Allotment Tales

Ten days after the allotment inspection, I managed to find time to get there again.  It was a relief that I managed to do enough to pass the inspection.  I now need to do some harvesting on a regular basis, at the very least once a week.

I didn't think courgettes would become marrows within just 10 days, but I should know better really. Here's what was harvested on the three plants I had on the plot.

There were a  few small ones too, which I had put in the fridge by the time this photo was taken.  I'm a bit stuck as to what to do with them, so I'm probably going to jump on the bandwagon and get some sort of small spiralising gadget in the next few days, so that I can make easier and proper use of them. I may chop and freeze a couple, as they are good to put in casseroles in the winter.

There was also quite a nice sized harvest of dwarf beans, with quite a few left still growing both in the garden and allotment.  I blanched and froze these for use in stews and casseroles.

The tomatoes came from the garden at home.  I seem to have quite a few plants with small fruit, some orange, some red.  They are gradually ripening and this week was the first week I haven't bought any at the supermarket.

I did, however, have to buy some lettuce this week, but by today it had all been eaten, so I was pleased to be able to harvest some young chard leaves to use as salad leaves.  

I threw in a few nasturtium flowers too, to make it a bit more colourful.  I like the peppery taste of these in a salad. This should see us through the rest of the week and the weekend.

I've also got some frilly mustard salad leaves growing in the garden at home. I just need to pick and wash some to mix in and make my salads look a bit more interesting.

Finally, I plucked some apples from a small orchard just outside the site.  I believe it was planted by site members, for the use of site members and I have also seen members of the public harvesting these too. Most of the good sized ones had already been harvested, so these are quite small, but I did eat a couple and they are pretty sweet and definitely edible.

I was pleased with the amount there was to harvest today.  The plot seems a bit more productive than in past years, which makes me pleased that I am hanging on to it for now.  

I'm still costing produce grown at the allotment and in the garden. It's currently averaging out at £20 - £30 per month for the past 3 months, which isn't too bad.  I'm hoping to increase this amount by quite a bit next year, by giving a bit more thought to planning exactly what to grow and where.