Sweetcorn at last!

We love sweetcorn, which is why my attempts to grow it for the past 5 years have been so disappointing (the first year however was a roaring success). Each year I carefully nurture my seedlings, sown in modules in the greenhouse, then moved to a bed that's been lovingly weeded and layered with compost. I water them and underplant with beans and squash (the 'three sisters'). And what happens? Well, I get sweetcorn but only a few and much later than everybody else.

My neighbours' have tall proud sweetcorn plants with multiple ears of corn. They take pity on me and offer me some to supplement my meagre pickings.  I ask them what they do - they manure/compost just as I do. They water, just as I do. They block plant; several try the 'three sisters' approach. My crop is poor; their's is bountiful.  Well not this year! This year I have tall, proud, multistemed sweetcorn and I have plenty of it and have been giving it away.

What I have in inadvertently discovered (I think) is that sweetcorn doesn't like being confined in a 2 by 1 metre bed and/or being raised in modules.

This year I grew two batches of sweetcorn (I accidently bought two packets of seeds). The first I grew in modules then planted into a 2 by 1 metre bed that had been weeded and manured.  The other was planted directly into a large area in my second plot; it had been the site of the chicken run so was well manured for 3 months. Both were underplanted with pumpkin and french beans.

The module-grown sweetcorn grew pretty much as normal (for me that is). All the plants grew, they most produced one small sweetcorn - but there were gaps in the cobs where not all were fertilized. However with the directly planted sweetcorn only about 15 of the 30 seeds grew into mature plants, a pretty poor survival rate I think, but each plant that did survive has thrived and produced bigger and better sweetcorn that the module-grown sweetcorn.

I thought this was a really interesting result and next year I'm going to try again - this time reversing the planting to see what happens. Module grown seedlings can go into open ground and the bed will be directly sown.  I might also add a few directly sown into open ground just to make sure I get some sweetcorn.

Watch this space!

Jimmo remade

Jimmo - after his makeover

Elizabeth and I popped along to the plot yesterday to pick up Jimmo and bring him home. He was looking very sad and worn. When we started peeling back the layers we found his nose and his hat flat against his face hiding his face.  The only bit that was still intact was his stuffing of newspaper inside plastic bags. 

After an afternoon's work he has new clothes, a new covering for his head, extra stuffing, a heart and a new (handmade) hat. Oh, and a smiley face. Doesn't he look lovely?

Jimmo's smiley face

And whilst I was there today I did some weeding around the sweetcorn and onions. Here's a view across the plot, showing my sweetcorn.

A view across the plot

Jimmo the Scarecrow

Jimmo on his first day at the allotment

Three years ago my friend Clare, my three year old daughter and I cut up some old coffee sacks and created Jimmo the Scarecrow (instructions here). He was an excellent addition to the plot: he protected the strawberries from birds, was surrounded by sweet peas and, well, just looked wonderful.

Now, three years of sun and rain can have an effect on a chap. By the second summer all the colour was bleached from his patches and scarf, his hat was floppy and he looked a bit bedraggled.

I took a photograph of him yesterday in preparation of giving him a bit of long overdue tlc. A bit sad looking methinks.

Jimmo in 2012

Watch this space to see how we bring him back to life!

My chickens

February - their first day in their new home

I've had my chickens for nearly 18 months now and they are well and truly part of the family. My girls were rescued from a battery farm where they spent the first 2 years of their life 'living' in a small cage with no room to move or show any natural behaviour. And you could tell. When I first put them into their run they just stood still. They had pink floppy combs, were featherless in places (I was told they weren't that bad compared to some) and looked scared stiff. On their first night I had to entice them into their house by putting a torch in there - eventually they walked in and settled down.

For the first month they were confined to their house and run - but this was just fine for them; a nice roomy 4 metre long run rather than the tiny cage they'd grown up in.

April - free ranging

Eventually, however they got curious. Whenever I cleaned them out they tried to escape; it was time to free range.  I began by making a temporary pen for them outside their run so they could get used to going in and out when I was with them. Once they tried escaping that I knew it was time and let them explore the garden.  Now everyday, come wind, rain or shine the girls and I spend time together in the garden. The girls get to roam the garden whilst I potter about, sit and read or have dinner. But I don't leave them alone in the garden as there are foxes roaming the area so when I can't be with them they are safely in their run.  They seem like happy chickens.

