The Victory Garden 2014

Hello, hello, it's been an absolute age since I last wrote about my allotment, and quite a bit has happened since then. Lots of yummy veggies have been picked and eaten, a ton of hard work has been put in and a disturbing amount of weed growth has occurred!  

Last year's harvest was pretty amazing! I grew a grand total of 25 marrows, yes 25 marrows! I devoured more runner beans than one human should ever eat. Mashed, roasted and boiled my own body weight in potatoes and parsnips (well not quite, I am rather heavy, probably from all those potatoes!) Bottled up about 12 Jars of Damson, and Greengage Jam (totally my new favorite jam)...

...Boiled up enough batches of onion soup to keep most of France happy. Pickled a massive jar of beetroot (still working my way through that) and a fair few smaller jars of onions and as if all that wasn't enough I've munched 'n' crunched my way through lots of sun-ripened cherry tomatoes, radishes and little gem lettuces...yum, yum, yum!



All in all it was rather wonderful, especially to see such a bountiful reward for all my efforts and worth every second of the time I put in! It has to be said though it was the hardest work I have ever done, every weekend without fail I was at the allotment, which was hard going and sadly has lead me to the realisation that this endeavor is not very sustainable in the long term. Meaning, that after much deliberation I have decided to say goodbye to my allotment and at the end of this year I will be handing back the keys to let someone with more time (or more friends able to help) take over and give this patch of weeds all the love and hard work it deserves!

As of last week, very weedy indeed!

It has not been an easy decision to make, I have cried many tears over this, as I hate giving  up on anything (massive character flaw right there, I don't tend to know when I'm beat), but I know in my heart that I gave this allotment absolutely everything I had and it still was not quite enough, so I am happy to say I have done my best,  this plot is jut too big for me to manage on my own, so it's now time to move on.

As much as I am a bad plot holder for not weeding as much as I should, I must confess the sight of these beautiful poppies and wildflowers make me very happy. The bees in the nearby hive don't seem to mind, so I am at least doing my bit for bee cultivation if not for veg!

I will still have a little space in my rented back garden to grow in, and many a container just waiting to fill with salads and the like so I'll still be munching my way through as much home grown veg as one woman can handle!

'Scuse the washing line, I forgot to take it down.

Plus I've put my name down for a plot in my new borough (though it's not really new as I've been here for nearly 3 years!! Time flies) so if I am lucky I might be able to arrange a place on the site right at the top of my road, which would mean much less traveling to and fro, and from the over the fence nosing I have been doing at the site, the possibility of a much smaller sized plot which would be a much more realistic proposition for one woman and her trusty shovel!! Fingers crossed!

This decision does not mean that I have given up yet, there are a fair few months of growing left before my contract ends, which means I have been just as busy, if not quite as diligent as I was last year.

Desiree Seed Potato from Wilkinsons
Apparently, they're TV Chef's favourite Red potato variety so who am I to argue!

I have still been planting, though I have just had to accept the weeds will grow where they may amongst my crops. I have rows and rows of potatoes and onions which I planted in late March, sweetcorn seedlings have been planted along with some beetroot and parsnips.

Butternut Squash, Pumpkin and Chilly Peppers all from Wilkinsons

Waiting in the wings are some pumpkin, squash and marrow seedlings, which though the slugs have had a right old munch on, I still have a few ready to be transplanted very soon. Also, I attempted to grow some chilli peppers but the slugs were more successful this time and had their wicked way with them, so I am left with nothing, I have plenty of seeds left so I will have another go next year!

Leeks from last year's seed, and my marrow plants again from Green Bush variety from Premier Seed Direct

The 'Aqua Dulce' Broad beans I planted last Autumn have been growing frantically all winter and spring and have now produced quite a decent little crop, thankfully though they are looking a little worse for wear now, they survived/missed the black fly that destroyed my crop last year so I shall be feasting on a broad bean...something or another again for tea tonight!

I am still very much looking forward to my Greengage and Damson Harvest this year, got to love a crop that looks after itself! I will certainly miss these wonderful old trees and their abundance of fruit, but I plan to bottle up as much jam as I can and enjoy it for the next few years at least!

