Guest Blogger Calling

I feel privileged to be the allotment blog's first guest blogger so thought I'd better come up with some good reports from the allotment produce.

Firstly, the plums - we made a delicious "Friar's Pudding" with the recipe from mummy:

Step 1: Put plums in a dish
Step 2: Top with breadcrumbs
Step 3: Bake
Step 4: Eat

The crumble made the long journey to North Kent as our offering for Sunday lunch at Matt's mum's house and it went down a treat. I can report that the best accompaniment is vanilla ice cream.

Secondly, was the super-marrow that filled up the whole of the back seat of the car on the journey back to London. I stuffed it with pork, apple, beans, sage and parsley (the latter 2 ingredients are produce of Colliers Wood) and served it with a cheesy mustard sauce. It was delicious but we had a little too much stuffing so ended up baking the whole thing so we've got half left - if anyone is passing SW19 and would like some stuffed marrow, there's plenty to go around!

The photos below show the before...



and after (you'll notice that we couldn't even wait to take a photo before we started to eat)...




I also thought I would take the opportunity to show off the produce that we've been growing in our garden. These are our first 3 red tomatoes, hopefully the others will ripen soon...



Hopefully we'll have lots to report about the mini-allotment that is growing in our garden very soon but until then, I hope you enjoyed the first report from Junior-Allotmenteer.

Surprise visitors

Rebecca and Matt came to visit for the weekend and they weren't going to get away without working. We met at the allotment and the first job was blackberry picking. Matt and Nick ate more than went into the box but there were enough to fill 4 bags to take home.

Back to the allotment and scrumping for plums. We kept a giant flowerpot full for ourselves and they went home with two carrier bags full.

We then let them loose on the allotment and got Matt started on digging potatoes. These are the first of the season and as Desiree's go - not bad at all. We can leave them in the ground right through to first frosts so may leave these for bakers and boilers as we still have some salad potatoes in bins. A good pulling of beetroot and onions, picking of beans and tomatoes and digging of carrots went on as well as the compulsory clearing of courgettes.

They seem to be quite happy with their crop but wait til they get home and have to prepare it all!

I have decided that it is time to invite guest contributors to the blog so they will be giving a full report of their day at the allotment in due course.

Maria's tomato

We bumped into John the Italian at Morrisons the other day and he told us of his victory at the Newbury show, winning the tomato section with a beefstake that weighed 1lb 4oz. We have regularly admired Maria's (his wife) tomato selection but didn't realise that secret giant growing was going on behind the scenes.

Maria gave us one to sample and I looks delicious. There is a bit on the bottom that was slightly unripe but a day on the kitchen window sill and it is now evenly red all over. She has recommended sliced with mozarella, basil and olive oil will make a meal on its own so I can't wait. It is shown here with a pencil for scale. We weighed it and it was 1lb 2oz so almost a winner. One slice is begger than a slice of bread so it could make a lot of sandwiches - shame I am not down for the bowls tea this week, that would have them talking!

What a difference the rain makes

I must apologise for the lack of news recently but it is coming up to the end of the bowls season so lots of matches to catch up on. I was knocked out of everything except the mixed pairs and spookily I was drawn with the same partner as in 2003 when we won the runners up medal. Next weekend is finals weekend so watch this space. It is also coming up to exams so we will have to fit in harvesting with studying.

Thankfully the rains came so apart from the greenhouses everything is happy and singing. A bumper crop, so much so that it barely fit on the table that Nick made from a pallet and very useful (copyright applied for).

The beans are finally taking off and the plants are covered in flowers so I think they are going to be chasing the courgette glut. Maria gave us a branch off her plum tree - they are so beautifully sweet that we ate three each and regretted it the next morning. We have started pulling onions and carrots. The taste of carrots that were in the ground less than an hour before is exquisite and so strong that they could make a mean on their own.

Aubergines and peppers are still doing well so loads of vegetable pies, crumbles and bags of mediteranean vegetables going in the freezer.

The freezer is now bursting at the seams so I have come up with a method of being more economical on space - Soup! So far we have:

• courgette and blue cheese
• courgette and tomato with basil
• courgette and corriander
• courgette and mature chedder with sage
• curried courgette
• minted tomato

You may see a theme here and as the courgettes are all yellow and the tomatoes are all yellow, I have had to be extra vigilant with labelling. As the herbs were also grown on the allotment, they truely are home produce (except the cheese and creme fresche which is healthier than cream).

Non of this would have been possible without the great JML handy seal. Click here to see a demo. It heat seals bags so tightly that even soup can be stored in them and as it is vacuum sealed takes much less space in the freezer.

