no-meeting meeting

We had our allotment AGM the other day, but unfortunately there weren't enough people there to hold it formally (we needed over half of all the plots represented). However whilst quite a few of us were there we decided to have an informal chat about various things: the workdays we had last year, the bank balance, security (as always), plans for attracting some cash, help and materials, and the progress with the community garden which is in the process of being created on the eastern edge of our site.

So, it turned out to be a pretty good and informative meeting in the end. Especially good for us, as we hadn't been to one before as we got our plot in Feb last year.

I have volunteered to be on the committee too as they were looking for some new faces, and someone else has done too, so hopefully a bit of new blood will keep the energy levels up. I'm looking forward to helping out - the work days were good fun last year, and I'm sure we can build on them this year.

Frosty Windy New Year

We went down to the plot for the first real amount of time since the New Year the other day. There had been high winds earlier in the week and our fence had been knocked over (which pepette kindly told us about through this blog) so we firstly fixed that. Not much else had been damaged or whisked away by the wind, and the only damage was caused by a bit of corrugated plastic from someone another plot landing on our broccoli and sprouts. Fortunately our broccoli and sprouts were rubbish anyway so we haven't really lost anything there.

We got the stove going pretty quickly which kept us warm while we were there, which was enjoyable.



We have bought some seeds from Garden Organic and some seed potatoes and jerusalem artichoke slips. We plan to get a little heated propagator for home to start off some things, and to start off some others in the greenhouse soon. When it is a little bit warmer. For now I think it is a matter of clearing up some of the beds (pulling out the rubbish broccoli) and covering some with plastic to try and warm them up.

So those are the next jobs, and the fixing up of our shed floor and a bench, and the LeanHouse™ and a bench for there too.

chillies

Our chilli plant shave been shorn of their ripe fruits now, and we have made them into strings for drying.





We have made chilli jam with some of them and, delightfully, the plants now seem to be flowering again in the warmth of our kitchen, so there may be more chillies to come.

Threading them made our eyes water, the piercing them with the needle seemed to release a lot of spice and had me coughing a lot.

Chutney

Well although not much is going on in the allotment right now we are cracking on with our Christmas gifts of chutney and marmalade.

We have apple jelly and rhubarb chutney in the cupboard from earlier this year, have just made orange and ginger marmalade (not with homemade ingredients!), and have made the first batch of tomato and chilli chutney which has our chillies and garlic in it. I got this recipe from someone on the Guardian forums and it always goes down a storm:

Sweet Chilli Jam
This makes a pathetically small amount, in my opinion. So I double it. Or quadruple it (amounts in brackets are for the quadruple amounts which makes approx 5 x 8oz jars).

2 (8) cloves garlic, chopped
2 Inch (8 Inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 (12) small fresh red chillies, deseeded if you wish, and roughly chopped. NB: you can use green chillis, but it may dull the eventual colour - doesn't affect the taste though.
8 oz (32 oz) tomatoes, skinned and chopped; you can use tinned tomatoes if you wish.
1 tsp (4tsp) vegetable bouillon powder
2 fl oz (8fl oz) cider vinegar
5.5 oz (22 oz) soft brown sugar.

Prepare all the ingredients down to and including the tomatoes. Put them, and the bouillon powder, into a blender and blend to a smooth puree.

Pour the puree into a pan and add the vinegar and sugar; stir well. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes until thick, stirring occasionally and ensuring that it doesn't burn. Test for thickness/set on a cool plate, as you would with jam.

Cool slightly, and pour into sterilised jars and seal. If not using immediately, store in a cool dark place. Once opened, keep refrigerated.

It is lovely stuff and this batch is very hot! Our chillies are very spicy and we left the seeds in. Once we have made another 2 batches or so we will dry the rest of the chillies on strings hung up in our kitchen so that we have them for the rest of the year.

Do beware if you make this chutney as it gets very spitty when simmering, our kitchen ended up speckled with red.

Helloooooooooo!

I haven't posted for a while, but I promise we have been doing some stuff at the plot.

Most things are over, but some tomatoes are still going (in the lean house), chilies are ripening, and various kinds of salad are going (also in the lean house). The Christmas Potatoes are also coming on well, and I'm quite excited about them.

So, what have we had?

The last courgette before the frost was more of a marrow, I took it to my Mum's and we stuffed it with couscous and topped it with goats cheese, which was lovely:



We took up the rest of the potatoes shortly after the frost too, they are fantastic, a beautiful colour and flavour:




I made a thai potato curry with some tonight:



I'm also ripening some of my 'heritage' tomatoes at home at the moment, I have them on the windowsill in plastic tubs to try and make the most of the light. I've left some ripe ones in with them in the hope the ethylene they give off will encourage ripening:



The main kind are Lemon Tree ones which are such an amazing shape, really like lemons!



We are now looking forward to getting a few jobs in the winter. The Lean House needs ends, and we need to sort out a few beds. I'm looking forward to having the stove on and drinking coffee in a crispy frosty allotment.