more growing, less typing

I've been neglecting this blog, so my apologies.

However, you will be pleased to know that I haven't been doing quite so badly on the allotment. It is still a running battle between us and the weeds, but we are winning in enough areas to have some decent crops going on.

So, a catch up post. In May things just kept on growing. I was away on Skye for a while, but everything survived my absence. The summer squash and courgettes went into the beds, the salad started filling out the bath and the peas and beans grew like crazy.


In June this first bit of June we have got our scarlet kale in, potted up our peppers and chillis to bigger pots, saw the Jerusalem artichokes shoot up, and loads of fruit and flowers appear.

The tomatoes have started to flower, the vintage wine and red robins are furthest along: the biggest and smallest fruit.


And the sweet peas have been planted to grow up the old metal frame we put in our flower 'meadow'.

Clean House

Today we decided to clean out the greenhouse ready for the new season.



So is has now been scrubbed out with insecticidal soap, under the benches have been sort of tidied, and trays and propogator cleaned out.

Once that was done we decided to try starting off some peas and beans in the propagator. It is a bit early really but we figured it was worth a go as we have some little biodegradable pots very cheap the other week, so we can put them in the propogator, out in the greenhouse, then out into the coldframe before transferring them to the ground when they are a bit bigger without disturbing their roots.

We have sowed 4 broad beans, 4 starlight pea, 4 early kelvedon wonder, and 4 ambassador. Last year, we didn't do successional sowing, so ended up with a glut. Next lot of the same can get sowed in 4 weeks. Dwarf beans and runner beans later in the season.


We also put some mushroom spawn in a try under the bench, not sure it is warm enough yet for it really. It is also an old packet from last year, which has got a bit damp at some point so it may not sprout anyway. We will see.

New Bed

Our beans are doing rather well in their drain pipe, so we decided it was time to prepare a bed for them to go into. To one side of the potato, bean, and cabbage beds there was a space next to the fence, filled with weeds and grass and an old chair. A frame was constructed, the space cleared and a new bed installed.


We haven't put the beans in yet, we are going to let them get a bit bigger, but we sowed some peas in there. Hopefully we will get some autumn peas and beans from that bed to freeze for over winter. We've surrounded the place where we've sown the peas with copper mesh tape to try and keep the slugs off the seedlings.

Salad

I mentioned a salad a few posts ago, pea, bean and mint. We are going to have it again tonight with a little paté and bread on the side.


These are the raw ingredients from the allotment (well we won't use all those peas and the tomatoes will be with the bread and paté). I'll pop back and post another picture once I've assembled it all with the lidl feta.

[edit to add photos]

Check out those colours! The plates have orange and red tomato slices laid out alternately.

Mmmmmmm-mmmmmmm

Harvests continue aplenty.


Latest recipe is a pea, bean, feta and mint salad. Equal amounts of peas and broad beans, then proportionally slightly more feta, and as much mint as you fancy (lots!). Mix in with salad leaves and add lemon juice and olive oil to dress. It's fantastic.

Also good were noodles with chilli (3 tiny ones from our plant), bacon and peas, topped off with caramelised shallots and finely sliced plum tomato. The tomatoes were the first from one of our plants and they taste fantastic, really fragrant.


I'm now wondering what to do with cucumber (no sniggering at the back) as we have two approaching readiness. I've seen a garlic chicken and cucumber recipe on the beeb site that looks promising, and also cucumber salsa to serve with fish, so I might try those. And there is always tzatziki (sp?) and raita.


We also made raspberry and strawberry cheesecake, doesn't really count as from the allotment as only the fruit on top didn't come from the shop, but I had forgotten how good proper homemade cheesecake tastes. Really simple too: digestives, butter and sugar for the base; cream cheese, greek yoghurt, double cream, and icing sugar for the top. Just add fresh strawberries and raspberries.


Mmmmmmm-mmmmmmm