We have been to the plot a lot recently and today I did a good long stint. This time last year, harvesting was almost done but this year we have loads still to come.
The beans are appearing overnight as if by magic, and most are being blanched and frozen. The children are becoming highly trained bean hunting ninjas who can spot them and pick them in a flash. The broccoli and cauliflower have also been harvested, with the stalks being given to the chickens. Whilst tea cooked tonight I blanched the vegetables and filled up the freezer, although we also enjoyed some with our roast chicken.
I’ve thinned out the carrots and parsnips, again either cooking them for tea or blanching and freezing them. Things are looking a bit neater now that I’ve thinned out the plants too. (There are a couple of rogue cabbages in this bed, which I’ve left as they were doing so well.)
Today I also dug up the remaining potatoes as the tops had died off. Between the rows in the ground and the large pots we’ve filled half of a large sack, which isn’t bad considering we dug up quite a few plants early on for new potatoes. (The large pots were an experiment, and we only added compost over the potatoes, they were pretty succesful so we will repeat that next year.) That area is now ready to be rotavated when we get the chance. We also dug up a lot of worms, although I said no to my daughter’s suggestion that we should keep them as pets!
I mowed the unplanted areas, which helps to keep the weeds down and also just tidies it up, leaving more time for weeding the important bits. This time I wore gloves so I didn’t get blisters from the mower! (I also mowed some stones but don’t tell Mr C!)
Last but not least is the current pride of our allotment, the pumpkin bed. My son is very proud of how it’s doing, especially given that it is only 9 or 10 weeks since they were planted out. The largest pumpkins are turning orange already! I really need to protect them from pumpkin eating beasties until the end of October, which feels a long way away. We’ve got a couple of pumpkins the size of large footballs so they should be perfect for carving at Halloween. The pumpkins themselves are sat on tiles which will hopefully prevent them from rotting.
It’s all looking promising, and it’s so nice preserving things in various ways for use later on. We have a lot of green tomatoes at home so I’m sure chutney is on the cards at some point!
How’s your growing going? How do you preserve things you have a glut of?
You have a beautiful garden!
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Thank you 😊
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Fresh veggies.. I am so jelous!!! Your plants looks awesome.
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Thank you, fresh veggies are so tasty!
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They really are!!! =)
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Your garden looks so productive. Our garden is barren at the moment as I am in the process of emptying out both beds to get rid of invasive tree roots.
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Thank you, I’m sure your efforts will be worth it. When we took over the allotment it was completely empty!
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You must have a wonderful sense of satisfaction for all your efforts. I will be happy if we get some production this summer.
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It is lovely, even if not as productive in some areas as we would have liked. We are always learning from it 😊
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This pumpkin will be perfect for carving! 🎃 it looks like a successful growing year for you 😊
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Thank you, I’m hoping we can keep it all going. 😊
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It all looks wonderful! 😺💕x
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Thank you 😊
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Your pumpkins are amazing! Mine keep getting to about golf ball size, if that, then shrivelling up and falling off.
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Oh no! A couple of ours did that but not too many.
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Wow!!! Look at the size of that pumpkin!!! Everything seems to be doing really well, and I can’t believe how fast they’re growing.
Well done on the blanching and freezing. You’ll have plenty of fabulous own grown through the winter. And … can you imagine your Christmas Dinner this year? What a treat!
Sending squidges ~ Cobs. x
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Thank you. Christmas dinner will most definitely include a home grown parsnip! x
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Your allotment is looking great! We have had mixed results but the lettuce is growing at an alarming pace and we are going to have lots of courgette and patty pan squash soon. We even had a wee surprise carrot (didn’t plant any!). Your pumpkin looks amazing! Thanks so much for sharing all your crops.x
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Wow, sounds like your crops are doing well. Our neighbour gave us a patty pan squash, I’m saving the seeds for next year!
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Wow! Your garden is doing very well!
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Thank you, it’s lovely having an allotment, it’s good for the kids too. 😊
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Wow, what a fantastic allotment. The pumpkin looks very impressive.
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Thank you, there are a few that size so we should have a good selection in October 😊
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It all looks wonderful!!
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Thank you, it’s keeping us busy.
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I now have a garden that I would like to transform with flowers and such but I know nothing about gardening, do you have any tips on where to start? 🙂 xxx
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Thanks, if say choose one thing that’s your favourite and grow that, then go from there. I don’t know much though lol, but I find out information from talking to other allotment holders. x
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Okay thank you 🙂 we need to get the grass to actually look like a lawn again and then after that I think we can start planting. 🙂 xxx
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