Allotment Adventures of Plot 58

Seed update...

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:51:04 PST

Just to give you an update on the seeds sown, the leeks are doing well and look good the tomatoes are romping away and at this rate they will be fruiting in May! My parsley & aubergines are doing well although the aubergines haven’t really grown an awful lot.

My spuds are chitting nicely and should be ready in a few weeks. The parsnips that I have grown in cells are doing very well and got over 95% germination from them which is very pleasing but I am going to sow some direct in the ground at the plot too just for a comparison.

The broad beans however seem to be rotting off after a nice start I would say I have lost about 40%.

And finally the cauliflower and the Cabbage sown last Thursday are already showing signs and I recon tomorrow some will be up.

St David's Day Daffodil & Egg shells

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:26:22 PST

Day off today so spent the morning down the plot,weeded around the raspberries and the loganberries and putting the ash from last week’s bonfire round the plants. Also dug out the last of the compost from the bin and spread round the plot so I can start composting again, I added all the old chicken straw to it first thing that should start if off nicely.

Also had a stroll round the Garden and finally I have some or should I say one Daffodil out and what timing too on St David’s Day

The last week or two I have been reading Joes allotment again (love this book) and in particular the section on brassicas in it he uses crushed up egg shells for Calcium to get his brassicas going when planning, I tried this last year with a few cabbages and they did do very well indeed. So this year I have decided to give it a shot properly so I brought a load of egg shells home from work (about 300!) dried them and crushed them up and now I have a nice tub of crushed up shells some I have feed back to the chickens as they use this for their new eggs. I plan to use his Brassica mix of a wheel barrow full of compost mixed with sharp sand or grit then a good helping of fish, blood and bone, 2 nice handfuls of lime to deter club root and finally the egg shells.

So with that in my mind I got to it and sowed a few cabbages and cauliflowers. I'm using All the year round for the cauliflower and Golden Acre for the cabbage I got this free last month with The Kitchen Garden magazine, getting right into this Magazine its full of useful articles that I find useful.

Also the other day I could not resist a tomato seed called Golden Pear it looks amazing and have used this in the kitchen before and they are really sweet so I sowed that today as well (I know I said that I wasn’t going to buy anymore tomato seeds! But I just had to……right?) I also made another sowing of broad beans as some have rotted off.

As this is my first proper year of growing for the allotment (last year was very last minute.com ) so I have started keeping an allotment Journal, my wife brought it for me a few years back but never really felt the need to use it but this year it’s been a must that way I can look back next year and see what I did when and what I used, not only that but it’s got great advice and a list of when you should be planning etc, it’s called Carol Klein’s Grow Your Own Veg Journal

Well have a cracking weekend all, and if the weathers nice get out in that garden!

The sign's that Spring is on the way.

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:37:38 PST

Haven’t had much time this week to get up the plot, today I only managed to do 2 hours but in that time I did manage to get a bit more done on the floor round by the compost bins, a few more pallets and it will be done.

I also sieved out the ash that I got from the bonfire last week I am going to use it to put round my soft fruit. I did notice that the first signs of spring are now on the way the autumn fruiting raspberries are starting to push through and my recently planted miniature pear tree’s buds are starting to swell. Although there are no sighs of the rhubarb that I planted last September let’s hope they haven’t rotted because of the snow.

I have had mixed success with the broad beans sown a few weeks ago, some have turned black and rotted but some have flourished and look almost ready to plant out. I have a few more seeds left so will sow them at some point to replenish the ones lost. I have now managed to get Thursday off work and plan to spend the whole day down the plot as the raised beds wont dig them self’s over!

compost Area 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:30:20 PST

The last few days have been a bit on the hectic side, it’s consisted of allotment in the morning till mid-afternoon then work in the evening till late, but I have really started to get stuck in down the plot and finally got the barking finished and it does look good.
On Sunday my father came down the plot to help me construct a new recycling area I already have 1 compost bin but wanted another plus a leaf mould bin I forgot to take a “before” picture of the area but the finished area looks smart.
I have also come up with the idea of putting pallets down on the floor in this area to make it more robust for the wheel barrow to move over this is going to take bit of time to finish as I need about 8 pallets and only currently have 2.

Yesterday I spent the best part of 6 hours at the plot again with the wife at work and girls at school it was time well spent I had my first bonfire and I got a little carried away with it! (Think it’s a man thing!)I got rid of all the old Brussels that needed disposing of and some off cuts of wood left over from making the raised beds.

As far as crops go my garlic is looking rather healthy considering the snow looks like I am going to have a good crop this year.
There isn’t much left now in the beds just a few Celeriac and some Cavalo Nero oh and a random parsnip I dug up when I was digging over a bed!I was pleasantly surprised with the compost from the bin as well it looks really rich and moist and by the looks of it will have about 20 wheelbarrow full of it think my vegetables are going to love it.

There is one low point my potatoes that got a bit of frost have all but rotted I have about 3-4 left of each variety so my planned experiment with them all won’t be as high yielding as I hoped and the plan now is to grow them all in containers on the plot and buy more potatoes to put in my potato patch. And will have to try it again next year.

There are more pictures on my Facebook page if you want to have a look just click the link on the right.

Getting the show on the road...

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:01:29 PST

Well the weather has been a bit kinder this week and I have managed to get down the plot a few times between work and home life. The Barking of the plot is still continuing but this is a few weeks from being completed but what is done looks pretty smart if I do say so myself!.

The next job on my list is construction of another compost bin I have one already but need another to turn the compost and aerate it. I have 4 pallets acquired from a local factory that were happy to get shot of them. I was breaking of the bottom bits of the pallets to make them flat and the regular hammer was doing the job but taking an age and not to mention it was hurting my wrist with every strike. Time for a brew I thought and the new plot holder opposite was down the allotment so I offered him a brew so the ice was broken we got chatting and when I got round to explaining what I was doing he went back to his shed and out he walked with a sledge Hammer! (Who keeps a sledge hammer in there allotment shed?)I was taken aback by this but it did make short work of the pallets.

I also made a metal note not to cross swords with Number 52! Hopefully by Sunday lunchtime the compost area will be upgraded I will post some before and after pics.

I also got round to planning the Pear Tree as the soil was surprisingly dry still. Won’t be long now until it will be read to take some onion sets.

Disaster strikes!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:34:33 PST

I am devastated. My seed potatoes which I thought were in a frost free place got attacked by frost over the weekend. It must have been the -9 we had on Saturday night but all my 10 variety’s growing for my potato experiment have all fallen fowl in some way. The worst of was my Ryecroft purple I lost 5 of them. All those that know about my potato trial will be aware that I had 9 different varieties from JBA seed potatoes all with just 10 tubers so when I lose 5 out of 10 that’s a big loss. All in all I lost 27 out of the 90 I had so I can still work with that but I am going to have to buy a few more to add to my stock so I have some substantial crops.

This is my 7^th year growing potatoes and it’s the first time I have ever had this problem. May be because I am using such old variety’s they need more attention…oh well that’s gardening for you! You win some and you lose some.

My Comfort food.

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:25:56 PST

When I think of comfort food I think of soup, yes, yes I know all you women out there are now saying not a chance it has to be “CHOCOLATE” but there is something about soup that makes everything feel alright I think it must stem form when I was younger as my mother always gave me soup when I was unwell and after you ate it you for a brief moment felt better, something that I still do today.

Also soup also resonates with me from my Training days at my local Institute where I studied to become a chef, one of the first things we were torte was a basic vegetable soup once you have mastered this we were told “the world was our oyster”

I even find making a soup to be quite therapeutic I think it’s because I know “everything will be ok” after I have eaten it.

Simple soups are what I love soups that do the ingredients justice my absolute favourite is Leek & potato soup. So today when I was making it for my wife and me for lunch it really got me thinking that it’s the ultimate Allotment recipe, what better to show case your plot over the 4 seasons that soup. Can you think of something better? I Challenge you to. Something that is purely made from what you grow, in fact next summer I am going to make a soup on my plot I have a camp heater that I use to make a brew on the plot so all I need is a saucepan.

I thought I would also share a few tips and little helpful points on the favourite are of a good soup.

· If your soup turns out runny and not as thick as you want it rather than reach for the corn flour why not just add a spoonful of rice and cook that in your soup this will release its starch as it cooks and thicken you’re soup then just blitz it in which your soup you won’t notice it in the end soup.

· Or you could use something called a “Beurre Manie” this is a “cold Roux” made simply with equal amounts of butter and flour worked together to make a paste then you simply whisk this into your soup and it thickens your soup and gives it a nice shine (believe me a good shine it what all chefs want on a good soup)

· Another top tip when making a soup NEVER BOIL your ingredients this will not release all those wonderful flavours from your veg simmer is the key.

So what are you having for lunch tomorrow?......................................

