I always enjoy reading gardening tales; especially those where the sowing and growing is done by fellow first timers.
And I’m partial to a pun, so that made ‘Using the Plot’ by Paul Merrett (of the TV series Gastronomy Economy, where he came over as ‘down to earth’ ) a must read.
‘Using the Plot’ follows his first two years as an allotment novice. His mission – to grow produce enough to keep his family out of the supermarket and become a family who digs together… a task which proved tougher than the first.
The book’s a mix of allotment diary and recipes; the recipes being digging-worth-it-delicious.
And the tomato growing:
A rotational 3 bed system with tomatoes in the legume bed along with beans (runner and broad), spinach, lettuce and sweetcorn.
Varieties grown: a large beefsteak (Nigel Slater would not leave us wondering which) and Gardeners Delight. Harvest in the 1st year; 40 Kg.
The 2nd year (’07) got off to a very wet start and tomato blight arrived on the allotments late May. Followed by the survivors becoming overwhelmed by the companion planted Marigolds, which instead of growing nicely, got competitive.
Which as I’m planning on experimenting with companion planting this year, is a useful insight into the character of the Marigold.
Tomorrow – tomato tantalization from the recipe section.
