When looking at my neighbour's plots and seeing a sturdy vegetable or a heavy cropper I often ask, 'that's done really well, what variety is it?'. Invariably the answer is, 'erm, not sure, I can't remember'.
I discovered early on that if I wanted to improve my skills on the allotment I had to know: what varieties of vegetables worked well on my plot and those that failed; when the best time to sow was and; how they should be planted. Unfortunately I wasn't very good at writing these things down so this blog is the way for me to record the 'what, when and how' of it all. It's a way of recalling what worked and what didn't. That's what this review is all about, changing the things that failed and trying to improve on the things that worked.
The Negatives.
The first two things that come to mind are radish and sweet corn. Radish are easy to grow, they come up like weeds; I sowed 'Icicle Long White' and got nothing. I'm not sure if the seed was bad despite being a fresh packet, but I'll be trying something else next season. As for sweet corn, I sowed the reliable 'Swift F1' in deep root trainers and initially they did really well, growing tall and green. However, the process of transplanting them caused their development to stall and, while they did produce cobs, the plants appeared stunted. I've read that sweet corn don't like being transplanted but I've never had a problem before - perhaps 'Swift F1' are more susceptible to root disturbance than other varieties. Next season I'm going to wait longer before sowing so it's warmer and will sow direct with no transplanting. (Below - Swift F1 initially grows strongly in root trainers).
My Autumn garlic, planted Nov '13, grew really well in the months before Winter really set in and by early Spring they really got away. There is no doubt that planting in the Autumn allows quicker plant development but, the wet conditions over Winter causes the bulbs to be more prone to diseases. While I only lost one plant to rot, by early Summer the leaves were really suffering from allium rust and I had to trim the leaves off to save the plants which resulted in smaller bulbs. I'm not planting Autumn garlic this year, I'm going to try it in early Spring as I've had success before this way though the down side is that they are ready later in the season. (Below - allium rust on the garlic leaves).
The only other poor crop was the kohl rabi 'Korfu F1'. The plants all grew well at first but black ants hollowed out a few and pigeons polished off the leaves of the rest. While the ant problem was unusual, I will need to ensure that kohl rabi is protected by nets as it's a brassica and pigeons love eating all of the brassica family.
The final negative were the unusual cucamelons I grew in the greenhouse. Don't get me wrong, the plants grew, developed and cropped very well but, they were a bit something and nothing. Yes, they were unusual and interesting, but I won't bother growing them again as my family weren't that impressed - they were just 'ok' and were hype than substance. (Below - a developing cucamelon).
The Positives.
The season was pretty good this year with warm weather and just enough rain to ensure the plot didn't suffer. Therefore, the fruit and veg did well overall so, I'll pick a few things that I tried this year that might be a new variety or a new way of planting.
Firstly I'd like to mention carrots and parsnips. I planted these using the 'bar method', where a metal bar is wiggled around to create a deep conical hole in the ground which is back-filled with a mixture of sand and compost. A few seeds are sowed on top at each station and are thinned to the strongest. This method is a way of overcoming my heavy clay soil that contains too many stones for decent root crops.
The largest leap forward for me resulted from the bar method and the carrot variety 'Sweet Candle F1'. This carrot is head and shoulders above other main crop carrots - it's a blunt-ended variety that is so good it is used for displaying at shows but still tastes better than any other carrot I've ever had. I'm not overly fond of boiled carrots but Sweet Candle, roasted with other roots and squash tastes amazingly brilliant - so incredibly rich and sweet. I still have a few bags in the freezer, pre-prepared into strips, blanched in boiling water for a few minutes and frozen in bags. I can't recommend this variety highly enough. However, there was a touch of carrot root fly so I will be covering with horticultural fleece next season to see if I can improve on, what for me, were the best carrots I have ever grown. The parsnips, 'Gladiator F1', were sown using the same bar method, sand & compost, sowing direct and thinning - the result was equally good as the carrots, large parsnips that weren't too woody and were extremely tasty. (Below - the large Sweet Candle F1).
I love Winter squashes and this year I planted Sweet Dumpling, Pumpkin and Butternut. The seed from the Sweet Dumpling was saved from last year and had been crossed with a Pumpkin by accident to produce fruits at least four times the size they should have been. These hybrids were a terrific surprise and tasted gorgeous. I have saved some of the seed for planting next season but I have no idea what they will produce. The Butternut squashes, 'Hunter F1' were terrific - they were started off in the greenhouse (like the rest) and were planted out in the space vacated by my early spuds in mid-June. (Below - stacks of Butternuts, the smaller Sweet Dumplings and the larger hybrids).
Talking of potatoes; this year I tried the blight resistant 'Sarpo Mira' main crop for the first time. Sure enough, they resisted blight extremely well. As other potatoes succumbed to blight on my neighbours' plots as early as July, my Sarpos continued to grow strongly into September and would have continued to grow if I hadn't dug them up. I haven't had such large tubers for many years though I had a fair bit of scab on them. I'll certainly be trying to source Sarpo Mira again for the next season but I'll be altering my crop rotation so the potatoes don't occupy ground previously limed for the brassicas as lime can cause scab.
