July on the Allotment 2014

July on the Allotment – 2014

It has been quite dry for most of June and very pleasantly summery. July has started with more showery weather but still warm and sunny in intervals. Wonderful growing weather – especially for the weeds. Having been away a lot lately I find the weeds are getting very far ahead of me. But, really that is a small complaint.

This season has, so far, provided me with wonderful fruit – strawberries, raspberries [ from last year’s canes which have now finished and I will cut them back as the new season’s canes are starting to put on their fruits which also look like providing a heavy harvest], redcurrants, gooseberries and blackcurrants. My whitecurrants are also starting to ripen – I haven’t covered my whitecurrants either last year or this. For some reason the birds have not homed in on them and I can pick them at my leisure. Perhaps they don’t recognise the fruit – they are not commonly grown on our allotments or perhaps because they don’t have a lot of flavour – I suspect the former. This year I lost half of my redcurrants as I had assumed that as the fruits were still green I had time to cover them. However, the fruits of the redcurrants and blackcurrants in that area of my plot disappeared very early. Fortunately I have another area which was covered quite early.

I’m not a huge fan of sweet food so I rarely eat jam but, I do love any kind of pickle, relish, chutney or super spicy jelly which I can serve with savoury food. Fortunately, my family can absorb all of the jams and jellies I can make as well as the pickles, chutneys, ketchups, etc, which I can create – the hotter the better.

I have tried in the past to grow silver skin onions for pickling, growing Paris Silver Skin. It has not been particularly successful and although I had salad onions to eat, I didn’t have a usable crop of pickling onions.

This year I have grown Pompeii – a spring onion suitable for pickling as a ‘silver skin’. It has been amazing. If I had known it was going to be so good I would have sown several packets hoping for a good crop for pickling. However, they can be sown from March until mid to end of July. I have now sown another packet in the hope of getting another outstanding crop. I have found that late sowings are never so good but< I will report back on this.

My peas, this year, have been brilliant. I did sow a packet of sugar snap peas this year – Sugar Ann from Dobies. I’m not a great fan of mange-tout peas although I am happy with sugar snap. Unfortunately, I had to be away when they were at their best and I am now harvesting them as mature peas – not a great advertisement for these peas but, not their fault.

As usual, my maincrop [or perhaps my default crop] is Hurst Greenshaft. I have just finished harvesting my last large bucketful which I must spend my evening ‘shucking’ and freezing. My four packets of seeds sown into four rows has given me five buckets full of filled pea pods and a drawer in my freezer filled with packets of peas for the coming winter, as well as some to share with my family.

This has been a useless year for cauliflowers – the ground and the weather were too dry when they were heading-up and I had neither the time nor the energy to give them the water they needed to provide good heads but, as always. Each year gives its successes and its failures.

So far, potatoes this year, have been brilliant. My First Earlies – Epicure [ a variety I have not grown before] has been outstanding and very tasty. Of course my preference is for floury potatoes. Epicure are certainly not waxy but, otherwise have excellent applications.

My Mayan Gold, this year, have been so delicious. The plants provide a crop which is very abundant though doesn’t give huge tubers – wash them and steam, chip or roast. The steaming time is 10 – 15 mins when they will start to fall apart but the flavour is amazing – a plateful of these with butter and black pepper – yum!

Maintenance around the plot and in greenhouses or poly-tunnels –

·         watch for caterpillar attacks on tomato plants – pick off and destroy as you find them – tomato caterpillars, which can be green or beige coloured and really quite chunky will feed on leaves and fruits , destroying the fruits and allowing botrytis [grey mould] into the plants.

·         Watch, also, for red spider mite on indoor plants – they like dry warm conditions and can take over and destroy your indoor aubergines, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and chilli plants. The leaves of affected plants will take on a mottled unhealthy appearance. On closer inspection you will see webs, mostly on the backs of leaves and when the infestation is severe, between leaves and stems [if the infestation reaches this level, it is best to dig up and remove the infected plants – keeping a close eye on nearby plants for similar infection].

·         For me, at any rate, slugs and snails are not a problem indoors but can still be a serious issue on outdoor plants, especially brassicas. Do keep an eye on their activity – slug traps, pellets, etc are useful though, they can be quite a pest underground with root crops and potatoes.

·         Birds are always a problem though, thankfully, not indoors. Netting brassica plants is essential. Berries, especially gooseberries, are especially susceptible to harvesting by blackbirds. They also enjoy redcurrants and whitecurrants. I have found, over the years that blackbirds will take the ripe [red] sides out of ripening strawberries and will harvest the odd raspberry, it is not worth the trouble and expense of covering these fruits though redcurrants, cherries and gooseberries are a whole different ballgame – the birds are not prepared to share but, will take the lot.

