Christmas Veggies

Had a lovely Christmas with the family and had vegetables from the allotment gracing our Christmas Day dinner table.  Got some curly kale, parsnips and leeks from the top plot, leeks were HUGE!  Really pleased with them, bigger than any we could see in the shops!  And harvested more than enough brussel sprouts from the bottom plot, some a bit small but very tasty.  The bottom plot has been suffering a bit as it is right next to the river and in a dip.  With all the floods we have been having in Somerset the plot didnt escape.  Simon went down there to survey the damage and the water line was 4ft up inside the shed!  Wellington boots floating around and plant pots everywhere but luckily the veg in the ground survived.  And the flood waters reached the shelf in the greenhouse but luckily the chillis were overwintering on the shelf and didnt get submerged.  Thats the 2nd time the plot has been underwater this year but it doesnt seem to do much damage, just makes the ground easier to dig!  Glad I didnt see it when it was all underwater, want an allotment not a swimming pool!

Our best parsnip this year....

One of the Girls

Thought I would quickly post a picture of one of Janes hens having a cuddle on one of those rare days that the sunshine appeared. The chicken's are doing great and we now get 4  good sized eggs per day. So many that I was allowed by my good lady wife Jane to pickle 27 of them ready for Christmas. I just love a pickled egg..

Attempting to Over-Winter my Chillies

 

Well winter is fast approaching and the chilli plants are now past their best. After chatting to other chilli growers this year i am attempting to over-winter some of the chilli plants that did well this year dispite of the weather.



Following the guide in 'grow-it' magazine, I've cut the plants back to about six inches above the soil. Shook away nearly all of the old compost from the root system.



Repotted the plants into single large pots with new compost and added some slow release 14:14:14 feed just in case.



Put some old bubble wrap on the cold greenhouse stageing, wrapped up the pots with more bubble wrap. Gave all the chillies a final small watering then covered the whole lot up with some garden flease.

 

So hopefully now next year, they should get off to a head start over the seed that i'll plant next year.

 

Winters Coming

Not been able to get down to the allotment for a couple of weeks due to chaos at home, first grandchild has been born and him and his adoring parents have moved in with us for the duration so one long regime of nappy changing and being nanny!  Managed to get down to plot 119 for a while yesterday though for a breath of fresh air and some work.  Took down the runner beans and had a general tidy around, Simon sorted out his peppers, not quite ready to overwinter yet as still very leafy and producing chillis even now.  Brussel sprouts are doing well and the leeks are doing a grand job.  January King cabbages are recovering after their inital noshing by bugs unknown.  And the onions are all up now.  Pulled up the last of the fennel and have given up on the celery, didnt really do very much - nothing really worth harvesting.  All the plots are looking pretty bare and certainly it seems like things are winding up for the winter.  At least the weeds arent growing for a change!  Didn't go up to the top plot, not a lot to do up there now we have decided to give that one up in the Spring, just things for harvesting through the winter.

Tidying Up

Autumn has arrived and time to tidy our plots ready for the winter.  Having decided to give up our plot 69 next time the rent is due, the tidying there is being kept to a minimum.  Went there first today and harvested some cabbages and pretty much the last of the decent runner beans and a few parsnips for our tea.  Took down the french bean poles as  those have all finished now and had a general sort out.  Pulled out some duff cabbages and cauliflowers and then had a sort out in the shed, taking all our tools and useful items down to our other plot.  Feel a little sad to be giving it up however it is a lot harder to maintain than our other site and it will be nice to give 100% of our time to one plot instead of doing 2 halfheartedly.

Down on plot 69 as is well.  Pulled some decent cauliflowers and the last of the rhubarb, also more runner beans.  Lots of tidying to be done, Simon got busy with the hoe and I worked with the shears to get the paths looking better.   Actually got some aubergine flowers coming now, never expected that so late in the season, dont think they will come to anything though.  Some of the onions we planted just a couple of weeks ago are showing growth, the January King cabbages are being nibbled though by something so put up netting.  Couldnt find any caterpillars so not sure if its pigeons.



