Allotment working party & BBQ

Great fun on the allotment this morning as we took part in a big tidy up and making sure there are no holes in the fence where the rabbits can get through – a very important job indeed! K and I went round as much as we could and spotted two holes, which are now mended by the nice man with the wire cutting tools, hurrah!

Other people also did the mowing and strimming, so as a group we surely must be in the running for the Tidiest Allotments of the Year award. Should there be one … We also managed to tidy up and weed our own plot, and I picked four foxgloves to take home for display. Astonishing to have new foxgloves this time of the year, but most welcome.

Afterwards, we had a very nice barbecue indeed, and many thanks to Helen and all the organisers for a great event. Lovely to meet people and chat over a very tasty burger. And the cake was pretty special too.

Anne Brooke Books
Gay Reads UK
The Gathandrian Trilogy

Early peas and a spinach mystery

The allotment looks pretty good today – it rained a lot during the week so there was no need to do any watering. Instead we weeded the beds and gathered a small harvest. Much to our amazement the peas which are supposed to blossom in spring are already in flower and there are even two small pea pods on them. K harvested those, and took the rest of the flowers off. It seemed to be the most sensible thing to do.

In the meantime, the foxgloves are growing apace, so we may get a few cut flowers out of these before the season is over. And the nasturtiums look amazing!

However, the main mystery of the week is the everlasting spinach. I’ve been harvesting it regularly since we got the allotment, but today K decided to cut some of it down for the autumn. Um, apparently, not all of it is spinach after all! It’s actually … um … celery. Well, there’s a turn-up for the books. So possibly, a lot of what we’ve been eating is not spinach leaf but celery leaf, hey ho. We hang our heads in shame, eh!… Anyway, we’ve harvested some celery (proper) and will treat ourselves to it tomorrow.

Earlier, in the week, K also harvested a small amount of carrot, leek and beetroot – so lunch will be soup. K is the soup expert, so it will be good.

Anne Brooke Books
Gay Reads UK
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy

Autumn on the Allotment

Definitely an autumnal feel in the air on the allotment . K and I visited yesterday – I weeded whilst K watered. We’re not planning to plant anything else as it’s getting too late in the season.

I see my dwarf sunflowers are on their way out now – I deadheaded lots of blooms and there are only 2 or 3 left. That said, the verbena is doing very well, and that lone foxglove is now definitely in bloom – a last gasp before the winter sets in, I imagine. Whilst I’m at church this morning, K plans to go and harvest it so we can admire it in the house – as well as seeing if there’s any decent spinach left worth eating.

Sometime over the next few weeks, I think we’ll cut down the rest of the spinach and give that bed a thorough weed. We don’t want to actually take the spinach out though, as I gather it will come back next year and should give us another good crop. Only time will tell!

Anne Brooke Books
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy
Gay Reads UK

The Allotment Show and a dash of blight

Had a great time at the Allotment Show on Friday evening, and well done to Helen for deservedly getting Best in Show, and the essential cup! It’s very much encouraged K and me to have a go next year. I think we’ll try our hand at runner beans and squashes, but not the huge pumpkins – they’re amazing but probably quite tricky!

I’m tempted to try some dahlias too as I love flowers, but we’ll have to see if there’s space next year.

Anyway, Sunday morning I decided against church – I’ll go next week instead – so K and I weeded the allotment, and I – sadly – viewed our potato bed which has been devastated by blight. Sob! K dug it all up and he’s now replanted half the bed with spring onions, cos lettuces and chives. Not sure what we’ll put in the other half of the bed – maybe blight-resistant potatoes at some point? He also put poles up for the peas so we hope that will encourage them to reach for the stars, as it were.

The good news is that other things appear to be doing well – the leeks and carrots are growing apace, and the asparagus is absolutely huge. The marigolds are also putting on a good display, and – astonishingly, as surely it’s a spring flower? – there is one foxglove. Gosh! Today’s harvest for lunch has been spinach, two leeks and a few potatoes from the blighted crop, ah well.

 

Anne Brooke Books
The Gathandrian Fantasy Trilogy
Lori Olding – Children’s Author
Gay Reads UK