3 October – the magic of green manure

Work is slowing down on our Chipping Norton allotment.  The weeds are under control and the last of the summer veg is being picked.  it will only take a couple of frosts though before the runner beans and courgettes finally give up the ghost.  I know I’ve said it before, but I won’t be sorry to see the end of the courgettes … 190 are enough for 2 people and their dog!

Alfalfa as a green manure

Alfalfa as a green manure

One of the jobs this weekend was to dig in some alfalfa, grown as a green manure.  As a rookie to the world of alfalfa, I’ll admit this has been a bit of a hit or miss experiment.  But with a whole bed nearly empty, it seemed a shame to let it go to waste.  We’d bought some alfalfa seeds last year from ‘Oats’, Chipping Norton’s health food shop, and never got round to using them. By the time we came to ‘broadcast’ (technical gardening term for sprinkling them on the ground) them, it was much too late in the season.  However, the alfalfa made it into the ground this year and fared well, reaching a respectable 6 inches in height.  Digging it in and leaving it to rot, will  provide the soil with some additional nutrients to benefit next year’s plants.

Retail therapy – allotment style!

One of the really exciting jobs at this time of the year is poring over seed catalogues.  Now I’m not one of life’s shoppers, but there isn’t a doubt … seed catalogues are irresistible!  There are more than a few impulse buys when I get my hands on a seed merchant’s brochure.  It’s hard to tell if it is the pictures or the names which have the most appeal … Chantenay Royal carrots must be good … don’t you think?

What a whopper – the 1st 2009 swede

First swede of 2009 - approx 4½ lbs!

One of the weekend’s highlights was the uprooting of the first of the season’s swede.  Although it is a bit early yet and took a while to cook,  even in the pressure cooker, it tasted really good.  But I think we’ll leave the rest in the ground until we’ve had some frost … and look forward to them with anticipation.

We had many anxious moments last year with our swede crop.  After a very wet summer, our swede had reached championship proportions.  Many of them weighed in at around 6lb each – and that’s a lot of swede!  Ambitiously, we lifted the first one at the end of July.  While we knew it was much too early, we decided to sample our wares.  And what a let-down.  Instead of a delicious golden vegetable, we ended up with a tasteless white mush!  Yes we knew it was too soon, but the big question was would they improve?  Did we have a poor variety, or had the swede simply not had time to ripen?

Even after hours of online research and posting questions on allotment forums, we were none the wiser … and this bears out my complaint about only getting half the story when looking for advice.  Every article we read, told us swede was ready to harvest when it reached a certain size.  By this reckoning, our swede should have been more than ready in June.  For all the wealth of information available online, nobody was able to tell us if our precious swede would improve!

Well … if you are in the same predicament, I can tell you, when it comes to swede, size doesn’t matter!  There was nothing wrong with our swede that a couple more months in the ground didn’t cure.  After some cold weather, our swede was as golden and delicious as we had anticipated.  So if your swede lack taste … be patient … they probably just need a little longer!

26 September – A mystery gift at allotment 66A!

Apart from a very busy weekend on the allotment, we also had to spend some time unravelling a little mystery.  When we arrived at our ‘plotment’ in Chipping Norton on Saturday morning, we were surprised to find a mystery gift.  Some kind benefactor had left us … a bag of … well plants of some sort!  This of course begged two questions – who was the kind soul and what the heck were the plants?

Newly planted spring cabbage

Despite the glorious weather, there was little activity on the William Fowler allotment this weekend.  So we cracked on with some work, still puzzling over our anonymous gift.

There was much to achieve this weekend.  Finally our Cosse Violette French beans had to come down, but waiting in the wings was next year’s Durham Early cabbage.  Looking round neighbouring plots, there seems to be a lot of empty space, while our allotment is still packed to the gunnels!  In fact, trying to cram in our onions, cabbage and greens, and over-wintering lettuce was challenging to say the least!

The last of the lettuce and onions found a home as a ‘catch crop’ in what really should be our raspberry bed.  As most of our canes bought last year failed, we’ve taken the opportunity to use the extra space as a temporary measure.  I’m not sure if onions and raspberries make good bed-fellows, but frankly … they’ll have to get on with it!