All in all a pleasant day, had lunch on the plot too which was nice when the sun came out!  Already looking forward to the Spring!

First big chilli harvest!!

With the weather starting to turn a bit cooler, I have had to harvest some of the chillies from the cold green house. I've been growing Jalapeño, Prairie Fire, Cayenne hot peppers, and Patio Red sweet mini bell peppers.

As well as those I have grown 2 unknown peppers, which I have yet to identify. I think one is a Cayenne as it's around the same heat and shape as the others.

The other one, well I have no idea what it is.

I picked all the Patio Red (Sweet Peppers). Some have started to ripen but I wasn't expecting any of the peppers to ripen very well, what with the weather this year.



The Cayenne's have all been picked as well, even tho' they are still green.



The Jalapeño's looked about ready so again the plant is now naked of all fruit.



This is some of my unknown chilli plant fruits, no idea what it is, but it's a hot one. Just picked a few that where about ready, I have already pickled some that where green a month or so ago and still have plenty more left on the plant.



Picked a few of my Prairie Fire chillies as well, just the ones that where changing colour, these little chilli plants are very productive, with about 60 fruits on the plant still to be picked. They are VERY hot small fruits, so you only need a single pepper to heat up a dish.



Another of my unknown chillies, no idea what this could be, it's a small chilli plant about 2 foot high with lots of small 2inch fruits, that are currently green but are changing to orange, then most likely turning red. They have blunt ends to the chilli fruit and a very hot.





I'm hoping to over winter some of these plants this year in the cold greenhouse, I've not done this before, in fact this is only the second time I have ever grown chillies or sweet peppers. If I can over winter the plants, they should get better crops next year.

More New Raised Beds

Had a day off on Thursday (very rare!) and went to local garden centre for full english breakfast then got 2 more raised beds, also got 2 elephant garlic and some saffron crocuses for the front garden.  Spent a few hours down on plot 119, Simon put the raised beds together to complete the left hand side, just 4 more to get for the right hand side and that will be them completed.  Some critter has been digging up my spring green seeds but the animal has left my January King cabbages alone.  For now!



Went to our local sawmill after to get some free bark which they advertise, was going to do the path to match the other side, but unfortunately the bark was far too coarse for what we needed it for.  Never mind, we bought some wood and stone chippings anyway to do our barbeque area at home so not a wasted journey.

Other things doing well on plot 119 are..... one cauliflower which actually looks like a cauliflower!  The brussel sprouts are starting to form, and the last of the kohl rabi are ready for pulling.  The celery seems to be taking forever to get big though, at this rate the first frosts will get them before we eat any!  Also cleared the area between the greenhouse and the polytunnel and the old compost area, the plan next year is to get rid of the old polytunnel as it is falling apart and put a new smaller one up where the old compost area used to be, will open up a lot more space for digging over, with that extra space we should be in a position to possibly let the other plot go......



 

Chicken Update

The 4 chickens are settling in very well.  Had them about 6 weeks now and they are getting friendlier, had a few chicken cuddles.  After one flew over the fence into next doors garden we looked into putting up a higher fence and went for the cheap option, bought some bamboo screens as we just wanted a barrier to deter them.  Works really well, they have stayed in the garden ever since.  Didn't want to clip their wings as they like to have a little fly about from time to time!  Not wrecking the garden despite my fears, even sit in the raised beds and pick at the bugs, haven't touched the salad!  Just ate the single chard plant that was left over from allotment planting, and that was for them anyway.  Cats are still a little wary of them, one chicken went to sit next to Rosie the cat in the sunshine and started pecking her tail because she was swishing it.  Rosie wasnt impressed.  Still no eggs yet but their combs are reddening up so hopefully they will be mature enough soon.



