gone plotterin

Meet Wallis

2011-09-27T13:18:00.000+01:00

Wallis thinks he is the big man (he weighs just 14 ounces full grown) and he struts like he owns the world.
We called him Wallis because when those beautiful feathers came in they reminded me of a Tiffany lamp and so (hoping for a hen) he was named after 30's icon Wallis Simpson.
Sadly, Willow then named her hen 'Gromit' thus forever tying the pair to 'Wallace and Gromit' the ugly clay figures from a cartoon.
Ah well, my mum reckons Simpson was tarty strumpet anyway!

The Autumn jobs continue here. Today I'm harvesting the last of grapes for jellies and jams. The crop suffered with the strange weather we've had this season, hot and dry spring followed by a damp, grey summer and we lost quite a few to mould.

Still, there's enough for jam if not for wine and the chickens are loving the pulp from the jelly bags.
There's going to be lots of weird purple chicken poop for the compost next week!

Perfect piccalilli

2011-09-25T13:12:00.000+01:00

I'm fed up with chutney.
Each year I use all the odds and sods from the plot, chop them up, spice them and cook them in vinegar til they're completely unrecognisable and when they disintegrate into a brown, smooshy mess, stick it in a jar.
Chutney tastes pretty good and is generally well received but it seems a shame to to reduce all that colourful, crisp veg down to gloop.

So this year I made piccalilli instead.
The beauty of piccalilli is that the vegetables are raw. You don't cook them at all and they retain their colours, crunch and vitamins.
You take 2kg of chopped veg (I used cauliflower, onions, peppers, nasturtium seedpods, chard stalks, cucumbers, green tomatoes, immature tiny pumpkins, carrots, bulb fennel and purple beans) layer with salt and leave overnight.
Next day, rinse the veg and drain,
Make the sauce.
Mix (all heaped teaspoons)
6 of cornflour
2 of turmeric
2 of colemans English mustard powder
2 of ground ginger
2 of all purpose seasoning
1 of smoked paprika
make into a paste with some vinegar taken from 1.2 litres
Heat the rest of the vinegar with 300g sugar and 100g honey to boiling.
Thin your sauce with a little of the hot vinegar then put the sauce into the saucepan and stir.
Boil for 5 minutes or so then remove from the heat, fold in the veg and spoon into hot sterile jars and seal immediately.
Allow to mellow for a good six weeks before eating.

For the vinegar I tend to use whatever I have...wine or cider, sometimes pickling. I find brown malt vinegar a bit strong but if it's all you have then so be it.

I use jars from instant coffee because they have plastic lids....metal lids react with the vinegar. If you only have metal lids put a wad of cardboard in between the cellophane cover and the metal.

And I know American readers will be stressing about the lack of a waterbath and the inclusion of cornflour but truly, piccalilli has been made this way for centuries!
It's delicious (even though it looks a bit radio active in the picture) Give it a go.

Best Beans

2011-09-24T18:22:00.001+01:00

This year I grew two different types of 'new to me' beans.
They were so good that I think I'll be sticking with just them for a year or two.

First, the beans drying in the picture are 'Frost' or 'Pea beans'. A very old variety they have a multitude of uses. You can pick and eat the young, almost empty pods like mange tout. A little later you use them as french beans. Wait another while and use the beans out of the pods and they taste like peas! Wait again for them to change colour and use as fresh beans and at the end of the season shell and dry for winter soups and stews.
With their half cream half brown colouring they look awful pretty in a jar too!
I just love them. I only had three beans from a friend to try and they grew so well we've been eating them all summer.
The other bean I grew was 'cosse violet'. Beautiful and tender and untouched by pests these will also be regulars at the plot from now on. They lose their vivid purple colour when cooked (reverting to fresh green) but they're so tender you can eat them in all their purple glory, raw in salads.
No pictures I'm afraid.....I've just bunged the most recent picking into a batch of piccalilli so you'll just have to trust me....with these two varieties there really is no need for any other bean on my plot!

Mabon Blessing

2011-09-23T18:57:00.001+01:00

At this time of equal light and dark,
And of ingathering,
May you find balance and abundance in your life
And wish some of your good fortune upon others.
Blessings to you x

I copied this blessing from a generous friend who also writes a blog. I know she won't mind because she states on her blog that anyone is welcome to copy and share anything they find there.

Refreshing attitude isn't it?

Might copy that too.

So to those of you in touch with the seasons I wish you an excellent harvest to share with generous and inspiring friends.

Top Find....

2011-09-23T11:28:00.000+01:00

Autumn is definitely here now.
The leaves on the long suffering conker trees have browned and fallen and the die back is well underway at the plot....

And just round the corner, near my daughter's school, we've found a group of walnut trees!
Each morning, when Wurzel walks her to school he picks up another few pocketfuls of this wonderful free bounty. I can't imagine how we've never noticed these trees before except that they appear to be young so maybe this is the first year of real production?
Anyway...160 walnuts are now drying in my dining room.
Walnut loaf anyone?

A mixed flock...

2011-09-22T11:03:00.000+01:00

.....means it's easy to know which hen laid which egg!

From the left;
Hattie (welsummer)
Racey Lacey (wyandotte bantam) Millie (pekin)
Lola (serama)

We no longer have any hybrid birds so egg production is slowing down now for the winter.
Soon we'll get none at all until spring. I've read on the internet that some folk crack eggs into little bags and freeze them so I might give that a try.
I hate to buy eggs, especially since companies who claim to be particularly concerned with animal welfare keep being exposed by undercover journalists....check out 'Happy Eggs' and see what I mean.

Okay, My bad.....

2011-09-21T16:35:00.000+01:00

I have been neglecting my blog.
I have excuses, London riots, summer holidays, computer problems, a busy life, writers block but at the end of the day I know it's just me, it's my bad.

So, to get back in the habit, I'll be doing things a bit differently for a while. Instead of saving up a nice selection of pictures and things to tell you about I'll just aim to put something up most days....just one thing, or maybe two.
For today, here are some images from our summer holiday by the sea. I think they pretty much speak for themselves, we had a blissful time!
And, just for once here is a picture of me. I hate to have my picture taken but it has been pointed out to me that loved ones far away that read this blog want to see me so, here it is.

