The Allotment

March 23, 2014

This weekend we worked tirelessly in the garden, starting with creating a few pots right through to planning out the vegetable patch.  

First I pulled the primrose out from the overgrown herb garden and replanted them in pots.  They now line the wall along the front door, perking the whole entrance up - it looks quite cheery.  The daffodils throughout the garden are in full bloom, so I keep picking them at random, popping them into upturned champagne flutes along the windowsills.  I clipped the blooms off my bargain hyacinths - too tall to be commercially viable at the garden centre, I bought a half a dozen containers for a £1 each.  Now the whole house and front walkway smell of Easter.  

A friend of David's came and rotovated a generous 4 x 12 meter patch for the vegetable garden, reclaiming the corner of the garden that had previously been lost to the overgrown brambles and nettles.  After much deliberation in the garden centre, we bought all our seeds to begin planting in trays in the greenhouse. 

Here's the line-up so far of what the veggie patch will contain:

Carrots

Potatoes

Kohl Rabi

Beet root

Pumpkin

Squash (butternut and spaghetti)

Courgette

Green beans

Yellow beans

Runner beans

Watercress

Spinach

Fennel 

Rocket

Tomato

Peppers

Leeks

Spring onion

Peas

Swiss chard

Hopefully we will have a good harvest. The soil is wonderful and rich and there is a ton of organic compost behind our oak tree to cut into the soil. This weekend we need to weed and turn the soil on the herb bed as well.

In addition to the herbs and veggies, I planted a bunch of wild flower seeds. Sowing the seeds required spiking whole sections of the garden with a tool that was shaped like a "V" with a single wheel (like a wheelbarrow) and a metal spiked roller on the narrow pointed end of the V.  The handle bars at the top end of the V had to be held low while I pushed this thing back and forth hundreds of times on the lawn, making holes for the seeds to fall into. My arms and back felt broken.

March 29, 2014

David worked for hours digging out the remnants of the bramble roots from the new veggie patch.  Back breaking work, but rewarding as the garden is truly shaping up.

We fenced the veggie plot off to keep the bunnies and dogs at bay.  I had originally wanted to put a polythene tunnel up around the plot. I am still debating if this is the route to go, but in the meantime, we are persevering as is.

We sowed the first early potatoes and the peas, then began the process of sifting the soil out for the carrot rows.  So many rocks - and of course we want perfectly shaped carrots, hence the sifting and resifting of the soil into which the carrot seeds will be planted.

On Sunday I started to dig up the wasteland near the garage, overlooking the westerly field. In the afternoon, this area gets full sun, and is protected on three sides - one by the house, one by the garage and one by the mock orange and laurel.  It is the ideal place for a 4 x 4 meter patio seating area with a small fire pit. I'm pretty sure it's been used as the household tip for the last 200 years, as it is full of rocks, broken glass, and multi-coloured pottery shards.   

Sometime around mid-afternoon, the neighbour came round with a bottle of fizz, a couple of bottles of ale and some glasses. All work on the patio ceased for the rest of the day - probably not the best idea to wield a pick axe after consuming a few glasses of bubbles on a sunny Mothering Sunday afternoon.  Oh, and the carrot sowing expedition was also postponed until the "after work hours" sessions during the week.

April 1, 2014

In the early evenings, while the light was still with us, we worked in the garden for a few hours. David continues to pitch fork his way through the rows methodically. He has his own process for clearing: he creates a trench in front of the row he's cleaning, then proceeds to excavate every possible obstacle - roots, rocks, pottery, bricks.  Slowly he moves his way backwards, pulling out the deleterious debris churned up by the rotovator.  

So far we are ahead of our planting by about 2 meters.  As long as three rows a day are cleaned out, we should stay on track. It makes me laugh because my brother, my Dad and Aunt Martha used the same strategy with teaching - "As long as you remain at least a week ahead of the students, everything is fine."

April 2, 2014

Today on BBC Radio 4 there was a lot of coverage about a recent Australian study that advocates eating 7 servings of fruit and veg a day can greatly increase your lifespan.  

The worldwide campaigns to date have been focused on "Five a day" - now every food retailer and government agency focused on health is reeling because they have to work out how to change all their videos and advertising. Conversely, this is an agency's dream!  

One aspect of the study emphasises the benefit of eating a higher ratio of vegetables to fruit as part of the overall 7 a day mix.  In line with the new study's findings, I've been trying to eat at least seven portions of fruit and veg daily - without running to the store to buy more.

I inventoried what was already available in the kitchen. Here is what I had in the fridge and pantry as a base:

• Apples
• Grapefruit
• Clementine
• Lime
• Lemon
• Coriander
• Parsley
• Swiss chard
• Cucumbers
• Carrots
• Red pepper
• Spinach
• Red cabbage
• Olives
• Capers
• Tinned tomatoes
• Kidney beans

The challenge was to use what was available in a creative way that would satisfy the new 7 a day, while maintaining the meal's focus around the veg and fruit, and not a meat dish.  

Since there were three bags of Swiss chard in the fridge, it featured prominently. Chard is a tall leafy green vegetable commonly referred to as Swiss chard, and scientifically known as Beta vulgaris. Chard belongs to the same family as beets and spinach, and shares a similar taste profile with a flavour that is bitter, pungent, and slightly salty. 

First I created a sauce with the tinned tomatoes, fresh herbs, capers and olives. I lightly cooked carrots and Swiss chard, folding that into the red sauce.  I added kidney beans and some spices.  I then cooked some whole-grain brown rice mixed with a bit of quinoa in the steamer. Once done, I mixed the lot together and created a warm salad which would form the basis of several meals throughout the week. 

For example, I had Swiss shard dolmas, Swiss chard and rice salad with chilli sauce, Swiss chard juice (fantastic).

For breakfast, I focused on fruits and a green juice I had made earlier in the week. The green juice contained Swiss chard, cucumber, ginger, spinach and lime. My usual toasted home-made whole meal bread was modified slightly this week to include capers, olives and red pepper.

Seeing as I was eating Swiss chard as one of my vegetables a few times a day, I decided to look online to find out what were its benefits.  I always knew it was good for your blood because it can help to neutralise acid (a natural antacid), but I never realised how beneficial Swiss chard was until today.

It turns out Swiss chard is the wonder vegetable, truly one of the vegetable valedictorians with its exceptionally impressive list of health-promoting nutrients.  Here's what I learned:

• Anti-inflammatory
• Anti-oxidant
• Antacid
• Bone health 
• Blood sugar regulation
• Potentially protects liver
• Potentially enables pancreatic cell regeneration

The list of benefits is mind boggling.  And, Swiss chard tastes great; as it tastes slightly salty, it also ticks off the savoury taste buds.  I recommend you check out all the benefits of Swiss chard here.

Swiss chard, spinach, spinach beet and beet root were always on my vegetable patch white board.

I hope you will add it to your list too.  Swiss chard is easy to grow and it produces all summer because it is a cut and come again kind of vegetable.  If you are worried about your blood sugar or managing diabetes, get cracking. Broadly sow your Swiss chard now (March or April), and you will be picking and eating it from June until October. 

Here's a fantastically simple way of cramming in lots of veggies and fruits - an Open-face Shallot, Swiss chard and Apple Sandwich.  I made up a recipe card for you to use.  I think adding a bit of Rhubarb to this combination would be interesting as well - maybe with a bit of balsamic vinegar drizzled on top.

For more ideas, here's a comprehensive Pinterest collection of all the wonderful things you can do with Swiss chard.  Why not add your ideas here too.