Friday 10th September 2010

Had a great morning harvesting on the allotment. I pulled up all the kohl rabi, I’ll cut them in 1 inch cubes and freeze and take out when needed. Picked all the rest of the tomatoes, so more to go on the top of the kitchen cupboards. I also noticed that some of the tomatoes at home are showing signs of blight, so that’ll be my job this weekend to sort those out. The tomatoes in the greenhouse seem to be fine, but I’ll keep watching. Pulled the rest of the rainbow carrots, so that’s all the carrots up now. I think I’ve got enough carrots to keep us going for quite a while now, I may freeze some to use in casseroles. And of course the obligatory weeding, there’s always that to do.

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8 Responses to Friday 10th September 2010

  1. emma's avatar emma says:

    Hi claire, love your videos they are very helpful to me as I have just got my first allotment. Im stuck though with what to do with the soil (heavy clay) at this time of year as Ive got nothing growing as it was a completly clear plot. Ive dug down a full fork and turned over all the beds leaving me with a load of clods now which ive tried racking but still wont budge! I had a load of manure delivered but its fresh so got to wait for it, so ive sown some green manure instead (only on one bed to see how it went) is this ok? or is there anything else I can be doing or getting into the soil to help it ready for next spring? ;0)

    • Hi Emma,
      Clay soil is a pain, but it can be sorted out. It takes longer to warm up in the Spring, so it’s worth covering a section with carpet to warm it up. Do this approximately 3 weeks before planting. The way to ease up clay soil is to fork in loads of well rotted manure. Planting green manure is very good, as it will put in goodness when you cut down the green manure in the Spring. To speed up the fresh manure, cover in something dark, plastic or old carpet, and it should be ready in approximately 6 months. If there are any rotted leaves on the site incorporate them in the soil. If you don’t have leaves, ask the Council.

  2. jane's avatar jane says:

    Hi, just saying hello – and I didn’t think khol rabi would freeze well too watery?? Have you done it before?

    • Hello to you to. I’ve cut them in 1 inch cubes and have frozen them. When I want to use them I’ll take them out and put them in boiling water for 10 minutes to par boil. I do the same with parsnips and they come out fine. Courgettes release loads of water when they defrost, so I drain off the excess water before cooking.

  3. jardinlady's avatar jardinlady says:

    Wow Claire sounds like you have a lot to harvest. Right now the only thing I am getting from mine is peppers and a few tomatoes. By the way how did your fennel do, did it bulb up for you? I have some under grow lights but I am waiting for the temps to change before transplanting out in the garden, right now it is still hot and humid here so I am having to wait on my broccoli and cabbage as well, my indoor grow lights are full with plants and I have no more space to start anymore.

    • I harvested more bits today. The fennel grew really well, but when I was on holiday most of it went to seed, so I’ve left it, and will collect the seeds. Just one of those things. It wasn’t ready before I went, but whilst I was away there was a huge amount of rain. I’ve had some and it’s been lovely. Enjoy your peppers and tomatoes, let’s hope the temperature cools down a bit for you.

  4. jane's avatar jane says:

    Hi, thanks for the top tips!
    My husband grw all the radishes at once and then put loads in the freezer – when they came out they turned to mush!
    (I’ve tried to explain the idea of sucessional sowing)

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