Autumn is always a good time for BALGA to organise working parties to help clear vacant plots. Tenant members have less to do on their plots and as the plots themselves wind down for the winter, it is easier to work on any that are overgrown.
The first working party this autumn was at our North Road site where a dedicated band of volunteers worked on three vacant plots that needed rubbish removing from them as well as a lot of elder, bramble and other tree branches which needing cutting down and removing. It was a bitterly cold day but it didn’t take long to warm up.
The first plot in particular had a couple of large elder trees growing in one corner.
Removing elder
The second plot had branches from an ash tree blocking one end. Unfortunately there is only so much that can be done with loppers and saws without needing to get professional tree surgeons in here.
Removing overhanging branches
The final plot that was worked on had a massive bramble covering the back of the plot. This was cut back gradually to leave a clear space.
Mick in front the cleared bramble area
All in all a good lot of work done by a dedicated few in a matter of hours and hopefully three more plots looking more appealing to prospective tenants.
Sadly, we have to report that allium leaf miner has reached deepest darkest Hertfordshire and has been spotted on both our sites here in Baldock. This pest first arrived in the UK back in 2002. It has come from mainland Europe and was confined for quite a time to southern and eastern counties but it has been gradually spreading since then.
And to make matters worse, allium leaf miner has two lifecycles each growing season and will attack all members of the allium family, particularly leeks and spring planted onions, shallots and garlic. There is no chemical protection available to allotment gardeners so the only thing that can be done is to cover crops with Enviromesh, and hope!
The adult flies appear in March or April, having overwintered in the soil. The females will feed on the leaves of your alliums before laying her eggs, usually near the base of the leaves of the plant. This can be spotted if you see lines of white dots on the leaves of your alliums.
Leaf Miner leaf damage
The eggs hatch and the resulting larvae, which are tiny white, head and legless maggots, feed on the leaves before tunnelling (hence the name leaf miner) into the leaves. At this point, fully fed, the maggots pupate within the stem of the plant.
Leaf Miner pupae
This second generation will hatch in September/October and again lay eggs at the base of the plant. It is this generation that will do the most damage to the now mature onion and leek plants. It will also overwinter in the soil ready to hatch the following spring.
It should be noted that most plants affected will tend to rot from a secondary infection from fungi or bacteria that develop in the damaged stems in the plant. The damage this fly can do is such that there can be no sign of your alliums being affected until the rotting is noticed.
So what can we do to protect our crops?
First off, employ a strict crop rotation policy. Do not grow alliums in the same area of your plot the following year.
Secondly, if your alliums do become infected, it is best to dig up the infected plants and burn them. As the pupae can survive over the winter, do not leave any infected plant debris on the soil.
Cover alliums with horticultural fleece, particularly when the flies are active in the spring and again in the autumn.
Plant out young plants after the danger of the first wave has passed and lift before the second generation is active. Whilst this may help with onions, leeks are in the ground for a long time so will not be ready for lifting in early autumn so covering them may be our only defence.
Members of our North Road site will be well aware of the work that has gone on recently to replace the dilapidated gate and fence that formed the boundary of the site with the parking area. The nature of the access road, sloping down towards the allotments, also meant that the first plot next to the parking area was susceptible to flooding, making part of it unworkable.
The main contractors for the work were M&J Oakley Ltd who were used previously to install the new boundary fence at the Clothall Road site and the bulk of the work was carried out over about a week at the beginning of September. Half of the cost of the work was funded by grants from local authorities and councillors as well as BALGA fundraising. The remainder has been paid from the plot rental income we have received after 18 months of self management.
The steel gate, which is approx. 2m high, allows separate vehicle and pedestrian access, while the fence, which is 2m high, also includes rabbit proofing along its base.
Once the fencing and gate were finished, a kerb was installed which increased the width of the parking area by a metre. This will also help prevent the flooding to plot no.2 adjacent to the parking area. Drains against the kerb edge were added and these lead to a newly excavated soakaway.
North Road Allotments
It was decided and agreed unanimously by the General Committee that rather than leave the corner of ground near the gate as it was, it would be better to continue the kerbing into this corner and then to extend the tarmac along the kerb and up to the gate, and to get this additional work done at the same time. This extra area of tarmac has meant we have been able to add an additional two parking spaces to the parking area as well.
