Considering cabbages.

You know, all you're going to see from our plot for the next month or so are pictures of brassica leaves.


They're the only things of any interest at the moment, and I'm strangely fascinated by them.


They've got pink bits on, for goodness sake! Pink bits!


How lovely.

Some of the garlic that Adam planted last Autumn is starting to shoot, but really, that's about it. We haven't yet chosen any seeds, bought potatoes to chit or decided what we do and don't want to do this year.

2010 has caught us on the hop. I'm. Just. Not. Ready!

Snapshot

Wow.

Mangocheeks at Allotment 2 Kitchen has tagged me for a Favourite Photo Meme. That's lovely. But also REALLY difficult to do! Thinking about which photo to select has made me realise how lucky I am - from having Adam and my friends and family, to enjoying open spaces, fresh air, fresh food, and great holidays, even keeping chickens - they all represent different aspects of a wonderful whole. Which is great, as 2010 hasn't been that brilliant so far. So thanks for making me think, Mangocheeks!

Ok, so an hour later, after scrolling through many more photos than I thought I had, here's my favourite picture (of the moment):

We went away to stay at a yurt in the Cotswolds last May, to celebrate us being together for ten years. The yurt was in its own little forest, in the middle of farmland, and was totally secluded. At night, the only light was from candles, the shower was a watering can hanging on the branch of a tree, and the toilet was a hole in the ground behind a willow screen. It was all pretty basic. At the time this photo was taken we'd been there all of ten minutes, but a campsite's not complete without a good campfire! I've never seen Adam more content than when roaming around 'our' forest with his axe, looking for suitable burning materials! The fact we had to start a fire and wait 15 minutes for the iron kettle to boil for any cup of tea forced us to slow down and take it easy. And you know what - it was a fantastic escape from real life. Which we all need now and again.

I'd love to go back.

Chill

Wow, it's still cold. Though the snow's starting to melt a bit. The red cabbage doesn't seem to want to let go of that last bit of ice.

Not a lot going on at the plot at the moment. But we've had some seed catalogues through the post so I guess it's that time of year again for looking back at what worked and what didn't, what tasted great, and what didn't, and planning and dreaming for the future.


brr.

Pictures galore!

As promised, dear readers, here are some pictures from Christmas...

Here's the garlic, under its thin blanket of snow:


And Oh! What's this hiding away?


Could it be...?


It is! A parsnip! Small, but perfectly(ish) formed.


But wait! There's more!


Parsnip number two!!!


I was most pleased.


And on another note, this is why chickens are called 'chicken'...















"What on earth...?!?!? No, I don't think so thank you. It looks far too cold."

Happy 2010!

Oh look, we seem to have vanished for a while there. Been busy-busy over Christmas, what with family, friends, birthdays and weekends at the seaside to fit in, but a belated Merry Christmas to you all, and best wishes for 2010!

There. Done the important bit.

So, we went down to the plot on Christmas morning to gather carrots and parsnips for lunch. And the parsnips were GREAT! The surviving two from my epic battle last spring to get the darn things to germinate were big enough, slightly gnarly, covered in mud, and truly delicious.

But! The brussels sprouts were rubbish. ("I'm not angry, just disappointed".) They're still only about 6 inches high, or 8 at a push, with the teeniest sprouts ever. Maybe we'll have some to eat in June...

What else... well, the garlic is still tucked up, hopefully not rotting in the soil and not killed outright by the days of snow. The red cabbage, cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli are also still growing away nicely, and not nibbled by pigeons.

I'll put some more pics on here later, I promise.

For now, you'll just have to enjoy a shot of our slightly bedraggled chickens after enjoying a 'dust' bath in the mud.


Eleanor Rigby ('Ellie') on the left, and Peggy Sue ('Pegs') shaking her comb on the right.

Festive

Foraged, picked, bottled and stored in the summer...


...now decanted and ready for Christmas. The blackberry vodka is par-TICK-ularly tasty :)

I'm starting to feel festive.

Catching up

Well, we're back from two weeks in the Indian sun. Now surrounded at home by a few heaps of washing, half-empty suitcases and a selection of hastily-organised Christmas gifts. (Note to self - if returning from holiday on a Sunday evening, consider booking the Monday off work too. Otherwise a week of exhaustion follows.)

Popped down to the allotment this afternoon, the first chance we've had since getting back from Goa. And everything seemed fine! The chilly weather has meant that the weeds haven't taken over as feared, though some of the grass is sneakily encroaching on the edges of the beds.

Last week my Garlic Lovers' Pack arrived (yey!)


So today we planted out about 100 individual cloves - nine different garlic varieties. Actually, ten, if you also count the garden-centre-bought garlic which Adam planted before we went away.

So we have ...

• Elephant Garlic - two MASSIVE cloves!
• Solent Wight
• Aquila Wight
• Early Large Purple Wight
• Lautrec Wight
• Iberian Wight
• Provence Wight
• Chesnok Wight
• Albigensian Wight
• and a random white variety from the garden centre. Can't find the label...

Here's Adam preparing four beds down at the bottom of the plot. And all four now have garlic in... That's going to be a lot of garlic!







And in other non-garlic-related news, the brassicas are doing well - the red cabbage especially is looking great. The brussels sprouts, however, are tiny! I'm not sure what's gone wrong this year but I doubt we'll have any to eat for Christmas. The plants are about 6 inches high and - although they're healthy-looking, the sprouts are about the size of a pea!