Withdrawal symptoms!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:53:43 PST

Well its day 8 of my holiday which I took to get some jobs done down the allotment and so far because of the weather I have spent a total of 3 hours there, so today after the wife went to work and I ran the girls to school and pre-school I found myself with a few spear hours but couldn’t go to the allotment as the snow is still quite bad in Colchester I had to do something I was getting withdrawal symptoms! So I pottered in my shed for a while then decided to sow some tomato, Aubergine & parsley seeds.

I have grown Aubergine’s before but not from seed I normally pick one up from the garden centre as a small plant. Every year now when I grow tomatoes I always go over the top and grow 6 or 7 types but this year I have decided on just 3 types the reliable Gardeners Delight , Alicante and San Mirzano 3 a plum variety that way it covers it all with a plum for cooking and 2 salad variety’s.
This is the earliest I have sown tomato seeds I normally wait till mid-march but this year the thought was this would extend the growing season as I could plant them in May when they were about to fruit. Rather than have to wait till mid-June before any. I plant outside for the allotment and I have a greenhouse at home and grow in there as well this year I am going to grow the Aubergines inside and out as they normally stay in the greenhouse and see what produces best.
Parsley also benefits from an early sowing this will give it chance to establish and form good size plants. I love parsley it’s one of my favourite herbs it adds a splash of colour to a dish or if used right add a distinct flavour to a good soup. It also I find planted in with your carrots helps deal with carrot fly. I did it last year and didn’t have any, so I will be doing the same again this year. Hopefully the snow will clear buy Thursday and I can finally get up the plot.

Chomping at the bit!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:04:08 PST

well like the rest of the UK today I awoke to see a blanket of white which as a gardener this isnt much fun I am chomping at the bit to get down the plot and and get stuck in. there is so much to do to get things ready for the new season.

lets hope it clears soon................I'm off for a Coffee.

Onion Seed V Sets Part 2.

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 07:17:59 PST

Oh dear oh dear the onion seeds are not doing particularly well due to the intervention of my 3 year old daughter. I have my onion seeds sitting nicely on the Bathroom window sill soaking up all the sun throughout the day. My youngest thought the onion seeds needed water….lots of water…..in fact during “bath time” the other evening they thought they were in Asia at the height of monsoon season when I went in to get here out the bath she said to me “Daddy, I watered your seeds like Mr Bloom” (for all those unfamiliar with Mr Bloom he is a character from CBeebies all about growing vegetables) I couldn’t be cross with her because she was only trying to help me I suppose and she looked so cute when she said it too. When I looked at them they were actually swimming in water I did my best to remove all the water I could but since then the seeds have all just rotted off and all but 1 has died.

A day after the monsoon! all is not well

So yesterday whilst out at my local garden centre I picked up another packet of onion seeds and also as a back-up measure I brought some seed onions Centurion, I hope I have more luck this time round with the onion seed because before the “monsoon” they were not looking to healthy anyway.

I have also been sowing some parsnip seeds this week in individual modules as they take an age to germinate, it has also highlighted to me that I need to invest in a greenhouse heater as I am slowly running out of window sills to put things on.

Scone in 60 seconds(ish)!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:55:21 PST

My favourite sister-in-law popped over today with my youngest niece as we are on our holi-bubbles and doing a spot of decorating she brought over a lovely soup which we had for our lunch. Whilst we were eating she was sharing a story about how she loves pineapple & cheese but wondered if they would make edible savoury scones and her husband thought she was mad!

Well to me as a chef that’s like a red rag to a bull!, could this retro 70’s buffet snack loved buy so many people on birthday parties and “nibbles” when people come over be reinvented as a savoury snack?
As luck would have it I had a fresh pineapple sitting on the side so we set about having a go.
We halved a recipe I use all the time as we weren’t sure how they would turn out. We used:

100g self-rising flour
3g of baking powder
25g of butter
25g of cheddar
Pinch of fresh chopped parsley
Pinch of fresh chopped thyme
50g finely diced pineapple chunks

We rubbed the butter in the flour and baking powder then added the rest rolled them so they were 1cm thick cut them out with a cutter and popped them in the oven for 10 mins at 200 degrees and went off for a cuppa.

The Verdict AMASING!!!!! Eaten warm they are now going to be a regular treat!

It’s got me thinking what else can we reinvent?………………………………..

Chitting, Digging, Barking & Pottering

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:27:21 PST

Today sees the first day of a 2 week holiday from work, so it has been a day for pottering, and getting all those jobs that you have wanted to do but just haven’t had the time.
On Friday I had my potatoes delivered from JBA and I was on the whole pretty pleased with them as my regular readers will know I am growing 9 different varieties of potato this year some are heritage variety’s that aren’t common place. I washed them all this year this is something that I don’t normally bother with but I have read a lot of blogs lately and lots of people do this so I thought I would give it a go this year. The potatoes are now resting peacefully in my greenhouse in my garden.