 

Seed Bargains

After a tip off from a fellow blogger, we went along to the Wyevale Garden Centre today to see if they were also doing their end of season seed sale.  They were, all seeds packets for 50p.  We bought 40 packets and when we got home we totted up all the packet prices and were amazed to see that if we had paid full price for them it would have cost us £111!  Only paid £20.  Got a lot of different chillis for Simon and hopefully just about all the seeds we need for next year on Plot 119.  Just need a few others which they didnt have available, and hopefully get those via vegetableseeds.net.  Really nice to get a bargain!   My middle daughter came as well and bought some chilli seeds too.... might have just got the growing bug after spending the summer with us I think!

More Raised Beds

Now that all the potatoes have been dug up it was time to decide what to do with that space.  The potatoes were ok, no signs of blight, just a few bug holes here and there, definitely doing the Sarpo Mira variety next year, blight resistant and good sized spuds.  Did two this evening as jacket potatoes and they were huge and very tasty!  The King Edwards were a bit small but tasted good and the Caras didnt produce very many, considering the amount we planted.  So just Sarpo Miras next year.

So, a nice bit of allotment all ready to be worked again and we decided to put in some more raised beds to match the other side.  Simon put 4 in to start with, another two to do.  Nothing to plant in those two though so no hurry for those.



Put in some January King cabbages and the bare earth/compost is home to some spring green seeds, some of which are already poking their heads up after only being planted last Sunday.  Started planning what we want to do with the plot next year too, did a bit of a drawn plan and with what we have learnt this year it has helped us to understand our requirements for next year.  For example.... less runner beans!  Less brussel sprouts - dont think we need the 4 rows that we have!  Planning to get rid of the old polytunnel too as it is disintigrating and get a new smaller one to sit neatly beside the greenhouse.  That way we have a large new space which would be ideal for the broad beans and the strawberry patch.  Lots of plans.  Oh, and a petrol strimmer would be nice, hard work keeping all the paths down with a pair of shears!

 

More Produce

A busy couple of weeks on the plots and the runner bean fest seems to go on and on and on and on.......... another two large bag fulls and still more to come on the plants.  Must grow less next year.  The Blue Lake beans seem to be just as productive too, good job we like them!



That haul was from last Sunday, fennel was lovely roasted, parsnips were yummy too.  Suggestively positioned cabbages and cucumber..... and beans, beans, kale, chard and more beans.  Oh and a bunch of flowers.



And from today, yes, more beans.  More fennel - had that for tea with a nice piece of barramundi and monkfish.  Some of Simons chilli peppers and one of my long sweet peppers.  Bit of spinach, a kohl rabi and the last of the rhubarb for this season.  The chilli peppers are really good - Simon has strung them up in the kitchen and they look very pretty.  Especially his 'devil' chilli.

Todays Harvest

Also down to Plot 119 today, chillis going mad, Simon picked some to preserve today.  Pulled up some unperforming tomato and cucumber plants, gradually clearing the polytunnel, will have to put a new cover on it next year as it is disintegrating.  So harvesting today was runner beans (we are swamped in runner beans!), potatoes (King Edwards), chard, curly kale, peppers, tomatoes, a cucumber, blackberries (from the thornless blackberry bushes), yellow plums (from the communal fruit trees), parsnips, kohl rabi, carrots (Chantenay), fennel, another car boot full!  The cat came to have a look too.  Shame I cant train her to prepare runner beans....

As I've made about 9 jars of plum jam we are going to use the plums this time for wine making and maybe an experimental plum gin.  Simon has our annual Sloe Gin on the go with some sloes from last year that were still in the freezer.  Wont be too long before this years will be ready for picking!