'Freegle' Raspberry Canes

My creative planting was to be short-lived.  Having far more over-wintering plants than we needed, the remainder were advertised on Freegle (the newly branded version of Freecycle).  They were quickly snapped up and the kind recipient rewarded us with a bunch of … raspberry canes.  Whoops.  Back to the drawing board!  I’m not sure how the lettuce will take being transplanted twice in two days, but with more than 30 planted elsewhere on the allotment, I guess we can bear the loss.  And as for the onions, they’re still in there somewhere.

But what about the anonymous plants?  Sorry to have kept you in suspense!  The mystery was finally unravelled late on Saturday.  I’d sent a couple of emails to fellow allotmenteers asking if they could shed any light, and bingo!  Our gift turned out to be some Comfrey – promised a couple a weeks ago and completely forgotten.  It has to be said however, I wouldn’t recognise a Comfrey plant if it bit me.  But now I have one, I’ve done my homework and am looking forward to super-rich compost, green manure and noxious smelling plant food next year!

19 September – Out with the old … in with the new

Radar Onion

September seems to be a sad time of year on the allotment, watching the summer crops come to an end.  But if  you’re planning on growing veg through the winter, this month has its share of excitement too.

Before we had our allotment, we were definitely fair-weather gardeners.  The idea of growing vegetables throughout the year had never occurred to us.  Now is the time to plant those onion sets for an early crop next year.  We’ve opted for the ‘Radar’ variety again this year, having had good results with them.  Our spring planting of onions didn’t perform so well, so we’ll be looking for ideas and suggestions for the best varieties to grow.

Our spring cabbage and greens, grown in modules at home, are now ready to be planted.  These were seeds which came free with the Grow It magazine, so we’ll be interested to see how they fare.  As usual we’ve planted too many, but I’ve already promised some to another allotment holder who was bemoaning his half-empty plot.  If all else fails and we still have some left-over, a quick ad on Freecycle will soon find them a home.

I read something a few months ago which said the British were the most pessimistic gardeners in the world.  Apparently, we always plant far more seeds than we need, just in case they don’t all grow!  I guess I’m guilty of that too, but our red brassica varieties (kale and sprouts) did have a very low germination rate, so I doubt I’ll be changing my ways just yet.

Another allotment in the family!

The highlight of our trip to Portsmouth last weekend was having the opportunity to go and see the newest family allotment!  My daughter and her partner finally came to the top of the waiting list and took over their new plot just a few weeks ago.  They’ve already made great progress with 2 beds cleared and ready to plant.  Although a small plot, it will be more than big enough for them to cope with, especially with our 5 month old granddaughter in tow.  No doubt this is one baby who will be getting a gardening set for her first Christmas.

12 September – Frantic Activity at 66A

A week of sunshine has given the runners and courgettes a new lease of life on the allotment.  Although they are still cropping, they have slowed down now and I for one will be glad of the first frosts!  There is a limit to how many beans and courgettes two people and a dog can eat, and the neighbours must be getting heartily sick of them too.

Monday will be a red-letter day on our allotment when the Oxford Mail and Witney Gazette send their photographer to take a picture of us with some of our produce.  We recently sent out a press release (us copywriters do things like that!) about our new allotment blog, which stirred up a bit of media interest.  With the ‘grow your own movement’ still escalating, allotments are clearly very newsworthy!

In honour of the occasion, number 66A on the Chipping Norton William Fowler Allotments was weeded and strimmed within an inch of its life.  And all harvesting activities were postponed, so we’d have a plentiful supply for the photograph.

A valuable lesson!

60p worth of onion sets!

We recently heard one of our local Chipping Norton shops had some loose onion sets for sale.   Instead of buying them at the time, we didn’t quite get round to it.  We deliberated, trying to work out how many we’d need and did my daughter want some for her allotment.  Needless to say, on Saturday afternoon when I finally went shopping, only a handful were left.  At £4 per kilo, I grabbed the last 52 which cost the princely sum of 60p.  At a nearby garden centre, pre-packed sets are priced at around £1.60 for 50.  I won’t be so tardy next year!

An unexpected hazard

Sunday was less than peaceful on the allotment.  Local charity, Emma’s Trust was holding a ‘fun day’ nearby, so we were regaled with the sound system testing before the DJ got into full swing.  Weeding to music is quite invigorating, and by all accounts, plants appreciate the serenade.  However, our peace was rudely shattered when we found ourselves being peppered with shot!  Some local clay pigeon enthusiasts were holding a shoot in a nearby field and hadn’t realised the shot would travel so far.  While Megan, our border collie went into panic mode, David took off to find the offenders and ask them to change direction.  Fortunately they obliged and peace was again restored and no damage was done!

