Allotment Tales // Hello Sunshine!

We have finally been able to get down to the allotment and complete some long-awaited tasks this weekend. The sunshine has finally come out and the rain has stopped for long enough for us to do some weeding, planning and plotting.

Of course, the rain has been much-needed and has meant that our established plants such as herbs, or those which were over-wintering like the onions and broad-beans, are doing really well. These chives are flowering in abundance and I'm looking forward to using the flowers in some summery salads and pasta dishes, for a garlicky flavour. 

Now that the ground has dried out a bit, we have been able to plot out our sections and paths, get rid of the insane amount of weeds and begin sowing seeds. Last year, my strawberries were in the ground and they didn't do particularly well. Slugs and birds got to them and it was difficult to keep them weed free. This year I have put them in a raised bed. Strawberries do prefer being in containers, so hopefully we'll get a better crop. They'll be easier to cover with a net to keep birds away as well.

The most exciting development, however, is that we have our very first bench! Now we'll be able to sit in a bit more comfort and enjoy a tea-break when we're down there. We've plotted out the section in front of it to look a bit more like a cottage kitchen-garden - with a curved path, small plots of lettuce, herbs and flowers  - rather than the long drills of vegetables we have in the remainder of the allotment. With a wigwam of sweet peas, lavender and chamomile around the bench, I'm hoping it will be a lovely place to sit.

Happy gardening to those of you who do - I hope the sunshine stays out for you and you're been able to create a little bit of garden magick in the coming weeks. We certainly have this weekend!

Allotment Tales // Chitting Potatoes

We planted our potatoes today.

Image courtesy of www.wegrowourown.co.uk

I think we're probably a bit quick off the mark, actually, so these will give us an early crop. However, we needed to get them in the soil as they were chitting so rapidly they had shoots of about two inches long!

You may well be asking - what on earth is 'chitting'?

Chitting is the term used for encouraging the seed potatoes to sprout before you plant them. When we got our seed potatoes, we cut them in half, so for each potatoes we should get two plants. You can begin chitting in late January or February and should do so around 6 weeks before you intend to plant out. 

The easiest way to chit is by putting your seed potatoes into empty egg boxes or a crate, somewhere warm and light. Once the shoots are around an inch long, and the soil has warmed up, they'll be ready to plant. We've had much warmer weather this week and I'm hoping it is going to stay that way for our newly planted potatoes. Normally it is advised that you wait until mid-March to plant your early crops.  

Allotment Tales // Parsnips

Although most of the allotment seems to be winding down now and large areas have been dug over and sprinkled with the reddish browns and oranges of the falling leaves, there is still growth and we are still harvesting.

One of the vegetables we grew from seed is just beginning to produce crops - the parsnip.

Parsnips take up quite a bit of space for a large chunk of the year, so gardeners with smaller plots may avoid them. We were lucky this year to have an abundance of space and parsnips are one of my favourite vegetables so I was really keen to have a go.

Apparently parsnips grow best in quite heavy soil - those grown in thin, stony ground will grow small,  misshapen roots. However, you shouldn't manure your soil as this can cause the parsnips to fork. 

Some varieties of parsnip seed can be sown in late winter, but ours went in in late spring. We then thinned them out once they had grown their first set of full leaves and were about 5cm tall. They need a good 20cm between plants to allow those roots to grow. 

Parsnips are ready to be harvested from autumn, when the leaves start to die back. However, many claim that their flavour is improved with some exposure to frost. You can leave parsnips over winter - come spring they will grow a new set of leaves - although they tend to be rather tough and woody by that point and would be little use for anything other than soups and parsnip wine. I'm going to be picking the majority of mine for Christmas but I will be making a batch of my favourite Parsnip and Rosemary soup in the meantime with the few we have just pulled. More on that next time.

Allotment Tales // Autumn

Although the last remnants of summer hold a wavering vigil to the dying light, it is clear as we look around the allotment now, that autumn is here. 

Our late, lone sunflower is now drooping its ragged head, as though bowing in submission to the omnipotent force of the seasons. 

The palette of the allotment seems to have changed suddenly - from lush, vibrant greens, to browns, burnished   yellows and deep oranges. 