A Rose by any other name....

2011-07-22T13:52:00.000+01:00

Just look at these weeds!
Does the fact that I love them mean I'm not a serious grower?

My allotment neighbours are perturbed by my love of weeds. They tolerate my quirks because I diligently mow my paths and any communal areas near my plot and because I always pay my rent in cash and on time but I know they think I'm very strange.
Last week a new lady took over the plot next to mine and I heard the allocations officer explain that I 'garden differently' from other folk. 'It takes all sorts' she added.

But I am no botanist and I don't really understand the difference between a weed and a wildflower so I have come up with my own definition.
I have decided that a weed is a plant that hurts me with prickles or stingers, hurts the plants around it by strangling them or growing enormous very quickly and is of no conceivable benefit to either.
Very, very few plants fulfil this criteria! Stinging nettles for example, hurt me but not the surrounding plants and they are very beneficial to bees and to compost and to me when cabbage whites lay eggs on them instead of my brassicas.
Must be wildflowers then!

Any really pretty unidentified plants that are 'in the way' get carefully transplanted to the amaranth bed (because amaranth simply doesn't care)
I think this yellow one is called birdsfoot trefoil. It makes beautiful pillows of yellow and red.

And I think this one could be the elusive Scarlet pimpernel! I'm not at all sure though and if anyone could recommend a good book to ID these with I'd be everso grateful.

I especially want to know what this lovely purple flower is.
It's popping up all over the place this month. It wasn't here last year and I suspect it's one of those whose seeds lie dormant for decades untill the ground is disturbed again.

A less welcome flower springing up all over the plot is the ragwort.
Ragwort is so poisonous and horses who ingest it die slow and painful deaths. There is no antidote.
I recently discovered that small children (like mine) who pick flowers for their mum (like mine) can also die if they ingest the milky sap of ragwort....the stuff that gets all over their hands when they pick it. So that one's going in the fire pit.

As for the actual veg on the plot it's rather a mixed bag this year. I had my first ripe tomato last week, earlier than ever before but the cucumbers on their big healthy plants are just refusing to swell. And judging by the slime trails on that leaf, I'm not the only one impatiently waiting
Plus, to my great shame, my courgettes are not even
flowering yet (surely any fool can grow courgettes)
nor are my runner beans.

But the grapes....ahh! the grapes are doing splendidly with literally hundreds of bunches swelling by the day....think of the wine! jam too and fresh black grapes for eating but mainly...think of all that wine!!!!

Day of the Triffids...

2011-07-08T19:36:00.000+01:00

Things are growing like triffids up at the plot!
The combination of rain and sunshine is bringing things on at such a rate.

The tomatoes, particularly are doing well. The gardener's delight are starting to colour and have fifteen or so fruit on each truss. At this rate I'll be setting a personal best by eating homegrown, outdoor toms in July! It's usually well into August before I get a taste.

The marmande has set more fruit than ever before, purple ukraine setting now and the mille fleurs have gone completely bonkers!
All I need to do now is cross my fingers and hope that the dreaded blight doesn't strike before I have the chance to harvest them.
A couple of plants at the end of the row have been stripped totally bare...no leaves or fruit remain just a stubby stalk. I've a horrible feeling this is rabbit damage and I need to step up my defences quicksmart.

The squashes are running riot, escaping from there beds and careering across the paths.
This (I think) is a 'Queensland blue' a heritage variety reported to taste divine.
It already has sixteen fruit on this one plant. I know I should thin but I'm essentially a greedy person.
How many pumpkins can one plant grow anyway?
I'm hoping one of you experienced growers can tell me. I'm after good eating rather than competition winners.

Somewhere in the middle of these flowers lives my garlic.
The first crop of purple garlic had to be pulled early when it split. I turned half into umami paste and the rest into 'persian sweet pickles' thanks to a new cyber friend's suggestion.
The pickles need at least a month to mature so I haven't tasted them yet but they smell heavenly!

t's not really time yet to pull the other garlics but, worried they might be splitting and ever the impatient gardener, I dug up one of each today...just to check.
Here is a picture of the elephant garlic and the normal white garlic together.
I think they will both need harvesting real soon because the ground is so wet. Further down the site there is a problem with white rot and I don't want to tempt fate.

Clustered round the bottom of the elephant garlic were half a dozen of these little bulbils.
Apparently, if replanted immediately these will form single cloves this year then the proper, divided bulbs the year after.
Given the price of elephant garlic to buy this has to be worth a try.
I wonder though, if I left one complete bulb in the ground, would it perennialise itself?
What do you think?

Right, that's it for today. It's been a long, wet day at the plot and I'm looking forward to a steaming hot bath followed by a dinner of roast elephant garlic and roast new potatoes.

And the prize for knobbliest spud goes to......

2011-07-01T23:43:00.000+01:00

Me!
Well, it would if I entered it in a competition!
I've reached that time of year when I can serve up meals almost entirely produced by me and it's a wonderful feeling. What's more, I find I'm reaching this happy point earlier each year!

This very knobbly spud is a 'pink fir apple' and I am getting the heaviest crop ever from these at the moment. They are delicious steamed or boiled but for a real treat, they make the most fantastic big and lumpy chips! It seems the early frostnip they got did no harm at all.

Yesterday dinner was a plate of these, beetroots and carrots from my allotment with hard boiled eggs from my chickens and mint and chives from the garden. (okay, I bought the butter but even so!)

We often have eggs for breakfast but when we don't our shopbought breakfast cereal is studded with berries from the garden, gleefully collected by little flower in her pyjamas on her way back from letting the hens out.

We've had a little robin redbreast keeping us company in the garden for the last couple of weeks.

We've watched as she hopped round the garden collecting bits and pieces for her nest that she built in Wurzel's shed.
We brought horse hair back with us from the stables and put some on the ground beside us and she came right up and got it.

We bought live mealworms to keep her strength up while she sat on the eggs and were so excited when those little fledglings started bombing round the garden!
One came close to being a chicken snack so little flower had to pick it up and show it back to the nest....quite an experience for an eight year old London kid!

I've started processing the purple garlic that had to be harvested early because it split.
For the first batch I decided to make myself some 'umami' paste. I cooked the cloves gently in oil, added herbs, balsamic vinegar, anchovies, horseradish, parmesan and worcestshire sauce.

