I’d been fairly certain that my time at the allotment had come to an end, it turned out that a full time gardening job based an hour away lead to overwhelm and semi-despair as the weeds took hold, the crops failed from droughts/nutrient deficiency/pigeons/insects/wind/deer. Abandonment.
Hindsight is a wondrous thing. Winter months’ perfect to employ it. With Caroline, Hannah, James, Delia and Rachel, we managed through, but the plots that thrive are the ones grown with a collective and with Caroline keen to keep growing, all we needed was a few more crew.
Winter is also good for resting, especially if your working hours are cut. Having said that, working alongside the seasons is inspiring. Winter became peaceful when I stopped trying to make things happen. Spring is hope, new-Ness, here-we-go-again, can-we-make-it-better-this-time. Its the blue at the base of a flame. As we step further into these uncharted waters, self-reliance has never been more important. To be able to grow your own food not only nourishes your body, but your soul and it’s fair to say that food enjoyed in company is always the most memorable and enjoyable and it stands to reason that growing it in that fashion will produce similar results.
With Caroline recruiting Omelia, Hannah recruiting Helen from the Trust, we’ve written a grow wish list and have started to divide them into groups. Each person will nurture their seeds to harvest and maintain that plot area. If/when help is needed, the idea is to help each other out. The idea is that knowledge is gained through the growing process, autonomy inspires responsibility so our crops should all get the attention they need.
So, this Sunday coming will be when we crack open the sheds and start clearing last year’s carnage. Get in touch if you’re interested in lending a hand or have any spare tools to donate (hoes/wheelbarrows/netting). We’re also very open to compost and feed.
As the summer draws to a close, so does this blog. I’m pretty sure the deterioration of the beans’ health has brought this moment forward, as all the wigwams (bar the last one to be erected, which didn’t stay that way for long) that were once flowing with green leaves now bear a lot of dead looking stuff. I’m guessing it’s only a matter of time before the last one goes. We’ve had a great crop of pea beans and runner beans though; the ones left on the vines now will be left to dry there for sowing next year. In soil that has been mulched and fed. I had thought that the wigwam structure would be the strongest, but during my holiday last week, the high winds have all but flattened the Bridal district. It is hence known as the Prone Crone district from now on.
The Prone CroneStill green here ..
I’ve also discovered that the ‘Cherokee Trail of Tears’ beans are actually meant to go black, so I didn’t mix them up with the Black beans. I don’t think. But then that means that the Black beans have disappeared from the universe. Or they died, or didn’t get planted out. They can be picked as they fatten up and their skins turn red, which I’m sure would have been lovely (had I read that bit on the internet a while ago) but as it is they will be picked and dried to use over winter. The Borlotti have been fattening up nicely and should be ready for harvesting and drying as well.
BorlottiCherokee Trail of Tears
The other contenders for public mention are of course, the brassicas. The sprouts in the 1st district are looking strong, all bar the one that got mixed up with the cabbages, got planted out with the onions and netted about a foot off the ground. She’s a bit stumpy.
Stumpers, far corner
The red and hispi cabbages are still growing, although all the nasturtiums have suddenly died back in the 2nd district, which gives me concerns about the general well being of this bed. No sign of a single cauliflower although I was warned they are tricky to grow. The kale has been on fire, we found this at work as well. Bit of shame that not many people like it, although the curly kale is easier to palm off. The broccoli are still to make an appearance, most people I know have harvested their broccoli by now but whilst the plants look healthy, they haven’t sprouted yet. Other successes have been the rainbow chard in the PCD, again found this quite hard to give away as the pretty stems are actually quite chewy unless you’ve got a tall basket in which to put the leaf in (boiling water), stem first leaving the leaf to cook in the steam from the pan, you can also sauté it, but the stems must go into the pan first and cook longer.
