Kindly Plotholders

The downside of growing vegetables on an allotment is that I have to travel three miles to the Hill just to pick something to eat for tea, as opposed to nipping out into the garden. The advantage, however is that I do meet some incredibly generous people.

On Monday evening I went to the Hill to collect the pepper seedlings offered by neighbour Jody & also went round to returning allotmenteer Chris' house round the corner to collect some tomato seedlings (& to have a nose round her lovely garden!).

Whilst I was at the Hill collecting the pepper seedlings, I saw Julie (2nd best plot) & in the course of conversation I said how well the rhubarb is doing & that I was looking for maybe a chutney recipe to try.

"It's great, isn't it!" agreed Julie, "but there's so much rhubarb that I'm having to find different ways to con the boys into eating it - I think that the recipe I have for rhubarb chocolate sponge is a winner, & I have all sorts of other recipes to hand, including chutney, I'm sure. I'll copy them for you."

Not only were the recipes there in the toolshed for me to collect later in the week, but Julie also said how the purple sprouting is overwhelming the family too, & to please go & help myself - brilliant!

Yesterday was a day for jobs at home, one of which was to repaint the fence - I borrowed mum's spray gadget, which made the job rather quicker (& considerably less messy) that using a brush - & with the small amount of fence paint left over, I nipped to the Hill & treated the toolshed to a couple of coats.

And at the Hill today I saw the havoc that this week's cold nights have wreaked on the potatoes - it has certainly been frosty enough to damage the leaves, although having earthed them up last weekend, there is no lasting damage.

It was a lovely afternoon with the sun shining & the birds singing - there are great tits nesting in the birdbox next plot but one, the young tweeting away furiously everytime one of the parents flew in to feed them.

Richard (3 plots down) wandered up to see what I was up to (weeding the onion bed, as it happens) & we talked about different varieties of veg.

"I always sow late varieties of leek & brussels sprouts - what's the point in having them ready in October or November when you are stacked out with things to eat? Much better to have them to pick in March & April when there's not much else to be had," which made a lot of sense to me, I must say.

"The ony other plentiful crop at the moment is the asparagus - we're stacked out with it. I suppose that I'll have to come down in the week after work and pick another bagful," he sighed.

He must have seen me goggling at this news, so took pity on me & handed me a huge handful of spears, saying, "We have prawn & asparagus risotto, but really, there's only so much you can eat!"

Now furiously making plans to plant up one of the spare fruit beds with asparagus.