A 'Net' Profit!

So the tentative trek back to the allotment after some 2 weeks of non attendance was taken. Actually, not too bad!

On arrival it was a depressing sight with the grass once again about knee height or over on the areas that have still to be cleared. Definitely time to borrow that petrol strimmer again… thoughts of a rotivator have been quashed by my two elderly gurus who are always free with their advice. All I will do, I am assured, is chop the weeds into 50 pieces that will all grow again. If I can get some help to dig out all the weeds first then perhaps a month or two of weeding after that might be the time to consider it.

To lift my gloom I decided to make the grass invisible and see what was growing and what was not. I was pleasantly surprised. My broad beans that I planted last in October last year (Aquadulce Claudia) are doing well despite the recent drought. Having never grown them before I am the first to confess I do not really know what I am looking for. I was expecting to see a lot of black and white flowers in clusters up and down the stems looking almost like huge insects. I had certainly seen a few last time I had a look at them, but they were gone. There were some that looked like they may have been munched. However there were also some nice fat pods, probably more than I could see at first glance. I have decided not to pick, but to wait and see what a couple of days brings. I am not even sure what they are supposed to look like when they are ready; I have been told it is personal preference and that just feeling the pods will tell you how large or small they might be.

I have done a little research. Common broad bean complaints are that they are tough and a bit boring. I have decided on a kind of recipe which will involve double podding the beans. I will pick them and then pod them, boiling the beans in their individual shells. Then I will slip them out of their little jackets just leaving the tender very centres. These will then be stirred into a risotto. What else will go into the risotto I don’t know, but I will keep you posted!

Onto other things. My onions seem to be struggling. I put in autumn sets last October, both red and white. The whites do seem to be growing, but there is no great size. The reds have lovely thick green tops, but one I unearthed accidentally was exactly the same size as when it was put in. What a disappointment. My understanding of these early varieties was that I could harvest them in May. Well I think July is looking more likely if I am honest. We will just have to see what happens.

The plants I was feeling most nervous for were the cauliflower, summer and autumn cabbages and purple sprouting broccoli that I put in two weeks ago. I had been careful to construct a net system over them, but even so I was quite convinced that yesterday’s enemy of choice, the snail, would have wreaked absolute devastation. I was pleasantly surprised! The net has been an absolute life saver. I had been warned before I even thought of planting brassicas of any kind that I would be wasting my time if I did not construct a net cage over them immediately. Cabbage whites would land almost as I was planting them and have them nicely obliterated once the caterpillars hatched. There is not a mark on any of them and they are all at least twice the size of when I planted them. I think I felt that first flush of contentment that something was actually noticeably growing on the plot. So the stress about the net was absolutely worth while. Top tip of the day.

Now how about enemy of the day. Well yesterday was snails, today it’s bindweed! I hate the stuff and my plot is absolutely riddled with it. I spent the best part of an hour getting the damn stuff out.

Finished off with a thorough soaking for the broad beans and brassicas. Lovely hot weather today so I did not want to risk leaving them. I have been told by several sources that if you don’t water anything else, you must water the brassicas or they will bolt. So I did as I was told and wandered home with a satisfaction tainted with guilt about the state of the place.