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.
Showing posts with label brussel sprouts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brussel sprouts. Show all posts
Saturday, 26 February 2011
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Frost and physalis
Top tip: Keep trying exotics - they might surprise you
Well not only have we had amazing frosts but we have also had snow showers that disabled the Southeast and threatened Brussel sprout farmers. Apparently despite frosts making sprouts sweeter, the snow and prolonged bad weather has meant that farmers can't harvest during their usual hours (the sprouts go black if picked when frozen) so hopefully my few on the allotment will be worth a million pounds. Well, a girl can hope. Mind you, as we are not allowed to profit from the plot I will just have to enjoy the kudos of serving our own sprouts on Christmas day.
In the mean time I have been enjoying using kale which I can sometimes find a bit tough in an Asian inspired dish. Boil up the leaves in chicken stock and add noodles and sprinkle with dried shallots - a perfect and nourishing lunchtime snack.
Just before the frosts hit I had the excitement of harvesting the first and last of the physalis or cape gooseberries as they are known. I thought they would never ripen and thought the seedling I bought at the Hilly Fields Country Fayre would be a complete dud. It grew but stayed a resolute green. And then by magic, fruits appeared. Not many but they were lovely.
Tangy and sweet, they are great dipped in melted chocolate but they are great on their own too. It just goes to show don't give up on a plant too soon (unless it's carrots, peppers or aubergine where it really isn't worth it).
In the mean time I have been enjoying using kale which I can sometimes find a bit tough in an Asian inspired dish. Boil up the leaves in chicken stock and add noodles and sprinkle with dried shallots - a perfect and nourishing lunchtime snack.
Just before the frosts hit I had the excitement of harvesting the first and last of the physalis or cape gooseberries as they are known. I thought they would never ripen and thought the seedling I bought at the Hilly Fields Country Fayre would be a complete dud. It grew but stayed a resolute green. And then by magic, fruits appeared. Not many but they were lovely.
Tangy and sweet, they are great dipped in melted chocolate but they are great on their own too. It just goes to show don't give up on a plant too soon (unless it's carrots, peppers or aubergine where it really isn't worth it).
Sunday, 31 October 2010
Baby brussel sprouts get served up early
Top tip: make freezing your friend
I was told we couldn't save the brussel sprouts as the space is needed. Diasappointed that I couldn't have had an extra 2 months and eaten fresh sprouts at Christmas but at least it meant I harvested them young and it has introduced me to the joys of baby vegetables. And the sprouts in the other part of the plot might rally after all and recover from the mystery 'grey'.
We have replanted the sprout plants so maybe we will still have some fresh by Christmas. In the mean time, I have probably made the most of things by blanching them and they are tender and sweet.
The next question is what to grow next year ? What was successful for me? Beans? Jerusalem artichokes? I will also be growing more potatoes despite the fact they are already sprouting in my bag in the shed.
I was told we couldn't save the brussel sprouts as the space is needed. Diasappointed that I couldn't have had an extra 2 months and eaten fresh sprouts at Christmas but at least it meant I harvested them young and it has introduced me to the joys of baby vegetables. And the sprouts in the other part of the plot might rally after all and recover from the mystery 'grey'.
We have replanted the sprout plants so maybe we will still have some fresh by Christmas. In the mean time, I have probably made the most of things by blanching them and they are tender and sweet.
The next question is what to grow next year ? What was successful for me? Beans? Jerusalem artichokes? I will also be growing more potatoes despite the fact they are already sprouting in my bag in the shed.
Friday, 15 October 2010
Problem plants
Top tip: cover your brassicas with netting to stop pigeons from eating them and catch problems early before they get out of hand.
I am worried. My brussel sprouts aren't sprouting very well. In fact they look grey. I don't know if it's mildew or a grey aphid that I spotted earlier in the season and ignored. It's in the main patch and has spread throughout the brussel sprouts. There are early signs of the sprouts but they look a little frilly. Luckily the 'grey' hasn't spread to the Kale 'Cavolo Nero' or the cabbages but I don't know what to do about it.
The other patch however by the compost bins (soon to be decommissioned - sorry Tom, you're hard work is being replaced by a shed) is doing fine and it's exciting to see the developing buds. With luck we'll have our own sprouts for Christmas. That is as long as we don't have to sacrifice them when rebuilding the shed. On that topic, does it make me a lazy allotmenteer to pay another person to construct the shed and move my compost? I like to see it as sharing the goods - I have a job (hooray!) and he doesn't always. He is a builder and I'm not. He has skills and I definitely don't. He has time and I don't. Surely it's the best for all around?
The other patch however by the compost bins (soon to be decommissioned - sorry Tom, you're hard work is being replaced by a shed) is doing fine and it's exciting to see the developing buds. With luck we'll have our own sprouts for Christmas. That is as long as we don't have to sacrifice them when rebuilding the shed. On that topic, does it make me a lazy allotmenteer to pay another person to construct the shed and move my compost? I like to see it as sharing the goods - I have a job (hooray!) and he doesn't always. He is a builder and I'm not. He has skills and I definitely don't. He has time and I don't. Surely it's the best for all around?
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Pushing your luck or what vegetables will grow late in the year
Top tip: Don't always believe what the gardening books say - they are guidelines written to suit the whole of Britain and so don't allow for the fact that you may live in a warmer (or colder area) of Britain.
I planted mangetout back in July after the potatoes had been cleared as they had been such a success earlier in the year. While they have now succumbed to mildew they did grow big enough to start cropping and I got a good 200g off them which isn't bad when you consider how much they cost in shops - a bonus crop really rather than a real alternative to spring sowing.
I also popped in some more potato seedlings at around the same time as they were sprouting like made and £1 in the pound shop. The main idea was to use them to clear a patch of land that was riddled with debris and if I managed to get a crop out of them all the better. The other day I was earthing up the plants (drawing up the soil to protect the plants and create more space for the tubers to grow) with a rake (a Bernie tip) and spotted a decent sized potato so it seems to be working. I had read that some people put in a second lot of potatoes and are able to eat fresh new potatoes at Christmas. Fingers crossed.
Elsewhere on the plot, brussell sprout heads are starting to form and I have a few mini cauliflowers. I will let these develop a little before harvesting them but doubt they will ever attain the monster size of Mark the elder's (whose plot has been completely left to its own devices - tut tut).
This week I also planted gooseberry bushes and raspberries as I want to redress the balance between fruit and veg. I also suspect that fruit are easier to look after themselves. I hope they don't grow too big as I seem to have at least 3 gooseberry bushes now. Must go and measure the bushes on other plots!
I also popped in some more potato seedlings at around the same time as they were sprouting like made and £1 in the pound shop. The main idea was to use them to clear a patch of land that was riddled with debris and if I managed to get a crop out of them all the better. The other day I was earthing up the plants (drawing up the soil to protect the plants and create more space for the tubers to grow) with a rake (a Bernie tip) and spotted a decent sized potato so it seems to be working. I had read that some people put in a second lot of potatoes and are able to eat fresh new potatoes at Christmas. Fingers crossed.
Elsewhere on the plot, brussell sprout heads are starting to form and I have a few mini cauliflowers. I will let these develop a little before harvesting them but doubt they will ever attain the monster size of Mark the elder's (whose plot has been completely left to its own devices - tut tut).
This week I also planted gooseberry bushes and raspberries as I want to redress the balance between fruit and veg. I also suspect that fruit are easier to look after themselves. I hope they don't grow too big as I seem to have at least 3 gooseberry bushes now. Must go and measure the bushes on other plots!
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