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.