September on the Allotment

September on the Allotment – What’s to do this month?

Early autumn and it appears that now the children are going back to school the weather is picking up again – though so much cooler. It seems remarkable in many summers in the UK, that the weather can be so often warm and dry for May and June but, as soon as the schools close for the summer break the weather becomes wet and cool. Of course, this doesn’t happen every year – in some years it just rains from spring until autumn, thinking of 2013.

This year, I think I am on top of my harvesting and preserving and having a friend to help me – who has good strong arms – I am getting my digging started early. Last year – in early spring, I hurt my back digging ground that should have been left alone until it was in suitable condition. As it took a long time to heal I have come to realise that there are some chores I really do need help with. Of course, I could just give up and sit at home in front of the telly but, I really don’t think it is time for that yet.

Tomatoes, peppers and chillies are ripening steadily in my poly-tunnel. I have reduced the number of varieties this year and am sticking to types which will provide me with the crops which are most useful for my needs and which have been successful for me.

·         Tomatoes – Ailsa Craig [for salads and sandwiches], Fantasio F1 [for ketchup, relish and for freezing], Sultana [ for salads, young children and for eating straight from the vine].

·         Chillies – Joe’s Long [my old reliable] but I couldn’t help a bit of experimenting and am growing Jamaican Bell [they have not ripened yet but, are apparently, a mild chilli and are very pretty].

·         Sweet Peppers – California Wonder and F1 Denver – next year I might just stick to California Wonder as it has been a good grower for me [though it is always good to have a back-up].

There have been some interesting developments outdoors [in some cases, this could be lack of developments].

·         Winter squashes and pumpkins – Last year I had more than 80 from my couple of patches of plants. There was no way my family or I could use that number of pumpkins [these are not the huge varieties used for competitions or for Hallowe’en lanterns, mine were intended for eating]. Eventually I put many of them out on my garden wall, where I put much of my excess produce and invite passersby to help themselves. I did think that perhaps many people would not know what to do with them so, I created and printed off several copies of a recipe sheet to go with them, which I put in a plastic wallet, beside the pumpkins on the garden wall. When I checked later, the plastic wallet had disappeared but the pumpkins were all still there ! ! They did however, all disappear by the next day.

·         Potatoes – have been brilliant this year from my First Earlies – Epicure, to Early Maincrop – Mayan Gold [do see earlier blogs on this variety], Maincrop - Kerr’s Pink, Late Maincrop – Sarpo Mira.

Epicure are a new variety for me to grow and they have been wonderful [but are floury, not to everyone’s taste]. Kerr’s Pink is a variety I have grown when I lived in Ireland. It is definitely a favourite in Ireland, very flavoursome and floury [take care how you cook it or it will fall apart] This is the first year I have managed to find a source of these seeds in the UK and I was delighted to be able to grow them again. The flavour and the quality has not disappointed but by early August when my other potatoes ran out [and yes, I do know it is a bit early to start lifting maincrops but, I was reluctant to have to buy potatoes] I started lifting my Kerr’s Pink. Only a plant at a time as I needed them. I was amazed to see that the potatoes, although still quite small, were putting out shoots and starting on a secondary crop, giving me [as one of my friends said] new potatoes in August! This had not happened to other varieties still in the ground. I put the issue to other members of our allotment committee and the general opinion was that it was due to the 2 month long dry spell followed by heavy rain. It is possible also, that this variety has not been developed to cope with long periods of dry weather. I would be grateful for any thoughts on this. However, they were utterly delicious and as long as I can get hold of the seed, I will certainly grow this variety again.

·         Summer brassicas were disappointing due, I suppose to the very dry weather. Cauliflowers and broccoli did not heart-up properly and cabbages split much too early. As my regular readers will know, I don’t water outdoors except for seedbeds and for young plants until they are established. Everything else just ‘has to get on with it’. In spite of this policy beans and peas have been excellent.

·         There has been an excellent set on fruit this year although my Victoria plums were ravaged by wasps – I was still able to make a good quantity of plum jam. Cooking apples and pears must still be harvested as I can cope with the heavy crops but have been very satisfactory.