So, there is still plenty to do and look forward to over the next few months, I am certainly not ready to turn in my trowel just yet!

Wendy x

The Victory Garden - June - Gone Too Soon!

"It is the month of June,

The month of leaves and roses,

When pleasant sights salute the eyes,

And pleasant scents the noses."

Time for a June shaped recap of the goings on down at The Victory Garden, better late than never.  To start with, here is a quick little video snapshot of the plot!

It was such a beautiful quite morning which I felt I had to capture, even if it's just 15 seconds, I've put a birdsong soundtrack (ignore the running water) on this clip via youtube, as sadly as my mobile won't record sound on Instagram, which means you can't here the wonderful sound of the bees, buzzing manically around the poppies. Oh and that figure at the end is the beekeeper, I guess it's his bees pollinating the poppies, not a member of CSI!

Never have I looked so glamourous :)

As beautiful as this morning was there was still plenty to be getting on with rather than stopping to film the flowers. Most of Junes allotmentering was spent watering and weeding it's been quite a challenge to keep on to of the watering as I struggle to get over to the allotment after work during the week, and when I do it's a bit of a fight to fill up your watering can before someone takes the last of the water as the tanks fill quite slowly.

Despite the battle to keep everything watered the plants were all looking rather healthy and green, the only plants that were really struggling from lack of water were the runner beans (they love water) so were making not the greatest progress in climbing up the poles, but sill there not dead!

As good as the broad beans look , they have got lovely and tall and have lots of flowers ready for beans to form when the time is right, they are suffering from a black fly invasion!

Ewwww, these are really icky! Just looking at this picture makes me itch!

I decided as there was lots of lady birds munching away at them that it would be mean to spray them with an insecticide, so I went with a more ladybird friendly option, a thick mixture of washing up liquid and water, which when sprayed over the infected crop should kill of the black fly, by suffocating them apparently, nice! Fingers crossed this works!

It was time to plant out the dwarf beans, which once they began to germinate grew up so quickly you could almost watch it happen!

They are now in three short rows in front of the peas in the first section, planting in long rows as per the plan has gone a little awry. I have found that it's been much easier to look after the plants if they are in shorter yet wider rows, as it makes it much easier cover them with netting or fleece, and  treating them for infestation, so this is something I will be bearing in mind for next years endeavours!

I also planted out all of my cabbages and Brussels sprouts which have been slowly maturing in my greenhouse at home.

May to June is the period for planting out your Brussels...Be careful in lifting from the seedbed to see that you get a good ball of soil round the roots. Should the weather be dry, water the seedbed row the night before. Plant with a dibber deep enough to bury the roots and stem up to the first leaves. Press the soil firmly round the plant with the dibber or your heel. (Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide May 1945)

I completely forgot to take a photograph of them once planted, they are in the last section and are currently covered with some netting (you can see it the first picture, right behind me) to reduce the bug attacks!

And lastly, to replace the may carrots which failed to grow, I planted another couple of rows in the raised bed at the end of the plot, this time a variety called Chantenay hopefully I will have better luck this time!

Wendy x

The Victory Garden - May - The Merry Month

"Button to chin till May be in, 

Cast not a clout till May be out"

Wow honestly where is the time going! June has whizzed passed me in a blur and April & May seem to be almost a distant memory now, so it's no surprise that I am way overdue with another instalment from The Victory Garden!

Finally, some beautiful spring blossom, crossing my fingers for some damson berries soon!!

So May in the Victory Garden was mainly...

Weeding : I managed to keep on top of the weeds, just! Please don't look too closely at that bottom section, it's rather green and lush but not from veggies!

Watering : The February planted Rhubarb is looking good!

Covering: The Potatoes finally were sprouting enough needed earthing up!

Nurturing : The leeks were slowly getting bigger and bigger won't be long before they can be planted out! 

And last but not least Planting:

CARROTS

Wartime Seed Varieties: Long Surrey, Red Elephant, Scarlet Horn, Standard, Sutton's Scarlet Intermediate Early Horn, Early Market & James Intermediate.

