.

The covers were simple frames that we covered with reinforced polythene kindly donated by Rob as a by- product of the building of Cordwood . www.sustainablegarden.blogspot.co.uk

April 2013

With what was left we made a " hot bed" - the sides about 2 feet high and filled with a mixture of manure, leaf mould and compost. The idea is to generate heat from below as the contents rot down and the plants get a good boost. We set seed in this bed - salad leaves, herbs, salad onions and beetroot and the results have been great, we have been picking leaves and herbs for nearly a month with plenty more to come.

Hot bed   - April 2013

The cold frames have really helped us get tomatoes, courgettes, squash and other tender plants off to an early start . The other cold frame we have used to plant up squash to see if it helps bring fruiting on earlier; one of the problems we have always had is the short growing and ripening season for squash.So in this bed we have put - Crown Prince, Golden Hubbard and Musquee de Provence, and because they are in a frame I have been checking for female flowers and giving them a helping hand to pollinate- just in case the bees don't find them!

May Sunshine

I know it's a long time since I last (I want to say set pen to paper! ) wrote an entry on the blog, but we haven't been idle in the allotment or garden. The first of May is officially the beginning of summer and the weather rose to the occasion- lovely and sunny although a slightly chilly breeze. After such a cold start to spring I reckon the gardens are about 3 to 4 weeks behind last year. The weather has been so cold there have been hardly any flying insects to pollinate the plants so it's just as well they weren't out sooner.
Our new cordon fruit trees are just beginning to shoot and in the garden the greengages and cherry are flowering; and luckily we seem to have an influx of pollinators -a mixture of bumble bees, solitary bees and other flying insects. This year of course we have no hives in the garden but still have seen some honey bees.

The spring time is my favourite season in the garden, I love to see the fresh new growth and early flowers. This year we are rejuvenating a couple of areas in the garden and have made some changes in the allotment, of which I am aiming to get up to date with soon on the blog! 

Cordon Fruit Trees

For Christmas this year we bought ourselves fruit trees- last year at the Southwell Apple Day we had been tempted by two apple trees, so it seemed a good idea to add some pears as well and build a frame work to grow them as cordons. The frame is simply made with fence posts with wire at 2 foot heights .

Cordons are grown at a 45 degree angle and the spurs are kept pruned so the trees only fruit on these short   spurs along the trunk. If possible the tree should face north or east to encourage the short spurs to turn to the sun, so obviously tip fruiting trees are unsuitable as each year the growing tips will be removed. Pruning is carried out in August time, the spurs are cut back to either 2 buds- or about 4 inches long. The growing tip is rubbed out when the tree is between 6-8 ft and kept this height.

The trees are supported by bamboo canes at about 3 feet apart. The pears we got were bare rooted so we put them in straight away, but the apple have been in containers so these will go in during the next week or so .

The pears are on Quince C root stock and the apples on M9- we choose Beurre Hardy and Concorde pears- these give different fruiting qualities, will help to pollinate each other and spread out the harvesting time.The apples are Pixie- a small fruited apple but with a good flavour and Reinette d'Orleans - a heritage variety that has a russet look to it, apparently it can be variable fruiting but the flavour was great so we thought it would be worth a try.

'Chitting' Potatoes

A couple of weeks ago we collected our order of potatoes for this year- usually we plant them on Good Friday which this year is the 29th March, quite early in the growing season so we shall have to see how things progress. However the process of 'chitting' the seed potatoes has started- they have been placed in old egg boxes with the best looking 'eyes' or potential shoots facing upwards to the light. We put them out of the way in the spare room so it is cool but getting the light. Gradually green shoots develop and begin to grow until they are ready to plant out

Although there had been rumours of poor quality or scarce seed potatoes for this spring ours seem fine; we have gone for old favourites:

International Kidney- a lovely new potato that we have found develops good sized tubers if left in for longer and is great for jackets.

Kestrel-  a good all rounder

Charlotte- a waxy salad potato that has stored well for us.

Cara- we have not tried Cara before, but last year blight was such a problem that this variety that claims some resistance seemed to worth a go.

Compost Corner

The recent wet weather has meant we have been unable to get on the ground at the allotment so we are pleased that the compost bays were complete before a stream began to flow through the middle of the plot.

There are four bays allowing for rotation and turning, leaves are delivered to the allotments in the autumn and these along with layers of manure compost down in about a year or so. Leaves on their own give good soil conditioner but not much nutrition so mixing them with manure gives a good all round finished compost.

In to the other bays and 2 black bins go annual weeds, trimmings and prunings and some of the compostable rubbish from home. Along with the wormery we are doing fairly well in cutting down what we ahve to throw away!

