My Tiny Plot

Look, it’s our very first harvest (well, if you don’t count the Spinach thinnings a couple of weeks ago). We came back from our trip to find that mtp had gone crazy in our abscence. What with all that lovely rain (and sun) that you’ve been having our tiny plot had possitively flourished. The little gem lettuce had spread out nicely and the potatoes were ready for digging. A couple of them had a bit of blight so we cut the tops off and dug those up first. As you can see we were able to harvest a basket full of potatoes, a few radish, a little gem lettuce, some parsley and a punnet of raspberries - yum. They were delicious, free (apart from the labour) and all my own work!

..that’s not My Tiny Plot! What’s going on? I’ll tell you. Myself and my under-gardener (Ryan) are on a secret fact-finding mission to San Francisco and NYC. I can’t tell you more as it’s top secret and I’d have to kill you and all that but our sources (Dorling Kindersley guidebook) told us about Bryant Park, an oasis of greenery tucked away behind the New York Library where the local wildlife comes once a week to play and huddle under the shade of trees (and skyscrapers), to partake in sweet free-flowing nectar (Bud) and parade their feathers in the hope of finding a mate. A sight to behold indeed.

Finally I made it to mtp for the first time in over a week. I’ve been away with work you see and so I haven’t had the chance to do anything on the plot. But boy was it worth going tonight. Clive was there and he gave me 10 sweetcorn plants - which I promptly planted (18 inches apart, in blocks, being careful not to disturb the roots). So now we have a full-on sweetcorn field running along the side of mtp. Bargain! The other jobs I did tonight were: thinning and spacing the lettuce (we have 31 plants - anyone for salad?). Planting up some of the Dahlia’s that I had growing at home, stealing the odd raspberry from the canes and WEEDING… I spend at least 50% of my time at mtp weeding. The dreaded couch grass is making a comeback (yikes) which is not good. Also, I promised Ryan I would only be there for half and hour and it turned in to two and half. He was pleased when I told him about the sweetcorn though…

I’ve not quite decided if mtp will be an all-year-round activity yet (we’ll see how the summer goes first) but when I found this site about the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign suddenly cauliflowers in Dec became a distinct possibility. The site has pdfs of the original ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign leaflets issued by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1945. They show you what to grow, when to plant it, how far apart and when to harvest. It also gives advice on how to make sure you can harvest all through the winter - just when supplies are scarce (it says). I’m glad I didn’t live through the war but there’s something exciting about growing vegetables for a real cause. We all know that if our lettuces get eaten by slugs we can always pop to Sainsbury’s to get some new ones but what if the lettuces in your plot were your one and only chance for salad that year? Puts a different persepective on it doesn’t it?

If anyone has this month’s issue of Gardener’s World magazine, turn to page 139 and you’ll see a letter from me! It’s all about my dad’s allotment and how I thought veg gardening was ’soooooo like totally boring’ when I was a teenager but now I’m a grown-up I love it just like my dad did. I even got a ten-pound gardening gift voucher for my troubles. One thing though, they took my reference to mtp out of the signature (curses!). A great marketing plan, foiled by Adam Pascoe - damn those magazine editors and their wily ways.
Any suggestions on what I can buy with my voucher - ten pounds won’t stretch to a weeding assistant I think…

I’ve been trying to describe to people what I’m aiming for with the design of mtp. I suppose I’d describe it as a geometric-style potager garden. I’ve no idea if there are any design rules when it comes to creating a potager. I found this interesting site where it’s quoted, “A potager must make you dream, and this means curves, not tight squares …”. Which is interesting but if a potager is all about curves and not straight lines then mtp is not a potager. Another definition detailed the ‘intermingling of vegetables, flowers, herbs and fruit bushes to make an ornamental, but edible, feast for the eyes.’ You see I like that a lot more. Intermingling is a great word and I hope one that will describe mtp when it’s in full flourish. The design of mtp borrows more from formal garden design than a free-flowing potager design but I think it works. Here’s my masterplan in its finished state. I’ve filled in all the spaces with the name and variety of plant. It was very satisfying to colour it all in - I suppose it’s the little girl in me that still likes to get my coloured pencils out! It means I not only have a visual plan of the plot but I also know which variety is where at a glance. The beds are numbered clockwise from the top left - 1) Brassicas, 2) Legumes, 3) Roots, 4) Potatoes. And the two triangular beds in the middle contain the annual plants, herbs and flowers. Next year I might do a completely different design, a circle, or maybe an abstract design (Ryan would love to help me dig over the plot again I’m sure!). I found a book that might help me figure out some new designs.

I haven’t been to the allotment all weekend - damn! We’ve been up in London working (boo!). And now it’s Sunday night, I’m exhausted and it’s raining. Hmmm…. I think the elements are conspiring against me so we’ll make a fresh start tomorrow. I took this picture on Thursday last week. I planted some marigolds inbetween the four cabbage plants the slugs left for us. I think they look great together and the flowers should attract some friendly bugs our way. Oh and I thinned out the perpetual spinach plants and we ate the thinnings. Our first REAL harvest - wow it tasted so good! - a bit gritty (must wash leaves more thoroughly next time) but great all the same.