Terry Walton on wintry weather and weird crops
Swedes disappoint but kale, leeks and turnips are turning up trumps
Abrief winter spell has returned and that cold, northerly wind makes no attempt to go around you as it chills you to the marrow! The season is subject to rapid changes in short, sharp spells at the moment and it’s difficult to know what to wear on the plot – jumpers or T-shirts?
On a more comforting note, though, isn’t it great to see more and more ‘ugly’ and misshapen fruit and vegetables in supermarkets? At last common sense prevails and there’s recognition that food is there for taste and flavour and not to look just ‘beautiful’! As all us gardeners are aware, when we grow crops they don’t all look alike or grow as a standard size and shape, unlike their perfectly formed and coloured cousins in the shops. My worry now, however, is how are these imperfect specimens going to fit into those long, narrow plastic bags designed for ‘uniform’ specimens? How will those curly cucumbers sit on the shelf without tangling themselves up? Still on the ‘control list’, though, are tomatoes, lettuce, pears and peppers, among others. What on earth have these unfortunate few done to be excluded?
One vegetable has disappointed me this year – swede! They normally grow into a decent 15cm (6in) diameter to supply several meals from one root. The crop this year is more reminiscent of a beetroot and two will be needed for just one meal.
Still, I had a few turnip plants given to me in August, which have made good-sized roots so these, along with my leeks which have grown very large, take care of my ‘stew’ ingredients.
With a brief break in the weather it’s time for chrysanthemum stools to be lifted. These have flowered consistently since the end of August and the smell of a vase of these autumnal flowers in the house brings a bit of the allotment home with me.
Now, though, the woody tops can be cut back to ground level and the roots eased from the soil. Most of the excess soil is shaken off and the root placed in a large pot with its name label. These are taken to the greenhouse and potted on in good multi-purpose compost, placed on the staging in a bubble wrap ‘tent’ and watered lightly. With some gentle heat applied beneath the staging in December, these will send up new shoots ready for next year.