Got a slug problem?
Gardeners often cite slugs as the most annoying garden pest! They love to gobble up fresh shoots and they can decimate your seedlings over night. Here we discuss slugs, methods of control and their role in the ecosystem – it is not all bad!
Growing Figs in a Northern Climate
Fresh figs picked in early September You wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that figs are a Mediterranean crop. Fig trees grow like weeds on the rocky hillsides of many countries with a far warmer climate than the UK! However, there are varieties of fig that grow well in our cooler climate. We have figs fruiting well on our exposed Manchester allotment ground!
Growing Sweetpeas
It’s February and still cold and far too early to start most crops, but sweetpeas are very cold hardy. Sweetpeas make lovely cut flowers will attract pollinators to your growing area. They also like a longer growing season; If you are itching to get going then Sweetpeas are your crop to get that fix!
Fitting the solar panel into the new Summerhouse
Today we fitted the solar panel in the new summerhouse to get the power back on. We use the solar to power lights, but also to charge a radio and mobile phones as required.
Allotments are good for your health
We all know we ‘should’ be more active, but how much activity should we do and does gardening count?
Here we discuss the guidelines for physical activity and how gardening can have a positive effect on your physical and mental health.Onion Bhajis
As we start moving towards early spring I am considering how I can use overwintered stored crops. As the temperatures start to rise in early Spring stored onions will sprout. To counter this I try to make sure that I have used up the stores and Onion bhajis are a great way to do this!
Rhubarb: the promise of Spring to come!
Timperley Early 
Victoria 
Unknown
At Don’t Crop Me Now the rhubarb crop is well on it’s way. It is surprising to look at the growth rates of different varieties. Timperley Early is always well ahead and I think we will be cropping this within 2 weeks. Victoria is a much later variety and we also have an ‘unknown’ variety that is somewhere in the middle. I think this may be ‘champagne’. This produces very pretty pink (and sweet) stalks even without forcing.
Container grown potatoes
Brussel ‘pesto’
A healthier version of ‘pesto’. Yes, not a true pesto in any sense, but is the mixture of greens, cheese and nuts that is the golden combination without addition of lots of extra oil.
Brussels, peanuts, cheese, onion and and mushrooms blitzed in a processor- saute in a pan for a couple of minutes then stir through pasta.
The mushrooms are a good filler- for 4 portions I only used 75g cheddar and 50g peanuts.
I added some ham to this and used 75g spaghetti per portion so a decent bowl full for 448 calories.
The History of Allotments