July - happy garden chickens

What made me write this post after we've had the girls so long? I was lying in bed last night pondering their ability to think and remember. They certainly know who I am (and the family for that matter). They know that the saucepan means they're getting a treat (pasta, rice or potatoes); they know that when I get a handful of grain it's time to go into their run (I use that to entice them in); they know that the spade means I'm digging and will uncover worms and insects for them. They clearly remember a lot of day to day things... but do they remember life in the battery farm? I hope not!

June colours

The weather here has not been good - cold, wet, overcast. The vegetables are growing slowly, the slugs and snails are very happy and the flowers on the fruit trees never turned into fruit. But what has come through and kept my allotment looking good and my spirits up are the flowers. From purple poppies and alliums, pale pink roses through to bright orange calendula. They all look ravishing; who cares about the vegetables???

Been making...

Dulce de Membrillo, or Quince cheese to you and me. It took ages - cleaning the quince to remove the fuzz...


then chopping (which was hard!), then cooking with lemon juice for 3 hours...



before pushing through a sieve and cooking the pulp with lots of sugar for 30 mins stirring continuously.


But it was worth it. It tasted delicious and impressed my lunch guests when I bought out the cheese, fruit, crackers and membrillo.

Been picking...

I love this time of year, reaping the rewards of the year's hard work. I've been picking apples, from my 2 trees plus a neighbours. Have also had a fantastic crop of William bon chretien pears - the boughs were bending under the weight. We have 10 jars of plum jam from my fantastic crops of Czar plums. I also have my first crop of Vranja quince to pick. Counted over 30 of them!

My daughter and I have also been doing one of favourite late summer past-times - wondering the river banks and hedgerows at the allotment picking blackberries.

Think we'll be making another apple and blackberry pie today!

How can it be nearly April???

I've been so busy recently that I didn't know it was almost April! I'm not sure I've done much work on my allotment this year and am fully booked for most of the next few weekends. Oh dear.

My original plot isn't too bad - all raised beds that were prepared in autumn. They need a bit of weeding as do the gravel paths, and to re-erect some rustic trellis but apart from that all is well. Ok, almost well - the shed and raised could do with a coat of paint, the cherry I'm shaping into a fan needs some attention and the little lawn needs cutting, but nothing major.

The new plot however is going nowhere (except the greenhouse that I have completed). I've turned the soil in a couple of places (attempts at beds) but I haven't weeded them. I've planted two trees - a family apple and a plum - but that's about it. It seems like such a daunting task - where to start?!?

The good news is that I've started sowing seeds - have quite a few little tomato, pepper, aubergine, chilli plants as well as cucumbers and courgettes growing (also some flowers for the garden at home).

I need to work out where I can grab some hours in the next couple of weeks - not easy with w/e visits/visitors and a nearly 5 year old who doesn't want to do anything after school except eat, play and watch tv!

Allotment resolutions

A bit late, but I've only just got my gardening hat on! I've decided to make some gardening resolutions - and stick to them! These are:

1. Label my plants! I was very disappointed before Christmas to find out that I didn't have any Brussel sprouts for Christmas lunch. I think I only have tender sprouting broccoli (so not totally disappointed). But I'm going to label everything this year so I know what's what. I sometimes use a mix of tape on the side of seed trays/writing in paint pens on the side of pots but more often than not I rely on my memory. I'm not going to stop taping/writing on pots etc, but will buy a bag of lolly sticks from a craft shop to use as labels as well. This way I can label plants and the labels can go into the ground so I'll know what's there.

2. Succession plant. I usually plant loads at the beginning of the year but then never do a second or third batch. I get gluts and it's all over! So, I will so less more frequently!

3. Give my original greenhouse a good clean. Enough said!

4. Plant more flowers. I already have roses, gladioli (for cutting) self seeded nasturtiums and loads of lovely pink poppies, as well as the annual batch of sunflowers, but I'm going to be more floriferous this year.

5. Sit down more and enjoy it! I've got a couple of pallets to make benches and have been given an old bench to recondition.

So, there's my allotment resolutions for this year. Now, will I keep to them???

We have a date!

The girls will be with us at the beginning of February. I'm so excited, I was out finishing the run today! I still need to get feed and stuff but my local pet shop said that if I give them a list they'll get it for me and deliver the goods. That's helpful, thank you local pet shop.