There have been loads of tomatoes as they finally started to ripen, the grow bag idea was a total fail, I think the plants lacked light and drainage. The plants I transplanted into the potato grow bags have fruited but have come out weirdly shaped and quite small, a little bit stressed out I think but they still taste nice. We’ve loads of chillis and whilst I failed to plant out the sweet peppers into the raised beds, they have also fruited, but again … pretty odd looking. The greatest success though, was the flowerbed. Yesterday morning I found gladioli about to bud and an amazing dahlia. The artichokes have taken well, their leaves make such good foliage in a bouquet, the cornflowers from Flick have also been amazing, I would definitely plant these at the back of a bed though as they fall over.
There are still potatoes in the ground, the raspberries are growing new canes and fruit, the compost tomatoes are still to ripen (and have fallen over) and James’s cabbages are looking strong. Should you know of anyone in desperate need, get in touch with The Bakers Café and we can sort out a food basket for them.
Plus, the random flowerbed
Thanks to Delia, Rachel, Caroline, Hannah, James and Nadia for their help in this project, without it it would have been one long funeral.
These past few weeks have highlighted the fact that we’ve done no sowing for the late harvest, so it’s great that James put in those cabbages … I guess the fact remains that working as a gardener 4 days a week and looking after a full sized plot has become a bit overwhelming. If the plot could take a no-dig approach, it would dramatically alter the amount of time needed to create and maintain. Also, sow less and in succession, most of the plants spent too long in their modules before being planted out which has stunted growth in some of them (the broccoli) but otherwise, the crops will arrive together creating a ‘feast or famine’ situation. Thinning out seedlings as they come up will keep them happier in their pots and it means you don’t have to rip their roots apart when they finally make it outside .. ahem. And have a plan, working out how much you need, what will go where when … which I did start but basically failed to look at ever again.
That said, I won’t be doing an autumn sowing but will continue to see this harvest out, with an idea to cook everything up for a feast at the Bakers. The plot is in desperate need of investment, but one that would make a positive return …
In other news, the weeds around the raspberries and potatoes grew too much for me to bear, so after some rain at the weekend the soil was in a good place to do this.
The potatoes from Roy make the best roasties just FYI, not sure what kind they are though, Roy?
I also started to clear Roy’s bean patch.
Talking of beans, we’ve got loads. The pea beans are incredible, so thank you Toni! The Borlotti are coming on nicely and ill leave them on till they are nice and fat. We have many more runner beans that I thought, in terms of plants. I thought I’d only managed to germinate 3 but turns out, there’re about 6. I also thought they were the Black beans, but couldn’t figure out why they looked so much like the ones on the runner bean wigwam. Turns out, I don’t have 14 Cherokee French climbers, but I do have a mix of Black and Cherokee beans now and they grow quite similarly in shape. The pods start to mottle and darken on the Black but it makes picking the Cherokee a little time consuming.
The bride now looks like the old hag …The caterpillars don’t seem to mind which kind they are …
The flowers are still thriving, thanks to Caroline’s deadheading, plus some exciting newbies!
I forgot that I sprinkled a wildflower mix into this bed and couldn’t think how Nigella popped up, then I found a poppy and it all came flooding back In more other news, the butternut squash is thrivingAnd the compost tomatoes are fruiting and also, diving
Thanks to Caroline, Nadia and James for their help and thanks to you, for reading 😘
It’s been a fairly quiet week on the allotment with little new to report back on other than the fact that slugs are making their way to our cabbages on the right hand side of the 2nd district. An early morning water revealed that the super long, dewy grass on our neighbours side is like the M4 to them, having flicked a few off the green mesh netting, I looked round to discover that all effort would be futile. Perhaps the general site needs a large enough pond to home about 300 toads and a boat load of newts, we could also club together to get some hedgehogs …
All the beans are doing really well, the Cherokee climbers in the FRB being the last to bean up, I was a bit concerned that they’d be all leaf and no bean due to cramped conditions (14 plants went out on 7 canes I seem to remember) but they have started to appear, theres a bit of discolouration on the leaves nearest the two courgette plants, which could be down to nutrient/water battles. The sweetpeas in this bed are also flowering, although not many but I think I remember that from last year (same seed).
