Hows does my allotment grow

Not badly actually. I am constantly surprised when something I planted grows and ends up being harvested. It's not that I'm a bad grower,  in fact my fingers are quite green,  it's just the science of it.  Tiny seed plus sun,  water, soil and is nutrients and voila!  Stuff you can eat!

I can't deny is hard work though. I've had the allotment just over a year now and it is nowhere near where I want it to be. I still have a lot of grass and bindweed to battle and paths to put in but it had been productive.

Another bonus is my boys have been enjoying their visits now they are no longer in danger of getting lost in the long grass or attacked by nettles or brambles. Today we enjoyed harvesting potatoes,  beetroot and a lovely courgette. We are looking forward to various beans,  tomatoes, more courgettes,  cabbages,  broccoli, swede,  leeks and hopefully a pumpkin. My mum is also looking forward to sprouts. I'm not. Yuck. 

 

Pumpkin!!!

Reading Food Growers Network & flexing my green fingers

Well spring appears to have finally arrived.  I know I have probably jinxed the weather and we'll be under 10 cms of snow next week so I shall apologise in advance - sorry.

After a ridiculously wet winter I am finally getting my food green fingers into gear.  Last June I finally got the allotment I had been waiting for.  It really was a awkward time of year as I'd missed the start of most veggies but I bought some youngs plants from eBay, got in a few seeds and started growing.

I won't lie, an allotment in a lot of hard work, especially when it is a grassy as mine was when I got it, but it has been so rewarding.  It's been lovely to get digging and see the things I plant actually grow.

Getting my allotment has 'levelled me up' in terms of growing food but, as I've said before, I've grown fruit and veg for years, starting off in pots when we rented and now in my back garden.  I was delighted to find that there was a food growers network in Reading and last year I attended it's launch.

I was pleased to get an email this weekend telling me about their Spring Event.  Here is some info in case you want to get involved too.  You can contact them at rfgn@risc.org.uk.:

'Planned for our Spring Event:

Saturday 5th April 2014 from 12.00 - 14.00

RISC Hall, RISC, 35-39 London St, Reading

1. New RFGN Website Launch:

The new Reading Food Growing Network website will be demonstrated and officially launched.

2. Seed Swap Event

As requested by many at the launch event we will be hosting a seed swap event.
Please bring with you any seeds you wish to swap.
Please also bring any old shoe boxes and envelopes you have to spare.

3. Mobile Seed Swap Event Workshop

So that you run your own local seed swap events, there will be a short workshop on how to do this.

4. Committee Launch

The new RFGN Committee will be introduced.

5. Future Events

The Events Team will announce the dates of future events they are planning, so that you can put these dates in your diaries.

Saturday 26th April  - RFGN will have a stall at the Bean Pole Day, Caversham Court Gardens.

Saturday June 7th  - Plant swap and Question & Answer Session.

Saturday October 4th - Harvest Event, What to do with all your surplus produce.  The Abundance group will run an apple day and there will be cooking demonstrations.

February 2015 - Social event with bulk buying of seeds.'

It was a Super Saturday indeed!

Well, what a great day yesterday was.  I woke to the sound of driving rain and lashing wind and visions of soaking Reading Labour activists handing out soggy leaflets to the few bedraggled Battle residents who'd battled the weather to go the the library or the shops.  How wrong was I!

We has a great time yesterday morning.  The winds died down, the rain stopped and even the sun shone!  We spoke to loads of Battle residents and over 200 people signed our petitions against the Mummy Tax and Bedrooom Tax.  Thank goodness battle Library has a photocopier because we started running ou of petition sheets!

The turn out from campaigners was fab.  So many people out to help and a big thank you to them all!  We even picked up new supporters and members for both Battle and Norcot.

Victoria Groulef is proving to be a popular parliamentary candidate.  She got to speak to many residents yesterday who are clearly very unhappy with the Tory/LibDem government.

 The lovely day didn't end there.  The boys and I headed off into the back garden yesterday afternoon.  The post-winter tidy up has begun with earnest. While having  rummage we discovered some carrots leftover from last year.  The joy on the boys faces as they pulled up tiny wobbly carrot after tiny wobbly carrot was wonderful.  We are going to have a look through the seeds I bought in the sale last year and plan our veggie crops.

The growing season comes to an end...