When it cooled I blitzed it all and put it in the freezer. It tastes really good but not very garlicky or strong which is a bit disappointing.
I'm hoping that the oil will make it easy to take just a spoonful of this paste to liven up risottos or to add to basil for a super quick pesto.

So, all in all June has been a good month. Plenty of fresh things to eat, wildlife nesting in the garden, the weather is evening out now and we're all looking forward to the long summer holidays.

Even the dog looks chilled out! He spends hours like this, asleep on the decking.

It ain't a bad life eh?

Fruitless furtling

2011-06-17T19:52:00.000+01:00

As the rain continues to fall I've been busy up at the plot and in the garden at home. We've gone from drought conditions to ark building weather and I'm getting soaked so often my feet are in danger of webbing!

Earlier this week I harvested the last of the winter peas. They were a variety called 'Douce Provence', sown in January and they did really well in frozen clay! I can't tell you how they taste cooked because none ever made it that far, I graze on them straight from the pod while I work. By the time they fill the pod they have lost their sweetness but at this stage the chickens love the peas and the horses enjoy the pods. Nothing much gets wasted hereabouts!

The sudden change of weather has wreaked havoc on the purple garlic. Almost every bulb swelled too quickly and split. This hasn't happened to me before so I'm at a bit of a loss. I assume the bulbs won't store well dried in this condition so what shall I do with fifty or so bulbs of immature, split garlic?
So far, strangely, the white variety is unaffected.

Some crops though are lovin' the rain. Remember the potatoes so badly frosted in April?
Well they have recovered and bushed up and are just about to flower. I had an optimistic furtle today (furtle is a slightly rude, very old fashioned English word for a furtive fumble that has now come to be commonly used for rooting around for spuds) but sadly it seems that the lush top growth is not evidence of fat little tubers beneath. All I turned up was a handful of slugs.

Tomatoes too are enjoying the rain. These are gardeners delight, always the first to come ready. I can't wait to taste my fist home grown tomato of the year!

Today I took advantage of the rain to get started on my 'lasagne gardening' project. I'm doing this as a last ditch attempt to make the area in front of my shed productive.
Currently the ground is so hard as to be impenetrable and if this doesn't work I'm going to return it to it's original use as a car park!
For anyone who's never made a lasagne bed, here's how I did it.

I've been getting my neighbours to save me their newspapers and I laid these down directly onto the weedy, scrubby grass. The area is on quite a slope so I bordered the lowest edge with clods of clay to stop the whole thing washing away.

Each layer must be thoroughly soaked before moving on to the next so it's the perfect job for a rainy day.
The next layer is manure.
This is to lure the worms up from the ground through the paper to start working your bed for you.

After the manure is soaked you add a brown layer, something very water absorbent. I use Aubiose (shredded hemp horse bedding) This is from the henhouse and contains some poultry manure too.
Once that's good and wet add a thick layer of green waste, veggie peelings, grass cuttings that sort of thing.

Here you can see the four layers. Paper, manure, absorbent, green.
The final layer (for now) is a thick blanket of straw. Hay or dried grass cuttings would be fine too. This will keep your bed warm and moist for some speedy composting action.
In a week or two this will slump down and I will probably add more layers.
Then, in the autumn, I plan to move my raspberry plants here. I'll let you know how they get on.

At long last....

2011-05-28T22:51:00.000+01:00

We have finally had some rain, great drenching cloudbursts with thunder and lightening that flattened the plants and soaked the washing and I am oh! so grateful!

Hattie, our beautiful welsummer went off lay for a few days (or so we thought) but it seems that with three broody pekins hogging the nest box she was sneaking off to build her own nest! A couple of times we've been unable to find her in our small garden, even with three of us searching. I followed her the other day as she toddled round the rhubarb and through the solidago to a spot just behind her favourite redcurrant bush and found her stash of eggs.
I'm so impressed that this bird, hatched in an incubator somehow knows how to do this...and do it so well! We would never have found this secret place!

I think I have amassed enough seedlings now and the threat of frost is pretty much over (touch wood quick) so it is time to start planting out.
Earlier this year I went to Seedy Sunday with my friend Dom and we chose some weird and wonderful seed varieties to try.
Dom has a conservatory and a greenhouse so agreed to start off all our tomatoes and squashes etc. while I concentrate on hardier stuff. I've been transporting seedlings back and forth between our houses and I think we each now have a pretty good mix. So now I know what my family will be eating this year and barring catastrophes we should be eating very well!

Dom has sown a lovely selection of tomatoes. We are growing;
Roma
Tigerella (my absolute favourite)
Black cherry
Mille fleur
Purple Ukraine
Gardeners delight
Muskovich
Costoluto genovest
Cuor di buie
I also swapped some cabbages with another plot holder for a Marmande.
There are also a tray of unidentified toms (labelling issues) so maybe some surprises.
We have five different types of winter squash, three types of cucumber, sweetcorn, assorted beans and peas, grain amaranth, cape gooseberries, various colours of carrot and beetroot, fancy lettuces, spuds, all manner of cabbages and cauliflowers and the regulars, garlic, spring onions and leeks, perrenial friut bushes, raspberry canes and such.

My parsnips failed to germinate in the dry heat of March so, inspired by my friend Flo, I'm soaking the seeds on kitchen paper until they shoot then transplanting them quick.
I'll let you know how they get on (bet you can't wait) well, just in case you're as weird as me!

And for those of you who aren't enjoying picture after picture of seedlings, here's a shot of Teddy stealing kisses from Little flower as she grooms him. I'm off to try and find room for forty odd tomato plants, 20 squash plants, 20 sweetcorn..............

Conspiracy theory

2011-05-16T10:53:00.000+01:00

We British are obsessed with the weather.
We talk about it all the time. It is the basis for polite conversation on the commute to work..."Morning! turned out nice again" is one of very few accepted phrases exchanged by strangers on the 6.32 to London each morning.
And yet, somehow, the total lack of mad March storms and April showers have gone unmentioned, perhaps even unnoticed!

That's just weird!