New Shed

Once the old shed had been demolished the tricky bit of levelling the site remained. Luckily Mike and Eileen were there to help - a big thank you to them both for their help in taking down the new shed from its old plot, moving and re-assembling it on Plot 87!

It makes a big difference- there is potentially more space at the top of the allotment- we hope to open it out and move the blackberry and tayberry to have a bit of standing ground for plants and maybe a potting bench- all plans for the future. We have already started work on the new compost area at the bottom of the allotment and hope to get the new cordon fruit trees in before too long. 

On the bee front - all the hives seem busy whenever we see them, I am not completely happy that the supplies they have taken in are going to be enough, we have hefted the hives to gauge the weight and will keep a close eye on them to see if or when feeding will be necessary. Some of the colonies were very small which is an added concern, we shall just have to wait and see! I have had my 2nd dose of venom in the de-sensitisation program and so far no problems!

Shed Demolition

So this week the shed demolition began- it looks old, rotten and ready to go -but whoever put it up had made a good job, using 6 inch nails all over the place!

Windows gone and stripped out.

The corrugated tin roof did not want to come off - but we hope to use it in a new compost area.

Just missed the greenhouse, but mostly down!

It took nearly 2 days to get to the cutting up stage- luckily the association was having a tidy up of other gardens and a fire was planned and we were able to burn all the bits that were rotten or couldn't be used again. The next step though is probably hardest- clearing the ground and levelling for the new shed- watch this space!!

Autumn on the Allotment

Over the past few weeks we have been fairly busy - a relaxing holiday in the Cotswolds with Gemma, followed by a lovely  visit from Rebecca, Adam and our Grandsons.

Another Cotswold village!

Sherwood Forest

The bees have been treated for varroa and fed until they seem like they're full- oddly the hives we have experimentally tried feeding with their own honey don't seem to have taken much down and we are not sure why. Some of the colonies were quite small as they had decided to re-queen late in the year- they have taken stores down but still have space to keep warm with fewer bees- it remains to be seen how they will fair over winter. The weather has been mild and every time we have visited them they are busy flying- lots of ivy is flowering nearby so they will have been collecting this to add to what we have fed them.

When we took over our allotment plot about 7 years ago there was a resident shed- slightly at an angle and the sort of arrangement often seen on allotments - 2 sheds cobbled together!  The general consensus was that it wouldn't last long! Over the years though it had settled and stood it's ground. This autumn though it was leaking, our seed had been eaten and we decided to replace it. to look at you'd think it could be pushed down but the shed wasn't going to go without a fight!

Venetian Carrot Cake

For the recent Allotment Show refreshments were provided and I made some carrot cake- I used the Hummingbird Bakery recipe (http://hummingbirdbakery.com/)  it was delicious and moist, but I also came across a recipe from Nigella for a gluten free carrot cake- and decided to give this a try as well , (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/gluten-free_and_11807 ) as it has no flour there are lots of ground almonds alongside the carrots and sultanas in rum! Instead of butter the cake also uses olive oil- it specifies regular olive oil, as I only had extra virgin oil I thought I would give some cold pressed rape seed oil a try- on the bottle it suggests using in place of butter in baking.

The results were delicious- not a light sponge but a fairly dense and rich cake- I would make it again for the right occasion , but the Hummingbird recipe is lovely as an everyday easy carrot cake - I made it as a tray bake with a small amount of the cream cheese frosting on top which worked brilliantly and was much easier to eat outdoors than the layered cake in the book.

Wormery

I have long promised myself a wormery and as the compost bin in the garden was on the verge of collapse it seemed the perfect time to get a wormery to put in the garden to cope with the waste we produce in the kitchen. So I ordered a wormery from Wiggly Wigglers (www.wigglywigglers.co.uk) and this week I have set it up! It fits neatly next to the recycling bins, is easy to to set up and the worms are fascinating. Most of the things that we would put on the compost can go in, as well as things like dust from the vacuum cleaner.

Adding worms!

When the worms have settled in it is OK to start adding waste. Not too much to start with, the worms need a chance to get going - but to keep the wormery fresh it is a good idea to add crushed egg shells or lime mix regularly to stop everything getting too acid. We keep a caddy in the kitchen to collect the waste so it is more convenient to go to the wormery when that is full. An important spin off to getting lovely compost to use in the garden or allotment is that the worms produce liquid feed that can be drained off and diluted to water on the fruit and veg!

Worm Cafe in use

Preserving

Having arrived back from our holidays to find the weather had not improved we were surprised to find loads of strawberries- we picked 8 punnets of lovely ripe fruit!
As there were too many to eat fresh I decided to make some strawberry conserve- I used fresh redcurrant juice from some redcurrants that I had in the freezer to help with setting and the jam set beautifully and I also found a use for some of the many redcurrants that I still have stored!

