Clay Soil to Good Growing - Shall I grow Veg, or make Bricks?

I submitted a post recently where I used the Hand Shears to trim the grass off an overgrown bed.
This is what it looked like

We tried to grow Strawberries on this bed once, with no success. The reason? I believe it is down to the shallow top soil layer that it has. At one time the whole allotment plot was similar to this bed, although this area is the worst.
To try and get this bed going I am "double digging"
If you think you have a clay soil, take a look at this:

I am going to update this post as I work through turning this clay into a bed for good vegetable growing, or I am going to open cast mine the plot, and become a brick manufacturer.
I'm not sure which will be the least amount of work.

Decision made! I'm going to give myself a hernia and convert the brick factory into a good veg bed!

Read The steps I take with these links

• Step 1
• Step 2
• Step 3  
• Final Stage

Double Digging

We Won a Prize!

Hot off the press!
We came 2nd Place in the category "Lettuce - Butterhead" (class 44)
Yipee!

We had this story published in the local paper

Does Size really matter?

Finally, we may get to enter the Vegetable competition at RHS Tatton Park. As you know if you have read my previous posts, we have said for the last few years, that we will have a go. With hours to spare, we managed to secure an entry slot. We just need something to put in the show.
Yesterday Kate and I had the afternoon off work, to gather in our competition entries.
Kate is Very Competitive. I was in trouble for not having put in enough effort to make the vegetables on the plot "show standard". You can imagine that giggling was not the best response I could give.
Does size really matter?
It is a consideration, but more points seem to be awarded for having equal size and shape across the specimens. My opinion? Size doesn't matter too much. Kates opinion? 
Broad Beans - Rejected - too bent
Onions - Rejected - Still growing, not big enough
Celery - Rejected - too small
Potatoes - Rejected - Damaged Skins
RedCurrants- "what red currants, the birds have eaten them"
Cabbage - Rejected- " I am not showing that scrawny thing"

And so it went on. I couldn't help giggling. Lots left for the table :) I think there are quite a lot of our vegetables that are good enough to show, the main issue is that you need to have enough to be able to match the size of multiple examples to be competitive, and ours are all shapes and sizes, none matching each other. I think the only solution is probably to grow more plants of each variety, giving more to choose from.

My famous first ever carrots?

They look delicious! I chose 3 to show, along with a couple of Lettuces, some Blackcurrant Dragon Eggs (see previous post) and some Goosegogs.

We took the entries back home, and washed the carrots, sized the Blackcurrants and Gooseberries, and wrapped the lettuce roots in tissue and cling film. Then carefully packed them in boxes with tissue to protect them on the drive to Tatton Park.

The drive over went smoothly until we tried to find the one entrance which was open for exhibitors. This it turns out is the one which says "No Entry, Exit only". It only took an hour to figure this out. Anyway, we eventually got through, and once in the park itself, we managed to try entering the show by the exit route. Wrong again. We were not the only ones though, and by the time we got on the right track, we had ourselves a convoy of Vans and Trucks following us, because we obviously know what is going on!
Arriving at the Contractor entrance point, we were made aware that access could only be allowed if we were wearing Hi-Viz jackets- oops! I guess I missed that detail. We charmed our way passed security pleading stupidity, and we are in! 5mph down to the show tent, passing all the stands which will be obscured by the high number of visitors later in the week. We took pictures, but it would be unfair to post them before the show opens. I will put them up later.

We arrived hot and bothered at the Vegetable competition tent, and were warmly greeted by Georgina from the RHS. She was very helpful, and really explained well what was required. One of the requirements was to be very quiet, as the BBC was filming inside the tent. We said Hi to Carol Klein, who seems very nice, and then were treated to seeing the producer fall to the floor with head in hands- Last hours filming had been Formatted, or forgot the memory card. ( I have to confess that I was close to giggling again).

So, instructions given, it was time to unload and display our entries.
You know how they say "size isn't important"? Another competitor brought his 3 carrots in, holding the tops at shoulder height, so the roots didn't catch on the ground! Of course, I had to ask Georgina if ours should be shown. "Definately stump rooted" was the reply :( This meant we could compete against smaller carrots. Smaller! Our 75mm trim of the foliage was as long as the carrot itself!

They don't have smaller plates, I did ask
The Lettuce look okay

After much to-ing and fro-ng with Kate as to wether the Blackcurrants needed the stems trimming, it was decided that they would stay as we had brought them. I think they look okay.

 

And as a final entry we had our Gosseberries

So that was that. We will find out just how far off the mark we are later today.

The whole thing was great fun. I have no expectation that we will get any prizesa lot to try and remeber for next time.
Quite apart from trying to figure out how to grow our vegetables to a standard Kate will accept for showing, we need to remember;

1. Raffia to tie the Foliage
2. Hi-Viz to get in
3. Prepare the Onions a couple of weeks in advance

We finally got home around 10pm, tired, but at least one of us was happy. The RHS provided us with tickets for entry to the show on Sunday, to collect our entries.

