On the move.......

These are my new resited cabbages - they came from 144 and are now on 142 as I want to clear 144 totally before the winter sets in, so I can start to dig it over, and map out what is going where & yes, that will probably mean that Hilda will get moved too!

The courgettes are still coming - bring 'em on!
This is the old sweet pea site - it now has 40 RADAR onions in there which I bought from the shop (see http://www.srags.blogspot.com/) and in front of the Chillies there are 40 red onions planted.

The pumpkins weren't one of my greatest success stories, but there is always next year and they are still big enough to make into Halloween faces, so that's saved me a fiver! I always do trick or treat for the kiddies that knock.

And finally....

When I woke up this morning and went out to put some bird seed out I thought Brrrrrr!

So I went down to the lotty this morning - nice and early - and it was SO PEACEFUL - just me and the birdsong, to put the mini plastic cloche over the chilli plants.......

Half Ton Veg

Did you watch this programme last night on Channel 4???

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yay3GGENU0

If you click on the link above, it will show you a brief clip of some mad vegetable growers that not only HAVE to grow massive veg, but others who HAVE to grow extra long veg e.g. a 12 and a half foot parsnip! One chap hasn't been on holiday for 20 years + and another won't retire from growing his extra big / long veg until he isn't given the "best in show" award - an award he has won for the last 10 years in a row!!

I would rather do what I do, sow the seed, watch them grow, pick them when they look about the right size & eat them! Mmmmmm - yummy.

Anyone for CHUTNEY??

With an abundance of Beetroot on the plot, I decided to make some more chutney.

This one is Beetroot and Apple

It has onions (home grown of course) raisins (from a packet) sugar (whatever was in the cupboard) and white wine vinegar (because I can't have Malt Vinegar) in it also.

I must say that it tasted YUMMY, although a little sweet, but that could calm down??

This is my current "STASH" of chutneys that are maturing in the garage - there's Black Pepper & courgette, Glutony Chutney, Picalilli, and Beetroot & Apple.

Some of them have been given away to friends and neighbours and some even posted as far as Nottingham & Malta!!

NEWS FLASH

I have now been lucky enough to get some FREE concrete slabs for my shed base from a very kind FREECYCLE member from Mitcham. OK, so it has meant several trips to Mitcham and back to save my car's suspension, and although the very kind pre owner of these slabs helped me to load them with his wheelbarrow, I had no help at the Lotty end! Pure determination and hard work!

So thank you John Murphy - fellow Freecycler - your slabs will be put to good use - very good use!

Looking out for some shed roof felt / liner now!! You never know.

Back from Malta holiday.......

Hubby and I had a GREAT time in Malta but a week wasn't long enough!

This is a picture of the fishing village of Marsaloxx (marce-sush-lock)

Needless to say that one of the first things I did after unpacking, putting the wash on and sorting through the post, washed down with lashings of cups of hot tea, was to get to the Lotty.

THE WEEDS had taken over and I spent over 4 hours just weeding alone.

Tomato blight had also taken a good hold, so I rescued a few green tomatoes and had to take the infected plants and the fruits to the local dump.

I also picked over 8 pounds of runner beans (and there are more to come!!) and 1.5 pounds of french beans, along with some peas and the last of the brocolli.

This was the blanching stage - Doug at the lotty gave me a good tip - blanch the veg in a colander and that way you just scoop them all out in one go and plunge straight into cold water etc. all in one swoop + you can keep the water boiling for the next batch! Brilliant idea - Gold Star for Doug!!

This is my new RECORD RUNNER BEAN - 40.5cm !!!

All the green tomatoes are ready for the chutney - boy was I busy that day!!

And this is the result of my chutney making!

Another thing to report is that some very kind lady GAVE ME A SHED!

Yes - for free - actually it's 2 sheds joined together

So I will have a 12ft x 4ft shed (which is within the maximum square footage allowed - phew) and I can't wait until it's all put together, but I will need to organise a base first.

So at the moment it's flat on the floor and Nigel & Derek have kindly covered it in tarpaulin due to all the rain we had whilst I was away.

SO A BIG HUGE THANK YOU TO JULIA FROM WALLINGTON, SURREY

and to the Freecycle site

The rewards of my Labour at the Lotty....

I know, I haven't been blogging lately - this is for 2 very good reasons:

A - Work has been very very busy. The lettings market has boomed since the death of the Sales market and as I deal with lettings adminstration, I needn't say more! Well I will actually - working 12 hour days and working on my days off - yes, even Sundays.

B -The weather! We have had more rainy days here than non rainy days. I have mentioned it before - I suffer from mysophobia - yes - a fear of mud / muck. I can't stand even thinking about the squelching (oh sorry I can't describe it any longer as it's making me feel quesy) So when it rains I can't go to the lotty, and the days after the rain I have to think carefully - will it be muddy or not down there? (or anywhere else in fact!)

I am not the only one who suffers - take a look at Cinders

Anyways - here are the pictures of the rewards of my labour at the lotty.......

As I am off to Malta on my holidays tomorrow, I froze the peas, and some of the beans and the rest I gave to very grateful neighbours who looked really happy when they peaked in their bags!

So that's it from me for a while - one last day at manic work and I am off - hopefully not to see a computer or use a phone for at least 8 days!!