Well I harvested the last of my potatoes last night.  I have been more successful than I thought.  The potatoes have been great.  They are Charlottes grown in bags and I have had loads.  I chose them because they are my favourite salad potato and I guessed it would save a bit of money growing them myself.  I got enough to say I have made a saving!

Another success has been the runner beans despite slugs and snails doing their best to scupper me.  They are variety White Lady and are still going strong.  The beans are tender and tasty even if they get big.  No strings or 'toenails'.  I am definitely growing them again next year.

My blueberries, strawberries and raspberries have done well but I am still go get a courgette a decent size without losing half to those pesky mini beasts!  The rhubarb, which I thought I had killed last year, has already provided a crumbles worth and has another crop ready.

Not having much space means I have to think hard about what to grow.  I am going to try and squeeze in another crop of potatoes but the winter months don't provide much.  I have some tiny cabbages still growing so fingers crossed I get to harvest them in a few weeks.

Gardening disaster

Well my optimism from the start of the year has been used up.  I'm just thankful we aren't relying on my garden goodies!

The weather has made it a tough year so far.  It's been very wet and cool and it took ages for any of my veggies to really get going.  The one warm week we had a few weeks ago saw things spring to life but  since then they have just been attacked.  I have had several beans have their stalks eaten through and one courgette plant has almost gone entirely.  The only thing really thriving are the slugs and snails.

The raspberries have battled on and the boys have been enjoying them.  The occasional strawberry has avoided going mouldy and today we enjoyed a few raw peas (although the smallest decided they weren't for him and spat them out).  The blueberries are doing ok but I am pinning all my hope on the potatoes and tomatoes, both in bags on the patio.

The most exciting things to happen are that I grew chillies from seed and my squash is still alive.  I am hoping the warm weather we are promised helps these to thrive.

I can only imagine how hard this year is being to farmers and market gardeners.

Missing seeds and mildew

Well, what a slow start to the gardening year this has been.  After March's nice weather I planted loads of seeds, for myself and some for a local playgroup who will be selling the plants to raise money at the Oxford Road Fun Day.  I waited, and waited, then poked at the compost with the label, then waited some more. 

Over the past few weeks seedlings started to emerge but only those in my little growhouses.  Cue more poking about to discover all my peas had rotted and several courgette and bean seeds had vanished altogether.  Eaten?  I am now on my third sowing of peas and second of carrots.  Fingers crossed they grow.

Things have improved over the past fortnight and this glorious sunny weather has given things a much needed boost.  More veg has been planted for the playgroup and there should be a good number of plants for them to sell in just over a month. 

My garden is now full.  I have courgettes, a squash, french beans, runner beans, cabbages, carrots, loads of potatoes in bags, garlic, peas and my fruit.  I seem to have lost a blueberry to the bad weather though.  I also appear to have planted mangetout by accident and have nowhere to put them.  Tricky.

As well as my plants being at the fun day, Battle councillors will be there too.  More on that to follow.

National Gardening Week! Get growing folks....

This week is National Gardening Week.   As my previous posts make blatantly obvious I love gardening.  I think I have been inspired by, and hopefully inherited the skill of, my maternal grandmother.  I have nothing but fond memories of her garden in Caversham and have chosen plants based on those memories - peonies, potentilla, lambs ears (not sure of their real name - they have soft furry leaves) and roses.

You don't have to have a big garden to grow things and enjoy gardening.  While I rented I grew things in pots so I could take them with me.  My huge bay tree started as a 15 cm plant in a pot.  I still grow fruit trees and veggies in pots and troughs as I don't have the space to have them in the ground.

It's not too late to start some seeds or buy a few plants from your local garden centre and I have picked up many a bargain from car boot sales too.  It's doesn't have to be an expensive hobby and growing fruit and veg can save money in the long run.  Definitely worth a go.

Buds and seeds

My obsession with my garden continues and this past weeks fine weather has meant I have finally got some planting done.  The baby was in a co-operative mood and didn't climb the garden furniture so I planted:

Runner beans
Courgettes
Squash (I am trying to grow at least one for the third year - fingers crossed)
Cherry tomatoes
Tomatoes
Chillis
Garlic

I will plant more in the next week or so.  My new dwarf fruit trees are starting to bud, my cherry is setting itself up to blossom and my nectarine tree looks stunning.

Looking forward to the new gardening year!

I'm sure I'm not alone in enjoying browsing through seed and plant catalogues (maybe I am?).  When they start dropping through the door in January I actually look forward to finding a quiet moment to have a good look and start planning my garden for the coming year.