Still learning, always learning.

I had started a blogpost a while ago stating how pleased I am that I have a lot of crops doing quite well, but on closer inspection, things aren't as rosey as I thought.

Firstly, the potatoes in bags. On the surface, all looked great. A nice full healthy green foliage. You couldn't ask for anything more. On emptying one bag out, I found out you could. The soil was very dry, it needed far more watering than I was giving it. There wasn't many potatoes either, some hadn't fully developed yet, so I could have been a bit early with them. On the plus side though, they were perfect without a blemish of any description and they tasted so good. I'll leave the rest for a little while longer. 

Next up are the onions. Not a major problem, but a minor oversight on my part. The first and main bed for them are doing OK generally speaking, it's just that, come the evening, the main crop of potatoes are literally leaving the onions in the shade. The rows nearest the potatoes are a bit on the small side.  With any luck they'll taste better for being smaller. Here's hoping anyway. 

The pumpkins and courgettes have taken a beating thanks to my inexperience. Next to my new picnic area I've put a sheet of weed suppressant membrane, cut into it and planted six pumpkin plants and six courgette plants. Most of the plants had got a bit leggy or long while sitting on my windowsill, so I placed a few bricks around they to help support them. The trouble is that with a bit of a breeze, they have flapped about, rubbed against the edge of the bricks and cut the their own stems. I'm now left with three courgettes and two pumpkin plants.

The tomato plants that I have grown from seeds saved from a supermarket tomato are looking bad to say the very least. It got to a stage where I needed to pot them on, but the only option left to me was to have them at the allotment. After one slightly windy day, they went from OK to half dead. If I only get one tomato from the whole experiment, I'll be happy.

It's not all doom and gloom on the plot. The first lot of carrots in a bucket have started to come up, so I've done another lot. Just for the record, the row on the left are chantenay and Autumn Kings on the right. I will have to be brave and thin out at some point and I've yet to see what's happening underneath, but the signs are good at the moment.

This is my first time growing spring onions and I must say that they are a darn sight easier than radishes. The best part is I don't need to thin them out either, or at least that's what I read on the back of the packet

My 'And finally' message is a bit of a sad one. The robins that had nested in my shed seem to have left leaving behind four eggs, not three as first thought. I haven't seen them for a few days now. Till next time and thanks for reading.

Phase One of 'Project Greenhouse' complete.

I have been told that I'm impulsive, when I get it in my head to do something I go all out. There is the other side of the coin to this and that is if I don't finish it when I wanted to have it done by or I have another great plan I just have to start, then I'm left with a job half done. Sad but true, I still don't have any 'No Dig Beds' yet. But that's for another blogpost.

Now I've realised that I'm in need of a greenhouse and after bit of research on the web I've seen that's it's doable on my budget. I'd like an 8'x6' greenhouse, so I had made a start just over a week ago. There is a three slab path, a step up then the ground space that will soon house the greenhouse. On one side of the path I will have a more permanent spot for my Garden Connect bed and the other I hope to have a herb patch.

The reason for the step up is that the plot is very uneven and I'd have to shift a lot of soil just to keep it all level. Now the trouble with buying a second hand greenhouse is that there is a good chance the size of it will be in imperial measurements, the slabs I have are in metric. So when I measured the three together in the above photo, it was a bit shy of the six foot required. I don't have a greenhouse yet, but I don't want to do all this work and it doesn't fit right. So after sleeping on it, I made a few adjustments.

The centre slabs are now offset with stones in the gaps just because I have them in buckets all over the plot. The yellow sheet you can see under the slabs has been under the plum trees ever since I've had the plot, so now I've put it to good use and used it as a weed suppressant.

The jobs about done as you can see, but I didn't want the space at the far end to go to waste or to seed (maybe weed is the right choice of words), so  I intended to carry on with potatoes in bags and have them there with a ground sheet to stop the weeds coming through. Here is how it has been left. Rather than leave the space unused, I have courgettes on the left and pumpkins on the right.

And just like the News at Ten, I have an 'And finally' for you. I had noticed a few weeks ago that I had a robin's nest in the shed that was empty. This weekend while getting my tools I looked over at the nest and saw a robin in it. Today I saw it again, but on one of my tool surching trips to the shed, the robin was gone and I saw three eggs. When I finished for the day and put all my kit back, the robin we as back in place on the nest. Till next time and thanks for reading.

