We had a couple of days working on the allotment last week and a couple of days at two of our usual haunts.
The trees now cast a golden glow but it won't be long before they cast off their leaves and become silhouettes. For now, we can enjoy the autumn tints.
At Temple Newsam, photos had to be taken trying to avoid the metal fencing that had sprung up around the lake area. The fencing isn't at all photogenic. We guessed that the fencing was in preparation for some sort of event so I checked on the internet when we arrived home. Sure enough they are staging a Christmas Lights Trail in a week or two. Video of visit.
Our days on the allotment mainly focused on continuing to clear and tidy beds to prepare them for their winter rest.
However, the first thing we went to check on was the site of the previous week’s bonfire. All that remained was a thin layer of ash which will be dug it later.
The two cardoons, that stand sentinel throughout summer at one edge of the plot, have been cut back. The new growth is already fairly well advanced. Video here
More beds have been cleared, weeded and edged and the grass paths have been strimmed. Hopefully, the growth of the grass and any new weed growth will be slowed down by the onset of colder weather and less hours of daylight. The only crops that remained in the long bed - bottom right photo above - were a few swedes and moolis.
For a few years now, we have failed when it comes to growing swedes. We have had the odd fluke but other than that our swedes never develop a ball like root - or is it a stem? We’ve tried sowing direct and in modules but all we get is a cylinder shape. Any secrets to success that we should know about?
Having been introduced to moolis by Mal on his blog, we decided to give them a go. I only sowed a few seeds in case we didn’t like them. I thinned them out exactly as specified but I dug up a very motley looking group. One - top left photo - looked like a cross between a mooli and one of our deformed swedes. There were also quite a few little tiddlers. I did end up though with three or four that looked as I expected. Video here. Apparently small moolis can be eaten raw but larger ones are better cooked. I didn’t really know how to cook the moolis so I decided to try them in a stir fry with some chicken that needed using up. I julienned a mooli and a carrot. I added one of our onions and some strips of red and green peppers and some sliced mushrooms. It was moistened with sweet chilli sauce and served with noodles. The mooli worked well in this so now I need more ideas on how to use them. Any suggestions?
Another meal that made use of our homegrown vegetables was a vegetable turnover. Into this went a leek, carrot and frozen peas. Green, yellow and red peppers and portobello mushroom were also added and the turnover was served with a mixture of our frozen sweet corn, broad beans and runner beans.
I used some of our carrots and onion in a vegetable orzo dish. Next time I make it I'll cut down on the liquid content.