Sow seed thinly in drills drawn 1 ft. apart and 1 in. deep. As carrot seed is small, mix a little dry earth or sand to avoid too thick sowing, which wastes seed and means a good deal of thinning. First thin in the seedling stage and keep the bed free from weeds by frequent use of the hoe. Plants should finally be 6 in. apart. (Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide May 1945) 

I had no luck at all with the carrot seed, the only thing that grew were weeds, in the photo below you can clearly see a sparse row of radishes (to the left) and to the right there should be three rows of carrots, lots of weeds are sprouting, not one carrot seedling to be found :( Still there is still time to plant some more so fingers crossed!

Radishes and Weeds where my Carrots should be!

RADISHES
Wartime Seed Varieties: Crimson Giant Forcing, French Breakfast, Long Scarlet, Long White Icicle, Scarlet White, Scarley Olive, Spanish Black, Scarlet Globe & Parkler.

Don't forget to sow them little and often, if you like them. Sow very thinly and there will be no need to thin the seedlings. A useful idea is to sow a few radish seeds in the drills along with onions, carrots and beet. Plant one seed every 6 in. or so along the drills; they grow quickly and show you the line of the drill before the other seeds germinate. Hoeing and weeding can then begin earlier.(Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide May 1945)

As I mentioned above I managed to grow a row of french breakfast radishes which were really delicious, I have planted my next lot in my back garden so that I can pick them as soon as they are ready and make very fresh salads!

RUNNER BEANS

Wartime Seed Varieties: Best of All, Emperor Improved, Emperor White, Hollington's Pinceps, The Marvel, Hackwood Park Success, Prizewinner, Scarlet Emperor, The Czar, White Dutch.

The plants are very tender and seeds should not be sown in the open until May, though early crops may be secured by sowing in boxes in a frame or a greenhouse and transplanting later. In the open, sow the seed in double rows with 9 in. of space between the plants. For single rows, the plants should stand 12 in. apart.(Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide May 1945)

I chose Scarlet Emperor as they were a wartime variety and I have been planting successive trays of runner beans eight seeds and a few weeks apart at a time since may! The First batch went into my newly dug 'Anderson Shelter Garden' and the remaining will be put in the allotment when they are ready!

Anderson Shelter Runner Beans

MARROWS
Wartime Seed Varieties: Green Bush, Green Trailing, Pen-y-byd, White Bush, White Trailing.

Choose a sunny corner for your marrows, digging in some well-rotted manure or compost into the bottom of the bed, which should be taken out one spit deep. Sow towards the end of May, placing groups of four or five seeds about 6 in. apart and 1 in. deep. Eventually thin to two plants, 12 to 15 in. apart. (Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide May 1945)

I chose Green Bush variety from Premier Seed Direct as I have grown them in the past and they have always grown well, I love the fact with Marrows you can harvest them when they are really small, for Courgettes/Zucchini or leave them a while longer to grow into fully fledged Marrows.

All of the marrow seed I planted have germinated this year, which is lovely and also a little worrying as I am not entirely sure I will have enough room for them all!

DWARF /FRENCH & HARICOT BEANS

Wartime Seed Varieties: Canadian Wonder Select, Masterpiece, Monster Negro, Canadian Wonder, Excelsior, Green Gem, Green Haricot.

The ministry's cropping plan provides for two rows of dwarfs. The plants of dwarfs are tender and should not be sown in the open until mid-April in the south and mid-May in the north. Successive batches can be sown until mid-July. Rows should be 2 ft. or 2-1/2 ft. apart, with 9 in. between plants. Use a dibber, or draw a shallow trench with a hoe, about 2 in. deep.(Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide May 1945)

Dwarf French Bean

I have chosen some Dwarf French Beans called 'Borlotto Suprema' which I got from Rabbit-Nutrition on Ebay.  I know More Beans!!! I am certainly going to have to find some really good recipes for all the different beans we are going to be consuming shortly, any suggestions?

