Downtime

I should be at the allotment today but I'm not!

I've booked next week off work so I am taking some time to chill. It has been insanely busy at the day job. Designing books for kids takes a lot of hard work you know! We've been prepping for the annual book fair where all our new ideas get showcased to buyers. We spend a good couple of months intensely working on covers to sell these new ideas. Our office is one of 3 - the smallest of the bunch with just a handful of designers, me included - 7 of us. We did about a third of all covers produced (just under 400 this year, I think) which is a big achievement as there are around 20 designers in the medium-sized office, and around 2 or 3 times as many as that in the 'big' office! I've also been in charge of orchestrating the whole thing - keeping tabs on illustrators, commissioning, fees, invoices, designs, feedback from our bosses... all the while getting not one, but TWO books off to print at the same time! No wonder I am pooped. I just couldn't face next week at work and Friday just gone was our official book fair deadline, so I made a break for it!

I am off to see my folks in Lancaster later on today for a while. It is my dad's birthday Monday so we're looking forward to a zoo trip (family tradition!). Maybe I'll make him a courgette cake?! I'm hoping the weather is alright as I've heard whilst we've had a reasonably nice spate of sunshine, they've had rain and gale force winds. Think I'll pack some warm gear and my waterproof! I'll be back later in the week to tend to the allotment - see if the butternut squash have grown much since I last saw them budding up, and dig up my 'rooster' spuds, along with other jobs. I also want to make some glassy goodies too. 'Back to the Future' is being shown at the cinema (HUZZAH!) so I'll be seeing that and out for a friend's birthday meal.

In between all those things, I plan on chilling. I find this very hard to do, getting 'lazy guilt', but I'll give it a good go!

Hope you're well doing whatever you are :) I am now off to make a batch of veg curry with squash, spring onions, green tomatoes, runner beans and a pepper. It will be based on the veg spaghetti curry. Something for the freezer.

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.

Making new beds

Well, down the allotment I went today, with a helper - huzzah! My friend, Nick (a star of a friend, if ever there was one) volunteered digging services today. Of course, I happily accepted :) While I waited for him to arrive, I gave my shed's potting bench a dust down and found these bulb cards hiding. Now I know what should be popping up in the 2nd bed, 'shed end'. This is great as I didn't really make a proper note of what I planted. Tut tut! This is one of the great things about a blog - a searchable record of what went where, when :)

I also took some snaps of yet more shopping I did on Friday evening - more seeds for this year:

Celariac: giant prague, sugarsnap peas: sugar bon
& kohl rabi: purple vienna (which I have never eaten,
in any form, so this will be a proper first!)

Sunflowers: sunburst mixed, marrow: long green bush2 

(LOVE marrows!), leek: lyon2 prizetaker (sounds promising!), 

& some mixed annuals - planning to plant these in strips 

at each end of the veg beds.

The crocuses growing next to the shed are also further on than last week. lots more of these stunning purple ones and each one open. Sigh :) Looks like even more will come out soon too.

So, what did we do? Well, I attacked the 'dump mound', left by the last tenants, next to the globe artichoke, on the end of my herb bed. It was full of old potatoes of various varieties and jerusalem artichokes (all rotten), as well as loads of bloody sloe tree roots! Grr! Ahem. My cunning plan for this area is to build a cold frame. It should then be sheltered by the shed and close to it for moving and acclimatising my new plants. The soil, once I'd attacked it for a couple of hours, was perfect. Just right for purpose :) No raking needed - which is good as I snapped the rake before Xmas! I also dug out last year's woody spinach so there is another bit of bed ready for something new, next to my tree onions. The pic above shows how it looks now. I really want to get hold of some scrap wood to edge these beds, now I know I will be keeping them like this. I shall keep my eye on skips...