We still have not had a single drop of rain round our way. Not one. April is always the wettest month of the year so to have absolutely no rain, you would think, would be news.
Not world news, I'm not suggesting for one moment it's as serious as the flooded Mississippi, the Spanish or Japanese earthquakes or the American typhoons, but locally I feel it deserves a mention.

My allotment is on clay.
Thick, claggy, orange clay and it's a bit of a nightmare.
Three seasons in it's not really improving at all and I'm starting to get discouraged.
I've imported manure, double dug, trench composted, made mountains of leaf mould, mulched heavily with straw, turned over rough for winter, and still each spring I'm planting into builders rubble.
These photos (ignore the date, they were taken yesterday) show what I mean.

This is never going to be a 'friable loam' is it?
Whatever I add, this is what I get, fist sized chunks that stick to spade when wet or unbreakable as concrete when dry.
Either way, it's bloody hard work.

The books keep telling me that clay is full of life and potential, that with some organic matter will be unlocked....but I've been piling on organic matter for three years and nothing is happening.

In the garlic bed, where I dug out the first layer of clay and replaced it entirely with compost and manure (topped up twice a year) the clay foundation is sucking the moisture down to leave great chasms on the surface.
I would normally mulch this bed in April when the soil has had a chance to warm and the ground is good and wet, but I'm still waiting for the good and wet part.

Another casualty of this dry spell, my comfrey has developed rust. It grows just near the tree line and I hoped it's long taproots would be able to find moisture but it has really been struggling for a few weeks. I've tried watering but the water just runs straight off down the hill. It was wilting for a while before the rust arrived.
I just hope the young oak tree behind it is coping better.

One or two of the shallots in the raised beds are bolting and going to seed.
I'm thinking I might let this one go and harvest the seed for a bumper crop next year. These are the legendary 'Banana shallots' absolutely massive and easy to peel. I couldn't get hold of them from any seed seller, garden centre etc. Folk advertised them but when they arrived they were bog standard so I bought these from a greengrocers.
I put them in their own little raised bed so that any disease on them wouldn't contaminate the whole plot, it's always a risk with 'shop bought' and they're doing really well.
I've never grown shallots from seed before....if it works though I'll be well happy!

And still, I'm worrying about this weather....or rather, I'm worrying about the silence about this weather. By now we should be getting those public information adverts from 'Thames Water' on how to conserve the stuff. There should be talk of hosepipe bans and the papers should have headlines misquoting the met office. This is, after all, the driest spring certainly of my life.
Agriculture in the South East must be suffering, surely there will be price hikes and shortages later in the year so why so quiet? hmm?
It's making me paranoid.

Busy, busy, busy

2011-05-10T23:28:00.000+01:00

It's that time of year again!
There are chicks in the dining room, seedlings going in and out, the garden is crawling with froglets that are being stalked by chickens and though the days are long they are never long enough!

Racey Lacey hatched her chick. Of the five eggs only one was fertile but we smuggled some chicks underneath her on day 21.
She's now proudly raising two seramas, a sebright and a pekin.
I'm a little worried about the sebright. It just isn't thriving. The others are flittering about and exploring their world but the little sebright is still tiny, seems a little wobbly on her feet and keeps getting pasted vent.
She's the dark chick at 6 o'clock in the picture.

Little flower is still blissfully in love with Teddy.
Luckily it appears the feeling is entirely mutual!
Teddy is really enjoying all the attention. At this time of year as he's losing his winter coat he gets itchy if not groomed each day so he comes running as soon as Little flower bursts into the paddock calling his name.
Then he waits for her to fit his bridle and they skip off happily together for his hour of pampering!

The street party was a great success!
Turns out my neighbours are all bonkers!
There were plenty of games, sack races, tug-o-wars and such.
We had face painting, tombola and raffle.
The children used chalk to colour in the road, draw round each other and write messages to 'Will and Kate'

Everyone brought out mountains of food.
These cupcakes took ages to ice!
Me and Wurzel cracked open the homebrew at about 3pm.....it all got a bit hazy after that!

Together we all raised lots of money in support of 'Help 4 Heroes' a charity providing care for injured British soldiers.

Up on the plot.....
Here in the South East we have had the driest March and April on record. In fact, we have had only one brief shower in the last eight weeks! Normally we depend upon 'April showers' to provide a large proportion of our annual rainfall so drought conditions so early in the season is proving disastrous for seed germination.

To add to our woes, high daytime temperatures are making those that do germinate bolt and go straight to seed and (adding insult to injury) we are still getting the occasional night time frost.
The potatoes in the picture have been badly frosted...I've earthed them up now and can only hope they will recover.

All is not doom and gloom though.
There is always optimism enough for gardeners in springtime! My house, so dark and cold in the winter is proving to be the perfect place to 'hatch' trays and trays of seedlings. My dear friend Dom has a large conservatory to bring them on.
Between us I think we have it covered. I care for the brassicas, fennel and salad leaves, potting on (and on and on) until conditions improve, Dom cares for the sun lovers, the chillis and squashes, melons and cape gooseberries. And there are sometimes delightful surprises at this time of year! I found this splendid purple flower at the edge of my fruit bed the other day. It's quite tall (about 18 inches) and closes quickly if you cast a shadow over it. I've no idea what it is but I'd love to find out.
Do you know?

The best thing about spring is the sudden energy boost afforded by sunny days. The children are boisterous and eager to get out there and play! Poor Wurzel is usually the climbing frame of choice giving me precious time to gaze at the chicks and marvel at seedlings emerging from the soil.

Happy growing blogland!

Can horses smile?

2011-04-13T11:37:00.000+01:00

I think they can!
Maybe because spring is here or maybe he just likes his new home. Perhaps (and I realise this is unlikely) he was really pleased to see me but whatever the reason, I'm pretty sure Teddy grinned at me yesterday!

Teddy, a little gelding, along with a fourteen hand mare called Mary have come to live at our allotments. They are very, very welcome. The long time resident, Mr Chips lost his companion (Gracie) before Christmas when she died of a twisted gut and he has been in a deep depression ever since. To see him cantering and frolicking with his new friends is a real joy! What's more, Teddy is exactly the right size for little flower to groom and he's so friendly and gentle, nuzzling her and stealing kisses! Little flower is ecstatic!

