Out of doors

The Voice of the Allotment A resurgence after the rain

After the hot dry summer, three inches of rain in September made a noticeable difference to the plot, never achieved by the watering, says Barry Cuff.

With above-average temperatures and higherthan-average rainfall for October, growth of both vegetables and weeds was phenomenal! The one slight frost wasn’t cold enough to kill off tender plants. Within a week, newly moved soil had produced a flush of weed seedlings, especially chickweed, groundsel, fat hen and sowthistle. Many of our flowers – cosmos, nasturtium and dahlia – still attracted hoverflies, bees and Red Admirals. Lots of weeds were still flowering too – black nightshade, red deadnettle, weasel snout and shepherd’s purse. We were still picking runner and french beans till at least the middle of the month, but they have now finished, and we cut our last courgette on the 25th. Our first parsnip was dug mid-October and cooked as wedges; tasty enough, but they will be better after a few frosts. We have had some wonderful autumn salads too, all harvested fresh from the plot. Ingredients included red frills mustard, green streaks mustard, mizuna, lettuce, cauliflower florets, red moon radish, blue moon radish, baby carrots and radicchio. The brassicas have never looked so good, having lost most of the whitefly and with little-to-no caterpillar damage. We have cut excellent Cheesy and Fargo cauliflowers, eating them both raw and boiled. Our Ironman calabrese are producing goodsized heads and will eventually have smaller side shoots. All the lower leaves of the Brussels that were covered in honey dew have been removed, making the plants look much better as the sprouts themselves begin to develop. Barry continues to enjoy autumn salads, and the plot’s brassicas have never looked so good

Both the leeks and celeriac are growing well and we will start harvesting those next month. Celery and carrots continue to be harvested as required and we are using potatoes, squash, onions and garlic from our store. From the freezer we have this summer’s peas, French beans, broad beans and sweetcorn. We were still picking raspberries on the 28th of October and we are enjoying the last of the pears which we picked early in the month.

Looking ahead

Next year’s garlic was planted on the 12th. We are trying two varieties which are both new to us – Garcua and Carcassonne Wight – and have planted a total of 40 cloves. A highlight of the month was the arrival of our seeds from Kings. We ordered 37 packets (31 vegetable and six flower), making the most of the 50 per cent discount we get as our allotment is a member of The South West Counties Allotment Association. The first of these will be sown next February – broad beans and peppers.

Create an indoor spring bulb garden in the depths of winter All images: Charlotte Tombs

Can you have British flowers all year?

The BV magazine, November ‘22 OUT OF DOORS

Winter doesn’t have to mean resorting to supermarket flowers, says Charlotte Tombs. Perhaps we just need to think a little differently

The answer is YES; with a little imagination, planning, organisation and determination you can have British flowers in your house all year. Of course, the flowers might not be the same as those you would buy from the supermarket along with your weekly shop. But stick with me – there is a way which is kinder to the planet, which has little to no carbon footprint. If you’re thinking about your eco choices, why are you still buying imported flowers with who knows how many chemicals sprayed on them or fed to them? I certainly know what I’d rather have in my home.

Thinking differently

Even in the depths of the coldest months there are winter-flowering shrubs, hellebores, berries, seed heads, winter-flowering honeysuckle ... if you look hard enough you can always find a bit of colour. I think we can be quite conservative in our approach to vases of ‘flowers’. Sometimes a simple group of twigs with lichen on can be quite beautiful. There is also the option of forcing branching by cutting twigs when you can see the first leaf/blossom buds. Bring them inside and place in water – given the indoor warmth you’ll get to watch the leaves unfurl. It is wonderful to watch. Something else you can do is plant bulbs that have been cooled to fool them into winter dormancy. By planting these specially-treated bulbs (look for ‘pre-chilled bulbs’) you can cheat Mother Nature and have an indoor spring bulbs garden. Some bulbs, such as narcissi, don’t need to be kept in a dark cool place if they have had the cold treatment. Instead you ‘plant’ (more like ‘place’!) them on gravel in a glass storm lantern and watch them grow. The flowers will fill your home with scent. Use your forced branches for these blooms as support for the long stems. Or perhaps you could invest in an everlasting bunch of flowers – dried ones. I say invest as these have been grown from seed, potted on, planted out, fed, watered and nurtured until they were harvested, sorted, dried and stored ... before being made into a vase arrangement for you to enjoy. It seems fair that they are more costly. There is an awful lot of effort in that dried bunch. Some brides are having all dried flowers for their weddings now. I’m not sure I could go down that route but there is always room to enjoy fresh and dried.

Hellebores provide subtle but splashy winter colour

If you have any questions on techniques or varieties, please do send me a message on Facebook, Instagram or email me on northcombeflowers@outlook.com and I’ll happily help.

A simple twig with lichen on can be quite beautiful

‘Plant’ narcissi on gravel in a storm lantern

Dried flowers can be a wonderful investment

A splash of autumnal colour from Thorngrove’s rudbeckia

Pop in for a little distraction

With Halloween over, Thorngrove are keen to work their magic with a little distraction and fun for the whole community, says Kelsi-Dean Buck

And there we have it – October is in the rear view mirror and the festive season is officially here! Our Christmas plans for Thorngrove are coming to fruition and 2022 is set to be our biggest one ever. We appreciate the world has been a little upside down, and many hardworking people have experienced difficult times recently. The thought of Christmas might even be a stressful one to some. But we’re seeing it as an opportunity to remind everyone of what’s important at this time of year – making memories, and spending time with those most important to us. Our role in the community goes far beyond selling garden plants and essentials; we want to be a place everyone can rely on for a distraction, and as a destination for making those memories!

Let us distract you

Regular visitors to Thorngrove and followers of our story will be aware that 2022 has seen us get ourselves back on the map as a location for events. The hanging basket workshops have been a staple of our calendar and we’re aiming to broaden the appeal, perhaps introduce new people to gardening, and to become a place for young people to get creative too. It’s been going really well with our craft events for children. We’ve hosted them at Easter, over the summer, and most recently for Halloween. They have given children an opportunity to visit Thorngrove, and create something brilliant to take home with them. We’ve had pot decorating (and planting!), decoration making, and sessions for making jam jar lanterns. It’s a simple approach, but one we’ve had amazing feedback on. We keep the events affordable too, determined to be accessible to as many people in the community as possible. Looking ahead, these craft sessions will definitely continue, along with more new events that allow us to continue being that place for a distraction, and a relaxing meeting spot for family and friends. Our upcoming feature event is of course our Santa’s Grotto. Tickets for this are available now (just go to our website for more info). We’re also delighted to be hosting Angel Exit Theatre from 10th November – they’re offering drama workshops, right here at Thorngrove. All leading to a Christmas show! With a new menu in the café, and all the Christmas essentials arriving now, let us be your one stop shop for festivities this year. Hope to see you soon!