Pumpkin vines have morphed into withered skeletons with bulbous skulls which every day deepen in autumnal colour. 

At this time of year, we often imagine the work to be done - the harvest to be gathered; the rewards enjoyed. We could not be further from the truth. Yes, we have had a bounteous summer, enjoying the fruits of our labour - both physical and metaphysical. But there is still plenty to come. Through the autumn and winter we will gather smaller harvests - of squashes and pumpkins, broccoli, cabbage, parsnips and swedes. 

When things seem to be getting darker and colder, it is easy to become encompassed in negativity, thinking there is little to look forward to until the light returns. I know I am guilty of this each and every year. It is then that I sit back and think of what is yet to come, and what can be planned and prepared for in the coming winter months. We wouldn't expect a harvest of fruit and vegetables next summer without tending the soil, clearing the debris and planting the seeds - why should it be any different with anything else we wish to achieve? 

Allotment Tales // The Courgette Glut

I have made...

Warm courgette, feta and pine-nut salad, with chilli, lemon and mint.

Courgette, Tomato and Parmesan Muffins

and 

Italian Courgette and Parmesan Soup

Courgette Chutney (more on this tomorrow)

Courgette, chickpea and coconut curry

Courgette fritters

Courgette and pesto pasta (at least fifty times!)

Lemon and poppyseed muffins, using courgette instead of butter

We've given countless courgettes away to family and friends.

So how can this still be sitting in my kitchen??!

Please help! If you can think of any more (preferably freezable) courgette recipes, we've still got about 3kg to go!

Allotment Tales // Onions

For our first year of allotmenteering, we have done pretty well with onions, in spite of some worrying moments. We tried two different approaches: before we knew we had secured an allotment we planted some red onion seeds in a planter on the windowsill. These grew well - the seedlings are whispery thin - and we eventually knew we would have to plant them out for more space. 

Image courtesy of Vegetable Garden Guide

Once we knew we had the allotment plot, we planted these out with lots of space between them and also bought some white onion 'sets' (tiny bulbs, each of which will grow into an onion) to plant. These grew more like a bulb would, with a thick shoot to begin with that very quickly developed into tall onion plants.

Image courtesy of Garden Direct

The seedlings and sets were planted out in late April, early May and by July were starting to show signs of decent sized onions poking up through the soil. Apparently, we planted our onions too deep, because we couldn't see much of the bulb protruding - most other people at the allotment, by this point, had onions almost sitting on top of the soil. 

As the month progressed, we started to notice the leaves drying and blackening. A neighbour mentioned that this is a sign of blight and the onions at our allotment seem to be prone to it. I am unsure whether it is powdery  mildew or onion leaf blight - if anyone recognises it, please comment to let me know! However, the neighbour assured us there would be nothing wrong with the onion bulbs, as long as we pulled them up quickly and dried them out - they may not last as long as unaffected onions, but would still be tasty and perfectly fine to eat.

We now have onions strung up around the whole house, to try and dry them out so they keep as long as possible. This is easily done by chopping off the leaves so a stalk of around 2 inches remains and simply tying string around the stalks. 

Our onions are fairly mild tasting and absolutely lovely. We tried them in Nigel Slater's recipe for baked onions with parmesan and cream (number 5 on this list): very naughty but delicious with a side of garlic spinach and some home-cooked potato wedges. 

What are you harvesting and cooking up this week?

Allotment Tales // An Impromptu Lunch

A warmed pitta, stuffed with some cold, roasted beetroot, a few slices of cheese, fresh tomatoes and a handful of just-picked rocket; enjoyed at the allotment, on a break from weeding.
Delicious.

Allotment Tales // Flowers as Food

In addition to providing us with vegetables, fruit and herbs, gardens and allotments are places of sanctuary and enjoyment, so it is wonderful to see so many colourful flowers in bloom through the summer as well.

What is truly delightful is the thought that, as well as being visually pleasing, many of these flowers have culinary uses too.

As I wrote earlier in the month, herbs such as borage and chamomile produce incredibly useful and pretty flowers. Chives, likewise have lovely purple pom-pom flowers, which can be eaten cooked or raw and have a strong flavour - something of a mixture between garlic and spring onions.

