ups & downs

So here we are once again reporting to our legion of readers...

It has been a trying couple of weeks up at the plot, rain being the main culprit of our misery, with tomatoes coming a close second. To top it all off we have become the proud owners of a rather large nest of ants. Hungry ants.

So after all the old boys grumbling about the lack of rain their prayers were answered and after a week of near solid rain they are now grumbling for a bit of sunshine "to lift the spirits". Admittedly the rain has perked everything up and our weeds are coming on fantastic.

On the topic of rain, it and the wind pulled our cold frame apart a bit the other week and our poor little tomatoes didnt really stand a chance when combined with an army of very hungry ants. Basically the next visit after planting them they were dead, after mourning their loss we ripped them out, regrouped and planted new ones from a generous friend, Willie. On the bright side his look great!

Aside from that our beans are loooking good, potatoes are just showing their tops, chillies are coming on and the herbs we sowed a week ago are popping up as is the radish.

Finally a cheery chap at the top of the hill called Dennis has kindly donated a box full of red brussell sprouts to our cause. Everyone on the site has been great and our plot is now overflowing with all the seedlings we've been given.

We are at this very moment sampling some rhubarb jam made yesterday on top of freshly baked bread mmmmm...
Very easy to make -
2lb rhubarb
1 1/2lb sugar
zest of one orange and one lime
2tbsp lemon juice
small block of ginger
put everything in a pan on a low heat for about 20 min until everything is melted down and juicy then increase to a boil or fast simmer, stirring regularly for about 20 min until it starts to thicken. Test for setting on a saucer.

As you can tell we have vast quantities of rhubarb and very little else at the moment. Thats it for now, will hopefully update more often from now on. ta ta.



p.s.The photos are from a month or so ago and there has been quite a bit of change since then .

spring has arrived

Well, quite a lot has happened since then and gradually it is beginning to resemble some sort of garden. We are now reliably informed by almost every plot holder that the brambles which met a fiery end were " the best ah've ever tasted", "great big juicy ones" "used to come and pick them every year the plot was empty" ah well...

We get a daily dose of "enthusiasm" from new friend Freddie who has had a plot here for 50 years after settling in this country from Italy. I seem to recall his first words to us were "what you take on this garden for?" accompanied by a knowledgable shaking of the head..."they seen you coming didnt they" More about Fred to come.

He gave us some real Italian garlic the first week we arrived and even admits that its growing better than his own - don't know how we managed that! Large has been giving him a hand with digging and such like in return for all the bits and pieces he has given us not to mention all the advice - which resulted in Large rather sheepishly rebuilding our fence three times, there was just too much head shaking and teasing to leave it be.

After months of unexpected snow which froze our ground solid and then enough rain to turn it into a quagmire we now have sunshine in unexpected quantity and yesterdays digging was more like being in a desert.we've got a few things in though.

The top of the plot is taken up with our rather ramshackle shed which Large has grand plans to rebuild with the help of his Dad, it also has a couple of cold frames we are rather proud of ourselves for building. One side is taken up by fruit bushes including goosecurrant which neither of us had ever heard of before and a couple of good sized rhubarb plants. In the main beds are potatoes, cabbage, the afore mentioned garlic, broad beans (also courtesy of Freddie), leeks (from neighbours Andy and Wendy), onions and peas. At home the living room is also festooned with various pots of tomatoes, peppers and chillies waiting for warmer weather and it is something of an obstacle course getting to the window.

here is a little taste of spring in the allotment:
Take a few sticks of slender young rhubarb and saute in a little butter with plenty of dark muscovado sugar and if you want a little cinnamon and squeeze of orange. Cook until caramelised and soft but not falling apart then serve on greek yoghurt mmmm.