Warm Jam

OK, time to give that little knife a test-run. Remember all those pumpkins & courgettes I planted up back in April? The leaves are finally dying back on a few, so it’s time to get some gourds home.

Those marrows are HUGE! I hadn’t been out for a couple of weeks, last time I saw them they were just little courgettes. The sweetcorn’s come up a treat as well, last year the best cob we got still looked like the inside of a tramp’s mouth with half a dozen little yellow stubs. Germination was around 95% this year, with pearly yellow corns all round. Also of note are the vegetable spaghetti squash – I have no idea what they’re like inside yet, but should be fun finding out.

Barrow two – a Hundredweight pumpkin & two Blue Hubbard squash, spuds, peas & tomatoes:

All this stuff came home in one day! OK, that’s not exactly typical, but it’s fun when it does happen.

Oh, and the knife? Held up a treat. Not a trace of rust, and still razor sharp. Skinny little point got in really nicely between the stems & fell through everything with minimal work.
I forgot to mention specifically last time – it’s a model 106 wood carving knife. Get one! Or better yet, order one through me & I’ll do all the modifications for you…

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Some seeds arrived from the Fothergills website – awesome site, by the way. No postage to pay on seed-only orders, only if you order plants. Also, two free random seed packs with each order, even when I only ordered one packet in the first place!

Anyway, these are the squash for this year:

There are 42 seeds germinating on my windowsill. This is quite possibly madness, but will almost certainly lead to the best Hallowe’en decorations EVER. Also, tasty soups.

Bugger, just noticed I don’t have any butternut…

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Despite being much nearer the allotment since moving back in September, 10 minutes’ walk is still too far when the rest of the meal’s in the oven and you remember something!
I’ve built four planters to go on the patio outside, to plant salad and herbs and such without digging over rented lawn. They’re built to fit a grow bag each to keep life super-simple butt jointed affairs, and so far are working out pretty awesome – got two planted up with the first few seedlings showing, two more half-painted. The frames are cut from 8 ft timber planks. Feet were drilled with a holesaw from offcuts and wrapped in anti-slug tape. Bases sit on batons cut from the leftovers screwed around the bottom edge of the frame.

Kinda tempted to do the lot over again and have eight… so far we have lettuce, rocket, spring onions and radishes planted, and peppers, aubergines and various herbs planned, with tomatoes going in hanging baskets. That’s pretty much all the salad we need (plus aubergines) but I’m sure there’s other things that’d be great.

Anyway, they’re really easy, and timber, stain and all else came in at £40 or so for the four from B&Q. I recommend the exercise highly, looks like being very useful – and now we’re headed into barbecue season, picking seasoning and side salads even as the meat’s still on the grill will feel very good indeed!

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