·         A couple of years ago I also noticed that my rows of carrots were diminishing daily. One early morning I saw a plump pigeon eating off the lush green tops of my developing carrot plants – and I thought the only problems were poor germination and carrot root fly. Carrot Root Fly – an ongoing problem in the UK for carrot crops. I have tried many methods of beating this pest, including planting above 30cm or in raised beds. I have sown in a carrot box – made for me by a kind neighbour – about 1 metre off the ground. It seems the carrot fly on my allotment field have not read the instructions. Last year I grew an excellent crop in deep tubs in my back garden – as no-one locally was growing carrots, root fly were not a problem. However, as my crop was nearing the first thinning stage I was astounded to see that my crop had disappeared. There was no indication of slugs so I assume pigeons were the culprits. I do have a bird feeding station in my garden and feel somewhat miffed that they were not satisfied with the food I was putting out daily but, next year I will try again with netting!

·         Aphids - particularly on all beans, whitefly [on brassicas], caterpillars can all weaken or eat you precious young plants. Watch out, also, for ants [especially red ants which seem to be more destructive and quicker to bite than their black ant cousins] – while they don’t, in themselves, damage the plants, they encourage aphids and will build their nests under plants undermining them. Broad beans are particularly susceptible to black aphids. Remove the top growing points as soon as the plants have set pods at lower levels. While this does not eliminate the aphids it should discourage and hopefully encourage them to move elsewhere.

·         Continue to pinch out the side shoots of cordon tomato plants as they appear [not from bush tomatoes], on plants already growing on in green houses and poly-tunnels. Stake or tie up tomato and cucumber plants as they develop to keep them upright. By now the plants should be setting the young fruits;

·         Peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes and squashes are greedy feeders and are thirsty. They will require regular feeding and watering especially in warm dry weather;

·         Pick courgettes regularly to prevent them from becoming too large and to encourage the plants to produce more;

·         Strawberries will now be sending out lots of new runners. Peg these into the ground near the ‘mother’ plants or into pots of compost, to create new plants. They will need to be watered regularly especially if in pots.

·         Keep the plot tidy - cut grass on paths regularly to prevent weeds and grass from encroaching on your plot and to reduce slugs and snails.

- Weeding – keep seed beds, particularly, free from weeds. Hoeing is useful but take care to not damage young plants [hoeing is not very effective in wet weather as the hoed weeds will often re-root].

·         Preparation and planning - re-dig beds as soon as crops are harvested, to create a good workable tilth - ready for planting out.

Although it is early for ‘autumn’ digging, I will start to dig ground where crops have been harvested which will give me a chance to do the necessary digging [I have a large area to cover and opportunities for digging can easily be missed]. Areas such as pea beds and those for early brassicas can now be turned over.

Don’t forget that strawberry beds which are three years plus old should now be cleared – the ground re-dug and a new area set up for the young runners when rooted.

·         Sowing and planting

-      Of course, carrots can be sown until the end of August, if you have suitable conditions although, I have found that I have had more success with earlier sown carrots;

-      Florence Fennel – a wonderful vegetable whose fresh aniseed flavour is such a wonderful addition to salads – sow from May until July outdoors;

-      Leeks can be transplanted as soon as the ground can be prepared. If it is very dry, water it well beforehand;

-      Spinach and Swiss Chard can still be sown;

-      Salad crops – lettuce, radishes, rocket, spring onions, can all be sown outdoors;

-      Turnips can be sown until the end of August for harvesting into winter.

-      See Pompeii Onions above

·         Harvesting –

Second-Early and Early-Maincrop potatoes are now be ready for harvesting.

Lettuces and spring onions [see above]. The lettuces won’t sit too long in the bed – eat them quickly or give them away and replant with new seedlings. [ I am really bad at harvesting my lettuces and waste so many of them in-spite of offering them to others- I should rethink the varieties I grow and the quantities

Globe artichokes are still harvestable although watch out for greenfly and black fly – they are quite a nuisance now coming into their main harvesting season.

Soft fruit - redcurrants, blackcurrants and white currants as well as gooseberries, Keep them protected from birds – they do seem to love redcurrants and gooseberries particularly. If you have lots of fruit, make sure you have containers for freezing and lots of jam-pots ready for preserving. If you still have produce in your freezer from last year, now is the time to use it up so that you have space for the new crops.

White-Currants - a special event!

feasting from allotments

check for more information on growing and recipes  my new website - Feasting from Allotments

Using White-currants –ribes rubrum

Although I have known about white-currants for many years – I had seen them in the orchard of friends of my parents when I was a little girl, I have never actually seen them used or tasted products made from them – redcurrants yes! I do love redcurrant jelly with roast meat, especially lamb and it is quite a good substitute for cranberry sauce or jelly with the Christmas turkey. Perhaps that makes our currants sound like the poor relation but, they really are a wonderful fruit both for savoury dishes and for desserts.

I was rather fascinated by this rather ignored fruit so, I bought a couple of bushes to ‘give them a try’ a couple of years ago. They don’t produce fruit on new wood but, like redcurrants, the long strings of jewel like fruits are borne on older wood.

This year, after a long cold winter and poor spring, has been amazingly productive for white-currants and redcurrants.

There is, however, little information around on what to do with white-currants in the kitchen so, I’ve had to experiment a little though, ideas that work for redcurrants can also work for white-currants.

I do think they are probably the most beautiful of fruits. On their long strings of ripe berries they look like exotic strings of jewels – long glistening earrings!

