Autumnal Harvest

Another great crop from 144 & 121 plots!

Picked the last of the sweetcorn for eating that night and for the freezer......

I was overwhelmed with the aroma of the carrots whilst pulling them from the earth......

And the beetroot never fails to amaze me with it's vibrant colour and taste.....

Unfortunately all this autumnal harvesting was marred by the fact that my neighbour and ex fellow plot holder was over on my previous plot 142!

Although I had had a very successful morning digging 122 before breakfast I returned after coming home for nourishment to dig over some of 144 to find "Mrs Chicken Wire" as she is now referred to, and her shadow (Mr Chicken Wire) tending to plot 142.  Why is it that everytime I turn up her voice goes up by about 15 decibles and she laughs, no I stand  corrected, "CACKLES" at simple words like compost, seeds and Bamboo Canes.

Yes she grates me.

She annoys me to hell and back

and

it's not enjoyable being on my lovely plot 144 whilst she and sidekick are there.

I do try to avoid being on 144 at the same time she is on 142, but sometimes its not always possible, timewise to go down to 121 as jobs there have been completed.

So I have to turn my back and work away, trying not to listen for the high pitched cackled that may eminate at any second, disturbing the peace and tranquility that you would expect of ones allotment.

Still, the nice thing is, is that I am there on 144 more often than she is on 142, so I do get my little place of solitude and tranquility more often than not.

Back to the harvest.

The carrots looked very orange, smelt very carroty and tasted divine.

The Beetroot were a vibrant purple and roasted - melted in your mouth

&

The sweetcorn was way better than the Jolly Green Giants!!

He he!!

To top the morning off, another allotmenteer, Val, on a close by plot gave me a gift of a packet of Mizuna (very rare as I have not been able to source them for months) seeds and a lovely "Gardeners Handcream" for looking after her polytunnel for a few days.  Ok, so I did sing to them, but I didn't expect that - what a lovely surprise. 

Thanks Val!!

The last of this years harvest......

Well it's that time of year, and stage 2 of the Autumnal clear up has taken place today.

This was all from plot 121......

Along with about 10 cucumbers!!

I managed to give 3 cucumbers away on the way out.

It was a hard slog biking this lot back up the hill from the plot to home!

But obviously worth it.

So 121 is just left with the remaining corn on the cobs - about 8 in all I reckon, which will be harvested tomorrow

Alongside all this harvesting, me and Nigel had to go around and measure all the kiddies entries for the competition that is being judged officially tomorrow.....

Here are a few of the entries - all a very high standard, which makes the judging even more difficult!!

September Tidy up......

I started with the greenhouse - all the cucumber plants have gone

And the shelving has been dusted down and the plants that are left have been spaced out

The Tomato plants have been left in place as they still look nice and healthy, and with these recent Autumnal days having been quite warm, I may even get a few of the green ones ripening.

The green chilli plants are still in full production and the green chillies are now, as you can see red chillies!

Even the green pepper is turning red!

I picked the hops today, so tomorrow I will take care of the plants.....

And I tidied up the little flower bed, as most of them had died and the little wooden fence that I put up for decorative purposes had "gone" in so may places, that it was time it went to the wood fire pile.

Last but not least is the little Welcome to my Garden sign which had lost its stem.  This had just rotted way, but the flower head and sign were too good to throw out - A hammer and nail soon had this pretty little thing a new home - attached to the side of my shed!

Mid September...

It's that time of year again, when you have to start tidying away arfter harvesting.

This is Raised Bed #1 which originally housed White & Red onions and Garlic over winter.  It then went on to cucumbers and leeks (the leeks you can just see at the top end) and finally swede (just out of the picture) and a couple of small squashes

This bed was originally home to a variety of salad stuff including Lettuce, Mizuna and rocket.  You can still see a final late sowing of lettuce there at the top left.  Then there were the cherry tomatoes that didn't get blight, some carrots that didn't really work and I also found home for 2 strawberry plants.  The Borage (still can't quite remember why I put that in!!) and the lettuce are all that remain.  This bed will house the onions and Garlic (crop rotation) later in the year.

This is all that is left of my bed closest to my greenhouse and shed.  This is where the peas, Roma tomatoes and sweetcorn were.

In there area were the Cara potatoes, more Tomatoes (the ones that got blight) and the sweetcorn plants.  As you can see it's now covered after getting a good digging over.

Last but not least is a little red chilli plant from Raised bed #3.  There are still about 3 chilli plants, four sweet pepers that are under cloches and spring cabbages and leeks at the top end.

There's lots more pottering around and tidying up to do, but Rome wasn't built in a day!

The beginning of September

I know it's been a while but, personal issues have taken 1st place over and above the allotment for a week or two.

However I have not neglected the place, I have just not had time to add to my blog, so here it is for thte 1st week of September.

The picture above depicts my harvest for today - so that's a Jemmer courgette (overgrown to a a Jemmer Marrow) and two courgettes.

Another little gem from 121 was this strawberry, and I use the past tense as it was quickly eaten along with a few others that looked plump, red and edible this morning!

Still on plot 121 - this is one of about 15 Butternut squash that I have growning between the two plots, and tasty, tasty they are too - infact I roasted one tonight with garlic, olive oil and chilli (from the greenhouse) and boy was it SCRUMMY.

Last but not least from 121 is one of a few marrow/courgettes that will be in situ for another week or three....

Now to 144

This is my super marrow - its huge and I intend to cook it stuffed, Maltese Style for an army of friends very soon.

And finally - my sweetcorn on 144 - something very similar to the little green monster on the left of the picture has attacked my sweetcorn on 144.  Fortunately I still have supplies over on 121 which are un comprimised.

Tomorrow, Saturday the 5th will be a good clear up day - picking the last of the cherry toms that didn't get blight in one of my raised beds, tidying up all round and lifting some of the beetroot that are starting to resemble mini footballs and will be great for roasting or chutney.

Sorry it's been short and sweet but I have my reasons!