August is the most prolific time on the allotment. Everything suddenly bursts into abundant, lush, green, glorious life. I have been snipping at salad leaves a few times a week, enough for plenty of sandwiches. I've also had enough courgettes to feed people several different kinds of dinners - everything from pasta dishes, to stir-fries, to additions to salads and sandwiches, and just raw alone or with hummus. I've had lots of melt-in-the-mouth broad beans as snacks in between too - I was amazed at the sight of my first beans growing in their little pods, as they seemed to appear of a sudden, fully formed, one day: My first yellow patty pan - so tiny, so delicately formed! Recently harvested - these were transported the same day to a friend's barbecue, where the courgettes and patty pan were chopped up, put on skewers - so much pride and delight in being able to provide fresh food like that, and so tasty! Broad beans also pictured, but these were gently boiled another day, and instantly enjoyed just as they were: Lots of other allotment - and non-allotment - updates to catch up on still, hopefully coming soon...
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The first courgette...! I cut off the great fruit and held it aloft, as if it were a champion trophy, I was so excited at the discovery! Since there have been pests gobbling up my various squash plants, and only two plants out of six or seven survive, it was the nicest sight to come along and see, after a bit of absence from the plot. Duly grilled and served with mint in a Sunday roast dinner last weekend! Also introducing my first ever nasturtium flower! Not had success growing these in the past, so gladdened to see these bright orange petals. If more come along, there might be an interesting salad to be had, as petals are edible. Potato plants, doing brilliantly - flowering already. Broad bean plant growing healthily, tall. Mustard seeds have grown copiously. Glad because they are my way of combating the growing of weeds. They feed nutrients into the soil as well as covering it, border-style. It's so cheap at 99p for a big pack - got mine from eBay! Allotment pals - stripey yellow and black caterpillar! Along with birdsong and the presence of cats or foxes, little moments like hearing and watching bees merrily pollinate your growing garden are what make all the time commitment and seriously hard graft worth it. It's also just so good to see bees around, doing as bees might, since they are facing such threat. Hopefully more updates to come, as I've been sad to not have feasible chance to keep up with blogging in recent weeks.
With quite an absence from blogging, I shall just let these photos speak about the progress of my allotment! And just a reminder of the Before photo in May...!
Our kitchen is now a greenhouse... I'm sure one day I will build my own greenhouse on my allotment plot, but for now - I'll live with this chaos of plants! Just spent the morning potting on tomato seedlings into their own individual pots. I counted 58 plants... I love potting things on, such good fun, and a lovely and relaxing way to start the weekend. I've got my 'magpie' tendencies back. Any old objects or junk or potential rubbish, I think how it could be used in the garden. Cut off half a Tetra Pak juice carton and you've got a free plant pot: I'm getting ready for a village fair. I'll miss most of the event this year due to another event I've committed to, but I thought it'd be nice to grow some tomato plants and donate them. Parents should love these plastic cups I have put them in - easy and light to transport home, and to get the plant out and put into a new, bigger pot, plus a nice size for kids of any age. These were old party cups, probably from Poundland and you get about 100 per pack for £1! Here are some of the plants I am going to donate to the fair. Should raise good money for green community groups that do good work: I'm enjoying the rain watering my allotment for me. I miss the plot though - hope to get down there tomorrow night...