·         This year, I am digging out all of my globe artichoke plants. They have now been there for up to seven years and although some of my plants have been off shoots of the original plants, I feel it is time to move my artickoke bed to another part of my plot and give a original plot [goodness it was one of my first cultivated slots in my ‘newly taken over well overgrown plot’] a thorough digging over – potatoes in there next season! I will buy in new plants. Although my daughter has had excellent success in propagating artickoke seeds, my own success has not been so great.

Maintenance

Ø  As crops finish their harvest, remove the spent plants and compost them;

Ø  Over-wintering Harvests – brassicas – [cabbage, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts]; leeks, parsnips, Swedes etc, clear of weeds and watch out for pests like white fly on the brassicas [ there have been fewer of these during the dry weather but during the wet weeks the numbers of these little pests has increased;

Ø  Keep perennial crops, asparagus, globe artichokes and fruit bushes, canes and trees free from weeds;

Ø  Keep paths and edges tidy and cut back to prevent perennial invading the plot [and you neighbours’ plots];

Ø  As beans, sweet peas, peas and other crops finish their harvest, lift the canes, clean them and store them where the canes or their ends are not sitting in wet conditions, which will rot them. Carefully looked after they should last for several years;

Ø  Crops in poly-tunnels and greenhouses should still be good to mature and ripen for a couple of months so, make sure you keep the plants well watered and free from pests.

Ø  As you finish using tools, cloches and netting, ensure they are clean and store in a safe and dry environment;

Ø  Remove top growth of tomato plants to ensure the plants put all their energy into those trusses which are already developing. Except for small salad tomatoes – restrict the plants to 2 – 3 trusses now:

Preparation and Planning

Ø  As summer cropping plants finish their harvest, start digging these areas once cleared, especially if you have a large plot to dig. You may find that there will be fresh weed growth before the winter but it is better than leaving the digging until the spring. On heavy clay soil particularly, the difference between autumn dug and spring dug ground is significant;

Ø  Prepare beds for autumn planting perennial crops, fruit trees, bushes and canes;

Ø  Prepare ground for autumn plantings of onion, garlic and shallot sets and broad beans;

Ø  Think about ordering seeds, bulbs, sets and plants for autumn planting. Many of the large seed house are sending out their autumn catalogues now. Write to them to request a catalogue or find them on-line – see our website for contact details.

Sowing and Planting

§  There is not a lot which can be successfully sown during September although some varieties of lettuce and radish can still be sown until the end of September – choose your varieties carefully and protect the young plants from slugs, caterpillars and pigeons.

§  You can, of course, still transplant spring cabbages into their final growing place – as with salad crops, it is important to protect them from the plethora of pests which will destroy them long before you can usefully harvest them. I have found it useful to plant some in my poly-tunnel once the summer crops have finished [a while to go yet!] but this will give me a welcome crop of green vegetables in springtime when little else is available.

§  In preparation for new strawberry beds, pot up ‘runners’ from young strawberry plants [these are much more robust than runners from old – 3years + - plants]. Make sure they are kept well watered and detach from the parent plants when the ‘runners’ are well rooted

§  Set up new strawberry beds with rooted runners. I use a 2 metre wide meshed matting [which allows water through but keeps the weeds down] to plant my young strawberries through. Ensure the matting is well clamped down or high winds will lift the matting the young plants. The method is not perfect and it is necessary to keep an eye on slugs which will hide under the matting but, is better that leaving the strawberry plants on open ground. Of course, you could, like commercial growers, plant in raised troughs, a meter above ground where you can harvest and care for, at your leisure – Hmm, now that’s a thought!

Harvesting

Ø  Lots of sweet-corn is still available to harvest although, my earlier crop is now frozen for winter use or has been made into relish;

Ø  Beans – runner beans are now becoming too tough and stringy to be pleasant to eat. Some French beans for fresh eating are still harvestable. Drying French beans – Borlotto, Jack Edwards, Yin-yang, etc, are now drying on the vines and should be ready to harvest

Ø  Curcurbits – winter squashes, pumpkins are beginning to mature and the skins to harden. If possible, lift the fruits onto a piece of wood, stone, brick or similar, to keep them off the ground to avoid slug and wet damage. They should be useable in the kitchen now but, for storing, ensure they have dried well and can lift from the withered plant easily [store in a cool dark place – I have had some which have kept until May of the following year but, only a few. Check them regularly throughout the winter and remove any which show signs of rotting]. Courgettes [zucchini] are now coming to the end of their main harvest. My yellow courgettes, especially, are markedly, slowing down – I can no longer be guaranteed a crop which I have to leave on my garden wall for neighbours to take.

