Hope you enjoyed the pictures our allotment will continue to be productive even during the winter months.
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Pictures from today
Hope you enjoyed the pictures our allotment will continue to be productive even during the winter months.
Monday, 12 September 2011
Batten down the hatches!
Today we have had the remnents of hurricane Katia across the country, here in Bristol its not been as bad as Scotland where they have had gusts of 87mph our biggest was 50mph. Still with winds this high you do need to make sure your crops are ok and be prepared to lose some, after checking on the plot tonight I am pleased to say the runner beans and climbing French have survived but we have lost a few sweetcorn so on the whole not bad. I am also pleased to see the polytunnel held up well but its still blowing hard outside so I am not going to count my chickens just yet.
When you are erecting your bean supports in the spring you forget that come September they will be fully grown and in full leaf and taking winds like today. I always make wigwams as supports but add extra support at the ends for weather events like today. The trials and tribulations of growing fruit, flowers and vegtables in the good old British weather is what makes what we do so enjoyable be it frost, wind or drought we love a challenge.
My next big challenge will involve trying to beat the elements as I attempt to over winter the peppers and chillis we have growing in the polytunnel. This will involve cutting them back to around 30cm height at the end of the growing season and trying to protect them from frost, I am going to do this by having cloches within the tunnel and then hoping they regrow again in the Spring. I will sow some in January just in case my overwintering fails.
Come wind, rain or shine there is always something to do at our allotment until next time goodbye.
When you are erecting your bean supports in the spring you forget that come September they will be fully grown and in full leaf and taking winds like today. I always make wigwams as supports but add extra support at the ends for weather events like today. The trials and tribulations of growing fruit, flowers and vegtables in the good old British weather is what makes what we do so enjoyable be it frost, wind or drought we love a challenge.
My next big challenge will involve trying to beat the elements as I attempt to over winter the peppers and chillis we have growing in the polytunnel. This will involve cutting them back to around 30cm height at the end of the growing season and trying to protect them from frost, I am going to do this by having cloches within the tunnel and then hoping they regrow again in the Spring. I will sow some in January just in case my overwintering fails.
Come wind, rain or shine there is always something to do at our allotment until next time goodbye.
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Goodbye Summer
Autumn offically started on September 1st and for once this year the weather seemed to know what season we were in. Gale force winds and heavy rain showers plus the nights drawing in faster than Usain Bolt on a false start got me realising I need to think fast for Winter/Spring crops. Hopefully this weekend I will sow some pak choi and winter lettuces for the tunnel and will plant out what I already have in modules January King 3 savoy cabbage, Scarlet Kale and Florence fennel. The fennel will hopefully grow inside tunnel everything else will be outside under netting to protect from pigeons. This weekend I will also take some more photos to show you how things have progressed.
Due to the high winds I cut down the artichokes which had reached at least 12ft tall as last year they all got uprooted in the high winds as our allotment is exposed. I did not want to do this but they were leaning so much I did not want them ruining my neighbours plot, a shame really as the flower on them is lovely. I guess by doing this they can concentrate all their energy in to the tubers rather than producing flowers. A work colleague buys the ghastly daily express and according to their headline today we are in for a cold, wet and windy Autumn followed by another cold Winter, I take everything that paper says with a pinch of salt though.
This year looks like being another good year for butternut squash and I think there should be some ready now for picking as soon as I get a chance I will harvest and take some pictures. I will leave you with a lovely recipe for a warming buuternut squash soup just in case the express are right this should warm you up.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
1 Onion
1 Carrot
1 Small/medium Butternut Squash
1 Red Chilli
Pinch Salt & Pepper
2 Cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
1.5 Liters Vegetable Stock
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 teaspoon Butter
Preparation method
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
1.Chop roughly the carrots, onion, butternut squash and chilli. Pour the oil and butter into a large saucepan, add the chopped vegetables and sweat for four minutes. Crush the garlic cloves and add to the pan, allow to cook for a further one to two minutes until you can smell the garlic cooking, take care not to burn the garlic as this will leave a nasty bitter taste.
2.Add the hot stock to the vegetables along with salt and pepper, allow to simmer for twenty minutes until reduced. Once reduced, take off the heat and blend with a hand blender or pour in a food processor and blend until all lumps are gone.
