Discovering herbs and flowers

The herb bed has been very neglected over winter, and it was looking a sorry state. So after tackling the main beds this was my next priority. Cited at the top end, next to the main central path of the site, it’s like the shop front of my plot, and is a bit embarrassing when it looks a mess. It’s amazing how a bit of plot pride pushes you to keep up appearances. Everyone is doing such an amazing job these days, I don’t want to let the side down.

I discovered lots of new growth emerging under all the dry stems of the lavender, mint and marjoram. In the foreground here is sorrel. This is a remarkably hardy herb, I planted it a couple of years ago and it pushes out new leaves every spring without fail, and just keeps on going. The leaves have a sharp citrusy tang to them, lovely added to a salad, or used in chicken or fish dishes. I don’t use it enough really.

There are also chives coming through, oregano and marjoram starting to regrow, hyssop and lavender which I grow more for the bees than I do for myself, rosemary, sage and thyme which have all survived the winter okay.

There are also lots of little parsley plants, they self-seed in the autumn and then sit all winter waiting for a bit of spring warmth before they get going (much like the rest of us). There are a few stray tulip and daffodil bulbs interspersed through the bed, along with a few foxgloves and forget-me-nots that seem to have self-seeded from somewhere. I don’t mind though, happy for it to be a pretty bed as well as productive. And I feel I owe the bees some payback for all the work they do for me.

The circular bed is also very much for the bees, ladybirds and hoverflies. Last year, I attempted to turn it into a salad bed for various types of lettuce, spring onions and baby beetroot. It was quite successful, but over winter it has been taken over with poppy seedlings. But hey, I love poppies, the insects love poppies, so let’s have some poppies! The middle section is full of calendula seeds which will be up before I know it, and I also had some cerinthe major in there which have liberally dropped their seeds, so I’m just going to leave this to nature and we’ll see what happens. It might be beautiful, or it might be a dog’s dinner, but I have faith in nature!

Sunshine at last

The weather over the weekend was just perfect, which meant we spent about 3 hours working the plot on Saturday morning, and another 3 hours on Sunday morning too, which was even warmer. We may have done even more if we didn’t have the commitment of walking the dog after lunch – 3 hours of digging, then a 2 hour dog walk, shattered isn’t quite the word! It was blissfully quiet down there too, surprisingly. I think most of the surrounding plots now belong to retired folk who go down during the week and have the weekends off. Lucky them.

So the plot wasn’t actually in bad shape after the winter. Not muddy at all, a few weeds but nothing major, nothing damaged or stolen thankgod. John dug out what was left of the carrots and parsnips (a big carrier bag full of each) and weeded around the overwintering onions, garlic and what is left of the leeks. I’ve given the onions and garlic a dusting of blood, fish and bonemeal fertiliser, I find they do better with a spring feed to kickstart them. So that’s most of the top end sorted!

And between us we’ve dug most of the bottom end too. It’s a good feeling – except for the aching back and leg muscles.

As I’d hoped, the daffodils have started to come through. They’re a bit slow to get started, but hopefully they’ll put on a spurt in this warm weather.

The blackberry has had a number 1 all over. You are supposed to cut back those stems that fruited last year, and tie in the new growth. But it was such a mess that I couldn’t really work out what was what, and decided to just cut the whole thing right back. Looking at it now, common sense tells me the greener stems are the newer growth, and the darker ones the older woody stems, so I may have to re-do this a bit better.

In the foreground is a bucket of couch grass (or twitch grass) roots and bindweed roots that I dug out from the bottom section. I could easily fill another two buckets. I’ve covered it in water to drown it before I add it to the compost – it would survive and continue to grow otherwise. Interestingly the top half of the plot, which has been cultivated more, is pretty clear now of the pernicious weeds. It has taken 4 years, but it shows that you can (chemically free) battle the likes these weeds eventually.

Look at that innocent face …

… this was her contribution to the weekends hard labour. Not very impressive frankly. She spent more time sun worshipping from what I could see. That and telling us about each and every person coming through the main gates. Thanks Bess!

I also planted a couple of rows of broad beans, and John cut back the autumn raspberry canes. I now need to draw up a plan of what to put where. There’s still plenty to do, but it’s a pretty good start.

Come on Spring!

We’ve had thick snow in East Anglia for a few days, which has just about gone now, but that coupled with a persistent cold virus, have kept me well away from the allotment. It’s a good job I have a dog to force me outdoors each day, or else I think I’d just curl up and hibernate like a little dormouse.

