Drawing inspiration from the RHS Autumn shows

I went to the annual RHS Autumn show - what a great deal.  Free to member and £3 for non-members and slap bang in the middle of town - it gives you a wealth of inspiration and the chance to buy plants (always welcome!).

Among the displays there were some stunning giant vegetables on show - what an amazing amount of work must be involved. I also picked up a couple of recipes from the Vegetable Society. These include a recipe for Runner Bean Chutney (cue a trip to the freezer) and buttered shallots which I am looking forward to trying.



On my list of lovely new buys I got Elephant Garlic and two sorts of garlic to be planted (along with the garlic I bought in France).

I also have a bag of onion sets in three varieties (white, yellow and red).  The sets are mini onions that grow up to be big onions. I will be planting them 20cm apart and covering them to keep the mice and birds away as apparently they like to pull them up.

Amazing size vegetables on show - what an amazing amount of work must be involved
TO add to the onion field I seem to be building up I got shallots sets and an everlasting onion. I wish I had also got Egyptian wandering onions which apparently 'walk' by bending over and rerooting and meandering across the plot.

I have replaced the summer bedding in the steps planters with hardy herbs - pineapple sage, cat mint, thyme and bergamot.

Also on the list of things to do is to sow broad beans 'Aquadulce'.

Taking a break

I have been on holiday. The neglect and mini Indian Summer while I was away combined with the previous wet, bad weather meant that crops stopped much earlier than last year.

On my return I decided it was time for a tidy up. I took up the beans (remembering to keep the nitrogen fixing roots in the earth) and, with the help of my friend Carole, weeded the plot.  Now all I need to do is shift (I did say shiFt) a load of manure that a local pony owner left and mulch the plot to prevent weeds from regrowing and to nourish the land.

Earlier this year I was forward thinking and, looking to future, I ordered purple broccoli plants.  Unfortunately they arrived just before I went on holiday and while I was away in Sicily they died when left out (unplanted - very wasteful Katrin) in the unexpected late sun.

In the mean time I have gone mad and bought a myriad of vegetable based cookery books:
- Verdura - vegetables Italian style by Viana La Place
- River Cottage Veg Everyday by Hugh Fernley-Wittingstall
- Vegetables From an Italian Garden by Phaidon deserves a special mention for being a simply beautiful book with special seasonal sections on growing vegetables too. A delight to look at.

I can't wait to try out some of the recipes.

Much ado about mildew

Sometimes things get on top of you and your best laid plans go awry.

I DID mean to mulch and water the courgettes well.

I DID think I planted them far apart enough.

Unfortunately, I obviously didn't. It would be obvious to anyone passing the plot too as they lay eyes on the mildewed leaves.

Mildew is a fungal infection and is caused by stress (much like getting spots when you've been partying too hard and neglecting your multi vits).

Stress can take the form of lack of nutrition, lack of water or lack of air. I seem to have contributed on all levels. If you see early signs of mildew, remove affected leaves (don't compost) to allow better airflow and water well at the roots (try to avoid getting water on the leaves in general to avoid scorch.).

At least the mildew has slowed the tidal wave of squash for the moment....

Allotments abroad

Last month I was lucky enough to celebrate a family birthday on a German allotment which allowed for a little cultural compare and contrast.

Unsurprisingly it was very well organised and tidy.  The one thing that stood out among the German flags and that hinted at a secret other side was the Che Guevara flag proudly flying in one plot.

The main difference of the allotment movement in Germany is that they were set up for relaxation and recreation for working class people rather than the focus being purely on food production.  Mainly they are known as Schrebergarten after the founder of an allotment movement in Leipzig however there are also two other accepted names.

Generally the plots are laid to lawn with a smaller growing area.  Every plot has a shed and they are larger - they are treated more as a living space and tenants can stay overnight in them (just not permanently).  For some, their plot is even their summer holiday destination.  The plots tend to be bought rather than rented and the allotments serve a real social function with a dedicated open area for long tables and celebrations.

This particular spot was in a truly idyllic setting with mountains around and a little stream - perfect for a busman's holiday.

Less than legendary legumes

The legumes family includes broad, French and runner beans, mangetout and peas and asparagus peas.

I have discovered I like broad beans and these are the earliest to harvest. Their one drawback is that you seem to need a lot of plants to get a substantial crop. They also suffer badly from blackfly which is a bit gross. I definitely plan to sow some in November to get a great harvest early next year as the Hungry Gap hits. If you pick them young enough you don't have to faff about with taking the inner membrane off.

Peas are definitely off the cards next year after yet another lacklustre performance. The purple flowering mangetout will be repeated (if I remember to save the seed) if only for their lovely flowers. Asparagus peas were something of a novelty and grew well but were rarely eaten as they taste of neither asparagus or peas. Not convinced.

Runner beans are just now coming into their own and even though I only have 6 plants they provide more than enough for two without us suffering overload.  They are nice lightly boiled and served with red pesto.

The dwarf french beans are slow taking off but should be OK and I frankly have not idea what to do with the Borlotti beans which looks pretty but I think I have to dry and then cook later (why bother? Canned beans are great).

Whatever variety you grow, once the plants have stopped cropping, cut them down but leave roots in ground so they can give back nitrogen to the soil.

Weeding out the weeds

Self seeded coriander

I have been bad and neglected weeding recently. While still dashing down to collect the last of the raspberries and fast swelling courgettes I just haven't had time to tackle the weeds. I am now regretting that haste as I am faced with an increasingly daunting task.

The advice is to hoe weeds however as I have seedlings in among them I am worried I will cut them too down in their prime so I have to hand weed. All fine apart from the nettles that sting my hands.

There are several types of weed. The weed that is beneficial like the stinging nettle whose tap root digs deep and brings up nitrogen from the soil. This means you can create a liquid (stinky) feed from it to feed other plants. You can also eat it a little like spinach but I am less excited by that though I have made soup out of it.

There are the dubiously edible or medicinal. Bittercress is actually edible (as the name implies it tastes like, you guessed it, bitter cress). Chickweed is a herb and chickweed water used to be a treatment for obesity. Even goosegrass (the sticky one that has velcro balls that get stuck in your pets' fur) is supposed to help cystitis, psoriasis and eczema. You can use the seeds of fat hen (if you REALLY want to) whole or ground into a flour for bread.

