Half-hour wreath

I set myself a challenge today: to make a Christmas wreath in under half-an-hour, without wire, simply out of material I could find in the garden.

I've never tried this before, as I normally use florist's foam wreath bases. I knew that I also had to set myself a time limit for two reasons: the daylight would run out soon and I had limited time in which to get a photograph of the finished wreath without having to resort to flash, and also I love making wreaths and linger over a single one for at least an hour normally, in a completely obsessive way.

Next year I'd like to make wreaths to sell from the garden and to do this, I need to be able to make them pretty cheaply and quickly so I can sell them for a realistic price. I'm fed up with seeing over-priced, uncreative, chucked together wreaths on wires everywhere that cost £10+. I'd like to be able to offer a better, more reasonably priced and sustainable alternative for people locally.

My technique probably needs a bit of fine-tuning, but it is basically this: get two fresh, smallish willow whips that don't have very thick ends (I cut down some of this year's growth on our existing willow). Place them together, using the opposite ends, and twist around each other in a round to form a wreath base, tucking in the ends.

Then take your main foliage (I had leftover fir branches from trimming our Christmas tree) and work in between the willow in a clockwise direction until it's completely covered.

Add anything you can find to make points of interest and colour, tucking them in as you go along; I used some snow berries, young eucalyptus branches, a few sprigs of rosemary (for scent more than anything else) and some fir cones on branches.

The only cheating bit was recycling some apples that I had on a wreath last year (look in the January sales in places such as Hobbycraft as they're often half price then!). They had the added bonus of being on wires, so could be wrapped around the main wreath, holding at least some of it together.

The finished product is above, and although I think it could obviously be better, I think in the time allowed and with the restrictions I placed on myself, it's pretty good. It can't be too bad as it's now on my neighbour's door after she spotted it in the yard and said they were about to go and buy one.



Cold again (real feel -4) in the garden today, but Paul and I managed to shift some of the huge pile of soil conditioner that was left outside our gate by the council last week. This was a surprise as I didn't expect it, but, at the risk of sounding ungrateful, the timing could have been better as I'll never move it all this side of the New Year. I hope at least some of it will still be there then!

All the far flower borders got a good layer of this lovely stuff, as did the mint patch. I also weeded the strawberry patch and added some to that as well. This will improve the soil and hopefully keep those weeds down a bit too.

I also planted the dwarf iris bulbs near where the pond will be eventually as I was running out of time to get those in the ground and for once it wasn't frozen.

This will be the last post for a few weeks now as I'm taking a break over Christmas, so have a good holiday, and all the best for 2008.

Brussels are sprouting

It was just me working on the allotment this morning, so after collecting one trug full of manure, I decided that was much better as a two-person job and best left for another time. Slipping up and down the bank with a load of manure on a particularly frosty morning was probably not the most well-thought out plan.

I decided to do some general tidying up instead, cutting dead leaves off the brassicas, clearing the annuals out of the beds and sorting out the compost.

The brussel sprouts (above) are finally showing signs of being big enough to grace the Christmas dinner table; it was touch and go for a while there...


Paul turned up late morning full of cold, but stayed long enough for a chat and a cuppa. It was good to have some company, although I had plenty of feathered friends this morning, with thrushes, blackbirds, great tits, and even a spectacular view of the red kite soaring overhead against a blue sky.

They were all interested in the freshly turned ground that the council cleared for us out the front of the allotment, which means I've now got a much better idea of what we're dealing with in terms of the space.

A cold wind blows

I kept thinking the Wicked Witch of the West might blow in on today's blustery wind, which was biting cold and took the edge off what could have been a lovely bright winter's day. Still, the horses didn't seem to mind, galloping around the field at the back of the allotment after they'd realised I had yet again failed to come up with the goods (i.e. apples).

Paul gave up battling against the elements after about an hour or so, after clearing some of the wildflower meadow and moving the chicken shed up to the top corner with Alan.

I persevered for just a while longer, taking out the half a dozen dead willow whips that didn't take in the dome and replacing them with some new growth. Although there's no foliage left on the dome now (see below), it was still fairly sheltered compared to elsewhere on the allotment.


I just checked on Accuweather and it appears that, although it was a reasonable 7 degrees today, the wind chill made it feel more like -2. Sounds about right!