A speed hump was also installed a short way up the access road to slow traffic as it approaches the corner by the parking area. The speed hump and tarmac work were carried out by FT Gearing Landscape Services Ltd.
The now thin strip of ground along the front of the parking area will be grassed and planted up with bulbs by a working party. A couple of paving slabs will also be added so people can actually get to the notice board at the site! And the extra bonus of having a high boundary fence is we can now display banners for open days or plot availability, something which wasn’t possible before.
I think you will all agree the entrance to the site looks so much better now and is a example of how self management enables us to improve our sites by reinvesting money raised through plot rents, rather than see it absorbed into Council funds.
September is the month when you start to see bare patches on your allotment as you harvest and dig up this season’s plants. But worry not, there’s still things you can plant out during the autumn months and first up is autumn onion sets.
Onion sets are immature onions which have been lifted and dried to stop any further growth. You can buy several varieties from the members’ shop now. We have Radar, Shakespeare and Blood Red available.
Shakespeare onion sets
Blood Red onion sets
Plant them out now and water well and they will then resume growing over the winter months. Autumn sets are hardy so no need to worry about protecting them from frosts etc.
The sets can either be planted direct into the ground, just push them in root end first so just the tops are showing approx. 4″ – 6″ apart.
Or they can be started off in modules with compost and planted out once the top growth is a few inches high.
Either way, I like to protect mine from being pulled up by pigeons until they have established themselves by covering them with a mesh tunnel.
Autumn planted sets are usually ready for harvesting a short time before spring planted sets, so I find it’s a good way of spreading the harvesting season. Once harvested, onions store well. Just string them up and hang in a shed or bin store in my case.
So, it’s been a few months since we last caught up with Yvonne and Steve on their new plot. When we last met them, they had just acquired a shed on FreeCycle.
The shed was a 8ft x 6ft shed which Steve chopped down to make it 3ft x 4ft with a veranda! Steve and Yvonne assembled the shed in their garden before transporting it to their plot on a roof rack.
New felt on the roof and a lick of paint and it was good to go!
A recent addition has been a decking area at the front made from a free pallet.
In the meantime, their plot has continued to fill up with crops.
And they have enjoyed a good harvest
And now as autumn approaches, it all starts again with clearing ground and planting autumn onion sets and garlic.
Yvonne and Steve have done amazingly well in such a short space of time on their plot. Long may it continue!
The short-listed plots were judged by an independent judge a couple of weeks ago. The judge commented how high the standard was this year, so well done to all those short-listed.
The plot gaining the most points at the North Road is tenanted by Gordon Petitt. Gordon has had his full plot for 14 years and I loved the structure and order of his plot.
Gordon Petitt at North RoadGordon’s plot
The plot gaining the most points on the Clothall Road site was Chris Vincent who has only had his half plot for four years. I was amazed at how much he had managed to cram in on his plot with numerous varieties of various crops, including onions grown from seed.
Chris Vincent at Clothall RoadChris’ packed plotWonderful beanpoles coppiced from nearby woods
Both Gordon and Chris will receive a voucher for £25 to be spent in the members’ shop.
Of these two plots, Chris’s plot scored the most points and he will be awarded the Basil Bryant Cup at the AGM in January 2018.
Each year a separate competition is run to judge the Best Newcomer, with tenants taking on their plots after 1 May 2016 being eligible for the award this year. Paula Lancaster scored the most points for her half plot which she took on in February earlier this year. I was amazed to see not only was her plot fully cultivated, but it was full of crops too.
Paula Lancaster at Clothall RoadPaula’s plot
An excellent job Paula! Paula will be awarded the Frank Conway Cup at the AGM next year.
We’ve all been there; you reach the point where you just can’t give your excess courgettes away. You’ve given some to everyone you know at work and to members of your family, so what to do now?
A recent blog post by Matt Peskett at Grow Like Grandad is a really useful one to bookmark as not only does it include a big long list of recipes using courgettes (separated by type), but Matt has also indicated how many courgettes are needed for each recipe which saves a lot of toing and froing trying to find a recipe which uses the amount or number of courgettes that you are trying to use up!
You can read the post here.
In the meantime, here’s a simple rustic recipe from BALGA member, Jon Jones.