Thanks to Freecycle

Autumn Gold raspberries

Freecycle membership is a great asset to any allotment holder!  This weekend a local gardener offered some raspberry and loganberry canes and we were the lucky recipients.

Last autumn (much too late in the year) we bought 30 raspberry canes from eBay.  There were 5 different varieties, intended to give us a supply of raspberries throughout the summer and autumn.   In the past we’ve bought some wonderful plants online, but sadly only 8 of the 30 rasps survived.  So, thanks to the generosity of a freecycler, we’ll be able to increase our raspberry crop next year and enjoy a few loganberries to boot!

Sweetcorn – Are they or aren’t they?

Sweetcorn - are they ripe?

Sweetcorn is a new venture for us in 2009.  We were late getting these planted, but we are now being rewarded by the sight of swelling cobs on the plants. We’ve read all the theory about peeling back the ‘skin’ and pushing a finger nail into the corn to see if they’re ripe, but our cobs still look a bit immature.  We’re loath to start exposing the cobs if they still have some growing to do, so I think we’ll leave them a bit longer, unless someone can advise us differently?

5 September – Thwarted by carrot fly … again!

It was a very busy weekend for the WORD-right team.  We reached Sunday evening feeling more than a bit weary, but satisfied with everything we’d achieved.

Prize-winning vegetables at the Moreton Show

Saturday morning started with a trip to the Moreton in Marsh show.  It’s several years since we attended and as usual, it was an interesting morning out.  Wearing our allotment hats, we were looking forward to seeing the vegetable section.  While the size of some of these giant vegetables makes me lost in admiration, I’m not sure if growing them would ever appeal to me.  Rumour has it that these king-size veg lack flavour, but we’ve never put it to the test.  I think for us, it will continue to be a source of entertainment rather than a mission in life.

Dexter cattle at the Moreton Show

Having left home early to visit the show and avoid the crowds, we were able to retreat to the peace and quiet of our allotment for a couple of hours in the afternoon.  One of our missions was to dig up the bulk of our carrots.  Last year we left them in too long and the carrot fly damage, despite the companion planting, was severe.

This year, having done some extensive research, we decided to create a barrier.  Carrot flies fly low to the ground and, by erecting a screen round the bed, it seems they can be thwarted.  However, we were a little late in constructing the mesh barrier and we’ve suffered because of it.  But because our allotment borders onto a hedgerow which is higher than the plot, it might be that the infernal carrot fly were able to use this a launch pad and effect an entry.  Who knows?  But next year, we will keep our carrot patch well away from the hedgerow, erect the screen earlier, and perhaps try a combination of barrier and companion planting.  I’m coming down in favour of planting coriander around the carrots … working on the assumption it’s one of the smelliest plants of all time … it might just do the trick!

Hungry Gap kale waiting to be thinned out

Sunday morning saw us back up on the allotment, this time for a spot of overdue maintenance.  The peas, which haven’t done well this year, had to come down and the first of our winter salad leaves were ready to be planted.  These have been started off in the garden and have grown beautifully.  Our Hungry Gap kale, grown in situ, had to be thinned and also transplanted.  None of the salad or the kale looked impressed with the disturbance, so we can only hope being well watered helps them overcome the shock.  Only time will tell.

One of the attractions on our allotment (William Fowler Allotment Trust), is the damson tree which grows in our hedgerow.  We had hoped for a good crop this year, but sadly they are few and far between.  Our plum

Damsons in the hedgerow

tree in the garden suffered the same fate.  It is normally laden with fruit, but this year’s crop has been disappointing.  Perhaps we need to brush up on our fruit growing techniques to ensure better yields next year.  But if nothing else, we’ll be able to make another batch of damson gin, surely one of the best fruit ‘liqueurs’ of all.

30 August – Second Fiddle to Painting!

2009 parsnips - a winter treat

Sadly, our allotment had to take 2nd place to a spot of painting and decorating this weekend.  Needless to say, both David and I would much rather have been up on the plot getting our hands dirty!