Nick, well, he's a digger. A digging machine, who will work as long as there is a supply of tea and biscuits (and cake!). I set him about digging over last Sunday's new bed which I'd de-turfed. I was going to bury the turf but he ended up shifting it onto an existing mound behind the shed. Out of sight out of mind ;) One day I will sort it out. Perhaps. This just needs attacking with a rake - which I need to buy. Nick did take one off the shed (read earlier posts if this sounds odd!), but I reckon it will snap soon enough, like the other one.

Bed dug over, time for tea. Nick brought his camping stove and some chocolate biscuits. Nick rocks! :)

His next task was to dig another new bed, a bit bigger this time, between the strawberries and the other globe artichokes/spring onions/asparagus. Safe to say he did this MUCH quicker than me last weekend. But then I am a feeble girl ;) Again, this just now needs to be raked over, once one is purchased!

The other job we did was to move 3 compost bins out from behind the shed and under the trees, into the open. I am hoping being in full sun will create some heat to break things down faster. It also means they are easier to get to. We put lots of the rotted compost onto the beds and Nick dug it in. I was on barrow duty. I also put the unrotted compost back into the bins. To be honest, a lot of what was in the bins was trash, literally! Jam jar lids, sweet wrappers, crisp packets, carrier bags. Doesn't make any sense to me. Hardly going to rot down eh. There were also lots of sticks, stones and bits of metal I also picked out. At least I know what's in the bins from now on will be useful for the allotment!

This last pic shows the 1st bin we moved - the bin far right was already out on the plot. I now have 2 more black bins between the two. I may move the black ones down to the other end of the plot, the 'road end', so there is compost on each half.

Well, might pop down the allotment tomorrow, might not. We shall see! I do need to mow though. Claire's mower wouldn't get going today so I think it needs some 'go-juice'! Hope you're making the most of the finer weather this weekend. :)

Sunday wasn't a day of rest!

So, first things first - I've been away for a week, skiing :) Had a lovely time and contrary to this photo, it was glorious sunshine most of the week. In fact at times it was too hot! I'm the one in the pink, my little bro is next to me, and his girlfriend's the one on the end. I missed my usual ski pal though, my dad, who couldn't make it this time. Next time eh, pops! ;) x

I was still feeling pretty healthy and energetic, the sun was out, so I went to the allotment for a dig on Sunday. It is official - Spring is here! I have evidence...

These pretty purple and yellow crocuses are growing next to my shed. They're so lovely :) Anyhoo, back to digging. Yep, I dug myself a new bed. Aren't I good?! So far I've just de-turfed it. I am going to bury the grass, grass-side-down, a spade's depth in the bed. (I read that is what I need to do!) That will be next weekend's task. I got a bit bored of digging after two hours and had some other tasks I wanted to do too. However, I was very proud of my achievement :) Look what I made...

Yes, it is a pile of turf and a muddy strip in the grass, but it is just so noble and magnificent... :P

Here, I took another pic of it to show the position, next to my two other strip beds at the 'shed end'. The ground was nice and soft to dig, which was a relief. (Cath - I used your Xmas pressie spade. Worked a treat and easier to use than my bigger one, which I try to load up with too much at once!)

Next came the fun part - having a fire. This went reasonably well, until I got a little nervous when the flames got pretty big and I suddenly realised I hadn't got the two watering cans of water ready in case it got out of control! I ran into the shed and got that sorted just after I threw some damp grass on to calm the flames :) Phew! Clears a lot of space, having a fire.

While the burning was happening, and I kept one eye on it, I had a poke about the rest of the 'shed end' of the allotment to see what was coming through, as well as tidying up and throwing any dried dead stuff onto the fire. I was very pleased to see some of the annuals starting to show new growth:

Both the lupins are coming through again, one more advanced than
the other. They were really pretty last year so I am happy they
made it through the snowy winter.

Mrs Bradshaw, my double geum is also showing strong signs of life.
I look forward to enjoying her again this year :)

The aquilegia is also emerging. I have now pulled off all
the dead stalks from last year's growth.

