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...
Friday, 25 January 2008
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
Pot of Gold?
Shortly after taking this photo, at the beginning of December, I found out what is actually at the end of the rainbow:Rain.
Vampires Beware
Moog thought I should report, with great pride, that we have now planted our first actual allotment crop!
I like cooking things like Chinese food with lots of garlic, so I have finally managed to make room for the bulbs I ordered a couple of months ago from The Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight. I didn’t know where to start so I ordered a special set of everything; we’ll see what comes up. Thankfully the instructions say that it can be planted any time from autumn to spring, as it needs a period of cold weather to get it going. Moog thinks that’s why supermarket garlic sprouts when you keep it in the fridge too long… I’ve also dug in lots of manure as Moog thinks the garlic will like that.
Moog thought we should use the blog to record what we plant; otherwise we’ll forget what we put there by the time it (hopefully) grows. There’s a good chance we’ll also lose the instructions that came with the bulbs, and forget when to harvest the stuff too. So, this is what we planted at the beginning of December 2007:
Early Purple Wight. A purple hard-necked garlic from China. Ready to harvest around May/June. Harvest as soon as it’s ready, should keep for 2-3 months.
Chesnock Wight. Hard-necked garlic from around the Black Sea. A flowering head is supposed to appear in June, which should be cut off above leaf level to increase bulb size (seems a shame). Harvested in June after Early Wight, should keep until Christmas.
Iberian Wight. Soft-neck large white early garlic originating from the Mediterranean, grows nearly on the surface, ready in June.
Garlic likes it if you spread sulphate of potash around the plants in Feb/March; they need to be kept weed free and watered like anything else, but stop watering 3 weeks before harvesting. Assuming any of this grows at all, I may have to leave harvesting a week or two later than it says, as I’m later planting than I wanted, and, as Moog rightly points out, we don’t live on the Isle of Wight.
I like cooking things like Chinese food with lots of garlic, so I have finally managed to make room for the bulbs I ordered a couple of months ago from The Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight. I didn’t know where to start so I ordered a special set of everything; we’ll see what comes up. Thankfully the instructions say that it can be planted any time from autumn to spring, as it needs a period of cold weather to get it going. Moog thinks that’s why supermarket garlic sprouts when you keep it in the fridge too long… I’ve also dug in lots of manure as Moog thinks the garlic will like that.
Moog thought we should use the blog to record what we plant; otherwise we’ll forget what we put there by the time it (hopefully) grows. There’s a good chance we’ll also lose the instructions that came with the bulbs, and forget when to harvest the stuff too. So, this is what we planted at the beginning of December 2007:
Early Purple Wight. A purple hard-necked garlic from China. Ready to harvest around May/June. Harvest as soon as it’s ready, should keep for 2-3 months.
Chesnock Wight. Hard-necked garlic from around the Black Sea. A flowering head is supposed to appear in June, which should be cut off above leaf level to increase bulb size (seems a shame). Harvested in June after Early Wight, should keep until Christmas.
Iberian Wight. Soft-neck large white early garlic originating from the Mediterranean, grows nearly on the surface, ready in June.
Garlic likes it if you spread sulphate of potash around the plants in Feb/March; they need to be kept weed free and watered like anything else, but stop watering 3 weeks before harvesting. Assuming any of this grows at all, I may have to leave harvesting a week or two later than it says, as I’m later planting than I wanted, and, as Moog rightly points out, we don’t live on the Isle of Wight.
Thursday, 29 November 2007
You're Sacked!
Just arrived, a pile of hessian sacks , courtesy of new official Friends of the Moog, Sam and Wes. Thanks guys. The advice (that I carefully ignored) not to leave them in the car for too long was quite correct. There is now a distinctly sacky odour pervading the interior... still at least it covers up the odour of The Moog, which is no bad thing, I can tell you.
Moog thought the sacks were brilliant, and rubbed his face on them until he sneezed. Then he lost interest (he has a woefully short attention span).
Moog thought the sacks were brilliant, and rubbed his face on them until he sneezed. Then he lost interest (he has a woefully short attention span).
