How I use my allotment

I can never think of snappy blog titles- this one is what it says it is! 

My allotment is to grow fruit, veg, and flowers- of course!  But it is also, for me, a touch of green, a link with the countryside, a chance to interact with wildlife and experience the changing of the year. 

Here in Walthamstow, East London, the great news recently was the successful prosecution of the first two people for spitting on the street.   (£80 fine, and no they didn't bother turning up in court). I do love living in London and I'll defend my "manor" to outsiders, but really the grey misery of it (in parts!) does get to me occasionally- and this is where the allotment comes in handy.  

Even if the outside impinges with the continued weekly mass thefts from virtually every plot on site, still the green-ness is there, the flowers, the colour, the birds and the still-ness.  I find myself become rather strange if I don't experience  this urban wild for a few days.  I have to be able to experience living things other than humans!

I've just listened to Radio 4's Ramblings in which a listener Cathy Dreyer took Toyah Wilcox on a short walk from her home that she plans to do 365 times- you can see her blog here: http://walkinginacircle.wordpress.com/     I really like this idea of walking the same route every day in all weathers and conditions- the idea of observing in depth the subtle or the larger changes every day. I get that from the allotment too- and I think back gardens can do the same- whether your world is large, or small, it's the detail that makes life more interesting, and can be calming and stimulating in turn.

So, here are some photos taken in the last week of things I am enjoying seeing and eating in the allotment and garden.

Tomato Review

Our tomatoes have been cultivated in three places with very varied results: in the allotment greenhouse in pots; the allotment outside; and in large tubs in our back garden. Most successful results were from our back garden- a sheltered south-facing spot; least successful were the outside tomatoes in the allotment- succumbing to a fast spreading blight early on. I'm reserving judgement on the greenhouse toms as they are still ripening.



Varieties:  this year I grew Sungold (cherry variety,  orange colour),  Gardener's Delight (cherry variety, red colour)  Moneymaker (large red, old favourite),  Roma (medium sized plum) and Bloody Butcher (bright red- a "heritage" variety).  The last two are new to me.  Here I must apologise to those I gave plants to this year- I completely muddled up my labelling!  How I managed this I don't know- I thought I'd been exceptionally organised, but everything has come out all wrong! Ho hum, I know the difference between the fruits by sight anyway.

Sungold: these were most prolific as always and produce the best flavour I believe for salads, and just popping in the mouth whilst gardening.  They also make up the bulk of the toms I oven cook with garlic, rosemary, sage, bay and any other herbs knocking around.  They haven't split on me very much this year.  A firm favourite with me.



Gardener's Delight: due to my mislabelling I didn't have many of these but I have found them to be tasty and a nice red colour and size, I'll always grow a few plants of these.


Moneymaker: due to my mislabelling I have loads of these in greenhouse- huge great fruits, mostly unripe.  Flavour has been ok, but much improved by grilling or other cooking.


Roma: sorry Roma, I won't be growing you again.  Cotton woolly insides, dry and tasteless. No improvement on cooking. Bleh. They look nice though. My search for a tasty plum tomato continues.


Bloody Butcher:  I love you Bloody Butcher! Dark red, juicy, rich tasting. Yum. Due to my mislabelling I have hardly any of these, but someone who I gave plants to has! Lucky them. I'll be growing them again, hopefully from seeds I collect myself this year.  Unlike the expensive Sungolds, they are not an F1 variety so should come true to the parent.


Problems:  On Sue Garrett's excellent allotment and garden blog http://glallotments.blogspot.co.uk/  she describes problems with blossom-end rot this year. I felt confident that I hadn't got this- but about a month or so ago I found that  I had, and for the very first time! It's been suggested that poor calcium uptake can cause this problem, so I made up a rough-and-ready solution of crushed eggs shells and watered it in.  I didn't have any more problems, but I think this was luck- I don't know that the plants would be able pick up the calcium from egg shells this way and at such a late stage- I think it was more to do with the watering regime- I actually eased off watering as the plants seemed damp enough.

Blight: I have my usual slight blight in the back garden towards the end of the season, and by judicious cutting back and getting the toms off I have fought it successfully. The plot was another matter- within two days the plants were overwhelmed and the fruits totally spoiled. The greenhouse has been healthy- so far.  Blight is so disgusting, handling the plants when ripping them out makes me feel queasy.


At home the dishes of green toms will continue to ripen off for months.  I monitor on a daily basis for any showing signs of blight and chuck'em, and we always manage to keep a few going until Christmas Day!

