Allotment Diary 2011 Me: 78 hrs He: 69 hrs

My intention today was to just mow the lawn in our gardens - to pick up some of the Autumn leaves, but Mr L wanted to go up the allotment and help me finish off the 'move'.

Three and a half hours we were up there - and not another soul was up there for even part of the time!

Still we got done everything we wanted to in order to give up the 'lump' of the allotment that I want to.

We mowed all the paths of the sections we wanted to give up.

And it's looking neat and tidy - we even moved all the stuff ready to compost!

Wish it looked like this when I took it over years ago.   But instead it was covered with perrennial weeds as tall as me.  40 carpets in different stages of rotting, lots of discared metal, rubbish, chunks or wood, old kitchen units - you name it - we found it in amongst all the weeds!

This post is just for my records so that if no-one takes it over quickly - as least I  can prove that it was left in pristine condition.

I rescued some Patti Pan squash and some courgettes.

 

Roasted red peppers not grown by me!

 I added onions, garlic, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, marrow, pumpkin, cabbage, and more....

Roasted three trays of it all in the oven, stirred it half way through, added a few spices, and roasted it some more.  We had some with our lunch - and I've bagged the rest for freezing - we have around 30lbs of different combinations of my ratatuille - it's such a treat in the winter, and we hardly have to buy any vegetables until Spring.

Bumper crop - bumper cook up

Well, after yet more harvesting we had another bumper harvest too much to process and freeze in one day - so we tackled what we could, and today I had a bumper cook up.

Here is the list...........
Pattie pan squash
Green squash
Courgettes
Cabbage
Runner
Pumpkins
Tomatoes
Potatoes - the tiny ones, damaged ones
Roasted red peppers (from a jar)
Onions

I filled up four baking trays, and roasted the mixes for 45 minutes.

Allotment Diary 2011 Me: 74.5 hrs He: 65.5 hrs

 We have been spending time harvesting this past week or so, and have cooked lots of Ratatouille and frozen another ten pounds of mixes.  These photos I took yesterday.

I reluctantly had to prune this boisenberry/blackberry bush down.  It cost a fortune years ago when I bought it as a little cutting, and it has thrived and grown and produced the best yield ever this year.   I had a mind to dig it up and bring it home and plant it in our garden - but it's got such a big root on it that decided it's not worth the effort - so when the new plotholders take over this bit of my allotment they will be getting a bed full of different fruit bushes, a row of Comfrey plants (or should I dig them up and sell the roots on ebay?)   I started off with just one root I bought online and gradually increased my stock.

 

It makes a nice border on the left and is pretty when it gets flowers.  If I get the time I will clip it all down and compost the leaves.   

 

I just need to mow the paths one last time, dig up some gooseberry bushes, before giving this part up.

I will be sad to let this go, but it takes me very many hours to keep it in tip top condition, and now that my produce is being stolen, it seems a total waste of precious time from sowing seeds, growing the plants, planting, weeding, mulching, mowing, only to end up without a full crop.

 

But I will have 150ft x 33ft left.  The person did steal all my courgettes from this end of the plot, but perhaps they won't next year.  And it will take me  half the time that it does now to keep this under control - and I'll grow a fraction of the crops - but more at home.

Whilst up there yesterday  -  at the top end of our allotment field was a black chicken running around.  I didn't have the time or energy to go and investigate to see if there were any more.  I daresay that someone had released it into the fields beyond our plots - they just don't realise how cruel it is.

Chickens can't survive in the wild - apart from the obvious predators, they are more likely to die of thirst!

Allotment Diary 2011 Me: 69 hrs He: 63 hrs

We went up the allotment last weekend and picked lots of runner beans, dug up some more potatoes, which were huge - the ones that David gave us which were free from his son.  We also picked pumpkins, courgettes, Boisenberries, etc.

Today we went up there for an hour or so, before the heavens opened.   I was shocked to find that someone had stolen two of my four large cabbages, all my ready to eat courgettes, and I am sure a couple of pumpkins as well.   I noticed that a gate I had secured with a big chunk of metal had been breached and the cabbages which were hidden in a bed in the fruit cage and netted, had the net taken off and the bare holes where the cabbages had been ripped out.  Nasty, nasty, person.

