Spring
Autumn ’11
As the cold nights and shorter days draw in, we look to warm terracotta reds and natural wood to add warmth and comfort to the home. Autumn is often the cook’s favourite season as the summer season gives so much in the way of harvests and gluts. In the kitchen we’re busy making making the most of our Autumn Raspberries and making seasonal chutneys and piccalilli, and drying herbs and tomatoes. Preserving the goodness is what it’s all about; ready for use and enjoyment throughout the colder months of the year.
Loving Autumn Raspberries
We’ve already made a number of soups and stews – I think we were ready for it! A Roasted Tomato Soup – complete sunshine in a bowl, which made perfect use of the many varieties of tomatoes we grew. Also something a little bit more unusual for us, we’ve made a Spinach Soup. The colour was amazing and tasted really fresh. We always like to make a big batch and freeze the rest for another day. Our food is never fancy – just tasty, home-cooked meals and dishes 
Ripening tomatoes in October '11
In the garden, fungal diseases are rife in the moist air. We’ve still plenty of tomatoes on the vine yet to turn red. Traditionally, we take a vine at a time and bring it indoors to ripen on a sunny windowsill or next to apples or bananas; something my mother has always taught us.
We’ve had the annual end of season tidy-up, so the compost heap is pretty full and the plot looks bare! Dying leaves and rotting fruits such as apples and pears, are disposed of quickly before they spread the infection to the rest of the crop. Storing undamaged, clean fruits and vegetables is still high on the agenda for autumn and winter use.
Freshly dug potatoes (with a little help from the kids!)
Summer '11 Our kitchen garden is wonderful at the moment. It's so relaxing to potter about, watering and watching fruits swell. Our soft fruit, strawberries and Tayberries, ripened earlier with the fabulous warm weather we enjoyed in May. For a while, it was a job to keep on top of these simple tasks during the driest weeks but it's paid off now.
Swelling strawberries in early summer '11
Elderflowers are widely recognised to signal the start of the UK summer so we had a go at making Elderflower Cordial. What a treat this was. Just wished we had made more!
Spring
09.05.11 Wow, what a month. April surpassed all expectations and with temperatures well above average, our seeds germinated well and young seedlings are growing very well. Of course the only downside has been the lack of rain water. We’ve been busy watering up virtually everyday. Something we’re not accustomed to doing at least till June / July.
This time of year can still see frost, so we’ve been careful not to drop our guard. Potatoes need to be earthed up to prevent any chance of frost damaging fresh shoots. Lettuce leaves and rocket should be ready to harvest in a few weeks which is really quite exciting. An early season is on the cards. Just need to make sure we keep watering…!
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04.04.11 Now it feels like spring! In Lincolnshire we’ve already experienced the warm bright days with typical April showers. Mother’s Day has just passed and it definitely feels like we should be looking forward to the Easter break to kick start the seed sowing season! We must admit, we’re feeling a bit behind but it’s been Mother’s Day and now we’re planning for Easter so it’s all systems go.
There’s still plenty of time to sow our seeds. But if you haven’t already done so, I would get them bought fast so that you can choose what varieties you want to grow. All our seeds are bought. We’re just waiting for the perfect afternoon to sprawl out on the lawn with our paper pots, wooden seed trays and dibber and get growing.
Our main aim this year will be to make successional sowings (something we failed at doing so well last year!). The main aim of successional sowings is to sow a small amount of fast maturing crops, such as carrots, spring onions and salad leaves, at 2 week (or so) intervals so that we achieve a harvest throughout the summer, rather than a glut at any one time.
I think the best way we’ll achieve this is by allocating our seeds week by week so we’re now on the hunt for a suitable set of containers to help us stay organised. Perhaps a medicine pill container might do the job…?
Early Spring
06.03.11
Gosh it’s now 6th March. With lengthening days and the air less chilly, early spring is the time when gardeners can’t wait to start sowing and planting. And we newbie gardeners are no different! However we’ve learnt that sowing too early, especially outdoors is one of the most common disappointments. So better to wait and be quite sure that its warm enough, than waste time and money on seeds that won’t grow. March can be very unpredictable.
