Harvest TimeOk, so I've already been doing some harvesting of stuff from the allotment, but this weekend (20/21st August) was my first big digging up! First to come up were the onions. Although some had bolted, most of them were a good size and I'm pretty pleased with the crop. I had just laid them out in the sun to dry when the typical Scottish rain started, so they have all been carted off the to shed to dry out before I set to storing them.
Click here for a lovely recipe I found for fried onion rings - I just shallow fried them and they were delicious.
Next up were the potatoes, the ones I had planted under the black plastic. I'm not quite sure that I prefer this method to the traditional method. Yes, there is less weeding to do, although our allotments are full of mare's tails and these tenacious weeds still manage to find their way through the slits in the plastic. But I'm not convinced - slugs find their way in under the plastic and I don't have the time or patience to be constantly checking under the plastic! Anyway, I'll decide next year what method to use...
Courgette & raisin muffin recipe by Annabel Karmel - tested today on the kids and went down well. But don't expect it to use a lot of your courgettes up - I only used the smallest courgette in the photo!
Courgette chutney - I tried a few recipes out last year and this is the one I like best. I like to blitz the ingredients in my Magimix, as I like a fine texture, but just chop your veggies as you like them. Guess I'll be making a load of this this week.
Courgette cake - this is actually made in a loaf tin, so I suppose it's more of a loaf. It's adapted from a Nigel Slater recipe. It is quite crumbly - this can depend on the moisture content of your courgettes - but don't let that put you off. It's delicious!
Potato Planting
Last week, we got the first of the potatoes in... I didn't realise I had bought quite so many seed potatoes, so will have to prepare another bed this weekend for the rest of them. We planted the first lot under black plastic, cutting slits in the plastic for them to grow through. Our second lot will be planted in the traditional way, earthing them up as they grow. We'll compare methods at the end of the season and decide which to use next year.
Greenfly on the chitting potatoes!
I had been chitting some of the potatoes by the window in our shed and some on my mum's kitchen windowsill. When I went to collect the ones from my mum's house, I discovered that the shoots were covered in greenfly! I sprayed them with a soapy solution, which seemed to kill most of them. Later, I laid them out and sprayed them with an organic greenfly spray. I'm not sure if any that have been missed will cause any damage once they are in the ground. I tried to find some information on this in my books and on Internet, but didn't find much. It seems the most damage would be caused by greenfly on the established potato plants. If anyone knows more about this, please feel free to comment!
Getting Ready...
After a bad winter, we made our first venture onto the allotment last month. I was a slightly nervous to see what damage the weather had inflicted on our new hut. Happily, the hut was still water-tight and dry! The leeks were a bit worse for wear, but everything else was in surprisingly good shape. Our first task for the year was to build a small play area for the children. Luke is usually happy to help out on the allotment, but Daisy gets easily bored - so this will suit her. Furnished with a table and bench that someone was throwing out, our play area looks pretty good, I think! Photo to follow...
When the rain came on, Luke and I sat in the hut, peeling the garlic bulbs into cloves, then got them planted up. Slightly late, I know, but here's hoping we'll still get a good crop.