I am giving up a big chunk of my middle plot, and leaving myself with just a third of a plot - if I get produce stolen or any damage next year then I will give up the plot altogether.

Patrick picked some more Boisenberries, and I picked almost a full bag of lovely runner beans - from just the few plants I had.  I also picked three large orange pumpkins which grew on the compost bins, a couple of small ones, some lovely pattie pan courgettes - obviously the thief didn't like these, just the normal green ones, some little yellow squash - which he missed, and a couple of large courgettes which had turned into marrows.

I was so flipping cross, I felt like giving up all the plot.  To think that over the  years I have given away so many of my crops to other plot holders, and neighbours and even strangers who wander up there now and again.  This year when I haven't been able to grow much because of the hot sunshine, someone goes and steals stuff.

It has to be someone who has a plot up there - as the cabbages were hidden and not visible unless you know they were there.

Still - I have just paid my rent for this year - £6 - which is a bargain, notified Mrs M of the theft and my giving up part of the plot - leaving me with just a third.

Off to bag up a big couldron of cooked plums and apples we got on holiday

I have been getting emails and messages from lovely folks because I have made my allotment/chicken/gardening blog  available by invitation only.

This was not done to exclude anyone - it's just that I am taking a break from blogging.  There's lots going on, and I really don't want the extra pressure of regular blogging.

If I leave the blog up, not updated, unloved, then after time spam messages start appearing, and it gets taken over - so I thought 'suspending' it for a while was the best route to take.

Thank you all for your very many visits, emails and comments - so very much appreciated.

I'll leave this message up for a week, with the 'anybody can view' setting in place - then will revert back to the previous setting, until I have something worthwhile to type about.

TTFN

Peckinghan Palace summer clean

First thing this morning before Mr L was up, I bagged up all the cooked mixes from yesterday.  I ache after all the work I did up the allotment yesterday and all the food preparations, so intended to sit about and have an easy Sunday.  But it's hard for me to sit still!

 So I decided to give Peckingham Palace a real good clean.  I clean it out every two weeks, and give it a scrub as and when it needs it, but hadn't pressure washed it so far this year - so that's what I did.

Firstly I got Mr L to help me wheel it onto the lawn and off it's paved area.

 Then I dismantled it bit by bit.

 Shovelled up all the hemcore bedding ready for me to pressure wash the slabs later.

 Which I did - they needed to dry off so don't look good in the above photo

 I pressure washed everything, making sure to concentrate on any holes in the mouldings to get rid of any spiders, or creepy crawlies that might be lurking there.  Thank goodness it is made of plastic, including the roosting bars - it makes cleaning so much easier. I left everything out in the sun to dry.

Whilst I pressure washed all the framework, the roosting bars, the plastic tarp - the lot, then put it all back together again.

 The chickens came and inspected my handiwork and gave it their approval, and happily went to bed this evening without any trouble.

I'll be leaving it in this position for a week, then moving it across still on the grass for another week, then returning it back onto the patio the following week.  The reason being that for some of the time in the second week they will need to be 'confined to barracks', and being used to freeranging all day,  I always feel so guilty that they don't have any lawn to play on.  They get fresh cabbages cut from my garden each day, and have plenty of room to run about in - but you can't beat a nice lawn to scratch about in can you.

I know that I am a silly soppy, and you'll be thinking, 'they're only chickens for goodness sake' but at least I know that they'll be happy whilst they are confined to their pen.

They all got a dusting of Diatom - as did Peckingham Palace as usual - and the girls got a drop of liquid louse preventative too - just in case - it's been a really hot summer!

Allotment Diary 2011 Me: 66 hrs He: 60 hrs

Well we managed to go up the allotment before the heavens opened and the day progressed with thunder and hailstones almost all of the day until around 4pm

I was determined just to make a quick visit to pick any runner beans that were ready........but.....

