An Indisputable Fact

We all have vegetables that we love, and look forward to picking and eating each year, we also have  those that we like a little less, and there are those which quite frankly, we would give garden room too.

As a family of four we all have varying tastes, but i have discovered, hence the title of this one, that there is a relationship between the amount of produce a crop gives you compared to how popular it is with family members. For example, at present, the Rhubarb is going great guns, it is chucking out huge amounts of stalks and is some of the tastiest i have had for years. But Guess what, i am the only one who really likes it, my daughter will eat some if made into a pie or crumble and smothered with Custard and Cream, otherwise i am on my own. Man, it is difficult to eat a hundred weight of rhubarb, but i am trying.

Conversely, the Purple Sprouting Broccoli, which rates amongst everyones favourite, produced nothing, nil, zip. A slow start to its growing season, no idea why, followed by snow and frost damage, then an attack by pigeons, who got past my PPSBPP, (Patented Purple Sprouting Broccoli  Pidgeon Protector) ok, its an old football goal net strung up on some rickety canes, but it normally does the job, meant we didnt get to eat our favourite Pasta, PSB, Feta cheese and Sun          dried Tomato salad.

And so it goes on, Courgettes, not universally popular, are germinating in pots in the greenhouse, i will no doubt be accussed of growing way to many for us to eat. Carrots, much loved, especially straight out of the ground have suffered so far with the dry weather, so few have germinated.

So you see my hypothesis is proven! Perhaps one day i will plot a graph to reflect popularity against quantity produced, then again perhaps i will just go back out and do some digging. Rhubarb anyone?

just some of that rhubarb

Courgettes, two and a half plants per person; should be enough!

Where is the Rain?

Like most of the country i guess, it has been really dry in Wiltshire over the last month or so. I used that dry weather to good advantage to rotavate the   plot and then  had the added bonus of the really warm weather killing off a lot of the weeds that were left on the surface. the dry soil is really workable at present and digging it is a joy. i do suffer from both bindweed and couch grass, and i know rotavating is a fatal error with these plants, but if i tried to dig my plots by hand, i would never get time to plant anything. So i accept  the penalties of rotavting and then dig out what perennials i can as i go along. it does make for an untidy plot at times but i get good yields  so i am happy enough.

the Broad beans i grew in the greenhouse and planted out are doing great, those that i planted into the ground direct in February, have all germinated, but are a couple of weeks behind. i think i will do more direct planting next year and again accept that it will be a later crop, but a much easier and simplier way to do things.

Despite all the harsh winter weather, the parsley plants i left in the ground have come through it superbly well. the flavour off it is still good, i wondered if it might get ‘stronger’ in its second year? i’m not sure if it will bolt and flower later but i am enjoying my parsley pesto whilst i can and whilst i wait for the new season seeds to germinate.

i think Parlsley  pesto is better than the Basil version, lots of parsley, some walnuts, lemon juice, olive oil, parmesan and salt and pepper, garlic optional, up to you what quantities you use ,but start with a basic basil pesto recipe and use the same sort of amounts as a starting point,  taste as you go along, until you get a taste you like. Great stuff.

the greenhouses are overflowing with tomato plants, aubergines and chillis, unfortunatly the wooden one, third hand from a relative, is on its last legs, the roof is sagging and the windows dont fit right anymore, the frame is rotting too. Hopefully it will survive this season and then it may have to be replaced with a polytunnel. if anyone has any thoughts on good polytunnel suppliers i would like to hear from them.

its parsley, honest

Things are under way.

Well at long last the first of my seeds are in. i always start with Aubergines, this year it is Black Beauty, they do take a long time to grow, but they are always worth it. I planted these mid Feb in the propogator, they are kept in the conservatory, but because it is West facing it isnt the sunniest spot, so they do grow a bit leggy quickly. The Aubergines are followed by Peppers, both Chilli and Sweet, for some reason these havent germinated well this year, so they are still in the propagator. Finally ten days ago my Tomatoes went in. six varsities, including Russian Yellow, Yellow Pear, Auntie Madge, which is a small plum variety, and the usual Gardeners Delight.

the next stage is the worst bit, trays of plants that get moved between the Conservatory during the day and the kitchen at night. the greenhouse is unheated so it will be another 6 weeks before i can get the plants out there.

The potatoes are chitting nicely, this year they are in boxes in the bedroom, my wife is very understanding!

Propagator, on telly in Conservatory

Aubergines and Yellow Pear tomato-a bit leggy!

So Many Seeds

I spent an hour or so the other day sorting out my seeds; despite having a quick look before i ordered any more before Christmas i still seem to have way too many of just about everything! i laid then all out on the table in pils and was amazed at what i had, both full and partial open/used. i took a photo which i will upload. Just to make matters ‘ worse’ i went to a Seed Swap event in Bradford, last weekend, and ended up coming home with more than i took. If you have one of these taking place near you, i recommend you go along. its a great way to find and get hold of small samples of different varieties. the event was also supported by Garden Organic and the Heritage seed lIbrary, so they had a lot of seed varities that arent commercially availbe on offer too. i am a sucker for Heritage Tomatoes. On ething about going through my seed tins though, is that it has fired my enthusiasm for getting the season kicked off again. So i planted my Aubergines, in he Heated Propagotor and got the first batch of Braod Beans under way in pots , in the greenhouse. i have found that winter planted, or even those put outside now, in my soil, just dont survive. the soil is too wet and they rot or the mice get them.

New Year, new Blog

Hello and welcome to my blog.

it may be a new year, albeit a few weeks old, but the allotment is very much the same. The cold weather and the pidgeons has played havoc with most of the crops that were in the ground. The Kale and Purple Sprouting Brocoli have been particular favourites of the birds, and despite my best efforts to protect them with any old netting i could get my hands on, the desire to eat it overcame any fear they may have had of getting tangled. The long period under snow has really set back the spinach and chard that was doing its best to produce a few green leaves for me and i think that will have to be all scrubbed out when the weather warms up a bit and i can get onto the patch. At present it is either way to hard to dig, or the surface becomes sticky and clogs up my wellies making me walk like a man wearing lead boots. The only healthy looking stuff i have at present is the weeds, why do they continue to do so well, whatever the weather?

i must try and get a photo up as soon as i can but as the place is such a mess i may wait until i have tieded things up a little. Wouldnt want people to see the plot in such a bad state. i am looking forward to the new growing season though. the shed cupboard is crammed with all the seeds i want to grow this year, probably got too many as normal, but they will have to wait until at least April before they go in the ground. However, i will be getting the propgator out next weekend and startingoff my Aubergine seeds, they drive my wife mad, as once germinated they are floating around the windowsills for a couple of months before venturing out to the Greenhouse, but they do need that long season to grow. My attempt at a later planting produced poor results. Does anybody else have any tips for success with these plants?

Once they are under way they will be closely followed by thew Chilli Peppers, sweet peppers and finally end of February the Tomatoes, favoutite variety last year was a heritage beefsteak called Mortgage Lifter, if you come across it, grow it, they were superb.

i suppose i also need to start thinking about my seed potates, as i suffer from slug and eelworm does anyone have any recomendations for First and Second Early varieites that have some level of resistance? i dont grow maincrop as they are cheap enough in the shops and as they are in the ground a long time suffer more damage than the earlier varities making a lot of work for little reward.

Anyway thats me for now. back soon.

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