More spuds in !

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat, where we are able to bring more news, some good and some not so good! So, starting with the best bit: Thanks to some kind help from Jo & Co., we now have another 4 rows of spuds in the ground. This accounts for the balance of the first earlies, and half of the second earlies. The ground is still heavy, and drainage struggling, but he spuds have a fairer chance in the ground than out ! On a slightly down note, the rest of the plots are badly overgrown. This is due to my absence with ill health, and at present am concerned at how we're gonna gain the upper hand, and maybe a phone call will be needed to rally some help. I'm sure that a good mow of the grass will tidy things up considerably, but this too will also expose more weeds! Talking of weeds, I haven't touched one since 16th March - patting myself on the back as i type!
Seed germination continues at a pace at home, and I'll update on where we are with that later.
The weather looks glorious again, so i suggest you get out there sharpish!

Take care all and have a grand day.

TTFN.

Latest harvest & Other stuff

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat. We've had a busy morning today, with wifey adding another gorgeous recipe to our new blog - Reads Recipe's - whilst I've been busy at the plot harvesting more produce. This haul is the last of our Second Earlies spuds (v.Nadine) which amount to approx 10 lb's. We've really enjoyed these spuds and will be growing them again next year. The ground now vacant has been thoroughly dug over, and this will be repeated in a few weeks time.

I also harvested 3 squashes (v.Turks Turban), but only managed a picture of 2 of them, the third is cooking as i type! These didn't get as big as hoped, but maybe if we plant them earlier next year they'll do a bit better. Thanks again to Stephen at Victoriana Nurseries, who donated this years squash plants. What a star! The pumpkins and courgettes are still growing on well, and we hope to bag a late harvest of those.


I picked a load more Beans(v.Borlotti) ready to dry out. So far we have dried about half a pint of beans, and have them stored in an airtight container, ready for use later in the year. We have also used them in place of Kidney Beans in Chilli con carne and can assure you they taste yum. In the bottom of the bag there's also a few late runner beans(v.Scarlet Emperor) which will be enjoyed with our lunch today.


Meanwhile, up at the plot:
The marrow plants that looked to be on their last knockings a couple of weeks ago, seem now to be bursting back to life. Maybe if the good weather continues, we'll bag a few more before the end of the growing season? We've enjoyed about 6 in total from 2 plants, so any more really would be a bonus. We even have some jars of Marrow Preserve in the cupboard (recipe to follow) . I tasted this while Jen was putting it into the jars - it had a lovely sweet Butterscotch type flavour - delish.

I couldn't believe the state of the runner bean plants - there's an abundance of new flowers that have suddenly appeared, so hopefully we will be cropping these again soon. Next year we plan to grow the runners in a different location - more of that in the future - and the existing beds will be planted up with our potato crops. A four year rotation plan for planting is all well and good, but I think we'll opt for a 2 year plan as it will be easier to manage. Well alternate the planting with roots / above ground veg. See how we get on !




This squash (v. Waltham Cross) is growing atop our compost bin, and looking good for a decent specimen. There are still new shoots here and there, so dependent on the weather for the next few weeks, I may / may not cut these back. Watch this space !





Whilst at the plot today, I placed my order for next years seed potato's. Ordering through the society is definitely a money saver. Next years selection is as follows:

• First Earlies: Maris Bard, which are a popular choice at the allotments, and are a renowned heavy cropper with good Blight / Scab resistance. 6Kg for £4.80.(approx 60 Tubers)
• Second Earlies: Nadine, after such a good crop this year, choosing these was a no brainer. We have been delighted both with the size and taste of the crop. Consider that I've just dug the last 10 lbs today and there has been no deterioration after the extra time in the ground.6Kg for £4.80. (approx 60 tubers.

This order will be delivered early in January next year, ready for chitting / planting out as the weather permits.

Thats about it for today, hope you've enjoyed reading our harvest update!

Hope you are all enjoying your plots as much as we are.

Take care,

TTFN

Spuds -more dug today

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat. Today I dug some more of our Second Earlies (v.Nadine), and got this tidy haul from just 3 plants. It was a bit of an exciting dig, as the haulms had already died back, and I wasn't sure if the spuds would be ok, if any at all. As you can see, they are all ok, and suffering no ill effect from being left in the ground. That might change though, as a spell of wetter weather is on its way! We haven't even got to the maincrop yet!



