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.

Mid-season Blues

You got an allotment. You went and saw a semi-wasteland jungle stretching out before you. You put on your rose-tinted spectacles, paid your money and dreamed of 'this time next year' when you would never have to buy another vegetable, would have beautiful, neat, organised vegetable beds that would not only be brimming with good food but would look delightful as well. Not only that, but you would be an organic farmer, and you and the slugs and snails and other nasties would co-habit as peaceful neighbours.

You suddenly realise a year later that actually there are still only the two tiny in-roads masquerading as vegetable beds that you dug out in your first flush of enthusiasm, the jungle is very much still like a scene from a Vietnam film and frankly it has all got rather embarassing.

Well panic not, you are not alone.

Unless you are supremely dedicated and have lots of time on your hands, the painful truth is that at some time or another you will feel depressed about your allotment nad wonder what on earth you were thinking. My personal experience is that this usually happens in mid to late spring when somehow all those green-fingered allotmenteers with the plots surrounding yours have dug over their entire ground and have the smug look of someone who will have crops of new potatoes, early peas and onions while you are still weeping over your weeds and dandelions.

Take heart. As the old cry goes, 'Keep Calm, Carry On'! Remember that your allotment is just that, yours. Do not measure yourself against the Percy Thrower style, RHS obsessive allotment owners who are often retired and have the time to do these things to perfection. That is not a criticism on them, but we can hardly be expected to do as well can we?

Don't give up your allotment, follow me with mine and you will not feel so bad!

This weekend I thought about, with a due sense of guilt, the weeds that must be overtaking the beds I have mangaged to salvage, and worse, the slugs and snails and other pests that are bound to have eaten all but the tiniest trace of the brassicas I put in a fortnight ago. The weather was rubbish, so rather than go up and try to wade knee deep in mud to see what could be rescued I decided to be proactive instead of reactive and put up a little greenhouse and planted some more seeds.

If all has gone horribly wrong, I should, in three weeks or so have some lovely cos, lambs and raddichio lettuces to plant out, some Kelevdon Wonder peas and Shirley tomato plants to pot on.

And I am sure that the onions must still be alive.....