Christmas has gone, and so have my spuds

I’m pleased to report Christmas dinner back at Moog HQ was a success. My allotment provided three of the vegetables on the table, even though it’s been months since the end of the growing season. The lamb was particularly nice seasoned with my own garlic and rosemary. The butcher kindly sawed the knuckle for Moog to enjoy, too!



Unfortunately this delicious meal also spelled the end for my stored potatoes, but they lasted really well and I didn’t throw any away. I tipped half a tray of scalding vegetable oil all over the floor whilst trying to roast them, but I didn’t lose any spuds! I’m now very impatiently waiting for my order of new tubers to be delivered so I can start chitting them ready for the new season. I hope they arrive soon; it’s a tense time. They took ages to arrive last year, but it’s a gamble; if they don’t arrive I won’t be able to get replacements as all the garden centres will sell out. I’m sure they’ll be here soon; I’ve got Moog looking out for the postman.

I’m also back to buying carrots from the supermarket, boo! It’s only now we’ve gone back to mass-produced varieties that we can really tell the difference in taste. Mine were so much more, err, carroty, than the ones you can buy in the shops.

My own parsnips also taste much better. I cooked a massive pot full of these on Christmas day and there were hardly any leftovers, which I take to be a good sign. I’ve got a few still in the ground which Moog thinks we should lift and roast soon, because the tops have now been virtually killed off by the cold. The roots are storing well in the soil but with no tops, I can’t find them!

We took advantage of one of the less cold days lately to dig up the remainder of the tiny leeks, which had started to attract the attention of some local wildlife (I presume hungry rabbits). This, at least, shows it’s not been a waste of time protecting crops with wire. Although small, they cook up alright and taste better than shop-bought ones too. Next job: plant some more!

Beautiful British Weather

Yesterday Moog and me popped down to the allotment for a bit of harvesting. Of course it rained, but I got down to picking French beans by the handful, giant courgettes, peas, a few carrots and a lettuce for the fridge while Moog sat patiently on the bench.

While harvesting I discovered some of my carrots are split. This is a shame as they won't store very well now. The cause? Our Beautiful British Summer. Apparently carrots split when they start growing suddenly due to heavy rain after a dry spell, which is exactly what we've had. Moog thinks I should have watered them more when it was hot and dry, but then I can only find these things out with experience, and Moog was noticeably lacking in advice at the right time - hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I can only hope the weather hasn't also done for my onions, as I was hoping to store them well into next year.

The Moog's very blustery day

Storage Saga No.2

After a little plot maintenance, I had just put my tools away when I decided to go back to the storage box for one last item. I crouched down, the wind blew, and there I was, crouched in front of nothing but a pile of tools! The box, obviously tired of life on Plot 29 had bidden the cruel world goodbye and made a leap for it across the next allotment!

At that moment, the heavens opened, and the luckless Moog Keeper spent the next 20 minutes getting soaked in a howling gale, trying to manhandle sheets of plastic back into their rightful places as box walls and lid. Thankfully, power tools and big screws were close at hand to effect the necessary repairs.

Next project: A shed big enough to go inside when monsoon weather threatens. Hopefully strong enough not to blow away, Wizard of Oz style, with Moog as the bewildered Toto and the Moog Keeper inside!

Moog thinks, If you want to wear a blue gingham dress and red ruby slippers on the allotment, that's your lookout, just don't expect me to follow you around!

Erm, thanks Moog, that's not quite what I meant.

Friends of the Moog - Storage Saga No.1

Great friends of the Moog, Maria and Cameron, have kindly donated a big storage box to Plot 29. This is great news as now I don't have to drive every time I visit the allotment, laden with tools to ferry backwards and forwards. The big green box sits, rather smug looking for a box, next to the compost bins, and the smelly sacks have taken up residence. A big disc of concrete left over from a job at home (extracted, at some considerable physical effort, from the bottom of the tub I mixed it in) holds the whole thing down to the ground.

Moog thinks: Nice one, Maria and Cam. Now, do you have any Bonios?

Maria and Cameron are amongst the Moog's second family, ie, whenever they are around, he treachorously ignores the Moog Keeper and his wife in favour of the visitors. The grass is always greener, Moog...

Mike's Wisdom Shed: Tip No.4: Carrots

"Carrots are liable to carrot fly, rake in some naphthalene flake (moth-balls), if you can still get such stuff. Don't worry, the carrots taste fine! Grow two types of carrots, early & late, they will germinate profusely so thin them out a bit, not too much, then as they fill out, the small ones will make excellent eating as you continue to thin. The later ones will take a long time to fill out, but by autumn, you should have a good crop which can be stored in, say, a cardboard or wooden box full of dry-ish earth; they keep well like that, & can be used as required. Carrots will tend to fork root if in over manured ground, but still taste as good!"

Moog thinks carrots are not real food. If I give him one, he takes it ever so gently in his mouth and sits with it in his bed, maybe making a few cursory bites in case it turns out to be meat-filled, before leaving it on the floor for the other scavenger in the house to find and devour.

Mike's Wisdom Shed: Tip No.1

Moog thinks we should use the blog to collect any advice we get about the allotment. So I'm posting this tip from my Dad, who's advice is normally very valuable and gained through experience. Moog likes Dad, he sits on his feet and stares up at him in silent admiration whenever he comes round. Tickling behind the ears often helps.

Top Allotment Tip Number 1:

"Yes, a plot with an active old gent next door is good. My neighbour once dug my bit for me when it got a bit overgrown! Never did get the hang of how people like that can do so much with apparent ease, when I used to sweat, but he was an ex BR fireman on steam trains! Next point, if there isn't a hut, build one, just a small one, saves carting all your tools around, provides shelter from downpours, & you can always have a pee if necessary! Of course you need to make it really strong & properly locked, but mine, built from scrap wood lasted many years after I gave up.

Don't worry too much about bindweed, couch grass etc, it's an ongoing problem, but has little overall effect on output.

Depending on whether your plot has been recently cultivated or not, it is always a good plan to break the ground up initially by growing potatoes the first year. You can spend money on expensive Scottish seed potatoes, or just use your favourite supermarket variety,"shopping basket specials" always seem to do well. Expect to have enough potatoes to last the year out, stored in paper or hessian sacks they keep well, but don't use them as seed for next year, it encourages disease problems. A good idea is to stagger production by planting an early variety first. They are very simple to plant & grow, all you need is to keep earthing them up to protect against late frost. The bonus is you can eat them an hour or so after digging them up & they tase SO much better, as does all fresh produce! (Some folk don't understand this, and say why bother when you can get veg. from the supermarket these days? D'oh!)."

More top tips to follow from Old Mike's Wisdom Shed.

Moog thinks: 'I like the idea of peeing in a shed...' I've told Moog there's actually a toilet provided by the council so that shouldn't be necessary, but he's got that faraway look in his eyes again. Moog pees on just about everything and is always keen to expand his horizons.