Ø  Tomatoes are at their best now and I certainly have more than I can use in the odd salad, or even a daily salad. Think about using the excess for Tomato Ketchup, Tomato Chutney, Freezing as pulp for winter use, freezing in a salsa with other ingredients. Outdoor tomatoes are likely to finish cropping earlier than the indoor grown varieties.

Ø  Peppers and chillies – are now beginning to ripen. Peppers can be stored frozen as part of a salsa, chutney or just sliced and frozen. If growing a thickly fleshed chilli like Jalapeno, they do not dry well in our UK conditions but, they will keep well, sliced in small pots in the freezer. Thinly fleshed chillies like Joe’s Long can be hung up and dried very successfully and used all winter long.

Ø  Potatoes – it is likely that all Earlies and Second Earlies have long been harvested and eaten. My late Maincrop variety of choice is Sarpo Mira which, I hope, might see me through the winter – they have excellent flavour and cooking qualities, are blight resistant and will store successfully through the winter. I will start to harvest them later this month.

Ø  Brassicas – some varieties of Brussels Sprouts, broccoli/calabrese and late cabbage are available now. Early kale can be harvested but may be best left until winter.

Ø  Early leeks and parsnips are harvestable now.

Ø  Salad crops, of course are still excellent where we have managed to keep the pests off.

Ø  Fruit – autumn harvesting raspberries are still available;

-          Apples, depending on the variety will now be harvestable – if they come easily from the stem they should be ready and can be stored. If you allow them to fall, the resultant bruising will mean that they must be used immediately. Check also for insect damage – those fruits also must be used immediately or discarded.

-          Pears and damsons should still be ready to harvest.

Our birds can also look forward [do they do this?] to a short time of not raising broods but, for them winter can be a harsh time so, do think about feeding them and providing water for them during the cold months.

 

I am sorry if my many failures make my followers feel I have little of importance to contribute. However, for me, a gardener who claims that everything is perfect and here is what you must do, is not helpful to many growers.

I am not an expert but, I do have much experience. I like to experiment with varieties and conditions. I think it is useful to share my successes and failures and to invite comments and advice from others. I am happy to share others’ experiences – be they successes and failures.

I believe it is also important that gardeners, allotmenters, enthusiasts and those who would like to GROW for whatever reason are encouraged and not be put off by total failures or even by a few failures. I think I am a fairly successful gardener but, never, in any year has everything I have tried to grow been a success for me. Please share this thought with young, just starting and inexperienced growers.

But do remember – as my daughter said once to me – ‘You get out what you put in’!

Early March on the Allotment

Early March on the Allotment

It would be so easy to be seduced by the wonderful spring-like weather we are having at the moment and... I totally am! But really, we are only just out of February.

I have been trying to restrain myself from getting going on my plot too early and, perhaps fortunately, a heavy cold that has made me feel a bit miserable for a week or so, has prevented me from doing more than I might otherwise have done.

This is the first year, perhaps ever, that I am seeing the flowers on my really delightful double-flowered camellia not scorched and brown from frost. I suppose I could have put fleece over the bush each year to protect the blossoms but, that does rather seem to defeat the purpose of the plant. It is now very beautiful. Close to where I live there is an avenue lined on both sides with purple leaved flowering cherries. In spring time they can be absolutely stunning as they come into flower and as I passed them today on my way to my plot I was thrilled to see them just starting to bloom. When they have finished flowering the dark leaves can make the same avenue look quite gloomy and as they are pollarded every other year they don’t always look so spectacular. Hopefully, for the next few weeks they will make everyone who sees them feel joyful.