My allotment buddy! She greeted me the very first time I opened the gates, and she's often around, keen to leap up with her (claws out!) paws, so high and happy. I'm happiest on the days I find she's around! It was high time (literally) that I transplanted my courgette saplings, as they were growing (in my house) towards my bayview window, leaves in paw-like fashion, as if clawing to shout 'Let me Out!' - So I did: Planting potatoes on the plot was also long-awaited. Having got my allotment in early May, I had missed the planting of the first crop of potatoes. But seeing potato seeds still in the shop, and even hearing the allotment committee pronounce it 'too late' to plant potatoes, I felt unwavered. Seasons are funny and late in this era, and anyway it only takes potatoes between two and three months to harvest. So I let the late-bought seeds shoot away in a dark cupboard (they seem to do as well in dark as in light), and I took advantage of the first spate of dry weather all week. Digging potato trenches on the plot (is bloomin' hard graft!): I felt quite awake of a Saturday morning to be digging a couple of foot-deep trenches in the prepared soil. Phew! Planting is really one of the best bits of gardening - watering gently in, hoping and waiting like a proud parent... Sudden appearance of poppies on the plot! See the snugly, happy bee getting drunk on pollen on the left, a lovely sight:
I now have two patches totally clear of weeds and ready for planting! This is exciting progress, as it is twice the speed at which I thought I'd be working. Above you can see one raised bed on the left, and one cordoned off patch. I worked for three hours solid, and found it very hard to walk away today! I worked right on through a spot of rain. But luckily, I made it just about home when the forked lightning and thunder kicked in! Maybe I'm becoming in tune with the weather - that would be nice. Near-full view of the plot, showing how much clearing I have got done in 5 or 6 visits, across 13 days!
Loads is going on until next Wednesday, plus I am back at work, so I don't know if I will get the chance to begin the best bit: the joy of planting things in the ground! Potato seeds and courgette seedlings at the ready, though... Dug my way to the back of the plot! Such a sense of achievement! This was after one week, of four dedicated sessions, mostly by hand trowel. But I now have a tall spade, which is making the work of clearing the 100 per cent coverage of weeds much lighter and quicker. I think the potatoes should be in by middle of next week. Courgettes soon after.
Had a lovely trip to garden centre yesterday, and got sweet peas, rocket, tomato, and broad beans for later planting, as they can go in up till end of June. Will get onion sets too. Oh, and strawberries! It's all starting to fall into a proper plan now! I realised that I need a watering can of my own, plus pruning shears. Things are starting to add up a bit now. I need to work swiftly so might not be able to get hold of second-hand stuff. I'm enjoying how much more energised and good I feel in body and mind. I feel powerful! I love how much strength I am using, and how undaunted I feel. And I feel so free and happy. It's an all-consuming interest. I feel such a renewed lease of life. I now plan a lot of things around the weather and around when I can get to the plot (the journey and current lack of shed/storage complicates things a bit). I cannot wait to get to my plot. I miss it when I am away ! And even a recent trip to see family saw me carrying over pots of home-grown tomato and courgette saplings as gifts. Then spending two days cultivating their vegetable plot in hot sun, and planting in the courgettes, plus some potato seeds I had bought them. On my window sills, I currently have 43 tomato seedlings on the grow for friends and for charity events...! It's all so rewarding, though. Recent gardening sessions have been rounded off with ice cool beer, and it tastes so much better for being so hard earned. I love working this hard; in my working life I've always been a dedicated grafter. Other recent gardening sessions have - serendipitously - been rewarded with Prosecco, as there has been news to celebrate at home. Yesterday, rain stayed away in good timing for my visit. Let's hope that my plan to go along tonight fares just as well. Inspiration from other plots at the allotment site: Introducing the new allotment plot I have been leased! I am still overwhelmed with disbelief that after several years, I have made it to the top of the waiting list. I don't think it's quite sunk in yet that this garden is all my own. The last allotment I had was a little short-lived but it thrived. I still remember my surprise and wonder at my successes. Since giving it up when moving home years ago, I have been involved in setting up several gardens - firstly in a small plot that came with the flat I was living in, then when we moved, volunteering at Hackney Community Farm, followed by instigating a community garden initiative, then very recently a very short