Another Busy Day

Up to Plot 69, supposed to be just picking beans.... however the local brewery man had been and left bags and bags of spent hops so Simon lugged bagfuls onto the plot, really good mulch, fertiliser and slug repellent!  Neatens the place up a bit too.  Just smells like nothing on earth..... Simon got sent for a shower and clothes straight in the washing machine when he got home later!  Whilst he was doing that I picked the beans, millions of runner beans again, and enough green beans to supply a small supermarket.  Freezer is full of beans, need more ideas for what to do with them!  Picked some dwarf green beans for the first time today, out of the 20 or so plants we put in only 4 survived, enough for a couple of handfuls.  Had a general tidy around.



Picked a few parsnips for roasting and some kale, wanted to pick the last of the beetroot for pickling but still on the small size so will wait another week.

Rhubarb Wine (part 1)

Had to clear some space in the freezer today, for more of our allotment produce. I had 1.3kg of chopped rhubarb in a freezer bag waiting to make some wine. Never had or made rhubarb wine before, but it is supposed to be very nice.

Ingredients

1. 1.3kg chopped and frozen rhubarb.


2. 4.5 litres (approx) of water


3. 1.3kg Cane sugar


4. 1 lemon


5. Yeast & Yeast Nutrient

Method

1. Place frozen rhubarb in a large pan and bring to the boil, once boiling turn off the heat and leave to steep for 30mins by which time the rhubarb will have softened.


2. Mash the rhubarb with a potato masher, aiming to squash all the juice from the rhubarb, keep mashing until the liquid goes pink and the rhubarb is crushed.


3. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved, add the pared peel and the juice of the lemon. Stir well.


4. Transfer into a 5 litre FV and cover loosely . Leave to cool overnight.

Blackberry Wine (part 1)

We made this wine last year and it was a big hit. So after picking and freezing 2.7kg of blackberries from the back of our allotment plot (a nice bonus harvest) I have now started the process of making this wine again.

Ingredients.

1. 2.7kg of frozen blackberries


2. 4.5 litres of water (boiling)


3. 900g sugar


4. 2 lemons


5. 1/2 tsp citric acid


6. 2 tsp Pectolase powder (optional)


7. yeast and yeast nutrient

Method

1. In a large pan bring 4.5 litres of water to the boil,add the frozen blackberries and with the heat still on stir until the blackberries have melted. Mash the blackberries with a potato masher as the water comes back to the boil, then simmer for 15 mins.


2. Turn of the heat and add the sugar, the citric acid, pared lemon peal and the juice from both the lemons. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.


3. Transfer into a 10 litre FV or bucket and leave to steep and cool down overnight.

Chicken Progress

The girls are settling in very well, been with us two weeks now and seem to be thriving.  We put coloured leg rings on them so now we can tell the difference, Agnes is red, Betty is orange, Coraline is green and Demelza is ringless as she didnt want to be caught at the time of ringing!  Their characters are coming out now too, Agnes is bossy and greedy and not afraid to confront the cats, Betty is a chatterbox and loves the dust bath (which is a hole of her own making next to the dust bath Simon made from a cat litter tray and playsand!), Coraline is quiet and gets on with things and Demelza is the timid one.  They have been out and about in the garden a few times now and love scratchin on the lawn and exploring, eating anything they can find and giving the cats something to think about!  No eggs as yet but I dont think that will happen for some time yet, they are approx. 20-22 weeks now and reckon its going to be another month or so, they might surprise me though.   Favourite things at the moment = sunflowers seeds and mealworms (in moderation of course, dont want podgy hens!)



 

Chillifest

The greenhouse down on plot 119 is looking good, Simons chillis are doing really well.  Pulled out the last of the courgettes yesterday and all that remains in there now are the chillis, my sweet peppers and the chinese gooseberries (which have taken over a little bit!) I'll get Simon to add some notes to this post as I have no idea which type of chilli is which or whats going on with them really!  All I know is they are looking brilliant!  The plan is that next year he will take over one side of the greenhouse for chillis only and I will have the other side just for sweet peppers, so a real pepper house.  Unfortunately some of my sweet peppers are a bit stunted as the courgettes were blocking the light a bit, hopefully now that the courgettes have gone they will recover.