There are the weeds that serve no discernible function other than to self propagate and to annoy me.  Like the evergreen bugloss that is related to borage and comfrey but is a pain to uproot and spreads like mad. The petty spurge is also pretty prolific so keep on top of it if you don't want to be overrun but at least it can be easily uprooted.

And then there is the mystery weed that is prolific on my plot but that doesn't feature on any online guide to weeds I can find.  Any suggestions?

Potato feasts

We are snowed under by potatoes.  Once again I forgot that we tend to prefer rice and pasta to potatoes.

After sorting the good unblemished potatoes by type and storing them in breathable canvas bags in the dark to stop them from turning green or sprouting I turned to the rejects.

These were either mainly scabby or damaged by a stray fork when lifting them though it also included some of the mystery spuds that popped up unasked for.

I prepared roast potatoes for freezing (par boil and freeze on a baking sheet to stop them from freezing in a clump) and pseudo oven chips (cut and bake until slightly turning colour - remember to use oil to prevent sticking which is something I forgot and resulted in a bit of a mess). I still had tiny potatoes that I didn't want to compost for fear of them reseeding but that were too small to peel. With these I made a potato salad loosely based on Lucas Hollweg's excellent German potato salad recipe from his recipe book 'Good Things to Eat'. I didn't remove the skins because it was too fiddly and I thought the fibre was good for me but I did crush them to allow the sauce to penetrate them and infuse them with flavour.  I used  my own puny garlic but supplemented with more.

Serves 4

- 750g waxy new potatoes, evenly sized
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½ tsp sugar
- 50ml mild olive oil (not extra virgin) - think I only used the olive oil (health again)
- 50ml vegetable oil
- 1 bunch of chives, chopped - I substituted with a clove of garlic and chopped shallot

Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 20 minutes until soft. Drain and leave to cool. Meanwhile, make the dressing by mixing together the dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, sugar and some salt and pepper in a bowl. Gradually beat in the oils. Mix with the crushed potatoes and leave for an hour or two for the flavours to become acquainted. Scatter chives over the top and dig in.

Since my trip to Germany I am also searching for my mother in law's version which seems to involve cream, pork fat and mustard and very slow cooking the potatoes.

Tidal waves of squash

Not orange squash that you drink but summer squashes that you eat. These include edible gourds, pumpkins and courgettes. There is a great variety and among my harvest I have collected striped, pale green and yellow courgettes.

The problem I now face is 'what to do with them all?'. If I weren't trying to be healthy I would definitely make courgette cake which is delicious and moist. But I am on a health kick so avoiding too much sugar.

I discovered a recipe in a free booklet from a cooking magazine: Quinoa, courgette, tomatoes and feta. Now I had neither tomatoes nor feta and rather than wait I improvised slightly. I mixed the 1tbsp of red wine vinegar and 2tbsp of olive oil in a pasta sauce jar so infusing it with tomato flavours and then stirred it through 75g of quinoa (a great protein source). The courgettes were finely sliced into ribbons and mixed in. As I had no tomatoes I used a little green tomato chutney from last year. Finally I chopped up a little Turkish cheese but unfortunately it is more like a waxy mozzarella than feta so I doubt it will add the right sort of crumbly saltiness. It's lunch today so hopefully is tasty.

At the same time I made courgette lasagne from the same booklet. It also serves 2.
2 courgettes grated
1 garlic clove (I used 2)
Parmesan grated
Lasagne sheets
100g ricotta
Jar of tomato pasta sauce
(I left out the chilli and substituted low fat yoghurt for the ricotta and strong cheddar for the Parmesan)

Fry the crushed garlic and grated courgette until soft. Add the ricotta and 2tbsp of Parmesan. Place 2tbsp of the mixture into a small dish, layer on a quarter of the tomato sauce, place pasta sheets on top then repeat until you run out. Make sure the top is tomato and sprinkle with cheese.

Spud-not-alike

I have a mystery. I planted Charlotte seed potatoes on the plot and have recently started harvesting them. That's not the mystery, hang on. I also got a 'free' patio potato planting set. I have previously had no luck with these at all (getting fewer potatoes back than I planted). This year however when I dug down deep enough i got a decent amount of salad sized potatoes. Which is how Charlotte potatoes are supposed to be. Now back to the mystery. This photo only shows the half of it. Why have my plot charlottes turned out to be such monsters?
More room and time to grow?
Richer soil?
Magic?

Who knows but it will be hard to make a dainty summer potato salad with them!

1st March 2012 Addendum: reading back over my posts I realised that I planted the patio Charlottes later than the plot ones (as late as 29 April) so that explains the smaller size. The plot Charlottes were planted 6 March so almost 2 months ahead of the patio plants. Harvesting everything at 14 July meant the potatoes on the plot had over 18 weeks to mature while the patio plants took 10 weeks to mature - that would explain the difference. It also suggests I can start harvesting earlier I guess or stagger planting - in an ideal world I would have two rows for each variety one planted in early march and one end April to spread the harvest.

The greatest show on earth? Hampton court flower show

What a joy it is to live near Hampton Court if only because it makes it easier to attend this flower show which the RHS claim is the largest in the world. It certainly feels it.

It is important to approach it calmly and methodically. Be prepared - bring drink and a picnic. My friend Joy made some amazing tarts from the allotment shallots - yum. Ideally bring a strong person to help carry things. Unlike Chelsea you can buy plants at Hampton and it us impossible for any plant-aholic to get away with anything less than masquerading as a walking shrub. Quotes of woods of dunsinane come to mind.

Get there early to scope out the lay of the land and remember that if, like us, you go on the last day it closes at 5.30 not 7.30. Plus the frantic sell off including the plants and items used in the gardens starts at 4.30. If you do spot anything you like it might be wise to reserve it ahead of the sell off as it all becomes a little manic.

Whatever you do don't follow the AA roadsigns there which take you miles out of the way (maybe as a motoring association they want to encourage driving?). We wasted a precious hour following their pointless detour.

One major feature of Hampton Court is their emphasis on grow your own. This time a huge area and marquee were devoted to it. There you can quiz experts on what went wrong. I took along my puny garlic to the experts from the garlic farm who told me a) I should always plant in autumn (can't remember if I did) b) water like crazy January to May c) top dress with potash in spring. Resolutions made for next time. I also bought elephant garlic which at least swells to a decent size (nowhere as big as theirs though). Incidentally the elephant garlic is not in fact a garlic, it's a leek. Fact.

