Hungerford allotment blog - grow your own, harvesting and vegetarian cooking. Enjoying allotment wildlife, weather and other things that catch my attention. Enjoying time on the Marsh Lane Allotment site in Hungerford, Berkshire. A record of successes, failures and a handy reminder for me. From 2017 each post title brings a song to add a little extra music to the world - enjoy!
Wednesday 18 June 2014
Sunday 25 May 2014
Something Achieved
At last! I made the chive vinegar that I've been thinking about since last August when I saw it made on The Horticultural Channel.
The first jar I made up with white wine vinegar, using the chives which I picked last week and whose buds had opened in water at home. The colour had already started seeping into the water at this point and the flowers weren't so vibrant as the freshly picked ones.
Later, after a visit to the plot, I made another jar using some lovely fresh, and more richly coloured, chives and normal distilled white vinegar.
Later, after a visit to the plot, I made another jar using some lovely fresh, and more richly coloured, chives and normal distilled white vinegar.
Sunday 18 May 2014
Two Weeks Later...
My niece's wedding was a fabulous affair - such a beautiful location in the Berkshire downs, in the sunshine with delightful company. Always lovely to catch up with the cousins and more distant family members.
This is a photo from 5th May:
Recovery on Sunday included a few hours of weeding and more tidying. Jamie chopped and manual-mowed the path (not a nice neat path) between the hedge and our plots - {nearly killed him, on the hottest day of the year so far 25°!}
This is a photo from 5th May:
I was very pleasantly surprised to see my seeds had germinated and not dried out or been nibbled - lucky some things can take a bit of abuse!
Monday 5 May 2014
Still catching up
We finally managed to get some time on the plot today. We joined the many other plotholders who were taking advantage of a lovely warm (18°) Bank Holiday.
As with most visits, it starts with a quick plot inspection. The rhubarb is attempting to take over Plot 8 and I'm pleased to say that some of the broad beans and onions have sprouted. The grass paths really do look good at Marsh Lane, but certainly add to the workload; the edges had nearly grown a foot! Look at those lovely strawberry flowers - I really hope they don't get hit by a frost this week!
As with most visits, it starts with a quick plot inspection. The rhubarb is attempting to take over Plot 8 and I'm pleased to say that some of the broad beans and onions have sprouted. The grass paths really do look good at Marsh Lane, but certainly add to the workload; the edges had nearly grown a foot! Look at those lovely strawberry flowers - I really hope they don't get hit by a frost this week!
Finally I got to clearing the brassicas from last year. They grew really well,
as you can see among the weeds. But we just didn't get round to picking
them - isn't that dreadful? Such a waste, but they do get composted - by
the Council, not in our compost bins; compost doesn't like too much
brassica waste added in one go.
Jamie dug over the quarter with the manure pile, which we'll use for brassicas this year.
So, we got a lot of tidying done, we took 6 bagfuls of green waste away with us!
And, we got our little greenhouse up, so I sowed a couple of seed trays - just Boltardy beets and half trays of lettuce Red Fire and Tom Thumb - at last it feels like a real start.
Oh, and +SueatGLAllotme nts, no flowers on my chives yet ...
Sunday 27 April 2014
ChainMail Article June 2014
It's April showers all the way today so I don't know if we'll get to the plot. Shame really, I want to make some chive flower vinegar.
I'm in the process of writing my next Chainmail article - Hungerford's quarterly magazine. This will be for the June-September edition. Unbelievable! I'm still trying to work out what happened to February and March this year!
Here's a link to my article in the previous edition. Inspired by some of the lovely wildlife visitors on Marsh Lane and who I'd like to see more of!
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