From allotment to veggie garden…

It was a tough decision, but I decided this year that I would not be renewing my allotment rental.  In 4 years of being a plotholder I have met some wonderful people, learned a huge amount and developed a real passion for growing organic fruit and vegetables.  However, with my client base increasing and spending more time at the clinic I was not able to give the allotment the time it required and deserved this season.  With 58 newcomers on the waiting list for a turn I felt the time was right to step down and let someone else experience the joy of allotmenting.

Last weekend was spent clearing our plot of all the bits and pieces we had added over the years, including 46 paving slabs, 2 compost bins and a rotavator – all very thankfully recieved from Freeglers and family members!

However, I did not say my final goodbyes with a heavy heart, as I have a new project on the go – building 2 large veggie beds in the garden at home to allow me to continue to indulge my passion, albeit on a more manageable scale.

Everything we brought home from the plot will be put to good use in the garden and I am feeling the excitement that a new project brings – which confirms to me that this was the right decision.  As well as creating a vegetable patch I will be looking to redesign the whole garden over time to allow the integration of the new addition without it looking too out of place in a suburban garden!

Perhaps I should rename this line of blogging to The Garden Project…..

So Autumn has brought some exciting challenges for me, a new energy and focus and all at a time of year that will allow me to take my time planning, creating and developing my vision.

What a great first harvest!

I think this has to be the best year for early seasonal harvest since we started our allotment!  We have been picking an abundance of raspberries from the garden for weeks now, the strawberries are so sweet and juicy and today I tasted the first picking of cherries off our new tree – heavenly!

This encouraged me to call in at the allotment on my way home from work and to my surprise my tentative lifting of a potato plant revealed perfect sized new potatoes ready and waiting to be dug ( I wasn’t expecting them to be ready until the middle of July as they were a bit late going in).  Enough for dinner collected, I was spurred on to have a peek at the carrots and once I had managed to loosen the soil was delighted to pull up a very respectable bunch of assorted carrots.  This was perfectly topped by the first 3 courgettes of the year and the collection of some of the overwintered onions and garlic…. I arrived home with a bagful of freshly harvested produce and a huge smile on my face, much to the delight of our dear neighbours who received a little veg box to share the moment with us.

This is the time of year when all the efforts of the autumn, winter and spring finally start to come to fruition and the rewards can be reaped, cooked and enjoyed!  There really is nothing like the taste of food you have sown, raised and harvested yourself.

If you haven’t yet tried growing your own it’s not too late to get some pots and sow some beans, salad, carrots or herbs.  You can even get a headstart at your local garden centre with some established plants ready to be given a new home.  Have fun and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

 

In Tune With The Moon 2011

It’s that time again, the big planting season!  For the third year running I am following this brilliant book and it’s so-easy-to-use day by day planting calendar.  I can’t recommend it highly enough for those of you wanting to harness the power of the moon in your gardening!

For more details on the book use the link below:

Have the sprouts defrosted yet?!

Last time we had snow everything on the allotment that was above ground froze.  Picking the sprouts for Christmas dinner was like trying to prise frozen marbles off the stem and made for very cold fingers! They did taste good though, as did the parsnips having sweetened from the cold. 

I haven’t ventured up to the allotment since the snow last week, but perhaps now things have thawed it’s time to check what has survived for this years Christmas lunch.  I can see the kale in the garden looking slightly less well than it did before the snow and the poor late lettuces which were completely buried look fit only for the compost bin now. 

Not expecting quite as much snow as we got, I wasn’t prepared and therefore the little polythene tunnel that would have protected them from getting frozen/squashed is still sitting snugly in the garage…. I will pay rather more attention to the weather forecast in the coming weeks and endeavour to protect what little is still trying to grow.

With any luck we will be able to harvest swede, parsnips, sprouts and kale for our festive feast which will be served alongside the potatoes harvested in the autumn.  If I’m lucky the rosemary will have survived the snow and with a few cloves of home grown super-tasty garlic will provide the perfect seasoning for the roast potatoes. 

Ooh, getting hungry just thinking about it…

Merry Christmas and happy festive feasting!

Hurrah, potatoes and onions are in!

What a fabulously warm and sunny weekend this is turning out to be – and a brilliant opportunity to finally get to the allotment and plant out the potatoes and the 200 onions and shallots whose roots have been bursting out their pots in the greenhouse.

It has been a long time getting here but I think Spring may have finally arrived – and what a glorious start.  My reluctant allotmenter hubby was a complete star yesterday, not only rotovating the first 2 beds but planting out 70 well chitted potatoes whilst I – very slowly – hobbled around on my crutches and planted out the onions and shallots. 