Feeling hot, hot, hot and finding bargains

Saturday afternoon brought a mini heatwave. Not only did flowers wilt but so did humans. I sheltered from the brutal sun on sunday by staying indoors and watching columbo reruns as, much as I love the sun, this was no time to do anything more strenuous than picking raspberries and making jam.

It's worth checking out the chain DIY stores as sometimes their poor housekeeping means the plants are underwatered, look sorry for themselves and you can get them at knock down prices. We got grafted tomato plants (usually £3.99 and prolific) for 50p each. After a soaking in buckets overnight I planted them out with very little ill effect from their tough start in life. Let's see how well they crop. I definitely need to stake them well.

Trouble with tomatoes

Top tip: never give up on plants. It's in their interest to survive and they will try hard to recover.



Before going on holiday I took great trouble (well great-ish for a lazy person) to keep my tomato plants safe. I grouped them together in the shade and watered them thoroughly. A week of sunshine and holiday later and I was delighted to see they survived.

This next bit is where I went wrong. You are supposed to plant them in the evening to reduce stress and water evaporation. In a hurry to get them planted and growing I took them down to the allotment in the morning in a bit of a rush. I decided that evening would be perfect to plant them. Unfortunately life got in the way and I left those helpless plants in the sun unattended till the weekend. A VERY BAD THING. When I blithely turned up they were crispy and pretty dead. Do what I say not what I do.

Anyway in a despite attempt to rescue the situation I dunked them in water and hoped for the best. The rain helped and miraculously they have survived. They are now planted and hopefully no worse for their early setback.

Incidentally the sundried tomatoes from last year are amazing with the passing of time. Full of flavour and oil.

And then the heavens opened

After months of drought and a record breaking sunny Saturday (worthy of a Sun 'what a scorcher' story) Sunday and Monday broke the trend in dramatic fashion.

Non stop rain gave the garden and allotment much needed water and saved me a job. Unfortunately it also discouraged me from leaving the sofa and buying seedlings of sweet pea, French beans and sweetcorn. Next weekend...

An update from before the rains

1st June (excuse the mixed timeline but I also updated this on the 16th)

The Maris pipers are flowering but are they ready? They are a main crop after all. (I harvested 940g of pentland javelin on the 12th and made salmon and potato salad - yum) I think I'll leave them till I need the space and the other varieties have been harvested.

The peas are nice and fat as are the broad beans. I am always disappointed by the yield of peas once you shell them. The beans on the other hand a great and filling and mashed with some spring onion on sliced ciabatta rubbed with garlic made a delicious pre meal snack. A fortnight later and mangetout are the stars.

I am so enamoured of the beans and mangetout that I will try a second sowing at the weekend. When clearing the old plants I will leave the nitrogen fixing roots in the soil. I will also plan to sow more beans this autumn.

A couple of plants are bolting and going to seed - sorrel and chard. I've pulled up the chard and resown and keep snipping the sorrel spears off.

I am lucky enough to have a surfeit of strawberries way ahead of my birthday. I harvested even the slightly soft ones and lightly boiled them down with sweetener into a sort of jus. Then you can make a pretty healthy pudding. Cut sponge fingers in half line bottom of a medium bowl, pour over half the jus, add more sponge, then the last of the jus, cover in natural yoghurt. Leave to let the flavours mix. Light but tasty. A fortnight later and the raspberries are coming into their own but rarely making it back home - they're just too tempting.

Beetroot is doing well and I can see tiny kohl rabi seedlings.

I still have two spare patches. What to do with them? I am considering maybe planting sweetcorn among squash. A bit like native Americans who traditionally relied on Squash, beans and corn for food.

Preparations for neglect

With holiday plans afoot I prepared my plot for a little more neglect (though to be frank, an extra week of it won't make much difference).

Next to the tomatoes and courgette/ squashes I pushed on some upended plastic bottles with their bottom cut off. The idea is that these provide reservoirs of water in times of drought. The thing is that I don't think I've buried them enough as they fall over with a little water in them. Looking at a good tomato growing plot they have buried the bottles half way. Perhaps a job for Tom to do.

The plant fair at Kent house gardens got me a few new plants to try without the fuss of germination. 10 runner bean seedlings (st George because of it's red and White flowers) went in to the base of a cane tunnel Tom built (incidentally, what's the difference between a wigwam and a teepee?). A large (pink) fruiting brandywine tomato also went in with a slightly sturdier stake than a cane but I might need to replace it with something longer later.

Two cherry tomatoes (totem) went into pots on the steps at home. The name seems to suggest cordon but the tomato expert lady said it was tumbling and tastier than garden pearl. Must look it up.

Roast homegrown beetroot and feta salad

Tip: keep trying with different ways of preparing vegetables if you're not sure about them at first. This combination almost made beetroot acceptable to Tom.




I mean the beetroot was home grown not the feta. That's a whole different level of self-sufficiency.

Wrap the beetroot in foil and bake on a low heat.

Once soft to the touch peel if you want to (I kept skin on in hope of increasing healthy fibre content). Chop and toss with a mixed salad. Sprinkle with feta and seeds.

Make a dressing with blackcurrant jam, vinegar, chopped garlic and a touch of mustard gently heated together in a pan. Drizzle (or pour if greedy) over the salad. Hey presto - gastropub salad.

Challenges of planting out

10/5
The weather has continued to be amazingly warm and dry. Lovely for street parties and sunbathers but not so good for plants.

Emboldened by the warm weather and listening to the old farmers guide that if the soil feels warm when you sit on it (I skipped the bare bottom bit) I decided it was time to plant out my tiny tomato (Gardener's delight) and mystery squash seedlings. I say mystery squash because once again I didn't label properly. So I will have to wait to see if a striped courgette comes out or mixed gourds.

Almost 10 days later and they seem to be doing ok.  I perhaps should have incorporated more organic matter into the soil as they are hungry plants and I should have created the little walls that help retain water in times of drought but it is what it is.   I made do by scattering slow release chicken pellets (a bit stinky) around the place and hope for the best.