3.Taste and add salt and pepper if you feel it needs more. You will be left with a silky smooth soup, simply served in a warm bowl alongside some crusty bread to dunk
Due to the high winds I cut down the artichokes which had reached at least 12ft tall as last year they all got uprooted in the high winds as our allotment is exposed. I did not want to do this but they were leaning so much I did not want them ruining my neighbours plot, a shame really as the flower on them is lovely. I guess by doing this they can concentrate all their energy in to the tubers rather than producing flowers. A work colleague buys the ghastly daily express and according to their headline today we are in for a cold, wet and windy Autumn followed by another cold Winter, I take everything that paper says with a pinch of salt though.
This year looks like being another good year for butternut squash and I think there should be some ready now for picking as soon as I get a chance I will harvest and take some pictures. I will leave you with a lovely recipe for a warming buuternut squash soup just in case the express are right this should warm you up.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
1 Onion
1 Carrot
1 Small/medium Butternut Squash
1 Red Chilli
Pinch Salt & Pepper
2 Cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
1.5 Liters Vegetable Stock
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 teaspoon Butter
Preparation method
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
1.Chop roughly the carrots, onion, butternut squash and chilli. Pour the oil and butter into a large saucepan, add the chopped vegetables and sweat for four minutes. Crush the garlic cloves and add to the pan, allow to cook for a further one to two minutes until you can smell the garlic cooking, take care not to burn the garlic as this will leave a nasty bitter taste.
2.Add the hot stock to the vegetables along with salt and pepper, allow to simmer for twenty minutes until reduced. Once reduced, take off the heat and blend with a hand blender or pour in a food processor and blend until all lumps are gone.
3.Taste and add salt and pepper if you feel it needs more. You will be left with a silky smooth soup, simply served in a warm bowl alongside some crusty bread to dunk
Saturday, 3 September 2011
The year so far
On our allotment has been a funny one, I think mainly due to the seasons being all back to front . The year started with an extremely dry January, February, March and April following on from a exceptionally cold December this also coincided with very warm weather March and April. We followed this with a dull cold summer which has resulted in very different results with each indivudal crop.
The winners for me this year have been the peppers and chillis grown in the polytunnel due to the unseasonal warm temperatures they were planted out earlier than would be normal and the result is very large plants full of lots of fruits. This is the same for my tomatoes as well they were all sown indoors late Januray early February and were in their final posistions March/April. To say I have had peppers and Tomatoes coming out my ears this year would be an understatement.
As for courgettes they have not been as productive this year due to longer dryer periods as the watering can does not have the same affect as a good old pour down of rain. Runner beans also have not been as abundant, still very good cropper though and enough to keep the Wife and myself plus lots of neighbours happy.
What I still need to learn is successional sowing and not to plant everything at once I think this is an art and even the most seasoned of vegatble growers ends up with a glut of something. Our allotment has served us well again this year with lots of things still to look forward to like parsnips, sprouts, butternut squash, carrotts, leeks, celeriac, more cabbage, beetroot and 2 types of arichokes.We also have lots of things in modules ready to go in the ground inside the tunnel and out. I promise to try and post some harvest pictures soon and post my updates of new stuff going in also if your on twitter I put regular photos on there follow me @Jamie_Milton
The winners for me this year have been the peppers and chillis grown in the polytunnel due to the unseasonal warm temperatures they were planted out earlier than would be normal and the result is very large plants full of lots of fruits. This is the same for my tomatoes as well they were all sown indoors late Januray early February and were in their final posistions March/April. To say I have had peppers and Tomatoes coming out my ears this year would be an understatement.
As for courgettes they have not been as productive this year due to longer dryer periods as the watering can does not have the same affect as a good old pour down of rain. Runner beans also have not been as abundant, still very good cropper though and enough to keep the Wife and myself plus lots of neighbours happy.
What I still need to learn is successional sowing and not to plant everything at once I think this is an art and even the most seasoned of vegatble growers ends up with a glut of something. Our allotment has served us well again this year with lots of things still to look forward to like parsnips, sprouts, butternut squash, carrotts, leeks, celeriac, more cabbage, beetroot and 2 types of arichokes.We also have lots of things in modules ready to go in the ground inside the tunnel and out. I promise to try and post some harvest pictures soon and post my updates of new stuff going in also if your on twitter I put regular photos on there follow me @Jamie_Milton
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Gluts
What to do with them?
