Blooming marvellous!

There isn't much colour on the plot at the moment, apart from that lonely crocus that appeared in the middle of an empty bed ... The snowdrops below were actually photographed outside the flat!

Last week I was seeking inspiration for spring and summer blooms and inspiration I found on a couple of trips to Poundland and Poundstretcher last weekend - not your usual suspects in terms of garden centres but they actually have a very good selection of seeds and bulbs at a fraction of garden centres' prices. Here is what I came back with !

I spent a large part of Sunday afternoon deciding what should go where and finally came up with a plan: the larger, bolder plants will go in the long border on the left side of the plot and the smaller ones will go on the new flower border in front of the lawn. I filled the long border last Sunday and am now waiting for milder temperatures and the end of the frosts to plant the rest in the smaller border.

So in the long border we've got: dutch iris, physalis, lupins, gladioli, gysophilia, red hot poker, triteleia and acidanthera.

In the small border will go: lillies, freesias, tigrida, sparaxis and probably some annuals.

I also got a bit carried away with the annuals and now have a selection of seeds which should get doted around the vegetable beds: nasturtiums, sunflowers, poached egg plants, mimulus, nemesias, nigellas, nemophilias, forget me nots, marigolds and snapdragons. That seems a little ambitious though and I have a feeling that some of them might not make it out of the seed packet! Only time will tell I suppose.

I've sowed some sweet peas inside last week, some seeds I saved last year and some "High Scent" variety I bought this year. One week on, a few are already poking their heads through the compost !

Hopefully that will mean colourful bouquets throughout the summer!

Cut flowers

Now that I have made final plans as to what goes where in the vegetable beds, I have started fretting about flower borders. I’ll grow the usual suspects amongst the vegetable beds: nasturtiums (I always grow those, my wee sister is called Capucine, which is nasturtium in French), poached egg plants and marigolds to attract butterflies and hoverflies. And sweet peas will cover the unsightly metal fence at the bottom of the plot. But I have a newly cleared long border which I would like to use for growing flowers for cutting – I normally grow sunflowers and I have seen some gladioli in Poundland (30 bulbs for £1!!) but I am uncharacteristically lacking in inspiration. I would prefer to grow perennials but will probably mix in a few annuals. What are your personal favourites? Any suggestions for a sunny border and clay soil? Please feel free to inundate my comment box!

Germination log

- Aubergine - Melanzana Violetta Di Firenze - 4 cells, 2 seeds each - 0
- Aubergine - Halflange Violette - 4 cells, 2 seeds each - 1
- Radish - 3 varieties - outside - 0
- Chilli peppers - Cayenne - 4 cells, 2 seeds each - 0
- Chilli peppers - Jalapeno - 4 cells, 2 seeds each - 0
- Chilli peppers - Peach Habanero - 4 cells, 2 seeds each - 0
- Sweet peppers - Californian Wonder - 8 cells, 2 seeds each - 2
- Tomato - Moneymaker - 8 cells, 2 seeds each - 12
- Tomato - Gardener's Delight - 4 cells, 2 seeds each - 0

Repairs and new build

Another nice day, unseasonably warm (not that I am complaining!), although not quite as sunny as yesterday.

Equipped with hammers, nails and cable ties, we were all set for today big jobs. After a generous amount of swearing (me) and a few bruised fingers (me again), we had a strong and hopefully wind proof fence and a brand new compost bin.

The back fence

Single compost bin yesterday

And its twin today - so that we can now use them in rotation

The struggling broad beans were offered a little protection with a glass roof.

And the fruit bushes were moved to their new permanent position, to make way for a bigger strawberry bed.

Left, strawberry bed and fruit bushes at the back before they were moved; right, fruit bushes in their new border, with a few of last year runners planted underneath

What a difference a week can make!

Last saturday, we woke up to a white landscape and freezing temperatures.

This morning however, I was woken up by a bright ray of sunlight filtering through the curtains and this has not happened in a very long time I can tell you! Today felt like spring had come early ... Of course we all know it won't last but it was a much welcome break in the misery of a long Scottish winter!

