Doug's Days are Done :(

What an amazing year!  We set out to see what we could grow - and to see how many purple varieties of our food would succeed.

Doug's final hours

We've battled against one of the most bizarre, unpredictable growing seasons and in some cases this proved to be the downfall of our crops.  But we had some outstanding successes and we definitely achieved what we set out to do - to be able to go to the allotment on a Sunday morning, decide what we wanted for dinner, pick it and then have the most delicious meal of home-grown produce.

As first-time allotment owners a year ago, we really didn't know what to expect - both from being a member of the allotments and from being able to grow so much of our own food.  A year later and we are bona fide members of the Allotment Association and no longer the "new kids on the block!"

Two of our tomatoes!

The last couple of weeks have been extraordinarily emotional.  We decided quite some time ago that we would be able to make good use of a bigger plot than Doug and it was more than a month ago that one of the other plot-holders suggested we take his half plot because he was moving up to a full one.  However it wasn't until we had to start properly clearing Doug that it all began to sink in.  This weekend marked the end of an era (albeit a rather short one.)  

Parsnips!

We were suitably astounded that once the sun started to fight its way through the rain clouds in late July, our crops began to respond accordingly.  It was too late for our tomatoes - we eventually grew just four green ones - but we did get a final surge of growth from the Borlotti beans (purple stripe) and parsnips.  Our solitary sweetcorn plant is still growing but we've been told it won't survive a transplant so if it grows any more it will be a bonus.  Our beetroot crop (OK, maybe not purple but a gorgeous, deep red) was truly sumptuous.  We have discovered how delicious it is roasted with balsamic vinegar  as well as mashed with seasoning.  We now have a freezer full of our own vegetables - portions of cauliflower, broad beans and peas abound and are now joined by the parsnips and beetroot.  Not as good as freshly picked but still streets ahead of buying from the shops.

The new fruit patch

Lyta stomps down the compost heap!

So we spent the last two days clearing Doug.  We were fortunate enough that when he became ours last year, he had been lovingly tended by his previous owners and given to us in almost perfect working order.  We were determined that we should do likewise for his new owner.  And so we dug up all the parsnips, harvested the last of the Borlottis, moved our currant , gooseberry & blueberry bushes and the purple raspberries and transported them, along with the rhubarb and sweetcorn, to their new home.  We also potted up all our fragrant herbs and brought them back to Nigel - we are moving home soon as well and our new abode features a garden where we can have a proper herb patch within easy reach for regular cuisine!  We also had to transport, barrow-full by barrow-full our compost heap!  This proved exciting in itself; as I thrust the spade in at one point, I found myself with a family of baby mice on my spade as well as the compost.  Sadly, we're not sure if they will survive the disturbance but we did our best to hide them under a nearby lemon balm bush.  Finally, we dug Doug over, leaving just a patch of strawberries and a few herbs. 

Watering in the new onions.

Our new plot, Douglas, is quite close by (50 yards as the sparrows fly.)  He is double the size of Doug and has probably the most well-nourished soil you could need.  He does require a lot of TLC however so our time over the next few months will primarily be spent clearing and organising.  Just in case you're wondering, Douglas' previous owner operated a no-dig method of gardening, hence he was dug less....  Anyway, during our first visit this weekend, we have achieved all of the above transfers as well as planting some cabbage seedlings and two rows of onion sets.  The new season has truly begun!  In the next few weeks we will be adding broad beans and garlic.  We can order our potatoes for next spring and begin scouring the gardening catalogues for our next purple crops.... Once more, the world is becoming our oyster but this time it will be bigger and better! :)

Surveying his new plot!