Month: March 2014

First rhubarb of the season

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We were lucky enough to inherit several rhubarb crowns on our plot and they have been really productive. The first year we were really precious about it, even though fellow plot holders told us we’d soon be giving it away by the barrowload and sick of the sight if it!  I made various jams, including rhubarb and ginger and rhubarb and vanilla which was delicious. Chutney variants included rhubarb and date, which also tasted good.

The following two years also gave us good crops and, yes, we do now give much more of it away! There really is only so much crumble you can manage! The trouble is that there is so much of it ready at once!  So, taking inspiration from our Wakefield rhubarb growing neighbours (ok, they’re about 15 miles away, but close enough!), we decided to have a go at forcing one or two of the crowns in an attempt to stretch the season a bit and give us young, tender rhubarb early in the year.

The first crown appeared through the layer of manure round the end of February and we covered it with a big plastic bin. My OH had the good sense to poke a couple of canes making a cross through each of the handles, into the ground. This, together with a couple of bricks on top meant that when we had the really windy weather, the bin stayed put.  No mean feat in the gales that blew in!

We resisted the temptation to keep uncovering (in truth this was easier than we expected ‘cos the weather was so awful we didn’t go down to our plot for a couple of weeks!) until around three weeks later. Lifting the black bin off, we we’re amazes and thrilled by the jewel pink stems and curly yellow leaves that greeted us. Anyone would think we’d grown some prize winning new variety of something! Careful not to overpick, we took just a few stalks and, after cutting into pieces, roasted them gently in the oven with a little brown sugar. So tasty and a good 4-6 weeks before the main crop will be anything like ready.

Our aim was to extend our harvesting season and we’ve certainly done that. Next year we’ll do the same with another crown so as not to weaken the same one. Hopefully the one we’ve forced this year will recuperate next year and then be strong enough to give us another main crop.

Flashback to Dec 2010 – allocation of our plot

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We (that’s me and OH) took on plot 6 in our local allotments at the end of December 2010.  Although I love to cook and we pay attention to food miles, buy seasonal and organic produce and frequent our local farm shops and farmers markets, growing my own fruit and veg hadn’t been a great ambition of mine. However, OH had put his name on the list and after a period of waiting, the letter from the council had arrived.

My first reaction was to laugh out loud – did he really think he’d got time for an allotment? My second thought was that this piece of land (all 240 sq yards of it) could become the “third person in our marriage” as he spent hours there leaving me to amuse myself.  The plot is only about 250 yards from our home so it was easy to go and have a look at what he (still not ‘we’ at this stage!) was taking on.

This is how we started. Overgrown and in need of a lot of clearance work.

This is how we started. Overgrown and in need of a lot of clearance work.

Cold New Year's Eve and first day on the lottie!

Cold New Year’s Eve and first day on the lottie!

After months of lobbying the council, most of this was eventually removed, but broken glass is still a feature of this end of our plot.

After months of lobbying the council, most of this was eventually removed, but broken glass is still a feature of this end of our plot.

OMG! Overgrown didn’t begin to describe it. One end was covered in broken glass, old asbestos sheets and a couple of tree trunks, couch grass was predominant amongst a foot high wilderness of weeds and the lovely dry stone wall at the other end was mostly obliterated from view by a high pile produced by previous clearance attempts. On a positive note, the location was beautiful, with almost 360 degree views across our lovely part of West Yorkshire. It was cold, the wind was blowing, but I was hooked. This had become ‘our’ project and ‘we’ (no longer ‘he’) were already looking ahead and thinking of the opportunities, as well as the hard work, ahead.

Our first few months were hard work. OH spent hours digging over and removing the weeds from the plot. Out in all weathers, we were determined to have some of the space ready for planting that season. A bonus was uncovering several rhubarb crowns and a few strawberry plants, plus a gooseberry, three or four red currant bushes and some raspberry canes. By March about half of the plot was dug over and on the first sunny day we celebrated. An old shed base was somewhere to plonk a couple of plastic chairs and this quickly became our ‘gin terrace’!  It’s still there and still lovingly called our terrace!

Mid March and we've cleared around half the plot. That beer tasted so good!

Mid March and we’ve cleared around half the plot. That beer tasted so good!

Potatoes were planted, along with garlic and onions.  Over the next few months we planted beans, peas, salad crops, purple sprouting broccoli, sprouts, cabbage.  The first harvesting was another cause for celebration and a certain smugness!

Throughout the year we continued to enjoy the crops we harvested and Lottie 6 became a hugely important part of both our lives. We laughed a lot, learned an enormous amount and loved spending time together on something so positive and productive.