On reflection I think the majority are a striped courgette but  also planted some butternut squash. I also need to start off a spectacular pumpkin that we bought in France.

Bean beasts and other pests

My broad beans are under attack from an aphid invasion. I thought I had escaped but no. Even though I have plenty of ants and they are supposed to clear them I have also heard that they farm them and so don't really decimate them as I would want.

In order to control them I had the rather gruesome task of squashing them in their thousands with my fingers and pinching out the tops to remove the soft fleshy growth they love so much. Perhaps I should have planted some nastursiums as a distraction?

Tiny brassica seedlings

The brassica seedlings are up but I have been mistreating them.

They are stressed from the delay in potting on that my laziness has created. Leaving them out int he garden hasn't really helped as there are also thirsty for water.

At least the good weather meant they are acclimatised but I had to quickly find space for them. I didn't want to use up all my allotment space on these slow growing plants but equally I can't bear to let them die and, in the winter, I am grateful for their harvest.  So I have tucked them into my home veg patch which is in shadow and also popped a few among my raised bed.

They like firm roots so make sure the soil around their roots is well tapped down.

The temporary plantings of shallot in peat pots were doing so well that I transferred them onto the plot where the other shallots already seem to be dividing themselves - exciting.

I finally planted up the free potato kit on the royal wedding day - maybe a little late but we will see if this second attempt at growing potatoes in containers will work. They are already putting on good top growth and I have earthed them up a little more.

A quick and easy wholemeal broccoli lunch

I harvested another 1.26kg at the weekend. All great apart from the smell it gives off after a day or so and I defy anyone to cook more broccoli than me. I have done broccoli quiche, broccoli gratin and broccoli souffles and still I have lots left.

I plan to steam the best stalks and serve them with hollandaise sauce for Tom and lemon and anchovy for me (health kick still more or less holding).

This morning though I chucked together a very easy and speedy lunch which is not only healthy but helps to use up leftovers. Mix 100g cooked wholemeal pasta shapes with half a jar of cool salsa (spicy is fine if you must). Chop up the long broccoli stalks and briefly boil with the florets. Add to the pasta mix. Easypeasy. For those so inclined, add pepper and lemon. If I'd had more time I would have added anchovy and onions.

Temporary measures

While the broccoli keeps sprouting away happily I can't plant the extra banana shallots I bought. Thankfully a fellow gardening enthusiast, Maximo, suggested I start them off in pots. A genius idea!

They are all now planted in degradable peat pots along with the tomato seedlings which I planted up to the first set of leaves. Tomatoes can grow extra roots from their stem so transplanting them like this allows them to develop a stronger base.

They are all outside at the moment as the glorious heat is with us for one more day. But I will have to pop them in the cold frame as the weather returns to normal levels tonight.

Potato dilemma

My potatoes I already planted are doing ok. In fact they are up before Bernie's. However I think his system of mounds and trenches means they are planted deeper and so will be more protected from frosts and blight.

It seems odd to think of frosts when the thermometer has consistently hit 20 degrees over the last fortnight but it is important to remember that frost hit as late as early may last year.

I still have two more sets of seed potatoes to plant. The rattes and some free charlottes that came as part of a patio growing set. Not wanting to muddy my lovely new patio I will experiment with the set on the plot and I will plant the rattes using Bernie's method too. I looked this up to make sure I do it right but, oddly, there isn't much information on it in books or online.

I consulted a number of books and websites all with limited success. The best I found was http://simple-green-frugal-co-op.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html which provided the following great drawing:

There seems to be a difference of opinion on how to do it and both make sense. Plant the seed potatoes at the bottom of the trench and use the mounds to earth up OR to plant the potatoes into the mound to allow them the mound to grow in and when watering allow the water to get to the roots.

As it was I did neither and just found some spare patches by the other potatoes...

Patience is needed for asparagus

I planted out my asparagus crowns ignoring all gardening advice. You are supposed to dig a trench, fill it with good compost, create a ridge, water it, place the crown with the roots spread out on the ridge and back fill gently. And water again.

I did none of that. I scraped out some space in one of my compacted raised beds, dumped the crowns in, leaving some roots a bit exposed and forgot to water. in the dry weather I assumed they were dead.

Despite this, I've spotted a few brave shoots breaking through. Maybe they are tougher than we give them credit for.

Asparagus are perennial plants and need time to establish themselves and that is why it is wise to give them the best possible start in life.

This includes ignoring the exciting new shoots that are appearing from the crowns I planted last year (somewhat unwisely in a sort of pathway). You should only really harvest in the 3rd year and even then sparingly.

Not an ideal crop for impatient people like me. But the taste will be all the sweeter for waiting. Hopefully.

Broccoli, ham and cheese souffle

Twice baked souffles are a godsend to busy working people. Make them when you have a little time to spare and chill or freeze them till you need them again.

True, they aren't the billowy cushions of a once baked souffle is but they are practical and can be low fat.

This was based on a Weightwatchers recipe that has only 4 pro points in and is delicious.

You are supposed to use two eggs separated but I had two egg whites left over so just used them. The fact I didn't use the rich yolks meant I felt justified in adding a little mozzarella on top when they got cooked for the second time.

25g low fat spread
25g self raising flour
25g Parmesan
4 slices parma ham
225ml skimmed milk
1tbsp mustard
150g finely chopped broccoli

Grease 4 ramekins. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Whip up the egg white. Melt the butter, remove from the heat and gradually add the flour so it becomes a smooth paste. Slowly add the milk, stirring all the time. Return to the heat and bring to the boil until it reduces slightly. Remove from the heat. Fold in the finely chopped raw broccoli, most of the Parmesan (save 2 tbsp for the topping) the chopped ham and some coarse mustard. Cook for 25 mins or until risen. Leave to cool.

When ready to serve, remove gently from ramekins and bake for another 20 mins. Serve on a bed of salad with a sharp dressing.

Mangetout - the perfect crop for greedy growers

Today is a rare day of rain among amazingly sunny days. In fact the are predicting 21 degrees tomorrow.

In the mean time I hope it rains enough to penetrate the ground today. Sometimes rain showers can mean the earth looks wet but it isn't where it matters - at the roots of plants. In periods of dry weather and if you water little and often rather than giving it a good long soak, plants will send their roots to seek water in the shallow soil (and become unstable) rather than anchor itself deep into the earth with strong roots.

