2025 Welcome

2025 kicked off with Storm Eowyn.  Edinburgh Botanic Gardens lost their tallest tree. Across town our allotment site we also experienced a bit of a blow. When this tree toppled its rootball ripped up the site access path. The Council Allotment Officer assured us that given the extensive damage across all of Edinburgh we shouldn't expect the Parks arboreal team to attend to it for some time.  This prediction has been borne out.

Our neighbour's greenhouse suffered a direct hit and 100% glass loss. With the shielding of the wall my new build of last year survived unscathed except for a puncture in the corrugated plastic roof from flying debris. I can repair that.  

The brassica patch is a source of some encouragement in times of adversity!  The purple sprouting broccoli and Russian kale seem unperturbed by the storm and the weeks of cold easterly winds. (The Italian kale is not so happy)

and the "Yellow Cabbage" is good and yellow.

So even at this time of year there are positives, But I can't resist suggesting this song as the allotment anthem.

  

 

The Lesser of Two Evils

Before the Chop

After Haircut

I always grow a short row of Jerusalem Artichoke.  They never fail,  look after themselves and provide a delicious soup early in the calendar year when stores of potatoes and onions are running down and  there is not much else ready to be cropped. The tubers keep quite happily underground having their own antifreeze which maybe also puts off pests.  Because they grow tall I try to grow them somewhere where they won't overshadow other crops.  That tends to be at the end or side of a bed.  Truly this is a marginal crop. 

Well this year the Jerusalem Artichoke have found conditions ideal and put on a bid for world domination. They have grown to 10ft high.  Aside from the light issue this is a cause for concern when the autumn winds arrive. If they go over it is from the base of the stem. Aside from the disruption to the root system they can do a bit of damage to surrounding crops (leeks in this case).  So looking at the forecast last weekend I took the loppers to the plot and chopped 3ft off each central stem.  I hate doing this to a perfectly healthy row of plants but logic has to overcome emotion where food production is concerned.  6ft plants will continue to photosynthesise until the frosts kill off the leaves.  Felled plants would stop growing now.

I also took the top off the runner bean wigwam but left the sweetcorn to take its chances.  Visiting the plot on Tuesday I think I made the right call.  One or two side shoots had been stripped off the Jerusalem Artechoke but the main stems were all standing proud.  The sweetcorn took a bit of a hit and I gathered mini cobs while clearing the damaged plants. Curiously the second planting of peripheral smaller plants were more affected than the central tall plants - which I still have hopes of eating from).  So despite the misgivings I think I made the right call.

Sweetcorn Damage

Baby Sweetcorn?

Remaining Sweetcorn with Artichokes behind

Cruel to be Kind