TOMATOES
Wartime Seed Varieties: Ailsa Craig, Early Dawn, Early Prolific, Holmes Supreme, Kondine Red, Market King, Paynes Royal, Stonors MP, V.C. Open Air & Sunrise

Judging by the response to the Ministry's advertisements in earlier years, the tomato is crop No.1 with war-time gardeners and allotment holders...As with so many gardening jobs there is no fixed date for planting; it varies from about May 20 in the south-west to the end of the second week in June in the north. Little is gained and much may be lost by rushing plants out of doors a week or ten days before the weather has warmed up. (Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide May 1945)

I was kindly given four 'Alicante' tomato plants by my adorable next door neighbour, Richard - he manages to grow the most amazing crops from is a very small veg garden, it's truly inspiring.  I was going to put these into the allotment, but decided to keep them at home so I could keep a controlling eye over them and stop them from getting too wild and woolly, which seems to happen very quickly!

They are currently growing on my patio, three of them in a Growbag and the forth in an old emulsion paint can - nothing is wasted here!

So that was May, and what a busy month it was, next up June!

Wendy x

The Victory Garden - April - Spring Has Sprung

"April, April, Laugh thy girlish laughter;

Then, the moment after,Weep thy girlish tears."

Well without further delay it's time to fill you all in on Aprils progress The Victory Garden.

The country lane in Walthamstow of all places, which I walk down to get to the site. 

The countryside feel of this lane is deceptive as I am constantly embarrassing myself by Hello-ing at dog walkers, who look disgusted at me for speaking to them, "Don't you know this is Walthamstow we don't talk to strangers". Last week, I think I accidentally flirted with a chap by merely smiling and saying "Morning" he looked so delighted, winked at me and shouted back Fab Four, which it took me a while to decipher was in reference to the Beatles T-shirt I was wearing, I smiled and scurried off to catch my bus!

April and May have both been quite busy months in the garden, as I have tried to keep on top of all that needs to be done! The weather was just a tad more friendly, though still not what I had hoped, it was not so much 'Drip, drip, drop little April shower' as 'flip, flip, filp flipping cold', we had lots and lots of early morning frost which made me question my sanity when planting out.

So the main digging is pretty much done all that is left are areas that if I get time I will work over, but if not it's no great problem, the new task now is re-digging over the first section which the weeds are gradually reclaiming, and planting in my onions and legumes before the weeds attempt to return!



The last of my potatoes were planted at the beginning of April, they are all currently underground growing away (fingers crossed) in the second section and soon will  have poked its way out of the soil enough to be earthed up.

My chitted Potatoes, ready for planting - this odd weather seems to have slowed their chitting, they normally have much more shoot growth before planting

 My February planted broad beans finally were big enough to be planted out, I didn't realise just how many I seeds would germinate as I had enough for three 10 ft long rows!!

First two rows in, one to go!

They are now snuggled underneath, a pair of net curtains that Beau took exception to and ripped holes in, the blighter, at least they are not wasted! Also the fruit bushes are looking good considering being uprooted and pruned they are greening up nicely and have some fruit producing blossom at the ready.

Broad Beans nestling under a protective curtain --- Fruit bushes survived my butchery and are looking good!

Also, the onions which I'd planted in seed trays in March we ready to be moved from my cold-frame at home to the Allotment.

Now is the time to plant out onions raised under glass. Harden the plants off gradually and plant them out in rows 1 ft. apart, leaving 6 in. between each plant. See that each bulb is set just on top of the ground and press the soil firmly around its roots. Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide 1945 -April

He he, how wobbly are those rows! Proof if it were needed that I cannot plant (or stitch) in a straight line! :)

Planting my sets in trays worked a treat and so the onions were raring to go! They have now been planted in the first section, next to the shallots which are also doing well!!

So on to the seeds planted in April

BEETROOT
Wartime Seed Varieties: Cheltenham Green Top, Covent Garden Select, Dell's Crimson,Volunteer, Detriot Improved Globe, Early Wonder Globe, Feltham Intermediate.