On the windowsill at home the plants are doing well. The mange tout (purple flowered) are looking spectacular. They are so big that I am considering planting them out. First I will harden then off with a couple of days in the cold frame. Then I will pinch out the tops to encourage side shoots.

Use some twiggy sticks as support and off you go.

Question: do pea sticks become mangetout sticks if you change the plants?

Raspberries and new growth

The woman who has best raspberry patch on allotment has cut all hers down. Not sure which variety that means she has. One that fruits on new wood clearly. Hope mine aren't that sort as have tied the old wood onto string (should be wire but I didn't have any). Luckily there are also lots of little plantlets which might do the job in case I've done the wrong thing.

The potatoes are starting to poke through. Lots of shoots of rocket (fair enough, as the name suggests, it's supposed to be early) and lots of Maris piper (odd, as supposed to be more of a main crop). Only one of pentland javelin (another early) and nothing showing for Charlotte (perhaps it was one of the Aldi varieties that was less chitted). Being planted in compacted soil might not have harmed the Maris as long as it can bury its roots and create potatoes.

Noticed that the grower of last year's cauliflowers has mulched his strawberries which were magnificent last year.

Delicious recipe for creamy pasta with purple sprouting broccoli

What a treat. After a series of late nights working, Tom took pity on me and cooked.

Clearly, the recipe (a Nigel slater one) was selected by me and the PSB (purple sprouting broccoli) were harvested by me at the weekend but he DID cook it.

The magic ingredient in the sauce is anchovy. For those who are unsure about this fish just remember it adds a salty quality without being over-bearable fishy.

250g PSB/ young greens
250g pasta
30g butter
2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
4 anchovy fillets chopped
250g creme fraiche
170g gorgonola crumbled

For my liking, I would have reduced the butter and cream content and used low fat cheese to make this more waist and heart healthy.

Sources of great advice

Top tip: Never be afraid to ask. There is generally an expert out there to help.


On Tuesday I visited the RHS. Not Wisley, its gardens in Surrey, nor one of its major shows like Chelsea or Hampton court but the spring plant fair at its headquarters near Victoria. The RHS has 2 large halls there that are swamped on a regular basis by gardening fans.

I was hoping to find a bamboo expert as our new phyllostachis nigra (that's a black bamboo to you and me) is turning crispy. Now, a crispy bamboo might be something you'd like on a Chinese menu but is not a good thing in the garden. Especially not at £20 per plant and you have 6 all gradually crisping up. And yes, I did water them.

Later. But apparently I didn't water them enough. The thinking is that a combination of the stress of being repotted, wind and a very dry February and march have meant that I should have watered them LOADS. They recommended 10 litres per pot and then when that has drained to water them again and to do that weekly. No surprise that the bamboos I saw on someone's roof terrace will only be good for plant supports. Hopefully I have caught it in time.

I also struck gold on the veg front (something that was tougher to find in past years). Finally I found my banana shallots and also picked up 5 tubers of potato ratte which is also elongated but less knobbly and larger than pink fir. I have decided to try to grow horseradish in a pot (a bit of a thug apparently so need to contain it) and bought two replacement wild garlics for the back garden where the shady woodland should suit them.

Purple sprouting broccoli success

Top tip: don't panic - give plants time to perform. Keep picking spears to encourage more shoots.


I needn't have worried. The purple sprouting broccoli is looking magnificent after all. 350g of florets later and I'm a complete fan.

I made a great tart to celebrate.
Ready rolled puff pastry, scored 2cm in from edge
2 onions, finely sliced and fried on a gentle heat until soft
12 spears of PSB
150g creme fraiche
2 egg yolks
50g grated Parmesan
50g grated gruyere

Spread the soft onions in the centre of the puff pastry and cook for 10mins. Scatter on the spears (blanched in boiling water for a minute, rinsed under cold water and drained). Mix the creme fraiche, egg yolks and cheese and spread on top. Cook for another 15mins Et voila!

Spring forward

Top tip: sow potatoes with plenty of soil on each side to retain water well and make earthing up easy later on.

Last night the clocks went forward and our evenings will be lighter for longer.

We defied the weather gods who had predicted clouds and rain and had another glorious weekend. Even though the plants would welcome some rain I relish this early sunshine as it encourages me to get down to the allotment and sow more crops.

This weekend, in went peas kevlon wonder (as a border where the sunflowers were - trouble for later?) and beetroot boltardy - which I persist in despite it not being popular at home as beetroot is amazingly healthy and also trendy in the food world. I also sowed broccoli raab 60 days which I believe is a true broccoli not a calabrese and as the name suggests is fast growing so I fully expect a crop at the end of may. I sowed both the beetroot and broccoli side by side in blocks on land where potatoes used to grow as you should avoid planting brassicas in the same place two years in a row. Oh and I also sowed some salsify next to the shallots - an experiment as they are supposed to have a subtle oyster-like taste. Let's see.

Looking at Bernie's plot, I was mightily impressed by the beautifully piled up mounds of earth where he has planted his potatoes. Slightly concerned though as my potato section is flat as a pancake. Wonder if, once the tops come through I can fake it by adding compost on top?

One hopeful shallot is already peeking through and the broad beans are looking lovely though very immature compared to a neighbour's autumn sown ones.

Sowing seeds in the sun

Top tip: sow tomatoes indoors now to have plants ready to plant out in May.

We have had just over a week of absolutely wonderful weather. Sadly it will return to clouds and average temperatures for the time of 11 degrees. However it was glorious while it lasted. With temperatures hitting 18 degrees It was sheer bliss to doze in the sun and be busy doing nothing.

Spring is such a dynamic time where you can almost see the plants grow. There is a lilac that I cherish and though initially slow to flower now is invariably in flower for my husband, Tom's birthday. I noticed the buds were plumping up a week ago and within a matter of days the purple buds were on show.

In an attempt at spring cleaning I harvested the last cabbage, cavolo Nero and Brussels sprout tops. With them out I turned the earth and weeded afterwards which should be a good foundation for further crops.

The addition of a mini deep fat fryer has not been the wisest choice but it has introduced delicious Jerusalem artichoke chips to the household. You could also do this more healthily by spraying them with oil and roasting them. I also made bubble and squeak using up the last of the brassicas and sprouting potatoes (sprouting in a not good way as opposed to purple s. broccoli). Yummy served with a duck egg and baked beans.