Back home, our eldest chicken, Boudicca, died last weekend. She was five and a half which is really old for a hybrid. They're life expectancy is three years.
Anyway, we took the opportunity to get two more big girls to keep our pekins in check!

Meet Hattie the welsummer.
She lays beautiful, large dark brown, spotty eggs.

and Miranda, the light sussex. Miranda still looks a bit moth eaten bless her. She lived with a cockerel and was evidently his favourite!
She hasn't laid yet but we are expecting a large, pure white egg. And I'm sure that with a little TLC (and no randy cockerel) she'll look and feel a lot better in a week or two.

The chap we buy our hens from has become a friend over the years and as we were leaving he gave us some hatching eggs to put under our broody. They are supposed to be three lemon sebrights and two buff orpington bantams but egg number 4 seems a bit big for a bantam so we'll wait and see!

Racey Lacey, our ever ready broody has been moved indoors and is patiently sitting on them. She's a very determined little mum and we have to forcibly lift her each morning to make her eat, drink and poop!
Today is day 7 of 21 and we'll probably candle the eggs tonight to remove any duds.

Our home is full of seedlings and Union Jacks this week!
The Royal Wedding is approaching and I am organizing a street party. Street parties are are a very English phenomenon and involve a group of neighbours dragging their tables and chairs out into the road to celebrate together. We string red, white and blue bunting from lamp post to lamp post, make mountains of sandwiches, fairy cakes and trifle. The children get to play without fear of traffic, the old folk get prizes for living here longest and there are raffles to raise money for good causes....ours will raise for injured British servicemen and women.
So do me a favour?
Pray to whatever God you believe in for good weather in London on 29th of April!

Hosts of bobbing daffodils!

2011-03-12T23:03:00.000Z

So, apologies first....February was a horrible month and having been raised with the old adage 'If you've nothing nice to say, Say nothing' that's exactly what I did.
But now it's March, spring is springing and it's impossible not to be cheered by the sight of bobbing daffodils so I'm back, feeling a bit fragile but optimistic nevertheless.

Let's get the bad news out of the way first.
In February my bees died. Having made it through the coldest winter in decades, having thwarted the attentions of a hungry woodpecker, having eluded human vandals and withstood the dreaded varroa mite they got over excited one sunny afternoon and broke their cluster early. They flew about collecting pollen from the crocuses and Queen Bea foolishly started laying eggs.
When the temperature plummeted (as it does in February....every year!) a large number of bees refused to return to the cluster and remained instead diligently caring for the brood and there we found them two days later, frozen to death.
I was quite unprepared for how sad I felt when I found them. It's not as though they were pets! Yet a silent hive is a terrible thing and the sight of the dead bees 'bums up' in the comb where they'd tried to warm....and the waste! there was a litre and half of beautiful honey in there and so much new pollen...I was gutted. I still am.
Still, onwards and upwards. I've ordered a new colony (ready in May) and might even pick up a swarm in April as well. Lets hope for better luck next time eh?

Up at the plot things are picking up. The purple sprouting broccoli is already showing signs of budding and (as shown here in this totally rubbish photo!) the garlic is growing strongly.
I'm hoping that the early snowfall last December will result in fat bulbs with lots and lots of cloves.

This picture is my 'elephant garlic' actually a type of leek that looks and tastes like garlic only much, much bigger!
I bought a bulb (it was expensive too) the other year, split into eight cloves and planted.
Only two grew.
I ate one (oven baked and delicious) to see if we liked them and whether they were worth the effort (yes and yes) then split and planted the other last September for one last try.
I now have eight growing strongly and two weak ones so I'm well pleased! At five quid a bulb to buy (if you're lucky enough to find them) these are one of those crops that make me feel very smug to have an allotment!

Elsewhere on the plot I'm off to a slow start. My arthritis has flared up quite badly and I'm simply too vain to use my crutches in public so I'm not as far ahead with my digging as I'd like. I have sown some early peas, beetroot and carrots. It's a bit too early actually and weather is still very unstable so I've only sown a little of each along with some onion sets just to cheer myself up really and anyway....you never know your luck!
The currant bushes are beginning to leaf up but as they're not very photogenic I thought I'd leave you with a picture of the crocuses that snuggle amongst them.
Fantastic little flowers aren't they?

Time to get cracking!

2011-01-09T23:48:00.000Z

So the decorations have come down and the Christmas tree has been turned into mulch. Everyone is back at work or school....
This is the season for planning. When the weather is awful and the soil is claggy there can be nothing better than snuggling up on the sofa in your Christmas slippers with dog beside you and a good book.

I have a couple of favourites that I return to again and again.
John Seymour's 'Self Sufficiency' is one. It has a lot of sensible advice in it but that's not why I read it. This is my daydream book that I study regularly so I'll be prepared when I win the lottery and buy that smallholding in the country.
(I don't actually play the lottery so winning it is unlikely!)

My current book of choice though is 'Gaia's Garden' by Toby Hemenway. It was a gift from my big brother who is kind enough not to be surprised that his sister now dresses like a scarecrow and talks passionately about brassicas.
Anyway, this book is a real gem, inspiring and practical and a fantastic introduction to permaculture principles.

This is a subject I've been trying to learn about but not having hundreds of pounds and unlimited childcare to go on courses I was struggling to move forward. I've read the book cover to cover twice already and am busy redesigning my back garden around my new apple tree that big bro bought me to go with the book.

Today though, the weather was glorious! Bitterly cold but crystal clear with that harsh winter sunshine that makes it hard to see.

Today was a day for being outside!

Little flower was keen to come with me and made a good job of raking the fallen leaves while I turned over and weeded one of the long beds.

There was some damage to the beehive.

I suspect a woodpecker but I'm not entirely certain.

It looks almost as though something has been chiseling at the place where the brood box meets the hive floor....it's not a round hole like (I imagine) a woodpecker makes and thankfully it doesn't go all the way through....yet.

I wrapped chicken wire crop covers around the hive which will thwart woody if he is the culprit...but I wonder if it may have a rat in which case Queen Bea and the girls are probably doomed.

Little flower distracted Mr Chips, explaining in patronising tones the perils of coming too close to a hive of agitated bees so I was able to work without hindrance.

