A Photo History

I was looking round my PC and found the photos I have taken since we started at the lottie. The ones shown here are taken from the same corner of the plot. I stand on the corner post of the boundary fence look out across my plot in the foreground to the carpark at the top of the plots. Click on the pictures for an enlargement.
The first photo was taken on the day we took on the plot in the Autumn of 2003.



The next photo is how it looked in the summer of the following year, 2004.



Next up is the Summer of 2005. If you look closely you can see the beginnings of a path. [bottom, left of frame]



I can not find the summer 2006 picture. I have winter 2005 picture which is will post as soon as I get it off the camera. In the meantime here is a picture from last weekend. Not quite summer but all is set.


That's all for now. I will get a proper summer picture when the summer arrives!

Last Chance to Plant

The pressure has been on for a couple of weeks now to get as much in the ground as possible bearing in mind the Mice scoff the juicy seeds such as Pea and Broad Beans and that in April it hardly rained. I took the plunge this weekend and emptied the Greenhouse. I planted out the Jolent & Musselborough leeks, Gherkins, a few remaining Rainbow Chard and what I think is Celeriac. I had a tray of what are clearly Brassicas but what sort? I think they are Cauli's. I also planted seeds for Parsnip and four rows of Carrot. It remains to be seen if I have missed the first flush of carrot fly. My other job that took quite a bit of time was weeding the onion bed of renegade spuds that I missed in the harvest last year. It is always a mystery to me why plants grow so well when they are weeds versus when they are grown as crops.

The trays had to go from the Greenhouse in order for me to remove the staging that creates a shelf under which the Tomatoes are growing. Taking out the staging out has increased the light and before to long the Toms will be requiring the space to grow.

I decided it was time to remove the bird feeders. I reckon the birds can look after themselves for the summer and autumn. I also hope that they will look round the plot for alternative food and help themselves to the aphids and anything else that might eat my crops before I do. I have a couple of Robins that dive into any earth I disturb as soon as I am a safe distance away. So I make a point of stopping now and then to empty the wheelbarrow or do another short job just to give the Robins a few minutes to pick over the new ground. My allotment neighbour told me that a Greater Spotted Woodpecker has been visiting my feeders. That is quite a larger bird. Apparently to had no trouble getting through my netting. My plot is covered with 4" [100mm] pea netting to keep out the Pigeons, Peasants and Canadian Geese. It is a shame the Thrushes have not sussed out how to negotiate the netting. There are plenty of snails waiting for them.

H and I had a bonanza of Victoria Rhubarb. I was going to make some wine and jam and bit for stewing but I had a little "cash crop". We dropped of my daughter for a baby sitting job with our friends. Their kids had been out collecting Strawberries [not surprising since they live on a strawberry farm] and gave me a pound and a half punnet. As soon as I got home a turned them into Jam. I am going to make some bread to do it justice.

The last job I did on Saturday was to bottle the Apple wine. On tasting it is wickedly sweet, specific gravity 1.030. It may reduce with age but it does taste like apples. The wine is quite cloudy but that too might resolve whilst it is sitting in the rack.

How did the tipples turn out?

As blogged in 06 I made an attempt to make wine from various free sources, Vegetables from the allotment and fruit from the hedgerows and fields. On the whole I would consider it a success. I made wine from Nettle, Dandelion, Plum, Damson, Rhubarb, Pear and Apple.

I executed the same process for all the wines and used, more or less, the same recipe. Stage 1: Take the fruit or veg, wash the dirt off and shake to remove the excess. Chop the up the fruit or veg into smaller portions, usually about 1 inch cubes [25mm] or bruise the fruit or to break the cell walls. This all goes into a big bucket followed by any other ingredients, sugars and boiling water. They are given a vigorous Stir and left for a week in a warm place.
Stage 2: After a week [5 days] I strain the mixture through a muslin cloth. I add the required amount of Yeast, another stir and then bottle the liquor into a demi-john [DJ] and fit an air lock. I put a luggage tag on the bottle with the date of transfer to DJ and the specific gravity.
Stage 3: Stand back. The DJ's live in the garage which is quite warm. When the fermentation dies down to a stop, I rack the liquor into another DJ and refit the air lock. The new DJ sits in the garage for as long as it takes to stop fermenting completely and become clear. If I find that during this period that a lot of sediment is collecting at the bottom of the DJ I will rack into another DJ. At each racking I record, on the tag, the date and specific gravity.
Stage 4: Bottling. I do not throw out any wine bottles that we might buy. I try to collect similar wine bottles by shape and colour. I try to achieve sets of five. When the time comes I syphon off the wine in to the bottles and cork. I like to have corks in bottles but I will use screw caps if I have a set of five. Then I hang a label round its neck. The label says what sort wine, date and specific gravity. The bottles go out to my shed to "have a little rest". The rest can be anything from 3 to 6 months. The run up to Christmas is the time to have a tasting. Depending on the tasting the bottles are rearranged in the shed so the "drinkers" are near the door and the "resters" are further away.
Stage 5: Have friends round and pop a few corks. If you can manage that with a warm summer evening, goodies from the allotment you are in my idea of heaven.