Chilly compost bins

It was a chilly 0.2ºC when I went out onto the allotment this morning, which explains why the small pool of water on top of the compost bin was frozen solid (above). Still, it made for a good picture! Despite the fact that it was so cold, with a northerly wind blowing to add to the chill factor, at least we had sunny spells and it wasn't raining for a change.


There were no volunteers today (Paul probably thought only mad people would be on the allotment today, and Peter's on holiday in Scotland) so David and I just levelled the ground in preparation for putting the chicken shed in place (we couldn't lift it between us, so that will have to wait for another day when there's more muscle around).

I also cleared the end of the sweet peas and nasturtiums from the rhubarb beds; cleared the weeds and took down the willow frames. We're trying different types of overwinter mulch on the beds - above is straw on the rhubarb and you can also see the green manure (grazing rye) on the far part of the roots bed behind.


The brussel sprouts are beginning to form and the broccoli is still going strong, although the cauliflowers are pretty much over now. This is a view across from the brassica bed, with the willow dome in the distance, looking a little forlorn now without its leaves. The bricks are weighing down another mulch: cardboard over manure.


The leaf mould bin is now full to overflowing, and I dug out the bucket of seaweed (very smelly after months of fermenting) from beside the compost bins to put on the asparagus, after cutting down the yellowing fronds earlier today.

Smell-a-vision a success

It's been a hectic day on the allotment and I feel I need to do some yoga within the next hour to get my back moving properly again. I didn't think I'd been doing anything particularly back-breaking, but at this time of year it's easy to get cold working outside without realising it, and my joints aren't as young as they used to be!

The jerusalem artichokes were finally cut down today, as they've just given up the ghost after a few frosts and turned black. Peter helped me cut them up (some were about 9ft tall) to put in the compost. I was delighted to pull up a few healthy, good-sized tubers from one of the plants, which Paul's taken home for tea. We can start pulling them up as and when now until February - just got to remember to leave a few in for next year's plants.


Paul made short work of a new flower bed (above) for the primary school's new area, recycling some old blue painted wood to make a great shallow bed along the fence for their tulip and daffodil bulbs.

The rabbits were on the allotment today and had a fantastic time, doing big jumps in the air in pure happiness inbetween digging and munching. Lavender managed to escape once, by burrowing his way out, but after a quick sprint around the allotment he was caught expertly by Paul and returned to the safety of the pen.

I cut down the excess willow for weaving some time soon and also tied up the willow dome before madness descended on the allotment shortly after one when a whole class arrived from the local primary school. I must confess to thinking about turning around and running in the opposite direction when I saw them all coming up the path!


I always knew that having 27 children on the allotment at once was going to be a challenge, and I wasn't proved wrong, but they seemed to enjoy themselves and my inspired 'smell your way around the allotment' activity went down a treat. They had to find a piece of plant for each of the following smells: perfume (sweet), savoury (herb), mint, lemon and blackcurrant and then stick them on the sheet. We also planted some tulip bulbs, gathered seeds and looked at different types of manure!

Earlier today the class had been into Chopwell Wood and collected bags of leaves for our leaf mould bin, which is now full to overflowing and will be a great addition to potting mixes in about a year's time.

I was exhausted when they left, but it was a great and worthwhile afternoon, as the children were really interested in finding out about different plants and seeds and when I heard one boy say it was 'his favourite part of the day' that made my day.

If I had a hammer...

I'm a bit behind on the blog, so this entry will be a culmination of a few days' worth of work.

On Thursday afternoon the Boy's Club from the local primary school had a masterclass in how to use a hammer and power drill without injuring yourself, and I'm glad to say that everyone had the same amount of fingers they began with by the end of the session. With a little help from Alan, they're creating two raised beds next to the willow dome.

Friday was another lovely day weather-wise and Paul and I tackled the overgrown area in the top corner in preparation for the chicken house, while Peter added spent compost to the raised beds and potted up the herbs to overwinter in the polytunnel.

We also tided up the entrance to the allotment to make the path a bit easier to use, taking out a few stray weeds and adding some of the spare rubble to the sides.