As well as the strawberries the cherries were starting to ripen on the tree- and the birds were having a feast. We decided to pick as any as we could - again a really good crop. I love the idea of preserving - a row of jars,  tins or bags full of things ready to store to eat later gives me a real sense of satisfaction. (Simple pleasures!!) So, something I have never done before- cherries in brandy- I followed an age old recipe by Mrs Beeton, basically pack the cherries in to jars with layers of sugar and top up with brandy. Very easy but after a couple of weeks the cherries have gone an anaemic colour- the recipe says to leave them a couple of months - I was hoping to use them at Christmas. We will just have to wait and see if the bottle of brandy was worth the expense!!

First Strawberries

Marshmallow strawberries- hopefully the first of many.

With the summer getting off to such an unpredictable start it's not wonder that our crops on the allotment  are all over the place- the asparagus seems to have completely given up and we have just picked the first few strawberries!

Only a few spears of asparagus have shown themselves so far this year!

The greengage tree in the garden has lost all its fruit in the storms and late cold spell, although it looks as if the Victoria plum may have some fruit to come later in the season. The Stella cherry has fruit, a reasonable crop if we can get it- I've just realised we have booked to go away just at the time we picked last year- hopefully with the season being so out of sorts they will still be there when we get back!

Pollinators

At this time of year the strawberries are beginning to flower, the blueberries are waiting to be pollinated, broad beans bursting with blooms- but on Monday on the allotment, not a sign of any pollinators flying. The weather (again) cold for the time of year. The forcast for this week is for sun and heat so hopefully there will be evidence of those insects we rely on doing their jobs!!


Strawberries- beautiful pink flowers!



Blueberries- lots of flowers, lets hope for a good crop!

This year we have planted a whole bed of strawberries, some Marshmellow, some of the everbearing varieties such as Albion and a late harvester called Florence- a delicious variety we tasted last year. Later in the year I hope to say which is the best after having tasted lots!!

Purple Sprouting Brocolli

Easter is traditionally the time to plant potatoes and this Good Friday we took the seed potatoes to the allotment ot plant. We have been busy making 3 new raised beds and used one of these as a potato bed. We are growing 3 of our favourites- International Kidney, Charlotte and Kestrel. Last years crop was great and we are still using up the last few stores.
Still cropping- we have a few leeks, chard is sprouting fresh leaves and the past month has seen us cropping one of very favourite vegetables- Purple Sprouting Brocolli.

Happy New Year

Today - the 2nd of January we spent an hour or two tidying up the asparagus bed at the allotment. Amazingly there were a couple of spears that are edible! The bed was given a good weed, all the old plants were cleared and then everything was given a good top dressing with the two year old leaf compost. Although it was cold, the sun was out and it was really satisfying to get the bed into shape. There is plenty to do on the allotment but the ground is very wet underfoot, this is when the bed system comes into it's own. The rotted leaf mould is beautifully friable now- Trev was able to clear a space ready for some more manure when it is available, as they say it's all in the muck! We also came back with rocket, beetroot and some leeks. There is also some purple sprouting broccoli almost ready for cutting and some rainbow chard that I need to give some thought to cooking. Exciting times on the allotment!!

Summer Fruit

I have not been able to get to the allotment in about a week- our youngest daughter had her 30th birthday this weekend so we had a great visit to Portsmouth to see the family and have lots of cake!!!
However the summer fruits have been cropping beautifully- the cherry tree in the garden has the biggest crop so far- have the bees made a difference to pollination? There have been strawberries for about 3 weeks now and yesterday Trev came home with raspberries and tayberries.


The broad beans are cropping and Trev made a lovely broad bean and bacon salad to go with the salad leaves for tea, alongside his homemade stilton and walnut rolls- what a treasure!!




Today's haul!

 

Spring Forage

The unseasonal weather has meant a strange spring on the allotment - things have come on much earlier than usual we have been able to get things planted early. However, last week the weather had a surprise in the form of an overnight frost. The tips of the potatoes were knocked back, luckily Trev had put some fleece over them so that was the only damage. We are still able to cut leeks, asparagus and new this year and a real star- white sprouting broccolli, a heritage variety that we thought had been lost by the bad weather over winter, it has begun cropping like mad and is delicious! It has been steamed, stir fried and cooked in quiche with Shropshire blue cheese. Today there was so much I am going to freeze some rather than let it go to flower on the plant.

Just June

Picked asparagus and the first strawberries on Saturday- just what summer ought to be, although now the rain is pouring down outside-this is obviously the type of summer it's going to be.We planted out the sweetcorn and squash so they have had a good watering in,hopefully they are not standing in water like last week.