The borlottiI think these are the pea beans? Runner and possibly black beansThese are the plants that had their support ripped from them back in the windy days.
There’s not been a week where I haven’t been surprised by a plants recovery in some way, just when you think there’s no coming back, they make their magic and confound those of low expectation. Every time it happens, I always compare them to us and how alike we are … give them love and a lot of water, a bit of food and a little chat and even the crispiest have flourished.
😯
My final observation of the week is the fact that I should of banked up the potatoes after the frost. We’ve got loads of manky green potatoes sitting on the surface so .. whoopsies!
Thanks to everyone this week for the watering and weeding. Oh! And everyone will be excited to know that …
The low hanging fruit has all started to ripen off and they taste like proper tomatoes, perhaps not as good as the ones you get in Spain or Greece when you’re on holiday but I’d say better than the ones you get in the supermarket. At time of writing, I am still to bury apples/bananas in the beds.
The Bridal district is now a mass of green, with pops of colour from the rainbow chard. The weeds are mighty mind you; the 2nd district was hoed more in the early stages, before the leafy foliage could blanket the gaps in darkness. Definitely a job for the weekend.
Aside from the weeds that prosper in between the potatoes and polytunnel, we also have self-seeded tomatoes on either side of the door, where I’d planted out those alliums. Thinking about it now, I was using homemade compost to plant them out in, so they must of come from that. I’ve left them as I want to see if they fruit and (pre-compost revelation) I felt that if they’d gone to the trouble of blowing magically out of the door, turning either side of it before settling into grow, they could stay.
Thanks to Caroline’s efforts, the oneballs have been cleared and are producing masses of fruit.
James has planted out some cabbages he propagated
Sunday
Caroline, Nadia and I all meet at the plot to discuss future plans and make a dent in the weeding. It’s great to meet Nadia, who is full of ideas and enthusiasm and we get a lot done.
Despite their troubled start …The chillies are taking actionSweet peppers!One of the butternuts made it …Caroline correctly identified some deadly nightshade growing out of one of the bean structures … Pea beans!
Thanks to Hannah, James, Caroline and Nadia for all the hard work put in this week, watering and weeding, If you hear of anyone in need, we have courgettes, potatoes, kale, beans and chard looking to be part of a meal.
The tomatoes in the right hand bed have started to ripen, although to the untrained eye, this may sound extravagant.
The butternuts that went out very last minute don’t seem to be all that happy, but haven’t been slugged like the 750 planted out at the hotel (90% of the crop lost) although one of the plants is flowering. I can also only find 3 of them, but definitely planted out 4 …
The random flowerbed has started to settle in, with the potentiality of a carnation any day soon. Not being a huge fan of the flower personally, I only took them as I thought they were chrysanthemums, but just as dahlias were unfavoured (in the late 19th and early 21st century) perhaps this could be the Year of the Carnation. We’ll see.
Friday
Tomato update
The head gardener at the hotel, Megan said to put either a ripe apple or banana in with them, as the ethylene gas triggers them into their final stages, so I really need to remember to stop flinging my cores into bushes and bring them to the party.
The newbies in the 1st district are still alive, some members don’t look like they grown but the curly kale seems pretty happy.
The oneballs are fruiting well(despite the weeds), as are the 3 compact planted plants in the FRB.
Saturday
Potato hunting turns out to be slightly disappointing, although the straw I put on the one bed turns out to be really helpful when harvesting as its so easy to dig through. Next year, I’d be tempted to put them in the FRB (and perhaps build another) and cover them only with a thick layer of the stuff. The first section I dug up had a few good-sized spuds, but I did spear quite a few of them with my fork.
A haul of health to take to Roy
Monday
Tomato update
P.s the growbag tom’s have not worked out so well … Drainage, lack of light and weeds all play their part. I’ve also chopped up some comfrey and spread that around the base of each plant … As Monty recommended 🤓But the ones I put in the potato bags are fruiting …Carnations loving the old onion beds but the antirrhinums are yet to take.The cornflowers are starting to die back … I’ll leave them to seed and harvest them, along with the radish and Pak choi in the tunnel. I’ll leave a few plants to go to seed throughout the plot making next year a bit easier
This week’s job will be weeding, mainly round the oneballs and the Bridal District. We also have plenty of courgettes, potatoes, kale, chard and … some tomatoes, all looking to nourish someone! Get in touch if you or anyone you know, needs some of that!
