Hello again! 👋
Welcome to the mid-April edition of The Anaesthetist’s Allotment. I hope you enjoy it.
Please feel free to follow, like or comment and I look forward to getting some of your feedback.
Disclaimer: I’m a professional anaesthetist, not a professional gardener. I do a bit of gardening and cycling in my spare time. I have grown veggies for many years and have learnt what works for me (sometimes!). These are my ramblings! I would be honoured to be corrected / advised by those with more knowledge than me!
General:
This is the sixth post of 2024 in the Anaesthetist’s Allotment. It has been two weeks since my last posting. Things are starting to move along quite quickly now in “The Anaesthetists Allotment”.
The days continue to lengthen, the clocks have gone forward. So, the sun sets today at about 2020, and the evenings stay light until about 2130 dependant on the presence, absence, or thickness of the cloud cover. The weather remains very changeable and moody. It was near zero for several days during the last week and there was a good fall of snow on the nearby hills and mountains. The last couple of days have been 18’C, nearly a heatwave in Scotland! The lovely temperatures have however been marred by gale force winds. Ahh, such is life! There is still a danger of frosts for the next month or so, so beware of planting those tender little plants outside and abide by the old Scottish saying “N’er cast a clout till May is out”!
In the greenhouse:
The battery powered watering system continues to function well and does what it says on the tin: water the plants!!!!
I will replace it with the full watering system which will connected to the mains water supply within the next week or so. Just waiting to see what the weather will do! Cant have the pipes freezing!
The three lots of tomato seeds which I received in my Christmas Advent Calendar had sprouted before my last posting 😊. They were thinned out and continue to grow well.
I will plant them outside when the weather warms up a bit more. Next week I will do a root check to see if they need potting up into larger pots to stimulate further growth.
The salad lettuce seed tape and carrots which I planted at the same time are looking good. The lettuce is ready to start harvesting 😊. The carrots are getting quite big, but no signs of bulking up at the roots yet. There are also a few spring onions growing (hidden by the carrots), but not as many as I would have liked.
The Onion sets (Rhumba) have all sprouted and looking great. They will be planted out into the Veggie Garden / Allotment next week, weather willing!
My seed potatoes (Winston) have chitted very nicely. Little shoots have appeared. They are now ready to be planted out into the garden next week.
I have planted some of these seed potatoes into grow bags in the greenhouse. They have sprouted well and are growing so fast that I will soon have to add some more compost to the grow bags to enhance the crop.
The poor celery seeds were one of the biggest casualties of the warm period we had just before we got back from holiday – they were the smallest and most vulnerable plants after all! I thought they were dead, but after watering them with a gentle spray, they have resurrected. Not many, I grant you, but enough for us to hopefully get some plants to maturity!
They continue to grow and are now looking quite good. I think that they may be ready for potting up into individual pots next week.
This celery is a first for me 😊. Looking forward to seeing how this goes! Thank goodness disaster has been avoided!
Two weeks ago, I sowed the seeds of several of our allotment crops. These have now sprouted and are looking fantastic. The seeds planted include:
Summer Cabbage: I’m trying two varieties this year: Hispi and Caraflex. I have grown both before, but this will be a direct comparison.
So far, the Caraflex looks much stronger than the Hispi.
Kale (Nero di Toscana): My wife has adopted an unhappy expression 🤢, whenever I have suggested growing Kale before. So I was delighted when I received a packet of kale seeds in my Christmas gardening advent calendar! This variety is described as a “large stately plant with striking deeply-wrinkled, near black leaves. Can be picked from autumn onwards”.
This Kale was a bit later in sprouting than the other brassicas, but it’s happened now and all looking good!
Winter Cabbage (Tundra): I have grown this many times before and it is a firm favourite.
Looking great.
Beetroot (Detroit Globe): Another seed packet from my garden advent calendar. Described as: “a crimson red beetroot, a high producing crop. Can be grown in clumps of four. A sweet beetroot, its leaves can be harvested early and used like spinach”.
This has also been a bit slow in sprouting and remains a bit sparse 🤔😕
Continuing with the planting in the greenhouse two weeks ago:
Brussels Sprout: Traditionally I have always grown Maximus and we have always liked them. But the sprouts have been getting smaller year-on-year, so, this year I am going to try another variety called Brodie. I am not brave enough to switch completely and will trial the two varieties side by side! If I don’t have Brussels sprout for Christmas dinner, well, ……… say no more! ☠️
Brodie is described as: “The ultimate Christmas Sprout! Exceptionally mild, no bitter taste”. It is apparently harvested between September and February, so would seem to be earlier than Maximus.
Turnip (Golden Ball): Again one of my gardening advent calendar seed packets, so will give it a go! Described as: “One of the best late cropping varieties. Excellent mild, nutty and firm texture. Patience is needed with this variety as it germinates and grows much slower than other varieties” – this does not bode well for the short growing season in the far north of Scotland!
