Knobbled

It's that time of year when there's not much doing.  Either its raining, snowy or windy.  This morning I took the lull between storms Gertrude and Henry  a an opportunity to visit the plot and dig up some Jerusalem artichoke:

Artichoke soup is a seasonal treat, but this year's crop is just so knobbly! For the record  I also brought back cabbages and beetroot and finally cut back the autumn raspberry canes. 

Away from the plot but still on the subject of wind, the following snap was from a walk in the Pentland Hills yesterday.  It was nice enough in between the driving snow showers! 

Pentland View

January King

Looking suitably regal with a crown of ice!

A belated Happy New Year to you!

The Root of All Evil

Some bright ideas don't work.  A couple of years ago I decided to plant up a couple of horseradish thongs in plastic drainpipes each 3ft long ans sunk vertically into the ground.  The purpose was

a) to grow singularly  thick long roots, and

b) to prevent the roots spreading in all directions, as they tend to do when left to their own devices.

Last weekend I decided to dig out one of the pipes. It was quite an effort as the base was embedded in clay.

Having pursuaded the ground to give up it's captive after a 15 minute tussle ending in a vacuous squelch I then had to knock out the contents:

Result?

a) No stout root just a tangle of spaghetti.

b) Backache (which a week later has got worse not better).

Moral:  Some bright ideas just don't work!

Excavation starts:

How long?

 Not so impressive harvest:

Psst - Want to see the water table?

Edinburgh Finances Run on Tram Lines

This week Edinburgh Council have declared that there is a £20,000 shortfall in the rental income for their Allotments.  To bridge the funding gap they have proposed any or all of the following:

• ·         Rental increases of 10% per annum until the gap is bridged.

• ·         Withdrawal of rubbish collection and pest control.

• ·         Restriction of the current reduced rate to over 60 year olds and benefit claimants.

In  fact over half of allotment holders currently qualify for the discount – We are, a lot of us, old or unemployed/low waged.

Also this week Edinburgh Council have declared that they will underwrite the next phase of the Edinburgh Tram  Project to the tune of £144,000,000.  As yesterday’s Evening News  quotes Council leader Andrew Burns  “If the decision was to go ahead, the project can be funded without any impact on the short, medium or long-term revenue budget for the council.” (stress added by me)

Edinburgh Allotment budget is 101,000 and the rental income is £80,000.  So why all the fuss about the missing £20,000 that the Allotment subsidy costs?

If the Council were as committed to Allotments as they are to the Tram EXTENSION they could cover the cost of the current allotments until the year 3440 (at zero rent). If they froze rents at current levels they could afford to do so for 5 times as many years - over 7 milenia!

Edinburgh Council not only INSIST that allotments pay for themselves, net of the subsidy they have trumpeted in the past,  the current consultation contains the statement that  “Their fees should also make a contribution to the development of future sites so that the allotment service becomes self-sustaining.” (stress added by me)

The sources for these seemingly outlandish assertions of mine are:

http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/transport/extending-tramline-won-t-affect-council-budget-1-3947346#ixzz3rTKUOe3N

https://edinburgh.dialogue-app.com/growing-allotments

My message to City of Edinburgh Council:

STOP PICKING ON ALLOTMENT HOLDERS 

WE DON'T HAVE DEEP POCKETS. AS YOU KNOW MANY OF US ARE OLD AND UNEMPLOYED/UNWAGED AND WE HAVE BUDGETS TO RUN TOO . YOU'VE ALREADY HIT US WITH DOUBLE DIGIT RENTAL INCREASES FOR EVERY YEAR IN THE LAST DECADE. WAGES/BENEFITS HAVE RISEN BY NO MORE THAN THE RPI. GOVERMENT PENSION RISES FOR NEXT YEAR HAVE BEEN FROZEN. STOP THIS BULLYING OF A SMALL VULNERABLE SECTION OF THE SOCIETY YOU HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO GOVERN - FAIRLY.

The Red Tide

It's that time of year again. Be it sunset:

or sunrise:

Red is in the ascendance:

Blueberries turn red

It's getting a bit nippy and the greens are reacting

or giving up the ghost

We're white, but we used to be green

Hope you had a good 2015 - Autumn is here !

Oh What a Tangled Web

The dry spell of weather has been ideal perfect for drying off the onions and garlic I harvested a couple of weeks ago - that and the new greenhouse facility.

Onions I now have confidence that I have mastered a rudimentary system for stringing, but garlic is another matter.  It should be a simple three strand plait, but somehow it invariably turns into  a  tangled web.  The difficult bit is locking in the bulbs where they should stay. No sooner have you finished than they flop all over the place. It doesn't help that the instructive video I watched on U Tube declared that it was a simple task, nay even a peasant's task.  It was notable that the commentator was not actually carrying out the task in question.

Here's my take on it:

Not so bad... until you hang them up:

On to the onions:

 All strung up:

It will be another year before I get another shot at it.

Peas Please Me...and Beans Too

Sometimes a crop is more welcome because you didn't expect them to come to much.  This year's peas is a case in point

The runner beans are great too, but the quantity a bit overwhelming!