Date for our hens

Just heard that the next re-homing day for the rescued battery hens will be 5 February. I'm so excited!

New plot - started digging

A short post to share my very slow progress in transforming my new plot. It's all grass and heavily infested with couch grass. It's also very uneven. So I'm going to dig the whole thimg over from one end to the other and level it out then add paths etc.


Here's where I've got to - just turned the soil really and removed a few roots. Hopefully I'll be able to do a more thorough job when the weather improves.

New Chicken Coop

I thought I'd report back on my hunt for a chicken coop. After lots of research I'd decided on a relatively cheap (about £100) wooden coop with a smallish run that I could extend. I told my partner (and purchaser of the coop) about my choice and he promptly told me I had to think very carefully about the purchase and set about redoing my research (men!).

Anyway, he booked us in to visit Southmead poultry near Leatherhead. The very helpful lady explained all about keeping chickens, talked us through the pros and cons of wooden and plastic (eglu) coops and sent us on our way with lots of questions answered and even more to think about.

After a couple of days pondering we finally decided. We didn't fancy spraying the coop weekly with red mite killer so we decided on a Eglu go. It seems like the healthier (for the chickens) and low maintenance option. I hadn't seriously considered one of these before as I thought they were too small for 3 hens (and too expensive). But the chicken lady seem to think that it was the size of the run that's important and the coop should be cosy (if put in a big space they'll huddle together in one corner) and David was happy to pay for a good coop.

So we have an Eglu go and are getting run extentions to give the chooks lots space when they are not out and about free ranging. I'm going to keep the girls in my garden to start with whilst they get used to life outside the cage and will then move them to the allotment where they are to spend their life ridding me of slugs, providing manure for my compost and eggs for my breakfast and generally entertaining us and hopefully having a fab time to make up for their bad start in life!

I'll post some pics when the girls arrive!

Choosing a chicken coop

It's hard for a beginner to know what to choose! I was like this when pregnant and trying to work out what I needed... I didn't know a bugaboo from a babygrow and had no idea what a baby vest was! Well I feel exactly the same way now and a millions questions have been asked in the last couple of weeks: How big should the run be for when they're not free ranging? Should the coop be on the ground or elevated? How do I treat red spider mite? What if I get 'funny' eggs? And the big one - should I keep them at the allotment or at home??? Answers on a postcard please...

The matter's complicated because I plan on rescuing battery hens. The next BHWT (http://www.bhwt.org.uk/) rescue session for my area is at the end of January. So, it's going to be a bit chilly. They will have been kept in a small cage in constant warmth and light conditions and they're suddely going to be in the open air. They're probably going to be missing a few feathers and will need some help in the early days. So that all points to keeping the chickens at home - at least to start with. If that's the case then I'll have to get a small coop, with a smaller run, but on the positive side they'll be let out to free range more than if they're at the allotment. They'd need a much bigger run at the allotment to make up for the reduced time spent free ranging.

So, at least to start I think I'm getting a small coop and run for my back garden. I'll extend the run so that they can roam under the trees in my "woodland area" [aka the bit of the garden sheltered by next door's huge trees where nothing will grow unless I continuously water the area].

The next problem is not really a problem, but it does make it more expensive. I want a raised coop so that their is a sheltered area underneath for them to roam and also to keep things out of the coop (like rats!). I've read that it helps with damp problems too.

I've got to fox-proof the garden as well; at the moment there is a hole in the fence that a fox uses to wonder around the garden. That needs fixing. And my allotment friends who keep chickens suggested putting something around the base of the run to stop the foxes digging underneath.

Luckily my lovely partner David is buying me the coop for my Christmas and birthday present, but he has been prompting me to make a decision so he can get on and buy. And I think I've nearly decided... just need to ponder it for a few more days.

All this and I haven't even thought about feeders, food etc!

Dear Father Christmas

My daughter, my partner and I have been writing letters to Mr Claus. I thought it was about time to manage expectations - last year (at the ripe old age of 3 1/2) she became convinced she'd get a wishing box after having seen it on Disney's little einsteins late on Christmas eve. She woke up in the morning and went through the presents getting more and more disappointed... it was so bad she eventually started trying to hide her disappointment.