And the special one that took us by surprise.... Simons devil chilli!



 

Need a bigger freezer!

Another bumper produce harvest yesterday.  Got some more runner beans and french beans from plot 69, still loads to come!  Had to give a bag full each to both our neighbours, and folks-in-law got some too.  Still got far too many!!  Also from the top plot we picked our first 3 cabbages, lovely firm hearts, really pleased with them.  I would have left them a bit longer but the cabbage patch is being really hit hard by slugs and now caterpillars, despite the netting we still have cabbage white caterpillars invading unfortunately.  Cabbages are touching the netting so the butterflys are just landing and laying on the leaves.  The slugs have done so much damage we are pretty much letting nature take its course, the damage seems to be on the outside row and the inside one seems to be intact so harvestable.  Had one for tea last night and it tasted fantastic.  Also picked some more kale, slugs and butterflies dont seem to touch that!  The good news is that the plot next to ours has a new tenant.  It had become quite overgrown and thistles etc, so hopefully someone is going to start looking after it.  He had only started the same day as us so sad that he has given up so soon.  Down to plot 69 after that and harvested our first fennel!  Also some tomatoes, last of the courgettes, more runner beans and 3 dwarf beans (!), they havent done very well at all, only had 1 plant survive!  Simon dug up the first of the maincrop potatoes and was really pleased, got some nice ones and no sign of rot or blight at all.  A big bagful from 3 plants!  Another bucket of plums and more blackberries for jam, again a full boot!

 









Simons sweetcorn are growing well and the brussel sprouts are really happy, should have lots of sprouts for christmas....

 

 

Plum Jam 1 & 2

Got a mixture of purple damsons and green plums from the allotment and thought I would try making a plum jam with them.  Bought a new preserve book whilst we were on holiday called Food in Jars which had a nice recipe.  Boiled up the plums for 5 minutes to soften them then sieved them to get rid of all the skin and stones.  Put them through a strainer to get rid of all the pulp so it would be a nice smooth jam.  Then out with the jam pan and boiled them up with 3/4 of their weight in jam sugar.  The recipe said to use granulated sugar and liquid pectin but the jam sugar does the same thing.  Boiled it until it was syrupy then added the zest and juice of one lemon then boiled it until setting point.  Result = nice, tart, deep red jam.  Made 5 jars and enough in a bowl for breakfast tomorrow with crumpets!  Lots more plums coming on the trees so hopefully will do some more.



(Rhubarb crumble in the background made with allotment rhubarb of course!)

Update on 26/8/12 - made some more plum jam since this entry, with the yellow plums from the communal fruit trees.  Made loads, 6 jars of lovely yellow jam and its really yummy.  Made some jam tarts with the bit of jam that couldnt fit in the jars and they were really fruity.  Also made 3 jars of bramble jelly.  Running out of room on my preserve shelf!



 

The Harvest Continues!

A busy day on Sunday harvesting.  Came home with a carboot full of lovely produce.

So, pulled some parsnips just to see what was going on under the ground and was surprised to get some really good ones, had them roasted for tea tonight, with some roasted kohl rabi we picked the week before, very delicious and not at all woody.  One lone radish... aaaahhh!   Some curly kale, again we had that for tea with our roast and it was delicious.  Loads and loads of climbing beans, Blue Lake variety, they were lovely, put lots in the freezer, taste better than shop bought ones.  More chard.  Last of the rhubarb, some for the freezer and some in a crumble.  Couple of cucumbers.  Loads of runner beans but unfortunately some were too big, didnt pick them soon enough and they will be really tough.  Did get four freezer bags full of tender ones though.  Few tomatoes.  Some sunflower heads - picking the seeds out for the chickens! And a tub of blackberries, lots of brambles behind our allotment, enough for wine and some jam.  Finally two tubs of plums and damsons -for jam making as well.  All in all a good haul.  (Nearly forget to mention the chilli pepper at them front - fell off during watering!)