Harlequin And Garden Alchemy

 It was a cold day to go to the allotment.It did not rain but the wind made it feel colder than the eight degrees centigrade it was.I got busy today sowing the seeds in the raised beds.The nine new beds are visible on this photo.The old bed made with recycled wood is out of shot on the right hand side.The Rhubarb has gone berserk growing massively in the last few weeks,to the point of forming flower spikes.

 This photo shows the blue sky but also the thick cloud that covered the sun.I sowed Carrots,Peas,Parsnips,Turnips,Japanese Onions, and planted the Centurion Onion sets that i started in the greenhouse.I want to see if growing some roots and leaves before planting makes for better Onions after last years white rot disaster (none of Onions grew well).The Greenhouse has six more crops growing from seed.I got home and took my sketch drawing to plan what goes where.
 The allotment already had two types of Potatoes,Shallots,Garlic,Sage plants,and the Rhubarb.I need to decide whether to compost the last remnants of last years Leeks?

 This Pansy has been slug eaten but from the chair I sit at looked like a black and white Harlequin.I have a few seeds left to sow.Some Coriander seeds,Purple Haze Carrots,and some Runner Beans for the garden to grow for the flowers.It has been a mad month where all the Vegetable seeds have been sowed and the raised beds made ready.The weather forecast is for wind and rain after tomorrow.I can soon concentrate on clearing the rough edges of the plot and digging in my five bags of home made compost.
 Feeling the seeds in the palm of your hand, and then Sowing them in the soil is some gardening alchemy.Water,soil,and sunshine combine to produce hopefully beautiful Vegetables ready to be cooked and eaten fresh from the plot.Sowing the first new seeds into the freshly prepared soil is great and makes you hopeful for a good harvest.

Purple Haze

It was a day of two halves again.The morning and early afternoon was spent up at the allotment.I got picked up by Cat (who brought us some Pink Lemonade to drink at the plot).I got home and found my hanging basket brackets that I ordered online have arrived.They slip on to the concrete fence posts and use the weight of the basket to secure the brackets brake pad.I found them originally at the RHS Tatton Park flower show 2011.Our winter flowering Viola has finally bloomed.This is such a delicate flower about the size of a five pence piece.It is deepy Purple,dark, and sultry.The nine raised beds have been constructed up at the allotment.The leeks are on the edge of the soil where the Potatoes will go next week.It was a swelteringly hot day.Im still sunburnt on my shoulders from the sun yesterday.I wore sunblock but not enough apparently.You can cook an egg on my shoulders.
I am going to see Mum tomorrow in Cheltenham.I will take the laptop so I should still be in contact.I hope the weather is as nice as the past two days.
There is one raised bed kit left over,but I do not know where to put it yet.I dug up the last of the Parsnips today,along with Leeks,and Purple Sprouting Broccoli.Two Broccoli plants remain untill next week.The Rhubarb is growing away nicely at the bottom of the photo.I now need to plan what is growing in what raised bed,and will make a series of paths to cover the soil between the raised beds.The majority of the plots Spring clean has been done.Now for the start of the growing season.

Raised Beds 1 and 2

It is the first day of my week off.I went to the allotment today to start constructing the raised beds from the kits that I have.I had to dig these two from scratch as the weeds and grass have over ran the area in the winter.I have another eight beds to construct.Three of the beds need digging over still.The sunshine was out again,and it was a balmy nineteen degrees centigrade.I saw this Comma alighting on the brambles at the back of the plot.I cant wait for the beds to be ready so I can get to the exciting part of sowing seeds and planting the beds up.The weed clearing and digging is hard work.
My left hip and leg are hurting.I spent three and a half hours today down there.I will have to go back tomorrow and maybe Wednesday so it will be ready for when i come back from Cheltenham.
The Comma is a beautiful colour glowing in the sunlight.

