Our patch of earth: Beer garden weather

How it began...

So, we’d spent time walking past our local allotments, getting more and more interested in the mysterious things that other people were growing and the ingenious uses that people had found for stuff that non-allotmenteers would probably term ‘junk’.

In March 2007, we spoke to our council, and discovered that our local allotments aren’t council owned - it turns out they’re held in trust. So, we decided to find the secretary. We spoke to Mike and Louise who were really welcoming and enthusiastic, then eventually tracked down Alan the secretary and, a few weeks later, we chose a plot with a little blue shed, a water butt, a small bench, and a patch of oregano.

We dug. It was April, and for those of you who remember April 07, it was hot, hot, hot. The ground was like rock. Adam was having to jump onto the fork to get it into the soil. But we persevered – this was our new veggie patch! We had plans for a herb garden over there, and some rows of beans over here, a compost heap at the back and flowers planted down the edges… until, one week in, a little old Italian lady turned up and claimed the plot was hers. Wah! Much confusion ensued, until we decided we’d rather not have the hassle and uncertainty, and much less be known as the new guys who kicked a little old lady off her plot. Gracious, no.

So we found a new spot. South facing, with rhubarb, gooseberry bushes (I didn’t know they were spiky!), a damson tree (which we thought were plums to start with – till mum made Damson gin and we recognised the fruit) and the Biggest Strawberry Patch In The World.

Twas overgrown, tis true, but much better than plot number 1. Hurrah for little old Italian ladies!

And two sheds! His and Hers, obviously, mainly because mine isn’t quite tall enough for Adam to stand upright in. So, mine has the tea and coffee making facilities, small gas stove, radio, seed packets on nails and an assortment of gardening gloves, while Adam’s has all the manly things – tools, wooden crates, useful bits of wood, tangled netting and carefully wound up bits of wire.

So the digging had to begin, again. After assessing the plot, with some useful hints and random-plant-identifying by Mike, we headed home to get forks and other digging equipment. Ten minutes later we returned to our overgrown plot to hear a strange buzzing noise, and find Mike strimming all the thigh-high weeds with his petrol strimmer! Thanks Mike! A good start to our compost heap… (Add 'build compost heap' to the To Do list.)

And then, half an hour later, as we’re just beginning to curse the sun for being too hot and the earth for being too hard, around the corner of our sheds comes our saviours Mike, Louise and their mate Ali, on white stallions, (no, not really) all brandishing forks and ready to help us dig, till we’d dug the same amount we’d done on plot no.1. Bless ‘em.

And then it was all go! Nine months later, 2008 seems promising. We've read many, many more books, got more ideas and got much more ambitious. And we've actually grown stuff which tasted gooooood. It could still all go horribly wrong, but even if it does I can guarantee we'll still get some tasty fruit and veg from between the weeds, all for a few pence, and a bit of blood, sweat and tears... (well, hopefully not the blood or the tears... just good ol' elbow grease.)

And a bit of help from our friends and family. Any time, chaps - you're very welcome! We'll get the kettle on...

Sounds fun, eh?

Wednesday 29 April 2009

Beer garden weather

Last Sunday was a lovely day. We went to the plot but weren't feeling particularly industrious for some reason, so we didn't get loads done, but just enough. Adam planted the maincrop potatoes 'Cara', and I sowed another row of peas and broad beans, then I mostly mooched around taking pictures.

There was just so much blue sky and fluffy clouds and flowers and new green growth, I ended up lying on the ground in strange positions trying to get my camera at the right angle to capture what I could actually see.

The mange tout Sian sowed are just starting to poke their heads above the soil. The broad beans are doing well (though must remember to try overwintering this year as some plots have at least a month's headstart on ours) and the peas are also reaching for the sky. Need to get some twiggy sticks in there...

Weevils have already started taking notches out of the peas and broad beans, but they don't seem to do any real damage to the actual crop? Is that right? Anyway, everything looks quite pretty with little crimped edges!

The purple-sprouting broccoli has well and truly bolted, but I don't mind, it's so beautiful...

And what about the rhubarb? I know I've squawked about the colour before, but I think it deserves another 'wow'... More sweet, sugary compote has now been made - delicious swirled through greek yoghurt, or double cream and natural yoghurt a la Granny's Barbados Cream. Yum!

2 comments:

Shaheen said...: Sometime mooching around is worth it...you have taken some lovely photo's showing the natural colours at the plot, nice change from the soil brown and the green of grass and weeds.; 2 May 2009 at 16:05
Nic said...: Right, you have inspired me; tomorrow I shall do imaginative things with rhubarb. I've pulled my purple sprouting broccoli up today because it looked like yours and I needed the space to plant out my broad beans. Are you still setting seeds then? I might plant some more, I thought it was too late now.
I've had words with the pigeons, if they start eating my beans like they have been my cabbage, I might have to make pie out of them ;); 2 May 2009 at 20:03

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Wednesday 29 April 2009

Beer garden weather

2 comments: