I was lucky on my non-working day this week - the weather was pretty good and even sunny for a while, lovely. So I spent time on the allotment cutting some of the grass paths (which have got really long due to the mild autumn). It was quite satisfying as I'd wanted to start on them for a while but hadn't had chance, and it means I can move around the plot without getting soaked feet every time (Like if I pop to the plot during lunch from work and I'm not in allotmenty footwear).
There's still lots to be cut but I managed to get the main paths through the plot done (I use shears). I think we now get an allotment inspection in autumn as well, so hopefully it makes the plot look presentable enough to avoid a warning letter!
I also prepared a couple of small beds for broad beans, and got them all sown the following day (about 70 seeds) during a long lunch break (I work flexi-hours so sometimes can take a longer lunch but then work later - it's good at this time of year when after work it's too dark to do any allotmenting). After I've raked the bed level, I make holes for the seeds using a dibber, then go along popping the seeds in the holes. I was in a bit of a rush and the depth of the holes varied a bit! Then I loosely cover the holes with soil and cover the whole bed with sticks and branches to try and keep the local cats off them (it doesn't always work).
So I had quite a good harvest on weds, with a variety of greens from the allotment (Chard, corn salad, kale) and even found some more beans in the back garden whilst I was clearing away the plants. The runner beans were from the plants that grew from last year's root that I'd left in the ground and which re-grew this summer.
They made a nice stew-thing
I noticed that one of my stored medium sized butternuts had a bit of mould on it and on closer inspection it was pretty soft - when I cut it open it was completely rotten from the inside out which was weird and very yukky. So in a bit of panic I checked all the others over -this one had a small soft spot near the stalk but was ok inside, phew!
Inside, still ok. Make sure to check any stored harvests regularly to help avoid losing any to mould, or removing any you find to avoid it spreading to nearby fruit or veg.
I did a couple of batches of roasting, using up some of the small green-ish butternuts I'd most recently picked which wouldn't ripen, plus the one above
I couldn't resist making a soup with some of it - a simple made-up recipe of softened onion and garlic with ground ginger, cumin and paprika, plus chickpeas and some of my last toms, plus water.
And a bit of goats yogurt plus smoked paprika to finish, mmm.
I also made a salad for our lunch today which included my own corn salad (which has sown itself all over one of my allotment beds) plus some dry-fried pumpkin seeds, a bit of cheese and a drizzle of cider vinegar, yum.
I pulled up some of my (very few) carrots this week as well. They did have a bit of carrot fly damage despite being covered with an old net-curtain, darn. This method has worked ok in the past.
And talking of cider-vinegar, we strained off the liquid from our first attempt at homemade apple cider vinegar (first step is to use 8 or so apple cores and peels, cover with water and two table spoons of honey then leave for a couple of weeks). So yes, it does look somewhat like wee, but has a much nicer smell! Now we leave it for about 4 weeks, stirring everyday until it gets the flavour you like. It already tastes quite nice so am not sure how long to leave it.
This weekend I've also been out collecting bags of leaves to make leafmould (to improve soil structure). The allotment soil is very sandy and drains a bit too well, so any organic matter I can add is always welcome. As the weather was incredibly windy there weren't that many people around so I didn't get too many odd looks this time! I collect them up from areas nearby where the leaves all get blown into big piles, filling up old compost bags and transport them using my old shopping trolley frame - it must be a funny sight to see me pulling that along! But it means I can move quite heavy materials without the need for a car.
Anyhoo, thanks for reading and see you next time - I'm dashing out to hopefully see a talk by Tom Cox who writes the My Sad Cat stuff, it's a small venue and unticketed, so is first come first served, eep!
Linking in with Harvest Monday hosted by Dave at Our Happy Acres
Posted with Blogsy
Shame about the squashy Squash! Your soup sounds good though. I love soup, and it is so easy to improvise when you have good wholesome ingredients.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark, yes I was a bit disappointed with the squashy squash but at least it was just the one. I can't remember which plant it came from, so not sure why this one was a problem.
DeleteMmm, I do like a nice thick soup :)
As always, a nice looking "stew-thing".
ReplyDeleteSince you mentioned "mould" on squash, I'll share my icky story. I was storing some squash on the stairs to the basement including a large pumpkin that had never been cured properly. I noticed the top had some brown spots and had planned to cut it up soon and use the good parts. Well, I left it a while and when I went to the basement yesterday, I noticed some liquid all over the stairs. Ewwww. Turns out it was also rotting from the bottom and oozed out liquid. Chucked it into the compost, what a waste!
Thanks Susie, I should come up with a better name than 'stew - thing'! it's probably not even a stew as it's just done on the hob.
DeleteUrgh, grim pumpkin. I had a similar thing with this one, where I thought I'd cut out the good bits, only to find it was completely rotten, yuk. Hope you got it all cleaned up ok :)
What a wonderful harvest you had this week! I love the salad idea with the roasted butternut squash - I would never think to use squash cold in a salad, but now I will! And now I'm off to the basement to check on my squash...;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Margaret, the mild autumn has helped extend the harvests. We've just been getting very strong winds from the edge of a hurricane so I'll need to check the plot for damage.
DeleteThe cold squash is really nice in a salad and the cider vinegar adds a little extra dimension, a bit of saltiness from the cheese plus crunch from the pumpkin seeds. Not sure where I got the idea for it, I probably saw a photo at some point.
Hope your squash is ok! I'd love a basement or larder :)
Interesting to read about your cider vinegar experiment. I've never made vinegar but it sounds like a good homemade project! Too bad about the butternut. I lost a couple of winter squash early on, but now I think the rest are keeping well. I love your use of veggies too. You always do interesting things with what you have.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave, it'll be interesting to see how the vinegar turns out, I meant to add a link to the blog I got the recipe from so will do that next time. I recently read on our local allotment Facebook group of a guy who makes big quantities of acv to give to his chickens as it helps keep them healthy, cool.
DeleteIt's a shame to lose veggies to mould but at least we've got more in storage :)
Thanks, I sometimes feel I make the same things over and over but that goes with the seasons and veg available I guess!
What a nice little harvest this week! The dishes you made with them look quite appetizing.
ReplyDeleteThanks Audrey, it's not bad for a November harvest :)
DeleteOh yuck, I hate those surprise rot events. I just used a bunch of my butternut squashes not because they were rotting, thank goodness, but they were getting a bit wrinkled. They tasted sweeter than ever. I keep a few jugs of red wine vinegar going and use it when it tastes good, but I have found that the longer it sits the better it gets. The batch I'm using now was started about a year ago.
ReplyDeleteHi Michelle, ooh lovely sweet butternuts, yummy.
DeleteAh that's interesting about the vinegar, do you just keep it at room temperature or in a cool place?
I hope our grass hasn't grown so much that it needs cutting.
ReplyDeleteWe have never really bothered with so wing broad bean seeds to overwinter as we have never had too much success with it.
I've still got lots of grass to cut sue :/
DeleteI think the last two years (or maybe just last year) I've done autumn beans, they were ready a few weeks earlier than my spring ones, so worth it for me anyway. But that was the first time in a while I'd bothered. I think because I've got more beds now (from clearing the plot gradually) it wasn't a case of tying up a bed that was needed for something else. The bed with them in this year is a bit more shaded though so they might not do as well.