Spring is in the air...

    March 1st was a glorious day to spend at the plot. It really felt like spring had arrived. I was pleased to see that most of my garlic appears to have survived the winter. As it was my first winter on the plot i didnt know how wet the soiled stayed, so i made sure to add some grit to improve drainage. It seems to have payed off as there are loads of tiny green shoots poking up through the ground.

   My brassicas have also survived the winter. The nets put in place have withstood the gale force winds that we had. They have done the job and kept the hungry pigeons off. This is a photo of a white sprouting broccoli. Ive also got brussel sprouts and spring cabbages. I think they went in a bit late but hopefully now the weathers warming up they might take off and get growing.

Let the chitting begin

   My first veg job of the year! Now I dont normally start chitting potatoes till Feb but my delivery came early. Im not growing as many potatoes as i did last year on the plot as i never managed to eat them all. I dont grow main crop as it takes up too much space, so I'm sticking to new potatoes. I will still be growing some in my three grow bags in my garden and the extra potatoes i have left will make a small row on my plot. The varieties Ive chosen this year are Rocket, International Kidney and Belle De Fontenay. Ive had to use my trug to chit them in as ive not got enough egg boxes or windowsill space.

    As you can see I've also got shallots in there with them. These are 'Pesandor'. I've never grown shallots before but i thought I'd give them a go this year. I'm quite intrigued to see how they grow little groups of shallots from the original bulb. It said to store them in a light place so I've put them with my potatoes to separate the different varieties so they dont get muddled up.

 

Projects for the New Year

   This will be my first full growing season on my plot so i want to take full advantage of that. Theres lots to be done however I can see myself getting carried away and starting lots of things but never actually completing any. Therefore I'm going to try and be organised and name the projects that I want to get done this year. So my projects for 2012 are:

• Get my new shed. I already know which one i want and the company come and build it for you on your site. the only thing Ive got to do is get the base done for it. Ive already got the paving slabs at my plot (thanks to dad!). All i have to do now is level the ground, lay the slabs and order my shed. my current shed is a spider infested rickety old shack. Its useful for storing my tools but i want somewhere i can shelter in when its raining and relax in and enjoy my plot!

• Build a compost heap. Ive got a few pallets and I need to turn them into a place where I can make my own compost. Ive just got a darlek for the time being. After listening to Monty Don talk about homegrown compost i don't want to miss out any longer.

• Clear the brambles. This is a big task! There are currently four rows of overgrown brambles on my plot. The space they are taking up will be valuable growing space. I'm aware though that the roots go far and wide and are going to be an ongoing task to clear them forever.

 
    These are my main projects for the year. If I get any more of the plot cleared then that will be a bonus. Theres still an elder tree and wild rose to clear and a path to make, but I've got my main priorities now. With the weather being this mild it's a perfect time to get started. What projects have you got lined up for this year?

Happy New Year!

   A new year, a new start, a new growing season! At this time of year the weather might be stopping you from venturing out into the garden or up to the plot (although it has been a lot milder this winter than last!). However when those bleak days arise you can always settle down with a cuppa and start flicking through next seasons seed catalogues. I love looking at all the different varietys of vegetables that there are to grow. I do quite easily get carried away and can find myself circling far too many choices. This year i need to be sensible orelse I will end up with more seeds than I can grow.

 I hope you all had a merry Christmas and a great New Years!

Tomato Harvest

Ive just moved house and my new house is yet to have internet so theres been a delay to my post...

    The weather seems to have been milder for longer compared to last year so i risked leaving my tomatoes outside for longer than normal. However i couldnt put it off forever and i had to bring in the last of my toms. It always feels like winter really is on it's way when the toms are taken down.
    This year I grew Ferline, Yellow Stuffer and Country Taste. I also tried Pineapple as a bit of a gamble as it says it prefers a greenhouse. The gamble didnt pay off though as the toms never ripened.

     Ferline toms are my reliable crop that I always grow. They have good blight resistance and produce large, sweet, firm toms. Yellow Stuffer produced large toms that did what they said they would 'good bakers'. My overall crop wasnt as bountyfull as last year but they remained completely blight free!

    Theres so many different things you can do with tomatoes. My favourite ways to preserve them so you get the taste of summer through the winter are 'Green tomato Chutney' and 'Homemade Tomato Sauce'. 

    I think Green Tomato Chutney is a must have recipe! The fact that it can turn a crop that would otherwise go on the compost heap, into a tasty chutney is pretty amazing. There are loads of different recipes out there but my favourite is from My Tiny Plot http://www.mytinyplot.co.uk/recipes/green-tomato-chutney/ .

   I also like to make a tomato sauce to rival any ketchup. I got the recipe from the River Cottage book of perserves by Pam Corbin.

I roasted my tomatoes with garlic and herbs to make a passatta.

Then you cook it with added spices, vinegar and sugar.



   It soon makes any ordinary sandwich very special and tasty.

The last of the runners

   Sorry I haven't posted on here for a while, but that doesn't mean I've been slacking in the garden . . .

I grew a lot (and i mean a lot) of beans especially runner beans. I loved all the different colours of the flowers, they are an attractive climber and shouldn't be over looked for any garden.

   Ive had plenty of harvests from my plants, in fact there's been too many! As Ive never grown runners before I wasn't sure what to expect. I find the strings a bit off putting, and because I had too many plants i couldn't keep up with picking them young and tender. I even pickled some in an effort to preserve them for later months. Does anyone have and tasty recipes they use for runners  (you can only have so many boiled runners) ???

    I think next year i will definitley plant more french beans than runners. This year I've grown purple teepee and they were tasty and the colour made them stand out at the plot. It's just a shame that the colour disappears when they're submerged into boiling water. I've also grown borlotti beans this year, which was another first. The type was 'Blorlotti Lingua di Fuoco' and they are still going strong now. They're great to add to stews and casseroles to bulk them out.

  

successful beets!

    I decided to pull my first beetroot up from the plot. The beetroot I've grown in previous years have never really been that big, they're normally more leaf than beet. However this year is the year of the beetroot!

    I think the success of them has been down to the lack of rainfall this year. My problem before has always been that ive over watered them so they grow lush top growth and dont get chance to make a nice fat root. I roasted these with some balsamic and then had them in a salad with goats cheese - perfect!