Some activities are reasonably safe... I think! Today I prepared seed beds for early sowings of some brassicas in my poly-tunnel. I have tried to rein myself in and have sown only a few seeds from each packet. Today, I've sown All Year Round Cauliflower, Cabbage - Golden Acre Primo, both from Dobies and Brussels Sprouts - Seven Hills from the Real Seed Catalogue [it's the first time I have tried these but they are recommended for exposed windy sites - my plot is certainly that although, being in the South West, t is probably not as exposed as some]. Brassica seeds will keep for several years so, it’s a good idea to sow only what you think you will need. Of course, if you are sowing very early you can successionally sow up to the end of April and for many varieties, well after that. Do read the instructions on your packets of seed and take into consideration where you are living and the weather conditions. In my poly tunnel is, I think, pretty safe but, possibly, if this mild weather continues, I could get away with sowing brassicas in outdoor seedbeds. They might be slower to germinate but that’s okay. If you are propagating indoors or in a propagator do make sure they are ‘hardened off’ [gradually reducing the levels of heat...without exposing to harsh frosty conditions, perhaps set them outdoors during the day then take back indoors at night!] before transplanting outdoors.

I did take a tray of propagator induced lettuce seedlings to my poly-tunnel a couple of weeks ago and today, I transplanted a few of them into the enriched compost of my tunnel and watered them well in. Although they were really quite small...second true-leaf stage, hopefully, I will have some early lettuce. This is well worth doing as they are easy to grow and are so expensive to buy. These are Cos, Winter Gem, Vaila, and are really quite hardy. Shortly, I will transplant some of them outside.

Today, I took the fleece covering from my globe artichoke plants. This is the first year I have covered them although all professional advice does recommend this [usually covering with straw for over-wintering]. After last year’s exceptionally harsh winter, when I lost 40% of my plants, I decided I was being just a bit too confident. Several of my allotment neighbours reported 100% loss. My plants are just starting to put on new growth and I felt it was time to divide a couple of them which were becoming a bit too ‘overgrown’ to do well in the coming season. The original artichoke plants will die back as they age and will put out side shoots. These will be fine for a few years but, eventually the plant will start to fail and will need to be replaced. This can be avoided by dividing the root mass. When the side shoots become obvious you can, during the ‘dormant’ months put the spade through the root mass and separate the side shoot from the ‘parent’ plant. This ‘side shoot’ can then be transplanted and will grow successfully as a new plant, removing the need for buying seeds or new plants. When you do this, make sure you take as much of the new root with your new plant as necessary. Several years ago I would complete this process without thinking and had 100% success. However, during the last 2 bitter winters, my propagation methods have had limited success and I am now so much more careful. Nothing beats over-confidence like a bit of failure!

Some very late transplanted and very miserable white-sprouting broccoli plants I bought from Thompson & Morgan [my own had failed as the very dry spring and early summer had prevented transplanting at the correct time and young plants I then bought from T&M were dismayingly dismal, leading me to complain bitterly] have now, actually started to sprout and today, I have brought home my first dishful, not a lot but I hope for increased cropping in the next few weeks.

I’ve also been back to my propagator and have sown two types of basil in pots, some orange scented thyme, Sultana tomatoes [little plum shaped, salad tomatoes which did absolutely brilliantly last year and tasted amazing... I bought my seeds from Dobies ]. I’ve sown pepper seeds and after the success of my chilli seeds, I hope these will be as successful. Last year’s peppers, although they grew and did produce fruit were not, what I would call, successful. The previous year I grew ‘Sweet California’ from a packet of free seeds which were outstanding. However, as we had little heat or sunshine during the growing season last year, the results were disappointing. Really, the impact of the weather conditions can’t be ignored, especially for crops which are not indigenous. My recent sowing was with Corno di Toro Rosso from Dobies. These are long sweet peppers, suitable for salads and cooking. I will sow my ‘bell’ type peppers later.

And, God heavens! the first asparagus spears are appearing... already!

From now on, I guess the year will speed up so, more stuff in the near future.

Tomato Moth, Tomato recipes and other thoughts

Tomato Moth, tomato Recipes and other thoughts

My tomatoes are just beginning to get into their stride now. I haven’t yet started to freeze them but, I am in the process of making a large pan of tomato and pepper chutney – see later. And yes, yes! I know I have written about tomatoes in several Blogs lately but, it is very topical right now.