I overcame my sun-induced laziness and some some seeds - a hopeful act imbued with magical qualities. How can these tiny things spring forward and grow to feed us months from now?

When sowing there are some ground rules that provide a great grounding for the future health of your plants.

Use a light weight fine compost. Some people make up their own concoctions but I have to admit I just used a multi purpose compost.

You are also suppose to clean out old trays but, again I was bad and just emptied out the old soil and that was it.

Then just follow the instructions on your seed packet.

Pop them on a window sill. Turn them occasionally so they don't grow wonky trying to find the light.

Keep them watered but don't drown them (avoid mould). Keeping them covered keeps the moisture in an helps germination.

One important thing I will remember after the mystery tomato debacle is proper labelling and record keeping.

To that end this is what I sowed at the weekend:
Tomato gardeners delight
Mangetout with purple flowers
Cosmos
Kale no cover
Calabrese
Asparagus pea

Update- one week later and the calabrese, kale and cosmos are already poking through the soil.

Amazing.

Recovering from hard knocks

I moved the rhubarb and the Swiss chard and they didn't like it. They wilted, withered and sulked.

(The rhubarb had to be moved despite being very happy in the dead zone behind the water butt to make way for a new path - hope it survives).

You should usually cut back large leaves to give plant chance of surviving. This means they can concentrate their efforts on establishing roots not on other matters like photosynthesising through leaves. Unfortunately I was in a hurry and just dumped them in the ground without even a splash of water.

It's easy to forget that plants need care from us if we want the best from them - most often in forms of time, food and water. But also just pay them attention - watch for signs of stress or recovery.

Here's a (rare) philosophical thought - plants are like people. We also can sulk and shrink as we change situations. As we move out of our comfort zone we have to adapt. In that moment of adjustment we can flounder a little and feel pulled in several directions - maintaining showy magnificent leaves while trying to put down roots and find deeper sources of stability and sustenance. Sometimes it's too much to do at once and you flounder.

At times like this, maybe it's a good idea to take a lesson from plants and concentrate your energies into one goal.

Here endeth the lesson.

Seven degrees and sowing

They say that 7 degrees are when things start to germinate (including weeds sadly) but to me it feels colder than last week. Though dry, the winds are bitter.

The period between February/ March when the last of the winter veg are harvested and may when the spring veg start to crop is called the hungry gap. It's clearly a hungry gap for the birds as they've stripped the leaves off some of my brassica seedlings. I hasten to add I won't miss them and they were refugees from other parts of the plot that must have germinated late.

I am preparing a list of what to sow and plant.

In March I want to plant:
Outside - mangetout, potatoes, beetroot, corn salad and winter salad leaves.
Indoors (end of the month) - tomato, courgette. Squash, extra mange tout and broad beans just in case the ones I plant outside don't do well.

The magazines suggest waiting till the end of the month before sowing the tomatoes and squash to avoid them getting leggy.

To come later: French beans

I will also get the salads from supermarkets and plant out as I find lettuce difficult to germinate

PS the purple sprouting brocolli is still not sprouting much more. Lovely leaves though.

A time of contrasts

Yesterday was the 8th March, Pancake Day, and there is blossom on the trees. But there has also been frost overnight. While it looks stunning on the recently emerged wrinkly rhubarb leaves it has softened the new chard leaves which are particularly susceptible as I moved them at the weekend.

It is important when planning, sowing and planting out seedlings not to let optimism carry you away. We had frosts mid May last year and that would easily knock vulnerable tomato seedlings back (or kill them).

Why was I down on the allotment at 8am on a work day (or any day)? I was clearing the kitchen of the last of our potato harvest which had sprouted prolifically. I didn't want to replant them as the varieties were all mixed up but didn't want them to go to waste. I may gave made a mistake by putting them on the compost heap as they may grow again (as my old discarded rhubarb crown has) in the compost. Any other ideas on what to do with them?

Potatoes, shallots and garlic

I planted up garlic in among the rhubarb (including the plants I had to move because they are building a new path). The elephant garlic is also looking good.

I have 2 varieties of shallot I planted - Red Sun and Golden Gourmet (two packs of the latter one of which was from Poundland and in fact had more bulbs than the pack from B&Q). Come end of July/ early August I hope to harvest a bumper crop. I planted them in furrows 10cm deep, 10cm apart and kept rows 20cm apart to allow for hoeing. Golden Gourmet is supposed to be sharp while red sun is supposed to be gentler in flavour.

I also harvested the last of the Jerusalem artichokes and replanted a few of the tubers to grow again this year.

I relocated the Swiss Chard as edging to the plot.

Finally, I planted 4 varieties of potato. Positioning the Maris Piper and Charlotte closest to the rhubarb/ garlic to allow the space freed up by the speedy first earlies Rocket and Pentland Javelin to be planted up with something else. I forked over the soil into the trenches so that it would be easier to create a furrow. The only one where I didn't was the Maris Piper and I'm concerned that the soil is too compacted.

I didn't find time to plant the Autumn Bliss raspberry canes from B&Q nor the asparagus crowns from Aldi.

Know your onions

Apparently this is the time of year to start growing onions. I am already growing chives and garlic chives which are part of onion or allium family. I also have some wild garlic growing in my back garden.

I won't be bothering with real onions which as far as I can see you plant as small onions and, after much weeding and hoeing, grow into big onions. Hardly a spectacular outcome when you consider how cheap they are in shops.

I have decided though to try growing shallots this year. Not only are they pricier to buy in shops but they often seem to be favoured by chefs for having a subtler flavour. Shallots also multiply from one bulb to produce more which seems like a better return on my time and effort.

The sort I particularly covet is the long banana style one. Varieties mentioned are Jermor, Delvad, Hative de niort and Pesandor.

I am hoping they turn up in Poundland or Aldi before I have to make a trip to B&Q. In fact I went to B&Q and they don't have any. The search goes on.

It also turns out that I have some Welsh onions. These are perennial evergreens that can be used like spring onions. They should be divided every 2 years.

Garlic also comes under the onion family name but these would have done better if I had planted the cloves in November. I did for the elephant garlic but we'll just have cross our fingers for the ones I planted at the weekend.

