Tag: allotment

First Quarter Review 2016

On By TontowilliamsIn Annual Review, Being Positive, books, Film, Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Kindle, Life, redundancy, Self-sufficient, tv, Video, writing3 Comments

Each year for the past few years I’ve been doing a year end review; books I’ve read, films/tv programmes I’ve watched and other things related to work and the allotment. You can read the end of 2015 here, if you’re interested.

The problem I have is trying to remember stuff (that might be an age thing). I guess that the things that were really good, tend to stick in my mind, as they should, but some of the things that were okay but not outstanding, tend to get forgotten.

So I thought I’d try doing a quick review of each quarter of the year, during 2016; rather than trying to remember everything in December. We’ll see how it goes, and hopefully I’ll remember to do ones at the end of June and September!

Work

Last year I went from being an employee to being self-employed. It was a significant moment for me, and started out well. Although the first three months of this year have been quieter than the tail end of last year, there’s still be a steady flow of work and this has also allowed me to think about goal setting for the year, and also work on some other projects. I don’t want to talk about those other projects at the moment, except to say that they focus more on the allotment / growing / fork-to-fork side of things, and although they are unlikely to make me rich (not that I ever particularly want to be rich), I hope that they might eventually generate some income, and perhaps give me a better quality more sustainable lifestyle. We’ll see.

I’ve also started much more consciously sharing my work side, posts on this blog like the Quick Links that are appearing on Tuesdays, and some new pages are a step in that direction. If anyone has any feedback on those things or any questions, then do please leave a comment below.

Allotment

As you might expect the tale end of winter is a quiet time on the allotment, and although we’ve been continuing to harvest brassicas, leeks and a few other small things, not much has really been happening, apart from the bits that link to work (see above), and I hope I’ll be able to share more on that in due course.

Things are starting to pick up now though, as the weather gets warmer and heats up the soil, the risk of frost decreases and the days get longer. Soon things will be in full swing. I’m looking forward to what I hope will be a good, productive year.

Books

So far I seem to have managed to read 14 books in the past three months, which I am quite surprised about. You can see what I’ve been reading here. Of them, there are a couple that stand out for me. Colter by Rick Bass is one and The Road To Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson is the other. The latter speaks to me because it touches on some of the things that I feel are going wrong with this country, and without wishing to get too political here and now, it was refreshing to read that I am not alone with my thoughts and perceptions. The former of the two was by a new author to me, and I’ll say now if you have a problem with hunting for food, you might want to give this one a miss, as Colter is a German Short-haired Pointer that is the author’s hunting dog, and a lot of the book is devoted to hunts. With that caveat I’d recommend both.

Films & TV

A few things here. Firstly the second season of Bosch, has just aired on Amazon Prime. I mentioned the first season in my review of 2015, and I’m pleased it was commissioned for a second season, and hopefully there will be a third. Although it was only released at the beginning of the month, I have already managed to watch all ten episodes and loved it! I’d thoroughly recommend to anyone who likes crime drama

I’ve also watched the most recent Bond film – Spectre when it went to DVD, although I enjoyed it, I don’t really want to rave about it as it was okay, but not that outstanding. If I was writing this in December I probably wouldn’t even mention it.

A final mention though for A Walk in the Woods, adapted from Bill Bryson’s novel of the same name. Again another DVD watch, but one that I really enjoyed. My only criticism is that it came to a somewhat abrupt end, and was over before I felt it really got going. Robert Redford and Nick Nolte were excellent.

Life In General

Is pretty good I think; we managed to have our first holiday in about three years in March, another benefit of being my own boss now and not having to worry about the threat of being made redundant. I’m enjoying working from home, and setting my own goals and timetables. I have lots planned for this year, and things I want to get achieved. So far so good though, looks like I’m on course.

Allotment Update 26th March 2016

On By TontowilliamsIn Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Self-sufficient6 Comments

  
The weather has been much improved over the last few weeks, and it has continued to be very mild. I had hoped to be able to post a video update, but I’ve been having some rather odd camera trouble and none of the segments that I’ve recorded have been useable. I’m not sure what the problem is, but in the meantime I’ll try and describe what I’ve been up to .

