Saturday 11th April 2015 – Mushrooms and stuff!!

The day started off with rain. This was a pleasant surprise as we’ve not had any for weeks now, which for us is rather odd. It didn’t last long, and by about 11am it was all gone and the sun came out. After mowing the grass and giving the back and front gardens a bit of a tidy (not much needed doing really) I then gave the chickens house and run a bit of a tidy. I took a box in with me to put any messy bits in, and straight away one of the chickens decided to jump on the side of it. Now there wasn’t anything in the box at the time, so the weight of the chicken on one side meant that the box flipped over and promptly landed upside down on top of the chicken. There she was, trapped in an up turned box. Stupid thing!! It all happened in slow motion and was very funny to see. However I think the chicken was a little confused by it all, and after I’d stopped laughing, and went and took the box off her so she could get out, she looked at me as if to say “What just happened?” She didn’t do it again, but another one jumped in the box and started scratching. I really don’t know what to say really about their mental state, I guess it runs in the family, we’re all a little strange. Then it was time to sow some Mushrooms. Now I’ve sown these before and they did really well. You can get a pack with everything you need to grow them in, and these can usually be found at a garden centre. But I was in town with my parents this week and we went into Poundland, and they had 2 different varieties, so I bought one of each and so did my parents. To be honest they have loads of gardening bits and pieces. I think the seeds and plants are great value for money. I may have to go and have another look again as I’ve got to do more to my fruit patch.

My 2 varieties of mushrooms from Poundland. Guess how much each box was?

My 2 varieties of mushrooms from Poundland. Guess how much each box was?

I was tempted to ask how much they were, just to be silly, but I managed to resist!! I’m sure George would if I let him. The instructions are on the box and I’ll let you know how mine grow. Emily doesn’t like mushrooms, but the rest of us do. To be honest I never liked them when I was young, but love them now. In the box there is everything you need, and the instructions are very easy to follow.

This is what you get, and it's all in the box for you.

This is what you get, and it’s all in the box for you.

Once you’ve emptied the compost on the spawn layer, you water it so it’s damp. Make sure you don’t over water it, otherwise it won’t work. And also don’t pat the compost down, just let it stay uneven. That way the mushrooms are able to grow through the gaps in the compost. Once you’ve done all this, then they need to go back in their box and then placed in a warm place. I’ve put mine on top of the kitchen cupboards as I think that’ll be a good place. But the cupboard under the stairs will work just as well. I’ve grown mine there before, but at the moment I’ve got lots of jam in the space where I’ve grown them before. Don’t let them dry out, and in 6 days you should see lots of little white strands growing.

All ready to grow.

All ready to grow.

I’ll keep you up updated on their progress, and hopefully in a couple of weeks I’ll have some mushrooms for dinner.

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Friday 10th April 2015 – Yay, they’re all in!!

After an entire week of working very hard, I’ve finally got all my Carrots seeds and Onion sets in! Wow!! Now it’s onto the next job which is planting the Potatoes. That also could take a while as I’ve got lots of those to put in as well. But I’ll let you know about those as and when I do them. The last 2 varieties of Carrots were “Flyaway F1” and “Nantes 5”. The soil is still very easy to weed which is great, and we’ve still had no rain, although there were about a dozen spots of rain when I was up the allotment this morning, but I don’t think that counts. So after I’ve sown or planted, I then have to give it all a good water. The Easter holidays have now ended, so next week I can be down the allotment for much longer as I’ll take my lunch down with me. The kids won’t have to fend for themselves for a couple of hours each morning. So this afternoon, my sister Michelle, her son Sam, Granny and Granddad, Emily, George and myself all went off to Morden Hall Park. Us grown ups had a gentle stroll round the park, whilst the kids went and played in the water. Well they would wouldn’t they. I made my 2 wear their wellingtons, but George still managed to get soaking wet. I don’t know why I’m so surprised.

George always goes straight for the water..Well he's George!!

George always goes straight for the water..Well he’s George!!

Once we’d had enough of a look round and George had got more water in his wellingtons than there was in the actual river, mum treated us to either an ice cream or a hot drink. Obviously the kids went for ice cream, but the rest of us had either tea or hot chocolate. You should have seen the hot chocolate it was huge!! It had marshmallow in the drink, then whipped cream on top and then a chocolate flake. It looked amazing, although not for me.

Ice cream and hot drink, all very scrumptious!!

