Our allotment is divided into two main areas: the half nearest the shed is made up of raised beds, then beyond a line of raspberries is the area kept as a traditional allotment. I find myself paying more attention to the first half and virtually ignoring the rest. It somehow seems more important to keep the raised beds weeded and watered than the more ‘rough and ready’ half where the potatoes, squashes and brassicas grow as they seem to look after themselves. Also, although the courgettes are producing enough to feed our friends and neighbours, as are the potatoes, nothing else up there is ready to pick yet.
Well, tonight I thought I would pay the neglected top half of the allotment some attention and see what’s going on. The squashes have already grown huge without showing any signs of fruiting yet; I think I might have planted them too close to each other (see photo) and the swedes that Thomas planted on one side of them have disappeared. Like the potatoes, I have not labelled them so it will be fun trying to identify what’s what! Somewhere amongst them are some Crown Prince, Winter Dumpling, summer squashes and the old faithful, butternut squash. Last year we harvested lots of butternuts and although most of them were quite small, they stored brilliantly. We ate most of them in thai curry or roasted with garlic, chilli and crushed coriander seeds.In between some of the squashes the Sweet Nugget sweetcorn have now produced their first cobs – they must like this rain we have been getting.
The Anya and Nicola potato foliage is dying off now but the Pink Kerr, Pink Fir Apple and the Blue Edzell (assuming they’re there somewhere) are still looking really green and healthy. No sign of blight yet which is good. As we dig up the potatoes I am using the space: a cucumber given by Rebecca, a horseradish given by Kate and a couple of decorative gourds. I might even put the leftover leeks in there to save wasting them. I had had the idea that I would plant green manure as soon as the potatoes were up but even on an allotment this size, there never seems to be enough space.
Finally, the brassicas are looking healthy. I have seen Cabbage Whites inside the netting but a swift clap of the hands – not of applause, but with the butterfly caught between them – and that soon sorts them out. Funny, last year I spent ages lifting the edge of the net trying to shoo them out. What was I thinking?
Our squashes - guess which one's which!