Mike's Allotment Diary

Update at last!!!

2011-09-27T20:58:00.000Z

Rosemary Russet

2011-09-27T20:54:00.001Z

Fruit etc...

2011-09-27T20:46:00.001Z

Again these are catch-up pics as I haven't been able to get to the lottie for a week or so until this morning...These are the last few Margorie's seedling plums. Sadly they shrivelled rather than ripened further on the kitchen windowsill.

This is the first of the 'Annie Elizabeth' on the left and the best of the 'Rosemary Russet' on the right which has a large damaged area on the other side so needed picking early.

More 'James Grieve' windfalls...

...and still getting plenty of runner beans.

Visitor...

2011-09-27T20:35:00.004Z

Andrew came over a week or two ago and helped with the runner beans amongst other things. Cheers Ange...:-)

HFW Chicken pot roast

2011-09-27T17:06:00.001Z

I used the first leeks of the season to make Hugh's pot roast chicken again.

Misc....

2011-08-24T00:54:00.002Z

Nice to see the flags flying again...the greenery behind the bed to the left is comfrey which I use for making liquid feed in the dustbin you can just see behind the post.
The green compost bin in the centre of the picture is for forcing rhubarb in the sping.

The yellow plastic is supposed to be protecting decking for the new bed until I get round to constructing it but it has been there so long it is in holes - so the wood may be damp and warped as well. Must move this bed up my list of priorities - it too would be a good bed for brassicas as it has definately not been planted with any for several years.

today I cut the lawn - always a triumph!

Here you can see the courgette/Summer/Winter squash bed. The yellow patty pan squash plant in the centre (at each side) are succumbing to mildew and yellowing leaves more quickly than the courgettes. I will soon do what I did last year when this happened which is to remove the plants to make more room and extra ventilation for the remainder. It is easier to pick the yellow squash this way anyway as the growth is rather congested in comparison the the usual Romanesco courgettes.

Something Missing...?

2011-08-24T00:44:00.002Z

Is there something wrong with this picture?

Spot the difference! Not as good as the ones Kevin and Irene brought back from Tibet for me but rather pretty all the same.

Apples, plums, tidying up...

2011-08-22T23:24:00.002Z

These plums still have a way to go before they are ready for picking.

These three Rosemary Russet apples look absolutely beautiful in the late Summer sunshine.

I have made a start in tidying up this area at the back of the allotment - it is the best place to sit as it is the first place you can get out of the sun if it is hot.

Potato apple bean update...

2011-08-22T22:59:00.004Z

I dug the remainder of the potatoes today after having left them with the haulm removed for a couple of days due to blight...

...some nice ones but they are generally rather small this year.

These beans we had the other day were lovely.

The James Grieve are still wind-falling for fun - delicious fresh though when you cut out the bad bits.

Kale & Hearty...

2011-08-22T22:46:00.004Z

A couple of days ago I thinned out the Curly and Tuscan Kale after they did unexpectedly well after having been 'heeled in'for a couple of months...

...much better but still a bit more crowded than they ould be if I had planted them out properly - they looked rather sorry specimens at the time and I thoght I'd just see how they did andplant them out elsewhere later if they looked ok...

I kept some plants to put in at my leisure in buckets with a bit of water at the bottom...will probably put a few in where the potatoes came out of today - and hopefully find homes for some of the others - Mike said he was after some kale pants when I saw him the other day but I had forgotten about these at the time!

Asparagus Bed r.i.p.

2011-08-22T22:27:00.003Z

Today I spent a good few hours at the allotment for the first tile in a long time. I started to dig out the old asparagus bed after the ravages of cold and drought had taken their toll. Lots of dead asparagus roots with perfectly healthy convolvulus entined within. Truly it is said a weed is a plant which grows...

I got a fair way through it so it might possibly be finished tomorrow - am considering covering the bed with carpet so it can just be peeled back to get rid of the weeds without giving them a chance to see the light.

May well use the bed for potatoes next year or brassicas as it has not been used for those for many years. Could grow them through carpet or groundcover as it will be impossible to remove evey scrap of bindweed, couch grass ec and this will keep them in check and keep the soil permanently moist as well.

Raspberries!!!

2011-08-19T22:35:00.003Z

Here are today's raspberries - 2lb 11oz of flavour!

And here they are mashed and mixed with icing sugar in preparation for a short simmer to turn them into compote.

Misc...

2011-08-19T10:03:00.005Z

This is the bed I have just planted the salad crops into...

It took around 15 minutes to prepare the bed - the magic of raised beds...

