Squash challenge

It's that time of year again. The time when squash become a staple of our diet and I need to get creative in the kitchen.

Currently we have 4.41kg of yellow patty pan squash which look like mini flying saucers but taste much better.

On top of that a kind allotment neighbour, Adrian, offered me 3 of his courgettes which had overgrown into marrows when he wasn't looking. (Another 3.06kg)
Definitely time to search out the squash recipes.

The weather has been weird - more like April sunshine and showers. (17/8)
Tomatoes are starting to ripen but I should have staked them, fed them and pinched out side shoots. They are now prolific and resting on the ground.

I also cut down the old raspberry canes but didn't have time to take them to the tip. With winter brassicas in under weed suppressing fabric it's starting to look ready for Xmas.As I said I planted winter brassicas through weed fabric but most have been eaten. How can I help them survive?

I also stripped our stairs of carpet so will use that over a mulch of manure to prepare the soil for planting next year.

Assessing the harvest to date

After a fair bit of neglect, a late start because of frosts and a recent heatwave (including a plague of flying ants) it's surprising that there has been anything to harvest. And yet there has been. By far the best performer has been the raspberry patch - 7.2kg by the 26th July. There are more raspberries to pick but it's just too wet to pick them today. That should probably be the last picking then I can dig up plants near the path and cut down the old canes.

The mangetout are still giving a little (660g) though they are best as peas now

I get the occasional red currants from the plants in the garden - they are very tart but have high levels of vitamin C so are best mixed into a smoothie.

I'm so glad that I started growing some cutting flowers - I got this great bunch of statice which will also dry well and give me colour even in the winter. I also saw a brave first gladioli (Gladiolus) flowering in the rain today.

The latest, and more or less final, haul of potatoes was 4.5kg. Not bad but it could be improved with better soil preparation ahead of planting next year.

In a strange turn of weather it is now the 30th July and pouring down.  I got two more little patty pan squashes, taking my total harvest to 1.3kg, so I have to find some great recipes to use them up.

Looking towards future harvests, the tomato plants have developed little fruit and one of them is almost red. I didn't stake or pinch out side shoots so they will be a little floppy and will put too much effort in creating new fruit rather than feeding the existing ones but I'm still looking forward to the next summer harvest.

Finally, with the potato area cleared, I have ordered plug plants of winter/ spring brassicas to use up the space. the debate I'm having is whether to try to plant through a weed suppressing fabric to reduce work as I am starting a new job and want to concentrate my time on the allotment on fun things not weeding.

Carry on sowing

The squash seedlings (pumpkin and courgettes and BNS) are through and growing madly.  The cavolo nero seedlings are also through but pretty tiny. I need to get them all in the ground before I go on an extended jaunt in France.

We were in France just a week ago too and, they are having as bad a time of the weather as we are. In fact it was the main news item in France - it was apparently 10 degrees colder than last year (which was hardly ideal) and some areas even had snow. We spent the weekend in the Champagne region avoiding showers/ torrential rain.  The cold and the wet will have hit the wine trade hard and I assume other farmers will also be suffering.

The basil seedlings I put out have curled up and died in shock from the cold and I can't be bothered to sow more. I wonder if in 'normal' weather they could have coped outside - I'll try again next year.

There is still time to catch up which is good news for a friend who has just got allocated a plot after 6 years of waiting. the plot is overgrown with weeds and he is tackling it bit by bit.  As his back is breaking under the work of clearing the plot, this is probably not a good time though for him to remember that he likes very few vegetables!

We took advantage of some dry weather to finally clear out the shed which was more than a dumping ground - more of a Bermuda triangle lurking in the garden. I feel much less guilty now and ready to start filling it up again now.

