Wigwammery, strange finds & a radish recipe (Sunday's work)

Remember my nursery snaps from earlier? Well, I went ahead and made a wigwam like the ones I'd seen. My join was a bit higher up than the ones I saw but I am pretty happy with the sturdiness of it. Last year the plants pretty much toppled the A-frame shape I made - *pic here*!
I used 8 canes, tying it together with string. I also added some string around the base to stop the canes from moving outwards with the weight of the plants when they get bigger. To support them as they grow, I made this star-shape. It will also guide the 2 black-eyed susan vines out to the canes. I got them to grow with the beans as they're so pretty. Nick thinks it looks a little cult-ish but was impressed with the wigwam itself :) So, there are 8 runner bean plants. Will see how they do.

In front of the wigwam, I planted two rows of self-blanching celery. I gave up trying to get the seeds I had to germinate.

I also planted some 'diablo' dahlias surrounded by celariac. There are 2 identical beds like this.

Whilst I was weeding the 2nd bed to prep for planting, I had a very random find. This rotten egg was in the soil! I wonder how it got there.

So, now the 'road end' bed is looking quite good. I also did lots of raking. It will look great once everything is established. I have some purple sprouting broccoli to go in, spring onions and some leeks. I've read up on how to plant the leeks out as my lot last year just died. I know my error now - not planted deep enough. Gonna get the dibber out :)

I also needed to do something with the 1st batch of radishes I harvested. I thought perhaps pickling would be something to try. I found a recipe and made up a batch.

I have to say, the end result looks disgusting in this photo! I am yet to try any yet. The recipe sounds tasty though :) It's all foamy as instead of getting a bowl to mix the vinegar, sugar and soy, I shook it together in the jar. The proof is in the eating I guess!

• 20 radishes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tblsp soy sauce
• 3 tblsp rice vinegar
• 2 tblsp light brown sugar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
  
  1. Clean the radishes and cut off both ends - make 2 or 3 small slashes on each one to allow the pickle to infuse, but keep whole.
  
  2. Place in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Leave for 5 mins.
  
  3. Mix the soy sauce and vinegar in a separate bowl, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. (This is where I shook the ingredients together in the jar.)
  
  4. Pour the pickle mix over the radishes and finally dribble in the sesame oil.
  
  Store in the fridge.

Sunday's sowing

So, here they are, the tomatoes I wasn't going to grow this year! I've got some of the tumbler variety. They're in a hanging basket, dangling on a long string on my balcony. I've already walked into them a couple of times when I was hanging out the washing! Let's see if they drive me up the wall...

Down at the allotment, the seeds I planted last time are already starting to show through under the clingfilm coldframe. The radish and kohl rabi are doing the best, with the broccoli also poking through the soil to the left of the photo.

I was wondering if a pesky animal has been digging in my flowerbed as I spotted this mystery hole and soil overspill. Hmm...

The tulips should be out soon, and the mint I thought would be dead by now has resurrected itself! I should have known you can't kill mint so easily :)

I did some weeding in the first shed-end bed & planted some Lily of the Valley I got on a shopping trip, as well as some Baby's Breath Gypsophylla.

I am also wanting to plant up some different varieties of lavender as I love the smell & it is practical too. This is a pink variety. Didn't get the name. Will have to check the pot next time I'm in the shed.

The rosemary I got last year was a sorry sight. I think the cold weather finished it off. Rather than have an almost dead plant struggling on, I sent it to the compost afterlife and planted this fine specimin in its place. I also had to move the caraway which is going great guns but was too close to the lupins (behind the rosemary in this pic).

The rhubarb I got for a snip went in today next to the globe artichokes. Hopefully I've left enough room for both to grow ok. The plants look really healthy.

The onions & garlic are doing well.

The asparagus is already coming through
- looking forward to eating that this week sometime :)

Finally I planted lots of seeds in pots (about time!) and put them outside in my mini-greenhouse. Hopefully there will be some greenery soon :)

Clingfilm magic & other jobs

Don't you just love pound shops? You can get all sorts of goodies. I picked up these mini poly tunnels for 99p each. I bought 4 to see how I go with them. I'm currently growing some peas under them - single rows of Kelvedon Wonder either side of the trellis.