I did, for a moment, wonder at the wisdom of letting a small child march up to a stallion but he seemed to listen intently and when she'd finished he nodded slightly and rested his great head on her chest so she could tickle his ears.

I never should have let her watch the Horse Whisperer!

Finally, before heading home we enjoyed a hot chocolate break over by the shed where we were joined by a fat little robin on the ground, there was a very tuneful thrush in the tree to my left and above her, right at the top, sat a distinctly shifty looking woodpecker!

Well, that's that!

2011-01-01T00:26:00.000Z

2010 is finished....how was it for you?
We had a pretty good year, grew stuff, made things, laughed, sung and didn't cry much!
We're all healthy, we're all together and we're starting the new year with no debt and a whole heap of optimism.

Winter celebrations are a big deal in this household. We are not at all religious but we join in with christmas, winter solstice and any other parties we can think of.
We start on December 1st, making decorations, baking, making and wrapping gifts.

My children argue less, the house smells and looks lovely and this year we were treated to early snowfall that turned 'Thomas' my topiary hedge man into a very special snowman!
I do so love this time of year!

Winter is also a lovely time to be up the plot.
Yesterday I spent a peaceful afternoon there, completely alone apart from Mr Chips, the old horse.
The fog obscured the view of the London skyline, and muffled any noise.
I won't pretend I got much done, a little digging....moved some manure and planted the last of the spring bulbs.
Truth is I spent most of my time sitting by my little shed brewing coffee with my new 'kelly kettle' (a present from Wurzel) and watching the birds and the foxes squabble and play. I can honestly say it's the most relaxed I've felt in years!
And speaking of relaxed, I'll leave with a picture of our soppy old dog Jacob in his favourite spot (when he thinks I'm not looking)
Happy New Year everyone!

Grow what you eat? or eat what you grow?

2010-11-16T16:08:00.001Z

Urban self sufficiency is a myth.
We know this, right?
There are other phrases like 'self reliance' that help to diffuse the futility of my endeavours but really, the truth of the matter is that I will never produce more than a fraction of what my family consumes.

I am very lucky in that I have an allotment.
For those of you who hail from outside the UK (especially that someone who logs in regularly from Latvia....I would love to know who you are!) an allotment is a piece of land, rented from the local council, specifically for growing your own family's food.

This is mine.....
The dead grass on the left is someone else's allotment...the green grass on the right is the communal border....only the middle, cultivated section is mine.
Allotments hark back to the industrial revolution when masses of country folk were needed to move from rural areas to the cities in order to work the mills and factories. The laws that gave poor people the right to rent a small plot of arable land remain but sadly, many of the allocated spaces do not and there are often long waiting lists.
So, where was I?
I am lucky to have an allotment and a garden. My garden is about 24 feet x 48 feet.
All of this means that I have quite a lot of growing space by London standards, and I can keep a few hens and beehive (but don't tell the authorities because neither are allowed!)

Yet despite my good fortune, if I want tomato or cucumber on my summer salad I must go and buy them because try as I might, I cannot get one to ripen before September.
I don't have room to grow wheat for bread or to make pasta (we eat a LOT of pasta).
There is nowhere near here to fish or hunt (well, you can fish but you have to throw them back and I don't really see the point)
Yesterday, I composted all twenty cape gooseberry plants which were laden with small, green fruit too late ever to reach yellow gorgeousness.
And let's face it. London is just not the place to grow a mango.
I'm not sure life is worth living without the odd perfectly ripe mango!

We are self sufficient in eggs......but only in the summer months!
This is entirely my own fault.
We choose our hens
according to how pretty
they are, how friendly
and how much damage
they do while free ranging.
So we've ended
up with a flock of fancy
bantams instead of
year round layer
hybrids.

We're self sufficient in courgettes and winter squash. Impressive huh? Except that we never ate them before I grew them....and I only grew them because they were easy! Then, halfway through my first season and peering out from beneath a courgette mountain, I realised I needed a way to persuade my kids to eat the blimmin' things and so set about learning ways to cook them.

Perhaps this is the answer!
Should we alter our diet to reflect what we can grow?
I've successfully reconditioned my children to think that summer isn't summer without courgette fritters.
Broad bean hoummus and runner bean falafels (so long as no-one knew that's what they were) went down a storm.
Maybe I should convince myself that cucumber and tomatoes are no good in salad....and should only be pickled or canned for winter....nah! it's never gonna work.
I'm always going need the supermarket!

A birthday, five pumpkins and a Unicorn cake!

2010-11-01T22:41:00.001Z

The weather is getting cold and squally, the thick clay at the plot has turned to claggy, clinging mud and I am having a very busy week!

Little flower turned eight on Thursday.

I really didn't fancy a house full of squealing little girls so the week before I had suggested that she choose a friend to take to the cinema instead of having a party this year. So what if the pictures is really expensive? (the tickets alone cost £60 quid!!) It would be worth it for the peace and quiet.

Little flower seemed thrilled at this idea (which should have set off alarm bells in my head) and pootled off to make a shortlist.

The following day she confessed that, unable to choose, she had invited two friends.

The day after that, Wurzel admitted to inviting a third (via her parents) and two more to come round for tea!

So it was that I ended up with a house full of squealing girls after all!

My mum made this amazing Unicorn cake at short notice and Wurzel rushed to the shops on his motorbike and bought all kinds of nasty junkfood for the squealing girls to eat.

And Little flower had a wonderful birthday....in fact, she wants exactly the same thing next year.

The following day I set off to buy pumpkins for Halloween.

I am a little embarrassed to admit that my winter squash harvest didn't run to Halloween carvers but with Tescos selling at 50p each it seemed a shame to cut into the plot ones.

Blimey! look at the state of my back room!

I'm embarrassed about that anorl!

Anyway....moving swiftly on! Wurzel's mum recently returned from a trip to Canada and brought home a book of pumpkin designs that we just had to try!

Okay, I admit that we may have got a bit carried away!
But at 50p each I figured that five wasn't excessive.

And they looked fantastic!

We made a huge spiced pumpkin cake (in a roasting tray) a massive stockpot of pumpkin soup and enough toasted pumpkin seeds to last until next Halloween!
There's still enough purée left for cookies and pumpkin pie!

Happy Halloween blogland!