I must also show you the melons. I am concerned that now that the weather has changed they will not get enough heat and light to ripen but they really look great. I have removed and the new fruit that is appearing and hopefully the strength will go into the five that I have kept. Regular cups of comfrey tea seem to be doing the trick of fattening them up.

Very continental

Shock horror - we have a shortage of courgettes, so we have gone very continental. We have some magnificent peppers, aubergines, garlic, basil and yellow tomatoes so a very different taste for today. The aubergines are supposed to be grown in a greenhouse but the ones that I had spare and planted outside are doing much better and are much bigger. Same with the peppers at home - I think Tesco would clasify them both as large and charge extra.

The few courgettes that were left from last week have been made into soup and I am afraid I cannot share my secret recipe for Courgette and stilton as it is so wonderful.

I have also made my first garlic plait. These are the few left over from the autumn sowing. The spring sown ones are not ready yet but seem to be swelling nicely - another month and they should be ready for pulling. Onions have gone over really early so I think they will have to be pulled to make space for an autumn sowing. We really under estimaged the amount we would use so I think double the amount of both garlic and onions next year and cut back on other things (I think you can guess what!).

Grounds for your Garden

Finally, after months of searching, I have found a Starbucks that does Grounds for your Garden. It was purely by chance that I asked as I was at the library in Canary Wharf,which has a Starbucks in it,and they just happened to have a pack prepared. They are now going to keep them for me to collect every Monday.

What is it I hear you thinking. All the used coffee grounds are saved in foil bags and you can ask for them absolutely free. All you a do is use them as a mulch or add to the compost heap. Quote from the bag says: 'Coffee grounds are a nutritional additive for your soil. During the brewing process most of the acidity is removed, leaving used grounds with an overage ph of 6.9 and a corbon-nitrogen ration of 20-1.'

I haven't got a clue what that means but the roses love them and the compost bin smells wonderful.

Another reason to be proud

I must take some credit for my abilities as a mother and not only in their careers but also in their horticultural pursuits. The best way to express this is in a direct quote (photo to follow).

‘I’ve just been updating myself on your blog and I think I should get a mention for being an allotmenteer in the making, to show the positive influence that you’re having on me – I have now cut my third cucumber, which are so much tastier than supermarket one’s AND I’ve got a red tomato (without banana help!) AND I’ve got two green peppers that are nearly ready! Definitely worth a mention (ok, its not a Corgi, but it’s a cucumber!)’

Bex Hewett
Regional HR Advisor
Cineworld Cinemas

Get out the supports

The melons have reached a stage where they need support so the nets have come out. One is OK as it is resting on the shelf in the greenhouse but I am concerned that it is going to get a square bottom so I think I will need to support that one as well. There are four that are growing well and about 10 others that are struggling as we cannot keep up with the watering and the plant is looking decidedly limp. I think all the energy is going into the big four so I may decide to remove the others.


One of the hasards of irregular watering is that things dont grow evenly as shown in this cucumber. It is very long but decidedly kinky!

At the weekend we harvested all the courgettes to clear out the big ones and give a chance for new little ones to form. It felt strange coming home without the despair of what to do with the courgettes but in their place we have a basket full of french beans, a load of chard onions, another lot of yellow tomatoes, loads of peppers and our first squash.

Alan Titchmarsh assures me that chard is two meals in one. The leaves are like spinach and the stalks are delicious used a celery or lightly boiled and covered with a cheese sauce. We shall see if he is right. The colours are so lovely that I am sure it will make any meal look exciting (even yellow bolognaise). Hugh Ferney-Wittingstall (another one of my idols, closely following Bob Flowerdew) has a great recipe for soup where you cut off the top, scoop out the middle and fill with cream and cheese. Sounds delicious but very fattening. I will give it a try and let you know.

There is a strange thing happening to the peppers. There are loads of them on the plant some really big green ones and some that are turning red but staying small. These red ones are really dry and completely different to the green ones which are plump and juice. It is hard to tell what they are going to do and it is too late by the time I spot them. Curious!

Natures harvest

We have found a secret supply of blackberries on the land that used to be allotments. At one time the allotments stretched the full length of Churchill Way but sadly demand for building land meant that they have slowly been reduced. Part of the land is now lying empty so we thought we would explore and found the most wonderful blackberries that I have ever seen. Presumably they are cultivated varieties that have been left to grow wild but we managed to fill a four litre tub very quickly and you could hardly notice where we had been.

We also seem to have a lot of yellow tomatoes and peppers. As there are too many to eat, I have frozen a lot and made bolognaise with some. It is true that there is a lot to the aesthetic quality food and yellow bolognaise really doesn't work