February Indoor Sowing - Chilies, Tomatoes, Aubergines, Herbs

Time to get the windowsill season off to a flying start and get some of my favourite foods on the go!  I am really going to try successional sowing for many things this year to avoid the all of nothing issue. So you might see several of these entries many times in the coming months.

February Indoor Sowing - Chilies, Tomatoes, Aubergines, Herbs

In a non heated propagator, on my windowsill, using degradable pots (the kind that you put in the ground when you plant outside).  I usually put in 2 to 3 seeds per pot to ensure one grows.  If all three grow I do my best to salvage the extras to their own pot.

17th - Tomatoes, Aubergine, Herbs

1. Tomato - Roma x 5 pots
2. Tomato - Marmande x 5 pots
3. Tomato - San Marzano x 5 pots
4. Aubergine - Black Beauty x 2 pots
5. Thyme - English x 1 tray
6. Lavender - English x 1 tray
7. Peas - Sweet Peas x 4 pots

15th - Chilies

1. Chilies - Mixed Seed x 6 pots
2. Chilies - Fuego x 6 pots
3. Chilies - Cayenne x 4 pots

A Tale of Two Blogs

Firstly, sorry for those of you that have been hanging on my every word........hello? hello? hello? Anyway, I have been very busy of late with the same things we are all busy with; work, family, hobbies and in general trying to keep the balance right between them.  I am very enthusiastic about the allotment this year and my windowsills have been bearing the brunt of all that enthusiasm (what they wouldn't give for a heated greenhouse!).

Given my poor performance at record keeping, I have decided the focus of this blog will mainly be a diary of my sowing, planting and harvesting on the allotment.  An online record that I/we can refer to each year that won't be covered in coffee and breakfast remnants or buried in the boot of my car covered with what I can only hope is compost.  Also, the state of my penmanship has disintegrated to such a degree that even the local chickens mock me from atop their scratchings!

I have started a new blog at www.therusticdish.com where I will post more about how we can get plenty of enjoyment from of all the hard work we put in on the allotment.  Please  pop in if you get a chance!

Chili Weather is Here!

     Autumn arrived this year on the allotment at a nice gentle pace. There was a pleasant overlap as summer held on well into October. The food from the allotment follows this slow transition in a lovely natural way. Basil mixes with the first tomatoes in late summer, chillies show up just as the nights get cooler to add some heat to your dishes, and then the squashes slowly replace the tomatoes in your soups and sauces as Autumn settles in.


     This year tomatoes were in danger of losing a guaranteed 
spot on the allotment. But after finding a few varieties that seemed to tolerate outside conditions, I have decided to double my effort next year to ensure I have a steady supply for the kitchen.  Super Marmande, Tumbling Tom, and Roma varieties will feature heavily in next years plans.
      I planted approximately 5 different varieties of chili and about 5 plants of each one.  Being still a bit of a novice at documenting however, I mistakenly wrote the variety and date in pencil on my biodegradable pots, which vanished very quickly after repeated waterings!  All of the chilies that were harvested were delicious and provided some nice warmth in pastas, curries, and even a homemade chutney!
     Squashes can really make you feel like a professional gardener.  The picture to the left is the result of about 1 or 2 plants that I had scrambling about underneath my corn this year.  There is both a Barbara Butternut and an Avalon variety.  Other than clearing a few weeds, they were virtually effortless.  They are the best case for the idea that vegetables want to grow, your primary role is to let them!  I have put them to good use in an absolutely delicious soup recipe from Jamie Oliver.  Anyway I have quite a few posts coming up on how to use all this great food we are getting from the ground! 


PS I found a great blog for Chili lovers in the UK http://blog.chilliupnorth.co.uk/ .

The Best of Both Worlds

Late September has got to be the best time of year for Veg gardeners! Fresh food still pours into our house daily; potatoes, tomatoes, chilies, courgettes, lettuce, rasberries, etc. all being enjoyed in some form at almost every meal.

However it may seem strange, but my favourite pastime in the veg garden is clearing out last years crops and starting again with a gorgeous new, freshly overturned vegetable bed full of freshly turned crumbly brown earth. I can finally get rid of all those tired looking leaves or those annoying weeds that escaped my much too infrequent attempts to clear them . Yep, no more delicate and careful hoeing, just indiscriminate ground clearance with my biggest fork!

A topping of well rotted manure and some leaf mulch (my other autumn obsession), and this old potato bed (see previous post) will transform nicely into my experimental companion planting next year. Reservations are yet to be confirmed, but I am thinking this full bed will be for what can be known as the three sisters; sweetcorn, beans and squash. Unlike most humanly sisters they get along wonderfully! The thick leaves of the squash (could use courgettes as well) keeps the weeds to minimum, the sweetcorn doesn't cast much of a shadow over them and provides support for the beans, whose roots, in turn provide much needed nitrogen to their companions.

The added benefit of planting three crops in one space ticks all my boxes for efficiency, harmony and balance.