Blackcurrant Dragon Nightmare

I have booked an afternoon off work tomorrow, so I can take Kate over to Tatton Park with our entries. The only problem is I don't know what to take. Nothing looks ready for showing, and I think I would rather just eat most of it.
I may end up taking just some blackcurrants :(
Last night I had a nightmare, in which I had to find 250 equally sized blackcurrants (they later turned out to be blackcurrant dragon eggs, that hatched, but thats a whole different issue).
The cause of this episode I think was Kate's instruction "we need 200-250 blackcurrants", she completely thought that she said "grammes of" after that sentence, but she really didn't.

I'm not sure that I am cut out for all this stress. Isn't allotment growing supposed to be relaxing?
I guess it will be okay on the day. I'm glad Kate will be having the afternoon off too, so I am able to share the load.
My mantra for the day;  "It's only vegetables, we can always just cook them"
Wish me luck!

Root Bootcamp - Sweeeeeet

I planted our sweetcorn in "root trainer" pots.

If you haven't come across these before, they are like seedling pots, but split in two. They are re-useable, and the groves on the inside direct the roots to grow long and strong

These we brought on in a cold frame, then planted straight into a bed. Between the sweetcorn plants, we have some lettuce. Because the corn will grow a bit slower than the lettuce, they can grow together happily. And lots of space for the more mature corn when the lettuce is pulled.

 

The blue hoop was to support a net when the corn was very small. It was removed when they got to about 18" high. They are now nearly 3 feet high, and the lettuce are ready to pick.

Last year's Leeks

Don't be in a hurry to clear last year's Leeks off the plot. We left the Leeks which were sprouting a flower stem, and this year we have some really big pom-pom flowers which the widlife is loving.

Strings, Stink and Stings

The Marrow, Pumpkins and Courgettes like lots of water, especially when it is nice and sunny, like it is at the moment.
They deserve a treat, so I have made up some Nettle Tea.
The mix is also good for most of the other veg, although it won't be any use to Onions or Peas and Beans. Having said that, it won't harm them, so I water this over everything.

Recipe!
Large Patch of stinging nettles
String Bag, and some string to secure the bay to the lid. ( Great Tip! - you really wont want to start fishing for it later!)
Water butt ( or a bucket with a lid)
Rubber Gloves - Seriously! Ouch! They are sneaky too, and sneak up on you when your not looking. Worse than Triffids (possibly)

If you do get stung When you get stung, Rub a dock leaf onto the affected area

Chop the nettles up and stick in the string bag. Throw the bag into a water butt. Allow to steep for a few days, hold your nose and fill a watering can.(It stinks)
Lots of lovely nitrogen for good leaf growth.

We have two water butts, so I use one for the nettle tea, the other is just clean water. If you only have one, make your tea up in a bucket, and dilute it with fresh water at 10:1

It seems to be working, The pumpkin plant is getting very big

A busy weekend

A last push this weekend, before we start gathering produce for Tatton Park
Still lots of weeds, but if yopu follow this blog, you will know that they are a constant task.
I thought it would be interesting to show you where we are at;

 Operation "Carrot" is proceeding well, and they seem to be thriving amongst the Leeks and Marigolds

 

My First ever Carrot from the plot

So exciting! I even made a video

The Marrow is now 18" long

We have Raspberries!

And Sunflowers

Wolf Garten - Comfort Grass Shear -Review

I like the idea of "little and often" when applied to working on the allotment. In line with this ethos, it is not always convenient to break out the strimmer, particularly if I am only working on a small area.
With this in mind, I picked up the Wolf Garten Comfort Shears at the weekend.

I have it in mind to be able to trim small areas, without the hassle of the strimmer.

The Review

The shears I picked are the Wolf Garten Comfort Grass Shear with 180' Rotating blade.
The shears feel comfortable in my hand, and are lightweight. To the front of the top grip there is a locking button, which keeps the shears locked shut. This button feels secure and can be operated by your thumb easily.
The blade can be turned from Left Vertical, through Horizontal to Right Vertical. It turns easily, and the cutting action doesn't seem effected by position.
One blade is "fixed", whilst the other moves, giving a scissor action.
Cutting Right handed, horizontally, from right to left, the action is spot on, but cutting left to right, the moving blade gets awkward. The shears are therefore best for Right handed use. It would have been nice to see the blade able to rotate 360', as they could then be used equally well by "lefties"
Although I intend to use these only for trimming small areas of grass on the pathways, I ferlt that it was a good idea to get stuck in, and try these out on something much tougher.

On my plot I have a vegetable bed which has become overgrown with long grass and tough weeds. I chose this as the testbed. 