I was concerned last year that I'd wasted my money on the
caraway plant I bought. It spent most of the summer being floppy
then died back to nothing in autumn. However, it seems to still be
alive and has put on some healthy-looking growth already.
Let's hope it fares better this year :)

The tree onions I moved last year are making an
appearance, so they're still happy.

I wasn't expecting to see the spring onions, already in the allotment
when I took it on, coming through again. Hopefully they will be ok.
I'll see, andif not, they will have to go.

The three globe artichokes are all coming through again. I love the
thistle-type flowers they put on and they taste lovely so I look
forward to munching these when they are ready :)

In the strawberry bed there is this line of daffs. They were
flowering when I took the plot over almost a year ago so I
was expecting to see them again.
Note to self: change straw under strawberries once you've weeded ;)

And look at this - the garlic I planted before Xmas is making
a strong start :) The other bulbs I put in at the same time are
all coming through, some slightly more advanced than others.
Photos will be taken to show their progress.

This is a snap of the herb bed, next to the shed. I have now pulled out the dead growth and have tidied it a little. I managed to edge one side and will do the other next weekend. The caraway can be seen on the bottom edge of the photo - a bright vibrant green. I am still surprised to see it!

Another job I did was I finally trimmed out all the old wood from the raspberries and pruned the black/red/whitecurrant and gooseberry bushes, so this summer I can actually walk around them to harvest the fruit, without being impaled so much! They did fight back though and my arms look like I've lost a fight with a cat! I know really I should've done this job in the autumn. I didn't get round to it then, but I found it easy to spot the new canes v the old canes on the raspberries, as the new ones had buds on, the old ones didn't. The buds & new growth on the currants etc also showed me where to cut the branches back to. Maybe I've mucked it all up but there is only one way to see - wait a few weeks :) I am hoping that it is all pretty resilient and I've not messed up the growth too much, if at all.

I worked right up until it went dark and felt a big sense of achievement. Seeing the new growth coming through and anticipating the new growing year ahead I am now officially excited :)

I took my seed box home with me to plan what to do over the next few months. I can see I need to buy some seeds, as well as wait a while and cheat with some seedling plants. ;) I've been perusing my allotment books and I look forward to going down again on Saturday (still too dark in the evenings at 6.30pm when I get home from work). This time I'll have a helper so I should get twice as much done!


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Edit: Oh, I didn't mention that I noticed John, my next-plot-neighbour @ the 'shed end' must be giving up. I didn't see him much over the late summer. His sheds have gone and his plot seems pretty much abandoned. :(

I also managed a whole lottie time without being interrupted, just me and ma tunes! Huzzah :) Get so much more done like that. I will be more sociable soon, I'm sure!

Picked and packed

Well, I have so many spring onions ready to eat I am spreading the veggie love! I picked and 'packed' these beauties for the folks at work.

I also got another crop of asparagus after only a couple of days. This stuff grows mega-fast! Not a problem though, I love it! Might have to get a harvesting volunteer to keep on top of it whilst I am on hols. I am sure I can find someone who likes asparagus! Having it again for tea tonight - yummy :) There's the asparagus festival on near me at the mo (started today) so I am thinking of popping up there this weekend with my aunt and uncle, who are down for a visit. We're also going for a woodland bluebell walk, I think :)

Tonight there wasn't much light at the allotment but I was there for a couple of hours until it was too dark to see (even though I still wanted to stay!). Made a start on my strawberry row. It is totally overgrown with grass and it is going to take a while to weed. I also marked out where I want my paths so my lovely lottie neighbour, John, who has volunteered to cut my grass, can see which bit needs cutting. This should also help my friend Paul know which area to strim! Aren't men handy ;)

I didn't take any photos of the lottie tonight as, to be honest, my clearing looked rather feeble and pathetic! But as you allotment folk know, lots of effort goes into something but you don't always see a big result straight away. It was also dark!

