Parsnips

Yes, I braved it back to the allotment plot 144 and dug up a few parsnips for Christmas Day.  As advised by the kind lady from Green Lane Allotments, as long as I left them muddy they will store well, so I have put them in this old mushroom crate and into the store room by the garage.

So thank you GLA for your sound advice - with another cold snap predicted I would have a hard job digging them out of solid icy ground!!

If I don't blog again *MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR* to you all.

First Broad Beans

Yes, I have managed to walk to the allotment today in -2 degrees, so my smile is currently frozen to my face.  I had to get my kitchen scraps down there, or they would start to pile up and I would have to get the bike trailer out to get them there soon!

Anyway since the 2ft of snow that we  had I am sad to report that my Brassica Cage (yes, your guess is as good as mine - remember that?  it's gone.  The snow crushed it so I went last week to salvage what I could of what was left.  Some of the rods were totally snapped and others badly bent under the strain of the weight!!

This means that I have now exposed my Brussel Sprouts to the eliments and the wildlife, so the thought of eating home grown sprouts for Xmas this year may not happen after all.  I will probably get a few savoy cabbages and if we don't get a white Xmas I might be able to did some parsnips up - although I might just go and do this tomorrow and just bung them in the freezer??

Anyway the good news is that Junior's Broad Beans have sprung to life........

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.