21 January 2007

Rewarded for our efforts

Today we visited the allotment for the first time since October. We were a little anxious about how awful it might be when we got there, and certainly the recent winds had wreaked havoc with last year’s bean frame, but other than that there was much to gladden the heart.

All of our garlic is doing stunningly well. These are Iberian Wight and should be ready in June/July. Last year we planted five varieties and some elephant garlic and now it looks as though we’re on track for a whopping 75 bulbs come the summer. Clearly that’s not enough for a true garlic-lover to have so I also planted another 17 cloves.

As well as being encouraged by the burgeoning garlic beds, we were also able to find some food to eat today. The squash plants have all died back nicely, revealing some hidden Golden Apple squashes for us to bring home. They have very tough skins so the hungry mice struggle to get at them. Even so, we found a couple of hollowed out skins with the seeds delicately piled up next to them. We also pulled our first leeks which are looking well tasty. I can’t tell you how smug it made me feel to know that we’ve neglected the place for over three months and still we were able to pick up something for dinner.

We did also do a bit of work while we were there - tidying up the scattered canes, bagging up dead plants for composting and weeding between the onions. Then there was the planning for the coming weeks - I bet you can’t wait for me to tell you how we’re going to regain control of our paths, can you?

Filed under: Hard labour, Harvest, Sowings — Clare @ 4:36 pm