The Plot Thickens

This is the first year I’ve grown Rocket and I’m very impressed. They’re a very early first early, and to be honest I found them watery and tasteless as boiled new potatoes, but let them grow on and they make a decent size, and make good mash and baked potatoes. They’ve also been pretty clean - a tiny bit of slug damage but nothing more. I’ll certainly be growing them again next year.

My other new potatoes are Duke of York but they’ve been growing in a very dry stony bed and I don’t think they’ve done very well. I’ve four rows and I’ve not needed to lift any yet so I hope they’re OK still.

I dug the last of the Rocket up yesterday morning and I’m digging through their bed now to clear the ground. I left them on the surface of the soil for the afternoon and this morning too before I took them home - have I left them in the sunlight too long do you think? It really wasn’t very sunny so I’m hoping not, but I suppose I shouldn’t have left them for more than a couple of hours.

Patrick has posted the attendee list for FoGroBloMe (That’s Food Growers’ Blog Meet) on his blog so pop along and have a look, and if you could hang the logo (small or big) somewhere on your blog with a Link to Patrick’s post I’m sure that would be extra festive!

Actually I’m rather enjoying the weather. The allotment is too, especially the weeds. I love digging this time of year because the soil has some decent structure and looks lovely. I’m digging through the onion bed now to bury the weeds.

The fungus is at the bottom of a beech tree stump in The Chase. I guess the fungus is actually the reason the tree is now a stump. It won’t be long before the wood is exploding with fungi. I love fungi - they come in such a variety of shapes, sizes, colours, textures, and smells. I’m less keen on the branch of the family responsible for so many plant diseases (not to mention human ones) but that’s variety for you.

I’m at the Southby’s open day tomorrow. I hope they get some decent weather, but I think it’s going to chuck it down. That is rotten.

We’re going to have a little get-together soon on the Wash Common allotment. When the sweetcorn’s ripe we’re going to have a bit of a bar-b-que and a glass or two of wine.

Hut Site

This is the South East corner of the site where the new site hut is going to go. Plan is that we build it collaboratively out of contributed materials so it won’t need to cost us anything.

I’d like to design it as a geodesic dome because the design only needs short lengths of wood, like you’d get from pallets. A dome is assembled from many identical panels so there’s the possibility of setting up something of an assembly line and getting everyone involved.

This is the last bit of vacant land on site and there’s just room to squeeze a 16′ diameter dome in.

Flag Day

I bought the shed a present. It’s a union flag wind sock.

The flies really got me last night, my arms and legs are a right mess. It wasn’t as humid tonight and I wasn’t bothered by anything.

Shame my camera’s not up to it but I found two froglets around the pond last night when I was weeding. Nice to know the fish didn’t eat all the taddies. I’d rather I didn’t have the grass and other weeds around the pond but I’ve left it alone so the froglest have somewhere damp and cool to fatten up for the winter.

I had a nice chat with the chaps down at the council today. There isn’t much of a relationship between tenants and council and that’s a shame as it makes for misunderstanding and resentment. I’m getting a good positive vibe from the Town Hall and with the Growing in the Community workshop starting early September I think we’re building some bridges. The thing that I’m keen to see happen is for everyone on site to have a say in the rules and generally be involved in the site. I had a read of some of the consultation guidance bumf this evening and, well, it’s complicated. I’ll probably talk some more about this some time.