Allotments 4 All

fwooar it was a wild and windy morning but sunny, took up bean poles and did a bit of harvesting :)
the usual suspects you might think, but look closely at bottom right hand corner - one tomato from the greenhouse, and a wee globe artichoke - unusual for December?

That's aMAZing!!

Wow, you beat me with the tomatoes and I'm in Spain  >:(!! ;)I love your cauliflower! Just planted some cauli and broc seedlings  yesterday after the swede midge wiping out all of my P.S.Broc its fingers crossed for these!!
Well done!!!

:D :D Sprout what times dinner.   ;D ;D ;D ;D :-*

See all that mulching really does work.  :)
Do you cover the greenhouse in winter too?  :)

Clever Sprout!
;D

What on earth are you going to do with that minnow of an artichoke, though?

thank you for kind comments :) great idea about the greenhouse marymary ::) ;)
that lil artichoke gets its top chopped off and roasted with buttered parsnips - cook's treat ;D

my first year growing globe artichokes, aren't the leaves supposed to die down at some point? mine are still taking over the world ???

"roasted with buttered parsnips" ... yum!

Unseasonality is brilliant when it's grow-your-own, isn't it?

The toms I took pity on (no space on the lottie) and bunged into old windowboxes in the conservatory are saying thank you: still getting enough Gardener's Delight and Golden Peardrop to do the little uns' lunchboxes!

Quote from: triffid on December 07, 2006, 19:43:34
still getting enough Gardener's Delight and Golden Peardrop to do the little uns' lunchboxes!

feeling well upstaged! ;D
hope lil and tiny triff know how lucky they are ;)

Cor! It all looks scrummy SS... :P Looking forward to Romanesco Broc (?) next year. All cauli a dismal faliure this time but we are not downhearted. ;D
I love the pink colour of yours. Maybe mine will be improved now I'm a mulch convert  ;D

Quote from: supersprout on December 07, 2006, 20:11:00
feeling well upstaged! ;D

As if   ::)  ;)

Quote from: supersprout on December 07, 2006, 20:11:00

hope lil and tiny triff know how lucky they are ;)

Nope; no idea at all!
(They're children, they expect the world, peeled, sliced and served on a plate)

my first year with globe artichokes too but nothing to eat just lots of leaves, the outer ones have died down but the others are looking good & healthy.

My hartichokes died right back by this time last year and I mulched them with lashings of straw.  This year they are as lush as they were back in June!  I couldn't believe it when I went up there today!  The cardoon is the same, gorgeous and HUGE!  I guess a prolonged cold snap will knock them back - I am hoping the foliage will protect the crowns!

Quote from: EJ - Emma Jane on December 08, 2006, 23:02:49
I mulched them with lashings of straw

oh it must be the mulch then ;) ;D
Watch out maggie, that lovely blue/pink cauli (Graffiti) is the one that tim posted cooked - bluish grey :o

Oooooh ya flash bird Sprouty  ;D What a great pic!

I've ordered some artichokes for next year. Do you eat the whole of the tops or just the bit at the bottom of the top <--- what a ridiculous sentence! YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN  ;D

ty trixie :)

you can eat the wee ones whole, just cut off the spiny leaf points and steam/grill/stew cos the chokes aren't formed
or attack the whole mature artichoke - steam or boil til tender, cool a bit, then peel off the leaves one by one and dip into melted butter or vinaigrette. Unlike sweetcorn, good on a first date ;)

If you want to use the chokes as a veggie - which I do, that's why I've got a forest of em - I prepare them like this :D



Then you can slice and layer in a lasagne, stir fry, stew whole in butter, put into stews ... and so on. I want to learn how to preserve them in oil and vinegar, I love artichokes in oil but they are SOOO expensive in the shops. Anyone got a receep for bottling them sott'olio? ::)

Thanks  ;D

I've ordered 10 plants. Is that too many do you think?  ::)

LOL if you like them, definitely NO!
I'm trying several varieties from seed to see what grows best too, and look forward to following EJ's instructions for propagating the best bushes from slips next year.
Just to put things into perspective, last plant count here is 69 for the two of us. We do eat a lot as babbies :-[

69??????????????? !!!! PMSL!!!!

I've never tasted a fresh one before, only those dreadful pickled ones in oil and mush. Mind you, I like all vegetables EXCEPT BROAD BEANS AND CELERY so they won't go to waste  :)

Quote from: Trixiebelle on December 09, 2006, 09:12:48
only those dreadful pickled ones in oil and mush.

Erm, that's exactly what I'm longing to cobble together in the kitchen next year!
But will be gorging on the fresh ones too ;D