We weeded hard and dug in sheep and horse manure. Kindly and it appears, continually, donated by the wise old farmer across the stream from us.
Work to be done!
The stream also supplies several tanks around the site with crystal clear water that bubbles up from a pipe every time we fill our bucket. It feels like the best possible place to have fund an allotment.
Raspberry canes
We harvested a huge crop of Jerusalem artichokes that had been left behind. I made yummy soup with some and scrubbed and put others in the oven with a little oil for 45 mins. They come out like vegetable toffee. A bit strange, but really good! We saved some tubers and put them back in the ground at the bottom of the plot where they will not shade anything else if they grow tall.
My Dad started us off with a gift of Raspberry canes and home grown bamboo sticks. Thank you Dad! We put in both summer fruiting and later fruiting varieties. We will be able to supplement these with the wild bushes in the hedgerow behind. Hopefully this will lead to jam and trifles until we can eat no more!
We also put in potatoes, un-chitted on the advice of the seasoned allotmenteer, with some garlic between. We then piled more of the plentiful manure on top of the bed.
We tidied up a bit and I cut back and burned some of the mass of brambles at the back of the plot. Several hours of this made no difference whatsoever. It is clearly a job for many hands.
I have always been ‘foodie’ and have always cooked and been interested in the provenance of food. The source and quality of what we eat has become more important to me in the last last few years now I am responsible for feeding the next generation. Obviously I have a duty not to feed them in such a way that they would grow up unhealthy and stupid!
Also my eldest boy has severe food allergies. This became an added incentive to learn to grow our own grub. I am hoping my boys will be enthusiastic to learn as well. This is not apparent yet!
Had enough!