I dread to think what state the allotment is in. It’ll be extremely muddy. I imagine the weeds have overtaken the overwintering onions and garlic. The herbs have probably been flattened by all the snow. The carrots might have survived in frozen ground, but certainly the green tops will have been killed off by frost.

But also I hope the daffodils have started to come through and the rhubarb begun to grow again. And at least my water butts will be full (if they’re still standing).

I at least have leeks and chillies germinating in the propagator, and broad beans in the cold frame. Just need some sunshine now to dry out that soggy soil.

Bread making cracked

I think I might have finally cracked this bread making. I’ve made spelt bread, a 50/50 white and wholemeal loaf, and a white/wholemeal seeded loaf, packed with pumpkin, poppy and sunflower seeds. The one above is my first attempt at white bread, made with very strong Canadian flour and a handful of sunflower seeds. It’s the spongiest, lightest white loaf I’ve ever made, and very tasty too. I’ve not yet been very adventurous with loaf shapes, as I decided to get the bread texture and taste right first, so I’ve kept to simple round loaves so far.

Homemade bread is so satisfying, you know what’s gone into it, and you can experiment with different ingredients. And the best part is the smell as it comes out of the oven. Drives my dog mad!

It’s quite addictive. Both the eating and the making! I’m sure my allotment (as soon as the weather improves) will take over my spare time once again, but it’s a been a fun challenge to take on, and now that I’m more confident that good homemade bread is achievable, I’ll keep it up when I can.

Plot planning

I’ve still not made it down to the allotment yet this year. I have vowed to get down there as soon as we have a nice dry day, but that’s certainly not today! However, it’s a good job we have these wintry months in order to take stock of seeds and supplies and restock.

The bulk of my seed potatoes come from our local horticultural stores, from where I have ordered some Kestrel (did well with these last year) and some Pink Fir Apple. After a trip to the garden centre at the weekend, I couldn’t resist adding in a couple of extra varieties in smaller quantities. Highland Burgundy Red (as pictured above) for novelty value, and some International Kidney, which are basically Jersey Royals, except you can’t call them that unless they’re grown in Jersey on their unique soil where they grow them with seaweed I think?

I also bought some Hercules onion sets, on the basis that they’re strong flavoured and good for storing. Two things you want in an onion!

Also new on this years list:

• Butternut squash – Hunter. I’ve grown lots of unusual varieties of squash in the past couple of years, but have decided butternuts are still my favourite.
• Cauliflower – Romanesco Navano. Some call this a cauliflower, some call it a broccoli. It’s sort of a cross between the two. It’s Italian anyway!
• Climbing mushy pea bean. I kid you not. I tried growing marrowfat peas a couple of years ago with little success (given up on peas now, except for sugarsnaps which I’ll grow at home so I can keep them well watered). But beans do well for me on the allotment, so thought these were worth a try.
• Tomato – New Yorker. ‘An early outdoor variety that rarely splits or suffers blossom end rot.’ I get a lot of blossom end rot on my allotment toms because they get quite erratic watering (and that’s usually just the rain). From the same company as above.

All the rest will be varieties I’ve grown over the past few years, and I know work well. I’ve restocked carrot and parsnip seeds as they don’t keep, and have indulged in some Russian giant sunflower seeds as they always look great on allotments where there’s enough space for them. I think I’ve been quite restrained on the seed buying front this year!

Comfort month

I’m happy to say my bread making has, so far, improved, thanks to a bit of trial and error and a great book by Dan Stevens. I’ve learnt that you can’t rush it, and you can’t put a timer on it, you just have to get a feel for it. I think I’m now getting a ‘feel’ for when the dough is kneaded enough, when it’s risen and proved enough and when it’s absolutely properly baked. I now realise that recipe instructions for bread are only ever a guidance. You can’t really say how long each stage should take, because it depends so much on the conditions and ingredients you’re working with. So you have to know how it should look and feel and smell, which comes with experience. Much like cake baking, you get to know that a springy top on a sponge or a clean withdrawn skewer are the signs of a fully baked cake, not 45 mins exactly because the recipe says so. I think a few failures in the past had put me off baking bread, but if I can get parsnips to grow after persevering for 3 years, I can tackle bread. There are some things in life that would be boring if they were too easy!

I’ve come to love the month of January now, after hating it for years. Forget new years diets, detox  and gym memberships, just make the most of comfort food that’s still healthy, brisk cold walks, and then hunkering down next to the fire with a good book and a warm blooded, furry animal if you have one to hand. Alicia over on Pozie Gets Cozy puts it so well. I’d quite like it snow now, just one Sunday when I don’t need to go anywhere, when the fridge is full and bread is baking in the oven!

