My Tiny Plot

I went away for a few days and when I came back virtually ‘all’ the redcurrants are ready for picking. There are probably another four or five basket-loads left on the bushes. I read in The Cook and The Gardener that if you use fresh redcurrants to make Redcurrant Jelly then you don’t need to add Pectin because the berries have it naturally. So I decided to use this recipe:

Red Currant Jelly
3 lbs. fresh red or black currants, washed & stems removed
3 cups sugar
sterilized canning jars

Method:

1. Put the berries and 1/3 cup of water in a large saucepan and cook about 8 minutes over med-high heat.
2. Remove from heat and mash the fruit with a potato masher or back of a wooden spoon.
3. Strain through a fine sieve into a large measuring cup, pressing on the solids to remove all of the juice.
4. Place a small plate in the freezer.
5. Pour the juice into a saucepan and stir in the sugar. Place over med-high heat and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
7. Remove plate from freezer and place about a tablespoon of the jelly on it. If it ripples when you push it with your finger it is ready.
8. Remove the jelly from the heat and skim off any foam.
9. Ladle the jelly into the sterilized jars, wiping rims with a dishtowel. Seal well.
10. Process for 10 minutes.

The peas that I planted in the guttering at the end of March are ready for harvesting. They are super-sweet and taste great right out of the pod. I made a lovely conconction of braised peas, broadbeans, green garlic and New Zealand spinach - all freshly picked from mtp. I threw in a few pine nuts for good measure! We’re really happy with the March peas but interestingly enough the second row of gutter peas sown in early May are not doing nearly so well. They are significantly smaller than the earlier peas and though they are flowering it looks like they will harvest significantly fewer pea pods.

Do you ever look at your garden and think, what’s the point? I did the other day. I was quite shocked that such a thought could enter my mind since I’ve been so obsessed with growing vegetables on my tiny plot for the last year now. I had quite a busy day on Sunday. I spent a long time fighting weeds, edging beds and mowing grass pathways. After which I sat down and thought, ‘this is neverending, I might as well be a mouse on a wheel’. The weeds will only grow again, the grass will only take over the path again, who am I trying to please? Do I want to carry on doing this for the rest of my life? When I’m gone will people say, ’she had a neat plot’. Will I be happy with that? I know growing vegetables is so much more than fighting weeds. It’s about growing something from seed, and then watching as your family enjoys it’s fruits. It’s about having a front row seat while the seasons change. It’s about ruddy cheeks and cold fingers when otherwise you would be sat watching Saturday morning TV. But… the relentless nature of it sometimes seems that it’s a bit futile. Come on, someone talk me into weeding again, please!

I picked the first of the strawberries last night and ate half of them with some ice cream. Boy were they sweet! Last year, the strawberry harvest was poor - mainly due to my neglect. The birds had most of them and what they left behind the slugs cleared up. This year I made a pointed effort to secure the harvest and it’s worked. Firstly, I doubled the amount of strawberry plants we had by letting virtually every plant grow a runner. Then I potted them up and let them grow on for a few months. Then in early Autumn I planted them in the ground. Come spring time I spruced them up with a quick trim and put oodles of straw around them. I also gave them a sneaky feed of ‘Growmore’ whenever I could. Then once they had flowered I put netting around them to deter the birds. And this is the reward for my efforts. I couldn’t be happier!

I’m off to the plot to plant my pumpkin seedlings. The one at the top is Uchiki Kuri and the one below is Futsu. I’m very excited about growing pumpkins this year as we didn’t grow any last year. I have left two good sized beds (around 2 metres each) for them so they’ll have enough space to roam. I also have a Butternut Squash seedling that was given to me. The string is to tie up the Raspberries and the soapy water is for the family of black fly currently living on my broadbeans. Their days are numbered!

I planted some leeks to be harvested through the winter. I borrowed my neighbour’s long steel rod for making deep holes. As he put it, ‘the bigger the hole the longer the white bit of the leek’. It was very heavy though so my tiny girl-arms couldn’t make holes as big as the ones he made (oh well, my life is richer in other ways…). I snipped off half of the roots and an inch off the tops and dropped them in, filled the hole with water and sat back to admire. Apparently, snipping off the ends will stop the leek growing huge and tough.

My early potatoes (Robinta) are flowering. It’s time to start watering them to ensure a healthy crop of decent sized potatoes, as apposed to mini marbles. We haven’t had any rain here (South West) for over a week and yesterday was so hot I had to wait until 6pm to do any work whatsoever. Watering potatoes is hard work in this weather too, since they are such a large crop. Especially for those of us on allotments that don’t allow hosepipes. Just one row of potatoes took five watering cans full. Where’s the under-gardener when you need him eh? Just as well that the other varieties are not flowering yet (Pink Fir Apple and Maris Bard) otherwise there would be no time for other jobs.

Oh no! I went away for a few days leaving my propogator full of lettuce seedlings in the garden. I watered them well before I went hoping that they would be okay. I left the lid on which was my mistake because when I came back they were all dead. They were brown and shrivelled like they had been cooked in an oven. Disaster! The picture is of the sweetcorn seedlings in the propogator because there was nothing left to photograph of the lettuce seedlings! But I’ve learned my lesson. I have resown the seeds and they are now in the dappled shade under my Acer in the garden - and I’ve cancelled all holidays until October (…okay I haven’t gone that far).

The strawberry sweetcorn seeds that I planted on May 31st have shot up. Virtually every single one germinated and they’ve been growing like mad ever since. The Northern Sweet variety that I sowed alongside them didn’t fair so well. Around half of them didn’t germinate, so it’s a good job I put two in each module otherwise I wouldn’t have enough to fill the space. In an attempt to harden them off quickly so I can put them out next week they’ll be spending tonight outdoors (with a lid on) and the next night without. Let’s hope for the best!