spate of helping someone out with their back garden. There was varying success with each, and with the communal stuff I sorely missed having my own personal patch - the freedom and independence. Anyone who knows me well, knows what important roles nature and gardening play in my life. Nature is release and relief; gardening is calming - therapeutic escapism; wonder and discovery. It's impossible to feel anything negative whatsoever when I am gardening, as I am so absorbed and totally content. I really cannot believe my luck here. I feel grateful and lucky, and the timing is perfect. I have been immersing myself in various new projects and making positive changes in my life, to get back to health and regain energy and feel myself again after some stress and ordeals - so to now add a garden to things is incredible. My very own plot of land. I'm going to use this blog to track some of my progress. Day One I was up early, and had a big vegetarian fry-up, before boarding a bus and swiftly arriving at the allotment gardens just after 9am. I felt elated, really free of worries, and a bit giddily excited, if I'm honest. I hurried my way in, and was greeted straight away by the sight of a tabby cat. The cat responded to my arrival by leaping up with front paws. Gardens are not complete without the presence of cats! I was struck by the powerful sound of birdsong all around - tranquility. A tiny robin came and perched on one of the trees on the corner of my plot. This is the escapism I crave in the city. To just have quiet moments where all you can hear are birds twittering cheerily, and all around you is green, growing, healthy, abundant. The before and after photos! Not bad for one hour's work, one pair of hands, and and a small hand trowel! I would have stayed hours longer, as I was getting carried away. But heavy rain stopped play... A neighbour said to just enjoy things and start small, and he's right. Here's the view of the weeds, from ground level: Lots of tall weeds, like thistles, but they are swiftly dealt with. I'm friendly with my neighbour already and we're going to help each other out. I have some experience/knowledge to offer. I'm a little envious that most people are short walks away from their plots, but that's my only drawback, the distance I am away. I'm determined to be dedicated and make things work, though - make the garden a priority in my life. Some local friends have been really kind, offering to help even when I said they should wait till I get rid of the weeds when it would be more fun for them. I am already dreaming of my own shed where I can write and read in between gardening. I'm thinking about nut and fruit trees, and maybe even bee-keeping as long-term plans, if I can keep the plot for the long-term. It's nice to dream about. All the other gardeners seem really friendly and helpful. One feller today said the plot used to belong to his son-in-law, and he let me know what work had already been done to the soil, which is great. It's in fine condition. Also, there are plum trees in a hedge around the plot - amazing!
This is a big and rewarding project - I'm going to work hard on making things wonderful, and I already feel so healthy in body and mind from the exercise and fresh air. Now I am reminded of the punk gardening blog Weeds Up to Me Knees Full of good writing and music, and an original punk fanzine writer/'zine fan too. A trip to Dalston, east London, this sunny afternoon, especially to head to its two best assets: a farm shop, and a community garden space. Both schemes are an absolute haven away from the hectic traffic, noise and chaos of busy roads and general bustling London life. The visit, coupled with talking to the incredibly friendly, warmly welcoming owner of the Eastern Curve garden, emphasised something that I wrote in issue #5 of Athemaura 'zine last year.
I present the full text here.... I visited Dalston, east London, on the Open House Weekend in September, and I was walking around unable to say anything but the word 'amazing', at the sight of a fish farm pumping water into propogators that heated and grew salad leaves for the in-house cafe (Farm: Shop, Dalston Lane). Also, I was heartened to see chicken coops on the roof of the shop, 7 foot tomato plants growing in a hothouse, mushrooms growing randomly all over the premises, home-made jams and honeys, a volunteer-run cafe serving up all kinds of wonderful sandwiches, also a tiny shop selling little seed kits and books for kids, pamphlets and plants for adults. There were fish and crabs in tanks, all kinds of green leafy edibles growing in every inch of space possible. No wonder it is known as a 'hug' cafe. I felt so ecstatic and inspired beyond all belief. Next I visited the Dalston Eastern Curve garden, and that just iced my cake of a lifetime! This garden is built on a disused railway line and is surrounded by warehouses and industry, but you wouldn't know. It is a pure haven of greenery. Wooden beams tower over an indoor herb garden, there are home-crafted tables and chairs galore (favourite table: made