Ice cream and hot drink, all very scrumptious!!

Then it was a wander round the garden centre. Michelle found some lovely pansies for 90p each, and they have a wonderful array of so many plants. I could have spent a huge amount of money in there, but I was good. I’ve still got some vouchers left from Christmas for Squires Garden Centre. So on a rainy day I’ll spend them. The kids found the seeds and Emily said she was getting a Lottie and Dottie vibe. It’s so lovely when they are so proud of mummy’s book.

They stared at the packets of seeds in front of them. Then they sat down on the floor.

They stared at the packets of seeds in front of them. Then they sat down on the floor.

Well that’s that for today, I wonder what mischief I can get up to this weekend?

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Thursday 9th April 2015 – Inspection Day!!

Today was our plot inspection by the Council. This always happens about this time of year. When our allotment agreement was redrafted (why they felt they need to do this, we’ll all never know) several years ago, they said that our plots needed to be 75% cultivated at all times. Now you know as well as I do that this isn’t possible for most of the year. The agreement was cobbled together by the Council, all of whom knew nothing about allotment gardening. We were all up in arms about this, and they rapidly changed it with our input. They saw sense and now everything is fine and dandy. Now when they inspect our plots in the Spring they just want to see that we’ve started. I should be ok. Yes I’ve been working on one of my plots planting Garlic, Onions and Carrots. But I’ve done nothing yet with my other plot. Still it’s only got a few light weeds on it, and next week I’ll be turing it over to put in my Potatoes. It’s been worse and I’ve not got a letter, so I doubt if I’ll get one this year. To be honest, it’s nothing to panic about, they’re just making sure you still want your plots. Now onto the gardening stuff. I planted more Onions and Carrots today, not as much as in previous days, but the weather has been so sunny all week that I had to water what I’ve already put in. I’m hoping that the weather we’re having now, is a good sign as to a brilliant Summer, but only time will tell. Today I sowed “Paris Market 5 (Atlas)” Carrots. These are great if you need to grow them in a shallow container as they’re small and round, great for kids to grow as Lottie and Dottie will tell you. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish the rest of the Carrots and Onions off tomorrow. I’ve started to dig over the next section for them, so hopefully I’ve grown enough to last us a fair while. Then after lunch this afternoon I showed Emily and George how to make my Triple Chocolate Cookies. The first batch are out and the second batch are in. They did very well, but trying to stop them eating the raw cookie dough was rather tricky.

My 2 cookie monsters!!

My 2 cookie monsters!!

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Wednesday 8th April 2015 – This scarecrow will give you nightmares!!

I continued today with the Onion and Carrots saga, and am slowly getting to the end. Only a couple more chapters left to go, and then I can move onto the next thing. I was only able to be down the allotment for just under 2 hours today, but I managed to get lots done in the time. First of all was a little chat with some fellow plot holders. We’re all getting going again, and it’s lovely to see people again after the winter break. I’ve managed to acquire a bench to sit on. Gavin who had his plot next to me has left after more years than he could imagine. They’ve moved away and I will miss him, he was so lovely. He wasn’t going to take his bench with him, so now it’s mine. I did sit on it to have my lunch, which he didn’t mind me doing. Then after our little chat, it was onto some more digging over on another bed, and planting out more Onions and Carrots. Again I did alternate rows and the varieties of Carrots I did today were finishing off the “Autumn King 2” and a complete packet of “Purple Haze F1”. Then a little watering with the few minutes I had left before I had to come home. As I was emptying my wheelbarrow, I noticed the scariest scarecrow in the entire world. I know that they’re supposed to scare away birds, but this one scared the bejesus out of me. I hope no child sees it otherwise Christmas will never be the same again.

Ho, ho AAAHHHH!

Ho, ho AAAHHHH!

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Tuesday 7th April 2015 – What can I do in 2 hours?

Another glorious day, we really are being spoilt. I’m not complaining, just making the most of it whilst it lasts. Today I left the kids at home and popped to the allotment for just over 2 hours. The aim was to plant the Garlic and sow some more Carrots. I wasn’t sure how much I would get done, but I was hoping enough to be proud of. So I decided on a bed, which is about 8 foot square or so and started.

The bed before I got to work!!

The bed before I got to work!!