Hubby isn’t a big fan of gardening, but with my broken toe somewhat holding me back he stepped up and got on with the job and did brilliantly.  In fact I got the feeling he might have enjoyed the rotovating rather more than he would ever admit (it must be a petrol thing) and only stopped when a mechanical fault developed.

The only downside to the event was that it wasn’t a ‘root day’ in accordance with my moon planting approach, but I have to accept that whilst I’m temporarily incapacitated things will be done when the opportunity arises.  However, the onions were in pots having been planted on a root day so as it was purely a transplant I hope that won’t make too much difference. 

So now I can relax, enjoy the rest of my recuperation and stop fretting about how behind the allotment is!  The seed module trays are now empty and ready for the first round of ‘fruits’ planting next week and the rest can wait until I’m fully back on my feet.

Happy spring!

Sowing the first seeds of the year!

It has been such a gorgeous sunny week and I have been looking through my Moon Planting book to start working out the best days to begin my planting.  Today is a root day so I have been out sowing parsnips, swede and beetroot in trays in the greenhouse and it has got me very excited about the onset of the growing season.  The winter has been so cold but with the excitement of the snow it didn’t seem that long and dreary like it often does, so Spring seems to have come around very quickly! 

I’m not really prepared – the new glass greenhouse I purchased in the autumn is still sitting in bits in the garage and the garden needs to be cleared to create a space for it, and I still haven’t prepared the beds for the early potatoes and shallots which need to go in soon…… but having sat down and gone through my notes of last years’ growing I realised that actually I still have a good month before I need to start worrying about being late to start!

Getting some seeds in today has really given me a boost and even such a small step has got me enthused to get started on the rest of the work in getting the allotment ready.  It was a pleasure to take an hour out and potter in the garden and get my small polythene greenhouse cleaned out and in use again.  I’ve not been too good about getting outside during the cold weather (except of course in the snow, you couldn’t keep me indoors then!) but there is a definite hint of spring in the air this week so it will be easier to spend time outside in nature and take the opportunity to recharge.

If you are still thinking about whether to try growing some things this year stop thinking and get planning!  For a small investment you can enjoy a summer of fresh, tasty home grown food on your plate and I’m pretty certain once you’ve tried it you’ll want to do more and more each year after that!

Happy growing

Natalie, BMore Natural

Book Recommendation – In Tune With The Moon 2010 by Michel Gros

I was so impressed with the 2009 edition of this book that I have already purchased next years so I can plan my growing season well in advance!

The best thing about this book is that is has a simple to use day-by-day calendar specifying exactly what to plant when. Even in my absolute beginner-ness I was able to follow this, and now the more technical stuff is gradually starting to go in (my winter learning project!). I was able to go to straight the week I wanted, check the correct days for planting and make a note of it in the diary section, easy peasy.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is getting interested in gardening in accordance with the moon. It also covers constellations for added potency and Chinese calendar information so has plenty to chose from. Just pick which guides you are most comfortable with and follow those – you can make it more complex as you get a feel for it.

Happy gardening!

Organic allotment update – the Autumn clearup!

I’ve just had the most fabulous day on the allotment!  It was a mixture of sadness at the end of the summer growing season and all that entails – clearing away the spent crops and supports – and the excitement of looking at a near empty plot and planning for next season.  With this in mind I carefully removed the last of the dried runner and French beans and saved the seeds inside and also carefully packed away some seed saved from this years summer squash, sweet peas and sunflowers.  This is the first year I’ve saved seed on any scale so it will be interesting to see the germination rates next spring.

I’ve decided to totally revamp the plot next season to include a small permanent bee garden where I will grow wild and cultivated flowers, flowering herbs and any other bee-friendly crops I can think of!  This will be a bed right in the centre of the plot and the space around will form 4 vegetable beds with pathways in between.  I’ve usually done a 3 bed crop rotation as I have so little success with brassicas I don’t bother any more BUT I had a little more luck with some donated sprouts and kale this year so I’m thinking I’ll give it one more try…

The plot isn’t completely bare though, I’m left with the later crops of swede, leeks, kale, parsnips and sprouts with carrots and beetroot still going strong.  I also cleared the last of the patio tomatoes at home (Gardeners’ Delight – a fabulous reliable cropper of tender, sweet tomatoes – highly recommended!) and finally cut down the sunflowers – hanging out some of the larger, drier heads out for the birds to eat the seeds.

I have my over-winter peas, broad beans, onions and garlic all ready to be sown and am just waiting for the right moon phase to sow each of them - next weekend is looking like a root time for the onions and garlic and the middle of the following week looks good for the fruits of peas and beans.  It worked very well this year so I have already bought my copy of In Tune With The Moon 2010 so I can get organised early!

