Flighty's plot

It’s a cold but sunny day here so before lunch I went for a walk through the ecoclogy park where I saw some goldfinches flying in and out of the trees.

On the allotment site it was clear that no-one else had been there today as there were only fox paw prints to be seen. The plot looked like this

I filled both ponds with water and scattered some bird seed on the ground then took a few more photos including the snowy teasels

and the aptly named Iceberg rose!

On the way out of the site I met John who had his son’s dog

Lucy with him who he looks after most of the week. Unlike Jodi who I mentioned yesterday she’s much more lively and likes to have a fuss made of her.

We had a quick chat then it was home for lunch.

I’ve decided on a top ten of annual flowers that I’m going to grow next year. I’ve grown them all before and most, if not all, have been mentioned and pictured here.  Some will be just a single variety whilst others will number several.

They are Pot Marigolds (Calendula officinalis), Cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus), Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), Californian Poppies (Eschscholtzia californica), Sunflowers (Helianthus annus),Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus), Poached Egg Plants (Limnanthes douglaslii), Linaria (Linaria maroccana), Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella damascena) and Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus).

I’ve collected seed from some which I grew this year, I have  packets that I didn’t use and others I’ll be buying from the trading shed where the Horticultural Society do Kings Seeds at really good prices.

I should point out that I’ve also got plenty of other flower seeds including a couple of packets of Nemophilia ‘Five Spot’ which I’ll be sowing in the patio pallet window box for a summer display. During the year Georgie has very kindly sent me various seeds including Centratherum  ‘Pineapple Sangria’ , Red Valerian and Violas.

I’m hoping that all these will give me a spread of flowers across the whole plot, and lots of colour!

Onions were probably the best vegetables that I grew this year. I bought about 25 sets each of two varieties, Sturon and Turbo, from the Horticultural Society back in late January then planted them out two months later.

Apart from watering  when needed and hoeing round to keep clear of weeds I had to do nothing else except wait and watch them grow.

By mid-July they were ready so about a week later I harvested them.

Since then I’ve been enjoying  eating two or three every week and I’ve still got just over a dozen left which will see me through to the New Year!

I like fried onions with my pork sausages, mashed potatoes and baked beans. I also like them raw, and thinly sliced, with cheese in sandwiches.  I may even try my hand at making some English Onion Soup rather than being lazy and just opening a tin!

Needless to say that onions are at the top of my list of vegetables to grow next year, however I may only grow the variety Sturon as these seemed to be the better of the two that I grew this year.

This rather witty little poem suggests that onions are better cooked – from a social point of view!

Onions by Jonathan Swift [1667-1745, born Ireland]

‘This is every cook’s opinion –

No savory dish without an onion,

But lest your kissing should be spoiled

Your onions must be fully boiled.’

Have a good weekend!

Wednesday and Thursday mornings were sunny, although still very windy,  so I spent both of them working on the plot. That included doing some digging as I was surprised to find that the ground wasn’t as claggy as I thought it would be.

You may remember that  in this post back in July I said that I was going to sow some quick growing oriental crops. I did that and some of them, the broccoli and cabbage seedings, were just as quickly eaten by the pigeons!  I’m not keen on stir-frys so a couple of plot neighbours took up my offer to help themselves to whatever was there once it had grown.  On Thursday I harvested the remaining Radish China Rose

The small one in the right hand photo is marble sized! I might eat the  couple of small ones but as for the rest…  That just leaves a handful of Mustard Leaf Osaka Purple and Pak Choi Tatsoi Tah Tsai (?) in the ground.

Looking at the post I linked to above I see that it included the first pot marigolds.  Well nearly five months later they’re still flowering!

One other pleasing sight was the green tip of a  rather eager mini daffodil

It’s got noticably colder the past couple of days and there could well be a frost tomorrow night as the temperature is forecast to be 0C.  If there is that will be the first proper frost here and surely heralds the end of the season!

Last week I ordered, and received, most of the vegetable seeds that,  hopefully,  I’ll  be growing next year.

Because I only have a small half-plot and grow just for myself I got them from MoreVeg who supply seeds in realistic quantities, and don’t charge p&p on orders over £6.  I used them last year and have found them to be an excellent company to deal with.

Looking at what I grew this year, and what I really enjoy eating,  I decided on the following for next year.

Broad bean Medes,  Runner bean Desiree,  Beetroot Burpee’s Golden;  Carrots Little Fingers,  Paris Market Atlas and Yellowstone (Organically sourced); Cucumber Marketmore (O/s), Lettuce Mix red/green salad bowl, Sweet Corn Double Standard O/s); Tomato Amateur and Gardener’s Delight (O/s).

By concentrating on these next year I’m sure that I should be able to do even better than I did this year.

MoreVeg says Sow Grow Eat Enjoy which is something that I’m rather looking forward to doing!