News from the 2nd district, where the nasturtiums have filled in any gaps between plants, reducing the weeds to a minimumBridal district … Spot the veg
The mornings watering reveals the back end of the plot to be completely cleared, with new fencing installed, which creates a lovely terrace area by the sheds. At this point, I can only assume that James has been down to triumphantly ‘wrap up’ his hard work and I think we can all agree that it’s looking quite fantastic. If remembered correctly, there’s some mypex sheeting in one of the sheds that can cover the mud to stop all the weeds and grass growing back.
More exciting news is a happening down in the poly … yup, you’ve guessed it….The tomatoes are FINALLY RIPENING.
The courgettes I planted too close together in the FRB are unexpectedly fruiting, although I’m fairly sure they wouldn’t win any prizes but I am very proud of their efforts. Some of the sunflowers made a comeback just before their time to shine came to an end; the sweet peas have produced a grand total of 3 flowers thus far. We wait with baited breath.
Saturday
There are 5 tomatoes that are almost edible; this is in the left hand bed. The right hand bed, which bears the most fruit shows no change at all.
The flowerbed is blooming, with a second showing of cornflowers and the antirrhinums are popping up all over the shop. The sweet sultan are continuing to flower, their stems stronger than a few weeks ago when their heads lolled about like sleeping commuters on a train. Caroline edged and hoed\weeded the bed so she looks cracking.
Flower envy, next door’s plot has amazing dahlias…
The Bridal district, despite its early setbacks shows promise, with the rainbow chard looking strong and relatively pest free, there’s even a runner bean. Just the one.
Monday
The newbies in the 1st district are still alive which is great news and with the spring/summer/autumn weather all in one day, plus a serious amount of watering, most of the crops are thriving, even the leeks appear to be growing which is fairly incredible.
Baby sprouts!
But it’s in the 2nd district, where cabbages battle nasturtium for space, there’s plenty of kale to harvest and the perpetual spinach/chard is quite impressive. The leafy foliage keeps weeds at bay and also keeps the ground cooler, retaining more moisture and there’s little pest damage so far.
The butternut squash that were hastily planted out around the outskirts of the BD are looking a bit sad. Its likely they’ve been missed in the watering because of their position and I basically forgot to tell anyone about them, but the ‘oneball’ courgettes are looking pretty good and there’s even growth in the random flower ‘bed’.
A massive thank you to Caroline, James and Hannah for watering, weeding hoeing and general work around the plot, this couldn’t happen without you.
Caroline and I meet in the morning to put in a big push, there are still lots of plants to go out and they won’t wait much longer. Caroline starts to harvest the cabbages and I plant out hollyhocks, foxgloves and cineria in the corner by the Bridal District.
It may look sad from the outside but theres growth
We’ve decided that now the rest plot has been dug over and cleared of turf (thanking James and Hannah for all their work), the best thing to do is cover it ready for mulching in the autumn (that would be the ideal solution, with a little investment). We decide to harvest the onions too, which seem to have suffered in slow draining soil. It’s a risk but we plant the rest of the antirinnihiums in the old onion beds, I see these guys as super hardy flowers so have the best hopes for them. The rest of the cineria and some crysanths I picked up go in with them too.
I clear the old broad beans and poor carrots and plant out kale and red cabbages in their place. The marigolds, even though on the turn, look amazing. Another major netting rejig but its great to harvest some success stories!
Meanwhile, in the poly-tunnel, the tomatoes are still green. I’ve cut their watering down and am pruning hard each week but they are in need of some sunshine. At some point, the chili and pepper plants that I potted on need to be carefully transplanted into to the cleared salad bed.
Failing to plant out the peas, they’ve taken matters into their own hands …Our first proper harvest!