The cabbage seedlings from Dobbies I rushed in in a panic earlier in the year have started filling out nicely and look like they might be quite a good thing.
I got them due to being anxious about the Curly and Tuscan Kale plants I also put in late but actually those are doing well - I must thin/transplant them soon to get the best of them.

this shows a corner of the plot with apple 'Jumbo' to the left, followed by leeks, sweetcorn I never got round to transplanting so are having to take their chances where they are, Runner beans forming a backdrop and the laden James Grieve apple tree in the left hand corner.

The flowers are self-seeded marigolds and cosmos (originally 'candy stripe').

Fruit again...etc

2011-08-19T09:37:00.003Z

The raspberries are still going strong and should be for months yet. One problem at this time of year is that the tops can go a bit slimy if not picked in time - if that happens they can be snapped off as there is still time for new growth to fruit before the frosts stop them in their tracks.

The yellow raspberries in the background are 'Allgold', a sport of the red 'Autumn Bliss'. I have one row of each.

This shows the healthy new growth on the acid cherry I pruned last Summer after picking.

Here are the salad rows - maybe the Mizuna and Pak Choi need a little more room than this as they can take up a surprising amount of space when they really get going.

And these are the pea Blaushokker??? ready to go...

Sowing time again...

2011-08-19T09:08:00.007Z

I have sown some salad vegetables ready for stir-fries etc later on in the year - I was a bit worried I'd left it too late but on browsing the blog I see that I was getting great pickings even in October after some frosts. That was in 2009 the first year I tried this - it really does give the allotment a whole new lease of life later on in the year.
The oriental vegetables such as Pak Choi and Mizuna really need to be sown after the longest day or they tend to go straight to seed rather than producing pickable leaves.

With the Mizuna I harvest the leaves a few from each plant as needed but I tend to pick the Pak Choi whole.

I am intending to plant some chard and some purple Curly Kale for Winter leaves in salads and stir fries too.

I sowed some of the blue-podded and flowered peas this week as well as the salad leaves but it might be too late for these now - time will tell.

Squash update...

2011-08-19T08:40:00.002Z

The various squashes seem to be putting on good growth in the wet weather we have had lately - I have been cutting back the vines a little more efficiently this year to try and concentrate growth into the earlier fruit.

The courgettes are still lovely and fresh.

Because of the new fruit trees and bushes I have dotted my Winter squash around the place a bit this year but they don't seem to mind.

This bed has 9 plants in it - a Romano courgette at each end with a yellow 'patty-pan' Summer squash in the middle as you can see here and the same on the other side. There are three winter squashes (all 'Crown Prince' if I remember correctly) in the middle as they don't need easy access for picking. Actually though they have even easier access as the vines far outgrow the confines of the bed and the squashes lie on the paths between the beds. Experience has shown that Summer squash in the middle of the bed are almost impossible to pick. Also the extra bulk of the bush-type foliage makes the bed even more prone to mildew than it already is.

Blasted blight....

2011-08-19T08:08:00.003Z

As you can see the Desiree potato haulm is beginning to show signs of blight and needs cutting in order to try and stop the spores getting into the tubers...

...seems a shame to do it as the potatoes won't get any bigger but it is the only way to save the crop...

...I will leave the ptatoes as they are for a few days before lifting them - watch this space to see what kind of yield we get digging them early...

Fruit pics from the archives....

2011-08-17T10:10:00.003Z

These were the Keswick Codling at the end of June before they started to fall off...

...and the Annie Elisabeth mid-June - there are still three left so we are hoping we will find out what they taste like this summer...

...the blueberry 'Herbert' mid-June...

...and some of the excellent strawberries from the beginning of June.

General update...

2011-08-17T08:24:00.000Z

Fruit Update...

2011-08-17T07:36:00.004Z

This shows a bit of what I've been up to for the last year or so... have been planting a lot of fruit - including eight columnar fruit trees and four gooseberries (various) that you can see to the right of the carpet. It has been very exciting and refreshed my attitude to the allotment as I didn't put any trees in at all 'til maybe 2008 or '09.

The first was a James Grieve apple tree (the one that fell over last year due to so much fruit). I have resurrected it and it is laden again this year but coping much better with its new sturdy post. It is prone to Codling Moth though so I must get the grease bands sorted a bit better this year - it can't have helped last year that so many of the branches were touching the ground and giving the moths a leg up.

(having looked it up codling moth can fly - doh! the way to treat them is with pheromone traps in May and June. The grease bands stop the Winter Moth and others which eat little passages into the leaves of the trees -ed.)