Daffs And Digging

Some of the gardens Daffodils are teasingly close to flowering.The unfurling of the lovely yellow flower is a sign that Spring has sprung.It comes late to Kettlethorpe whereas other places have them in flower already.I saw some Lesser Celandine in flower today,and a few Dandelions,when I walked to and from the allotment.I must plant more of these golden trumpet Daffs for next year.I have about a dozen plants only.Today's tea will be pan fried pork steaks,with potatoes,and a selection of these harvested today allotment vegetables.The Leeks smelt divine in the carrier bag i brought them back in.I harvested a Swede and some of the late growing Purple Broccoli as well.Its great that the plot can still provide Vegetables in March.After a winter break I returned to the allotment last Monday for the first time in ages.The purple florets on the Broccoli plants made me smile.I had given up hope of them producing anything edible.Patience is obviously a virtue I don't have much of.I am learning how to wait now for plants to crop.The warm winter has caused the weeds and grasses to vigorously grow.The paths between the beds are especially covered in nuisance growth.I have spent two days down there now clearing sone of the beds of excess weeds and couch grass.I measured today for the raised beds that I want to buy online.

I think having raised beds will make it easier to keep weed free.I will use black tarpaulin between the beds and maybe bark chippings on the pathways.

I will grow Potatoes between the raised beds where there will be bare soil.Maybe a quarter of the plot will still be open soil.

It is hard work clearing soggy clay soil but it turned beautifully.The previous two growing seasons have helped turn it from clay to chocolate brownie mix.

The garden looks quite nice and does not need much doing to it.The attention turned to preparing the plot for planting at the end of March.The soil was still cold to touch today.

In a weeks time there is one of the earliest garden shows.The Edible Garden show showcases all that's modern in growing your own fruit and veg,and small holdings.There are celebrity chefs,gardeners,a livestock marquee,talks and events on all three days,and lots of exhibitors to help you take some goodies home.

http://www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk/

Alas I'm working nights otherwise I would have liked to go to it.I would have liked to see James Wong speaking.He is one of the new young presenters of Grow Your Own Drugs.He likes people to try growing exotic fruits and Vegetables.The show is at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire,and runs from March 16Th to 18Th 2012.

The Daffodil flower bud shows me that the days are getting lighter earlier and that Spring sunshine will be here soon.

Harvest Reflections

Its the eleventh of October already.The crops that I have grown are almost ready to harvest.The old men have started to clear their plots and the air can be quite smoky at the allotment from bin fires.I am resisting still and compost all my green waste.I have started to clear the beds that have gone over.The peas,the onions,the garlic,and the sweetcorn.The Courgettes have died back and are covered with a white sooty mould.It has rained quite a lot over the past few days so I hope my five Pumpkins are increasing in size.I want to use one as a Jack O Lantern,and the rest will be turned into soup.As the harvest kicks in I find you need inspiration to deal with the glut of Vegetables.I will try to cook my Runner Beans into a Lebanese Tomato and Garlic dish.What do you do with eight Cabbages that are all ready to pick?I guess I could blanch them and freeze them.The freezer already has Tomato Soup,and Carrot Soup frozen in small portions.These can be used on cold wintry days after a long walk,with a crusty bread roll.The summer harvest can be carried over through the dark days of winter.
Its not all gone smoothly this year.White Rot has decimated my Onions and Garlic.The Sweetcorn keeled over as soon as it was planted out.The Cauliflower plants died after strong winds and slug damage.The Broccoli has not grown any florets yet!
Despite all this we have had sixty pounds of Potatoes from the Plot,Carrots,a few peas,Rhubarb,Runner Beans,and a beautiful Cabbage.
Still growing in the ground is winter Vegetables.Parsnips,Swedes,Carrots,and Brussels Sprouts.I am planning next years crops already.
The garden has grown Strawberry's in the sleeper bed.Potatoes in grow bags which were not as productive due to the dry early summer.Tomatoes and Chilli's have been a great success.I will definitely grow these again.I will look for new Varieties to try and grow.The Red Cherry's were lovely,juicy,and strong tasting.The Outdoor girl were big but not as tasty.There are hundreds of varieties of Toms to try,and more Chilli's.
As the growing season ends it is a good time to reflect on what has gone right,what was a disaster,and what could be done next year.
I will try to grow Sweetcorn in large grow bags in the garden so they can be tended and watered all year around.Working full time and not being able to go every day made the crop fail.They need the tender loving care for them to reach their potential.
I think the sleeper bed in the garden needs more Strawberry plants.Last year i increased my stock by pinning down the runners from the parent plants.Strawberry plants can be propagated easily every year.The thrill of picking bowls of fresh Strawberries was amazing.
All this harvested crops need storing,freezing,or used in cooking.The whole point of growing Vegetables is to eat them freshly cooked.I enjoy finding new recipes to cook and taste.Growing and cooking are two of my passions.