How did they do?
Nettle: A little dry for my taste but I have a sweet tooth. It is getting better with age.
Dandelion: Rich and medium sweet. A bit like a light sherry.
Damson: Rich, deep and sweet but with the sharp fruity acid at the end.
Yellow Plum: Everyone's favorite. Light, fruity, quite sweet but with body.
Rhubarb: A bit insipid. It is not punchy like those above. Very dry with the slight hint of Rhubarb.
Pear: Just bottled. At his stage it is light and clear. It is dry with a hint of fruit.
Apple: Still in the DJ but on sampling dry and fruity. Just waiting for corks for the bottles.

I am not sure I would do nettle again however if it is getting better in the bottle perhaps I should make more and lay in down for longer. I would do all the others again but limit my self to one DJ [Five bottles] of each.

I intend to do Broad Bean, Pea pod, Parsnip and maybe Potato wine this year as well as the fruit wines. I do not think I will be able to resist making several DJs of Damson. I have a good supply so their is plenty for Wine, jam and gin.

The other tipple that has gone unmentioned is the Sloe Gin. For this you need a DJ, a kilo of Sloes that have been frozen and thawed and kilo of sugar. Put the sloes and sugar in a clean DJ and top it up with cheap gin. In fact it seems to be better the cheaper gin. Try Aldi or Netto gin [£7 per bottle]. Stick a bung in the top, it does not need an air lock. Shake the DJ every day until the sugar is dissolved. The shake the DJ up once a week thereafter. I started mine in the autumn and it was ready for Christmas day. I bought a 1 pint decanter to display and serve the Sloe Gin. It is beautiful shade of Crimson. A gallon of Sloe Gin goes a long, long way. I am think of doing the same process except with Damson as the fruit. I have some sloes in the freezer from Christmas so I am considering getting a DJ going very soon so it has 6 months to infuse.

Ten Rows of Cara

It did not rain yesterday and I managed to finish work a little early. Whilst waiting for tea to be ready I knocked in the posts for the fruit cage and screwed the post to the base boards onthe bed. They feel quite secure. After a quick tea I went to the lottie to plant up the remaining part of the potato bed. I dropped in two rows straight into the area that was prepared at the weekend before I was rained off. Then I tackled the remaining couple of foot of bed that needed digging over. The extra rain really loosened up the soil without making it sticky. In no time at all the bed was completely dug over and weeded. Then in went another two rows of spuds. I use Cara as a main crop. They have some resistance to Potato Blight and are very resistance to Scab. They also crop heavily, are very tasty and store well which is about as much as you can ask from a humble spud.

I had a real feeling of pleasure when I looked over the bed. The first four rows are Ulster Prince which have just popped their heads above gound. There is stirrings in the next four rows which are Charlottes. The haulms are barely breaking the surface of soil. Then there is the ten rows of Cara, quietly busy under the damp earth running out roots and pushing up sprouts of haulm to the sun. Spuds are my favorite crop.

Follow the link to the British Potato Council.

Mice and Rain!

The weather forecasters promised showers and Saturday afternoon and pro-longed periods of rain for Sunday. I got busy on Saturday morning and dug all but three foot [1m] of the potato bed. I had to leave on time as H and I were invited to a BBQ starting at 5pm. The rain during the week had penetrated the soil to at least a foot depth. This made digging nice and easy as the soil just shook off the roots of the weeds. Between 10 and 3 I dug over an area of bed 24ft [8m] long, the bed bring 16ft [4m] wide and to a depth of 12inches [300mm]. I was even able to loosen the bottom of each trench as well. By 3pm, as well as having a previous engagement, the rain set in.