Firstly I pulled up all the Groundsel, which I remember my Nan saying she used to feed to their Canary who was called Henry!! Even he would have trouble eating all that was in this bed. The soil is still crumbly, so it was very easy to pull it all up. I then got to work with my big fork and started turing over the soil and removing all the other weeds and grass that had grown over the winter. It’s very satisfying to pull all the weeds up, and an added bonus was finding some rogue Potatoes that I’d missed last year. I dug about half of the bed and then my back had had enough, so I then started to sow and plant. I planted a row of Garlic and then a row of Carrots. Garlic works just as well as the Onions do with detering the carrot fly. When I’d got as far as I could, I then dug the rest and then planted some more rows. The final row was a line of Onions as I’d run out of Garlic. Well I had planted 45 Garlic cloves. Hopefully that’ll be enough to last us for a while. I’ve still got more Onions to sow, but today I managed to get in the following varieties of carrot “Red Samurai F1”, “Yellowstone F1” and some “Autumn King 2”, which I’ve sown before and they grew huge. I’ll sow the rest of this variety another time. But after 2 hours and 15 minutes I’d done all I came to do, so went home and the kids and I had lunch.

Yes, it's the same bed, just 2 hours and 15 minutes later!!

Yes, it’s the same bed, just 2 hours and 15 minutes later!!

As Julius Caesar said, “I came, I saw, I conquered!!” Now onto tomorrow!! Well he didn’t say the last bit, and it definitely had nothing to do with planting vegetables on an allotment, but I’m going to use it anyway.

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Monday 6th April 2015 – Onions and some of the carrots!

It’s Bank Holliday Monday and Mark is off, so he took Emily and George to Crazy Golf up the road and I went to the allotment for a couple of hours. It’s not until you’re up on your plot digging away, that you realise how much you miss it. I continued where I’d left off (which is always a good place to start), with the bed that I’d sown some Parsnip seeds in. But I continued with alternating a row of Carrots with a row of Onions and so on. These are great to grow together as the smell from each plant deters the bugs from the other. I’ve not sown all my Carrots (I’ve still got loads of different varieties to go. It’s amazing how many varieties there actually are). But today I sowed the following, all from Pennard Plants: “Cosmic Purple”, “Little Finger”, “Lunar White” and “Longue Rouge de Saint-Valery”. We like Carrots in our family and especially when they’re roasted in the oven. The more strange the colour, the better as far as we are concerned.

One row of Carrots, and another row of Onions.  Helps to deter each others bugs.

One row of Carrots, and another row of Onions. Helps to deter each others bugs.

I’ve now done two beds like this, but there are still more Carrots and Onions to go. It’ll also work with Spring Onions and Garlic. I also dug up a few more grass clumps to bring home for the Chickens, which they thoroughly enjoyed when I gave it to them. One chicken was sitting on their coop roof and was then in such a hurry to get down when she saw what treat I’d bought. Now after a couple of hours, it’s all gone.

Chickens enjoying their grass!!

Chickens enjoying their grass!!

Hopefully I can get down to the allotment again tomorrow. The kids will be ok on their own for a while, and then I can carry on with my Onions and Carrots combo. I think I’ll go and see what I can get up to in the garden before I have to start dinner.

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Saturday 4th April 2015 – Greenhouse is filling up nicely.

I’ve just come in from sowing more seeds. The Onions and Garlic will be going out in the allotment very soon, so I’m starting to move them from the safety of the greenhouse to the garden table. I tend to do this with all my plants. They spend a week or two on the garden table, and then it’s on to the allotment. It’s a bit like a half way point for them. Doing this also helps make room in the greenhouse for all the plants that need to stay in the greenhouse for their entire life, like Tomatoes, Peppers and Melons etc. This afternoon I’ve been very busy sowing all sorts of seeds. Are you ready for the list? Hold onto something as there are quite a few. Here goes. A selection of various Brassicas: Cabbage “All your round”  (this is a mixture of various cabbages of different shapes, sizes and colours) and “Primo (II)”, Brussels Sprout “Camelot F1” (I grew these last year, and they’re really tasty), Cauliflower “Graffiti F1”, I love these as they’re bright purple, so beautiful, and Kale “Starbor F1 – Mini Veg”, I’ve grown Kale before but not this variety. It’s very good for you and is great sautéed. Then onto the Sorrel “Red Veined” which I grew last year and it comes back every year, but I’m sure I’ll find room for a few more plants in the herb bed, Sweet Pepper “Romano Mixed” again these grew well last year, but I’m sure I can do better and some “Electric Daisies”, which are always fun for trying on unsuspecting people. Inside the packet it tells you how to make Mango and Electric Daisy Sorbet, I may give that a go. Nearly there, just a few more. I sowed 10 pots of Pea “Kelvedon Wonder”. Each pot had 4 peas in them, planted north, south, west and east. I’ll sow some more in about a months time, then we have a good supply throughout the summer, some Cress “Fine Curled” and finally some herbs Coriander “Calypso”, Parsley “Moss Curled 2” and finally “Chives”. Again with the herbs, sow little and often. Coriander goes to seed very quickly. Oh and one final thing, I just thought you’d like to see a photo of my Kohl Rabi. It’s just started to germinate. I’m a very proud mummy.