This week we happily welcome Nadia from the Harbour Project, who picked up some cabbages and is filling in for Caroline whilst she’s away, with the view to continue long term. It’s great to have Hannah back on site, also filling in with watering as I mow my heart out in Bradford on Avon …
Popping into water the poly, James is already digging up the last remainders of turf from the back of the plot. I’d like to turn this part into the flower and herb patch, planting mostly annuals with space for adhoc perennials. We also have some more brassicas to go out but netting them is an issue so I’ve had to pot them on in the hope that Megan/Jen from Woolley give in to my best Oliver Twist impressions …
In other news, the raised bed at the front of the plot looks more abundant from afar than in actuality. The beans are thriving, foliage wise but looking for the little flowers is a whole different ball game … The compact planted courgette plants are surpassing expectation, although their fruits look slightly stressed.
What has happened to the sunflowers?!Cherokee beans
Saturday
Our first sweet pea is out!
In other news, the potatoes are flowering and the cornflowers are driving the bees into frenzy.
The rest of the bed is starting to come to life, along with a plethora of weeds …
In the 1st District, the sprouts have started to come on nicely, with the beans finished it’ll be time to remove them and re-jig the netting, one of the carrots has bolted and so I’m fairly sure they’re a no win. The cabbages look pretty good, as do the onions, so most of this bed will be harvested soon.
The Bridal District: the chard and cabbages do appear to be growing, but the final nasturtiums to go out don’t look all that pleased. The netting at this point has definitely seen better days and the whole situation echoes the mermen/women that get trapped by Ursula the sea witch in The Little Mermaid. The old net curtains from Delia, once wet become heavy, mixed with the high winds they are in tatters. At time of writing, this area has been deemed too unsavoury, even for pigeons. The only saving graces for this area are the borlotti and one wigwam of pea beans. I can’t talk about the wigwam that fell over and their casualties yet.
In the 2nd district, all is looking well; the nasturtiums and perpetual spinach in particular, but definitely need do some hoeing in here.
Nasturtium leaf pesto anyone?
The tomatoes are fruit laden, but still very much green. A bit more sun wouldn’t go a miss and I think I probably need to prune them a bit harder.
Tuesday
A ranunculus has flowered, something that I am so incredibly happy to see, I’d left them in their pots too long (there’s some form of re-occurring theme going on here) and I thought I’d missed their flowering time. BUT I WAS WRONG AND THAT’S AMAZING.
Purple heart rununculus
It looks like Caroline made a start on clearing the tomato beds and quite a few of the pak choi plants are going to seed. Leaving a couple to do this, I clear the old lettuce that has bolted as well as the weeds and prune back the tomatoes, which are still VERY MUCH GREEN. At this rate I’ll just have to make chutney with them.
I pulled the carrots up, I couldn’t wait any longer … what did grow, was very tasty but the ground has been too solid for them, as predicted.
The glass pane that was left over the front bed has been smashed, which is a: a bit weird and b: a bit annoying. I’ve left it there in case the person who did it has been looking for a suitable way to remove it.
And finally, the very first proper bouquet … and the loo roll holders are finally coming into positive action!!
Many thanks for the hard efforts of the team this week!
The excessive wet weather means that the ground stays fairly wet until about Wednesday, the more established plants in the first bed being happy and able to find water deep down, even parts of the second bed such as the nasturtiums and perpetual spinach (which had such a rough, pot-bound upbringing that it can fair the mightiest of conditions) are fine. The young’uns will struggle as they set to establish roots and in the later stages of the week, the whole plot needs a good watering. This epic task fell mainly at Caroline and James’s feet and it goes without saying how grateful and thankful I am to them for their help. Luckily the poly-tunnel takes little time, especially in the evenings as the tomatoes don’t need doing.
On the subject of tomatoes, we’ve been watering the ones at the hotel in the poly daily and they’ve started to ripen, but a lot were splitting due to over-watering so I think that ours probably need only be done every other day.