Another job that needed doing was digging up the Brussels sprouts that didn’t produce any sprouts but did get infested with whitefly this was the only crop this year that put on a poor show.
I have had to throw the towel in and concede defeat with sourcing free bark chipping for the plot, I tried everything, the local council, local tree surgeons whom on the phone were happy to oblige but when asking when you could collect it or have it delivered new came true to their work I even drove around trying to hunt it down by local roads and woodland areas where work was being carried out but all I got was a big fat nothing! So I have started buying bark. This really goes against all that I am aiming for on my plot but I did do extremely well with sourcing timber for the raised beads and the shed both of which practically cost me nothing, you can’t win them all. So I have been busy laying this down on the plot too it’s starting to look good and hopefully keep all the pesky weeds down this year, when it’s all covered I will post a pic.
Other jobs that I have planned for the next 2 weeks are:
·         Make a new compost bin as 1 isn’t enough this will also help me keep it turned.
·         Make a leaf mould bin as I have 10 bin bags scattered all over the place,
·         Start digging the beds over.
·         Finish barking the pathways

Let’s hope the weather is kind to me.

BROADening my pallet…....

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:52:19 PST

When I was a boy I was always given broad beans to eat I HATED them my farther loves them which is why we had them so often, and a consequence of this I haven’t eaten them since. When I was younger I also disliked tomatoes and beetroot but are now 2 of my most adored vegetables, so this year I am going to give them a second chance and see if I have changed my mind.

As a chef I cook with them all the time and to a chef the broad bean represents the start of the British growing season proper. They lend them self well to most things but a dish I always go back to is a spring veg risotto simple light and shows off all the early produce, and against the white of the risotto rice really shows of the bean and makes it the star of the show.
So last Thursday I got cracking and me and my 3 year old daughter sowed our board beans, she love’s helping Daddy in the garden and she is in charge of putting the seeds in the seed trays then I poke them down.

I am growing a variety called masterpiece Green long pod has anyone else grown this variety before? What’s it like?
If anyone has any good advice on growing these then I am all ears, what they like dislike and when to pick them.
I suppose that’s why an allotment is so good as you can afford to try new things and experiment a little with vegetables that otherwise you would give a miss, and getting my children involved in growing and seeing vegetables grow they are more inclined to eat them as they have helped them in some way, that’s what I believe anyway.

Seed Vs Set's

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:10:44 PST

This year I have had a go a growing onions from seed, I have never done this before I have always gone down the route of sets and put them in end of march beginning of April, but now I have the allotment I thought I would give seed onions ago as in the long run will be cheaper. I have read a lot off for and against sowing from seed but the only true way I will ever find out I believe Is to do it for myself and see.

I will also grow some sets but only one variety as yet to be decided and I may choose a Red onion as I love onion in salads but the onion form seed I have chosen is F1 Santero mainly because last year I had Downy Mildew and this variety is resistant to it I sowed the seed last Monday and it has now over the last 24 hours started to show. So I suppose the season has begun for me this is the earliest that I have ever sown seeds as I normally wait till march before I start but now I have the Allotment this will all change I suppose .

Along with my potato experiment this year I will also run a seed Vs Set test and this will hopefully aid me in the future to decide seed or set.

I didn’t know that this was quite a “hot topic” in gardening circles and which side you sit Seed or Set but I believe in the wise words of Harry Hill…………..”well I like seed onions but I also like set onions hhmmmm there’s only one way to sort this…………..FIGHT!”
7S8X8QZAJNBP

Fruitilicious for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:21:19 PST

I have always had a bit of a love hate relationship with growing fruit I love it, it HATES me! In fact the first thing I ever grew myself was fruit, Raspberries to be exact in a large 40lt pot up a wigwam of bamboo canes. I had it for about 4 years in total but didn’t really get much from it fruit wise as I didn’t have a clue about growing then and didn’t have the first clue how to look after it. All in all I have had Raspberries, Gooseberries, and strawberries. It wasn’t until I started to get more involved in growing that I learned that fruit are a bit like female pop star Divas they constantly need your attention and TLC!
I moved house about 6 years ago now and inherited a wonderful Cherry tree it was only 2 years old but to this day don’t know the variety but it was in the middle of the garden (don’t have a clue why!) so we dug it up and moved it again not really knowing what I was doing! It was touch and go for about 3 months and the following year we got nothing from it but WOW what a great harvest we get from it now. I have learnt what it needs and when it needs it.
So when I got the allotment last year I knew straight away that I wanted fruit and lots of it but also knew that I would wait for my second year before doing so which brings us to the now.