Setting a mad March pace

The passing of a couple of days means that with the arrival of March it is now time to finish digging and start sowing seeds and considering potatoes.

As I live in the south we are lucky enough to have relatively mild weather but still it doesn't do to be too confident. Last year we had frosts as late as mid May. I will carry on regardless full of hope for an early spring.

After a tempting spring morning, last weekend brought more rain and a drop in temperature. This means the soil is too claggy and wet to dig. Trying to turn wet earth makes it not only heavy, back threatening work but also that the soil structure is damaged and it encourages compaction which eliminates nutrients, water and air that plant roots need.

Despite not having finished last year's harvest of potatoes, I have already been sucked into planning for this coming year. Aldi had a special offer on vegetable plants and seeds and I fell for it. Now they are languishing in my kitchen waiting for me to plant them out. I also have last year's potatoes sprouting like mad.

I bought two variety of seed potato - pentland javelin that is supposed to be a good early variety that has a firm, waxy texture that is ideal for salads and Maris piper that is a good floury all rounder that is great for chips, roasts and mash. I'm tempted by a bag of charlotte's, another salad variety and would also love to try an unusual variety like anya or pink fir which are both long in shape and strangely enough pink fit is actually pink (wonder if it loses the colour on cooking like the blue potato does). However I suspect I have already run out if space. I still need to dig over the area I have allocated for the potatoes (clearly - as the picture shows!).

I am planning on following the advice on rotation and will be moving the potato area to where the tomatoes  and squashes last grew. While neither tomatoes nor squash fall into the standard rotation groups and I am reducing the amount of brassicas I'm growing it still makes sense to rotate plants to reduce the build up of diseases and depletion of nutrients.
Also Aldi had asparagus crowns and I intend to devote half of one of the raised beds to them as they are a permanent crop that deserve being well treated. I did also have some last year but I fear they got trampled in the brassica harvesting.

Brassica today

It has been a dreadful winter apparently for British brassica farmers. While Lincolnshire would normally be awash with cauliflowers it has merely produced fields of brown slush. Apparently the harsh winter has stunted growth or stopped it completely.

It seems we will be reduced to buying our Brussels sprouts from johnny foreigner. (perhaps apt as Agatha Christie's archetypal Belgian is named after the French for leek.)

They should have come to new cross where the green stuff is still plentiful. Though now I'm fretting that the winter will have stopped my purple sprouting broccoli from sprouting and I will have hosted and tended them all year for nothing.

PS while looking up statistics from the news for this blog I discovered that someone actually goes to the effort of publishing a fine periodical called Brassicas Today. With a website. And they have events. Oh my.

Finding a healthy balance

Feast and famine.

In my work life I work on Cadbury and as part of that I get to taste quite a lot of chocolate. Great on one hand but not so good if you want to get healthy.

Obviously the exercise involved in preparing the plot by digging and weeding does some good but it can only do so much. Especially when the weather encourages me to stay indoors.

So I also rely on the hoped for health benefits of the vegetables we grow.

The general principle seems to be don't over cook the vegetables - the fashionable way is to have them with a little bite. Steaming or stir frying tends to get the required result without leaching all the goodness out.

If you do boil, then try use the water with nutrients in - maybe as a stock or in the gravy.

I have been brought up on my aunt's veg which, though microwaved, is usually meltingly soft so I find the crispy veg thing still a little alien to me - I'll have to force myself to be fashionable.

Actually it's not just modern tastes that discourage overcooking. According to the excellent ministry of food exhibition at the imperial war museum (sadly finished now) -during the war much effort was put into improving the nation's health and getting the most from the limited food we did have. Never mind that part of the motivation was to have enough healthy men of fighting age to send into an essentially unhealthy situation, war. The legacy of vitamins and food for health was a good one that lasted. At least until ready meals and fast food came along.

Some people shy away from frozen vegetables as they worry it has been tampered with or lost its goodness somehow but in fact the vegetables are often frozen within hours of picking so can be fresher and retain more nutrients than the unfrozen vegetables you see on the supermarket shelves.

The general rule though for healthy veg is that the closer to raw the better.

However rules are made to be broken and some foods are healthier cooked. Tomatoes in particular contain more lycopene when cooked than raw. Lycopene is good because it has
Free radicals that have key cancer fighting properties.
They are also apparently easier to digest.

What to do with over 5kg of cabbage

A quick visit to the allotment to harvest the cabbages that look past their prime.

When trimming them there are more leaves discarded than salvaged. The slugs and worms are quite disgusting. Still, there was over 5kg of cabbage to process and find uses for. A mixture of crisp white cabbage and savoy cabbage rescued just in the nick of time.

Looked up a sauerkraut recipe but it seems you have to work it over tens of days and it involves skimming off scum from fermented juices. Strangely enough, I didn't feel like doing it after all. Though I made a great potato and sauerkraut bake (from a jar) tonight.

Stir fried the cabbage with stock and lemon juice and added a couple of tablespoons of sherry as suggested. Hope to find something to do with it all soon.

Vast amounts of coleslaw was made last weekend but it's a week later and I still don't feel like cabbage when I get home.

Excited to see the elephant garlic is sprouting - fingers crossed. It's amazing roasted on french bread.

Gearing up for the year ahead

The days are starting to get longer but the cold weather isn't behind us yet. While last weekend brought sunny skies and temperatures of 8 degrees we are due for a cold snap again.

While I'm impatient to start sowing seeds I know that there is little point if I can't plant them out in March.

The remaining potatoes are sprouting away in the cupboard but I will just have to concentrate on cooking rather than growing them.

Ordinarily I would attempt potato dauphinoise but I have the added complication of starting a new health kick so for the next 12 weeks at least I intend to only use healthy recipes (at least once the apple custard cake is finished).

The red cabbages on the plot are starting to look a little sorry for themselves so I guess they will have to be next. Ordinarily I would combine them with bacon or chorizo as I find even the most uninspiring vegetable benefits from being combined with a salty pork product. This time I will have to find an alternative. Magazines often suggest chilli but I have a wimpy palate the can't cope with hot spice so I'll have to investigate some form of bubble and squeak or rosti.

New growth emerging

The days are getting longer and it lifts the spirit.

