Tuesday 25 January 2011

A nice surprise on the plot...and a little telling off!!

So I managed to get down the allotment over the weekend and get the tubs emptied of the old compost...I added this straight to the compost bins to help make more compost over the year. I haven't had any benefit from these yet but as they only went into place last year i don't expect anything from them until at least next Spring.

That job done I then sorted out pots to make sure I had enough for the beans and corn I want to plant in case I needed to raid the re-cycling dump....that done I didn't really want to go home so I decided I would tackle the carrots that I hadn't managed to get out of the ground before the cold spell hit.

My carrots hadn't been protected by anything and I could see a few peeking through the top of the soil so resigned myself to digging them up and adding them to the compost bin...so imagine my surprise and delight when this is what I found......

over wintered carrots
Lovely jubbly carrots!!

That's right...some wonderfully smelling and decidedly large wonderful looking carrots....okay so some are a funny shape but I really don't care if my carrots aren't straight...the smell and colour is wonderful. These have obviously been frozen and thawed a few times over the last couple of months so i have scrubbed, peeled sliced and frozen them and I will use them for mashing and soups or stews and things.I am delighted that they weren't all devastated in the terrible weather we had!!

So where did the telling off come from?? Well myself actually...a mental telling off from me to me!! You see I think I have been rather neglectful of my blog over the winter months....I don't really know why as I have lots of posts trolling round in my tiny little head and I don't know whether it's down to sheer laziness....the fact that I lost the plot....(Ha Ha) or just the fact that my 'mojo' went away for a little while and I didn't feel like writing but I promise to be getting on with things more and up to speed with all the posts I have before the spring planting is started...I think maybe doing this will also give me a little focus as I have got seriously itchy feet to get sowing under way and I know that it's way too early to start....i wonder if Hubby would consider moving to a country where there is no winter?!?!?!?!......No to be honest I don't want that at all but i feel like i might actually be a real 'allotmenter' this year as i am organized and I have my plot as I want it which has made me really eager to get on with things....or maybe it's just that I'm more organized this year than I ever have been so I had so much to get done last year that I didn't have time to moan about the long winter???

Oh god now I'm waffling on like a raving lunatic...oh well I guess that's' winter for you

winter cabbage
Mmmmmm....Cabbage.

On the plus side...when Hubby decided he wanted 'cabbage' with his dinner toady i felt immensely proud to be able to poddle off down the plot and pluck one out of the ground...I guess all isn't lost yet....there are still a few pickings and I think some leek soup may be in order too!!!

Oh and incidentally I am 'site of the week' over at Nature Centre Magazine. It's a great site some of you may have seen but if you don't know it go and check it out as there is lots of great information and some lovely down-loadable wallpapers too.

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8 comments:

  1. Those carrots remind me of the ones that my dad used to grow.
    I think we all go through dry spells with the blog. I really struggle sometimes on what to post.
    I saw the post at Nature Centre Magazine, very cool.

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  2. How lovely to be able to just go pick fresh food for a meal. It is also safer than buying the food that has been touched by who knows how many people in the store. I really like my fresh foods best.

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  3. Your carrots look fab. It's amazing what happens when things are left to fend for themselves. I've never had much success with carrots but I'll give them another go this year.

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  4. Ann...I don't think I've ever seen a dry spell on your blog...I love it every day.. :-)

    tpals...ok....so I spelt my word wrong..(should have said today!!)...but the toady's like cabbage too...even if it is only to get the slugs and snails from for their dinners...lol

    Emma....it was the main reason I wanted to start growing my own...even the organic stuff in stores is washed so it isn't organic by the time it gets to the shelves...think about it?!?!

    Thanks on the carrots vote Jo...I don't know why these grew so well last year but I am hoping for the same success this season....just make sure you till your soil really fine ...that was what I did differently this year and it seems to have worked...you have to go quite deep with the tiller so that as they grow they don't need to do so much work themselves!!

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  5. Mid winter is a fairly bleak enough time and especially busy just before Christmas, so it's hardly surprising there's less to write at times. I usually have a 'break' in in the month or so up to Christmas and the place being covered in snow for almost a month helped ;>)

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  6. Well done on the recognition Tanya.

    I'm with you I don't care what shape my carrots are as long as they taste good which home grown ones always do!!

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  7. RobD...it's not that I had nothing to write...just seemed to be no time to write it so I vow to get them up before the spring planting and gardening jobs re-commence

    GLA...Thanks ...and yes...there is nothing like the smell of a home grown carrot...the smell alone makes my mouth water 100 times more than the taste of one bought in a store!!!!!

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keep it clean...keep it relevant...I look forward to reading your comments!!