The onions were good this year, the Sturon sets developing well despite having 'rusty' garlic near-by. The rust also affected my 'Musselburgh' leeks which were growing on in a tray near-by. They looked so bad I almost didn't plant them out. As I didn't have anything to replace them I stripped the worse leaves and put them out in June as normal where they grew on very well indeed. (Below - Musselburgh leeks grow on well despite a touch of rust when young plants).
I initially had a bit of a failure with my 'Blue Lake' climbing French Beans, probably due to old seed, so I replaced them with the more prolific 'Cobra which were excellent. I'll be using Cobra next season. The 'Primo II' cabbages did well as usual and the 'Ruby Ball' red cabbage produced large heads as well with the added bonus that the slugs don't like them. However, I don't think I'll do red next season despite the lovely plants they produce as the family prefers the look of the green. I grew 'Trafalgar F1' Brussels Sprouts this year despite having great success with 'Bosworth F1' last year. The jury's still out on which are better - the Bosworth produced lovely large buttons that remained compact but likewise, the Trafalgar are doing the same. I actually picked Trafalgar sprouts in mid-October this season despite them being listed as mid-season crop from December onward. I'll probably stick with the Trafalgar if I have seed left but will consider Bosworth as I notice they have the RHS AGM award now. (Below - Trafalgar F1 sprouts being picked in mid-October).
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Back in the greenhouse I grew the cherry tomato 'Gardeners' Delight' and my usual 'Alicante'. To be honest, I think I'll do away with growing the cherry type next season, they are lovely but we tend to use tomatoes for pasta sauces and cut up in sarnies so cherry varieties aren't so useful. Alicante have always done OK with plenty of mid-sized tomatoes cropping into early October. However, I'm going to try 'Shirley F1' as they have a good reputation and I want to see if they do better than Alicante - the seed is more expensive but I wonder if the crop will justify the additional cost? The 'Californian Wonder' sweet peppers were the best I've grown this season - I ensured they were fed at the same time as the tomatoes as usual but the difference was that I potted them on into larger pots than I have done in the past which really worked in terms of cropping.
I grew my usual 'Sutton' dwarf broad beans as I have for most years - starting them early in the greenhouse and getting them out on the plot under cover in March - they always do well. A bit later in the season, when I had some space, I risked a 'catch crop' of 'Bunyard's Exhibition' broad beans - what a revelation they were too. I'd never grown Bunyard's before but they grew quickly and strongly in a short space of time producing a very heavy crop of long pods despite being planted late in the season. I think I'll go with Bunyard's straight away this year as they give so much more.
The two main changes that occurred this season I have left for last. The first is that I doubled my plot size. Up until now I've had, what is considered in these parts, a 'half plot' measuring around 1024 square feet - not massive but good enough to grow a fair amount of food if I was clever enough to use some of the ground twice in a season; for example, taking up all my early potatoes in June and growing in their place leeks and Winter squash already raised in trays and pots; dropping in a few 'catch crops' of early carrots, broad beans and lettuce when other gaps appeared.
This season I took over the half plot opposite which now gives me a full plot for the first time. The new plot gives me the same growing space as the original plot but with some extra room for a shed which I luckily inherited too. I cleared the new plot throughout the summer as it was fairly overgrown having not been used last season. I even managed to get one bed sorted early enough to grow some bits and pieces on it. (Below - the new half plot before work started on it in June).
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The second big change was the addition of some hens on the allotment. I've always wanted a few chickens but never had the courage or space. With the extra plot I decided now was the time to give it a go especially as a new site member had both hens and ducks. I adopted four ex-battery/ex-barn hens from the British Hen Welfare Trust charity who find homes for these poorly treated birds who are just commodities in a barbaric poultry industry. Needless to say their condition was not good - mites, worms and missing feathers but, a bit of care, attention and time can solve most of these problems and the hens soon settled in. Seeing birds that basically had no idea what being outside was like basking in the warm sun, scratching about and developing into glossy, friendly hens is a privilege.
Unfortunately the hen that became 'top' bird, who became the largest and re-grew lovely feathers, decided to die. One day she was asserting her place as head of the pecking order, the next day she settled down in some fresh straw and died. I console myself with the thought that at least she had a few months enjoying herself at the end of a short and unpleasant life. The remaining three are doing well, I get to see them at least three times a day - I open the coop at dawn, give them a scratch feed of corn late afternoon and shut them up at dusk to keep them warm and to protect against foxes. I'm fortunate to have my plot within 30 seconds of my house so it's easy for me to pop back and forth. I'm thinking of getting at least another pair in the Spring as I really love having them around and I have the space. Not only are the eggs appreciated but I put their droppings in a composter and this mix will go to improve the fertility of the soil - it's all good.
Well, that's my review of an eventful and exciting allotment year. It's been a good one which I have recorded both in this blog and, for the first time, on video (which I will keep too look back on in the future). With the festive season approaching I'll be digging up some fresh vegetables in the coming weeks for that special feast, so until then, bye for now.
I'll leave you with a recent frosty scene from the plot - Winter is here and all is now quiet.
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