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Plot #59

Spuds Out, Leeks In

Honestly, I don’t know what it is about leeks, but I seem to have a mental blank when it comes to remembering to get them in the ground in good time…

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Plot #59

A Good Shallot Harvest This Year

I’ve been growing and saving a few ‘Hative de Niort’ and ‘Jermor’ for propagation every year for the past few, and this year we’ve had a bumper harvest…

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Plot #59

Yacón Harvest, Part One

Last week we had a couple of frosty nights and down on Plot #59 I spotted that our Yacón plants were feeling the effects: With the frost starting to kill off the leaves and stems, and not much more photosynthesis in prospect, that meant the tubers would probably be as large as they were likely […]

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Plot #59

Harvesting our Onion, Shallot and Garlic Crops

Jo and I have not long returned from an eight-day break down in beautiful Devon and Cornwall, touring gardens, sampling the regional cuisine (particularly the ice cream section of the menu) and quaffing a few of the local ales. I’ll be talking more about the rather wonderful gardens we visited – RHS Rosemoor, The Lost […]

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Harvest Monday Plot #59

Harvest Monday for October 10th 2016

Autumn is in full swing down on Plot #59 and we’ve got the seasonal veggies to prove it. A few weeks back we harvested our squash and were quietly impressed with a decent showing in our first year of semi-serious squash growing: We also called time on our single, lonely tromboncino squash. Not worth entering […]

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Monthly Updates Plot #59

Plot #59 Update: September 2016

September turned out to be a really good month, weather-wise, so I ought to have been down at Plot #59 for most of it, working my backside off to finish a few infrastructure projects, clearing the last few patches of stubborn weeds, sowing a few winter crops and prepping for next year’s growing season. Instead, […]

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Plot #59

We’ve Got Some Super Squash This Year

At this time of year, the greenhouse does double-duty as a giant drying-rack, first for the onions and garlic crop and then for runner and French beans. It’s also a great place to cure our winter squash harvest ready for storing, and this year we’re delighted that we’ve actually got a few squash to cure […]

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Harvest Monday Plot #59

Harvest Monday for September 5th 2016

The do say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I’ll briefly walk you through the above. From the top-left: a bag of apples and plums donated by a plot-neighbour; the last of this year’s maincrop ‘pink fir apple’ potatoes, with three giant black radishes on top; (in the box) autumn raspberries and Japanese […]

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Monthly Updates Plot #59

Plot #59 Update: August 2016

Ah, the long lazy days of high Summer! (What’s that? Summer? Has it arrived yet? Are we due one? Answers on a postcard to the usual address…) Definitely long, but not so lazy if you’re an allotment holder, with early crops finishing and going over that need clearing away, and later crops just starting to […]

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Harvest Monday Plot #59

Harvest Monday for August 15th 2016

I spent a happy couple of hours this weekend lifting the last of our second early potatoes down on Plot #59 . They’re a variety called ‘Saxon’, which is fast becoming a firm favourite. They have a lovely, creamy texture when boiled or steamed as new potatoes, store really well and make great mash, roasties […]