Strawberries were the exception, I have always grown strawberries with little success the odd fruit here and there but nothing I would call a harvest so I dug what I had at my home garden which was about 8 plants and re-located them at the plot I gave them a good starting bed and over last summer they again didn’t provide much but I was more interested in them reproducing so to speak I wanted my 8 to become 108 so left them to put out as many runners as they wished! So in mid-December I dug them all up and re-planted them in their permanent home I ended up with 68 plants in total now and hope over the next few summers I may finally get a crop fingers crossed.

I also this year made a raspberry bed at the back of my plot I used 6ft logs and wire to make a frame for them to grow up; I got 4 varieties covering the whole season they are:
·         Valentina
·         Tulameen
·         Jona J
·         Allgold

I also have a Tayberry bush which I am very much looking forward to also added a gooseberry bush which hopefully won’t be destroyed by sawfly like my last one! And 2 crowns of Rhubarb and the Piers de Résistance a Dwarf Concorde Pear Tree and for only £9.50! I still don’t understand why garden centres sell off deciduous trees and shrubs in late autumn as they will be back stronger the following year there loss is my gain! I LOVE pears they are such a treat to cook with and can go sweet or savoury in fact I am salivating now as I type! All the fruit cost me in total under £20 which if you were to buy it all at normal price is over £100 my reclaimed re-cycled or buy as a last resort was in full swing! On my allotment site we are only allowed miniature or patio trees nothing over 6ft and when I started looking back in the summer they were close to £40 which is still a hardly nothing considering the bounty you can potentially get from it

All that’s left to do now is find the right spot for my pear tree and Gooseberry bush give them the best start that I can and hopefully 2012 will be my best EVER year for fruit.

Cavalo Nero with a twist....

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:57:58 PST

Today I managed to get down to the plot again as I need to get the paths sorted before the new season is upon us, I was taking a well-earned Tea break when my mind started wandering and I was thinking to myself “that Cavolo Nero needs using up before it becomes Percy food (Percy is My daughters Duch Rabbit) or even Hefty’s and Hilda’s mid-week special snack. When I came up with a great idea for it, so when I was finished up the plot for the day I grabbed myself a good bunch and headed home.

Cavolo Nero pesto with Walnuts
This is how I made it:

A good bunch of Cavolo Nero (5-6 large leaves)
2 Garlic cloves
5-6 walnut half’s (toasted)
50g Parmesan Cheese (or supplement for Pecorino if Veggie)
Salt & pepper
Olive oil

First I toasted my walnuts, and then put aside to cool. Then I blanched my Nero in boiling salted water for 40seconds no more then removed from heat and refreshed under cold water and squeezed all the water out. Then in a food processor I added the Nero and the walnuts and blitz until it was a course chop then added the garlic and parmesan then blitz until a smooth paste. Add the olive oil to create a smooth paste (about 2-3 tablespoons).

This can now be kept in the fridge for about 2-3 weeks until you need it. I simply cooked some pasta and tossed it through and added myself some protein (veggies need not)
I can confirm it was VERY tasty and what a different way to use your Cavalo Nero.

Barking mad!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:16:06 PST

Have spent a lot of time lately reading a lot of gardening blogs and they all have one thing in common…………..LETS GET CRACKING, so today I went to the plot to start a BIG job. The aim is to put down landscape fabric so that I can bark over the top to keep the weeds down as last year as it was a fresh plot the weeds were a Nightmare at one point some were knee high and I was going down to the plot 2-3 times a week but just could not control it.

The plot itself is over a half plot but not quite a full size one its 17meters long by 12meters wide and I have allowed enough room on the walkways to get a wheelbarrow down so about 80cm wide, back in November I put the finishing touches to my raised beds.
I spent in total £35.00 on fabric all 20m long I had to shop about for the barging though! The Range was the best as it was not only 20m long but it was 2m wide.
I haven’t got the bark chippings yet but think that’s going to cost me another £40.00 which will be the most I have spent on the allotment to date as my ethos is to, where I can recycle or reuse.
It took me 3 hours to do a 3^rd of the plot so planning on going tomorrow to finish it off as I can spent more time there. Then once that’s done all the structural work is almost complete and I can concentrate on the most important part of the plot…………………………………….the soil.

the Simple Spud........