Allotment plan - initial map

So, the plot got measured last night and I was quite surprised to find out it was over 50m by 5m (with 1m paths down each edge) - bloody big! I've made a quick to-scale map of what is where so I can start to decide this year's plan. Some things are missing so I need to add them in like the tree, pond, compost bins etc but this plan should really help me think about what I'd like where.

G.A. = globe artichokes, dark brown patches = dug over, light brown = to weed/dig, green = grass paths

More yummy veg

Been down the allotment tonight, measuring, so now I can plot what goes where. Also been doing some clearing and had a little bonfire to get rid of all the dead bits and pieces that were lying around.

I also picked the first crop of asparagus...

and more spring onions...

Nothing quite like fresh veg. I really can't wait until I have lots more veggies grown and ready to eat.

I really need to plant out my peas as they are growing so quickly! Everything's growing quickly - the soft fruit is starting to show little berries already after only a couple of weeks when it was just flowers.

Asparagus and spring onions cleared

This is part of what I was up to yesterday. I wanted to weed around the crops I have growing to take away competition for nutrients and to see what I've got. This is the asparagus and spring onion bed after I weeded it. You can see top right what it looked like before - very weedy! I hand-weeded as the asparagus is coming through now and I didn't want to damage it.

I have helpers coming today - my friend Claire who came with me the first night I saw the allotment and Paul who will be watering for me whilst I am on hols. I am hoping it will be fun and we get a couple of the large beds ready for planting.

I was going to measure the plot so I can plan what goes where yesterday but my tape measure has gone walkies, so I will do that today as Paul has one I can borrow. I don't want to put things in without planning so I need to measure asap.

I met another neighbour last night, from the opposite side of my plot - Bert. He seemed nice and I think he was worried I was digging up the asparagus! I expect having an allotment is like living in a village - everybody knows what you're up to. :) Bert was telling me Rob, who had my allotment before, "kept it like a palace". Hmm, no pressure there then!

Some shopping and my 1st allotment meal

Well, it blooming well rained ALL DAY here. Boo @ that! I was all psyched to dig but that didn't really happen. So, horror of horrors, I HAD to go shopping again! Terrible. I hate shopping... ;) So, I did the b&q/homebase run and checked out allsorts of things I might/might not get. They have lots of veg plants on special at the mo and as I got my lottie a bit late (and I am on hols for 3 weeks!) I may invest in some of these and save some of my seeds for later/next season. I did buy a few things - some compost for potting seeds, a plastic trug-type thing kinda like a flexible bucket. I'm sure it has a proper name! It was another bargain - about £3.50 where I have seen them elsewhere for about £6. It was reduced for some reason but looked fine to me. Lovely colour blue too. I also got sucked in by a 3 for 2 on garden refuse bin bags. There is way too much to compost once I sort out the allotment so I thought it was a wise investment. I will have to make a few trips to the tip I think! Speaking of compost, the first piccy in this post is of 'Captain Compost', my new kitchen compost caddy. Don't ask me why I have given it a name!!! I was also looking at bbqs. I think an allotment party or two is definitely in order. Pimms o'clock and all that!!

I did do practical things at the allotment once I'd dumped all... sorry, put away nicely(!) my new purchases in the shed. My new plants needed a good water. Got to keep them happy before they find new homes. Still need to plan where I want things. Must remember to measure out the plot next time I am down there on Saturday. I also bought a big pot to confine my garden mint and planted that this evening. I don't want mint going everywhere as it spreads like nobody's business!

On my way back to the car, when it was virtually dark, I decided to pull up some of my veg for tea. I grabbed some spring onions (which I had previously thought were onions) for tea and some parsnips which I will have tomorrow I think.

Don't they scrub up well?!

There's nothing quite as tasty as home-grown food.

And here is what I ate. Spring onions fried in olive oil, scrambled egg, seafood and a little soy. Yummy!

Oh, I also found some rhubarb on the plot. I think it is mine! It is on the path border but it looks like it is mostly on my plot. Wahey!