Sow and Extra Row and Help Others in Need

I would like to spread the word - please feel free to pass this GREAT idea on.

This is from a fellow Allotmenteer and Twitter from Ireland.

http://greensideupveg.blogspot.com/2010/11/sow-extra-row-and-help-others-in-need.html

My Little Helper - planting Broad Beans

These pictures speak for themselves really.  Junior prepared a little bed by raking it over and weeding it. 

He then planted some Broad Beands

Making sure they were all pushed in properly

He even wrote a marker on an old used one that we cleaned up, as we had a chat about using lots of recycled things for the tasks in Allotment world.

And then in true allotment style, got chatting to our neighbour!

The news you've all been waiting for - Sweet Potatoes on plot 144!!

It was with GREAT excitement that I too, my spade from my allotment shed and walked from said shed to the Sweet Potato Suite!

In went the spade and out came,

out came,

out came,

so rather incey, wincey, teeny, weeny, baby but perfectly formed

SWEET POTATOES !

Yes they were rather small, and for all the effort that I put into growing them they did look rather dissapointing, however, they were lovely, roasted alongside a nice juicy chicken!

MMMMmmmmm

If I do try them again next year I may just try old compost bag in the greenhouse as I think they need the heat to produce a bigger yield.

Potatoes and Piccalilli

 I am on plot 121 here and as you can see my potatoes are REALLY full of overgrowth which includes weeds, brambles & bindweeds from the plot next door.  You can see just behind my bike trailer that there is a mound. Well that mound is actually a compost bin from the next plot that is covered in brambles and bind weed, so that's where it's all come from!

I managed, on my first day back from sickness, to dig out 2 rows of Cara Potatoes.

This is them coming out of the ground. Thats the most exciting bit - digging them out!!

I then put them into a large tray and into the greenhouse to dry out as it's still damp out there!

These are my 2 marrows which I am entering into the Twitter Marrow Competition

As I was digging up potatoes, I dug up a couple of parsnips too, as we were having roast chicken - Mmmm - they were delicious!

This is my harvest (mid illness) which I decided looked like a good Piccalilli crop!

 So I chopped it all up

Add some Celery from the fridge

 And hey presto - Piccalilli will be ready in December

Return from Holiday, Tomato Glut & Gastroenteritis!

Where do I start? From the begining I suppose would be a good place.

OK, so I return from Marrakech on Wednesday, but had a very dodgy tummy, so I didn't make it down to the allotment until the Thursday & when I got there, I found this lot!

Brian from 144a helped me to pick them all as I was rather "delicate!"

 I spent the next couple of days making batches of Tomato Sauce -
The Fiorentino tomatoes made tomato & aubergine sauce and the Roma tomatoes were turned into tomato & courgette sauce - I just used what I had to hand at the allotment!

Unfortunately my tummy bug turned out to be a little more serious than first expected.  I was so ill by Sunday morning that I phoned NHS direct.  They were obviously concerned as they got the "on duty" doctor to call me, who in turn sent another doctor round to my home to see me.  He then wrote a letter and told me to go to the hospital as soon as I could, so I was there within the hour.  I was put on a drip (one of 6) and was kept in. The good news is that I am now home (and itching to get to the allotment, but I am not allowed until next Monday)

The foxes at the hospital, sunbathing!