Monday 6 January 2014

VEGETABLE GARDENING IN LONDON 2014

GOOD THINGS HAPPENED IN 2013 - AND THE SUN SHONE


One of my best experiences was the Wild Food Walk which I participated in, at Petersham Nurseries, near Ham Common.
It was in December (which is now so last year!).  Here is a link to my two blog posts about

PETERSHAM NURSERIES  and

THE FORAGING WALK WITH CLAUDIO BINCOLETTO

The Petersham Nurseries also produces a Blog and there is an interesting post on 1st November, which I think is written by Claudio, he is writing about truffles 'Truffles - Myths, Legend & Reality".  Here is a link November's Wild Food Walk

THE ALLOTMENT SITE IS MORE OR LESS COVERED IN FLOOD WATER!

The winter vegetables I have grown are  still standing. Some brassicas: sprouts, kale and winter sprouting broccoli, which is not yet sprouting, of course.

Today I went up there, wearing wellies, and had to splash my way along the path to cut some brussell sprouts.  I also dug up some more parsnips, it was a job to lever them out of the soggy mud, I can tell you!

To wash them I doused them in a puddle on my plot, not very hygienic I know!  But have you ever tried to wash sticky clay of parsnips, or other roots, with no running water?  The water supply on the allotment is turned off every winter, and is not back on again until April. 

About half the plots on our site now have areas which are under water. One or two are almost 80% flood, very disheartening for the plot owners, that is if they bother to come over a look.

This time of year it is not usual to see more than one or two other people there, and the main task is to lug bags or barrow loads of soggy manure - the kind that is mixed with wood shavings - we do not usually have the better horse manure mixed with straw.  Apparently stables now economise by bedding their horses on sawdust.

3 comments:

  1. There is (was) some straw based manure over by the manure pile. Suspect it may have floated off though.

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  2. Straw based manure, yes I got it! I managed to move a bit from where it is heaped up to my plot with the compost bins, by wheelbarrow. But it is almost impossible at present because of the saturated ground, mud and puddles everywhere. Why is growing stuff so very difficult!!!

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  3. I am very lucky with my soil as it is very free draining so haven't had a problem with all this wet, although saying that, it is a problem in summer and needs a lot of watering.

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