Rabbits: the ultimate 'green' pet

I've come to the conclusion that rabbits are a pretty eco-friendly pet choice (as long as you don't let them breed lots). They love hoovering up leftover vegetables and relish the tough ends of cauliflower, broccoli etc. that we'd rather leave. They also don't need to be bought lots of expensive pet toys, as they're more than happy with an old plant pot, a stick or a toilet roll tube to chuck around instead.

Another bonus in terms of food is that, unlike those environmental nightmare 'pouches' for cats (the mixture of foil and plastic means they can never be recycled and take years and years to break down), they don't need to be bought anything with excessive packaging, just a mega bag of mix about once a month.

And best of all, when they've finished digesting all that food, you can just put the droppings, straw/hay, sawdust and newspaper straight in the compost bin, which heats it up very nicely and helps everything break down.

Pictured above is Lavender (we've since found out the doe was actually a buck but the name hasn't been changed!) and his new friend, Jack, who has the cutest baby blue eyes, but unfortunately you can't appreciate them in that photo as he's snoozing, so here's another one below so you can get the full effect.


Lavender is the Hop Garden's mascot, and he's often seen around the allotment, especially when there are children around willing to stroke and feed him. The new recruit will hopefully be a suitable stand-in for those days when Lavender's had enough of fame.

And on the allotment today Paul and Peter washed down the shed to prepare it for painting, and David and I cleared the hop vines and cut them down to ground level. It was sad to see them go, but they were looking forlorn and needed to be pulled down - hopefully they'll come up even better next year.

Paul covered one of the beds for overwintering with a layer of horse manure, while Peter and I prepared the cardboard to lay over the top.

Moving shed

I've been thinking about moving this neighbour's shed for a while now, and we finally got round to it today, thanks to help from allotment neighbour Alan and house neighbour Ian. I think it was used to house rescue cats some years back, but has since seen better days.

But we've taken a few feet off the bottom where it was a bit rotten, and tomorrow we'll give it a good clean and a coat of wood preservative (pet friendly of course) and before you know it, we'll have a lovely clean (and free!) hen house.

All about alpacas

The weather this weekend has been glorious, with clear blue skies and lots of sunshine, so I should have left the tomatoes in a bit longer really, but never mind.

I took advantage of the weather to ignore the housework and get out on the allotment, shifting loads of alpaca droppings onto the hops. Alpacas are shy but sociable animals, sharing a communal 'poo pile' in a corner of their field, and the six in Chopwell Wood are no exception. This makes collecting their droppings a much easier task than playing ' hunt the pat' in the nearby field, and the bonus is that it can be put straight on the plants, rather than leaving to rot down first like most manures. And of course, there's the kudos: how many people can say they have alpaca droppings on their allotment?

Also in the picture above is my recycled border for the hops, made from bits of our next door neighbour's conifers that were cut down about a month ago.

Paul dropped by today and between us we weeded the roots bed, which was looking a little overgrown, and transplanted a few more kale plants.

Here comes the sun

It's said that jerusalem artichokes rarely flower in the UK, so I'm pleased to report that evidence to the contrary is above. They're lovely yellow sunflower-like blooms (which give a good clue as to which plant family they belong to) but are unfortunately so high up that only the birds are really getting to enjoy them; I had to jump up and pull this one down to get a photograph.

Today was a hive of activity on the allotment: Peter and I cleared all the old tomato plants out of the polytunnel, dug over the ground and added some organic matter from the hot bed, while David and Paul were on a manure mission with a spade, bucket and wheelbarrow in the nearby field, which conveniently has some horses grazing in it at the moment who were happy to oblige.

We also managed to weed around the base of the hop vines in preparation for creating a trench to fill with manure and compost when the plants are cut down for the winter, and bluebell, snowdrop and crocus bulbs are now buried under the ash tree at the shady end of the allotment. Peter thought the idea of throwing the bulbs over your shoulder to create a more natural looking display was quite mad, and decided a more sane option was to weed instead.


I promised earlier in the week that I'd explain more about the sheep fleeces: the spring cabbage above, like all our other brassica plants, is tucked in with a blanket of Suffolk Down sheep fleece, kindly donated by Bill Quay Farm in Gateshead. I know of a smallholder in Weardale who uses fleece to protect her plants in the winter, so I thought I'd give it a try, and it seems to have the added bonus (although I hate to speak too soon) of deterring slugs and snails, as they don't appear to like the texture.

