Join in with Terry Walton’s special allotment sing-along!
Join us allotmenteers in a hearty rendition of The 12 Veg of Christmas!
The festive season is in full swing and by the end of the weekend the turkey will be half eaten and the allotments will be on the barred list for a day or two. What a shame! There will be a smaller family gathering this year but still a chance to share my home-grown produce for everyone to savour.
The Walton Christmas meal is a great tradition, with all the vegetables on the plate being grown with my own hand. The other tradition is that the vegetables are gathered as close to the ‘big’ day as is possible. In my father’s time these were gathered on Christmas morn and would be on the plate mid-afternoon. Nothing gets fresher than that!
In the case of Walton Junior, namely I, the harvesting of these takes place on Christmas Eve. I guess my wife knows me too well and if I disappeared to the allotments on the very day, who knows what time dinner would be ready. Still they’re from ground to plate within 24 hours and free of all air miles. That’s fresh enough for me! There’s one other long-time tradition in our household in addition to growing, gathering and bringing home the ‘goodies’; this is the one time of the year when I succumb to domesticity and actually prepare them. The complicated bit, the cooking, is left firmly with my wife.
We eat a wide variety of vegetables to accompany our turkey – yes, I’m a traditionalist. This is stuffed with homemade stuffing made of bread, seasoned with sage and onion from the plot.
The potatoes are fresh from my store and the runner beans come from the freezer. The swede, parsnip, Brussels sprouts and leeks are straight from the plot. During this week there are normally the Christmas carols to be sung in Albie’s cafe during the coffee break. This year, though, there will be a socially-distanced sing-along in the open air. Our favourite is The 12 Veg of Christmas – and the words are here for all you gardeners to join in (you just sing it to the tune of The 12 days of Christmas)!
The 12 veg of Christmas
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me...
... a ‘Bramley’ in an apple tree.
Second day: two garlic cloves.
Third day: three French beans.
Fourth day: four cauliflowers.
Fifth day: five Brussels sprouts.
Sixth day: six sweetcorn swaying.
Seventh day: seven tomatoes ripening.
Eighth day: eight turnips turning.
Ninth day: nine carrots cavorting.
10th day: 10 leeks a-leaping.
11th day: 11 big potatoes.
12th day: 12 perfect parsnips.
I hope this gives you all a taste of Christmas and gets you in the mood for the vegetables to grow next season!