This year we have already tasted some of the new Keswick Codling apples - discovered on a rubbish dump in Ulverstone in the 1780's. They are a luminously pale yellow/green with delicate flesh which yields easily to the thumb - and they have the most wonderful perfume of any apple I have known. Certainly one to look forward to each year which was the general idea of putting such a variety of fruit in in the first place.

The trees in the picture are (from left to right)

*Annie Elisabeth - apple
Grown by my Grandad Wilson at 1 Kenton Gardens when I was a child, as was James grieve
*Irish Peach - apple
For eating straight from the tree when ready - allegedly fragrent to the taste
*Keswick Codling - apple
Cooks to a froth - wonderful perfume - luminous - ridged like a dog's snout - delicate 'appley' flavour
*Gorham - pear
For eating straight from the tree
*Jubilee - plum
For eating straight from the tree toward the end of August (two this year - juicy)
Advertised as an improvement on 'Victoria'
*???? - plum
For cooking toward the end of Sept
*Cox's Emperor - plum
Supposedly wonderful large juicy fragrent fruit but not many of them
*Rosemary Russet - apple
Bought in honour of my lovely sis but also because I really like Russeted apples
(Three on the tree in it's first year this year!)

The last two trees were put in this year in the dormant season whilst all the others were the year before. (9th April 2010 according to my records - ed.) The gooseberries: Early Sulpher, Golden Drop, Whitesmith and Lancashire Lad are also this year's additions.

I also put a half standard apple Jumbo in this year which should have big red and green apples in the fulness of time.

I also container-planted two blueberries 'Herbert' this year and have had a small but satisfying crop from them.

The sour cherry tree I pruned hard last year thinking it would come back and fruit this year. It didn't but is looking excellent again now and I am anticipating a heavy crop next year.

The strawberries were brilliant this year and will be getting a post of their own sometime.

The rhubarb you can see in the picture has recovered well after drying out earlier in the year and giving me a scare. I finally found a compost bin in a skip to force it with - much better than the old green bin from the council - and it is fantastic like that - only the second or third time I have done it and makes rhubarb a luxury and a thing of beauty.

*I must attend to the Tayberry soon and do a bit of weeding in amongst the raspberries

Odds and Ends....

2011-08-16T19:09:00.002Z

I shoved a few carrots from dobbies in in a fit of 'got to get something on the go-itis' earlier this year and they have done ok...

...the autumn fruiting raspberries 'Autumn Bliss' are well and truly online now - I made the usual compote with icing sugar but for the first time just mashed it instead of simmering as well - deliciously fresh but doesn't keep as well even in the fridge - really to be eaten on the day...

...the squash plants still look exceedingly healthy without the mildew raising its ugly head yet - but with the damp few days we're having it probably won't be long - Summer 2009 I removed all the diseased leaves concientiously and kept the plants going much longer than usual - although the ideal is also to sow a few seeds directly say at the end of June to take over when the inevitable happens....

....these are going really well in ratatoille etc - even the large ones used fresh don't need peeling and they aren't ripe enough yet for the seeds to be a problem.

Hello again!!!

2011-08-16T17:22:00.000Z

I have resolved to post the odd post here every now and again after rather a long hiatus as it is very inconvenient not being able to look up what I have been doing 'down the lottie' for the last 18 monthsor so. I can trawl through all my pictures but it isn't the same.

To cut a long story short then (for the time being) I have cut the hedge for the second time this year (and really felt the benefit of my recent gym trips for the first time). Hopefully this will keep my neighbour with the demon industrial strength hedge trimmer at bay for the forseeable....am hoping for privet hawk moths....

May Update & pics...

2010-06-25T08:53:00.000Z

May pics cont...

2010-06-25T08:47:00.000Z

May pics cont...

2010-06-24T10:15:00.000Z

New Life...

2010-04-24T00:32:00.001Z

The new fruit trees are beginning to burst into bud in the sunny weather - according to the instructions with these 'supercolumns' it isn't necessary to remove any fruit formed this first year, so we may be able to sample some new varieties later this year with a bit of luck...

...and the James Grieve that has been there a couple of years now is also laden with blossom.

Pics 23rd April

2010-04-24T00:23:00.001Z

Actually this is from a few days earlier - the fruit bushes seem to be doing better this year...

...and the first Asparagus spears of the season will be picked real soon.

This is one of the purple variety Phil gave us last year - the new bed is springing into life and it will be very tempting to pluck one or two spears prematurely from the nurturing soil in order to assess their flavour. Ought to leave it 'til next year really tho'...