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:58:54 PST

The other day the wife and I were looking for bargains at our local garden centre, but what made me start thinking was in the entrance were LOADS of potato seeds, is that time already I asked myself, last year was a bit of a rush for me as we didn’t get the plot till late in the year, May in fact so we didn’t really think about potatoes until late spring.
So this year I want to be ready as they make up a good bulk of your allotment also are great for braking up the soil.

I only grew 3 varieties last year all main crops:

·         Sante
·         Maris piper
·         King Edwards

We didn’t really chit them and just put them in and hoped. To my surprise we had a really good crop of potatoes the Sante I was practically surprised with as they were very prolific and tasted great.

this was last years Sante Crop from 2 rows 2m long about 30KG!

So this year I wanted to give them a bit of attention so started thinking and actually didn’t really know much about “chitting” and why it’s done so I consulted my friends at Uk Veg Gardeners and I was directed to a company called JBA seed potatoes the site was AMASING the chef in me was getting excited about all the old heritage variety’s and the gardener in me was just plain getting carried away!. I started making a list which when I finished consisted of 19 different varieties, hhmmmmm………. Needed to narrow it down a little so goggled them all to find what was good and what needed more TLC than others and managed to narrow it down to 9 they are:
·         Winston First early
·         Ulster Classic First early
·         Dr McIntosh Second early
·         Doon Pearl Second early
·         Maxine Main Crop
·         Majestic Main Crop
·         Sante Main Crop
·         Ryecroft Purple Main Crop

I got 10 tubers of each the plan is to grow 1 row of each and see what does well and what needs changing for 2013.

Putting my chef hat on some of these are old varieties need to be brought into the main stream to keep some of our heritage from vanishing all together. And by purchasing some I hope to play my part in it and I will be singing from the rooftops to all my friends and family and fellow Allotmenters about how great they are.

So the date set in the Calendar is Wednesday 25^th January that’s the delivery date! I have started collecting Egg trays from work in readiness!

You win some you lose some!

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:05:07 PST

Well December has been a bit of a blur for me, what with work. So haven’t really had much time if any to go down the plot. So today I managed to get a few hours to go (actually it was to give my new Dirt Boot willies a road test!).

Everything was looking good the cavalo Nero was looking amazing and the celeriac was nice and fat, so when I saw the state of my Brussels sprouts I was a little disappointed. Firstly they were ABSOLUTLY covered in white fly; I have never seen anything like it! Secondly they had not formed nice little balls they were more like sprout flowers and thirdly they smelt odd! Wasn’t too sure why they had turned out so poor? I have them a rally good start with some lime and crushed egg shell for potassium, and were looking really healthy back in November, it’s funny how things can just turn.
In fact this year I haven’t had really any meaningful success with any form of brassica other than my early white cabbages everything else has been poor my sprouting broccoli well they have just grown and grown and showed no sign of “sprouting” and my winter cabbages were attacked whitefly. But as they say in show business, the show must go on and next year they will get more attention (also I will do a bit of reading up and asking fellow allotment holders for advice.) and hopefully have a better harvest of Brassicas.

Also today I started planning for the new season what’s going to go where and what contraptions I can build to make life that much better at plot 58. The plot itself is not yet boxed in as that seems to be the “thing to do” down my way but trying to come up with a cheap or free sustainable way is not easy!

Anyway enough of me babbling on have a good new year and see you in 2012!

Bringing Some Festive Cheer

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:29:24 PST

As a Chef, Christmas is a VERY hectic time of year, the demands for offices to have their annual party and celebrate the year becomes at times chaotic. So getting time to get down the Allotment becomes a juggling act with home life, work life and Allotment time.
So today I manage to get some time to go to the plot, but when I step outside its Bloody freezing and showing signs of rain so with a sigh I neglect to go instead taking the time to make some Christmas treats for the family & friends, as this will be the only chance I get now.
I thought I would pass on some of my recipes for you to try to bring that Christmas joy that giving food brings to me.

On the list today was marzipan the charismas cakes. I have made 5 one for the Annual Family Christmas cake competition and 4 for gifts to give away (little ones 8cm square).
Then I set about making some honeycomb to make some fudge with later this is easy but can be a little dangerous if you’re not careful!

To make honeycomb you need:

· 500g granulated sugar

· 500g Demerara sugar

· 2 tablespoons of water

· 20g unsalted butter

· 50g of maple syrup or golden syrup whatever is your tipple!