None-the-less, we’re still very excited about this season. We’ve placed our last order of seeds to add a few new veggies to the menu. We still have a few packets from last year that served us well. Nothing will go to waste. Recycle and reuse; two values we try to conserve.
Our aim is simple: to grow, well, easy-to-grow fruit, veg and salads. Life is busy enough without spending hours down the allotment tending to difficult fruit and veg. (When we do have the time, we’ll tackle one of two of these). The first thing we’ve learnt is that there’s nothing wrong with keeping your life simple. And when the time comes to harvest time, we’ll be enjoying the fruits of our labour with friends and family. Just as we want it.
What we’ll be growing this year; broad beans, dwarf beans, borlotti beans, carrots, new potatoes, courgettes, sweet corn, chilli’s, a mixture of soft and hardier herbs.
Late Winter
08.2.11
According to Weatherwise, ‘February should be slightly duller, warmer and drier than average’. But we’re not falling for this false sense of security! It’s a mistake to do too much too early.
Whilst the weather has been kind we have had a good tidy. Horse muck (with a broad Yorkshire accent!) has been added to new beds and we’ve made plans to move the strawberries.
Our beans didn’t do well last year, so we’ve increased the compost; making it richer and deeper. We’ve also added a long timber raised bed, which we hope will help hold the water better. Last year was so dry, we figure every little helps.
So all in all, the plot is looking pretty tidy. If bare.
We’re tempted daily by new seed catalogues. At a recent trade show we came across yet another seed supplier The London Seed Company. We fell in love with their seed packet designs and thought that they would make lovely inexpensive gifts for newbie gardeners; especially if teamed with a quality hand fork or stainless steel trowel. You can never have enough garden tools.
It’s Valentine’s Day soon. We’ve been discussing the various ways in which one could show their love in and around the home and garden. We’ve sourced a lovely little olive wood heart, which is almost too good to use in the kitchen. Other ways to say ‘I love you’ include; placing a heart shaped sandwich within their tool & tuck box, writing ‘I love you’ (amongst other ideas!) on wooden plant labels and declaring your love in the garden or down on the plot. Placing romantic notes in your loved ones seed tin organiser or simply placed in empty glass jam jars, scattered in fridge and cupboards.
Who said romance was dead? Not on our plot!
04.01.11 A New Year often brings new resolutions. Ours was to not make too many. Last year, we tried to grow and cover all the basics but this year I think we’ll look to pick and mix, to suit our needs. If you’re new to growing your own, follow your heart. Think about your favourite foods or what you’ve enjoyed growing last year. Last year we tried a few new varieties in early potatoes. For some reason they didn’t entirely meet our expectations. Perhaps it was the variety; perhaps it was the way we looked after them. In any case, it was a great exercise but I think we’ll stick with our favourite one on this one this year.
Its January 2011; in the thick of winter. Following Christmas, our cold store is pretty much depleted. Our apples were transformed into warming strudels and chutneys. The carrots were roasted, steamed and pickled but there wasn’t nearly enough to feed the entire family over winter. In addition, many great gardeners and farmers were caught out by the harsh cold temperatures during December. Despite best efforts, the frost got many of our stored potatoes. We now see why this task should be treated so seriously and will be on the lookout for new solutions and ideas for December 2011!
If we were 100% self-sufficient we would be in trouble. Forced to live on dried pasta and rice in the months ahead. Thankfully, growing our own has grown (excuse the pun) from a love of eating freshly picked fruit and veg. I know it’s a cliché but there really is nothing better than stepping out into your garden, porch or patio and picking something edible that you’ve grown. Hopefully, my kids will not forget these moments too; the delight of discovering and eating a ripe red strawberry or podding beans fresh from your pot or plot.
It’s true, January is a slow month. Whilst the snow still falls and the ground remains frozen, there’s not a lot more we can do but happily look forward and plan. We don’t (yet!) have a greenhouse, but towards the end of January / early February, we could lay some plastic sheeting to help warm the ground. We’ll need to dig in the remaining horse manure to put back in plenty of nutrients into the gr<
