Monday 30 March 2015

Harvest Monday - greeny

Well, what a weekend of weather. Saturday was pretty rubbish and raining most of the day (though warm). But Sunday, whew! Really heavy rain, strong gusty winds, lightning, hail, thunder....so, funnily enough decided not to head to the plot!

So my usual Sunday trip to the plot for doing and picking was thwarted. Being stuck at home I was tempted to start sowing more seeds but decided to hold off until next weekend (when I'll have 4 days off work for the Easter bank holiday)

So, in the lean-to (which does leak, but earlier in the day it wasn't raining too hard so I was dry for a while), I've got these two sweet pepper plants that survived the winter. I pruned them back the other weekend so thought I'd give them some fresh compost yesterday by lifting them out, brushing off some of the old compost and putting in some new stuff (from a bought bag, it was too rainy to try and get some of mine from the compost bins)

Also in the lean to, Here's my tub of oriental greens (mainly mizuna). I had it covered in bubble wrap for extra protection before it got too big.
And a couple of other tubs - the seeds were sown at the same time as the oriental greens (before Christmas) but have only just got going (corn salad). Even though they're under cover in the lean-to, over winter I give them extra protection. In the summer I'll have 2 tomato plants in each of the tubs.

Close up of corn salad. I sowed some peas in here too but they either haven't germinated or have been eaten by a naughty slug or snail.

The toms are still doing ok in there too, more are getting their second set of true leaves.

The rest of the potatoes are waiting to be planted out (I planted out the earlies last week). The ones at the front are Setanta, and the 4 at the back are anya (I swapped a few with a friend). The Setanta haven't chitted much but should be ok to go out when I get chance.
Inside the house I have some basil seeds that have germinated really quickly (in only a week). I've sown a green variety and purple variety.
They have been kept toasty warm under bubble wrap and near a radiator. I think I'll keep them under there for a while longer. I've put a little stick under the bubble wrap to raise the plastic off the seedlings. You can see my chilli and aubergine seedlings in the background too. I'm keeping them inside until they're a bit bigger, then I'll pot them on and put them in the lean to.
Earlier in the week I picked some lambs lettuce from the allotment, for sandwiches
And some mizuna for a noodle soup (added in just at the end so they keep their nice green colour). I picked a bit of chickweed too that was just growing as a weed in the same pot but decided after nibbling some that I don't like it. Which is a shame as there's a lot of it growing in the lean-to pots. I'm leaving it for now as it at least is nice to look at something growing rather than empty pots!
Some greens....a mixture of side shoots and tiny cabbages
And my first purple sprouting broccoli, yippee. It was pretty small but there's more growing. I was going to pick more yesterday but the darned weather scuppered that.

But I did get to the plot briefly in my lunch break today (it's in walking distance) and snipped some off with a pair of scissors I borrowed from the office! Plus some other bits of greenery and more corn salad (Not pictured). I didn't have any storm damage, phew, unlike some other Norwich allotment sites where greenhouses and sheds have been smashed in the winds and from falling branches. Some people have lost all their seedlings, such a shame.

So I count myself fortunate for not a bad little harvest from a wet March week, it's raining tonight too.

Linking in with Harvest Monday on Daphne's Dandelions

 

15 comments:

  1. That tub full of greens is something to be envied, that's for sure! I had such a hard time growing corn salad a couple of years ago - I just couldn't get those seeds to sprout. I'll have to give them another try at some point.

    That's so sad about all the damage from the storm...you never know what Mother Nature is going to throw your way.

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    1. Thanks Margaret, I should do more tubs early on really, don't know why I didnt!
      Yeah, the corn salad is a bit sporadic for me. The best ones have been on the allotment where some went to seed and just come up by themselves now.

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  2. Lovely harvests. And your psb looks good. I'm anticipating my kale flowering for an early harvest, but this year it might be really late.

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    1. Thanks Daphne, your kale will be welcome whenever it arrives, I'm sure.

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  3. I've never heard of sweet pepper plants surviving a winter, that's fantastic! I know you had them in your lean to, but did you wrap them or something? What a great start for them ...

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    1. Thanks Susie, it's early days with the peppers, they might not do much, but they're definitiely still alive! I knew they can be perennial but hadn't tried it properly before. These two were by accident really, I just left them on the top shelf, didn't wrap them up either. The leaves died but mainly held on, i think I might have given a tiny bit of water but other than that they were ignored! In early winter I brought two other peppers inside the house to finish ripening the fruit off (which they did) but then the plants died. So Maybe because it was cold in the lean-to but not frosty they just went into a sort of dormancy. Anyway, will see if they start to grow with the longer and warmer days to come.

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    2. Looking forward to seeing how it works out!

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  4. Gorgeous greens, and your seeds are coming on really well. What a shame about all the allotment damage at the other sites, it's heartbreaking. It's been really windy here too, I haven't been down to the plot yet this week, hopefully all will be well down there. CJ xx

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    1. Thanks CJ, it's been incredibly windy again today plus several more hailstorms so I might not have escaped damage after all. I'll find out tomorrow :/ hope yours is ok.

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  5. We haven't managed a plot visit for a few days and after last nights gales I dread to think of the state it will be in.

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    1. These winds have been crazy sue, plus the hail. Hope your plots are ok. I wonder if my broad beans will be shredded and my little shed on its side. I was reading on a Facebook group that someone on my site has lost their greenhouse. Yikes!

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  6. You have got some good stuff already! Those containers covered in plastic seem to have done very well. Isn't it nice to have fresh salads when so little else is available?

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    1. Thanks Mark, yes it's nice to pick some fresh leaves, especially now it's easier with it being light when getting home from work. The double effect of glass and plastic protection have been good for them. Thinking about it, the tub that's done best is the one closest to the house, so probably the warmest spot over winter, not near an outside edge.

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  7. Oh I am envious of your fresh salad leaves. Glad your getting on with sowing seeds though, I am truly not with it this year, hope to buckle down some time soon. the weather, I agree is atrocious, the fierce winds have knocked my pergola, as well as the fence in the garden. I don't like it one bit, talk about not being motivated to garden, hopefully it will change

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    1. Thanks Shaheen, normally I would be picking pea shoots too but I didn't pay enough attention that they hadn't germinated (or have been eaten by a beastie),
      It's definitely hard to get motivated over winter, especially after a day at work. Many of my evenings have involved watching tv and eating lots of chocolate! You could always get some plug plants later once spring really does decide to arrive?
      We've had huge gusts again and intense hail storms so who knows what's happened up the plot today, eep! Our fences at home are holding up so far, the winds last year got rid of the weak ones in the neighbourhood.

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