26 Jul - Garlic, Carrots & Kohl Rabi

Following on from the great pea and broad bean harvest, I decided to dig up my garlic on the 18th July as the leaves had gone over and had started to dry out. Last season I planted garlic in the Autumn but, a wet Winter saw it covered in rust by the time the bulbs were supposed to be putting on weight. As a result, Autumn planting wasn't successful so this season I went for Spring planting.

The cloves (Germidour) were planted out on the 4th March and were showing strongly by the 21st March (see March 7th & 21st blog posts). While not massive, the garlic has produced a large number of usable bulbs which are currently drying out in the shed. I'm going to keep the largest bulbs for planting next season as garlic varieties can adapt to local conditions. In a few seasons I hope to have my own strain.

I sowed Sweet Candle F1 carrots a week or so into April. Due to my heavy clay soil I used the 'bar' method, i.e, I used a metal bar to create a few lines of conical holes around two foot deep in the ground which I filled with a mixture of sand and compost - the seeds were sown on top. When growing strongly, I thinned to one plant per station. I did a bit of weeding this week and noticed that two stations had an extra carrot growing so I carefully pulled the unwanted carrot up to leave one to grow on. The two 'thinnings' can hardly be considered as such as they looked great; this bodes well for some large Sweet Candle in a few months time. (Pic - two carrots 'thinned' from the Sweet Candle F1 rows).

I also decided to experiment with the smaller Nantes variety grown as 'finger carrots' by inserting a spade into the ground, wiggling it back and forth to create a 'V' shaped tench which was back-filled with rough compost. The seeds were sown on top. Now I can say that the spade method has also worked rather well, producing a lovely crop of nice, smaller carrots. I've just started taking these, pulling the larger ones from the line to leave enough space for the others to grow. (Pic - a nice bunch of smaller carrots sown in a spade made 'V' trench).

Finally, my kohl rabi, White Vienna, are starting to get to a size where I can pick them. They are such unusual vegetables that taste a bit like a nutty cabbage - they can be boiled or grated raw into salads. It's the stem that swells and, while odd looking, they have grown pretty well this season. (Pic - a trio of kohl rabi).

That's it for this post and probably for this month too. As I'm writing the rain outside is finally beginning to ease, it's been lashing down all day. The forecast suggest that it will heavy showers for the next few days so I'll be catching up again with the plot in a week or so. Until early August then, bye for now.

15 Jul - Picking Peas & Broad Beans

The peas and broad beans are just about done so it's time to pick them. I picked the peas on the 9th July; there were five short rows of 'Hurst Green Shaft' which were directly sown on the 6th April, a variety I've never tried before but they certainly seemed to have performed well. (Pic - peas on the 26th April '15, just beginning to show through the soil).

The peas were full of flowers and within a few weeks the rows were covered in pods. I didn't do much to them while they grew, just sowed in shallow drills and added some rudimentary netting attached to a few canes to keep them upright. I think I only watered them once. After de-podding I had 3 lb 2 oz of peas not including the ones we scoffed raw! The majority have been blanched in hot water then frozen. (Pic - Hurst Green Shaft peas laden with pods just before picking).

I was doing a bit of watering and noticed a few of the Atena golden courgettes could be picked - they look rather attractive though seem to take more time to grow than the green varieties. There were also a good handful of Cobra French beans hanging from the bottom of their wigwam of canes - the bean vines have hardly made it half way up but are producing well already.

The strawberries are going over a bit now, there will still be some about as I have a few 'ever-bearers' but the glut has basically passed. The Summer raspberries have performed well this year having taken their time to re-establish after being moved. There are many new canes that will bear next year's crop.

Today (15th July), I picked the broad beans and, like the peas, they are destined for the freezer. The variety, Bunyards Exhibition, were sown into root trainers on the 8th March '15 in the greenhouse; they were planted outside on Easter Monday, 6th April '15 (see posts on those dates). (Pic below - broad beans just after planting on Easter Monday).

The broad beans had some of the largest pods I've ever seen. (Pic - a handful of large pods - variety is Bunyards Exhibition).

I suppose I've been used to the dwarf variety 'Sutton', but, after planting Bunyards for the first time as a catch-crop gap filler last summer, I think I'll stick to this variety now as Sutton just doesn't perform as well. (Pic - Bunyards Exhibition - a profusion of large bean pods).

By the time I got tired of picking the blighters I had two full carrier bags from 19 plants. When de-podded I ended up with 5 lb 7 oz of broad beans which were blanched for a few minutes in boiling water and were then bagged for the freezer. I'm not a fan of broad beans on their own but I love them added to pasta sauces so the frozen option is the best for me, that's why I plant them all together so I can pick and prepare them in a single batch. (Pic - two carrier bags full of broad beans - once de-podded they weighed over five and half pounds).

That's me done for today - it's been lovely to start to be able to fill the freezer for the coming months. Bye for now.

07 Jul - Soft Fruit Mountain, Kohl Rabi & Update

The weather has largely been kind with plenty of warmth, sun and the odd welcome rain shower. This has really helped the allotment crops surge ahead in terms of plant growth and fruit production. 

Talking of fruit, I've got raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, rhubarb and gooseberries coming from the allotment by the tub full. I don’t think the family can eat many more fruit crumbles and summer puddings! It’s time to move into jam making mode, an ideal way to make the most of soft fruit and preserving it for the coming months. As for rhubarb, it’s time to stop picking it now; give the plant a feed and a rest and I'll be rewarded with more stalks next season.

My winter squashes; Butternut ‘Hunter F1’, pumpkin ‘Big Max’ and ‘Turks Turban’ are beginning to wend their way around the beds, their long trailing stems covering ground at a remarkable rate. The summer courgettes are prolific as usual, though I notice that the golden variety I have chosen this year, ‘Atena’, take longer to develop than the traditional courgettes I am used to growing.

The brassicas are really developing well now; I'm trying cauliflower for the first time this season. They are supposed to be a bit tricky though the plants are looking large and healthy; unfortunately this doesn't mean a decent cauli’ though. One of my more unusual brassica varieties is the kohl rabi, it looks a bit like a demented shuttle-cock with a swollen stem and tufts of leaves sprouting from odd angles. Despite its odd appearance, it can be grated raw into salads or cooked like a root vegetable and has a mild nutty, cabbage-like flavour.

The runner beans have raced to the tops of their canes, likewise the climbing French beans. Their more uncouth cousins, the broad beans, have already started to offer their crops and the peas are swelling in their pods nicely. New potatoes are being dug as and when required, salads like lettuce and radish are in ready supply. It’s just a fantastic time of year for the plot holder.