Monday, 29 October 2007
Green Manure and free turf
I am very proud to say I have now had time to do my first proper digging on my plot. It is bloody hard work, because although the soil is actually quite nice it is full of thick roots, stones, bricks, and tiny bits of rubbish, everything from sweet wrappers to sheets of glass (see below).
First, I cleared the edge next to the riding and sowed some grass seeds to re-establish the verge now the weeds have gone. While I was doing that, another new allotmenteer (I prefer the term allotmentalist) came along and started chatting. He noticed I was seeding and offered me a couple of square metres of turf for free. Moog likes free stuff so I accepted, even though it was looking a bit dead to me Moog thinks it might re-establish when we get a bit of rain.
The second bit of digging was over toward the centre of my plot, where I have dug two squares and planted some of my green manure seeds. On Saturday I had two willing helpers to help clear the soil, where we were delighted to find a massive sheet of glass, buried under a big piece of plastic sheet, and shattered into a million pieces in my soil. We got quite a bit of it out, but I think I'd better be careful what I plant!
Moog thinks I could always open up a sideline selling glass-spiked veg to secret agents, stalkers, animal rights activists etc. but I think he is being silly again.
First, I cleared the edge next to the riding and sowed some grass seeds to re-establish the verge now the weeds have gone. While I was doing that, another new allotmenteer (I prefer the term allotmentalist) came along and started chatting. He noticed I was seeding and offered me a couple of square metres of turf for free. Moog likes free stuff so I accepted, even though it was looking a bit dead to me Moog thinks it might re-establish when we get a bit of rain.
The second bit of digging was over toward the centre of my plot, where I have dug two squares and planted some of my green manure seeds. On Saturday I had two willing helpers to help clear the soil, where we were delighted to find a massive sheet of glass, buried under a big piece of plastic sheet, and shattered into a million pieces in my soil. We got quite a bit of it out, but I think I'd better be careful what I plant!
Moog thinks I could always open up a sideline selling glass-spiked veg to secret agents, stalkers, animal rights activists etc. but I think he is being silly again.
Bored of carpeting
Moog is distinctly bored of carpet collecting now, not least due to the fact that it is turning into a fox's public convenience. The fox must enjoy the soft carpet pile against its butt.
So to relieve Moog's boredom, and mine, I have ordered some green manure to plant on my plot. Green manures are grown on spare soil, to be dug in as fertiliser when you're ready to start planting. I've ordered winter field beans and grazing rye from http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/. They arrived quickly despite the postal strike - good service, and a good website - highly recommended.
So to relieve Moog's boredom, and mine, I have ordered some green manure to plant on my plot. Green manures are grown on spare soil, to be dug in as fertiliser when you're ready to start planting. I've ordered winter field beans and grazing rye from http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/. They arrived quickly despite the postal strike - good service, and a good website - highly recommended.
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
Outfox the Fox!
Well
Moog thought leaving his own smell might put Mr Fox off, but I returned to drop off some more 2nd hand carpet after work yesterday to find he'd pushed down my board and brick barrier, and laid a fresh turd for me on the carpet again.
I now have a picture in my head of the crafty vulpine intruder. Resplendant in a top hat, red hunting jacket and brandishing a cigarette, mocking me from the comfort of a wing-back chair in his Edwardian-style lair. No, I don't know why but it just fits. Maybe it's that fox from the 1980's mint adverts.
The other image is of course of him (or her) banging his head against the six bricks and three pieces of wood that Moog suggested I put over the hole. Let's see if he can get through that lot. I expect he's probably got a saw, clever little blighter.
Moog thought leaving his own smell might put Mr Fox off, but I returned to drop off some more 2nd hand carpet after work yesterday to find he'd pushed down my board and brick barrier, and laid a fresh turd for me on the carpet again.
I now have a picture in my head of the crafty vulpine intruder. Resplendant in a top hat, red hunting jacket and brandishing a cigarette, mocking me from the comfort of a wing-back chair in his Edwardian-style lair. No, I don't know why but it just fits. Maybe it's that fox from the 1980's mint adverts.
The other image is of course of him (or her) banging his head against the six bricks and three pieces of wood that Moog suggested I put over the hole. Let's see if he can get through that lot. I expect he's probably got a saw, clever little blighter.
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