I was talking to my plot neighbour this morning while I was tending to my tomatoes and I offered him some of mine, as I had noticed he wasn’t growing any, he declined. This wonderful gentleman has been growing on his allotment for many, many years and he harked back, sadly, to the days when tomatoes had some intense flavour. He said he had stopped growing them as they no longer seemed to have flavour but did have very thick skins. I am inclined to agree with him. This year, I am growing five different varieties – two of these which are large meaty toms and are good for cooking and freezing – Fantasio F1 and Alicante. They are both reliable and although they don’t have an outstanding flavour, I will forgive them.

The other three I grew as I was hoping to find flavour – Orange Banana (a largish, orange, oval tomato with a curl in its tail). It looks pretty especially sliced with red tomatoes and a sprinkle of chopped basil as a tomato salad. But, not a particularly impressive flavour; Yellow Centiflor – its trusses produce loads of small yellow tomatoes suitable for salads. I’m finding them a little troublesome as the plants are not particularly vigorous and the tomatoes trail on the ground making it difficult to keep them clean. Perhaps they would have been better in hanging baskets. I might have felt tempted to try this next year but, although they are pretty in a salad, they have little flavour.

I’m leaving the best until last – Sultana – a small, red, oval, salad tomato. I have quite enjoyed them and they really do look nice, whole, in a mixed salad.

Interestingly, my neighbour was also talking about how expensive it has become to work an allotment to keep it productive. The numbers of diseases and pests – I’ll include birds in this – has meant that we must spend more time and come up with more sophisticated methods of keeping the pests out – especially if we want to be organic. We have many more birds around, especially those fat, greedy pigeons. We seem to have viruses on plants that have not been seen before and we certainly have insect pests which are relatively new to us. My tomatoes are being eaten by caterpillars – some green and some pale brown. I saw these for the first time last year, an experience shared by another neighbour. While I don’t yet know how large they can grow, so far, I am picking up 3 – 4 cm long specimens.

My research came up three options

1.      Tomato Hornworms – caterpillars of the hawkmoth or hummingbird moth. That was really quite exciting. I would have allowed them to munch on my tomatoes just to see the adults – but no! They don’t have a horn and I just don’t see them growing to 4inches long – 10cms.

2.      Tomato Moth – Laconobia oleracea (which will also attack peppers and chrysanthemums apparently.

3.      Tuta Absoluta – South American Tomato Moth – neither the pictures of the moth nor the larvae nor the damage was similar to that I have found on my tomatoes – so!

While I might be wrong I am guessing it is the common or garden (no pun intended!) Tomato Moth. That said, I am finding both green and pale brown caterpillars so, there could be more than one guilty party here.

They are champions at hiding and are easiest found by the greenish lumps of poo you can find on the plant leaves. They will eat the leaves and the green or red tomatoes. I wouldn’t mind if they all ate one tomato, we could share, but no! They would rather eat chunks out of lots of tomatoes. They are not around in huge numbers and if you just check for them, pick them off and squash them every couple of days, you can prevent any serious damage. However, ignore them for a week or more and your crop will be devastated.

Please do get back to me if you have better or more information which I could share.

Using the harvest

I have noticed that my preserving pan, now many years old and well used is starting to stick – although is Teflon coated. The usual method for ‘seasoning’ pans (effectively making them non-stick) is to put some oil onto the pan and burn it on. This method has several dis-advantages, not least the smell and its tendency to set off all the smoke alarms in your house.

Try this method instead: Make sure the pan is well cleaned (if there are small pieces of burnt on food, remove them – if necessary by scraping or with sanding paper. Cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of salt. Place the pan over a hot flame and burn in the salt for 10 – 15 minutes. Remove the salt and wipe the inside of the pan. This should last for quite a while. The salt will not burn, will not smoke, no fumes! And, it works

Of all the chutneys I made last year, this was everyone’s favourite and disappeared very quickly. While I should have enough tomatoes to make a few more batches, I might just have to buy some peppers – how sad is that!

This chutney is quite sweet but you can make it spicier or hotter if you wish by the addition of more chillies and more spice.