We had a good night at Steve's, they even liked my Nettle wine. Steve bent my arm to get me to bring over some of my air dried Ham. Everyone liked it and plans are afoot to cure some Hams ready for Christmas. Being the UK and a BBQ all organised, the weather did not co-operate so the BBQ was run under an Golfing umbrella. Steve steadfastly manning the BBQ in his summer togs, Tee shirt, Shorts and a sun hat which eventually gave up the unequal task of keeping rain off his head. Even so Burgers, Snags and a selection of Mackerel from an early season sea fishing trip rolled off the BBQ and in time honoured fashion the rain gave way to sunshine once the food was cooked and eaten.

The early start I had promised myself for Sunday did not happen. So it was no surprise to find that by 11am the rain that had been promised set in. At first I ignored it but when it got to the stage where the rain had penetrated to my under pants and the soil was sticking to my boots it was time to give up. However I had managed to chop down the Comfrey, mash it up and plant five rows of the main crop potato, Cara. The Comfrey was put in to the bottom of the trench before planting the seed potatoes. I ran out after three row so need used the horse manure that I recently sourced. Comfrey is a very interesting plant Lawrence D Hills championed it's use and was instrumental in bring organic gardening to the public attention in a time where agro-chemicals were seen as they way forward. To pursue his vision Mr Hills set up the Henry Doubleday Research Association. Mr Hills book was the first gardening book I read that was concerned with growing vegetables rather then flowers and garden design. I still apply is principles today.

Once I had secomed to the rain I took a walk round my plot and examined everything. I had spoted neat round holes about 1 inch [25mm] in diameter in the Broad Bean rows. Initially I though this was the action of the rain compacting the soil into the holes made for the beans. Closer inspection showed the growing tips of the broad beans discarded by the side of the hole. It could only be mice. The greedy beggar had eaten almost every bean in both rows, almost 40 seeds. Disappointed I resolved to raise some more broad beans at home to replace those that had been lost. I looked at the pea trenches but I can not determine if the mice have been at those as well. It seems that there is always something, scaly, slimy or furry that whats to eat my veg before I get a chance to! The recently planted Brassicas are infested with an aphid or fly. I am going to refer to chemicals to kill the beasties even if it going against my principles. However I can not do anything until it stops raining.

Last night was a very good night!

What made last night so good? It rained and it rained like it meant it. So the lottie will have had a good soaking. I expect the weeds will have enjoyed it as well. On the last visit on Tuesday last, just to drop off some timber, the Victoria Rhubard was huge. The sun is out again this morning so I must make time to get the remainder of the Brassicas out of the Greenhouse and into the ground to take advatage of the conditions. Carrots and Parsnips also need sowing. Conditions are near perfect for outdoor planting so I must crack on this weekend. I am a bit late with planting the main crop spuds so that is a priority.

H and I have decided that when we harvest the Rhubarb we shall make Wine, Jam and just stew some for pudding at tea time. The Timperly Early Rhubarb is a smaller variety but is also growing well. We will have some off that as well. This cut should be sweeter than the Victoria. I am going to try and make a pesticide out of the Rhubard leaves. Rhubarb leaves are poisonous the humans because of the high Oxalic acid content. I read on the Internet that brewing the leaves releases the toxins which can be used against various types of fly pests. I will let you know how I get on. Last year a started a rain butt of Comfrey Tea. 40 gallons [UK] is a big excessive but I am using it everywhere. On each crop I use it I have left some plants untreated as a control. I hope to be able to see a difference in the performance of the plant at harvest time.

When the Greenhouse is cleared of seed trays I should be able to pot up the Cucumbers into big tubs for growing on. The Cumcumbers are a new thing for me this year so all a bit of an experiment.

May Day not m'aide

During April I have been planting out my vegetable seedlings that I been raising in the greenhouse. I have had to water them so I have been going every other day,after work. The Brasicass seedlings were looking a bit limp but are perking up as they settle in. Hispi cabbage, Cauliflower, Curly Kale and Beetroot. Received wisdom says you should not transplant Beetroot because it disturbs the roots. I started Beets in cells and they came on well. Transplanting them to the lottie has had no real detrimental affect. There have been a few casualties but that is from my rough handling of the seedling. I then sowed beet seed along side the seedling in the hope of having a succession of beet. We will see.