Courgettes with baby tomatoes
Ingredients
2 or 4 small courgettes or 1 large courgette
15ml thick olive oil
French tarragon, whole basil leaves or fresh oregano
Baby tomatoes
Method
If using a large courgette, slice into 1cm (half inch) slices.
Heat oil in a frying pan and fry smaller courgettes whole like sausages, turning until they are evenly brown.
Or fry slices from large courgette.
5 minutes prior to courgettes being full cooked, add the baby tomatoes together with your chosen herb. Season with fresh ground pepper to taste.
Continue cooking until the tomatoes are on the verge of collapsing.
Serve immediately, or dish can be allowed to cool and eaten cold.
Ah….courgettes! One of the vegetables most allotment folk grow and look forward to harvesting……until the glut kicks in!
As a veg grower, it is always best to sow at least a few seeds when growing a crop but courgette seeds are usually good germinators. Sow them individually in small pots for best results. However, whilst you may have sown half a dozen seeds which become seedlings and then healthy plants, once you’ve planted them out the realisation hits you that you may just have grown a few too many plants. Once they start cropping, the courgettes keep coming! And whoa betide the allotment tenant who misses a few and finds they have now grown a couple of marrows!
Marrow….incoming!
Joking aside though, courgettes are actually quite a versatile crop. Google ‘courgettes recipes’ and you are inundated with a wide variety of suggestions from cakes, gratins and currently en vogue, spiralizing them!
And talking of versatility, don’t forget courgette flowers are also edible and quite a delicacy; deep fried in batter being a popular recipe. Pick them just as they are opening.
Courgette flowers
Once established, the plants throw up both male and female flowers with the female flowers being easily recognisable because they have a small fruit behind them. The plants can take up a lot of space and need a lot of watering in hot weather but regular watering will ensure better quality fruit. Pick the fruit when they are young and thin, perhaps around 5″ long and always cut them from the plant with a knife; twisting and pulling them off will damage the plant.
One of the best things about growing courgettes, is the varieties available including yellow ones. There are quite a few heritage varieties out there too.
My only courgette regret this year……not growing any. I actually feel a bit left out that I’m not suffering from a courgette glut!
If, like me, you have asparagus on the plot, you may be getting fed up with boiled asparagus with melted butter as a starter. I can enjoy it every other day, but every day is too much! I researched asparagus recipes on the web and found several for asparagus omelette. I adjusted one to what was available, and it was delicious! Phil Charsley
Ingredients (for 2 people)
6 thick asparagus spears or equivalent
about 3oz (80 grams) bacon bits
1/4 red pepper (optional)
4 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp olive oil or small knob butter
small quantity milk (optional)
Method
Hold ends of asparagus spears in each hand and bend until they break. Discard hard ends (or use to make soup!) Cut asparagus into half inch lengths.
Slice and dice pepper.
Break eggs into a bowl and whisk to omelette consistency. Add a little milk if you prefer.
Put oil or butter in frying pan, heat and add bacon bits. Fry on medium heat until brown.
Add diced pepper and asparagus and fry for 4 to 5 minutes.
Fry bacon, peppers and asparagus
Pour in beaten eggs. Cook on a medium heat until surface is almost set
In this series of articles we follow Yvonne and Steve during their first year as allotmenteers showing you what can be achieved with a bit of effort and hard graft.
New tenants, Yvonne and Steve took on their plot in mid April 2017. They had no previous allotment experience other than going to their father’s allotment with him when little. They chose a half plot on the Clothall Road site. The plot hadn’t been worked for many years, although a recent tenant had dug out outlines of beds.
The new plot!
The plot had been strimmed in readiness for letting by site rep, Martin Luker, but some weeds still remained.
Keen to get started, they made good progress very quickly and had dug over several beds within a couple of weeks.
First four beds dug
A quick visit to the members’ shop and they were able to plant seed potatoes and onion sets and start some seeds off at home.
A week or so later and more beds were dug and a base laid for the shed, both of which were picked up for free after searching online.
Within a month, amazingly they had dug over the whole plot.
Initial digging over complete!
And were excited to see the first signs of growth as their seed potatoes made an appearance.
First signs of life
Yvonne and Steve have worked really hard over the month to get the initial digging completed. They have also followed sage advice and planted a little too so they can see signs of growth; a reward for all their hard work.
In the next instalment we’ll see what plans Steve has for the shed!
