On the Allotment

Although my allotment digging is still behind schedule I always get excited about the new season ahead. A few bright days and some dry weather mean that I usually manage to catch up with digging through February and begin to sow some early crops such as Broad Beans in good time.

Some of my fellow allotment holders sow broad beans in autumn, but I wait until early March because I don’t like the plants sitting in cold, wet soil through the winter. My early spring sowings all but catch up with the autumn ones as long as the mice leave them alone!

This week I have been to my local garden centre to peruse their selection of seed potatoes. Last year, by storing our second earlies ‘Estima’ and main crop ‘Sarpo Mira’ the crop lasted us until Christmas. As well as these two later varieties, I also grew ‘Arran Pilot’ and ‘International Kidney’ (also known as ‘Jersey Royals’) as earlies, which we used from the ground as required. I have plenty of room again this year and although cheap to buy in the shops, potatoes are a low maintenance crop once they are planted and not fussy about soil. They always seem to taste so much better dug straight from the ground!  I will return to buy my potato ‘seed’ as soon as I have made my decision on varieties, before the popular ones sell out!

My next job is to start saving egg boxes so that the seed potatoes can be put into them for ‘chitting’ at the end of February.

Cavalo Nero plantsI have planned my crop rotation for the coming year and have made a cropping plan, which I first did last year. Having a record of what was planted and when has been very useful to look back on and hopefully rectify any failures! I must learn to be more patient in the spring once the ground is dug over and wait for the soil to warm up before I sow lots of seed. Sowing too early can be an expensive mistake and very demoralising when the germination is poor or non -existent!

As well as planning for this seasons bumper crops, we are still using vegetables that were planted last year, including Purple Sprouting broccoli, which will crop from now until May if the spears are cut regularly. The parsnips, which were so promising early on, are suffering with canker; I think due to the wet, cold soil so I will make it a matter of urgency to lift these now and freeze the surplus. Mrs McGregor cuts them into batons and blanches them before coating them in flour, egg wash and breadcrumbs.  They are great with any main meal roasted straight from the freezer! My leeks, although small, have been very tasty and there are still plenty for use as we need them, along with the last of the sprouts and my Black Kale (Cavolo Nero) which I will certainly grow again for its sweet flavour!

Happy Gardening!

Mr McGregor 

Keeping Busy...(always jobs to do!)

Firstly I would like to wish all of our readers a Happy New Year and look forward to a successful gardening year! My first wish has to be for the ground to dry up so that I can catch up with digging on my allotment, which is now badly behind schedule. Last year was the same; I had to spend some long hours digging in February to catch up. Ideally I will get one of my two plots single dug. I start by taking out a trench to a spade’s depth and moving the soil from this to the other end of the plot in my wheelbarrow. Any debris and annual weeds are then skimmed off the top of what will become the next trench and buried, face down in the bottom of the first trench. These are then covered with the soil from what will become the second trench and so on. Any perennial weed roots such as Couch Grass and Dock Leaves should be removed and burned, but not composted. The soil should be left in large clods and can be broken down to form a ‘tilth’ with some vigorous raking nearer to the time of sowing and planting. My second plot will be used to grow potatoes and later crops, such as squashes and runner beans. I like to manure the ground for these when I plant them out so the soil does not need to be prepared so far in advance!

Philadelphus SilberregenI have managed to spend some time in the garden this week and pruned some of my shrubs. We have a Parrotia persica (Persian Ironwood) which will eventually become far too large for the space it occupies, but it is one of my favourite large shrubs with beautiful orange and red autumn colours and small red flowers through the winter on the bare, grey branches. Left to its own devices, Parottia makes a wide spreading shrub or small tree, so I have to prune off branches every so often to keep it in bounds! My Cornus (Dog Woods) were all pruned hard back to a basic framework last winter, so will not need any attention now. They continue to light up the garden with their sealing wax red and olive green stems that give a good vertical accent.

