Forget the Holy Trinity planting scheme (Sweetcorn/Climbing Beans/Squash) I'm going for the 4 Apostles - hopefully not the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
For the record the 4 wigwams are Greek Soup Giant Beans, Cherokee Trail of Tears, Barlotti Tongues of Fire and a mixture of Runner beans (Scarlet Emperor, White Lady, Painted Lady)
The cucurbits have curled up, the beans have been, the lettuce is letting up - it's that time of year again. Time to take stock. What worked - and what didn't?
Worked
Winter Squash
Carrots under nets
Potatoes
Raspberries
Blueberries
Tosca onions from seed
Late season lettuces and Italian Endive varieties
No Go
Sweetcorn - Three strikes and you are out.
Spanish Flag (Ipomoea lobata) and Spanish Dancer (Linaria reticulata)- These belong in Spain and don't like the climate in Edinburgh
French Climbing Beans - no competition for runner beans. Dwarf French beans don't seem to be as sensitive. Curiously Italian Barlotti beans don't seem to be as temperamental. Mind you they are grown for drying not for pods.
French Cornet Endive varieties. Cornet de Bordeaux bolted every time.
The weatherman advises that the risk of frost is past! It's time to release those cramped plants from their night time confinement in the greenhouse. 20 cucurbits went off to the school garden today. More to the allotment over the weekend. Time to sow the sweetcorn. Time to reconfigure the greenhouse shelves for tomatoes and peppers and cucumber. Also the last impediment to direct sowing has been removed.
Cucurbits for the Allotment
Dwarf French Beans and Italian Climbers (Barlotti)
Peas and leeks at the ready
Brassica seedlings
A selection of flower seedlings itching to be released!
The song should be "Happy Days Are Here Again" but I have gone for something more contemporary:
It was the seed of an idea sown during a brainstorming session with the schoolchildren.
Child: I'm not really interested in any of the vegetables growing in the garden.
Volunteer: What's your favourite food then.
Child: Well I like popcorn.
Volunteer: Well shall we try to grow that?
Child: Huh?!?!
Research suggested that the corn variety Strawberry was suitable for making popcorn and was also rather decorative being red instead of yellow. So we bought some seed and planted the resulting plants into the school garden. And it grew:
Now we were not to know that 2019 was going to have a really miserable summer - especially the second half. No one that I know of has had any success with 'normal' sweetcorn this year. So I was quite chuffed when the odd couple of cobs grew to any size at all. This was the best:
After letting the cob dry out thoroughly it was time today to try to 'pop' it.
Attempt 1 Place the whole cob onto a really hot frying pan. Result: charred cob and 2 audible cracks. Pan ruined, kitchen smelling like a campfire. No popcorn.
Burnt but not popped
Attempt 2: Blitz in the microwave. Result - very much like I imagine the blitz was. Flashes of light and smoke and disturbing noises. But once the smoke had cleared there was evidence of some genuine popping in amongst the burnt offering:
Next time I might go straight to the microwave method.
So an experiment with very limited results - probably not to be repeated. I mean who would be that foolhardy?
It is dawning on me that, although we had a poor summer, there is not going to be a compensatory extension. Septembers wind and rain has arrived and there is no going back. When I say poor I mean OK up until mid July and then wet cold and sometimes windy thereafter. Some crops fared well, particularly blueberries, but others took forever to get started (tomatoes, runner beans and squashes) and then got battered by the wind as soon as they did. Everyone's sweetcorn was very late and probably will not ripen - I still harbour hopes. It was warm and wet enough for the blight to sweep through our site in August. If I needed confirmation that the weather pattern has been atypical it has been provided by the wisteria which has decided it has been through a winter and it is now time to flower. It makes a start contrast to the rowan berries:
Vegetable growers should never take a holiday in July. This year that's exactly what I did, as you no doubt will have gathered from my previous two posts.
On my return to the vegetable plot there is a lot of greenery, and not all of it weeds. Here the rather neglected end of the plot that I concentrated on today:
Back row (left to right) there is the official Jerusalem artichoke patch, broad beans, the unofficial (last year's) Jerusalem artichoke patch and then the Runner bean wigwam. In front there is sweetcorn, peas and French beans. There is also a rogue cucurbit - probably a self sown Sharks Fin Melon on the right now scrambling all over the supports for the tall peas! I have removed the broad beans after stripping them of their full pods but left the cucurbit to see what happens.