Pictures From The Plot

Apart from the garden my other passion has been working on the allotment.I have been up there a few times over the past few weeks on my annual leave.The plants are growing well with my extra attention.
I like the quietness of the plot.The wind blows through the trees.The birds sing and chatter at me if they are disturbed.The bees buzz in the air.Butterflies perform aerial ballets above the plants.I usually take my camera and sometimes when I'm not weeding or watering I will be photographing.I planted some summer flowering bulbs to add some colour.My Gladiolus have flowered up in front of the shed between my Asiatic Lily's. I found an old packet of Sunflower seeds.I sowed about a dozen seeds between my Carrot rows in the raised bed.It is made from recycled wood that I got when I first got the plot.I have tasted the Italian Carrots from the plot and they were delicious.They were so sweet when cooked,unlike the usual supermarket ones.They get uniformity of size and colour,but lose the flavour.My Carrots will not win any beauty competitions but they taste good.This Sunflower is the first one in flower.It will provide the birds with some extra food in the winter when it gets tougher.

The Sunflower growing between the Carrots, and the Borage.I find the idea of growing edible plants and flowers appealing.It reminds me of traditional Cottage gardening which used to be grow your own food near your door.You grew what you liked to supplement your diet with. I have picked a few Blackberry's too from the hedgerow that runs along the allotment lane.I love these in pies with Apples.Apple and Blackberry pie with custard is heavenly.Very few people seem to forage now for wild fruit.August is a prime time to get to hedgerows where the brambles grow and collect some.Eating them as you pick them and getting stained fingers is a memory from childhood. The pollinating insects are out in force too at the allotment.They love the idea of beautiful flowers growing besides vegetables.This is the salmon coloured Gladiolus at close range. My Hexagonal planter by the shed has the fiery coloured Gallardia flowers growing in it, and a brown leaved plant.I need to get some watercrystals to try to keep moisture in the pot as it drys out.I water it and these Blanket flowers seem to revive. One of my favourite photos was this Bee hanging upside down to get to the Borage.I planted this to attract pollinators.The Blue flowers are nice in ice cubes for summer drinks.For me part of the summer is the buzzing noise you get around a Borage plant from all the Bees. A Butterfly alights on one of my compost bags.I bought these 220 litre green refuse sacks for starting compost off.I will need to cover the tops to exclude light and then keep turning it.I'm hoping for some usable compost to dig back into the allotment soil.The winter plan will be to get loads of manure from a local stables and to dig it into the soil.Some parts have nice soil like chocolate brownie mix.Other parts are solid clay and dust.Home made compost and the manure will improve the soil year on year.Digging it over has already improved it over the past three growing seasons.Another beautiful flower belongs to my Scarlett Emperor Runner Beans.They have had a slow start to growing but now have entwined themselves up along the wigwam supports.I think these plants were grown just for their scarlet flowers before.I think the flowers look beautiful. My first year if growing Sweetcorn has not been as successfull as I would have liked.I grew the plants from seeds in the Greenhouse and had healthy vigorous plants.Putting them in the ground shocked them, and the hot dry weather has stopped them growing as they should.However a few of the plants have the corns on them.Fingers crossed we get to eat a few Sweet corns.They need plenty of manure, and water.Next year we may try growing these in the garden in large grow bags.I could control the watering then.As I work full time its not always possible to get to the plot to water thirsty plants. Some of the plants that are thriving are the Courgettes (not pictured),and the Pumpkins Atlantic Giant.I have never grown Pumpkins before.I want to grow them for two reasons.One is to have a Pumpkin to carve for Halloween,and the other is to make Pumpkin soup.I made Pumpkin soup first in Australia where it is readily available most of the year.In the UK the Pumpkins appear around middle of October for a few weeks.This Pumpkin is about the size of a bowling ball.There are five smaller Pumpkins growing steadily. The Unicorn Cabbages seem to be thriving under the netting.The metal supports came from the Spring Flower show.They have been excellent in keeping the cage intact.Butterfly and Pigeon damage has been minimal.These are growing nice hearts in the centre of the leaves.The French Marigolds look nice but do not appear to stop White fly infesting the plot.I have been trying organic pest control.My allotment plot is surrounded by wild areas on two sides.I have used no sprays,chemicals,or any slug pellets.There were hundreds of Ladybirds,Spiders,Hover flys, Butterflys,flys,and wasps.I think that the healthy insect life reflects my organic approach to the plot. This was the plot yesterday with all the plants growing nicely in the allotted beds.I kept imaging a green quilt with different beds having different plant shapes and textures.There have been successes,but also failures.