Philadelphus are some of my favourite summer flowering shrubs with their creamy white flowers scented of orange blossom. It is easier to see the shape of these and other deciduous shrubs at this time of the year and a light prune to tidy them is a good idea.  The Holly was given a trim just before Christmas and I will tidy up other evergreens later in the spring, when they begin to grow again. My ornamental Grape vine Vitis vinifera ‘Purpurea, grew really well last year and I have pruned it back to a basic framework. Each shoot has been taken back to four buds and some of the weaker growth removed. My Clematis are looking very untidy, but I must be patient and wait until next month before giving them their annual haircut!

Mr McGregor

Down on the allotment...

Mmmm...sproutsEnthusiasm for my allotments has been difficult to drum up with the patchy weather and shorter days. I have a lot of respect for the workers who harvest vegetables in our fields so that we can go and purchase them in comfort, whatever the weather! Being lagged in mud is not my idea of fun, but it is more than compensated for by being able to supply our own winter vegetables, as well as plenty of onions and potatoes that are still available from the store in our garage.

Now that we have had a frost, I have started to pick sprouts as we need them for the kitchen. They are one of my favourite vegetables especially when par boiled and finished in a frying pan with a little butter, chestnuts and bacon – far too good to save for Christmas Day alone! Although the plants are a bit crooked due to the windy weather we had in the summer, they are full of tight sprouts which should easily last us until after Christmas.

My Parsnips have grown really well this year. I sowed the variety ‘Improved Hollow Crown’ later than shown on the packet, at the beginning of May. A friend of mine said that they would still make a good size for the winter and he was right – they germinated well and are enormous, but still tender. I know Parsnips are not everyone’s cup of tea, but Mrs McGregor chops them into fingers, parboils them and rolls them in flour, beaten egg and bread crumbs before freezing them on a tray and transferring them to a bag. They are then easy to roast from frozen and make a good standby for times when even a keen allotment holder is rained or snowed off!

ParnipsI have managed to clear a lot of spent crops from my plots now. Just removing the stakes from the runner beans and my last pea crop tidied the area no end and has encouraged me to start some winter digging. Weeds are still growing fast, due to the mild weather and I have reluctantly used some Tumble Weed spray on the larger areas that have been cleared of crops until next spring. This should keep the weeds at bay until I have a chance to turn the ground over.

Apart from perennial weed roots such as Docks and Couch Grass, I try to take as little green material away from the allotments as possible and single dig the ground. This allows me to bury any annual weeds and spent crops, such as dried pea and bean haulms, in the base of the trench that has been dug out. The layer of organic matter is then covered with the soil from the next trench and so the process continues up the plot until it has all been dug. I am not a very even digger but have found that with some enthusiastic raking and treading in the spring, I can get the plot more or less level and create a nice firm seed bed ready to begin the allotment year again.

On the Allotment - caterpillars, potatoes & making chutney!

I have been on caterpillar patrol at my allotments for weeks now and must have cut hundreds in half with my scissors. Gruesome thoughts I know, but last year they reduced my Purple Sprouting Broccoli to lace before the plants had even started growing! The bold black and yellow larvae of the Large White Butterfly are easy to spot, but the green ones, which are the larvae of the Small White Butterflies, are well camouflaged against the leaves!  I try to spray my vegetables as little as possible and physical removal is one of the best ways to deal with these voracious eaters! What with the local pigeons and the few caterpillars that escaped my scissors for a while, some of my sprout plants look a little tattered and one or two of the broccoli as well. But with a good feed of pelleted chicken manure and hoeing to keep the weeds at bay, they are strong enough to stand the winter now.

As well as my brassicas, including some plants of Cavolo nero or black Kale, that the caterpillars were not so keen on, I have two rows of parsnips and lots of leeks. All these vegetables are perfectly hardy and will stay in the ground through the winter so that they can be lifted as we need them. Ideal if we get cut off in our village again by snow!  At least we can always make some soup and homemade bread to warm us up!