We also had a few visitors from Gateshead Council today - it was great to have Michelle from the social enterprise team come and see for herself what I've been going on about all these months, and also two unexpected visitors dropped by with some hopefully encouraging news about clearing up the land outside, so we'll wait and see how that pans out.

Sweet dreams

The hops have been pretty good considering it's their first year, and I've been harvesting a few bines to dry in the airing cupboard which I hope to turn into hop pillows at some point. Hops are often used to treat insomnia, and I did have trouble getting out of bed this morning actually, but it may be due to the fact that it's Monday rather than the fumes from the cupboard making me sleepy....


The wildflowers on the allotment have had a new lease of life after the brief warm spell we've been experiencing over the past week or so and the bees are making the most of them while they're still around (below).


On Friday Peter and I managed to clear most of the weeds out of the high raised beds and at the weekend Paul gave me a hand removing all the straw he'd laid down only a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, it's yet another slug haven we've created - despite being a great weed suppressor - so it had to go.

I've cleared some space in the polytunnel as the courgette plants were coming to an end, so the kale has now been transplanted into that end of the bed (with a layer of wood ash around them in the vain hope it may deter marauding molluscs).

The newly-transplanted spring cabbages are now tucked in with a blanket of Suffolk Down sheep fleece, which I'll write more about (with pictures) later this week.

Garden pizza

This is the ultimate in not-so-fast food, and tastes so much better for it. Of course, there are plenty of local eateries that would happily deliver a pizza to my door but I think I can safely say that this one would win hands down on taste alone ;)

David made the pizza base, following a basic bread mixture, and the tomato sauce ingredients are all sourced from the garden (apart from the seasoning)- fresh chilli, various tomato varieties, onion, garlic and bay leaves.

On top is garden spinach, red onion, extra garlic and some mushrooms and eggs from our veg box delivery which we have delivered once a fortnight when our growing season is a bit quieter.

It really isn't too difficult to make your own pizza, as long as you're happy to spend a little time doing so - I just chuck anything on that I have to hand and hope for the best.


The rather sad looking potato above is actually completely hollow. I couldn't quite believe it when I dug it up this morning while clearing the bed for winter and Alan hadn't seen anything like it before either. I think the slugs/snails had a field day on this one.

I orginally planned to weigh the potatoes from the mulch bed and compare against the traditional one but I've saved myself the trouble as there really isn't any competition: due to the awfully damp summer (and consequent snail/slug heavenly conditions) the potatoes grown through the mulch are puny.

It wasn't really a good year to trial the two, as the odds were stacked against the mulch bed pretty much from the start, so I may well try a smaller test patch next year just in case.

On a positive note, the cardboard mulch has broken down really well, and the manure, straw and grass cuttings have left the soil in really good condition, with loads of happy worms wriggling around.

Food for free

*This post is not really about the garden, but hopefully it's still relevant enough to get through the censors!

It never ceases to amaze me how many people go into a supermarket and pay through the nose for in-season fruit that's hanging there on the bushes for free, just asking to be picked.

Autumn is one of my favourite seasons for foraging: there's so much out there I end up feeling slightly giddy at the prospect of all the pies, crumbles, chutneys and jam that can be created.

Today, for example, I'm down in Kent visiting my parents and, whilst out walking the dog along the riverside this morning, we came across blackberries, rosehips, elderberries, apples and damsons.

Damson jam is one of the best in my humble opinion, so I was overjoyed to see there was still some firm fruit left on the bushes, as I thought they would be over by now.

The sight of all the fruit that had gone past its best was a sad testimony to the fact that not many others have been taking advantage of this plentiful free harvest (and also that the birds have an abundance of berries to choose from this autumn).

The photo above shows the carrier bag full that I managed to collect and I'll be going back for some rosehips (for syrup) and more damsons later. I think I'll leave the elderberries as we have plenty around the allotment that can be turned into jam or wine when I get back...

Update: When I went back out later this afternoon to find some more damsons (which involved a bit of scrambling around in the bushes and getting strange looks, but I'm used to that) I came across someone who also likes to forage and was gathering rosehips for wine, so that raised my spirits somewhat following my earlier rant.

If this post has inspired you to think about heading out into the woods and hedgerows and you wouldn't normally, look out for Food for Free, a little Collins Gem book by Richard Mabey which is a great addition to any pocket.