No matter how good you are at successional sowing or planting what you think is the right amount of plants most if not all allotment gardeners end up with a glut of at least one vegtable or fruit. The question is what do you do with all the extra fresh veg you have? This year as per usual we are now experiencing our glut period and it is the usual suspects that are providing us with more than we can cope with runner beans, tomatoes and courgettes. Here is what we do, knock on neighbours doors and give them a little bundles of food, freeze as much as we can including tomatoes for making sauces later on and make chutneys. When arriving back form Cornwall last weekend we had a vast amount so I decided to pick and bag stuff and bring it in to work to sale and made the princely sum of £16.50.
My next venture is to purchase a food dehydrator and dry fruit and vegtables for later use, I would also like to make prunes from the huge amount of plums we have. Here are a couple of my favourite chutney and pickle recipes.
OLD DOVERHOUSE CHUTNEY
1 1/2lbs plums (preferably Victoria)
1 1/2lbs cooking apples
8 oz tomatoes-red or green
1 lb raisins
8 oz onions
1 1/2lb Demerara sugar
about 4oz glace or preserved ginger (or failing that, about a good teaspoon of ground ginger!)
1 clove garlic-finely chopped
1 ½ tablespoons salt
1 pint pickling vinegar
¼ oz chillies, or about a teaspoon of chilli sauce
Wash plums, stone & quarter them
Roughly chop tomatoes & put them both into a large pan.
Put onions, apples, raisins, ginger & garlic through the coarse blade of a mincer or chop finely in a food processor, then add to pan with vinegar , sugar & salt.
Tie chillies in a gauze square using string & suspend them from the pan handle (into the mixture!!!). If using sauce, put straight into pan.
Cook chutney very slowly for at least 2-3 hours (no lid on pan!) until most of the liquid has evaporated. To test if it’s ready, make a channel across the top of the chutney using a wooden spoon. If the spoon leaves a channel imprinted for a few seconds – without it filling with vinegar – then it’s ready.
Give it a few good stirs during cooking, especially near the end to stop it sticking to the pan.
Pot whilst still hot, into hot jars. Seal with wax discs & tight vinegar proof lids.
LEAVE FOR AT LEAST 3 MONTHS, IN A COOL, DARK PLACE, BEFORE EATING. IT SHOULD KEEP FOR AT LEAST 12 MONTHS !
No matter how good you are at successional sowing or planting what you think is the right amount of plants most if not all allotment gardeners end up with a glut of at least one vegtable or fruit. The question is what do you do with all the extra fresh veg you have? This year as per usual we are now experiencing our glut period and it is the usual suspects that are providing us with more than we can cope with runner beans, tomatoes and courgettes. Here is what we do, knock on neighbours doors and give them a little bundles of food, freeze as much as we can including tomatoes for making sauces later on and make chutneys. When arriving back form Cornwall last weekend we had a vast amount so I decided to pick and bag stuff and bring it in to work to sale and made the princely sum of £16.50.
My next venture is to purchase a food dehydrator and dry fruit and vegtables for later use, I would also like to make prunes from the huge amount of plums we have. Here are a couple of my favourite chutney and pickle recipes.
OLD DOVERHOUSE CHUTNEY
1 1/2lbs plums (preferably Victoria)
1 1/2lbs cooking apples
8 oz tomatoes-red or green
1 lb raisins
8 oz onions
1 1/2lb Demerara sugar
about 4oz glace or preserved ginger (or failing that, about a good teaspoon of ground ginger!)
1 clove garlic-finely chopped
1 ½ tablespoons salt
1 pint pickling vinegar
¼ oz chillies, or about a teaspoon of chilli sauce
Wash plums, stone & quarter them
Roughly chop tomatoes & put them both into a large pan.
Put onions, apples, raisins, ginger & garlic through the coarse blade of a mincer or chop finely in a food processor, then add to pan with vinegar , sugar & salt.
Tie chillies in a gauze square using string & suspend them from the pan handle (into the mixture!!!). If using sauce, put straight into pan.
Cook chutney very slowly for at least 2-3 hours (no lid on pan!) until most of the liquid has evaporated. To test if it’s ready, make a channel across the top of the chutney using a wooden spoon. If the spoon leaves a channel imprinted for a few seconds – without it filling with vinegar – then it’s ready.
Give it a few good stirs during cooking, especially near the end to stop it sticking to the pan.
Pot whilst still hot, into hot jars. Seal with wax discs & tight vinegar proof lids.
LEAVE FOR AT LEAST 3 MONTHS, IN A COOL, DARK PLACE, BEFORE EATING. IT SHOULD KEEP FOR AT LEAST 12 MONTHS !