Sarpo Mira PotatoesMy potatoes for store have all been lifted now and are in boxes in the garage.  ‘Sarpo Mira’ was my choice of main crop potato. These are a red skinned, blight resistant variety. I cut the top growth off at the end of August to prevent the tubers from getting starchy and lifted them during September on a dry sunny day so as not to take too much earth with them! Blight resistant they may be but the slugs were onto them and a few had been hollowed out to shells. Mrs McGregor spent quite a bit of time sorting through them to use any damaged ones first, only storing the perfect specimens which should last us until after Christmas. By not washing them and storing them in the dark, potatoes will keep well until next spring when they begin to shoot again.

The strong winds that we have had recently have almost finished off the runner beans and they are starting to go stringy. However, there are still enough to make a few jars of spiced runner bean pickle, which was a winner last year. The last of the courgettes are coming in as well but they have been disappointing this year –I don’t really know why. Mrs McGregor loves to make courgette and walnut chutney for Christmas presents but we have only managed two small batches this year.

Now it is a battle with the weather to hoe off the weeds on vacant areas and around the winter crops as well as starting winter digging when time and soil conditions allow.

RECIPES TO TRY

Beetroot in Jelly

Big bunch of medium sized beetroot

1 Raspberry jelly

1pt vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

Gently wash the beetroot and twist off the tops. Boil in water until tender and allow to cool. Slip off the skins and cut the beets into small dice. Melt the jelly in the vinegar over a low heat and add the sugar. Stir until everything has dissolved. Pack the diced beetroot into sterilized jars and pour in enough jelly mixture to cover. Set in fridge. Once set, label and store in a cupboard for use through winter.

This recipe has been passed down from my grandmother.

Courgette and Walnut Chutney

1 ½ lb courgettes, sliced

1 ½ tablespoons salt

8oz ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped

4oz onions, chopped

3oz sultanas

1 tablespoon coarsely grated orange rind (or lemon)

1lb sugar (Demerara is good!)

12 fl oz spiced vinegar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3oz walnuts, chopped

Put the courgettes in a colander and sprinkle with the salt. Leave for 2 hours then rinse and dry. Put in a pan with the remaining ingredients except the walnuts and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer until thickened and then stir in the walnuts. Pour into hot sterilized jars and seal.

Makes about 3lb.

Adapted from the book preserves and pickles by Heather Lambert.

Mr McGregor

How to grow spring cabbages

It’s an excellent idea to begin sowing your spring cabbages now as it will ensure your allotment is always bursting with colour, even during the spring when we are pre-occupied with sowing, rather than harvesting. Cabbages love sunny or partly sunny spots, which makes late summer to early autumn the perfect time to start growing.

Before planting your spring cabbages you need to prepare your soil a week or so before. It needs to be dug over with the addition of well rotted manure incorporated into it. This needs to be done before a previous crop as you want your soil to be fertile, but not too rich; crops can produce weak leaves that can easily be damaged by the winter weather if the soil is too rich.

However, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, it’s always best to begin growing inside in pots, seed trays or cell trays. However, if you’re growing in a seed bed, the soil needs to be well dug and raked until the surface is crumbly. Sow your seeds 23cm apart, 1cm deep.

Growing On

1.    Once your seedlings begin to germinate, start thinning out. Continue to thin as your crops grow to allow more space for each plant.
2.    Plants can be transplanted into their final growing positions once they’re roughly 10-13cm high. When doing this ensure there is plenty of soil attached to the roots. Plant your spring cabbages 30-40cm apart and firm the soil around them.
3.    Protect your crops with a polytunnel or cloche when the weather turns, you don’t want the frost to damage your young plants.
4.    Once this is all done, you should be able to harvest your crops from March to June.
Spring Cabbages are wonderful vegetables to have either in the garden or on the allotment as they ensure you will be harvesting all year round.

Notcutts