Once again the fruit bushes fetchingly backlit in the spring sunshine :-)

12 4 2010 John, Alex, Potatoes

2010-04-19T08:47:00.000Z

10 4 2010

2010-04-19T08:45:00.001Z

Sorted the brassica bed at last - still no harvest 4 us but Mum has had loads from the single sheltered plant in her garden!

Chard, garlic and spring onions seem to think it's safe to make a bit of progress now...

'Old' asparagus bed a bit tidier and spears just appearing if you look really carefully...

Tree Planting 9 4 2010

2010-04-19T08:36:00.000Z

Action! 9th April '10

2010-04-19T08:34:00.000Z

Kale 14.3 2010

2010-04-19T08:27:00.000Z

Plot pics 14th March 2010

2010-04-19T08:26:00.000Z

Plot pics end Feb 2

2010-04-19T08:23:00.000Z

Plot pics end Feb 1

2010-04-19T08:13:00.000Z

(This post added 19.4.2010)

The hedge has made a very good recovery over the course of last year :-)

There is a lot of sorting out to do but at least the structure is in place with the beds I made last year.

The Purple sprouting has really been knocked back by our first "proper" Winter in a good long while...no lobelia at Christmas this year!!!

Smart...?

2009-11-24T23:14:00.001Z

I picked up this rather nice rug on a trip to the tip a week or so ago - not quite nice enough to take home but not far off...

Orange Squash - not!!!

2009-11-24T23:07:00.001Z

The first proper squashes since the autumn of '06 are languishing in their rightful place on the front room window sill. We find they keep well here and they are a traditional feature of our Mothers' day celebrations in May!

There are others behind the curtains and stored in the kitchen...and we have eaten quite a few of the smaller ones already:-) The larger ones you can esee here are I thinK around 7lbs in weight. They have very dense tasty flesh - not watery at all.

Nov update cont....

2009-11-24T23:00:00.001Z

This pic of the salad patch was taken during the early-ish part of November during a really cold spell...

...it is still giving us loads of produce and a real discovery to make the lottie more productive this year...I have also picked chard, kale, mizuna & florence fennel...

...we have discovered that as well as stir fried and raw in salads the pak choi is delicious steamed as well!

Visitors!!!

2009-11-01T01:09:00.001Z

I am a bit late with my October visitors but I had a nice cup of tea with Phil this afternoon...

...and Peter and Marcia called in for a look round on their recent visit to stay with Mum.

Mike's Autumn/Winter Soup...

2009-11-01T01:03:00.004Z

I used one 5lb squash, one cooking apple & three Jerusalem Artichokes, with two stock cubes, water to cover and a bit of milk. (Oh and a good bit of pepper too - ed.) It was a bit thick so needed thinning out with more water and another splash of milk.

Peel and de-seed the squash...

...you get the picture...

Then whiz it up with a hand blender & decant to bowls with pepper and grated mature cheddar or whatever strong cheese you fancy:-)

In the kitchen...

2009-11-01T00:48:00.001Z

On the way out today i picked some greens and we had a stir-fry for tea...

...lottie ingredients were garlic, shallots, white & purple pak choi, mizuna and curly purple kale - I added ginger, pepper and soy and oyster sauces.

Probably doesn't look as delicious as it actually was...

Tomorrow (1st November) is officially Doyenne de Comice picking day according to Jane Grigson in her Fruit Book so I will try to get the bulk of them picked. We have been using some from the tree for cooked puddings to try and do them justice and waste less than usual - especially as we are not very good at getting them to ripen properly. (But when they do they are totally magical). Anyway I made this little tart for poorly Sue. Had made the case up at the same time sas the last apple pie.

I sautéed the pears in butter then added a little water and put the lid on for a bit then added sugar cooked a bit longer and finally maple syrup and turned the heat up and it kind of toffified. I then put it in quite a hot oven for 10 minutes. Seemed to go down ok and the bit I tasted wasn't a disappointment...The pears are from the garden not the allotment though.

October 31st pics

2009-11-01T00:33:00.002Z

The Cherry tree I planted earlier in the year and from which we had one delicious pudding is waxing autumnal....

...and the new compost bin is replete with it's load of sweetcorn (at the bottom smashed with the back of an axe first like they tell you in books) and squash plants. I cobbled this together in a hurry lastweek and am very proud of it.

Behind it in Paul's lottie lurks the magnificent apple tree from which I created the pie below a few days ago. Paul is of the opinion it is apple "Charles Ross" but having read up on it I am sure that can't be right as that one is best up 'til Christmas whilst Paul says this one is best late on 'til May. I must find out from somewhere what it is...it is wonderful.

