My first Globe Artichokes

I hadn't been to the allotment since last Thursday and there wasn't a sign of an artichoke then, so today I was excited and amazed to find lot's of little artichokes popping up on the plants that only got sown and grown this year. I can't wait to cut them and cook them.

Aren't they amazing plants ? I love them and need to find a recipe to pickle the hearts in oil and herbs.

I also have lot's of fruits on the cape gooseberry.

And the chillies are doing well.

Lots more potatoes and garlic

Runner beans are forming and there seems to be two different varieties, so I must have sown the ones with the white flower by mistake. I've no idea what they are.

French beans are forming as well. I have 'Fasold' and 'Blue Lake' and another mistake that's got sown which I think a neighbour gave me seeds from her dark bean crop last year. They look beautiful I can't wait to try them.

There are loads of flowers and still more to come such as the 'Astor's' the bees and hover-flies are loving the plot at the moment and the Cosmos and Lavender are a favourite.

The 'Echinacea' grown from seed last year are doing exceptionally well. So all in all the visit today was really worthwhile as it's all looking productive and pretty.

Party time ! a different kind of post today !

I thought I would share some photo's with you from the 25th wedding Anniversary party that we went to on Saturday. It was a 70's & 80's themed fancy dress, (optional). I am ashamed to say we took the option not to, and I wish we had made the effort now as there were so many great costumes there as you can see by this small selection below.

It was actually a very tiring afternoon/evening, as it took us two and a half hours drive to get to the venue, we then we stayed until almost 11pm and didn't get home until well after 1am.

It was however great to catch up with family some who we don't see very often, so we are glad we decided to go.

I have no idea who most of these people (in the photo's) are, they were friends of the couple who's party it was. I was happy just taking photo's of all the great efforts people went to.

'Austin Powers' this chap was a real poser !

'Rod Stewart'

'Prince' and 'Batman'

'Psychedelic Hippies'

'Sergeant Pepper' I loved this outfit

Hippies again


These two chaps loved being dressed as girls !!
not sure who they were meant to be though.

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A Bumper Harvest.
Last of all I thought I would show off my bumper harvest that I got from the allotment today.

I have to get up there and do some serious clearing up very soon. I have some huge pumpkins growing and lot's of other squashes, the beetroot has grown rather large, I should have pulled them up ages ago, but we didn't need them before. I am going to make apple and beetroot chutney with the very large ones as I don't think they will taste as nice as when they are smaller.

Little & Large !

The Harvest

Runner and French beans, tomatoes, Sweetcorn, courgettes (yellow & Round) baby Aubergine, Green Peppers, Chillies, cooking Apples (from the allotment's Apple tree that everyone shares) 'Munchkin squashes'

A surprise gift and other bits of chit chat

Special delivery

The postman delivered a small brown package for me today, I wasn't expecting anything,

so I couldn't wait to see what it was. Inside was this beautifully gift wrapped pressie. I knew at once who it was from because this person always wraps her gifts no matter how small, exquisitely.

I t was a surprise gift from my blogger friend Pam she makes the loveliest things. Inside the blue tissue paper was this little pin cushion with it's lovely beaded edges and complete with some bright coloured pins pushed in around a circle on the fabric.

On the other side is another coffee cup.

This was made from some fabric I had sent to Pam as a bit of a challenge, I had bought half a metre of the fabric to make something out of it, but I was stumped for ideas of what to use it for, so I thought I would share some with Pam. The fabric design is lots of squares of different brightly coloured coffee cups & saucers, and mugs. So when I sent some off to Pam, I never expected I would enjoy one of the results of her many talents.

Thank you so very much to Pam, and I look forward to her posting some other things she makes with the other pieces of the fabric.

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Baking

If you like baking, and especially like cup cakes for special events I can recommend this book. My son's girlfriend made him some delicious ones for his birthday recently using the recipe's from here. I was so impressed I had to buy my own copy to have a go at making something from it.

The best price seems to be from 'Amazon.co.uk' where I got it for £8.49 and no postage costs. It varies from £12.99 to £16.99 elsewhere. There are lots of lovely goodies to bake in here. bye the way 'The Hummingbird Bakery' is a famous bakery in London where they sell the cakes made from the recipes in this book.

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The Cutting Bed

Just to say that if you like dahlias, and want to add to your cutting bed then you can't get better than these 'Pink Giraffe' Dahlias, I cut them last Friday and they were already in flower for days before that on the allotment, and this photo was taken this morning and they still look fresh, I'll maybe get another day or two out of them.

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Harvests

A few photo's of the latest pickings from the allotment: some very large beetroots and two tiny ones pulled up accidentally.

Five very large tasty onions. I have pulled up around 70 ( drying off in the lottie shed) and still have more to pull, so shouldn't need to buy any for many months.



And last of all bags of French beans 'Fasold' I am picking these most days as I hate them to get too large, the runner beans are starting to come fast and furious now.


We all seem to have powdery mildew on our courgette plants which is slowing down the fruits developing, I look at other plots as I pass and everyone seems to have the same problem, I hope it doesn't spread to other squashes and pumpkins.

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Well thats about all my news over the last couple of days. The weather is foul, raining all day today so couldn't get to the lottie and I need to bring the onions home to dry out as they are overpowering the shed with the smell and the space they take up.

I have my oomph back ! but perhaps you never knew I lost it ?