Finished my MA now back to the Allotment!

At last, after a four year battle, I have finished my MA in managing archaeological sites!  I nervously handed in the dissertation yesterday- on management strategies for historic museum gardens. The wonderful departmental secretary hugged me- I think she thought I'd never do it! What a relief and great thanks to everyone who has supported me over the years. 

Having the allotment and having this blog has helped- it's been really great to escape to the plot, even with manuscript in hand, to get a proper break.  And thinking that friends are reading my posts has been nice, as well as chatting with new bloggerfriends!  Sorry the blog posts have been a bit lax while I've been finishing the academic work. 

Well I will update properly, but since our broadband seems to have given up the ghost that might not be immediately!   What I will say is that sometimes big things from little things can grow (that is a half thought-out analogy about my MA but also refers to big sunflower  above and little sunflower below)

 

 

That analogy is rubbish on a number of levels, not least because little sunflower didn't grow into big flower- poor little sunflower just never got potted on- it's the same variety though!

 

And talking of small things- why have all my squashes failed?! This is the one still trying to grow: it would be spaghetti squash which usually taste of mush anyway.  Looks nice though.

 

 

 

Well I'll sign off before broadband gives up again. And next time I will tell you of my new love for a Bloody Butcher but indifference, bordering on disdain, for a Soggy Plum.



Potatoes have eyes.... they must be alive

I am enjoying the fact that our allotment potatoes are not shaped like those in the shops....and some are quite big. And slightly peculiar.

 Does it think it's an animal?

Is it alive?

What's that you say? You want to play?

Come on then, DO something

Mummy, it's not doing anything

Come on : let's play over there!

Any time you want to "chip" in with a suggestion....

This Arran Pilot isn't flying anywhere

Weirdo

Oh really. Enough.

Olympic Park one year on

Please indulge me as I relive a few Olympic/Paralympic horticultural memories, and introduce a glimpse of the park as it was in 2012, and as it is in 2013.  This time a year ago (plus a couple of weeks) I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of the Olympic Stadium and grounds, a few days before the opening ceremony.  I'd applied to be a Games Maker, and was accepted, but with great disappointment I had to withdraw due to the old ME, which I thought I'd be over when I'd first applied for the post a few years back. 

I was still generously invited to the final practice for the opening ceremony. It was fantastic: one of the best nights of my life- and the first thing that overwhelmed me was the stunning -and I have to say unexpected-  brilliance of the plantings immediately around the stadium and throughout the grounds. A-MA-ZING!  As I entered the park there were audible intakes of breath as the other guests saw the flowers for the first time, and then got on their mobiles to tell family and friends (me too!)

My first view of the stadium

This purple-mix photo was taken on a return visit- we were extremely fortunate in getting most of the Olympic and Paralympic tickets we applied for, so we got repeated views of the gardens too, which really held up over time.

The plantings were consistently good, a well maintained loosely structured "wild" effect. Prairie planting sat alongside areas themed by world regions. And they were really drawing in wildlife to this part of London which I well remember used to be a repository for piles of  tyres, fridges and old cars- all leaching toxic waste into the River Lea.

This plant (I later found out) is a Korean Angelica. Bad picture, but it was absolutely plastered with bees.  When I returned late in the season for a Paralympic event I took a couple of seeds (honestly there were tons, and they were just falling on the ground!), but now I can't find them!

Lots of umbilleferous (or however you spell cow parsley- like flowers) really attracted the insects including this damsefly.

The flowers complemented the broad sweep of the paths

Cornflowers mixed with grasses providing a relaxing area

I've returned to the former Olympic Park twice this year, including the first day a small section of it was opened to the public (it's just a short bus ride or 45 min walk away).

I was looking forward to seeing how the beautiful grounds have held up. Well the story at the moment is that there is absolutely nothing to see of the plants which so brightened the visits to the Park last year. Nothing. Some really dull wasteland weeds (not even Rosebay Willowherb!) Nothing else.

The story is the same all over the Park I've been told. The great news is the Lea and surrounding reedbeds look good still, and there is plenty of birdsong in that area and wee fish in the tributary streams.  There have been a number of trees planted, and some new beds around a lovely well-designed beech-clad cafe (approximately on the site of the basketball stadium). The flowerbeds around this are ok, slightly unimaginative, and a bit sparse at the moment, but with potential! 

