It's official. We hate slugs

We have a slug problem. They are eating our veg.

I'm pleased to report that the runner beans are growing new stalks and looking much happier after their near death experience. But now they are under attack from the slugs. They are going for all of the low laying luscious green leaves.

We visited the allotment shop and picked up some slug pellets. I feel a bit bad about it but I can't have them munching their way through our veg.

A cider at the allotment

Not having a garden means the allotment has become our garden. It was a nice warm sunny evening, so after weeding and watering duties we set up the camping chairs and enjoyed a few ciders until the sun went down. This is the life. The Good Life!

A bit of art for the allotment

We needed a sign to display our plot number so I thought I'd break out the tiles and mosaic a sign for our little plot.

First sign of growth

We have the first signs of life. The one surviving courgette plant from the other allotment, having settled in well after relocation, is starting sprout flowers.

Sadly the butternut squash plants have died, so I have bought a squash and a pumpkin plant to replace them.

Rhubarb Chutney

If you have filled up on rhubarb crumbles, try making some chutney. It's dead easy to make and keeps for ages if stored in an air tight jar. It goes very well with mackerel.

I'll try to find the recipe to share with you.

Rhubarb and Okra Sweet and Sour Soup

We have an abundance of rhubarb, as is custom for this time of year. I wanted to try something besides the usual crumble, so in my search I came across this Vietnamese style recipe and just had to try it. It is perhaps an acquired taste, as it is quite unusual to begin with, bit after a few spoonfuls I loved this soup.

Rhubarb and Okra Sweet and Sour Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp crushed garlic
4 tomatoes, quartered
1 tsp gia vi (or a mix of 2 parts sugar, 1 part black pepper, 1 part salt and 1 part garlic powder) <- I did this
1.5 litres water
3 rhubarb stalks, cut into 3cm chunks
2 tbsp fish sauce
50g okra*, halved, deseeded and cut into 1cm rounds
½ pineapple, cut into 2cm chunks
1 tsp sugar
1 spring onion, chopped
1 tbsp chopped coriander

*Okra - you can buy this in the supermarket. They are also known as 'lady's fingers' and look a bit like large green chillies (you can see them in the middle of the photo). They produce a sticky kind of liquid when you cut and cook them.

How to make it:

Heat the oil in a saucepan and stir in the garlic, cooking until fragrant.

Stir in the tomatoes with ½ tsp gia vi. 

Pour in enough of the water to cover, then bring to the boil.

When the tomatoes are soft, add the remaining water and bring back to the boil, then add the rhubarb and cook until very soft. 

Stir in the fish sauce and sugar, then add the remaining gia vi.
Add the okra and pineapple, cook for 15 minutes, then sprinkle with the spring onion and coriander. 

The original recipe can be found here

Out in the cold

A lesson learnt.

The runner beans had been growing indoors and were looking really good and healthy. When we planted them out, we should have introduced them gradually so they could aclimatise to the cooler temperature. As it is they have turned very pale and limp.
Same goes for the butternut squash.

I really hope they don't die.

And then we had paths

I've been collecting wood chip from the WGC allotment to use here. All but one bed created now, wood chip down and we have nice neat paths. 

The compost area is level, wood chipped and the storage box and bin in position. It all looks very tidy.

We also planted the herbs out. We'd grown a few drinks seed and others we bought while on a trip to Leicester. We have got: thyme, marjoram, curry, camomile, sage, rosemary, lemon balm, chives and lavender.

Here are a few dodgy photos as there was a smudge on the lens. 

Planting begins

Had a really busy day: moving more of the compost from the top down, we created more beds complete with willow edging; we levelled out the compost area ready for the storage box and compost bin (kindly donated by someone David works with); and started planting our first veg.

The runner beans, broad beans and strawberries went in, as well as the shallots.

A little help from a friend

Kirrily came to stay for the weekend so we roped her into a spot of digging.

A fellow allotmenteer was giving away a cold frame so we thought we'd have that. It will be useful for growing seedlings next spring.

We managed to clear the rest of the plot and got it all dug over and looking good. To create separate beds we bought a load of willow edging. We managed to start some of the beds and it looks quite nice actually.

With the rubbish bagged up and disposed off, the ground dug, beds being built we'd be planting in no time.

Thanks to Kirrily for her help.

Progress

We managed to clear the ground up pretty well and spread a lot of the compost which had been stored in the top corner. The area around the apple tree and rhubarb is almost weed free.

We also bought a little storage box, expertly erected by moi, to keep our tools and bits and bobs in.

Some of our gardening neighbours were out and about, who all seem very friendly. In fact they gave us a Blackberry plant, which was very kind of them. They warned us about bindweed being a problem, so we are on full alert to look out for any signs of the dreaded weed.