The allotments were buzzing with activity, people repairing fences and greenhouses, clearing up abandoned plots, digging up new beds or rebuilding burnt sheds.

Jobs at number 52 today included:

- turning over the big bed at the bottom of the plot. It was covered with a thick layer of manure back in October and I want to use the bottom half as a brassicae bad. Seeing as it's been covered in manure for over 4 months and it is under a big pine tree which is constantly shedding a lot of needles, the soil is too acidic for brassicaes and I will have to incorporate lime before long. As I can't add lime over manure, it had to be dug over and I'll lime it in a couple of weeks. Luckily I wasn't on my own today and my assistant gardener did all the hard work!

Before - back in October - and after - today

Leeks in the forefront, you can see quite a few have now been harvested.

- removing the rotten fence at the back of the plot, one of the victims of the winter storms. Again, my assistant gardener was on hand to handle the removal and even managed to find a couple of pallets on his travels (well, at work actually) which we'll use for the repairs.

- digging up and replanting horseradish roots. We planted them at the shady end of the plot last year and they didn't seem to like it much there. They have now been replanted in a big wooden planter and moved to a sunny place. Hopefully that'll do the trick!

Horseradish - not looking like much just now

- weeding and tidying up the herb border. This was actually quite enjoyable, being surrounded by all the wonderfully strong smells of thyme, rosemary, marjoram and lemon balm. Everything seems to have survived the winter, apart from the tarragon but I still have a hope it might spring back to life as it did last year. The lemon balm, marjoram and fennel got a good haircut too and it won't be long before they start growing back again.

Clockwise from top left: sage, marjoram, thyme and fennel

- planted out some of the broad beans (Aquadulce) I sowed in October; they have spent the winter in the cold frame, quite a few got eaten by mice and the survivors looked really white and weak. I am not going to get excited about an early broad beans harvest just yet.

- sowed some radishes in a "recycled" grow bag from last year tomatoes. I know that's very optimistic of me but it's only a few seeds and who knows ...?

- thoroughly weeded the flower border at the bottom of the plot and relocated the iris bulbs and potentialla that used to live here - more of that in another post coming soon ...

Cleared up border

In other news, there is still plenty of overwintering vegetables to harvest. Apart from the usual suspects (jerusalem artichokes, leeks and sprouts), the "3S" bed with Spinach, Swiss Chard and Sorrel is still going strong as well as a small patch of rocket. We made pizza tonight with some of the spinach, rocket and marjoram - they beat Domino Pizzas everyday!

From left to right: Spinach, Swisss Chard and Sorrel

Overwintered rocket

Jerusalem Artichokes - the story so far

Jerusalem Artichokes are one of the most under-rated vegetables. In France, there are fed to pigs and cattle and hardly looked at. My grand parents refuse to eat them - but maybe because that's all they ate for weeks on during the war ... I got weird looks when I told them I was thinking about growing them but went ahead anyway.

That must have been one of the best decisions ever! They are one of the easiest vegetable ever to grow: put the tubers in the ground between now and March and watch them grow. Come October, the leaves start yellowing and the tall stalks are just cut to ground level - I left a couple of inches to make sure I could spot them easily (and make sure I don't leave any stray tubers as they tend to go rampant the next year if you do!) Dig them up as you need them from October onwards, they keep in the ground all winter and have survived despite the rain and frosts we've had. I'm going to save the last tubers and plant them on.

The rise and fall of the Jerusalem Artichokes bed

The taste is hard to describe, I have heard anything from nutty to oyster flavoured; personally I think they taste a little like artichoke hearts. And they must be the most versatile veg ever: boil, roast, mash, in soups or even raw sliced or grated in salads. There are definetely one of my favourite vegetables! Here are a couple of recipes we sampled this winter.