I look forward to the Park's development over the next few years. The hard landscaping has held up well, and there is plenty of potential for wildlife and remodelled flowerbeds. I'll certainly visit many times again, especially if the cake at the new cafe is as good as the first time we went!  I do wonder though if the gardens will ever reach the same high standard as 2012's golden Para/Olympic year.

Plottety is Theft

Sorry, worst pun ever.  Still you have to laugh. Or do you- when our allotment site is subject to almost daily raids now? As soon as crops are ready for the pot, they are being stolen.  The best plots are targeted- hence not ours- yet. But I expect it will be, unless something is done. Which it isn't.    

This doesn't seem like the actions of vulnerable folk in desperate straits needing a free meal. Along with new potatoes they take mint to go with them, and a nice bunch of parsley.  Some tasty garlic (the whole crop of course) goes well with that, and those just perfect courgettes will set the whole thing off.  I would estimate that over half the plots have had a considerable amount taken so far.

About two weeks ago many plot holders joined in an online chat to decide what to do, and it was thought early morning patrols in groups would be the best bet.  Unfortunately this hasn't been given any official support and the idea has died a death.  I think we should also report every incident to the police, who will have to log it, and eventually perhaps the sheer scale of reports will lead to something being done.  No one wants to head the "Anti Social Behaviour" league.  A nearby Walthamstow road already has a top place in the country-wide league of most burgled streets. Perhaps the two are linked. 

Whatever happens, something must be done.  People are talking of leaving, and certainly in our position we simply cannot afford the money spent on seeds and potting compost etc to see the whole lot be taken just as it is ready. 

No pictures with this. But any advice welcome.

News Round-up: what we are doing and Snakes, Moths, and things to eat.

A lot has been happening!  Since I've finally finished the last two essays of my MA I feel I can blog again! I still have a dissertation to go by September but I'm getting there.....and the plot is a nice place to escape to!

We have had a slightly fraught allotment site AGM: new rule changes demand a seasonal cycle of activities on each plot including clearing all the ground by March, manuring shortly after, planting all done by June etc..... I didn't vote for it as it's not how we want to do things, and can't clear away all the perennials and structural elements. The rule was passed by a single vote and left a residue of grumbling.

Today is the inter-site competition for best kept plots, which we won't win because a) we didn't enter b) I can't seem to grow neat rows of great looking veg and c) I'm just not that into the idea. I'm aware of some allotment sites  where there are prizes for most bee-friendly and most wildlife-friendly plot: sounds more broad-minded! Talking of wildlife:  SNAKES ALIVE- was I shocked to see a poor 3-foot viper lookalike tangled in our netting.



Not our snake: Picture courtesy of  Friends of Lancing Ring wildlife site http://www.glaucus.org.uk/LancRin2.htm

I recognised it as a grass snake (dull greyish colour, not all zig-zaggy) but still had a primal wish not to get bitten as it hissed and writhed. After a few attempts with secateurs I called L who legged it to the site in 4 minutes flat with a pair of sharp scissors, and then following a titan struggle with the mega-beast we got it fully free, and it shot off looking unharmed, but leaving us stinky with the snake-wee it emits to deter predators.  We were chuffed to know there was a snake on the plot, but immediately removed all netting!  Adders have a painful bite, which may cause severe health problems so be careful with those, but apparently you should be fairly safe with a grass snake. 

Two days later I saw a dead hedgehog on the next plot- a very sad looking little thing. Was it the snake or the copious amounts of (banned) creosote which have just been splashed around the communal areas? It equally could have been the hot weather, or slug pellets and rat poisons... who knows.  

Better news is that just around the same time we found two gorgeous garden tiger moths-  the population of these has plummeted in the last few years, but reports suggest this has been a good year, as it seems to have been for other moths and butterflies.

When the moths were tucked under Crocosmia Lucifer they were quite well disguised in the dappled shade.  

As well as revelling in wild beasties we have enjoyed a huge crop of delicious cherries, together with raspberries, strawberries,  and red and black currants. Veg-wise we have had a good few french beans (Blue Lake and Cobra) whilst the mange-tout and peas have more or less finished. The perpetual spinach tastes pleasantly spinachy. We have also been cropping Cavalo Nero leaves- this is supposed to be grown and eaten through the winter months but our plot neighbours kindly gave us some rather well grown plants which are thriving right now. The potatoes - bog standard (probably) Arran Pilots- have been wonderfully new-potatoey. To go with the mint, which is, you've guessed it, pleasingly minty!

Last week was my birthday, thank you for the allotmenty cards and presents I received! And thank you allotment for the lovely bunch of flowers and the raspberries you provided for my cake!