Getting into the swing of things

So 2013 has produced the coldest March since 1962 and the coldest Easter on record, and March was actually colder than the preceding winter months. We experienced snow on the 4th April so we had plenty of excuses to delay planting and sowing.
Despite this, I did put Maris Peer into the ground around Good Friday. I also popped Charlotte into a potato sack on our house steps. Hopefully the snow didn't ruin things but being close to the house means plants generally are a little sheltered from cold temperatures.
Now, mid April it is finally warming up (with 22 degrees on 14th) but last week coincided with a heavy work load and rains so the pressure to pull a finger out is growing.
I managed to plant a row of Pentland Javelin on the morning of the 15th before work.  It wasn't a full row so I have room for a couple more on the end. I plan to finish off all rows this week - a little at a time I will get there...  As part of the plan I will also finally plant out the pea plants which are taking on triffid proportions.
In my flying visit I noticed that someone has instigated a system for our pony poo pile. - it is now pinned in by a wall of bags with the good stuff all ready for scooping into wheelbarrows. Now where did I put my barrow?
I also noticed that the tidy raspberry lady has cut her raspberries down. This indicates hers are autumn plants. I'm not sure what mine are (though I suspect they are summer) so I might hedge my bets by cutting some nearest the water butt down to experiment.
I went to a Common Growth workshop at weekend up on Telegraph Hill on sowing and growing from seed.  Which, despite the rain, was very inspirational.  Not only do I completely promise to repot my plug plants but I also got a parsley plant, sowed some Red  Turks squash, zinia, and got a yellow tomato seedling.  Lovely.

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.

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.

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.

Plump pumpkins and swelling squashes

Giant but a long way off ripe

Top tip: Apparently mildew isn't a problem for winter squash - leave leaves (even if infected) on until they brown in October and dry the fruit for a couple of days to make sure they keep over the weekend. Next year prepare a bed with lots of nutrient rich  and water retaining material (try shed loads of household waste (no meat)) for the plants to discover while growing.

Medium

Thanks to a fellow allotment novice I have finally found a tasty way to use our Patty Pan summer squash.  Boil them with the skin on then sprinkle with a little cinnamon and spread with butter. a great side dish - tastes buttery even without the butter. A grating of cheese wouldn't go amiss either.

Marrows, courgettes, squash and pumpkin are all related and it has been a cracking summer for me for them all. I discovered a great traditional 'Halloween' pumpkin ripening under the brassicas and there is a tiny butternut squash developing. I hear that you should stop a plant after it has set fruit twice so it doesn't divert energies into fruiting more over making the existing fruit a viable size. But I am very greedy and live in hope they are wrong and I can get even more put of the plant.

Mini mini mini! Tasty.....

Autumn in August?

Top tip: Enjoy the daylight before the clocks go back (or forward - I always forget), keep harvesting crops and sow green manures when bare patches start to appear. Enjoy the bright colours of approaching Autumn.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Autumn is already here despite it being still not even mid August.  The days seem shorter and there is a definite chill in the air in the morning. Maybe this is normal and the exceptionally dry and warm summer we have had was the aberration but I had almost forgotten what rain was like. Last Tuesday, the skies decided to remind us with a vengeance. Following the driest weather for 80 years August 12th saw vast amounts of rain - so much so that the Met Office issued severe weather warnings. Looking on the positive side, it means I don't have to spend so long watering. It does, however,  encourage the weeds to spring into life and though you are supposed to keep on top of weeding a) I am not going out in the rain and b) there is no point hoeing weeds if the rain might 'replant' them. So I've stayed indoors and read gardening magazines.

This might be another reason why I think it might be Autumn as, infuriatingly, monthly magazines insist on talking about tasks to do in September despite coming out in early August. I seem to be living in a time warp.  Luckily I also buy Amateur Gardening (the UK's oldest consumer gardening magazine, I believe) and Garden News which are weeklies so they should be more relevant for mid August.  According to them, this week we should:
- Harvest early apples (only take them if they come off easily when twisted)
- Keep picking runner and french beans to keep the plants flowering and cropping
- Lift and sort out potatoes - eat damaged ones first (obvious I would say...)
- Sow salads. Apparently if you sow them in the morning they will germinate better. Worth a go.
- Direct sow spring cabbages now to either crop for winter greens or leave for fully grown plants in spring.
- Remove all but two or three fruits per pumpkin plant to allow them to ripen properly and put the fruits on a tile/ lift them off the ground to stop rotting and encourage ripening.