The daffs are now in full bloom and look very nice in the strawberry bed :)

Tackling the grassy wilderness is my next 'to do' task. I marked out some strip beds (and on Sunday I dug one out into 3 mini beds with paths between).

Brew on!

Nick spotted a palette box and salvaged it. He's super-pleased with his clingfilm cold frame. It is pretty impressive you have to admit.

I put up some willow trellis on the side of the shed for my sweet peas.

The pulmonaria is now in bloom. So pretty!

Nick bought some Orla potatoes which should be ready to plant very soon.

I planted out lots of seeds under the cold frame...

L-R: spring onions, broccoli, radish, kohl rabi, leek, celariac.

We got a fire going to clear the dead leftovers from last year. Mucho smoke!

I moved the two black compost bins to the 'road end' of the plot and filled them up.

Nick dug over the large 1st bed.

And I put down some chipboard to cover up the sticky mud puddle outside the shed door.

This season I shall mainly be growing onions

Yep, onions it is. I found these did really well last year - and they were a cinch to grow. Plant, water hardly ever and leave to grow :) I also use onions in my cooking all the time, and they last well. Why wouldn't I grow them again?! Last year I just grew 'Red Baron' red onions and they did really well. I am now down to my last 2 in the store cupboard. This time around I've got more to go with the white onions and garlic I planted before Xmas. The packs in the photo are the varieties I'm putting in this time: more Red Baron, Stuttgarter & Centurion. Yes, I'm the last of the big spenders! ;)

I would like to grow peas again this year, and fine/french beans. Might give the runner beans a miss this time around as they were super-prolific! I couldn't keep up. Hmm, maybe I could try them in a simple wigwam with just three plants rather than the full row I did last year... I mean, I like runner beans, but not that many! They did surprise me though - I'd never eat them raw from the supermarket, but like a lot of things grown fresh, they were nice eaten raw when they weren't too big :)

I will not be bothering with broccoli or cauliflower again - too prone to bugs & netting is a pain in the butt! However, I will try chillies again as they did well, as well as sweetcorn I think - give it another try. BUT NO MORE TOMATOES, that is for certain! And definitely more flowers. It was so nice to pick a bunch for my table :)

I am planning on going to the allotment today after a bit of an absence. Hope things aren't too wild down there!

What are you doing at the lottie at the mo?

What's going on down't lottie?

So, as promised, here is a photo-heavy post about all the plants that are making progress in my plot...

the 'road end' bed. row nearest us: dwarf beans, hopefully on road to recover after they got a bit too much water, runner beans looking ok but got blackfly i need to attend to, 4 remaining pea plants looking a bit sad now. sweet peas in the background going great guns!

runner bean flower, plagued by bloomin' blackfly

sweet peas are always covered in flowers, even if i pick most of them the day before. my flat smells wonderful from all the posies i am picking :)

broccoli ready to burst! must re-net this asap. L-R: charlotte spuds, red baron red onions, broccoli (don't know the type), morning glory cauliflower

charlotte potatoes in full flower. might dig some of these up to see how they are doing. can't wait to eat these, especially mixing them with my homegrown mint from the 'shed end' of the allotment.

red baron red onions fattening up and starting to burst through the soil. can't wait to eat these :) this one is about 3 or 4cm across i'd say. yes, i need to get in and hand weed around these.

pumpkin flowers starting to form. there were some little pumpkins on these, like marbles, but they've dropped off. i think it is my fault from ham-fisted watering. i am now watering these very carefully. i'm still learning! very blurry photo!!

midnight courgettes flowering and another coming through on this plant. i bought these from the market and they've not been in long. they are already about 3 times as big as when i bought them!

chilli peppers seem to going really well so far. lots of flowers and quite a few fruits at the mo.

sweet peppers look like they are going to start flowering soon :)

was a bit worried about these 'sale' buy cherry tomatoes but they must be reasonably happy as they are starting to flower. phew!

sweetcorn (left back) and baby corn (right front). i usually weed mostly by hoeing but can't around the sweetcorn as they have shallow horizontal roots. will have to hand weed this soon.

this is the bed down the allotment from the 'road end' bed. it had parsnips and onions in it. i need to clear this and make another strip-shaped bed next to it to the right. it's on my 'to do' list. maybe this weekend?

ok, end of part one. part two to follow later! :)