I’ve planted my early potatoes (see above), they went in today (Easter Saturday), and all being well, they’ll be ready to harvest in 100 days, or at least that’s what folklore says, and it’s been right most times. I’m still a little concerned that we might get a frost. I’ve earthed them up well, and will continue to do so as the first aulms come through.

I also transplanted out the onion sets that were in modules in the potting shed. There were 96 originally, but some got waterlogged following a leaky roof, so only 50 actually went in the ground. They didn’t look as strong as the ones that have been in the ground all winter, probably a combination of the waterlogging and the mild winter for those outside.

The final round of planting for this weekend was to get some brassica plants in too; cabbages, cauliflowers and broccoli. They should be ready to harvest in the summer, all being well.

Finally, I’ll need some new boots before the winter – mine have split!

  

Chitting Potatoes

On By TontowilliamsIn Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Self-sufficient
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How Do You Chit Yours?

This has to be another sign that spring is on the way, the potatoes are out in their egg box holders chitting!

Why chit potatoes? Well simply when growing at a small scale (commercial potatoes farmers rarely chit potatoes, due to the space constraints), it helps the potatoes to get a little bit of a head start before they go into the ground. The aim is to encourage the potatoes to start to sprout, and ideally we’re looking for small (normally) dark purple sprouts. This is achieved by leaving the potatoes in the light at room temperature for a couple of weeks before planting.

I use cardboard egg boxes, as their ideal for supporting the potatoes, and preventing them from rolling around, and potentially damaging the sprouts that I’m trying to encourage. You can also use seed trays or seed modules – horses for courses folks, it’s whatever works for you!

As I mentioned in my video update (6th Feb) below, folklore says that normally you plant early potatoes at Easter and then harvest 100 days later. Now I’m using the term folklore advisedly here, because it certainly is good advice and last year proved exactly true. I planted my spuds on Easter Saturday and exactly 100 days later dug the first plant to an excellent crop!

This year Easter Saturday is the 26th March, which as I said in the video feels a little early given the potential for there still to be frost (our last predicted frost day is normally mid April, but again only a prediction), however having checked last year’s calendar, Easter Saturday 2015, was April 4th. So on that basis only 9 days later than it is this year. So perhaps not as early as I felt it was.

For now I’m not going to make any decisions either way. I’d certainly like to get my potatoes in the ground on Easter Saturday; as it feels like a milestone in the growing calendar. At the moment however, the ground is too wet, and the risk of them rotting in the ground is probably greater than any risk of frost, so there’ll need to be a dry spell between now and Easter anyway if that’s what I’m aiming for!

From Chitting to Planting (soon I hope)
From Chitting to Planting (soon I hope)

Little Things

On By TontowilliamsIn Garden / Allotment, Simple Things2 Comments

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Sometimes it is the little things that make the difference when it comes to having an allotment. All the wet weather recently has meant that in total I’ve probably only spent one full day on the plot since the start of the year.

In practical terms that’s not a huge problem, I’m ahead of where I need to be with digging and the soil is still too cold to sow any seeds, but it was nice to see that the Purple Sprouting Broccoli is just starting to show some florets.

Looks like there’s already a good meal there, and the start of a few more besides.

Allotment Update 6th February 2016

On By TontowilliamsIn Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment, Self-sufficient

I think this weekend was the first reasonable block of time that I’ve been able to spend on my allotment this year. We’ve had weeks of consistent rain, which has left the soil too damp to work without the fear of compacting it, so there has been a limit to the jobs that I’ve been able to get done. The mild temperatures however have meant that the weeds have continued to grow, and on some of the areas that I had already dug, they have been starting to show through. Spending some time weeding ahead of the forthcoming sowing of seeds was therefore important. If the weather holds mild, and dries up a bit more, I should be able to start sowing a few crops under cover in the near future – I hope!

My Review of 2015

On By TontowilliamsIn Annual Review, Being Positive, books, Film, Garden / Allotment, Kindle, redundancy, Self-sufficient, Wildlife/Nature, writing2 Comments

As 2015 winds its way into 2016, I thought I would sit and review a few bits of my year.