The shears, as expected, are nice and sharp, and cut through the grass quickly and easily. The effort required to squeeze the blades closed in minimal. The shears coped well with woody stems up to about 1/4", which pleasently surprised me. 

Being one handed operation, it was easy to hold onto the grass whilst it was cut. Normally, when using the strimmer, there are pieces of the grass over a huge area.

Overall, I can find little to fault the shears for the intended purpose.

Rating          ****    4 stars

Cost             around £20

Comfort       *****  5stars

Quality         ****   4 stars

If you fancy trying a set, here is a link

RHS Tatton Park Vegetable Competition

Today is the last day for submission of entries for the Tatton Park RHS Show Fruit and Vegetable Competion.
Kate and I visit Tatton every year and have always thought it would be fun to try some of our vegetables in the show tent.
Every year we forget to get around to it, and are reminded on the day.
Not this year! I nearly got caught out, because entries must be submitted by today, however, an extremely nice lady at the RHS took our details over the phone, and we are in!
Kate will be so pleased, I can't imagine how many brownie points I'm going to get. :oD

If you would like to enter, here are the rules
RHS Competition PDF

The Royal Horticultural Society can be contacted on 0845 260 5000

Good Luck!

Rhubarb Jelly and Hot Heads

This weeks quick recipe; Rhubarb Jelly

• 2lb Rhubarb
• 2 Raspberry Jellies

Stew the Rhubarb in a little water until it becomes mush, then strain through a seive.
Set aside the solids, and bring the liquid to a simmer.  Add the two packs of jelly and turn off the heat.
When the jelly is dissolved, allow to cool, then refridgerate. The Rhubarb flavour drowns the Raspberry of the pack jelly, which I was hoping it would. We tried to find jelling agents instead, but it was Sunday, and I had to experiment.
Our Jelly was enjoyed the next day with a little cream. Delicious!

Over the last 7 days the warm weather and a little rain has worked its magic on the plot.
All the veg are looking to be growing well.
This week we have harvested;
Broad Beans :) Kate's current Favourite!
Blackcurrants
Rhubarb
Lettuce - I made a sandwich with some fresh bread, and lots of lettuce. Heaven!

Top Tip!
If you are going to work your plot this week, wear a hat! "The sun on an uncovered head will give you a major headache that lasts all evening" <Voice of experience- Mine

A quick carrot update. As you know, I have never managed to grow an edible carrot on the plot. This season, my plan appears to be working (no touching, plant pre-thinned etc). The carrot tops are up to about 8" and no sign of pests at present. According to our local Plot Guru (Carol - 1 over, 1 down), Carrot Fly issues end with June, so maybe we have escaped this year. Fingers crossed

Onions, Le Tour de France and a new Pest

What a fantastic two days we have seen in Yorkshire. I watched stage 1 of le tour on TV, but was lucky to have them pass right by our street on Sunday. The crowds were shoulder to shoulder all the way in to huddersfield, then just like that they evaporated after the peleton went past.
Of course, all this le Tour de France put a continental feel to my trip to the allotment.
What else could I do, but sort out le Onions.
I have been dreading this bit, its about the biggest area we have, and the weeds had taken control.
Inspired by the efforts of the cyclists, I set to, and 3 hours later, the onions were once again looking like someone loved them. This made it a rewarding trip to the plot, However;
I have discoved a new and scurrilous pest.
The lesser spotted plot thief!
Our netting covering the Strawberries was last seen on Friday evening, by Sunday, it was gone! Along with the vast majority of the Strawberries. What remained had become fair game for the birds.
I guess that that is it for this years crop, so I would like to extend a big thank you to the toe-rag who took the net, for reducing the amount of effort required for harvesting. You are a person Totally Without Any Thought, and I will leave you to arrange these initials.

Google Earth your Plot

Just for fun, have you had a look at your plot using Google Earth?
Here is ours, show us yours #googleearthmyplot

Also a useful way of getting a plan of the plot.
I almost forgot #happyindependenceday to all you Americans

Garden Hand Forks - Review

This is my first review, so comments are welcomed, to help me improve.

I use a hand fork more than any other tool on the allotment. Over the years I have tried and rejected quite a few, and although I am by no means an expert, I hope I can save you a few pounds by pointing out what to look for. At the bottom, there are my opinions of 6 Hand Forks, If you have one you would like me to review, I am happy to be contacted.

Tines
The prongs on the fork which you push into the soil, and you have some choices here

1. Stainless Steel, Mild Steel or Plastic
2. 3 or 4 Tines
3. Forged, Pressed or Cast
4. Flat or Round Tines

The cheapest fork will be plastic, and I promise you, you will regret buying it, so don't.
Of the metal forks, the best will be stainless steel (doesn't rust), Forged (much stronger, so it will last well) and Flat Tines (allows you to scoop out as well as agitate the soil)
As to 3 or 4 tines, I prefer 3, as it allows a bit more space between when weeding, but the choice is yours.