The biggest problem has been Onions,and Garlic.I checked yesterday and found signs of White Rot on the bottom of the Onions I dug up. This has inhibited the growth of the roots below,and the leaves above.On Gardeners World Monty Don said if you had White rot in the soil you could not grow onions there ever again.The strange thing is some people have grown big onions.My plot neighbour burnt all his because the white rot set in.I wander if the soil is infected but not across the whole allotment?I wander if the the white rot has effected the Garlic,and why they have only grown slightly from when I planted the cloves in March. The rainclouds were gathering at the plot as i watered and weeded.A thunder storm raged behind the Sunflowers.This was the end of the day at the allotment.I had taken a few photos of what was happening on Wednesday.

The allotment is much wilder than the garden.If you leave it too long the weeds return and nature exerts her will on you.Growing your own Vegetables from seeds is one of the most satisfying things you can do.It connects you to the earth and the rhythm of the seasons.Going up there is always a pleasure in the summer.

Carrots And 2 Cats

Cat had a girls dinner today on the patio.I had watered the garden last night,and spent this morning tidying up the debris and rearranging the pots to show off all the flowers.The table was moved to the centre, and the Pelagoniums neatly arranged on place mats.I left them to it and went to the allotment.The Asiatic Lily's looked like Jewels.

The black Kitten (who is still nameless) came into the garden during the dinner, and went to sleep under the Butterfly Bush.He also correctly sat on the grass near to where the Mole burrowed up.He must have either smelt or heard the tunnelling mole.There was a small pile of dirt on the grass when I came back.The jury is still out on various organic,non lethal methods of controlling Moles.

It is the 28th of July now,so we are nearly three quarters of the way into the growing season.The allotment has produced a mixture of highs and lows.

The Borage is growing away happily with its cucumber scented flowers.The Bee's and flying insects are drawn to this flowering herb.The flower is nice frozen in an ice cube,to flavour a summer drink.I have grown both Vegetable plants and flowers at the allotment side by side.I liked the idea of a French Pottager.

The Poppy is growing besides my raised bed.The reclaimed timbers hold the soil in just,and the Carrots,Borage, and Sunflowers are growing in harmony.I harvested a half dozen Carrots today which is brilliant.Picking Vegetables grown from seed is the most amazing high.A sense of pride, and completing the cycle.From seed,to seedling,to planting,tending and watering,to harvesting,and finally to eating the produce.Our supermarkets have driven us away from this process.School Kids can think Carrots come in plastic bags from the Supermarket.That they are uniform in size,colour, and shape.I do love the wonkiness of my allotment grown Carrots.Their uniqueness,scent,& great taste are what matters to me, not the aesthetics of how long they look.

The Sweetcorn has not grown very well.There are a few ears forming but my plants are not as big and upright as some of the others at the allotment.The Onions and Garlic have not grown as well as I would have liked.My Cauliflowers have been decimated by pests.I do not know if it is slugs,snails,rabbits,or pigeons.Most of my Brassicas looked like green net curtains earlier.Some of them have revived a bit,so they might produce edible Veg at the end of the season.

The Pea's I picked eaten from the pod have been amazingly sweet, even in the raw state.I love eating them at the plant.You need to grow double what you want so you can have one for you,one for the pot.

The Courgettes have been very productive.The Pumpkins are growing steadily.I have about six at the moment.I want one to turn into a Jack O Lantern at Halloween.

Having an allotment,or even just growing your own veg in pots makes you want to find ways of cooking and eating your produce.I have lots of cookery books to give me ideas.

A day of brilliant sunshine,flying Butterfly's,Carrots,and Cats.We are going to York tomorrow my fave City after London.