Birds just love redcurrants so, it is really important to net them carefully, especially as the bright red fruits are easily seen by passing pigeons, magpies and blackbirds who seem to find them very palatable some time before we would find them ripe enough to use.

I didn’t net my white-currants. The green unripe berries blend well with the luxurious leaf growth and have stayed hidden until they have started to ripen. I have seen no signs of bird predation, unlike on my netted redcurrants – I had to help a magpie to escape from my fruit cage a couple of days ago while its mate screeched alarm from a nearby bush. This year, there has been enough for all and in a couple of days when I have harvested most of my gooseberries, I will open my fruit cages and let the birds eat their fill.

Apart from preserves using this fruit they are just wonderful on cakes and puddings.

As a decoration  - keep the ripe berries on their stalks but choose the most perfect stalks you can find.

Ø  For puddings and ice cream – wash the fruit carefully, and dry on kitchen paper. Place carefully into suitable freezer containers [not bags], keeping each string of berries separate from others and freeze. When needed the frozen fruits can be placed on ice-cream dishes, sorbets and cold puddings just before serving.

Ø  For decoration on cakes, flans, tartlets – choose the best strings of the fruit you can find. Wash and dry them on sheets of kitchen paper. Brush over each fruit with egg white or whisk the egg white lightly and dunk the fruit into it ensuring all of the fruit has been coated. Dust each string of fruit with castor sugar, ensuring all of the fruit has been coated. Set out onto greaseproof paper to dry. These fruits will keep for some days.

Preserves

White-currants are a close relation to redcurrants – [both are Ribes rubrum]. It is thought that white-currants are actually a sport or mutation of redcurrants though they have been around for a very long time. The fruits, when ripe are not really white but a very pale peachy colour and jams or jellies made from them will have a warm pink colour. If you wish to make the colour richer you can add a few redcurrants to the mixture, though it does seem a shame to alter it like this.

The most famous white-currant preserves are Bar-le-Duc, also called Lorraine Jelly. These preserves have been made in a small town of the same name in the provence of Lorraine [north east France], for many centuries. However, they are costly as the seeds are carefully removed from each individual fruit while keeping the fruits intact – a job which can only be done by hand. These berries are then suspended in the jelly.

Whitecurrant Jelly

1½ kg (3lb) whitecurrants – actually it doesn’t really matter how much you have, the amount of sugar added will depend on the amount of juice extracted.

½ litre [1 pint] water

Method

1.      Wash the fruit and remove any leaves or bits of twig. You can leave the stalks in. Put them in a preserving pan with the water.

2.      Heat very gently to draw the juice from the fruit, then simmer slowly until the fruit has been totally softened or turned to pulp.

3.      Strain through a scalded jelly bag. Leave it overnight to ensure all the juice has been extracted. Don’t be tempted to squeeze the bag, you will make your jelly cloudy for little extra juice.

4.      Measure the juice and add approx. 1kg sugar for every litre of juice (1lb for every pint).

5.      Return the juice and the sugar to a clean preserving pan and heat slowly until all the sugar has dissolved. Stir frequently to ensure the sugar doesn’t stick.

6.      Bring to the boil and boil rapidly until setting point is reached. [place a little on a saucer and allow to cool – the jelly should wrinkle when pushed with a finger]. There is a lot of pectin in currants so, it should reach setting point quite quickly.

7.      Skim to remove any froth from the top of the jelly or add a small knob of butter and stir in rapidly (this should remove any froth from the top of the jelly).

8.      Pot up in small, hot, sterilised jars. Cover immediately and label.

Whitecurrant Jam

Like most currant jams, if it is made in the same way as most jams, the preserve can be quite seedy and many people, including myself, find this rather unpleasant. However, there is a compromise between the jam and jelly.

1½ kg (3lb) whitecurrants – actually it doesn’t really matter how much you have, the amount of sugar added will depend on the amount of puréed fruit.

½ litre [1 pint] water

1.      Wash the fruit and remove any leaves or bits of twig. You can leave the stalks in. Put them in a preserving pan with the water.

2.      Heat very gently to draw the juice from the fruit then, simmer slowly until the fruit has been totally softened or turned to pulp.

3.      Using the back of a wooden spoon press the pulp through a sieve [use a nylon sieve – not a metal], to take as much of the pulp as possible but leaving seeds, stalks and skins behind which can be discarded.

4.      Measure the pulp in a measuring jug and add approx. 1kg sugar for every litre of juice (1lb for every pint).

5.      Return the pulp and the sugar to a clean preserving pan and heat slowly until all the sugar has dissolved. Stir frequently to ensure the sugar doesn’t stick and burn.

6.      Bring to the boil and boil rapidly until setting point is reached. [place a little on a saucer and allow to cool – the jam should wrinkle when pushed with a finger]. There is a lot of pectin in currants so, it should reach setting point quite quickly.

7.      Skim to remove any froth from the top of the jam or add a small knob of butter and stir in rapidly (this should remove any froth from the top of the jam).

8.      Pot up in small, hot, sterilised jars. Cover immediately and label.

This stuff is rare, delicious and precious. If you are going to use it, make sure it is for a special event. If you are going to give it away, make it for a special occasion, as a gift, etc.