What’s growing now?

Alliums            The leeks are standing tall, of course, and also the autumn-planted onion sets are showing well. The shoots are 6” tall and looking healthy. Some of the garlic has started showing. There are some overwintering salad onions which I sowed a couple of months ago growing happily at one end of the leek bed. I have been weeding these beds diligently through the autumn. The other two beds I have mulched with plastic.

Brassicas            In the brassica cage the overwintering cauliflower and red cabbage plants are growing strongly.  There are 4 or 5 Savoy cabbages still standing, which have been waiting a long while to be eaten, but fortunately don’t grow that much in these shorter days and have resisted splitting. Also there is a bed each of kale and brussel sprouts  which can be eaten at any time now. Half a bed of sprouting broccoli is growing strongly. 

In the other half of the bed I planted out some lettuce plants, Hildi and Winter Gem. I am not expecting to eat these through the winter, of course, but I am hoping Winter Gem, which is a hardy variety of Little Gem, will survive the winter and come back in the spring to provide early lettuces next year. Hildi is a softer leafed variety which is less hardy and therefore has mostly already been eaten. I have a few of each growing under a cloche, just to see what happens.

Potatoes            This year’s miscellaneous beds will grow next year’s potatoes, and so by and large the beds are slumbering peacefully under their winter blankets. I have put ten bags of partially rotted manure on each bed, covered with heavy duty plastic (damp-proof course quality) and weighed down with bricks. All apart from one bed, where some sugarloaf chicory as well as chard and beet plants are struggling on. In totally the wrong place, of course. We have had a mild autumn hitherto, but as soon as the first severe frost is threatened I will have to pull up whatever is left and store them indoors. Then this last bed too can be manured and covered.

Legumes            Here three beds are resting under plastic. One bed, containing broad beans, has started showing; the plants are already about 6 inches tall. It will be interesting to see how well they survive the winter. The fifth bed contains field beans, which I sowed rather late and have not started showing yet.

Greenhouse            In the greenhouse, there are several rows of lettuces, both Winter Gem and Hilde. I am hoping that the Hilde will provide saladings through till Xmas, covered with fleece if it gets too cold. The Winter Gem I will not touch until I absolutely need to. If they get cut down by the cold, I expect them to come back in the early spring. On the staging, the ripening tomatoes have just finished, and all that remains is a couple of trays of bean seeds drying. Underneath the staging is a box with forcing chicory plants, stored in compost. I have noticed that some of them are already starting to shoot, so will need to increase the depth of compost on top.

Hens            This time of year, rather than being one of the jobs I do when I get to the allotment, seeing to the hens is the main reason for going down there. The egg production has gradually started climbing since last month, and we’re getting 3 or 4 eggs a day now. Mildred is still annoyingly broody.

I have collected autumn leaves recently for the hens to scratch in – a fresh bin bag full every week or so and they happily scratch away all day. Gradually turning it into compost for me.

After Bonfire night the council turned off the water to the allotments – probably to avoid burst pipes – but it makes it inconvenient for chicken-keepers. I have to remember to take water down there with me so that my ladies have something to drink.