Trust me, there are 3 eggs, it's just that to take this
shot, I blocked out all the light. Sorry.

This is how Rhubarb jam is made.

I was quite lucky that after my jam disaster last week, I was able to try it again so soon. I don't know if it's rhubarb in general or the pan I use for jamming, but I did find it sticking to the bottom of the pan very easily. Well I don't feel so much to blame for burning last weeks jam now. The rhubarb I used was allotment grown, just not my allotment. I was given the same amount as I had before, so I stuck to the previous weeks quantities. So this is what you'll need.

• 1.5kg/3lb rhubarb (ready prepared)
• 1.5kg/3lb sugar
• Juice of 3 lemons
• 25g/1oz root ginger

1. Wash and trim the rhubarb and cut into small chunks
2. Place in alternate layers with the sugar in a deep bowl, add the lemon juice and leave for about 8 hours.
3. Put the contents of the bowl into a pan, with the bruised ginger tied in a muslin bag.
4. Bring to boiling point and boil rapidly to setting point.

Now I'm no fan of ginger in any form, so it was left out, but for those of you who do like it, I'm giving you the recipe word for word. I prepared everything late in the evening and left it over night. First thing in the morning, I made sure I had everything ready, jars sterilized and labels done from last week, before I put the pan on. I also used a potato masher to break down the fruit towards the end of boiling. Once it was all done and jarred up, I made myself some toast and a cup of tea. You can't beat fresh jam on toast. Till next time and thanks for reading.

Rhubarb jam disaster.

I've had many comments and compliments on my honesty. My failures get as much of a mention as my successes, it's just that I like to shout about the successes, more astonished surprised on my part. I try not to shy away and disguise or cover up my miss haps.

This time it was in the kitchen. I wanted to make some rhubarb jam, simple enough, I've made all sorts of jam before. An easy recipe, equal amounts of sugar to fruit with the juice of one lemon to each pound or half kilo of fruit. You could also infuse some root ginger, but I'm not so keen on ginger, so left it out. All I had to do was clean and chop the rhubarb into small chunks, put them in a pan with the sugar and lemon and leave it for at least eight hours. I left it over night. So far, so good. The next morning I cleaned and sterilized my jars and put the pan on. All was fine, a nice rolling boil. I'll need some labels. Let's go all out and make some nice fancy labels with a picture of a rhubarb stalk and hand written in my best calligraphy. That's when I noticed the smell, like toffee apples but rhubarb instead. Well at least I have some nice labels ready for next time.

The sad thing was, I had tasted a bit that was left on the spoon before it burnt and it actually tasted quite nice. I'll just have to wait for more rhubarb to grow. I'd like to say 'You live and learn' but I don't. Till next time and thanks for reading.

I'm in desperate need of a greenhouse.

I've said in the past that I chose the flat I live in because of the three windowsills that are south facing and so far they have served me well, but there's only so much they can take. It's not considered ideal to have a plant in your bedroom, I've lost count as to how many I have in mine. Although I realised a long time ago, I really need to get a greenhouse soon. So much of what I have here I know I can't plant outside. This is my situation at the moment.

Basil, cayenne pepper, okra and even more
seedlings.

All lemon cucumber, apart from the sweet peppers
in the middle.

Pimientos de Padrón.

My Tomkin tomato plants and some sorry looking
Kohl rabi and aubergine.

The only windowsill left in the flat. North facing
with plum tomatoes, another sweet pepper and even
more pimientos de Padrón.

Now you see why I'm so desperate for a greenhouse. I have searched the internet and seen a few second hand ones that are within my budget, I just need to make room on the plot for one. That was my task this weekend. I was so keen to get started, that I didn't take the before shot.

It's not the clearest photo, but again I was pulling up excess plum trees with my hands. A Portuguese gentleman from a few plots away from me, who speaks no English, has offered to prune the plum trees I intended to keep. At least that's what I understood with me speaking my best Spanish and him speaking Portuguese. The proposed site for the greenhouse is between the raspberries and the plum trees. The raspberries I was given are now in, below is a clearer photo of them. Most are doing OK and starting to bud.