Sow globe crops in April, longer varieties in May. Drills should be 1-1/2 to 2 in. deep and at least 1 ft. apart. Sow seeds in small clusters 6 in. apart, to avoid waste, and thin the plants to one when three leaves have formed. A few strands of black cotton stretched above the rows will protect the seedlings from troublesome birds. Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide 1945 -April

'Boltardy" from the 99p Store

I've sewn one row so far of beetroot and in a few days I will plant another, row as I really love beetroot, it's great in salads, smoothies, cakes, and pickles, I think if I could grow just two things it would be sprouts and beetroot!

CABBAGES

Wartime Seed Varieties: Best of All Dwarf,Christmas Drumhead, Dwarf Green Curled, Early Summer, Emperor, Enfield Market Late Drumhead, Norwegian, Tender & True, Tom Thumb, January King, Nonpareil, Clucas' Early Market 218, Early Offenham, Flower Of Spring, Primo

The Ministry's cropping plan does not include cabbages for use in summer and early autumn, except as an alternative to runner beans in cold districts. If you have enough room, however, and you would like a choice of green vegetables in late summer, sow a row now in the seedbed (see page 3 of March Guide).

I don't actually remember what variety these are, as they were only in a foil lined sachet with cabbages written on but they are from my stash so would have been a few years old, they have germinated well

LETTUCE

Wartime Seed Varieties: All the Year Round, Feltham King, Lobjoit’s Green Cos, Arctic King, Stanstead Park, Hardy Winter White Cos, Webb's Wonderful, Tom Thumb, Black Seeded and Jumbo.

Continue to sow a short row (1/2 in. deep) every fortnight, to make sure of crops in succession. Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide 1945 -April

'Tom Thumb' 

I have now started planting my lettuce, I opted to put the first lot in a seed tray for transplanting, hopefully, when the get a little bigger, I will plant the next seeds direct. As well as growing 'Tom Thumb' which is a miniature lettuce I have also ordered some 'Little Gem' seeds which is a cos style lettuce (it's more sturdy and compact with white stems on the leaves) which I am hoping will ensure we get lots of fresh salads over the next few months

PEAS

Wartime Seed Varieties: Alaska, Alderman, Blue Bird, Blue Prussian, Early Bird, Essex Star, Harrisons Glory, Kelvedon Wonder, Laxtons Supurb, Lincoln, Meteor, Onward, Pilot, Senator, Standard, Thomas Laxton, Timperly Wonder.

The March Guide (page 4) dealt with the sowing of peas. This is just to remind you to sow main crop peas in April. For late crops you can sow such varieties as Little Marvel and Onward as late as June. Unless your soil is in very good heart, a top dressing of super-phosphate––2 ounces per square yard––at blossom time helps the pods to swell. Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide 1945 -April

The first batch of plants went in at the beginning of May, it's been interesting to see how the varieties grow at different rates , both sets were planted on the same day but the Alderman have shot away! I have been planting A handful more seeds every 2 weeks, to hopefully get a succession of yummy scummy peas!

SPINACH
Wartime Seed Varieties: Long-Standing Summer, Round-Leafed Victoria & Prickly, King of Denmark, Monstrous Viroflay, Reliance, Blanchford's New Prickly, Giant Lettuce Leaved, Long Standing,The C.O.

Spinach may be sown both in spring (March to May) and late summer (August). Drills should be 1 in. deep and 15 in. apart. In autumn or early winter, spinach beet supplies leaves that take the place of spinach in autumn or early winter. It is also known as "Perpetual Spinach" and some people prefer it. The drills should be 18 in. apart. You can sow it in April and again in July. Ministry of Agriculture Allotment & Garden Guide 1945 -April

I did a bit of research on transplanting spinach and it seems the jury is out, some people swear by it and others swear it's a disaster, so we will see how mine works out! I have bought two types of spinach the above is a leaf beat type which is more of a salad crop called 'Reddy' I have also got some Medania seed which is a little more sturdy which I will plant directly in a few days time.

So that was April, in The Victory Garden, April and May truly seem to have flown by I can't believe that it will be June, on Saturday, where has the time gone!

Wendy x