While the green we see on the plot are mainly plants that have over wintered such as herbs, brassicas and strawberries there are signs of new life.

The rhubarb is poking its pink nose out of the ground, garlic shoots have pierced the soil and leaves are emerging on the raspberries.

It's a long way to the lushness of summer but it's a very welcome start.

Hi ho hi ho and we dig dig dig

Clearly last weekend I took my inspiration from the seven dwarfs and ventured down to the allotment. My back was braced against the infrequent exercise and the insidious cold with a back support and even then I could only manage two hours of digging.

This was enough to clear three areas of grass and weeds and to build my beautiful compost bin from Crocus. A self-gift, it slots easily together and looks ever so smart. I only wish I had bought the large one now.

Even though I already had a cabbage at home I still couldn't resist cutting another savoy cabbage (700g).

Luckily I found an interesting recipe in Sophie Grigson's book 'vegetables' for what is essentially cabbage pie. I had some ready rolled puff pastry in the freezer so my shape ended up more of a giant calzone. Apparently this is a Russian recipe that would have seen then through the cold winters while not costing much.

Shred 600g cabbage (she says 1.2kg but that created much too much - lunch is sorted for the rest of the week!). Pour over boiling water and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Meanwhile fry up chopped onion then drain the cabbage and add it to the onion. Season with salt and a little sugar. Add 5 chopped eggs. At this stage also add chopped anchovy or bacon if you want an extra salty hit. Alternatively keep it veggie and use chopped feta or goats cheese. Pile into the middle of the pastry and fold over. Brush with milk and lay a few slices of Parma onto the pastry. Cook in an oven preheated to 220 degrees for 30 mins or until golden brown.

Should feed 4 people unless you are greedy - which we were.

A hard wind's going to blow

I roused myself from my sick bed to briefly inspect the allotment which I haven't seen for some time what with frosts and festivities.

It is on days like these that you appreciate brassicas as they were among the few plants still standing. The strawberry plants look healthy as do the pak choi and the Swiss chard, though battered, is surviving.

I harvested most of the remaining Brussels sprouts - 1.5kg of them. I also took home two of the healthiest looking Brussels tops as I'd heard they can be a delicious alternative to cabbage. Not that I needed them as I also cut a small cabbage head and the last few broccoli shoots.

All that is left are the (hopefully) purple sprouting broccoli that have been squatting on the plot all year with no results so fingers crossed for spring!

Looking forward to the coming growing season, I think I won't bother with brassicas again. They take too much space, take too long to mature, are dead cheap in shops and don't taste significantly better to me. Perhaps the odd broccoli plant that allows me to cut and come again but on the whole I'll use the space for other plants.

For example the amazing Jerusalem artichoke.

I harvested a whole 3.6kg of artichokes from one plant today! I'm not sure how to use them all but I'll give it a damn good go. I'm thinking gratin and soups.

Follow up: 2 delicious dishes later...

Brussel tops, Artichoke and Bacon salad (adapted from Great Allotment Cookbook):
4 small Jerusalem artichokes
2 tbsp walnut oil
8 slices of pancetta
40g walnuts (can also replace with pine nuts)
4-6 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp bramble/ redcurrant jelly
2 brussel tops (or 175g watercress salad/ mixed leaves)

Scrub the artichokes and slice them into 5mm slices. Toss witht eh walnut oil in a roasting tin and roast in a preheated oven, 200 C for 20 mins turning after 10 mins.

Meanwhile, grill the pancetta until crisp, then break it into bite size pieces. Dry-fry the walnuts/ pine nuts. Set aside. Heat 1 tbsp of oil and fry the garlic until lightly golden. Add the vinegar and remaining olive oil and bramble jelly/ redcurrant jelly and keep warm.

Layer the greens, bacon, walnuts/ pine nuts and bacon and drizzle with the sauce. YUM.

Jerusalem artichoke soup from the Great Allotment Cookbook:
1kg Jerusalem artichokes sliced
50g butter
1 onion
600ml stock
600ml milk
150ml single cream

Melt butter, add the onion and cook until soft (5 minutes). Add the artichokes and cook for 3 minutes. Season to taste, add the stock and milk and bring to the simmering point. Reduce the heat, partially cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.  Blend the soup in a food processor. Reheat gently without boiling then add the cream. 

Weighing up 2010

Despite the snow and ice thawing and in theory I could revisit the allotment and start digging. But as the rain falls I still don't feel like it.

Instead I am enjoying staying on my sofa and dreaming of the crops to come in 2011. Surrounded by seed catalogues and an insatiable urge to buy more seeds and plants I find it useful to look in my seed store to see what I already have, look over past posts to remember what was problematic and, in a nerdy way, look at my crop spreadsheet.

Not only did I weigh every harvest (apart from a few of the later ones) and chronicle when they were harvested but I also went round a local supermarket getting a guide price per kilo so I can now work out which crop was worth the effort and if the plot itself broke even.

As we were starting from scratch there was some spending (£253) on tools and plants and scaffolding for raised beds (still not built!) which will be spread over the years but on the whole it seems to have worked out well. I slipped up a little in record keeping in the party season and didn't measure everything (including the Brussels sprouts on Christmas day) and don't have prices for all the vegetables I grew but even taking that into account, the value of what was grown was £800 (and 187kg of produce). Of course we had to buy a new freezer to keep them all in!

By far the most productive vegetable was the tomato - 67kg and worth £374 alone. 23kilos of Runner beans while worth a decent amount, £152, was excessive as they are not as versatile as tomatoes and courgettes. I also got 23kg of courgettes (worth £79) however they proved to be great for cakes and stews though not so good at freezing as they get water-logged.   26 kilos of potatoes were very welcome and we are still eating them now. Definitely worth repeating again though I will have to switch our carb habits from pasta and rice to potatoes so we use them up quicker.  Jerusalem artichokes are promising to be very productive too - 3.6kg from just one plant already. Delicious and difficult to find in shops - definitely on the list for the coming growing year. Salad is not only easy and fast to grow but also expensive to buy in shops - another winner.

The Patty Pans were cute but I wasn't fast enough in using them all, equally the excitement of finally managing to grow radishes doesn't overcome the fact I'm not too keen on them.

What else is on the plans for this year? More soft fruit like currants (red and black), gooseberries and raspberries.  I can't wait.