Caped crusader is not French

As there is a high risk of this post's title sounding suspiciously like a cryptic crossword clue, I thought I'd better start by explaining the story behind it. Don't worry, it's not a long one.

Basically, I was experimenting with a three sisters bed, which was the subject of a post a while back, and involved planting sweetcorn, squash and beans together. It was an abject failure, mainly due to the damp summer we've had that's been pure heaven on earth for the local snail and slug population.

Before this short story goes off on a tangent, I'll get on with it. I don't think this had any bearing on the outcome of the bed, as it was doomed from the start, but what I thought was a French bean plant (mix up on the labels there) that I'd grown from seed was in fact a cape gooseberry.

Lovely plant, just in the wrong place, and I only realised last week when I spotted the distinctive physallis that surrounds the gorgeous sweet orange fruit, that it should be undercover now that the weather has turned much cooler. Despite being left out in the cold, it has galloped on and put on a lot of growth.

So, the plants were dug up yesterday, with a bit of help from the after school club, and moved to the polytunnel where they may or may not reach their full potential.


We get most of our milk in bottles from a local supplier, which isn't so easy these days, but more often than not we have to resort to a plastic container. It seems this is a universal problem, if the donations of plastic milk cartons to the garden are anything to go by.

But, if your local authority doesn't recycle plastic, the humble milk carton can be recycled in the garden instead. We're currently using the cut off tops as mini cloches for the kale which has only just come out of the polytunnel where it was being grown on past the slugs and needs to harden off a bit before being exposed to the elements.

Next summer, these will be used again, buried next to the tomato plants in the polytunnel to take the water from the can closer to the roots. And the bottom halves aren't wasted either - a perfect beer trap!


Onions stored on the rack in the polytunnel.


The spaghetti squash was a bit slow to get going (it really does deserve its name and tastes lovely too) so it's now had a good dose of rotted organic matter to keep it warm and a cold frame over the top, so hopefully we might get a decent sized fruit off the plant yet.

Talking of slow to get going, we managed to complete many of the day's tasks on the allotment today, after Paul arrived on cue as soon as I had the kettle in my hand.

Between me, Paul, Peter and David we did a major weed, planted out the kale, tied in the jerusalem artichokes once again, covered the brassica bed with mulch and took down the remains of the peas, saving as many seed pods as possible for next year.

Harvest festival

It was High Spen Primary School's Harvest Festival this morning and I was asked if I would mind taking part (I'm not sure there was a lot of choice involved actually, as I was handed my lines at the same time!)

It's been a while since I've sat in a school assembly and, despite being a fair few feet taller than I was then, I still felt like I could be in trouble at any point. This is strange, as I was always very well behaved at school (as opposed to at Brownies, where I went a bit wild, but I'm digressing now). It might have been linked to the fact that I was told to sit on a blue 'naughty' bench, just a few inches from the floor, which is enough to make anyone feel small and a little mischievous.

I'm going to sound really old now, but they really don't sing those old harvest songs anymore, it's all very trendy stuff. What happened to 'We plough the fields and scatter?' - I loved that one!

I was pleased with the display of produce from the garden (see above) as I took a while arranging it for the display even though it's all going to be divided before being delivered to elderly people in the village. I just hope they realise that the hops are just for decoration as someone could have a nasty surprise if they try to eat those off the vine.

Despite not knowing the words to any of the songs and fluffing my lines (more rehearsal needed) it was an enjoyable morning, especially watching the five-year-olds with their scarecrow dance, which was adorable.

I forgot to mention on the last post that we've been successful in our bid to O2 for a grant to clear up the land outside the allotment and create a wildlife corridor where there is currently fly tipping and dog mess. This project will keep us busy over the winter months and I'm especially looking forward to planting a native hedge along the border of the plot as I've been looking for a suitable location for ages.

Along came a spider

It's back to reality after a two week break, with a rather damp working day in the garden. Time for Paul to tidy the shed while I took on the tomatoes, taking out most of the leaves that were dying back and pinching out any flowers. It's unlikely that the green tomatoes will do much now, so they're destined for the chutney pot.

David joined Paul and I to peel the outer layers from the onions, which had been lifted a few weeks back and were drying in the polytunnel after being out in the sun on a wire rack for a few days. Peeling helps to reduce the likelihood of diseases spreading through the onion and they keep longer as well.