If I was a pioneer, I'd have starved by now...

2010-10-23T19:18:00.000+01:00

My potato harvest was, once again, truly pathetic!
This is the haul from eight plants.
I went to the potato fair in February and bought fancy, pretty seed potatoes in vibrant pinks, blues and mauves. Heirloom varieties that almost went extinct.

What they don't tell you is that there's a reason for that.
They're primadonna types, high maintenance and low yielding....suitable for those old geezers that fuss and nurture, not 'bung it in and hope' merchants like me!
Please someone remind me of this next February? Urge me towards the boring, bombproof varieties so that I don't find myself gracing the aisles of Tescos next November.

I have spent far too much time lately in waiting rooms.
This is, I suppose, an inescapable part of motherhood when your child has Down's syndrome (well, I say 'child'....Willow is actually 22).
But still, the enforced inactivity of endless waiting in hospital corridors irritates me at this time of year when there is so much to be done at the plot.
So I have embarked on a new project, one that is portable and convenient.
I'm making a quilt!

I started by cutting out lots of two inch high triangles from scrap paper and junk mail.
This is the only measuring involved because I'm rubbish at it!

Then I take some triangles and some scraps of fabric, a needle and thread with me to the hospital.

While I wait I roughly tack the material to the triangle.

It's really easy, no concentration or measuring required!

Over the last couple of weeks I've amassed quite a collection.

I especially love the 'cow' fabric and the apples.
The red gingham is left over from little flower's school summer dresses, the flowery from the wendy house curtains and the stripes from where I took up the legs of Willow's pyjamas!

When I get home I sew the triangles together in random order before pulling out the tacking and removing the paper to use again.

I really like the way it's turning out.

Alien vomit!!!

2010-10-14T18:08:00.000+01:00

There is something freaky up at the plot....
weird dollops of gooey, icky stuff are appearing all over the grass! I have no idea what they are but my best guess would have to be ALIEN VOMIT!

There are about twenty odd blobs of the stuff....but more appear each day untill most of the grass is covered....

....They appeared almost overnight, this happened at around the same time last year too....

Eventually they turn a dirty yellow colour and crust over before disappearing as quickly as they came...
(cue 'twilight zone' music)

And while we're talking of weird blobs, I found these on a piece of wood...

I was tempted to open them to see what lurked inside but decided against because a) I didn't want to disturb any hibernating, aphid eating beasties and
b) because I'm a total chicken!

And on to more normal things.....

Squash

Now, I am a lover of squash. I love squashes so much that my mum did me a portrait of one to hang in the living room! So last night the weather was a little chilly and I figured it was time to cut into the first squash of the season.

I decided to use this rather splendid 'Turks Turban'.
I've not grown this type before and indeed this plant was a gift from my friend Dom.
Anyway, I thought it would make a lovely risotto for last night with enough left over to make a curry this evening.

But when I cut it in half I found that the seed cavity took up almost the whole thing!
The flesh is a beautiful colour and very dense and sweet but gawd save us! by the time I took out the seeds and the peel there was very little left!
Next year I'll just have to grow thousands of the buggers...you listening Dom?

Season of mellow fruitfulness

2010-10-11T14:36:00.006+01:00

John Keats called this the 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness' and that is the very best description of English autumn I have ever heard! Today my garden is bathed in glorious, golden sunlight. The chickens are happily free ranging while our old dog dozes and Wurzel is up a ladder harvesting the last bunches of grapes from atop the pergola.

I say the last of the grapes because we've been picking them for weeks now and there were so, so many! Little flower has taken a bunch to school each day, we've given great bowls full to family, friends and neighbours. I've juiced mountains of grapes to make jellys and jams.

and of course, I hardly need say,
there is a gallon of red wine bubbling away in the kitchen.

And Wurzel is out there, picking yet more! Even the chickens are growing weary of grapes now! (They are fickle those hens, shortly before the grapes ripened they had begun turning their little beaks up at cherry tomatoes!) and we will know soon whether there is enough for another gallon of wine.

I love this time of year.

Okay, here goes....in alphabetical order

2010-10-10T21:48:00.007+01:00

Allotment, we've moved to a beautiful new allotment site bordered on one side by ancient woodland and on the other by horse paddocks. In fact, our plot was used as horse grazing for 30 odd years before we got it...it's a little compacted but should be well fertilised. This picture is taken from the bottom of our plot, The car is up the top facing the horse paddock.

We've dug some long beds (it's real hard graft on compacted London clay) and erected a shed. We built a couple of raised beds for seedlings.
This year we've had pretty good crops of tomatoes, winter squashes, beetroot etc. Loads of strawberries and far too much chard!
Little flower, who loves horses to the point of obsession, comes plotterin' regularly and can sometimes be seen riding one of the horses bareback across the grass. Willow, being twenty two now, visits occasionally..... to sunbathe. Wurzel makes the odd appearance, under duress, to do any heavy jobs that I can't manage.

But I am there whenever life allows.

Bees,
I am now the proud owner of one colony of bees. Can you see the terror on my face?

I worry for the honeybee. I feel I have a duty to support them. I was very responsible, I went and did the course...I allowed myself to be stung to prove I'm not allergic. I found a great spot to put them and saved up for all the gubbins you have buy (and there is a LOT to buy) but still, they scare the bejeezus out of me!

Little Flower on the other hand, is simply fascinated (she being the short beekeeper in the photo!)
Willow won't go within fifty feet of the hive and Wurzel, bless him, is my hero! Despite not having all the gear he happily trundles up to the hive with me and does whatever I ask.
I do plan to be a confident beekeeper one day. Just not as quickly as I'd hoped.

C is for Chickens! Guinny has now sadly left us for the chicken coop in the sky but Boudicca is still going strong and now shares the garden with Racey Lacey ( a little wyandotte with very frilly knickers) and three pekins, Millie, Buffy and Tiger Lily.
They are all completely bonkers!

Right. That's enough for now, I think I'm getting the hang of it....sort of.
I've spent forever trying to post images and arrange text....I'm going to publish and see if it's worked.
Wish me luck!

cough....ahem....