· 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda

You will also need a greased 25cm baking tray

Method: (you will need a sugar thermometer)
Place the first 5 ingredients in a pan and heat until you get to “small Crack” stage on the sugar thermometer or (138°) then remove from heat and stir in the bicarbonate of soda (Note: this will erupt like a volcano so make sure the pan is big enough to double the volume of mixture!) then place in the greased baking tray and allow to cool. When cool break up into chunks and store in an air tight container.
Then I made some chocolate honeycomb fudge this is a great Christmas gift and very easy to make

To make chocolate Honeycomb fudge you need:

· 550g caster sugar

· 550g Double cream

· 75g of golden syrup

· 150g of good quality chocolate (70% if you can get it)

· 300g home-made honeycomb chunks

You need a sugar thermometer for this too, and a saucepan to allow it to double in volume

Method:
Put the sugar, cream, syrup in a pan and bring to “soft Ball” stage (118°) then remove from the heat, add the broken up chocolate at this point you need to stir vigorously until the mixture starts to thicken (you need to put your back into it!) Then fold in the Honeycomb. Place in your lined mould and chill for at least 8 hours then cut into chunks this will keep for about 2-3 weeks
These really do make great Christmas gifts that can be enjoyed by everyone.

I also made some chocolate truffles which are just too addictive and not sure that they will make it as gifts!

Also today I made a great recipe and one I love with cheese. Spiced Onion Marmalade, it is sweet and goes with cambert brie or a hearty strong cheddar. Or my personal favourite Goats cheese

Cheese is one of my most adored ingredient and I always love having a jar of something to go with it.

Spiced Onion Marmalade:

· 4 large white onions

· 2 sprigs of Fresh Thyme

· Pinch of cumin seeds

· Pinch of mace

· Pinch of cinnamon

· ½ teaspoon of salt

· ½ teaspoon of fresh Cracked pepper

· 300g of Demerara sugar

· 50ml white wine Vinegar

· A knob of butter

Method:

In a pan add the butter and melt then sweat the onions with the fresh thyme and the spices and salt & pepper. You want to start the caramel process so about 5 minutes into cooking add 50g of the sugar, and cook for a further 10 mins. Now add the rest of the sugar and the vinegar and cook for another 5-10 mins. Remove from heat and add to jars. This is best made a week or so before you want it as it gets better with age.

A few weeks ago I also made a Red Pepper Jam with my abundance of Red peppers from my allotment this year; it goes really well with cold meats or cheese. Click the link below for the recipe.

http://ukveggardeners.com/group/preservingandcooking/forum/topics/red-pepper-jam-a-cheese-treat

Hopefully I will get down the allotment soon, but the demands of a chef this time of year, may put a damper on things!

Merry Christmas Everyone

Meet the Girls……….

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:00 PST

Meet my Girls, Hetty and Hilda my 2 chickens. We have had them for nearly 2 years now and they are truly part of the family.

I have always wanted chickens but it took some time for me to get the Wife on side, but after watching a program with Alys Fowler and her Garden and her keeping chickens I got the all clear. Admittedly I did do quite a bit of research first as I had 2 big questions. Are they noisy? And how much room do they take up? As I live in built up area and the last thing I wanted was chickens annoying all my neighbours! I joined a website called Omlet http://www.omlet.co.uk they are amazing and would recommend you check them out if you’re looking to get chickens they have a forum for everything chicken . So after having my mind put to rest we were ready to get some girls. I also spoke with my neighbours either side and told them of my desire to get chickens and gave them the website address so they too could get some piece of mind.

EBay was the destination for our first hen house we went for something cheap (BAD mistake!) and easy to get hold of. A wooden hen house with built in run was our tipple, 3 days later it was up and ready for the girls.

So one fresh spring morning my little family and I set out to a local chicken breeder to add to the family! I was set on a Sussex Red and the wife like the hybrid called Speckeldy. We got them at 16 weeks (this is called point of lay or POY) as at 16 weeks there ready to lay eggs. But the breeder told us it would take them 2-3 weeks to settle in their new home before they start to lay.

It took about 3 weeks for our girls to lay there first egg but it was WELL worth the wait. Fresh eggs are like fresh veg from an allotment you really can’t compare them to shop brought even if you get the best on offer, there simply the best your ever taste. There is nothing quite like a freshly laid egg with your bacon on a Sunday morning.

This year we decided to upgrade our hen house to one from the Omlet website as wooden hen houses while they serve a purpose they are imposable to keep clean and hygienic for your hens. We went for a Eglu Go without the run as we have a nice run for our girls already which I built a year ago, and just wanted a nesting box and sleeping area.

Just more than eggs……………………

Hetty and Hilda do more than give us fabulous eggs, they help with my garden too.

Firstly Chicken manure on your compost is AMASING it is a perfect addition to give you a wonderful rich compost, I have noticed it this year with my compost it has given all my plants a extra boost and the squashes loved it.