Work

On the work front it’s been a significant year for me. About 12 months ago, I was working out numbers and calculating where I might end up if I accepted a voluntary redundancy offer. By the end of July I had gone from being an employee to being self-employed and my own boss. I wasn’t quite planning things that way, but so far my new business has been going well enough to keep me working and provide an income, as well as allow me to do some other development work, but there is still much more for me to do, and whilst I need to sit and do some planning for 2016 and how this is going to work for me, I don’t really know what next year will bring on the work front.

This change in my work, although probably one of the biggest steps I’ve taken in my life, and potentially very stressful, has given me a much better work / life balance than I had before and maybe have ever had. I don’t know how it’s going to work out in the longer term, but I feel like I’m generally moving in the right direction.

Allotment

This year has been one of my best years on the allotment. We’ve pretty much been self-sufficient for vegetables from late spring, all through the summer and into autumn, only have to buy things like mushrooms and peppers, which I didn’t grow. Next year, I’m planning on growing peppers, so that should change as well. I’ve also enjoyed my plot more than I ever have. I know that sounds a little odd, but I’ve really gotten engaged in what I’ve been doing and been keeping much better records than ever before in a pocket notebook, so that I can look back and see how things have been. As the winter has approached I’ve kept a few things going and we’ve had a supply of winter vegetables as well. I’m now looking forward to next year, with even bigger plans.

Books

Last year was a poor year for me, finding time to read, and at the start of this year, I set my sights relatively low, not anticipating reading many books. In the end I’ve ended up reading nearly 50 books (I might actually achieve 50 before the year is out), which has quite surprised me. You can see what I’ve been reading on GoodReads, here.

My book of the year has to be Common Ground by Rob Cowen it’s an incredible book, which I’ve now read twice, and still dip into again and again. It’s made me reconnect much more with urban wildlife, as Rob tells the story of his “edgelands” and the wildlife near Bilton in Harrogate. It’s full of vivid descriptions, and stories putting the reader in the place of the wildlife as well as being a really personal account. I look forward to reading more by this author in the future.

My other highlights are also all natural history books, including H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald, The Peregrine by J A Baker, Claxton by Mark Cocker,  and Notes From Walnut Tree Farm & Wildwood by the late Roger Deakin. I could name more, and probably I’ve enjoyed nearly everything I’ve read this year. I just hope that 2016 brings more of the same. We’ll see.

Films & TV

I can’t say that I there was anything really memorable to write about here. I enjoyed the final Hobbit movie, but otherwise I don’t really remember what else I’ve watched this year. On the TV side there have been a few things, but the one that I really want to mention is Bosch which has been available on Amazon Video. This has bought Michael Connelly’s character from over 20 books to the small screen – Harry Bosch. It’s been a great series and I’m pleased that there is going to be a second season, probably early next year.

2016?

As for next year, I don’t know what I want from the year yet. I need to sit and do some planning, both professionally and personally. Set myself some targets and goals. I might come back and share this in due course.

Answers to The Allotment Challenge

On By TontowilliamsIn Garden / Allotment, Video

I was tagged to answer the Allotment Challenge. Here are my answers to the ten questions:

1) How long have you had your plot.

2) How long did you have to wait for your allotment.

3) Where did you learn about gardening.

4) Do you plant a winter garden.

5) What has been your biggest success this year / ever.

6) What has been your biggest gardening disaster.

7) Do you have a tried and true crop variety that you always grow.

8) Are you planning on trying anything new next year.

9) How do you preserve your crops.

10) What is your favorite meal to cook with veg from the plot.

Allotment Update

On By TontowilliamsIn Fork To Fork, Garden / Allotment

The last couple of weeks have been pretty wet, so it’s been difficult to get much done on the plot. Fortunately I feel like I’m ahead of where I want to be and so when I went to the plot this last weekend I was able to concentrate on some of the smaller tasks like weeding. With the ground being so wet it was easy to get the weeds out, although if I’d been trying to dig I wouldn’t have gotten very far as the ground was far too wet for that.

Progress is always slower during the winter months, but there is still plenty to do. I have compost bins to sort out, and many of the edges of the beds aren’t as well defined as I would like so it’s difficult to know where the beds and paths, start / finish. Jobs for another weekend when it’s not actually raining.

I also dug the celeriac, which was a disappointment. I covered this in the video below, although we actually only ended up with two usable roots, as one of the three you’ll see in the video turned out to be rotten inside when I cut it open. I doubt that I’ll be growing this next year.