of a haystack!), books on shelves where tomato plants climb high, and a wonderful garden that spreads down, down, down into a kids' play area. What a perfect retreat and tonic for kids in the city. Dotted around are raised beds growing green, yellow, orange squash of all weird shapes, nasturtium, and so on. There is even a clay oven installed, and plans to grow a pizza garden! And plans are afoot for a pineapple house. Tables are dotted with activities for kids, like colouring in or making things, and there is an info point full of community info/leaflets for adults. A volunteer can be heard washing up in the makeshift kitchen, and is friendly to us on our way out, we could have stayed and talked, found out all about the place. There are plenty of places to sit, where you can have tea or food from the volunteer-run cafe. Kids run about carefree and happy, with various carts and toys, and seem almost delirious in the freedom. This is the world I want to live in! I felt like throwing my arms in the air, yelling. This is what every town centre truly needs. No Starbucks or Tesco or JD Sports or Wagamama is ever going to solve social problems – buying things never will. A warm, welcoming garden, a safe haven of space for all to enjoy, one that is absolutely free and chock full of air freshened by growing greenery, surely will. Now go on the websites of these places, to find out more. And write to your local MP to tell them you want a similar scheme set up. Volunteer or form a group, if you can. And while you are at it, if you are not from London, try and sit there and tell me it is not a green and beautiful place! http://farmlondon.weebly.com/ http://dalstongarden.org/ Went to an 'upcycling' event recently. If you don't know this term, 'upcycling' is giving new purposes to materials, especially ones you might otherwise throw away. It's like a more creative version of recycling. I was at this event to host a garden-themed stall, and I had ammassed assorted bits and bobs that people could put to new use - all kinds of food containers to be used as plant pots (yoghurt pots, cases from biscuits, margerine tubs, coleslaw pots, cream cheese containers, plastic take-away boxes, and on and on!), cut up circles of carpet to be used around seedlings to deter pests, netting from shop-bought fruit to cover over plants and keep birds away, cut in half lemonade bottles to use as 'cloches' (like a mini greenhouse for a plant as it grows in its early stages, to protect it from cold).... I was also on hand to give people advice on growing vegetables for the first time, people could come and plant a seed in a little pot to take home, and I had made several 'zines about gardening. It was a really good event. And i have so many colourful photos. There was a wide range of stalls set up in the community church. There was a Community Scrap stall, where you could put old material and bits and bobs to new use in a craft fashion - eg for kids, opportunity to make hats and pretty things. There was a Rags to Rugs stall, where people had put old rags into new use as those rag-rug mats. And people had also knitted lots of lovely clothes for sale, for children and adults. There was an amazing stall from Wimbledon Nature Club - there was an almighty towering house for woodland creatures with layer upon layer of wood. There were tips on wise energy use, renewable energy, and climate change, and some free leaflets and goodies from the local council. I was most impressed by the bracelets that you could make on the spot - out of the rubber from bicycle inner tubes! I had popped out into the church garden for a breather from the stall, when the lady from this stall came and sat next to me, and as we chatted all the while she was sewing away - sewing buttons onto the rubber, with bright pink thread, creating an instant item of jewellery right there before me! So innovative and infinitely pretty. She told me how she had used craft cutting tools for the shapes, like hearts and sunshine and circles, and was using odd buttons and other little bits and bobs to sew on. There was a really cute stall called Tedwood, with men's shirts upcycled into big pretty cushions! There were stars and patterns printed on with paint. Tedwood also had handmade flowery corsage, and mobile phone covers. I bought a rag-rug style mobile cover with a tiny little green wooden flower button sewn onto it. All the stall holders were really enthused and friendly, it was a good community event. I came home with lots of interesting info, flyers, people's little cards, etc. And now I can recommend them all to you!
Abundance Wimbledon - surplus fruit project. Picks unwanted fruit, gives to good community causes. Love Fashion Hate Sweat Shops Squirrels Scrap Scheme - sign up to get batches of scrap materials for your community organisation/group. TedWood's Emporium - for upcycled/home-crafted corsage, phone covers, tote bags, cushions, and more. Tomfoolery - All sorts of home-crafted wares. Lots of bicycle themed stuff! |
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