Here is the pie... It was made with one of the afore-mentioned apples & 4 "Lord Derby" also from Paul. The apple on the right made a pie on it's own a day or two ago.

31st October pics

2009-11-01T00:17:00.001Z

The beautiful cosmos "Candy stripe" are still putting on a good show at the end of October. The hoverflies love them.

These squashes are all over now and have been rounded up and dumped in the new compost bin. Of which more later - in other words above so you probably already know all about it...

The Jerusalem artichokes are gravitating gracefully toward the greenhouse. I concocted my "Autumn/Winter Soup" yesterday - basically pumpkin, apple and Jerusalem artichokes with stock, milk salt and pepper - served with mature cheddar grated over it and home made crusty seeded bread. I madeit from the pumpkin (winter squash) which broke off early in the season and it was very tasty. Quantities were one 5lb squash, one cooking apple & three Jerusalem artichokes.

I left these beans "Rob Roy" from Robinsons to dry as Borlotti beans so they are now in the bathroom with the heater on.

Preparing the way!

2009-10-31T23:56:00.002Z

Work at the lottie has been sporadic this month due to other commitments but I do have a backlog of photos to post as a mini review of the month.

Here you can see the work I did today in preparation for planting the apple "Annie Elizabeth". I have been doing a lot of work on family history recently and have discovered that "Annie Elizabeth was the apple at the bottom of my grandparent's garden at 1 Kenton Gardens. Google Streetmap shows only too clearly the apple is no longer there - and my Uncle Peter admits to digging it out years ago as it was on it's last legs. the apple is a cooker at it's best from Christmas 'til May.

First I cleared most of the rubbish...

...peeled back the carpet...

...and dug!!! This area has been under carpet for over 10 years now and was used as a dump when the houses at the back were under construction. It feels good to reclaim it as productive land again. The soil was as expected very compacted and pretty clay-ey with no apparent weeds at all apart from copious quantities of shocking white convolvulus roots. I dug these out with a goodly quantity of rubble and was very satisfied! Now I have to get as much as possible out of the gnarled old blackberry in the right hand corner....

Turnip-tastic!

2009-10-04T21:02:00.001Z

I picked a few of our lovely little golden turnips a few days ago...

...and cooked them today as part of a medley of roasted allotment veg involving: turnips, potatoes, garlic, onions, shallots and rosemary - also Black Tuscan kale cooked separately.

Pumpkin' Pickin' Day!!!

2009-10-04T20:52:00.001Z

Yesterday and today I picked the first proper pumpkins and squashes since 2006! The last two summers have been far too wet and cold as Monty Don was only saying in the latest issue of some gardening mag. or other.

Tee hee - lots of lovely meals to share in the winter months when it is cold and we need warming up a bit! In fact we have often kept pumpkins and had them as part of out Mothers' Day celebrations.

Little and large!

positively final sept pics!!!

2009-10-02T23:36:00.000Z

sept final pics I

2009-10-02T23:30:00.000Z

sept final pics II

2009-10-02T23:25:00.000Z

Cracking Cosmos!!!

2009-09-18T23:14:00.001Z

For the past few years we have been growing Cosmos "Candy Stripe" in the garden and at the lottie as we love the colours and the variety of the flowers They can be anything to all white all scarlet and countless beautiful variations in between...

...no two are ever quite alike.

Planting Garlic...

2009-09-18T23:09:00.001Z

This week I planted the garlic and onions to overwinter in keeping with my new philosophy of keeping on top of things and especially getting stuff sown/planted whenever possible. It has really paid off with the salad stuff I planted late summer and that has encouraged me to keep it going as long as possible...

The protection is really against cats at this stage although I will probably modify it wjhen the shoots appear to keep the birds away as well - this mesh is very low so they might be able to reach through it:-(

Planting onion sets...

2009-09-18T23:05:00.002Z

Same story with the onions as with the garlic really...

Recent pics iii

2009-09-18T23:00:00.001Z

This is the sort of harvest we have been getting on a regular basis recently - we love it!!!

The turnips are getting to quite a good size in parts but I overcrowded all these little rows and will be a lot more careful with future sowings. I need to sow more thinly and not be frightened of doing a bit of thinning out!

This is possibly the last (or maybe the last but one) alpple from the James Grieve tree. There was one last apple left on the tree which had to be picked and was thus not a windfall. Triumph!

Recent pics ii

2009-09-18T22:59:00.003Z

I have been quite diligent this year in removing mildewed or otherwise diseased leaves from the courgettes and squashes...

...and have been rewarded with lovely fresh new growth and a supply of small succulent fruit.

