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Field Allotments Hixon
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By Mrs FM
Hartley.
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Cropping And Re-planting.
As the Autumn Raspberries started to fruit, the “Early,” or Summer
Raspberries, came to an end. This year I seemed to do particularly well
with the “Earlies,” as I did with my Logan Berries. Indeed it wasn’t
just the number of Berries, but the size as well. Often the “Earlies,”
seem to be a bit smaller than the “Autumn,” and some were, but many were
just as large and juicy as the “Lates.” After the “Early” Raspberries
and the Logan Berries have truly finished fruiting, their fruiting Stems
will go brown and then it will be time to cut them out leaving the new
shoots for next years crop. These should be tied in on both the
Raspberries and Logan Berries to keep the Plants safe from “Rocking’” in
any Winter Storms. Tying them in is a pleasant enough job on the
Raspberries as my “Earlies,” are completely “Thornless,” but the Logan
Berries are quite nasty with some sharp, Blackberry like Thorns, which
make the job quite painful if you are not very careful. Sometimes I bag
up the Prunings and take them home to put through my Garden Shredder
before adding them to my Compost Heap. Often little Raspberry seedlings
will then develop from leftover Berries, in the resulting Compost, when
it is used, but these can easily be weeded out when small - just like
any other weed. The Fibre from the old Canes does help to make good
compost though.
Another Seasonal Job that I have just done is “Thinning,” my Apples and
Pears. June will usually see what is commonly called “June Drop,” when
Fruit Trees will discard a lot of small, embryo Fruit, quite naturally.
However, it is still usually necessary to remove more Fruit to leave
just 2, or 3 Fruits per Branchlet.
In the Summer I also like to do a bit of “Summer Pruning,” to remove
some of the excess growth. This does make it a little easier to get at
the Fruit and see what there is as well as letting in a bit more light
and ventilation in for the Fruit to help with ripening and prevent
fungal infections. At this time of year there is always a lot of rapidly
growing shoots that go skywards and as we have a “2 Metre Height Rule,”
on our Allotments, I am always wary of this as well. Indeed my Grape
Vines also need to have some of their excessive growth curtailed to let
the light and air in to the Fruit to help it ripen and prevent problems.
I did some Vines that were inside a Greenhouse at Work a few days ago as
being inside they were a little ahead of my Outdoor Vines, but mine need
doing now not least because they are starting to spread over the
neighbouring Plot that they border.
We don’t very often get Summer Storm wind damage, but recently we have
had one or two such wet and windy days that have caused some damage. The
problem is worse when it happens at this time of year because everything
is in full leaf so it offers a lot more resistance to the wind and
causes things to break that otherwise wouldn’t. My Grape Vines were OK
as they are only about 3 feet high, and my Kiwi Vines which were in full
growth, and I am pleased to say, in Flower again, didn’t suffer either,
but my Sausage, or Chocolate Vine, did with the main supporting post
breaking off at ground level.
Another thing that is still recovering from weather damage during last
Winter is my Passion Flower Vine that I was convinced was dead, but
which has started shooting from below ground level. I had grown a number
of young plants from seed and was going to re-plant with one of those,
but now I don’t need to. Obviously it doesn’t need its growth curtailing
yet, until it gets re-established, but the young Vines that I potted for
the upcoming sale needed to be cut down to make them bush. At the same
time I also put in canes to support them as they re-grow and to do so,
cut up and used, a lot of big, but old Canes, that were damaged. I also
have a lot more smaller seedlings that were not pricked out and that
have been stunted by neglect which I am going to try and hold back for
next years Spring Sale.
My Bay Trees are recovering well now, although most people thought that
they were dead and the lovely, large leafed, Eucalyptus – Snow Gum, that
is on the top yard, in my Garden, is also re-shooting. Here again I had
cut the Tree down as the Trunk had split almost to the Ground, but I had
left the Stump in only to recently see some fresh shoots spurting forth.
Furthermore, one of the 2 Loquats on my Allotment, that just looked like
just a few dead twigs, has started to put on new leaves.