Courgette flowers can also be eaten, stuffed with cream cheese and herbs, or battered 'tempura' style. Nasturtium flowers are another edible treat; they taste distinctly like cress and really brighten up any plate of food. 

This meal was concocted almost entirely from allotment produce. I simply fried some chopped yellow courgette and chopped chive flowers in a little olive oil; cooked the pasta and stirred through with the cooked veg, some wild rocket and nasturtium flowers (well washed, as they do attract tiny beasties) and added a sprinkling of feta cheese. 

Delightful summer food!

Allotment Tales // Rocket and Mizuna

Currently, we have more salad leaves than we know what to do with down at our allotment. We pick some every two or three days to have accompanying our meals and it just keeps growing in abundance!

This year sowed some rows of mixed leaves seeds and also some rocket on its own. What would grow from the mixed leaves was down to luck and the elements. This year we seem to have an abundance of mizuna.

Mizuna is an oriental salad leaf, sometimes also known as Japanese Greens or Japanese Mustard, because of its peppery taste. It is similar to rocket in that sense, but its leaves are more feathery. It grows vigorously and the stalks can get rather thick very quickly. As you can stir-fry them as well as eating them raw, this isn't really a problem. The smaller, tender leaves are great on their own or dressed simply with a bit of oil and balsamic or lemon juice. As it is a 'cut-and-come-again' variety, if you grow a patch, it should keep you going all through the summer. 

Rocket is a bit trickier to grow - it isn't as vociferous in our patch and seems to be a real favourite for little beasties to chomp their way through. For this reason, I've started growing some more in a tray on the windowsill as well as outside. Most of what I pick from the allotment has tiny holes in it! A good wash and it's absolutely fine to eat, however, and I absolutely love its deep, peppery flavour with a few slices of parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic. It is rich in Vitamin C and potassium as well, and has long been considered an aphrodisiac!

What are you picking from your gardens and allotments this week?

Allotment Tales // A Warm Summer Salad

I was delighted this week to spend an evening working at the allotment, my reward for which was this handful of fresh produce to cook up for my dinner.

This time of year sees courgettes, mange tout and peas, as well as handfuls of fresh lettuce, spinach and chard growing in abundance. I just loved the colourful combination of the mange tout, yellow courgettes and blue borage flowers in my bowl! 

When I got them home I gave them a rinse, chopped the courgettes and simply tossed them in some garlic oil in the frying pan for 2 minutes. They were served up with a dollop of tzatziki.

A delightful, warm summer salad. 

Allotment Tales // Beetroot

 One of the most wonderful things about having an allotment, is the sense of community spirit and generosity it promotes. So far we have been inundated with helpful tips from our gardening neighbours and even had some pumpkin plants donated to our patch. 

This week we have been given a handful of beetroot from one of our co-allotmenteers' early harvest. 

We do have some of our own beetroot growing from seed but, as we only found out we had successfully acquired an allotment in April, we are quite behind many of the others. Hopefully we will have a bunch of our own deep-red roots later on in the season, to return the favour. 

Beetroot seems to be a pretty hardy vegetable to grow - we had no problem with it in a tiny scrap of stony earth last year, although the lack of space did make the beets rather small. It prefers moist, fertile soil and a sunny spot and grows best when seeds are sown directly into the ground from mid-Spring.

As for what to do with it - once you get past the thought of jar upon unopened jar of the pickled stuff - its actually pretty versatile and yummy. Tonight we had ours roasted, with some other veg and cous-cous but you could try it in a warm salad, add it into some brownies, make a delicious, Russian-inspired borscht soup or even add it to some fruit in a nutritious smoothie. Not only does it add a splash of colour to any meal, beetroot is high in nitrates proven to lower blood pressure. See here for more information on the health benefits of this seasonal vegetable.

What are you harvesting and cooking up this week?

Allotment Tales // First Harvests

One of the reasons I haven't been blogging so much lately is that B and I are lucky to have been able to rent an allotment this year and much of our free time is spent down there planting and tending. We are loving it and our first rewards are beginning to be reaped.

With heartfelt thanks to the sunshine and rain.