The parsnips are also starting to come up. I don't want to be counting my chickens just yet, but things aren't looking too bad. Parsnip crisps are back on the menu. After looking at the photo I took below, it seemed like my plot's getting bigger. Its always been the same size, but I'm claiming back a whole lot more now. The plot does look better when the sun is shining. Till next time and thanks for reading.

A pleasure or a chore?

Since the sweetcorn has gone in nearly two weeks ago, we have had little to no rain in this part of the UK, less than a quarter for the average for this time of year I've just heard the weather girl on the TV say and having learnt my lesson last year when I missed a few evening watering sessions and lost my brusselsprouts, I have been at the plot every evening to water everything. I must admit it has been anything but a chore, it's quite peaceful on the plot and even after working a 12 hour shift, it does clear your head a little. So far, this is what's growing on the plot.

Onion bed Number 1

Onion bed Number 2

Onion bed Number 3

All of the onion beds are doing quite well at the moment. Apart from watering and weeding, they seem to happily doing what they do best, grow and get bigger.

The first early potato bags are all topped up and I'm hoping for my best potato crop ever. The main crop still has a long way to go before getting to this stage.

Do you remember the sandwich tub with the parsnip seeds in them? Above is the bed that they are in and bellow is one of the little seedlings coming through. Will it be monster parsnips this year?

Now the rhubarb look a bit worse for wear at the moment. I had a bonfire going last week and it was a little too close to the rhubarb. The actual storks are OK, it's just that the leave make it look like some sort of blight has infected it.

Not only have I been turning up every evening, I have also done my best to come on my days off. All the old raspberries have gone now, they were all well past there best and growing wild. As luck would have it, the people on the plot next door, seeing how I've been getting on, have given me some spare raspberry plants to replace the old ones. I'm hoping to get them in on Sunday. Till next time and thanks for reading.

Garden Connect hits the ground running.

It wasn't the best looking morning to do a bit of gardening, but I knew it would be dry. I wanted to make a start on my Garden Connect bed. It wasn't the best start either, I must say. I had only put the spade in for the third time, when I heard it cracking. I did inherit the spade with the plot. I'll have to put my hand in my pocket and buy another one. At least I don't have to buy a dibber.

As they say, its not how you start but how you finish, and the day finished well. Eight out of twelve from the list are in at the moment, well, I've made a start with at any rate.

Firstly, the carrots. I have been told by many people that carrots need fine soil and do very well in containers such as a bin or an old bath with a mix of 50% compost and 50% sand. With the restrictions of GC, I have these tubs that you would find in supermarkets with cut flowers in. The bottoms have been cut off and I've mixed compost and soil sifted through a homemade sieve that I put together using spare bits of wood and the mesh from a disposable BBQ. The only reason I didn't go for the suggested mix was that I really wanted to get started and I knew if went out to get the sand, that's all I would do. But if it works with this mix, I will be doing it in my main root bed this year, tubs and all. So the carrots are in, autumn king and cosmic purple.

Next is the tomatoes, plum tomatoes in fact. I'm using the bottle you see in the photo to keep it safe from the frost. 

Here is my basil, I've done a bit of 'showing off' with green and red basil, but it's only because I had the seeds and thought it would look good. Time will only tell. These have been cloched also.

The celery and spinach have also gone in. Seeds direct to the soil. The spinach worked this way last year, but I don't know if the celery will. I'm not too worried if it doesn't, I have plenty of seeds to keep trying again and in different ways, besides, I can't stand celery. I won't be crying myself to sleep if it doesn't grow.

In the 'Your Choice' space, I've chosen spring onions. Again these are also direct to the soil. These I'd like to have growing and plenty of them please.

Lastly for GC, I've put in one of my pimientos de Padrón plants. Is it a chilli or is it a pepper? Either way, I had plenty to spare and my sweet peppers aren't quite ready yet. No photo of this one, I forgot. It is under cover as well though.

If you've read this and wondered what the hell Garden Connect is, you can click on the GC banner at the top of the page, which take you to Hiemstra Gardens website with all the information you'll need. Till next time and thanks for reading.