The winter squashes have been gioing mad taking over the place as they are wont to do in a good year when they ae thriving in the sunshine...

...and this one is crawling away even though you can't tell from the size of the fruit that the variety is 'Atlantic Giant'!

Recent pics i

2009-09-18T22:56:00.001Z

One of the real pleasures of the allotment at the moment is the harvesting of the salad crops I sowed in the late summer - something I have never done before. I have several types of leaf anfd flower to choose from including Mizuna, Green and Purple Pac Choi, Nasturtian leaves and flowers, the corn salad (aka Lamb's lettuce) which self -seeds every year around where the cherry tree now grows, and baby chard leaves. i have been forgetting the borage flowers but will remember next time with a bit of luck...

Here is partof the salad bed...

...and another picking. I have started filling a tupperware or two when I get the chance - so much better than the bags on offer in supermarkets!

Here is some more produce - I have picked 19 sweetcorn and counting this year and they are beautifully sweet and tender The grains almost literally burst in the mouth with a freshness and sparkle unheard of in shop-bought produce which is picked too late and stored too long.

Sue is 50!!!

2009-09-07T15:07:00.001Z

Sue turned 50 yesterday and naturally allotment produce played a fairly large part in the festivities...only the best for me darlin'...etc...etc

We harvested the first of the baby chard for a creamy tagletelli sauce, and although no pics I added the first two ripe sweetcorn to Colin Spencer's 'Celestial Soup'.

The posts supporting the artichokes have snapped on one side and must be replaced...

The harvested chard looked fresh and pretty as it waited to be chopped and wilted.

Visitor!!!

2009-08-31T22:52:00.001Z

After some very good teamwork pollarding the tree in the front garden next door Dan popped in for a look as we brought the trailer back.

Rich Pickings!!!

2009-08-31T11:07:00.000Z

Pics from Today...

2009-08-26T21:14:00.000Z

Visitors!!!

2009-08-22T21:09:00.001Z

Cora and Sue cycled down on Thursday. Sue picked a good portion of raspberries...

...and Cora got her ears sorted into the bargain! (It's the time of the year when she is very prone to sticky-bobs.)

Recovery?

2009-08-22T21:03:00.001Z

The lottie seems to be recovering from the terrible battering it got a couple of days ago on Thursday...

...this is part of the damage. As it happens all the big tomatoes now have blight and I have dug them up and saved all the unblemished green toms in the hope that some of them will ripen ok at home.

Visitors!!!

2009-08-22T14:48:00.002Z

John & Sue came down for a little look this morning :-)

One last look...

2009-08-18T23:06:00.000Z

Potato Update...

2009-08-18T22:28:00.001Z

Presenting the afore-mentioned large potato!

Not so chunky now is it?

Allotment garlic & Mum's Discovery apples too.

Delicious - also featuring lottie purple kale and french and runner beans:-)

Potato Hoggin' Day!!!

2009-08-17T22:39:00.002Z

I managed to dig the potatoes today - and there was no sign of blight on the tubers - fingers crossed! The title of this post refers to a family 'game' in which Sue & Lisa used to compete to collect the most potatoes. All in good humour of course... all right then it was basically the Eton Wall Game with potatoes and only two participants - scary...

Here we are before I started...

...and half way through. It was a lovely sunny late Summer afternoon and then a balmy evening when I returned later. The girls have been to Alton towers today but I have had just as much fun. (possibly - they are very good at having fun).

We had a good crop of potato fruit as well but of course they won't be eaten as they are poisonous:-) Oh I forgot to mention - the overall size and quantity of the potatoes was much better than usual (best ever actually) - and the largest tuber weighed exactly one and a half pounds on the kitchen scales! (pic to follow).

Back from hols II - more pics...

2009-08-16T22:49:00.002Z

The turnips and carrots are getting a bit bigger...

...as is the chard but only three of the florence fennel seeds appear to have germinated - let's hope they were three good ones.

The windfalls have been rotting whee they lie whilst we have been away. apparently the codling moth caterpillars crawl out and straight back up the tree to pupate if they are left lying around. Not much I could do about it this week though. I've picked them up now.

There are some lovely looking tomatoes despite the signs of blight on the foliage. I have stripped some trusses and removed diseased leaves and am playing it by ear regarding picking the rest to ripen indoors away fom the dreaded spores.

Back from hols - lottie survives!

2009-08-16T22:33:00.001Z

Back from a week away and the general view looks ok - but a lot has changed in just a few days...

the only bed not cultivated or covered has expoloded into weedy fecundity!(?)

The chard is lovely to look at...