My Kohl Rabi popping though the soil. Grow my beauties.

My Kohl Rabi popping though the soil. Grow my beauties.

Well that’s it for the day, you can breathe now I’ve finished. Happy Easter to you all. Don’t eat too much chocolate. I won’t be eating any as it gives me a migraine and that’s not fun when it lasts for up to 4 days. I’ll stick with the white wine and I’ll be fine. There are 10 of us tomorrow for Easter Sunday at my house, but we’re all bringing something and helping out, so it’s a joint effort. I have a little Easter quiz planned for after dinner which should be fun. I’ll put the questions to you next week. No prizes for winning though, sorry.

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Friday 3rd April 2015 – What clever girls you are.

First off some wonderful news. Today was the first day that my 6 chickens laid 6 eggs. Well done my little ones, mummy is very proud of you! Five are what I’d call normal size and one is the size of a walnut. But it’s still an egg. I think that was laid by Gandalf. When we got her she had contracted GapeWorm, and after some medication from the vet she is now totally recovered. But it did take a very long time for her to get back to her happy self. Now she’s about 95% of the way there, and so today she laid an egg. Hopefully they’ll continue in this way. They’re obviously very happy now. Well, I do spoil them.

5 normal sized eggs and one iddy, biddy baby one.

5 normal sized eggs and one iddy, biddy baby one.

But onto gardening news. I spent the afternoon in the greenhouse and the garden planting and sowing. I spent some of my birthday money on various perennials, and they are filling in little gaps in various pots and beds. I still have to buy some more, but will get them in the next couple of weeks. I got a mixture of Heathers, Lupins, Foxgloves and Primulas. Hopefully they’ll be happy in their new homes and thrive. I put some plants in my Salad Bed which I got from Wood Blocx. I’ve sown various Salad Leaves, Spring Onions “Spring White Lisbon” and Radish “Bright Lights”. I’ve only sown a short row of each, but will sow some more in about a months time. I’ll add other bits like Tomatoes and Cucamelons, as and when they’re ready to go in.

The salad bed is taking shape.

The salad bed is taking shape.

I also sowed some White Mustard which is sitting on the kitchen window sill, Sprouting Broccoli “Red Arrow”, Celeriac “Monarch”, Cabbage “Savoy January King 3”, Butternut Squash “Hercules F1” and some more Lettuce Leaves “Green Mixed”. If you sow them each month, then you’ll get a constant supply over the spring and summer. It’s started to rain now, but I’ve got to start dinner, so that’s all for today. Maybe more tomorrw, but I’ll let you know.

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My Biggest Secret – A Claire’s Allotment Special

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My EasterCon 2015 schedule

And get dressed up in a costume, it’s all part of the fun,

MarkStayWrites's avatarMark Stay Writes

If you’re coming along to Dysprosium 2015 (EasterCon to the rest of us!), then here’s what I’ll be up to on the Saturday and the Sunday.

Saturday 4th April:

10-11am Build your awesome robot – Wright room

Described in the brochure thusly…

Build Your Awesome Robot: Child-friendly activity. Priority is given to children 17 and under. Children under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Using cardboard boxes, egg boxes, toilet rolls, metal food trays, cereal boxes etc, plus some coloured card, tape, and glue, you can build your own ready-to-wear robot. Zandy has an incredible book that gives suggestions on things you can put on your robot. We’ll make sure to copy the relevant bits and people can draw their own signs on card. Zandy Hemsley, Mark Stay.

Yup, Zandy and me will be helping kids build their own robots. What could possibly go wrong?! Assuming that we…

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