We eventually worked out what she wanted - a green box with red ribbon and a toy cat inside. So simple to fulfil if we'd only known!!! So this year it's letters to Father Christmas.

So why am I writing about Christmas on an allotment blog? Well, I've asked for seeds but also a book about chickens. I've been thinking about it for a couple of years now and think I'm going to take the plunge.

So, what do I need to get? A book for starters (although there are several chicken coops on our allotment, including my neighbour Tom so I should be able to get lots of advice and help). A hen house. Now there's a tricky one. I was quite keen on an eglu or eglu cube http://www.omlet.co.uk/products_services/products_services.php. But have also seen this type of chicken househttp://www.chickencoopsdirect.com/chicken-houses.htm which I think looks quite good.

And the last, and most important question is: What type of chickens? I quite like the look of Buff Orpingtons and understand that they are nice hens. I've been told to get Rhode Island Reds as they are good layers. But I'm a bit stumped. Perhaps it will be down to what is available in my area?? Watch this space!

Bonfires and more clearing up

I've spent what little time I have for my plot clearing up. Mainly taking wood and bits from my new plot and adding it to the ever growing bonfire pile. Fortunately the site have been having monthly bonfires so most of it's gone now.

I've not got very far with the new greenhouse - see before and after pictures. I still need to finish the glazing and give it another coat of paint. But the weather has not been kind to me - first rain then frost/snow so not suitable for silicon sealing the glass in (or doing the work!).




I'm still harvesting stuff - some swede and carrots. I've still got brassicas and parsnips to come.

I did manage to plant some broad beans, but no garlic yet.






On a more cheerful note here's some pictures from Bonfire night. We had fab fireworks, a brilliant bonfire as well as pumpkin soup, hot dogs and spiced apple punch!

Clearing up for the winter

Well, I've not blogged much this year! Doesn't mean I haven't been allotmenting, probably just too busy. Sorry folks! Anyway, I had quite a productive year, but the long dry spell in early summer proved a challenge. My potato crop was smaller, my sweetcorn minute and the fruit non-existant, except for raspberries which were very happy.

The big success for this year was tomatoes. I didn't let them dry out and was rewarded with thousands of decent sized toms, the principle borghese mini plum toms were fantastic and I'll do those again. But the shirley, moneymaker, gardeners delight all did brilliantly as well. The only downside was they all ripened in a 3 week space - normally they start in June and go on to November (but generally are quite small).

Squash was a big disappointment - only 4 and one was got by woodlice/slugs and the only butternut squash vanished.

I've now started the autumn/winter clear-up - there's some green manure in, I've got broad beans and garlic to plant and there's parsnip and various brassicas to harvest in the next couple of months. The rest of the beds will be cleared and manured.

New plot and greenhouse

I now have a second plot - another half plot (5.5m by 13.5m). It houses my new greenhouse (a rescued old cedar greenhouse). I'm currently restoring it and working on the new plot.

The old plot is doing fine - lots of tomatoes, some potatoes, beans, sweetcorn, carrots, courgettes etc. I had a good fruit crop - loads of plums, blueberries, raspberries (almost non-stop). Strawberries were not too good but had gooseberries and blackberries as well as a good grape crop (yet to be harvested).

New Year

A bit late I know, but I have at long last started my new allotment year! I've just about tidied up my plot after the winter's inactivity, I've started seed sowing: tomato seedlings, aubergine courgette and brassicas in the greenhouse, spring onions and parsnips in the ground (although may have pulled up parsnips when sorting out the millions of weed seedlings that appeared.

My very productive plum tree (4kg last year) has flowered - I was a bit worried, it lost all its leaves after fruiting last year as have the other plum trees I planted.

Also, I've got an allotment extension! It's a strip of land about 3m wide adjacent to my plot but will make a few extra beds, and allow room for more fruit!

Feeling guilty

I may have killed my greenhouse plants. I've been away for a long weekend and didn't arrange for anybody to water the greenhouse. I didn't even set up the watering system before I left or water particularly thoroughly as I had a tired, tearful, three year old in the car and I had to drive to Scotland. I didn't even go today as I had a tired, tearful, three year old in the car. Tomorrow will probably be too late. All that nurturing gone to waste (well, apart from the several kilos of tomatoes, cucumbers and chilli peppers I've harvested).