Gardening activity and harvest

Finished knitting the tunic jumper, finished it a week ago now! It needed an wash and a bit of blocking so that's where it has been. Now I just need to weave in the cast on/off threads which I left until it was washed so maybe a task for this evening so that I can - a) show you a picture and b) wear it. Just in time too as it's quite cold out there today. More on knitting and spinning in another post soon.

And yes I have now cast on a new project, and been spinning. But today I will write about the allotment.

 Weeding, clearing, path replenishing

Oca on the bottom right cut back awaiting harvest, broad beans in bed beyond

Field beans as green manure

Winter time is a good time to take stock of the garden and allotment, and get some of the groundwork and pruning done. So we have been doing some of this, often just Alex but a few weekends and over the festive period we all went to the allotment and we are feeling positive about the work we've done so far. More to do, there always is but even the wilderness areas that have taken a lot of work (mostly by Alex) are opening up and offering up more growing space. Green manure is doing it's job in other areas.

Broad beans Autumn planted bed

The Broad Beans planted in Autumn are looking pretty good, a few gaps we can fill in with some back up plants in Spring. I have some other seed for Spring planting so we will have some of both this year. We have planted Garlic, but later this year so they are not up yet. We also have a long bed to still dig up the majority of this years Oca harvest. We have already cleared other areas and been enjoying their delights as usual, and having lots of spare have shared some with friends.

Some of the Oca harvest so far

Another harvest has been the Yacon and we have now dug up the rhizomes of these to replant in the Spring - don't want to lose them to frosts or frozen ground if we get it.

Some of the Yacon harvest

We've already enjoyed much of these, but here are some harvested at the weekend. They are an interesting tuber, grow a bit like a potato, similar in looks to a sweet potato, but the texture and taste are very different. They are also known as Peruvian Ground Apple, or often described as similar to pear. They certainly are similar to apples/pears in texture and have a sweet taste to them. Absolutely lovely raw in salads.

 Kales and chards harvesting and Sprout posies below

Also harvesting various greens - various Kales, some Sprout Posies, Chard, and Sorrel are all still producing; as are the perennial onions. It's so nice to be able to go to the allotment in January and bring back something fresh for tea.

Some of the Kales for continued harvest

Perennial area - Perennial Onions, Welsh Onions, Wild Garlic and Sorrel

and weeded Asparagus beds beyond

Lots of other areas weeded, cleared, covered with mulch to feed the beds. The Asparagus beds are weeded and ready for a new layer of well rotted manure to nourish the soil and plants. Pruning and path replenishing, it's all good.

And then there's all the promise of things to come ...

Figs on a bright Sunny day

Still bringing in the harvest ...

My mantra for 2012 for growing in the garden and allotment is to "do more, and do it better". Last year our efforts were not what they should have been. Other things getting in the way, other things given more priority. My previous post shows that the seeds are organised, now the planning of the beds is happening, and planning of the sowing of the seeds.

I'm itching to get going on some things, if only I could know that there isn't going to be a cold snap, but who am I kidding, it's still only January (just!). Wait and we shall be rewarded.

In the meantime, Alex is still bringing home harvested vegetables - spinaches, chard and beetroot and beet leaves. Sorrel aplenty too. A wonderfully successful harvest this year is the Oca - we have had many tub loads of these beauties, and many more still in the ground to come.

"One of the 'Lost Crops' of the Incas, this is one of the staples of people in Bolivia & Peru. 
A very easy crop to grow, with a taste just like potatoes with lemon sauce. No need to peel,
just boil and serve with butter. Mmmmm.

And the lush green foliage with yellow flowers is actually rather pretty in its own right. 
Very few pests seem to like it, so its a real 'no work' crop.""
(Real Seed website)

 Oca Leaves close up

Oca tubers

We saute them in chunks in a mix of olive oil and butter - only take about 10-15 minutes, they were even more wonderfully lemony when sauteed with some wonderful Sorrel!

A fabulous plant - in the ground a long time, need very little care, no posts, the tubers start growing when the days start to shorten in late Autumn (November time). The tubers continue to put on growth even when the plant has dies back.


So a little more patience as we are having a cold snap this week, time to get the greenhouse cleared and cleaned, although it will be housing over 100 bare root fruit trees next week for a week so once they've gone to their new homes the sowing can commence.

"There is peace in the garden. Peace and results" - Ruth Stout

Completely unrelated to growing food or Oca, today I have spent a wonderful day Spinning on a yarn design workshop. Lots of spinning, fun and much laughter with friends. Wonderful day!

Planting and pirates ...

What have planting and pirates got to do with each other I hear you ask? Well nothing really, other than the fact that they will both appear in this blog post. This is a bit of a catch up post from a a couple of weeks ago, the plants have come on a bit since then.

Pirates has been the theme of this half-term at school for Imogen, a good choice for her - she likes all things pirates. It reminds me of Christmas 2009 when she had a pirate costume from her grandparents and as soon as it was unwrapped she was wearing it and it was worn all day, and has been worn many times since.

We built a pirate ship at home the other week, and she took this into school for showing and to go on their display. She loved doing this. We borrowed a pirate activity/craft book from the library and made pretty much everything out of it.

 Imogen's pirate ship

On Friday, last day of the half term, they had a pirate day where they could all come to school dressed as pirates - either in costumes if they had them or tatty clothing (pirate style) or whatever they wanted to wear if they preferred not to dress up. But they all did - an array of different costumes, torn old clothes. It was a wonderful sight. Here is Imogen ready to go in. Her Captains hat, telescope and hook were in her bag!

 Pirate Imogen

 Dressed ready for school but the hat went in the bag

so it didn't get blown away in the wind

Planting has been something of a continuous job around here, keeping on top of the sowing, and planting on. We've picked the last of the Broad Beans now so chopped them down to allow the roots to rot down and we will lightly dig in the chopped plants - like a green manure, this will feed the soil well.

Tomatoes inter-planted with Oca

Planting out tomatoes, some in collars inter-planted in the bed of Oca, just look at the lovely Oca - I love their leaves. Planting on courgettes and pumpkins and thinking about their eventual placing.

 Close up of the Oca leaves

Kohl Rabi with their gorgeous colour

Harvesting a great range of salad leaves, lettuce leaves, mizuna, rocket, pea shoots, perilla, sorrel (various sorrels), welsh onions, herbs and more for delicious salads. Our supply should keep us going for many many meals, months probably if we keep up the successional sowing.

Fresh salads daily

Oh and we have grapes forming too, lovely.

Lots to do to keep us busy growing. Half term this week, so a few days out here and there. Happy days.

The allotment plot is looking a bit like this at the moment, well it did when I took the photos about a week ago! ...

Plot side panoramic view

(the unusual shed is on the next plot!)