Elsewhere on my Plot my Broad Beans did not do as well as usual, but
were still worthwhile. I was picking mine however, when they were just
starting to develop on other Plots because I put mine in early – in
February, just before Spring. Often I sow them at the end of the
previous Autumn, but this Season I forgot. However, they were still
ready, before the Black Fly that plague Broad Beans, started to invade
them. After my early Harvest I decided that I had time to replant and
grow a second crop of something else to make use of the space. Old time
Gardeners always say that “Weeds will always grow to fill an empty patch
of Soil,” so I found some Red Cabbage that were about to be chucked out
at Work, and I had some Yacon plants that I had deliberately been
holding back, along with a few Kale that will keep growing late into the
year. So they all went in and more or less filled the Bed. I had planted
a couple of little outdoor, Ridge Cucumbers in a corner of the bed while
the Beans were in, but now these have been removed the Cucumbers have
more room to run and develop.
Apart from harvesting my Broad Beans I have just started to harvest my
Runner and Dwarf French Beans in earnest. All of the rain seems to be
bringing them on nicely, although the Wind has moved the supporting
Canes a bit even though I cross braced them to give them added rigidity.
I am hoping that they will stay up for the rest of the Season, although
some Plot Holders haven’t been so lucky and theirs are collapsing. Ours
is a windy site, being on a Hillside, so this is always a problem for
Plot Holders.
Back to the subject of Replanting, I sowed some more Beetroot and Turnip
seeds in trays that will follow on from the first planting which I have
been harvesting. The Turnips seem to be cropping well and are nice and
tender at the moment, although they have a tendency to form a woody
layer just under the skin if growing conditions are not just right. I
have been doing so well with them that I can’t use them all immediately,
and have peeled a number before dicing them and then freezing them for
use in the winter in things like Stews and Casseroles.
Another late planting was some Climbing, Malabar Spinach, but since
putting it in, it has just sat there because I think it has been too
cold for it. The instructions that came with it said it wanted a warm,
sheltered, spot and it has been quite cool at times, often with strong
winds.
I have been harvesting my Swiss Chard Leaves that seem to be doing quite
well this year. The cooler and damp weather of late suits them. A lot of
people don’t know how to cook them, but all I do is strip out the stalks
from the leaves and then treat the two parts as separate vegetables.
They can both be bagged up and kept in the Fridge for several days
before use, but I don’t usually trim the Stalks until I am going to use
them as they can go brown where they are cut. When I do use them I cut
them into “Soldiers,” and steam, or lightly boil them. Indeed the Leafy
part can also be cooked in the same way and used like spinach.
(LINK)
Apart from my Early Raspberries and Logan Berries cropping fairly well,
so did my other various Fruit bushes including the Gooseberries enabling
me to put several bags in my Freezer to keep for use in the Winter when
there isn’t much fresh fruit about except imported stuff. It looked like some of my Black
Currants had been swiped as branches had been broken down and the bush
wasn’t as full of Berries as it might have been, but I still got a
decent picking. I don’t think it was Birds because if Birds had taken
them they wouldn’t have broken any Branches. Several Plot Holders have
said that they thought that their crops were being raided by 2 legged
thieves rather than Birds as on several occasions they had seen
strangers walking round the Allotments with Bags. I think with the “Cost
Of Living Crisis,” this is inevitable to some extent with people trying
to get something for free. However, generally speaking, we don’t have so
much of a problem with theft as some of the Allotments that are in built
up areas do.
My Globe Artichokes didn’t look good in the Spring as their new growth
had been cut down several times throughout the period since last
Summer’s Harvest. They will stand some cold, but each time we had a
severe Frost the Growth was taken and as Spring came they had not fully
recovered. They have produced some Globes, but not many, so I have just
left them for the Insects. Bees love the big, bright, Purple Flowers
that develop from the Globes. They look like giant Thistles, but are a
real magnet for all sorts of Pollinating Insects, not just Bees and we
are supposed to be encouraging Insects these days. The Globe Artichokes
are not far away from the spot where I had some Wasps excavate a Nest in
my Strawberry Bed last year, so lets hope the flowers don’t encourage
the little blighters to build another Nest near by ! ! !
Changing the subject - the Allotments in the next Village have just had
their Open Day with the weather being kind to them as it stayed dry and
didn’t rain all day. They had several Gazebos erected with
produce such as an assortment of homemade cakes and biscuits as well as
a big stall laid out with lots of vegetables and fruit. They had a
second hand Books Stall and Bric-a-Brac as well as quite a number of
Plants on offer. It seemed well attended so we can just hope that our
planned sale has the same success when it comes around in a few weeks,
 
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