2010-10-10T20:17:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since I was here....(a couple of years actually) I guess I was kind of distracted! I'm also something of a technophobe and when the powers that be started messing about and changing things I flounced off in a huff....as you do.
Anyway, I'm back now and as soon as I've figured all this new gadgetry out I'll have another go at blogging.

been a while........

2007-03-05T14:55:00.000Z

It's been a while since I was here so a sumary of last year might be in order!
We continued to plant and grow our veggie's and it's probably fair to say that some were more successful than others!
Peppers did really well as you can see so we'll be growing 10 times as many this year!
Parsnips also did okay, as did squashes, pink fir apple potatoes, peas, broad beans, french beans strawberries and onions.

Disappointments included beetroots (small and tough) sweetpeas, the 'no dig' bed (water just ran off the top) cucumbers (got none at all) and the brassicas which were, without exception totally crap!

Free food though was plentiful as ever!
These wonderful scrumped damsons became beautiful jam and a full demijon of damson gin.

We collected sweet chestnuts down in Edenbridge while visiting our Auntie Sylvie and swapped and bartered produce for various treats.

Funny how the stuff you don't pay for tastes so much better!

We also invested in a couple of hens last year, Guinevere and Boudicca. They live in their bright pink 'Eglu' coop and provide us with fresh free range eggs each morning.

Now I would love to tell you that that the chooks eggs are free food but the truth is, they'd have to lay a hell of a lot of eggs to pay for their luxury living quarters!
While the hens themselves were under a tenner each....the Eglu and associated bits and pieces came in at about £380.oo.

Wurzel got them for my birthday and they are certainly more family pets than livestock.

And money just couldn't buy the joy of seeing little flower collecting the first new laid egg for her breakfast!

Just look at that face.

2006 had it's ups and downs. We moved to a beautiful new house. We suffered a family bereavement. We made new friends, we said goodbye to our lovely neighbours.
And now here we are again....spring is here....the allotment beckons, hope to see you there.
Sunflower xxx

2006-07-01T11:40:00.000+01:00

May arrived and the planting began in earnest. I dragged my weary little crew back and forth to the plot with tray upon tray of seedlings.
The fear of late frosts was everpresent and each morning 15 to 20 seedtrays were trundled outside only to be brought in again before dark!

My darling husband, Wurzel, replaced some of the corrugated iron on the shed with clear, wriggely plastic to let the light in. With the introduction of a child's table and chair, some colouring books etc. our little shed became quite homely. A couple of times, while sitting quietly waiting for a shower to finish, two tiny fox cubs came and played right in front of me. Tis a magical feeling to be so inconspicuous to the wildlife!

Little Flower planted the onion sets and any big seeds such as sqashes and beetroots. We found her a book with which to identify the birds she saw and she has become quite an expert. Not bad for a three year old!
Willow too, got to work. She patiently dug out couch grass roots for hour upon hour (in return for lifts to various clubs and activities.) The plot next to ours became vacant so we took it over and were delighted to find three full rows of strawberry plants and one bush each of gooseberry and blackcurrant.

Gradually, things started to take shape.
Our first beds were already filled with carrots, parsnips, beetroots and onions. Willow planted marigolds round the edge to deter blackfly .....

(well, actually it was because she's terribly girlie and was dismayed by the lack of pretty flowers)

..........and Little Flower delighted in piddling on the compost heap to get it going!

Dragon hunting

2006-04-06T20:28:00.000+01:00

It wasn't me............she did it first....................she's touching my stuff again....MUM!!!
Yep, the school holidays are in full swing. Been one of those days, car got a puncture. The kids were being vile and I was developing a thumping headache.

Time to go plotterin'

So it was that we trudged over to our allotment, fishing nets in hand on a very important mission. The sun was shining and basking in it's rays we felt quite warm, both inside and out.
As I unlocked the rusty gate (which has a hole in it that any vandals can easily enter through) I felt our spirits soar as we marvelled at the changes spring has brought. The first thing we noticed were the broad beans. They are only about a foot high yet they are smothered in pale yellow flower buds. Can that be right?
There was more evidence of spring by the pond. Last year Paulustris from allotments4all sent me some muscaris bulbs and now they have burst into bright blue flowers. Snuggled between the sweet woodruff and masses of lupin leaves they are putting on quite a show. A marsh marigold with the brightest yellow flowers makes a striking contrast with the pinky red duckweed on the water.

Everything is fresh and optimistic. Including us.

We set to work. Little flower was first to plunge her net in the water. As predicted, her big sister was not far behind. We prodded around in the murky silt and at first our wicked looking bugs proved to be elusive. Eventually though, we had what we came for. A dozen or so fat dragonfly larvae trapped in our jam jar.
They really are the most unappealing beasties! They look like beetles, curl like woodlice and walk like spiders. It's hard to imagine them turning into majestic dragonflies!
To us though, they had become vital currency. We telephoned my brother in law and a deal was struck. A dozen dragonfly larvae for 0ne small bucket of frogspawn.
Operation 'Slugslayers' is underway!

2006-04-03T23:29:00.001+01:00

Well, spring is here and the house is full of seedlings. As the weather improves more little plotterers venture outside.
There is Mrs Daffs, who arrives early, sets a small wooden stool in a spot of weak sunshine and dilligently watches her husband work his socks off.
Then there are the glamerous twins, Ruby and Emerald look beautiful in their matching jackets and very clean gardening gloves.
We shouldn't forget old Mr Shuffle as he delights in scaring the children or Mr Arp and his outstanding brassicas.
Tis lovely to have some company on the plot.

The old shed needs a little work. We fixed the roof as best we could with some 'wriggly' iron sheets we found on the bank but the rain still gets in through the gaps round the door. We've dug a couple of beds for the parsnips and such and we cleared away some of the willow to make a work area. The rhubarb looks promising although it will be a couple of weeks before there is enough to make wine with. The cobnut tree is full of buds.
No frogspawn is to be found in our tiny pond, much to Little flower's disappointment but there are some evil looking bugs that may be dragonfly larvae. She promises to return with her net to investigate. Her big sister, Willowy, looks on disdainfully (as you do at seventeen) but secretly, she is intrigued.

2006-01-26T19:54:00.000Z

me and my little flower

gone plotterin

2006-01-26T18:41:00.000Z

gone plotterinHi. I'm just experimenting so this might be a bit crap.......