The spider above, which I think is a female Garden Spider, is the biggest one I've seen in a while, and was hanging out among the tomatoes ready to surprise me as I took out the green ones.


The sun broke through the rain clouds for a few hours this afternoon, so I made the most of the fine weather to cut down the fruited canes of the summer fruiting raspberries to ground level, tie in this year's new canes, and weed around the roots.

The Julia variety, which is a great option for organic growing due to its disease resistance, has done really well, and its growth this year is head and shoulders above the Malling Jewel's.

Open Day

It's been a great day - despite the frequent downpours (thank goodness for the polytunnel) and everyone seems to have a good time. Marvin from Muddy Fingers Pottery was superb and both adults and children alike loved making clay impressions of leaves and flowers from around the garden to form our new welcome sign.

The garden was officially opened by our local MP, Dave Anderson at 2pm and by 4pm all the lavender shortbread, homemade lemonade and rosemary biscuits had disappeared and it was time to go.

Here's a selection of pictures from today and thanks to all the friends and neighbours who turned out to show their support. This will be the last post for a few weeks as we're taking a well-earned break :)


Making clay impressions from leaves and flowers around the site.


Super-Ewan with a willow wand.


Lauren keeps an eye on Lavender, the Hop Garden's mascot, who had a great time digging, eating and being stroked.


Blackboard signs helped visitors to find their way around the garden (above and below).


The clay words are taking shape.


Owain and Jonah get back to nature in the willow dome.


Everyone wants to get their hands dirty to help out with the sign making.

A fifty cent'er

These pictures were taken yesterday, when it was a little more cloudy and windy, but today is what my friend Stevie, from Virginia, would call a 'fifty cent'er' - a perfect blue sky with no clouds to be seen. When I worked at summer camp in New Hampshire, Stevie would give us a weather report based on how good the day would be, with a fifty cent'er being the best you could get. Years ago, a local NH weatherman would do the same, so you'd know how much to put away for a rainy day....


Anyway, enough about the weather, as I'm crossing everything to guarantee that it lasts until the Open Day tomorrow. There's still signs and biscuit baking/lemonade making to be done, but the garden looks as tidy and presentable as an allotment can be and almost worthy of the MP's visit.

Paul, Peter, David and I worked for most of the day yesterday and I hardly left the site on Thursday, in order to get things looking shipshape.


So it seemed a good time to take a few general shots around the allotment so you can see the progress for yourself. Above is the willow dome, which has taken amazingly well for its first year, especially as it was planted late in the season.

And below is the view from one of the top corners, looking down towards the gate.


Tomatoes (most still green, but slowly turning) and the squash, which is taking over one end of the polytunnel.


Looking up the garden to the jerusalem artichokes and wildflowers.


Cabbages,onions and brussel sprouts in the school's section.

It's a bug's life

One of the great things about creating an organic growing space is the amount of wildlife it attracts. Most things (apart from slugs and snails this year) work in balance if left to their own devices, and if you wait long enough, a natural predator will usually come along and hoover up the problem.

Despite being accused of taking photographs to avoid doing any work, I took a few shots yesterday to show just some of the insects that have been visiting the garden lately, such as these hoverflies and bees. The borage is also alive with bumble bees at the moment, but I had trouble catching them in a photograph as they were moving so fast.


Peter and David finished off one of the jobs that had been on my mind for months, filling the last of the high raised bed. We got off to a great start as Alan had been in at 6am and cleared the weeds off the topsoil pile, so we could get moving and sifting straight away. It didn't stay empty for long: it's now filled with spinach and salad seeds and some spring cabbage transplants.


It was too warm to do anything too energetic (not had that problem much this year!) so I weeded the onion bed (again) and cleared the nettles from the mint patch. The jerusalem artichokes were all over the place as they had been battered by the wind and rain, so they needed tying back in as well.

I took a break from the garden this afternoon and went to the beach (and had a wonderfully refreshing swim in the North Sea) as I've been getting a bit stressed about the amount of work to do before the open day. A friend recently told me that you have to be careful not to get too obsessive about something you love doing and end up changing your relationship with it, losing some of that element of fun. Possibly a bit 'heavy' for this blog, but wise words indeed :)