Perpetual spinach
Saturday
Finally we get the deluge we (gardeners) have all been waiting for, after soaking the poly its time for a day off.
Sunday
The flowerbed has started celebrating life with their first blooms and the bulbs I planted quite late have started to shoot.
Glads to see ya!
The tomatoes are super bushy and I wonder if I didn’t pinch them out early enough. But we’ve got quite a few fruits and flowers, which is pretty exciting. The ones in pots have also started to flower, but the plants are really small still and I really need to pot them on or plant them out. With the high winds at the moment I don’t want to risk them so thinking about it, I might put them in the potato grow bags that my friend Claire gave us. There are three squash plants and loads of mint still to go out, plus a few more brassica seedlings.
Outside: Progress Report
The first raised bed has a lot going on. I knew that I’d planted the courgettes too close together but now that they’ve started to fruit, I feel bad getting rid of any of them so we’ll see how they go. The sunflower smile I planted is abundant and the one that (I suspect) got kicked over has grown a new flower plus three shoots. I didn’t know they did this! The sweet peas are looking healthy but I think their shaded cage will have to be removed soon. I’m hoping that the sunflowers will have grown enough to shade them against any super-hot weather.
The Cherokee beans are doing really well although I forgot to photograph them …
The drumstick alliums I had from bulb have ‘flowered’ but I definitely left them in their pots too long and they’re spindly. Another lesson learnt.
The potatoes look ok, although I wonder if I should of banked them up more after the frost. But they’re starting to flower so that’s good.
Flick’s cornflowers are a pretty mix of blue, pink and burgundy and the sweet sultan have just started flowering white and pink. Again, I think I left these in their pots too long and perhaps needed to better mulch the ground before planting out, their stems don’t seem strong enough and are quite floppy with a flower head. The first antirrhinums are out which is exciting, I love these flowers as they flower in the bleakest of conditions, cut well and colours range from white to pinks to yellow and burgundy.
Cornflowers framed by beautifully cut verges, thanks Caroline! 🥰Sweet Sultan 💓
The leeks.
On Friday I spent the day planting out 200 leeks by driving a metal rod into the ground, inserting individual plants and then watering in without covering back over. The plants themselves had been grown in rows in the poly-tunnels to about 1cm thick and the leaves trimmed before going in the ground. So I basically spent the day considering my choice to plant ours out in the completely opposite way. So here they are. Looking like they’re facing a firing squad.
I definitely didn’t dig a deep enough trench, the ground being rock solid at the time and the idea that they would grow and ‘push away’ from each other seems unlikely … considering the soil’s propensity for solidity. So, I hope no one is looking forward to any leeks, although the ones Delia gave us were at least trimmed so they might work …
The cabbages have come on considerably, as have the onions and marigolds. The broad beans were a bit of a fail, with black fly ruining most of the very small crop (the ones Roy planted over winter had similar problems). Not helped by the fact that it was nigh on impossible to harvest them due to Fort Knox conditions. The carrots .. have fine tops but I’m pretty sure will have found the ground too hard to grow into.
Carrots fanning the marigolds, sprouts back and foreground
In the second district/bed, the nasturtiums are amazing and some of the kale plants are starting to look abundant. There are quite a few plants that have been pigeoned though, but I came prepared. I was getting rid of old paperwork etc and dismantled a ring bound notebook, the wire snaps quite easily, making it easy to use on multiple parts of the netting (if careful) …
I manage to fix up quite a few holes and turn to check on the third district, the Bridal Quarter (if you will) and found this.
Basically, the lace curtains get heavy when wet and the high winds have managed to lift the final wigwam out. Most of the plants are fine, the pea beans of the last wigwam … not-so-much. After cobbling together a solution, it’s quite clear to me that I need to use my puppy-dog face on Jen and Megan at the hotel to get a couple more nets.
It’ll be time to start harvesting soon, so my question is .. what to do with it. I’d like to know if anyone needs food, knows of anyone or organisation that needs food or would like to see something happen at The Bakers. If anyone has thoughts or ideas, please get in touch!
The Baker's Cafe Community Allotment 