Jerusalem Artichokes with Pancetta and Parsley

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 450g of Jerusalem Artichokes
• 50g of pancetta or smoked bacon
• 50g butter
• salt, pepper and a small bunch of flat leaved parsley

Method:

1. Scrub the Jerusalem Artichokes and cut them in half.
2. Melt the butter in a large pan and fry the artichokes for a few minutes, add the pancetta or smoked bacon and keep frying for another 4 or 5 minutes.
3. Add 100ml of water, cover with a lid and cook very slowly for 30-45 minutes. Check that they do not dry and add a small amount of water if necessary.
4. Taste and season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Jerusalem Artichokes and Leeks Gratin

This is perfect to use up those two winter staples!

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 700g Jerusalem Artichokes
• 3 medium size leeks
• 100g butter
• 30g flour
• 500ml milk
• 200g cheddar, grated
• salt and pepper
• nutmeg

Method:

1. Scrub the Jerusalem artichokes, boil for 8-10 minutes until par-boiled, drain and leave to cool.
2. In the meantime, clean and thinly slice the leeks. Fry in 20g of butter until soft but not brown.
3. Peel and cut the Jerusalem artichokes into slices. Preheat oven to 350F/180 C.
4. In a small saucepan, make a béchamel (white sauce) using 50g of butter, 30g of flour and 500 ml of milk. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Add 100g of grated cheddar and the cooked leeks.
5. In a shallow ovenproof dish, arrange sliced artichoke in a layer, and pour the béchamel and leeks mixture over the artichokes.
6. Sprinkle over the rest of the cheese, dot with butter and bake for 45 minutes and until brown.

PS: and everything you have heard or read about their side effects is true. Do not eat before important meetings, job interviews or a crucial date. You'll live to regret it.

Let the growing commence!

It is difficult to believe that a new growing season is upon us when just yesterday, the allotments looked like this:

It had snowed overnight and the ground was covered in about an inch of snow. It did not last very long though and by lunchtime everything had melted away. The plot looks quite miserable at the moment, the overwintering vegetables looking sad, wet and windswept. But on closer inspection, I noticed the first signs that Nature has decided that winter had lasted long enough and spring should come soon...

That was all I needed to decide it was time to get the 2008 growing season underway!


So today, the first seeds went in:

- Chilli peppers - Cayenne - 4 cells, 2 seeds each
- Chilli peppers - Jalapeno - 4 cells, 2 seeds each
- Chilli peppers - Peach Habanero - 4 cells, 2 seeds each
- Sweet peppers - Californian Wonder - 8 cells, 2 seeds each
- Tomato - Moneymaker - 8 cells, 2 seeds each
- Tomato - Gardener's Delight - 4 cells, 2 seeds each
- Aubergine - Melanzana Violetta Di Firenze - 4 cells, 2 seeds each
- Aubergine - Halflange Violette - 4 cells, 2 seeds each

They are now in the heated propagator in the spare room and I'll be watching them closely over the next few days; I'm always looking forward to seeing the little seedlings poking their wee heads over the dark compost !

I have also sown some Alpine Strawberries in a small tray that I will keep inside for now and transfer later to the "wild" area at the back of the plot. That's where the raspberries grow already and it's in the shade most of the time, which alpine strawberries like.

To be perfectly honest, these are not exactly the first plantings of the season - I already put in a couple of row of onion sets and some garlic bulbs back in October and November. But the first seeds of the season are always that little bit more special.

Garlic Lover Collection - Spanish Roja, German Red, Solent Wight & Purple Wight

28 October 07

Onion sets - Autumn Champion and Swift

25 November 07

I also bought a blueberry bush in Lidl today (99p, bargain!) to join the rest of the berriy bushes: 2 gooseberries, 2 blackcurrants and a redcurrant. The strawberries bed is getting extended this year and as I said, I'm putting more alpine strawberries at the back of the plot. I'm still toying with the idea of getting some raspberry canes. We have some canes growing wild at the back of the plot and we have harvested several punnets over the summer but I'm thinking about an autumn fruiting variety (possibly Autumn Bliss). Space is tight but I love raspberries so watch this space!