Tang
The "spike" which goes into the handle, and is attached to the tines.
Depending on which you have chosen above, the tang will either be part of the pressed steel, or a seperate part attached to the blade of your fork. I have found that the pressed steel forks will very quickly bend out of shape in this area. This is frustrating, and stops the work. If this happens to you, it is probably best to send it to recycling.
For preference, I like a good solid tang, welded to the blade.

Handle
There are choices here again.

1. Plastic
2. Wood

You must get a handle which feels comfortable in your hand. There are many shapes and patterns available, some with foam grip, some shaped with finger grips and traditional round.
Having tried most of these, I have to say, I can understand why the traditional handle became the tradition. It just feels right! The Foam coated handle was okay, until it got wet, then it was slippy. The shaped plastic handle I didn't get on with at all, it felt as if my hand was in the wrong place all the time, and the moulding had seems which gave me blisters.

All the above taken into account, we must next consider price. Before we do, lets consider that a good fork should last 20 years or more, a poor fork may get you through 2 or 3 sessions. If your budget will allow it, a good fork therefore is going to be much more cost effective. Look to spend up to £12 and no more, you will find excellent forks under this budget.

Ratings

Moulton Mill Stainless  10/10

Price                around £8

Comfort          ***** 5 stars

Quality           ***** 5 stars

Notes              My everyday workhorse. Kate bought this as part of a trowel and fork set for use at home. It was soon pressed in to service at the allotment, and is my new favourite! You can see it in use on my short "how to weed video" here (links to a page on this blog)

The Fork is made by Gardman, has a 10 year guarantee, and uses FSC timber for the handle. This is an excellent fork, Highly recommended.

 Joseph Bentley Stainless   9/10

 Price                around £10
Comfort            ***** 5 stars
Quality             ****   4 stars  ( would be 5, but I managed to snap one)
Notes                Lifetime guarantee! My broken fork was replaced, no problems. I like this fork and would it in preference to many of the others for almost every fork task on the allotment.


Wolf Garten                  7/10

 

Price            around £15 + £5 for the handle

Comfort       ***      3 stars ( with optional handle)

Quality        *****  5 stars

 Notes         The handle attaches securely and is good and strong, but it is not very ergonomic. What is good though is that you can swap the handle to the long pole, and use the fork standing up

I like, and use this fork with the long pole, but the short handle has been consigned to the darkest recess of the shed

Wilkinson Sword Stainless       9/10

Price                around £8

Comfort           *****  5 stars

Quality            ****+  4 stars +

Notes               This is a good solid hand fork, although a bit more meat on the tines would be nice. It sits well in your hand, but it is possible to deform the tines in heavy soil. I would choose this fork if the Joseph Bentley was not available.

Silverline                        4/10

 

Price           around £4

Comfort      ***      3 stars

Quality       **         2 stars

Notes         If you need a fork on a tight budget, this one is okay. You will manage to bend the tines on heavy ground. The tines are coated to prevent rusting, but that wears off with continuous use. For light work this is an acceptable fork, and used with gloves, the handle isn't far off.

Gardman             3/10

 

Price           around £3

Comfort     **       2 stars

Quality       **      2 stars

Notes         I just didn't get on with this hand fork at all. After the first use the handle and fork came apart, and I had to make a repair by stuffing paper around the tine to make it secure. The handle feels wrong in the hand, it is too square at the end for me. This fork is fairly typical of the budget end, and would be okay for light work or window boxes.

More Weeding

Another pleasent evening yesterday. I hopped on my bike and rode down to the plot.
The recent good weather has really brought the veg along, and the peas planted last weekend are showing.

Unfortunately, the weeds are growing well too. If you are new to allotments, you will be surprised at how quickly they grow, and how much time is spent weeding. I recorded a very short video of the technique I use, which I hope will be useful.

Weeds use the nutrients and moisture in the soil leaving less for the vegetables, so it is important to get rid of them. You will see lots of discussions about composting annual weeds, but not perennial weeds. Good luck sorting them out! I put all my weeds onto a pile, away from the compost bins. Over a few years, the bottom of this pile will become useable as topsoil.

I advocate removal of the entire weed, including the root. Some weeds like dandelions will regenerate from the smallest part of a root left behind. Its not a huge problem, it just means you have more weeding to do later.

Don't do too much, a little and often is the key. Its only veg!

Growing Marrow

 

A quick animation for growing Marrows

1. Dig a hole 12" Round, 12" deep
2. Fill with well rotted manure
3. Create a 12" high mound of compost
4. Plant your Marrow in the top
5. Water Well, and often!
6. Enjoy! 

You can leave all the marrows to grow, and have lots of small ones, or cut off all except one to get a giant marrow.