Anne’s Patch: ‘Looking forward to Christmas potatoes!’

Anne Akers on life on her Calverley allotment plot

Everyone on the site agrees, it’s been a poor year for growing on our allotments. Never has there been so much bare brown earth and so little green growth at the height of the season. Nearly every crop was weeks later than we’d expect, that’s if they grew at all.

I was later than usual planting my maincrop potatoes because the ground was so cold and soggy, though it wasn’t too late to expect them to do their thing. When nothing was showing three weeks later, I was concerned, after four weeks, I was worried and did a test dig. There was nothing, the cold wet heavy ground refused to let the King Edwards grow, they’d rotted. 

Fortunately even in late summer there was still time to plant potatoes. The ever-reliable Charlottes, which are second earlies (‘new’ or salad potatoes) are happy to get going and produce potatoes for Christmas, providing it’s not too cold or wet and the frosts stay away. So far, so good, every one of the seed potatoes I planted is not only growing, but showing a fine display of healthy foliage.

On the plus side, we had a good harvest of broad beans and peas. The peas were definitely the better for being grown first in a length of guttering and then pushed straight into their pre-prepared trough home, I’ll do that again.

And while the squash are looking good, only four of the ten plants survived the cold, wet and advancing army of slugs. Still, once cut and cured, they’ll be lovely. This means leaving them outside in the sunlight for a week or so after they’re cut so the skin thickens, then storing them in a well-ventilated place such as the greenhouse or even the spare bedroom.   

The brassicas are still growing and can be left until spring if need be, they’re covered with net to keep the pigeons away and now they’re all grown-up they’re too tough for the slugs.

With everything else having come and gone, it’s now time to start preparing for next year. I’ve ordered a couple of rhubarb crowns, I’ve never grown them before, but after tasting a friend’s fabulous rhubarb and ginger jam, I’m giving it a go. Ground preparation is key as once they’re in, they don’t like to be moved. They do like lots of well-rotted manure, and they do want it to be dug well in. The same applies to preparing strawberry beds. 

Strawberries should be moved every two or three years to keep them disease-free, mine will be getting a new poo-filled home for their roots very soon. I’m going to be doing a lot of digging.

But before I get back to the hard work, it’s a good time of year to take a flask of tea down to the plot, have a seat, preferably with a fellow plotholder and look around at the plots and marvel at what we can grow and how much better it is than buying them in the supermarket. 

I will never be self-sufficient with my allotment produce. And I know I do chunter about the mud and cold and how bad a year it’s been, but every time I go down to my plot, my smile widens with each step. 

Every minute spent there is a minute well-spent, whether it’s digging, planting, harvesting, or sitting back with a cuppa, listening to the birds and admiring our beautiful world.