Spiced Mustard Pickle (Piccalilli)
| Ingredients |
|---|
| 2 oz (50 g) dry mustard powder |
| ½ whole nutmeg, grated |
| ½ level teaspoon ground allspice |
| 1 oz (25 g) ground turmeric |
| 2 medium cauliflowers, divided into 1 inch (2.5 cm) florets |
| 1 lb (450 g) small pickling onions, peeled and halved, through the root |
| 2 small cucumbers (each weighing 9 oz/250 g), peeled, cut into ¼ inch (5 mm) rounds, then each round quartered |
| 1 lb (450 g) dwarf green beans, topped and tailed and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) lengths (or 1 lb/450 g runner beans, destringed and cut into 1 inch/2.5 cm diagonal slices) |
| 4 oz (110 g) sea salt |
| 2 pints (1.2 litres) malt vinegar, plus 5 extra tablespoons |
| 6 oz (175 g) golden caster sugar |
| 2 cloves garlic, crushed with 3 teaspoons salt |
| 1 level dessertspoon fresh root ginger, peeled and grated |
| 1 oz (25 g) sauce flour |
Method
You need to begin this the day before. What you do is place the prepared cauliflower and onions in a non-metallic bowl, and the cucumbers and beans in another. Then whisk the salt into 4 pints (2.25 litres) of cold water to make a brine, and pour this over the vegetables. Now put a plate with a weight on it on top of each one to keep them submerged and leave them for 24 hours.
The next day, drain away the salt water and briefly rinse the vegetables. Now place the cauliflower, onions and the 2 pints (1.2 litres) vinegar together in the pan. Then add the nutmeg and allspice, bring it up to the boil, cover and simmer for 8 minutes. Next, take off the lid and stir in the cucumbers, beans, sugar, garlic and ginger. Now bring the mixture up to simmering point again, cover and cook for a further 4-5 minutes. The vegetables should still be slightly crisp, so don't go away and forget them.
Next, set a large colander over a large bowl, pour the contents of the pan into it and leave it all to drain, reserving the vinegar. Then mix the mustard powder, turmeric and flour together in another bowl. Gradually work in the additional tablespoons of vinegar and 2 tablespoons water so the mixture becomes a fairly smooth paste. Now add a ladleful of the hot vinegar liquid drained from the vegetables, stir again and transfer the sauce mixture to a saucepan.
Bring it to the boil, gradually whisking in the remaining hot vinegar. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes, then transfer the vegetables from the colander back to the large bowl, and pour over the sauce. Stir really well now to mix everything evenly, then spoon the piccalilli into the hot, sterilised jars. Cover straightaway with waxed discs, seal with vinegar-proof lids and when cold, label and store the piccalilli in a cool, dry, dark place to mellow for 3 months before eating.
The next day, drain away the salt water and briefly rinse the vegetables. Now place the cauliflower, onions and the 2 pints (1.2 litres) vinegar together in the pan. Then add the nutmeg and allspice, bring it up to the boil, cover and simmer for 8 minutes. Next, take off the lid and stir in the cucumbers, beans, sugar, garlic and ginger. Now bring the mixture up to simmering point again, cover and cook for a further 4-5 minutes. The vegetables should still be slightly crisp, so don't go away and forget them.
Next, set a large colander over a large bowl, pour the contents of the pan into it and leave it all to drain, reserving the vinegar. Then mix the mustard powder, turmeric and flour together in another bowl. Gradually work in the additional tablespoons of vinegar and 2 tablespoons water so the mixture becomes a fairly smooth paste. Now add a ladleful of the hot vinegar liquid drained from the vegetables, stir again and transfer the sauce mixture to a saucepan.
Bring it to the boil, gradually whisking in the remaining hot vinegar. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes, then transfer the vegetables from the colander back to the large bowl, and pour over the sauce. Stir really well now to mix everything evenly, then spoon the piccalilli into the hot, sterilised jars. Cover straightaway with waxed discs, seal with vinegar-proof lids and when cold, label and store the piccalilli in a cool, dry, dark place to mellow for 3 months before eating.
The two recipes above are both from Delia Smith and the old dowerhouse in particular was a big hit with the family last Christmas. So if you have a glut get chutney and pickle making nothing needs to go to waste bon apetite Jamie.
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Pictures of the rest of Stapleton allotments.
As promised last time here are some pictures of other plots on our site and to think the council want to get rid of over 20 of these to put a new bus lane through on to motorway.
Hope you enjoyed looking at some of the other plots at Stapleton allotments.
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