I have sowed Peas this week, Petite poit and Greenshaft. I am sure these will thrive. The early Broad Beans are starting to flower. I have planted another couple of rows for succession. The Onion patch is starting the move. The Garlic is enjoying the dry weather. The Elephant Garlic I planted as a lost cause have really staged a comeback. I might get a crop this year! The Sturon and Shallots are coming on if a little slowly but they have only been in a month so I should just be patient.

May Day Bank Holiday in the UK [7th May - The first Monday of May] gave me an extra day for gardening. We have been promised rain for Monday so I had get busy on Saturday and Sunday if I was to benefit from the the forecasters projection. As it happens I only got to water the lottie on Saturday afternoon, plant the peas and have a beer whilst wondering where I was to find the extra time to prepare the rest of the potato patch. The ground is rock hard so the rain will be welcome. Sunday was spent at home on the fruit beds or more accurately the paths between the beds. I built the beds a week or two ago from 6x1 inches boards. The timber merchant calls them gravel boards. They are heavily impregnated with waterproofer. I made two beds 24" [600mm] by 16' [4m] and a third the same width but a bit longer. The fourth bed is straight down one side, parallel to the thin beds but the rest is irregular to fit into the end of the garden. There is a path at the end so that I can get round the back.

Bed 1 is to have Blueberry so in dug out all the soil down to 12" [300mm] and intend to fill the trench with ericasious peat [Lime free] because that's what Blueberries like. The soil filled out the adjacent border very nicely so that was a bonus.

Bed 2 is for Blackberries. I just double dug the bed adding a big bucket of manure into the base. The weeds were evicted and the the soil raked. We had a couple of Blackberry bushes from last year and a friend got me two from Norfolk this year. In they went in a nice neat row with a handful of BFB [Blood, Fish and Bone Fertilizer] .

Bed 3 is a for Raspberries. I treated this bed the same as bed 2. I did go to the trouble of lining the bed with weed control sheeting to keep the runners in the bed.

Bed 4 got he same treatment although I was running out of manure. I had a dozen Strawberries on hand for the short term, Two Gooseberries, Invicta and Windham's Industry [which are great names] and a Mulberry bush and yes I have enough room to go round it. Everyone the sees it sings the nursery rhyme, odd really. There is space left for more Strawberries as soon as I can blag a few from my lottie neighbours. All the beds where treated with a generous covering of bark chippings. The quango body have chaps trimming hedges and trees to prepare an area by the lottie for a return to nature. A return to nature by chopping and chipping trees - go figure?

My back garden is on a slope. Previous owners of the house had nice terraces cut into the slope to create level areas. The top one, where the fruits are, still has a gradient. Beds disguise the slope except for the path between beds 3 and 4. Having laid out the beds then fixed boards to create the outer edges of the path along the back and side walls it was just a matter of loosening up the soil, weeding it and raking it out. Easy when you say it quick. A couple of hours toil in the hot sun, there was no wind because this part of the garden is sheltered by high fences, and I was ready to fit the weed suppression membrane. The good lady took pity on me and made lunch and a tall cool drink. Once lunch was over it was an easy job to staple the membrane to the gravel boards of the beds. Then it was only a matter of tipping ten bags of bark chippings onto the membrane and raking in out into a nice path. That bit was quite therapeutic.

It did rain on Monday. Drizzle in the morning and a single heavy shower in the evening but the soil is so warm and dry it hardly penetrated. Just before tea the wife and I planted lettuce and salad leaves of various sorts and spring onions in her newly invented salad patch. It should be nice once things get going. Whilst we had a few minutes before tea we planted out some marigolds in the borders in the back garden and a drift of them in the front "garden". It would be a garden if it had more plants than soil.

So that was the three days. We managed to spend time together as a family. My girl managed to get shopping in with her mum and a "crazee" picnic with her friends on Monday. Her indoors and I managed to squeeze in a Saturday night out with friends at the pub, well actually several pubs -thanks Alan and Julie. H and I went for a walk on Monday. Nine miles round and about near home. It was a stiff walk in the heat and drying wind, except for the bit where it hammered down for the few minutes it took to walk across a field of long and now soaking wet grass. Thereafter it is soggy and cold - well damp and cooler.