...the potatoes are beginning with blight - time for action...

There are loads of jobs pending which I will note in a later post to remind myself to do them.

Pics from Yesterday...

2009-08-08T08:55:00.001Z

Yesterday I sowed pak choi ( green & purple), spring onions and mizuna. The sticks are to keep cats off as they seem to like freshly sown seed soil. Cobbled together a bit - I was going to use string but didn''t have any.

I am using the old slats from a louvred door to label the rows. I plan to paint the ends white for re-using year on year.

Kevin & Irene's flags still flutter prettily in the breeze...

I like the contrasts of colour and texture in this area - pretentious, moi!?

Visitors!!!

2009-08-08T08:41:00.002Z

Sue & Cora came down on Thursday and yesterday too!

Sue was back into the swing of things straight away!

Cora helped out in her own sweet way by making sure she sniffed everything thoroughly...

Sue also sorted out shallots & garlic - I must try and get her down more often...

Pics from today (iii)

2009-08-02T21:16:00.001Z

The cosmos really are a picture.

I have started trimming the winter squashes to keep them in check - usually after I have trodden on the tendrils absent-mindedly beforehand.

Today saw the first maincrop potatoes dug. Might as well use them as we go along as well as saving some to store later.

Pics from today (ii)

2009-08-02T21:11:00.003Z

I'm doing my best to care for the winter squashes...

Today I took the lid off the strawberries...

...and freed the beans, tomatoes and squash from their windbreak.

Oops! It was the biggest one too - balanced on the edge of a bed and snapping cleanly off with a loud 'crack'.

Pics from today...

2009-08-02T21:07:00.001Z

Here is the 'usual' view for the beginning of August...

The raspberries are beginning to get going...

The poatoes are taking over!

Basically lots of things seem to be growing ok:-)

Pics from 1st August (Yesterday)

2009-08-02T20:58:00.001Z

Finally got some new gas and zapped the weeds in the path...

...checked the apples - I ate the good bits of a windfall today and they were delicious - shame about the pesky codling moth...

...the turnips and carrots are coming along...

...and I finished potting up the herbs - just need to finish it off with some horticultural grit.

Pics from today...

2009-07-30T23:44:00.002Z

I started preparing this tin for herbs today (holes, polystyrene, manure, compost - that kind of thing).

And I sowed some seeds for Autumn produce - hopefully... This bed is where the onions were until recently. Weeded it over and planted some seeds - excellent. I've never really done the late summer sowing before so I'm really looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

Kale, carrots & radishes by the look of it...

Quite a few of the winter squash plants have pretty respectable fruitlets on them now. They are snaking around everywhere getting in the way:-)

More visitors...

2009-07-27T23:22:00.001Z

Rose, Han & Tim came for a look round today!

Hannah'n'Tim'n'Uncle Michael.

And when we got home we had lovely gooseberry pie as part of Lisa's family birthday tea.

Visitors!!!

2009-07-26T17:12:00.001Z

Andrew and Hannah were very cheerful all the time they were down the lottie:-) They were kind enough to say it was looking as good if not better than it ever had which was ample rcompense for countless hours of backbreaking labour since April...

And of course they were both...

...very helpful.

Still smiling and looking forward to a lovely tea at Grandma's.

Onions!!!

2009-07-25T00:51:00.000Z

Last orders...

2009-07-20T21:35:00.001Z

Here is Dad's old Honda on its last trip to the tip before being traded in tomorrow. I never felt completely at home in a gold 4x4 but it has happy associations with F. I. Lee and it is a bit of a wrench to let it go. Uses far too much petrol though...

Pics from Today...

2009-07-20T21:33:00.000Z

Seedlings...

2009-07-20T21:11:00.000Z

A Few Views....

2009-07-17T21:36:00.000Z

Rainy Day - Wind on the way...

2009-07-17T21:30:00.000Z

Things I sowed today...

2009-07-14T22:36:00.000Z

Pics from Today...

2009-07-14T22:30:00.000Z

Gooseberries!!!

2009-07-13T23:27:00.001Z

This evening I dodged the rain to pick 7lb of gooseberries and then sat in the shed reading an old paperback on home winemaking by the light of a gaz lamp.

Yesterday I dressed the redcurrant and blackcurrant bushes with fish, blood and bone and watered it in.

German Cherry Tart :-)

2009-07-13T23:03:00.000Z

Bean & Gone....

2009-07-12T22:00:00.000Z

Free Cherry ...

2009-07-10T21:57:00.000Z

That's Shallot...

2009-07-10T21:52:00.000Z

Today's pics...