And finally, I managed to get a fab second hand greenhouse which my friend and I dismantled (6 hours and much laughter!) so I now have to clear a space in the border to put that – this is a great step for me as it means I can really get a head start next season and have plenty of space to grow indoor crops.  One thing I will definitely be growing is Ogen melons – we were given a couple of small cold frames this year which I planted melons in thinking if we get one fruit I’ll be happy – we got 4 and they are the most delicious, sweet and juicy melons.  VERY yummy

So that’s it for now, a great season all round and a freezer full of homegrown veg and homemade soups and sauces to keep us going through the winter.  Happy days!

Organic allotment update – what a busy time of year!

I’ve just realised (again) that it’s been a month since I posted on this, I can’t believe how fast the year is going and with this being one of the busiest planting/tending times it’s going even quicker!  Most things are now planted and settled in the allotment and garden veg patch.  I lost most of my sprout seedlings to slugs and snails but was given some good healthy (and much larger!) plants by a friend so the gaps were quickly filled! 

The fourth sowing for peas is due any day and I’m confident that this year I have spaced out the planting of peas and beans enough to ensure a nice steady crop and not the huge glut I got last summer!   The last thing that needs doing now is transplanting the tomatoes to their final growing pots and find a sunny spot on the patio for them.  Then I think it’s a case of the 3 W’s for the next few weeks – watering, weeding and waiting!

After losing 2 complete rows of lettuce, a row of radish and countless cabbage seedlings I finally, and with much regret, took the step of putting down organic slug pellets.  I have always been so anti these as I hate the thought of sending them off to die when all they are doing is what comes naturally and eating the tastiest food they can find.  So with a heavy heart and much apologising to them in advance I did the deed – and surprise surprise, the next row of lettuce has come up a treat! 

I don’t think I’ll ever feel happy about using these pellets and the guilt is ridiculous but as I kept being told – it’s either them or me who eat the food I grow.  After 4 years I have decided I want to eat the food as it is extremely frustrating seeing healthy plants disappear overnight after weeks of tending and nurturing.  I’ll just have to work harder on the good stuff to make up for the bad karma….  Some people think I’m nuts feeling so sad about this but I think those who know me best will know that this sort of thing isn’t in my nature and I have the greatest respect for all life so it has been a really hard decision, and I know I’m not alone in feeling like this.

On a happy note to end, we started harvesting new potatoes this week (Swift, first early variety) and they are just delicious.  The growing under black polythene seems to have worked well and I only need a trowel to scoop them out as they sit just under the soil surface.   I forgot to put any fertiliser down before planting them (doh, and with a huge tub of those organic chicken bedding pellets sitting in the shed too!) but so far that doesn’t seem to have had a detrimental effect.  We had a meal last night with homegrown potatoes, salad leaves and asparagus which was just lovely and a great taste of things to come.  Hurrah for growing veggies!!!!!

Organic allotment update!

Gosh, I’ve just realised it’s nearly a month since I last posted an update – of course a lot has been planted since then!  Working in accordance with my moon planting guide I’ve now transferred the sweetcorn, beans and peas into the allotment and am gradually adding peas and beans successionally over the next few months to ensure I get a nice steady crop and not the glut that planting everything at once last year produced!

This whole moon planting has been a real challenge in terms of staying disciplined enough to only do the jobs specific to that day.  For instance, today was a ‘flowers’ day, so having potted up my marigolds (used to attract beneficial insects – they will be planted around and between the brassicas) and planted out the sweet peas (planted alongside the runner and french beans to again attract the right insects) I was itching to plant out the rest of the sweetcorn and put some more beans and peas in the ground.  However it is not a ‘fruits’ day until later in the week so it was with a great deal of restraint that I held back and turned my attention to a spot of weeding instead (not actually sure whether it was the right day for weeding, finding that aspect a bit confusing!).

Tomorrow is a ‘leaf’ day so I can set about getting leeks, cabbages and brussels sprouts in – I would also be doing lettuce but put a load in on the last leaf day which, unless the slugs decide otherwise, should keep us in lettuce for most of the summer!

We harvested another great crop of asparagus, it’s certainly keeping both our allotment neighbour we share it with and ourselves (and my neighbours!) in stock of freshly cut spears.  Very tasty, especially now I’ve finally got the hang of steaming it – the first few attempts were a little overcooked and soggy!

I am extremely pleased and proud to report that a couple of friends of mine have also started on their own veg growing journey having been inspired by my excitement (and surplus harvest!) last summer.  I wish them both masses of enjoyment and a great first year.