Busy, busy, busy!

Life on the plot continues apace, so to catch up quickly:

Potatoes (Charlotte) are going down well with a couple of plants providing enough for one meal for the four of us. The children did complain about having potatoes so often, but then queried where they were the next day!

Strawberries remain an ongoing battle, but I'm please to report the 'fortress' finally seems to be working and picked about a kilo last night. This makes up for going to Whirlow Farm to pick strawberries - they're expensive, but it is a charity that the kids love going to - then spending several hours trying to get the jam to set, only to burn it. The recipe (HFW jam 'guru') wasn't great either as there was far too much lemon in it as well.



I'm also getting quite a few raspberries from the 'self set' plants dotted around the plot and the summer raspberries are just beginning to take off on plot no 2. Getting a few red currants at last - netting the plants a couple of months ago obviously paid off! - and hunting through the weeds the blackcurrants (on plot no 1) are also just starting.



However, these are just insignificant compared to the Gooseberries. I picked over 2 kg of these from one plant!



I've also made another batch of rhubarb and orange jam, this time with enough sugar for it to set properly.

The overwinter onions are keeling over, so I dug up half a dozen last night - including a couple of 'monster' ones! You can't really tell quite how big the are in this picture, may need to take another photo ;>)



Nearly forgot about the radishes as well, which have managed to escape attention from the slugs this year, so have been having a steady supply of mixed radishes.

Allotment Fair
Last year we had a hog roast on the site for plot holders, with some other food and music. So this year we (as an Association) decided to apply for some funding from the council, and we were lucky enough to receive some to put on a larger event inviting people from other sites in Sheffield, as well as from the Allotment Regeneration Initiative.

We probably had a couple of hundred people over the day, beer from Bradfield Brewery (most upsetting as I was driving!), elderflower cordial (supplied by me!), lots of food from various plot holders, music and the all important slide (don't ask!) for the children. Oh and a 120lb organic pig ;>)

The bar



The pig



Coming soon...
The dwarf peas and Broad beans should be ready in the next couple of weeks, with more raspberries and blackcurrants.