2009-07-08T17:34:00.001Z

The most recent courgettes played their part in a delicious toastie with tomatoes, basil, mature cheddar and home-made bread.

It was as good as it looks!

The lottie cherries look nrearly ready to pick very soon after the garden ones - I thought the culinary ones were supposed to be ready later in the year...

We will be getting some blackberries as well later on...plus wehave found a really good place on the Moss for them next to the abandoned pig farm where i got the elderberries this year...

Cherries!!!

2009-07-07T11:11:00.001Z

Juliet & Lisa did a grand job picking cherries in the garden on Sunday.

Don't they look fab?

Picked about 5lb altogether but there are loads more up there if we can reach them...

Luscious!!! (I also posted this on the garden diary blog which you can get to from the link on the right if you want to check it out - will be posting a bit more regularly there from now on, even if it's just pics:-)

General views + currant affairs...

2009-07-07T08:57:00.003Z

All these posts are from yesterday 6th July. First a few general views for future reference...

Right hand side from the path...

Left hand side from the path...

We did after all get some luscious blackcurrants from the aphid-molested bush. Let's hope it recovers and does really well next year. I believe I should be prunung it around about now. The big red ones are tomatoes:-)

Wind precautions...

2009-07-07T08:51:00.003Z

BBC forecasting wind tomorrow so I improvised a shelter for the new beans and covered the squashes in this bed with seed tray covers.

An old door, bit of hardboard...

...some old windbreak material... and Bob's your uncle! Doesn't seem all that windy today though...maybe later...sigh...

Not taking any chances with the artichokes, either - this is the third layer of support this year!

Apples etc...

2009-07-07T08:46:00.002Z

Still looking good...

Tuscan Kale recovering from early pigeon battering...

Purple sprouting pushing the boundaries of the netting. I was going to do the new cage yesterday but went on the bike and the necessary tools were in the car... got a few other things done though, including picking the remainder of the tayberries (yes - more compote).

This photo illustrates the remarkable difference between courgettes wghich are lucky enough to get planted out and those which languish unloved and uncared for in their 3" pots...remarkable!

Cosmos & Garlic

2009-07-07T08:43:00.002Z

Went down on my bike again today - think I will post a pic each time so I can keep a track of how often. Windier - 15 mins on way home through Park View 4 U and new estate.

The self seeded cosmos flowers are by far the largest we have ever had! Maybe the manure I added to the bed for the squashes?

This is a nice one too...

The garlic all went to seed while I wasn't looking and seem to have caught rust overnight as well. Hope we get a crop. You have to admire this little fellow for a nice piece of improvisation!

Pics from Today...

2009-07-05T22:33:00.001Z

Still getting the courgettes nice and early; I feel another omelette coming on - especially as recent research has disproved (as I understand it) the link beween egg consumption and high cholesterol.

I will soon need to get my act together with a larger protective cage for the purple sprouting...

Squash plants all over the plot are beginning to take off big style now - including these in the 'seedbed frame'. I know the two on the left are Crown Prince but beyond that I'm not committing myself - we'll just have to wait and see!

Produce....

2009-07-03T22:16:00.003Z

The little courgettes go perfectly with Phil's eggs to make a beautiful omelette...

...as you can see...

...and the Tayberries make delicious compote quite different to both raspberry or blackberry. In the background you can see a jar of the lemon and elderflower marmalade I make with the elderflower cordial lemons.

Pics from Yesterday...

2009-07-03T22:02:00.001Z

Toms still doing ok and this is the fourth courgette of the season! I have firmly resolved to pick them very small this year...

These two leaves from the yellow courgette from Phil have gone funny but the others seem perfectly fine (at the moment...)

I manured the new Asparagus bed with manure from outside Mum's back gate - amazing how a bit of muck alters the ambience of a bed anf makes it feel cared for...

Bicycles & Tayberries...

2009-07-01T22:06:00.002Z

I cycled to the lottie for the first time this evening - thanks Kevin:-) Eleven minutes there and a couple of minutes longer coming home along the front. No different to the car really and I don't think I had to stop once.

I picked the first batch of tTayberries today and made compote out of them (ie heated them up with some sugar). They have really benefited from a post and some protection from the birds. I haven't been very kind to them over the years - I have tried to dig them out at least once but I feel we are getting on a lot better these days...

Sorry Lisa the Chard seems to be doing quite well! Also congratulations on passing your driving test today - first time and only eleven minors!!! :-)

The remaining sunflower and the beans seem to like the rain and roasting temps we have been having lately.

pics from this evening...

2009-06-30T22:33:00.000Z