In this gloom it's good to have a few unusual and colourful produce to make a change from the tidal wave of green (courgettes, salads, cabbage, beans etc) so I was particularly pleased to see that my Swiss Chard 'Bright Lights' have produced a great range of coloured stems.  The variety of colour ranging from hot pink to burnt orange is truly psychedelic. Steam the leaves and use like spinach. Cook the stems separately and apparently you can treat them like asparagus spears. A good way to preserve the leaves and stems is to freeze them but rather than have the leaves in a giant block, steam them, squeeze out the water and then pop them into a muffin tin so that you have easy to use portions.

I'm also loving the cute mini-spaceship shaped Patty Pan summer squashes. I'm not sure what to do with them though the online view seems to be to either treat them like courgettes (ARGH - not more courgettes!) or to stuff them. Tempted by the latter, though I am a bit suspicious about stuffing things - it's almost like disguising the filling.  I also spotted among the triffid-like squash patch a developing 'real' pumpkin and a butternut squash so am watching their progress with interest.

PS Charlotte, her darling little daughter Tabitha and I harvested one of the neighbour's giant cauliflowers (he did give me permission). Though impressively huge it was also full of woodlice - less than appealing but I did get rid of them all by the time I posed for this photo!

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Recipe: Moroccan style garden vegetable couscous

I am not just greedy in terms of growing or shopping, I also love food. And hate waste. At the same time I try to stop my greed from expanding my waistline so tend to cook healthily avoiding cream, butter, salt and too much sugar but have been known to indulge occasionlly and have a weakness for cheese.

This is a simple weekday recipe that you can adapt to whatever you have to hand at home but it's perfect to use up a glut of courgettes and tomatoes. It would serve 4 or else you can portion it up for a healthy packed lunch - it's good hot or cold.

3-4 courgettes - sliced on the diagonal
1 butternut squash - chopped into chunks
1 can chopped tomatoes
1-2 tbsp tomato concentrate
1 onion roughly chopped or sliced
Garlic powder and mustard to taste
Scatter in some herbs - I used ras el hanout (a Morroccan spice blend)
80g plain couscous
1 drained can of chick peas

Put the lot into a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-5 hours until it's all soft.  Blend half of it into a chunky soup texture and mix in a large bowl with the couscous. Cover until the couscous has fluffed up (should be fine in 15 mins max). Roughly chop the remaining vegetables, drain the chick peas and mix in with the couscous. Healthy, speedy and ideal for summer.

PS This is a very versatile dish and you can leave out the couscous and serve the vegetables as a side dish (seen this refered to as a tumbet) or whizz it up in a blender as a thick soup or pasta sauce (thicken it first).

Sowing: the waiting game

Top tip: 
Prepare the ground well, water in and follow spacing guidelines. Don't avoid thinning seedlings out - it's a false economy. Be patient (or at least, sow fast growing plants next to slower growing plants.) If you can't grow seedlings at home because of space or you can't be bothered - cheat and buy plug plants. Label sowings unless you have an amazing memory.

25.07.10
Sowing seems to be some form of magic or alchemy. From such tiny things, amazing plants appear and grow. You create drills and water them on a wet and cold day in spring, drop seeds in at the right spacing. And then wait. And wait.
Then, once you've almost forgotten what you sowed (a learning for next time is a more rigorous labelling system – marking variety & sowing date) a tiny shoot pops up. This is an important time and you need to water them, keep them weed free and generally cosset them. Sometimes it is tough to recognise them from weeds and in some instances they are so tiny it is best to wait till they grow up a bit so that you can spot the difference and thin them properly.

Another learning is to believe the books when they say not to sow things all at once otherwise you will end up with a glut. Successional planting allows for you to plan ahead and spread the harvest. Some plants, such as Swiss Chard, just keep on giving and you don't need many of them to get a good crop from them. Others, such as french beans, need more plants to get a really good continuous crop in sufficient amounts.

Of course, some seeds, such as radish and salads appear (and grow) faster than others and they are perfect to sow along with slower maturing plants but it's worth keeping an eye out that the other plants don't start to need more room or overshadow the seedlings.

Finally, think ahead to when gaps will start appearing. Having harvested the early potatoes, I have a cleared space that is begging for plants while in another area my courgettes are squashed (pardon the pun) in too close. If I had prepared some french beans, sweetcorn and more squash then I could have planted things up there. As it is I think I may have left it too late and will have to concentrate on beetroot, salad and radishes.

Before....








And after.....