Butterflys And Bee's

It has been a day of two halves.I went to the allotment this morning to do some weeding and watering.Everything has been growing on well with the recent rainy weather.The sunflowers have grown on in the carrot bed.The only poor performers are the Red Onions,and the Cauliflower plants.The failed crop beds are going to be filled with my Leeks.I wish I had more time to go up to water plants, but work gets in the way.This growing year has been challenging with the effects of a prolonged drought, then heavy rains,and hot temperatures.The slugs,snails,& caterpillars have decimated my Brassicas.I will not use any chemicals even slug pellets, so i have to grin and bear it.Some have survived and may even give us a crop at the end.I harvested Raspberries and my first half dozen Italian Courgettes today.

I finally got a photo of one of the White Butterflies landing to power drink some nectar from a wild flower.They are so flitting and perform mad aerial acrobatics.They dance with each other too in the air.I saw a variety of Butterflies species at the plot.

The local Bee's have gone mad with the wilder side of the plot.The grass path has lots of these Thistle flowers.He was accommodating in letting me photograph him many times.I watered and weeded until around Midday.I walked back home then to photograph the garden.

This is the first flower from the Bishop Of Llandaff.I bought four corms at the Spring Flower show.I wanted this Dahlia since I saw it growing years ago.It is a perennial favourite of many gardeners.I have four pots growing beautiful dark foliage, reminiscent of my Sambuca.I always think of Aztecs when I see Dahlias.It is a great colour red with golden yellow stamen.

The Butterfly bush is in full bloom now.I love how dark the colours are contrasting to the two toned leaves.It is scented strongly of honey.It intoxicates the Bee's that fly up to it.I want one of these up at the allotment.This plant always reminds me of railway lines,as i used to see them travveling up and down the country.The Black Knight is a more refined cousin of the common Railway siding Buddleja.

The Echinops is developing a blue streak to its Thistle.It is very Manga in design I think.The globes seem to float above the garden.They are dwarfed by the Butterfly Bush, and the Teasels.I hope that over time I can split this plant so I have lots of these Globe Thistles around the garden.

The Everlasting Flowers are doing well.These stems and flowers will be dried out,and used to decorate the house in winter as a dried flower.The flowers are very long lasting, and feel like plastic.I have these burgundy flowers, and others in red and orange.I want to find more Straw Flowers in other colours.They should keep for years.

I don't know what this flower is.The foliage is very fine and airy.It has these five petaled flowers with a central lip like a Sweet Pea.These have been growing in the pot by the kitchen door.I don't remember planting any seeds.If you recognise the flower please tell me!

The Asiatic Lily's are blooming magnificently.Like Row up row of different coloured sweets they glow in the evening light.A few rogue Tomato plants have started growing between the Lily's.

These should be called Banana splits.The Yellow Lily's have delicious orange streaking to the middle of the petals.They contrast brilliantly to the dark green leaves behind.

The Pink Lily's have a hint of lemon sherbet near the centre of the flowers.I have never planted so many Lily's in a single pot.Next year I will repeat the experiment but buy the individual colours myself.I want them to match in some pots, but to contrast in others.

The day has been about plants, and insects.Tomorrow we are going to the Great Yorkshire Show.The biggest agricultural fair in England.It is forecast to be sunny, and dry.I have the camera batteries on charge.I cant wait.I will blog my favourite bits here.It is one of the highlights of the summer.

Water And Weeds

I spent three hours up at the allotment weeding and watering.The plants have been battered since I planted them up there.The sweetcorn seems to have revived a little after the initial shock of being planted out.The Cabbages are the healthiest looking plant under the protective black netted cage.The Cauliflower,Brussels Sprouts,Swede,and Broccoli seem to have been munched. This Snail was hiding in some weeds.I love the colour of his shell.I loved the contrast between his shell and the lid of the water butt where i photographed him.

I have a hexagonal container planted with some brown foliage plant and these Gallardia or blanket flowers.These must be quite tough as the pot regularly gets dried out when I'm not there to water it.I love the fiery petals and ornate centre.

This was the allotment at the end of today.It has been watered and a lot of weeds removed.I planted the Leek bed, and put my four Borage plants into various beds.I have a little flower bed too growing Asiatic Lilys and Abysinnian Gladiolus.There are Sunflowers growing between my Carrot rows in the raised bed (on the left hand side).

It is the Walton Plant Stall tomorrow.I will take the smaller Camera to photograph it.It has been a sunny day.The day was so quiet except for the sound of the Blackbirds singing around me and the sound of the tall Trees rustling in the wind.

The three hours I spent up at the plot passed imperceptibly.