We did manage a quick foray to pick some veg on a very cold and damp Sunday afternoon.  It was hardly a surprise to find the William Fowler Allotments in Chipping Norton were deserted.  No doubt all our fellow allotment keepers had made the most of the better weather on the Saturday, while we were up to our eyes in paint.

Our diligence in braving the elements was rewarded though, when we found a good few of our yellow raspberries (Autumn Gold) had ripened.   We’ve had the odd couple over the past few weeks, literally enough for one each as we’ve checked on progress.  But on Sunday, we gathered enough to serve after dinner, and very delicious they were too!

Before we took on our plot in 2008, I had no idea of the time just harvesting our produce would take.  Although we’d grown a lot of veg in our gardens in the past, popping out the back door to pick a handful of runners for dinner is a 5-minute job.  But when you have to physically go off site, the ball park changes.  At the moment we are spending a good couple of hours each week just picking the profusion of summer vegetables.  And of course, it doesn’t stop there!  When you bring home several kilos of vegetables, you have to consider what to do with them.  In our case, the neighbours benefited from more runner beans and courgettes, while the remainder were either popped into the fridge or  prepared and blanched for the freezer.

The courgettes seem to be slowing down, which is perhaps not a bad thing.  With our tally having now reached 99, we’re getting more than a bit ‘courgetted-out’.

Next weekend will be full-on with a visit to the Moreton in Marsh show on Saturday, and some overdue maintenance on the allotment on the Sunday.  We have a good stock of winter lettuce ready for transplanting and hope to finally achieve our goal of having a supply of assorted salad leaves through the winter months.

22 August – Triumph and Tragedy

Cauliflower 'Triomphant'

We’ve finally done it!  After many attempts, at last we’ve grown a proper cauliflower … and it’s perfect in every way.  In 2008, we bought ‘All Year Round’ cauliflower seeds, in the mistaken belief they would actually grow all year round.  Despite successive sowings at different times of the year, they did nothing more than feed the compost bin.  This year we decided to try some other varieties as a last ditch attempt, before giving up cauliflowers as a bad job.

We opted for two varieties: ‘Triomphant’ and the later cropping ‘Patriot’.  The first ‘Triomphant’ are doing very little so far, but they are in the end of a bed close to the hedgerow and we think, struggling for light and nutrients.  The second lot of plants were in a different bed and we found, during a flying mid-week visit to the plot, a perfect cauliflower had appeared!  By Saturday, it was big enough to harvest – after being photographed to death, of course.  The ‘Patriot’ caulis are still very small, having just been in the ground for a few weeks.  We’re hoping they too will reward our patience later in the year.  In the meantime, we’re hoping to have several more cauliflower ‘triomphs’ before the season is finished and ‘Triomphant’ will be firmly on our favourites list.

But our cauliflower euphoria was short lived.  We’ve worked hard to try and attract toads and frogs into our allotment with a tiny pond, a large wood pile, and several ‘wild’ areas to provide a comfortable habitat.  While doing some maintenance, David found a toad which had got tangled in the end of some brassica netting, put up to foil the pigeons.  It had obviously been dead for some time, but our spirits were dampened.  While the net is essential to protect the plants, we’re going to have to review how we use it – our toads are much too precious to suffer such a fate.

Copywriters' Courgettes!

Time on Chipping Norton’s William Fowler Allotments always seems to fly past.  We leave home saying … we’ll pop up, just for a couple of hours … and before we know it, 4 or 5 hours have elapsed.  At the moment, just picking our produce is a marathon!  With 2 large boxes full of assorted vegetables again this week, our efforts are certainly paying off.  The courgettes as usual are abundant, with 82 picked so far!  We can only hope we (and our friends and neighbours) don’t tire of them just yet, as there are plenty more to come.

15th August – a perfect day for a picnic

Cosse Violette - climbing French bean

Actually, today turned out not to be the perfect day to picnic.  The sun didn’t do a lot of shining on the William Fowler Allotments in Chipping Norton.  The wind however, was another matter.

Despite the none too warm conditions, it was a good opportunity to get to work and tackle the weeds.  And to think only last week, I said the weeds seemed to be dying down!  In fairness, the plot hadn’t been weeded in 3 weeks, so we were due for a bit of maintenance.