 

As usual I got distracted and we ended up weeding around the runner beans and squashes

 

These are the Patty and Pan are really prolific, so I must remember to plant them again next year

 Mainly pumpkins here and yellow and green round courgettes

 

The climbing beans, which I thought were a failure this year due to the drought - have picked up and despite losing quite a lot, I got almost a bag full today of runners, flat italian, and french beans

 These are some of the Patty Pan, the bigger ones were as big as my hand, but were still soft and tender

 

Out of sequence - but had to record my cabbages up the lottie - really large and I am pleased with them

I bought one strip of the seedling from Attleborough market - a bargain!

 Courgettes ready to be prepared for the roast mix I made

 

My first chillies went into the mix too -very very hot!

 My blackberry and boisenberry cross - second picking

 

These are the veggie mixed ready for the oven.

I used, all the squash and courgettes, 2 jars of Lidl roasted peppers, one whole bulb garlic smashed, three onions, all the chillies, potatoes (odds & ends of new spuds - little ones and damaged ones, the 'free' unplanted ones)   4 tins Lidl tomatoes with basil (fabulous), tube of tomato pesto - cooked for half an hour.   No room for climbing beans this time.

 Chickens queuing up to be let out at breakfast

 

Fresh little cabbage from garden, a bit holey! 

 

It tasted really really delicous. we had loads with roasted chicken wing on a breast with chicken seasoning. 

(Looks a lot more tomatoe=y in real life.  Froze 12 x 1lb bags for the freezer

Chicken Fix

Here is a quick chicken 'fix' for those who have contacted me suffering from withdrawal symptoms

I haven't been on the internet much - but have been out and about here there and everywhere - nothing of interest unless you like DIY stores!

 

It's raining really hard today, but that doesn't stop the girls from having fun 

At the back from L-R you can see Mary, Daisy, Poppy and Maudie.

Daisy and Maudie have been moulting lately so do not look their fluffiest best.

Below them on the right is Bluebell on her own.

Then there is dolly with her back to us, Freckles with a side on portrait posing, and Zola Buddy Bantam

At  the front as always is Gozzie Rosecomb, and Willow - who does a perfect impression of Charlie Chaplain when she walks and runs.

 

Henrietta on the right, the old English Game bird she's gorgeous

 

Dolly's decided to face the camera for a change!

Snowy the silver Sebright is in Peckingham Palace laying and egg!

Harvest Time

 At last the tomatoes are ripening - and jolly tasty they are too!

We bagged up 90lbs of potatoes.  I grade them into sizes, small, medium, large, and 'jacket' potato size.  The 'rejects' tiny one, ones accidentally stabbed when  digging up go into the fridge drawers to be used first.  Nothing gets wasted

 Four bags of mixed beans (these are bit dusty) got topped and tailed sliced and washed.

 The pumpkins were getting far too big, so I picked some to ripen at home.

 Marrows and courgettes - will be turned into roasted veggie mixes

 I have now blanched and frozen 8 lbs of mixed beans - some of which are above, packed 8oz to a bag.

And finally this week, I picked 2lbs of luscious blackberries now washed and frozen.

We'll have lots of fabulous food for the winter months.

Allotment Diary 2011 Me: 64.5 hrs He: 59.5hrs

 We spent four and a half hours up the allotment this week, and areas we had weeded  just two weeks ago, looked as though they hadn't been done at all

 

I decided to get serious, so not only dug up all the weeds, 

 

I dug up everything, onions, potatoes, even a stray comfrey plant.

 

I harvested courgettes, marrows, pumpkins, Italian beans, runner beans, French beans, borlotti beans

 

Everything has gone crazy - in a good way (well apart from the weeds)

 

The mulching with grass cuttings I did between the rows of these potatoes worked well, and we made a start on digging up the 2nd early spuds.

 

I have some fine looking huge cabbages waiting to be harvested.

 

O.K.  I know this 'after' photo looks ugly, but trust me, I have tried all sorts of organic methods with mustard, and other mulching plants - and they have all been unsuccessful in keeping the weeds at bay after harvesting.  We get docks and thistles, and bindweed as well and the annual weeds, and it is just too much work for me to keep up with.  So part of my 250ft x 33ft plot just has to be covered when the crops are in.