Here I am back in action after a horrible stomach bug. Why is it that simple viruses can leave us (or me anyway) mentally down and lacking in oomph, so much so that when I did finally have the energy to go up to the allotment, I took one look at the weeds, masses of growth on the veg, everything looked huge ! giant cabbages, giant sweetcorn, (could that really have happened in 3 days ??) and I almost gave it all up. Thank goodness I don't act on the spur of the moment, ever the cautious Cancerian that's me ! and anyway the council offices were closed for the day.

I should be rejoicing as the council have actually kept their word for a change (without the extra phone call ) and have strimmed and cut down all the weeds on the three plots around my own plot. It looks so good and spacious too. They just need to get on and give out the vacant plots to someone on the bulging list they have.

I think I slept more in the two days I had the bug than I would usually sleep in half a week, consequently I woke at around 4am this morning and found it hard to get back to sleep, so I got out my allotment notebook and made notes on all the crops I have grown this year (what an exciting life I lead !!!) I do have other interests honest !! and made comments as to which ones were successful and which ones I wouldn't grow again.

I also made notes to myself as to how many plants I should grow next year, as I grew far too many this year. There is only so much two people can eat and now my daughter has her own plot she doesn't need anything from mine.

I love giving to the neighbours, and would always have some over for that, but it's the time involved in the raising and caring first for the seedlings then the plants. So next year I have to be strict with myself and compost any extra plant's that nobody else wants.

A harvest from last Friday, runner beans, french beans (Fasold) I will be definitely grow these again, they are delicious, a yummy yellow courgette and my first cucumber from the lottie greenhouse.

Last evening's harvest, 5 courgettes, the round ones are delicious roasted. Runner beans, french beans and Cabbage 'wheelers imperial' I would really recommend this variety the hearts are solid and very light green. We had to compost the darker outer leaves as they had been munched by caterpillars. Oh I feel better just looking at that photo, how could I have even thought for a fleeting second about giving up the lottie patch.

This and That, Odds and Ends.

One of my blogger friends, Moe, asked me if I bought anything at the flower show, well I was quite restrained ! but I did buy a few things, and here they are below.

I couldn't resist this Lovely 'french style' tin plant holder, it may never get outside however, as I like it in my kitchen !!

I have been after a Vietnamese coriander since last year, and now I have one. They are spicier and hotter tasting that the usual coriander and great in oriental dishes and stir fries. The plant is very attractive is fairly hardy, but needs to be overwintered.

I bought this beautiful Dahlia, only mine is only in bud, so no flowers as yet.

I also bought this Leucanthemum, 'Aglaia' every second person seemed to have one, so I guess it's one to look out for in the garden centres. I just liked it's unruly scruffy petals, bit of a hippy in the plant world if you ask me !!! I just haven't found a place to plant it yet, so re -potted it in a much larger pot for the time being.

I didn't buy this at the show, a friend bought it for my birthday this year. I love it and when I get around to it it's going to hang over the summerhouse in the garden.

My 'Lemongrass' I sowed five seeds all germinated and this one is thickening up beautifully, so I'm hoping to have fresh lemongrass this year 'maybe'. It's got a long way to go before being fully grown, the photo below is one I took at the flower show on the oriental garden.

Full grown 'Lemongrass'

My Herb table, the herbs are growing faster than I can use them, I need to dry some, or maybe freeze.

Sundays Harvest

The garlic planted in the autumn is an amazing size, my garage smells terrible ! so I moved them to dry in the mini greenhouse at the back of the garden. I will definitely be planting again in the autumn, a cold snap really makes the bulbs swell.

These five were pulled up over a week ago and are drying beautifully. I just have to learn how to plait them all now as I have about thirty garlics so need to store them well.

A half trug of peas. I left them too long and some were very big, but still tasty and useful for soups or in recipes. I have cut the plants down now and frozen all of the peas. I hate the job of shelling them.


This is the last crop of Broad beans, I had three carrier bags full, so gave a lot away to elderly neighbours. The rest I have frozen, next year I will cut back the amount of plants I grow, I really must get the hang of quantities. The plants are gone now and I have two free beds, which is just as well as my brussels and purple sprouting broccoli have to go in soon as the plants (individually potted) need to go in the ground.

I also picked a bag full of spinach and loads of french beans ( my favourite crop) which I never expected to crop this early, they are so delicious. So that's about it with the latest news on the lottie.

I hope all of your crops are doing well and the weather isn't to bad wherever you live.

A productive week on the allotment

I haven't blogged for a few days as I have been so busy on the lottie. The runner beans and French beans are in. We have managed to pave the area in front of the greenhouse, so I no longer nearly break my neck going in and out. We have also dug and raked the area the little shed was on. It now looks nice and even, as we were given some large breeze blocks that we put at the edge of the area. We were then able to rake the soil down to the blocks and even out the slope. I now have to decide what to plant in this area. I still have so much to do.

I have planted my row of Sunflowers and in front of them some Calendulas "Art shades" so it should look very colourful when all is in bloom. I have started planting out my cutting flower bed, and the dahlias are due to go in this week. I have a few photo's below of some of our weeks work. Austin has been a very good assistant this week.

The three rows of potatoes are up, AGAIN ! I have earthed them up three times now

The successful parsnips. These were grown in pots and then transplanted

Broad beans in flower. I can't wait for the first pod to appear.

The runner beans and the french beans, planted today.

The sunflower hedge, with calendula "art shades" in front of them.

Rosie with her summer hat on. She has a wheelbarrow now that someone gave me already painted a perfect blue. I have to plant it up this week.