One of the great things about being on the allotment is being able to watch what other people are up to.  This is not only a great source of enjoyment, it’s a great way to learn.  As copywriters, we thrive on knowledge and information!  One of our neighbours (next plot but one) was lifting his potatoes.  Although we don’t grow spuds on our plot, I was overcome with a bad case of potato envy!  We’ve since been told the variety was ‘Picasso’ and they were enormous.  Although we were some distance away, the sight of mountains of huge potatoes were enough to warm any gardener’s heart.

Kojak courgettes and carrots

We’ve had a big success this year.  I opted to grow a variety of courgette called ‘Kojak’.  I selected them from Edwin Tucker’s seed catalogue for no better reason than they were spineless, and the idea of not coming home covered in scratches really appealed.  Although a lot of the seed failed to germinate … probably because we had a fairly chilly spring, the ones which did are magnificent!  We’ve been picking some perfect courgettes of around 10” long – real show-stoppers.  We bought a 2nd batch of courgette seeds from a local shop.  These were mixed varieties and we won’t be buying them again.  Several of the plants are producing pale green courgettes with a lot of seed.  Although they taste OK, the wishy-washy colour just doesn’t appeal.  So when it comes to Kojak … it really is a case of ‘who loves ya baby’!

We’re being very careful to weigh all our veg this year so we can work out exactly how much we get in yield and value.  With a another 1.5kg of spinach, huge amounts of purple Cosse Violette French beans, and other assorted goodies, we came home with a healthy 7.5 kilo of freshly picked vegetables.  Should last us a day or so!

8th August – Broad Beans Galore!

WORD-right's Broad Beans

Saturday morning dawned bright and clear – ideal conditions for working on our allotment (William Fowler Allotment Trust, Chipping Norton).  We didn’t rush, it was a Saturday after all, and we finally arrived up at the plot about 9.30.  Much to our surprise, there were only two other people on our section … we had expected it to be ‘rush hour’! 

At last the weeds seem to be slowing down, even the rampant bindweed which seems intent on taking over the entire plot.  I work on the assumption that every time I yank some out … I’m winning the war!  But considering it hadn’t been weeded in a fortnight, it was remarkably under control. 

Ripened onion strings

Saturday’s mission was to strim the paths and edges (David’s department!), while I dug up the remainder of the onions.  Last year, onions had been stolen from some allotments when they’d been left to ripen on the ground.   We decided not to take any chances, and so we take our onions home, where they cure nicely in the plant house. 

Most of Saturday’s efforts focussed on harvesting.  Always a very satisfying job!   We’ve been gradually taking some of our 2nd sowing of broad beans – Bunyard Exhibition – for a few weeks now.  But the remainder were just about all ripe for the picking.  With nearly 5kg in weight, there was a lot of podding and blanching to be done when we got home!  The freezer will soon be groaning under the weight of all our home grown veggies. 

As ever, the perpetual spinach was ready for its weekly ‘haircut’.  We’re picking around 1kg a week at the moment.  As it keeps well and is quite delicious, we don’t mind the glut, which is just as well as we’ve already had more than 6kg since the middle of June! 

Our Cosse Violette, a climbing French bean, is starting to produce a reasonable crop.  The deep purple beans turn green when cooked, which is a great shame – they are the most stunning colour when raw! 

Saturday was a red-letter day as we picked the very first of our runner beans.  We were late planting them and the weather hasn’t been kind, so these are probably a month behind last year’s crop.  Having grown Enorma last year, we opted for a different variety this year and went for Red Flame.  We were disappointed with the Enorma, although the growing conditions were far from ideal in 2008, which might account for it!  It’s early days, but the Red Flame plants are covered in flower and the first beans look beautiful.  We’re trying to work out the yield (and quality) we get from different varieties, and hope this will help us in future seasons. 

Although not on the allotment, time had to be allocated at home to planting.  This seems to be like a full-time occupation!  Because we want to make full use of the allotment, our goal is to grow a continuous supply of fresh vegetables.  This weekend’s planting consisted of spring greens, Durham Early cabbage and some Winter Density lettuce, which should all be ready in March or April.  We planted them in module trays and will transfer them up onto the allotment when they’re large enough to handle … and we can find some space! 

For the first time, we’re also having a go at growing some winter salad leaves: Winter Purslane, Lambs Lettuce, American Land Cress and Endive … to name but a few.  If anyone has any experience of these, I’d be delighted to have a few tips!