Baking bread while not breaking beds

I should really be digging the allotment beds over ready for the spring, but it’s still a bit too early. A bit too cold and wet. And who wouldn’t rather be in a warm kitchen, baking instead? So for this month anyway I’m attempting to improve on my (usually rubbish) bread making skills.

My trouble is impatience. I don’t think I prove it for long enough and possibly don’t bake it for long enough either, and I end up with slightly dense bread with air gaps at the top (which I now know is called a ‘flying crust’ thanks to a great book from the River Cottage handbooks series).

However, I’m never one to admit defeat, I always believe in learning from mistakes and persevering, so I’ve started with simple wholemeal rolls (so far, so so) and I’ll hopefully get better. I’m probably going to end up looking like a great loaf of bread by the end of the month!

Storing winter vegetables

The weather has turned from mild and dry, to cold and wet. Still nowhere near as cold as this time last year, but pretty miserable non the less. And the last thing you want to be doing when it’s cold and wet (well one of them anyway) is trudging onto a very muddy allotment to dig up vegetables, as and when you need them. Also, once the ground freezes (which could happen anytime now) it’s very difficult to get them out in one piece.

So home storage is the key. Obviously you could harvest it all, peel, chop and fill a large freezer, if you have one. My freezer space is limited, and somehow vegetables that have been frozen are never quite the same as fresh. So I have brought home a large bunch of leeks and, in effect, replanted them in a large flower pot. Lots of books recommend ‘heeling in’ your leeks in a shallow trench, which is loose enough so as not to freeze solid, allowing an easy harvest over the winter. Which is fine, but I want my leeks easily accessible at home and I don’t have anywhere to make a trench in my garden. So I’m hoping this will do the same job. Just stand them up in a large flower pot and cover the roots with soil or compost, and make sure they get some moisture. You could probably even keep them in a shed or outhouse like this.

As for the root vegetables, I can recommend this method of packing them into sand. I tried this a couple of years ago (never got around to it last year) and I was amazed that they kept really fresh for months. I’ve used a plastic trug here, but you could use a wooden box, not cardboard though as it may rot, just something sturdy. Put a layer of sand at the bottom and then place the veg (trimmed of their green tops) on top, making sure they don’t touch each other, and cover them with sand, dampening down the sand slightly as you go. And then just keep adding as many layers as you need, and store it somewhere cool. A shed is great, just watch out for hungry mice.

Perfect, I now have easy access to fresh leeks, carrots, parsnips and swedes (not to mention potatoes in storage). Bring on Christmas.

Have a good one!

Unseasonable weather

The first of December today, but you wouldn’t know it from the flowers still happily flourishing in my garden. I have clematis in full flower, having it’s second flush of the year, and reaching up to the blue skies.

Osteospermum, only one flower on it, but still a welcome splash of colour against the numerous acid orange and yellow calendulas that splatter the garden through self seeding.

And foxgloves! In December! You’re meant to be flowering next year, not this one. Did no-one tell you?

Getting back to the topic of my allotment, I have broad beans in a cold frame, which are coming up nicely. I normally sow these directly on the plot, but we’re still in the process of digging over the beds. So I decided in the end to sow them at home, where I can cosset them over winter (I’ve lost a lot in previous harsh winters) and then plant them out as soon as the weather (and ground) allows in the spring. Bring it on.

Bargain bulbs

This sack of mixed daffodil bulbs was bought on our local market for two whole British pounds. I know, I splash out sometimes. They’ll fill a bit of unused space on the allotment over the winter months and provide me with cut flowers in the spring. Then, when I need the space for other things to go in, I can easily whip them out. Although, I have put them in a spot where I’m planning to grow some other flowers for cutting next year (larkspur perhaps, or more sweet williams), so I’m hoping I can leave them in place and plant (or sow) the flowers on either side of them, and they’ll come up and cover over the dying foliage of the daffs. Much like what would happen in a normal flower border.

If I have space I have an urge to fill it, even in winter. Better that than weeds.

John has been continuing the project of establishing our boundary line and creating a trench to stop the grass and weeds creeping in from next door. The bottom half of next doors plot has now been taken on by somebody new, so it’s a good time to do this. Hopefully next year we won’t have so much of a weed problem on this side.

The top end isn’t looking too bad, this contains all the winter root crops, the leeks, garlic and overwintering onions (which are just sprouting now under the netting).

Leeks are coming on well …

… and being eaten well too. Amazing how quickly it all comes around full circle, it doesn’t seem that long ago I was blogging about harvesting leeks.

It’ll be spring again before you know it!