Hot Spicy Roasted Pepper and Tomato Chutney

2 kg ripe tomatoes - peeled

4 large ripe sweet peppers – any shape will be good but use only red or yellow peppers

3 large onions – peeled and finely chopped

4 good sized garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed

3-4 hot red peppers (remove the seeds if you don’t want your chutney to be too hot)

1 tsp ground cinnamon,        1 tsp ground cloves,       ½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt                                   700g (1½lb) sugar

850 ml vinegar (1½pt) – white vinegar is best but malt vinegar will also do

Method

·         Skin the tomatoes and chop – (skinning tomatoes can be done in several ways:

* – on a fork over a gas flame – great for a couple of tomatoes!

* - in a bowl with boiling water poured over – great for a handful or so.

* - For a large amount – cut out the core and put in the largest bowl which will fit in the micro wave. Microwave on full for 20 minutes, then, just lift off the skins. Chop roughly.

·         Put the peppers into a roasting tin in a hot oven 200°C or No 6 Gas for 30 mins or so. They should just start to brown or char. Leave them to cool.

·         Remove the skins and the seeds as far as possible then chop roughly.

·         Put the chopped tomatoes, chopped peppers, chopped onions, chopped garlic, vinegar and sugar into a preserving pan with the spices and seasonings.

·         Simmer slowly until the sugar has dissolved and the fruit/vegetables have softened.

·         Bring to the boil and cook, stirring frequently to ensure it does not stick and burn until it starts to turn thick.

·         Pot up in hot, sterilised jars. Cover and label.

Home made Tomato Ketchup

Every time I have made this recipe it has come out slightly differently – all acceptable and some outstanding, do give it a try.

2 kg ripe tomatoes ( 4½ lbs)                            2 – 3 fresh bay leaves – crushed

8ml white vinegar( 1 pt)                                  piece of cinnamon bark

190g white granulated sugar ( 6oz)                2 – 3 cloves garlic - crushed

1 Tblsp. salt                                                     2 – 3 red chillies ( dried or fresh)

¼ - ½ tsp ground allspice                                ¼ - ½ tsp ground cloves

Large pinch coarsely ground black pepper                                        

Method

1.      Wash and roughly cut the tomatoes and put in a preserving pan or large saucepan with the salt, bay leaves, cinnamon bark, crushed garlic cloves and vinegar (be fairly sparing with the salt at this stage – add more in the final stages as necessary).

2.      Add the chopped chillies. Take care with these, especially if the ketchup is for children ( I have used dried  Joe’s Long, grown indoors - which are medium heat)

3.      Bring to the boil then simmer gently until the tomatoes are thoroughly softened.

4.      In the meantime, sterilise the bottles or jars – keep hot in low oven.

5.      Remove the cinnamon bark and bay leaves then, sieve the tomato mixture through a coarse sieve – preferable nylon. Return the juice and pulp to a clean saucepan.

6.      Add sugar then ground allspice, ground cloves and black pepper gradually, tasting frequently to ensure the flavour is not too strong. Remember, when the ketchup is cold, the flavour will be somewhat milder. You may also want to add more salt if needed.

7.      Simmer the mixture until it starts to thicken. Don’t make it too thick at this stage as it thickens as it cools.

8.      Put the heated sterilised bottles/jars on a wooden surface and fill them with the ketchup while it is still very hot. Seal the jars immediately. This ketchup should keep safely for several months.

Freezing Tomatoes

Use normal-sized or large tomatoes.

Wash them and cut out the central cores.

Put them into the largest micro-wave proof bowl you have which will fit into your micro-wave oven.

Microwave on full power for 20 minutes.

Remove, allow to cool slightly and lift off the skins. Pour off the excess juice.

( my friend Philip, who gave me this method does not remove the juice. There is merit to both methods. For his – where the juice is included – the resultant pulp is less strong, is suitable for lots of recipes, including soup.

With my dryer method – it is more concentrated, the flavoursome juice has been lost, it is really too sharp and concentrated for soup but, is excellent for Italian dishes, it takes up less space in the freezer.

Put the skinned tomatoes back into the bowl and microwave on full power for a further 20  minutes.

Allow to cool. Pack into suitable, lidded, freezer containers (leave a space for expansion) and freeze.