Thats all for now. Take care and enjoy your plots,

TTFN.

1st August - And what a haul!

Welcome back to our allotment retreat, where we are enjoying the fruits of our labour once again! After a quick visit to the plot today we came away with this bumper harvest. We cant lay claim to the courgettes - they were a gift from a fellow plotholder - he grew so many he's been eating them every day for weeks! The marrow is our second this year and the plants are still flourishing. We picked a good handful of Runner Beans, French Beans and Purple podded french beans. Only a couple of Pea pods - but they are soooo tasty ! Finally we dug the first of our Second Earlies(v.Nadine). We'll be conjuring up some lovely home grown veg to go with our Hake Fillets for tea! Yum.
Our Butternut Squash plants are also going well. No sign of any fruits yet, but buds galore on the 4 plants that are planted atop our compost heap. The flower in this pic looks to have a fruit developing underneath, all we need now is some sunny weather to help it grow on a bit.
The mixed bag of plants that we were given are also doing very well, considering they've only been in the ground about ten days:


This one appears to be Zucchini - you can just see the yellow fruit starting to form.







Not sure what this one is either, but something is growing !! Unfortunately, the majority of the plants that Stephen gave us were without labels, so we'll just have to wait and see. We can't thank Victoriana Nurseries enough, and can't find enough superlatives to describe their nursery. Maybe we can show how grateful we are by buying a bit more from them next year!



Our newly located Rhubarb crown is going great guns too, obviously liking it's new growing position. Won't be enough growth to harvest this year, but we're hoping for bumper harvests in years to come.









Our first attempt at growing Borlotti Beans is proving to be a great success. Faced as we were today with a multitude of beans, we need to read up a bit before we harvest them. The plan was to grow them for drying, with a view to using the dried beans in winter stews and casseroles, but we are now thinking they could be picked to eat as "runners" - maybe one of our readers can advise us on this ?






On the way back from the plot, we stopped off at a newly discovered site (being vague on purpose!) and picked approx 10 pounds of these lovely Cherry Plums. As I sit here typing, wifey is busy preparing the first 5lb batch of jam - yummy yum. We already have about 4 jars in the larder from a previous picking a couple of weeks ago. If you could smell the fruit now as it gently boils on the stove . . . . oh, you can't ! Oh well!!


That's about it for now. Hope you are enjoying the growing and gardening, and also hope that you will pop back soon for more updates.

Till then, take care all.

TTFN

All bought and paid for!

Welcome to a cold and wintery 1st of Feb update from Reads Allotment Retreat. Despite the weather encroaching upon us, I popped up to the allotment today and paid my firtst years rent. £29.60 seems a small price to pay, considering i now have access to over 300 sq yards of land to grow my own veg. I say over, as the society have allowed me to take on the land at the end of my 10 rods - Free of Charge, which gives me approx 100 sq yards extra! There still is a hell of a lot to do to get ready for planting, but regular readers will know I am making good progress. There's still about a day's work to go to ready the beds for the spuds, but I have amazed myself at how much I have managed to do already!
Today I picked up the spuds that I ordered back in October. There was a small surprise: The second earlies that i ordered (v.Maris Peer) are not available, and I have been given 6kg of Nadine as a replacement. This would have been my second choice, so I am none too worried. What did surprise me though, was how small the tubers were in the First Earlies parcel (v.Rocket). In a 3kg pack there were 66 tubers ! Far more than I expected. As soon as I got home, these were transferred to old egg boxes, and placed in a light/cool/frost free place ready to start chitting. I need to get more egg boxes from somewhere, as I have over 100 more spuds to chit. Transport cafe here i come!

I popped up to the plot earlier in the week with my Bruv in law, as he had volunteered to help with the digging. (Thanks Neil). While we were there, I also planted a Rosemary bush, that I had bought locally. It cost a mere £2.50 for an established plant grown in a 6" pot. I had previously tried to take some cuttings at home, but these all seem to have failed.

That's about all for now, but join us again soon for more news from the plot.