Peas pods ready for picking
French beans, short peas, tall peas (Alderman) with broad beans behind
I am well pleased with the runner beans now moving from flowering to podding.
We will have too many for our own consumption and will be freezing them and passing them on to neighbours. That is with one wigwam so you can imagine my astonishment to come across the following scenario at Tintinhull Gardens a week ago
After my last post I thought I should check on the sweetcorn. Variety: Earlibird
Guess what - It is ready for harvesting. Described by James Wong as "10 times more sugary than conventional sweet corn, super early and hugely productive." For once I have to agree. This is the one for growing in Scotland. The only downside is they only produced one cob per plant. Not what I would call hugely productive...
It is time for my warts and all annual review. Viewed from the East it is not very photogenic.
The view from the East End
In the foreground you have rows of brassicas (turnips, kohlrabi and swede) which I have as catch crops between the asparagus. Very few asparagus fronds came up after the last winter. I will be filling in the gaps next spring. Beyond the "asparagus bed" are next year's strawberries (Malwena) and a row of cucurbits. Aside from the Romanesco Courgette bush there is little to show. Beyond that is:
Sweetcorn
Sweetcorn. Really just an exercise in thumbing the nose at the naysayers who don't think it could possibly be grown in Scotland. It can - just!
Beets and Fennel
Beyond that we are on safer territory with beetroot, fennel, Swiss chard and lettuces. The beetroot this year has been very boistrous and I am hopeful that some of the bigger "roots" will survive well into the winter. Once they get gnawed though they won't keep, so some will be coming home for home storage in the coal cellar. Next is the remnants of the allium patch. Just a few shallots from seed left aside from the stalwart leeks. Beyond that is...
Allium Patch
The carrot temple. Looks rubbish but is the key to keeping the crop free from the tunnelling root fly maggot.
Carrot Temple
On past a row of scorzonera I am growing for a laugh, there is a solitary parsnip and 4 half haearted celeriacs. Then 3 rows of winter spinach (Amazon/Medina/Winter Giant) Only sown recently I want to see if any can survive rhe ravages of winter.
Spinach + Parsnip + Cleriac
Finally, to complete the run from end to end, we arrive at the potato patch. The main crop is still showing impressive folliage, I think you will agree?
Main Crop Potatoes
Earlies + Artechoke
The earlies have been harvested but there has been an unplanned reemergence of last year's Jerusalem artichokes smothering one corner of the patch. Turning through 180 degrees here is the single tubor I purposely planted in order to establish a new patch for the future:
Next Year's Artechoke
Moving to the Northwest corner to start the return sweep here is my fruit cage. The first of the three bays has goosberries redcurrants and new jostaberry and gojoberry bushes. The current cropper is....
Fruit Cage
Blackberries:
Blackberries
The middle bay is chocka with raspberries (Joan J producing Glen Ample and Glen Moy finnished but not yet cut back). Then the third bay was Marshmello strawberries but these have been grubbed up after a poor showing. To use the netted space I have planted out some spare brassicas in the hope of overwintering them. Already I have some casualties but the Daikon Radish is looking happy - and needing to be thinned.
Late/Early Brassicas
Also squeezed in are some very late sown peas. Hopefully I will be as happy as Monty Don in a few weeks if these come good. In the background is a fill in row of flowers where the early peas were!
Very Late Peas
Beyond them is a patch of green manure (clover) where the later peas were, and then there is a riot of runner and French beans.
Beans and Green Manure
The last "room" is the brassica patch proper. Not particularly pretty but a stalwart of any allotment.
Brassicas
Brassicas reverse view.
After the photos some harvesting:
I hope you enjoyed your tour of Mal's Edinburgh Allotment.
The allotment is flush with produce despite the drought conditions. What targeted watering I have done has produced results where I want without encouraging the weeds.
Globe artichokes - Just one plant
Lush Legumes
Peas please
Blueberries starting to ripen
Coy Carrots
Potato Patch
Riotous Raspberries - bumper crop this year.
But there are still gaps that I haven't got around to filling. Just as well as I have a programme of summer/autumn sowing I want to follow this year. The beauty is that the weeds have left the bare patches bare (pretty much - lets not get to carried away and forget all weeding)
Bare patch between salads and sweetcorn
Alliums looking a bit sparse after cropping autumn planted onions and garlic
It has been extraordinarily dry, but the crops seem to have persevered. Curiously the one crop that has refused to perform is courgettes and squashes, and this despite preferential watering! I'm hoping the ones that have survived have time to play catchup.