Secondly they help keep the slug and snail population down too. I am a big fan of Hosta’s and have over 10 in my garden but each year even with my best efforts some get demolished by slugs and snails but since my girls are on the scene they have thrived. There is nothing more appetising to a chicken than a slug or snail. I let my girls out in the garden at least 3-4 times a week to have a scratch around and eat the grass. You do have to protect things in the summer from them as they will eat it but on the whole there do behave themselves.

Thirdly my 2 young daughters Love the chickens they are very good with them they pick them up (which the chickens love) and play hide and seek with them. And the chickens love having them around; in fact they love it when you’re in the garden with them. They like a good stroke and even better is when you’re doing a bit of weeding and they nip in to grab the fresh weed to snack on.

Self-gratification

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:26:39 PST

This year for the first time I had a go at collecting seeds from the veg that gave me there best this year, I have never done it before but the process seemed quite straight forward. I let a few of each go to seed or in the case of my courgettes let one grow, and grow and grow! So much in fact it was over 60cm long, and as fat as a marrow!

Runner beans, Bolloti beans, Sunshine squash, Courgettes, Dwarf French beans, Climbing French beans The list is endless, and the whole process gave me a great deal of self-gratification, knowing now that next year the produce I have grown came from seeds that I dried myself and the best thing about it it’s all Free, and to me that’s the most important thing is sustainability and using what I can again, I will also have a go at selling my surplus seeds thus generating welcome income for my allotment.

I was also looking into seed swap schemes, but as of yet can’t find anything close to home, I may even try starting one up on my allotment I am sure there are other people whom have done the same. If anyone has any advice on this I am open to ideas maybe you would like to swap???

I would be happy to post some seeds out for something in return.

This is just a small selection of my seed collection mountin this year!

I just thought I would Raise this.....

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:55:15 PST

Today we put the finishing touches to our new Raised beds down on the plot, I am chuffed to bits with them, all in all we sent £32 on over 120m of timber, I managed to re-cycle about 10% from my garden at home, and got the rest from a local timber auction and a local business that was going to just throw it away!

all that needs doing now is painting and then digging the beds over, but that's for another day. the plot is not square one side is longer than the other and the top is also longer than the bottom which didn't help much when i was trying to make them square. there are 3 small raised beds in the middle that i need to move over a little as they are not even now as these were made in the summer before the main raised beds.

May to Septermber

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:45:25 PST

so after some hard work the plot is taking shape, and my recycle and re-claim is working nicley, got a shed form a friend for nothing and just needed a little TLC and a coat of paint.4
i was loving the bolloti beans that i sowed from my neighbours seeds they gave me last year and what a crop it was becoming.

also the cabbages were looking good but found that i had to net as the bugs were loving them!

so to try to bing you up to speed were now in September and the christmas spuds are in and the crops have been great the leeks are lush and green and i have never tasted anything like them!

March to May

noreply@blogger.com (Stacy) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 06:46:52 PST

In March this year I received the news............I had a plot! the wait was over. I had been waiting 18 months and the day of days had come. the local council were creating 60 new plots on an existing local plot and i was on the list. my wife and I couldn't wait to see, so that weekend we went to have a look!(yes i know its sad but we could resist!) what we found was a Field of grass

Yes yes its nothing to look at but to us it was the start of something we hoped would be a success.

The next few weeks went by at a snails pace but we made a start on getting a few essentials, such as spades folks and hoes etc.. but we wanted this adventure to be about using recycled or reclaimed materials as much as possible and only buying new when we had no other choice.

we found out that the local council would plough the plots for us so they would already be rotivated and ready to go.

this year saw us in East Anglia have one of the hottest and Driest springs in years, so when Easter came and we finally got the keys to the plot we had a BIG shock. the ground had been ploughed for about 3 weeks when we got there and the ground was Rock hard it's clay soil mainly and as we know the sun and clay don't mix. the plot size is 17 meters long by 12 meters wide just right we thought.

The first few days were Hellish Temperatures in the high 20's Celsius and because it was quite late into the planting for veg we had to get some potatoes into the ground and fast if we were to have a good crop this year. we were not sure what to go for this year as we just wanted to get something in the ground so we went for 3 variety's, King Edward, Sante and Maris piper all good potatoes.

we were at the plot now Known as plot 58 every day for the first week preparing the ground as it was pretty poor.

I managed to salvage 4 old pallets and soon whipped up a compost bin ready to receive the bounty of waste, to create compost.

and that's how the great Veg journey started..........................