All of these have sprouted very well and may need thinning out in the coming week to leave just one plant per cell of the seed tray.
Continuing with the planting in the greenhouse from two weeks ago:
Chard: Two varieties, again from my Christmas Advent Calendar: Rhubarb Leaf and Rainbow Mix. I am sure these will provide some colour in the Allotment together with some great eating!
Both of these have sprouted well and are coming on nicely 😊!
Continuing with the planting in the greenhouse from two weeks ago:
Beetroot: Two varieties, both of which I have grown many times before:
Burpee’s Golden, a lovely golden beetroot with a very sweet flavour.
Boltardy, a deep red beetroot with a fabulous earthy flavour.
Both of these have sprouted well and are coming on nicely 😊!
Again two weeks ago, I started the summer planting of Leeks. They have all sprouted and are already looking really good.
I am trying 3 varieties this year as I have become increasingly disappointed with the quality of my old staple: Musselborough. So this year, I am trying:
Below Zero: I have grown this a couple of times now and get nice leeks which last well all the way through winter.
Oarsman: “A quality, early maturing vigorous and reliable variety! Long uniform crystal-white shanks with dark foliage which bulk up quickly. Stands well, shows good tolerance to rust and bolting.”
Autumn Mammoth: “early variety, is comparable to Goliath if left to mature to full size. It has a long shaft and erect leaves, with some rust resistance.”
It looks like the Autumn Mammoth (in the centre) is way ahead of the other two, but, to be fair, it’s packet of seeds had 3 times the number of seeds in it than the other two. So probably an unfair advantage!
Strawberries: In a pot in the greenhouse, usually give us a few early strawberries. They are already in flower 🤞
Juniper Bonsai: This has overwintered very well and is looking fabulous.
I am debating whether to:
1) remove the main branch on the left and convert it into a “wind-blown” (“Fukinagashi”) classic style,
2) leaving it as is
What do you think? Let me know in the comments section.
In the Garage:
Yes, in the garage!
Last year, I ran out of space in the greenhouse, and had great success germinating my squashes etc in a mini-greenhouse with grow-lights in the garage.
Anticipating similar space and electrical deficiencies again in the greenhouse, I am trying this again this year.
Left: This is the mini-greenhouse with this year’s plantings – described in more detail below.
Two weeks later:
…….. and there’s some green in there!
……… and moisture!!!!!!
All of these seeds have spouted very well. Last year, I had several failures, but this year, there is only one cell (Pumpkin wicked) which has not yet sprouted. Very pleased with that result!
Cucumber (Mini Munch): a delightful finger sized cucumber which we have grown in the greenhouse for many years.
Courgette (Zucchini): A green courgette
Courgette (Goldmine): a yellow / golden variety of courgette
Pumpkin (Wicked): We have grown these for a few years and had some good crops, both in the greenhouse and the veggie garden.
Pumpkin (Jack of all Trades): We have grown these for a few years and had some good crops, both in the greenhouse and the veggie garden. Some of these are getting so big that they are already needing support!
Many of the seedlings are already developing their true leaves. This means that I will be able to pot them up into larger pots very soon, probably within the next week.
All of these have spouted very well. Last year, I had several failures, but this year, there is only one cell (Butternut Walnut) which has not yet sprouted. Very pleased with that result!
Gemsquash: A veggie well known to those of us from Southern Africa, which grows surpringly well in our cold, very northern climate. We usually get huge crops of delicious “gems”.
Butternut (Walnut) and (Hunter): I grew these two varieties last year. After struggling with my butternut crop for several years, last year saw a nice crop of butternuts from within the greenhouse. So I am going to try these two varieties again and hope for the same result!
Many of the seedlings are already developing their true leaves. This means that I will be able to pot them up into larger pots very soon, probably within the next week.
Veggie garden:
Spring Cabbage (Spring Hero) – as the days lengthen, so these are starting to bulk up. Wont be long until they start to form hearts and we will be enjoying them 😋 – a very tasty cabbage, one of my favourites!
Garlic – looking great now.
Shallot (Jermour): looking really good inside their protective tent!
A new planting, using seed tapes, of:
Lettuce (Baby Gems)
Spring Onions
Lettuce (Salad mix)
Radish (Cherry Belle)
No signs of any growth yet!
Right: Broadbeans (Sutton) sown next to their support stakes
Left: Perpetual Spinach – sown direct into the soil using a seed tape.
No signs of any growth yet!
Apple trees have just come into leaf in the last day or two. The apple blossom will follow shortly. It is usually spectacular.
Rhubarb: Growing really nicely now. I will soon be harvesting some of these stalks. Oh, I just love a rhubarb crumble 😋!
Note the flower stalk appearing at the back on the right. This will need to be removed soon, or the plant will think it has done its evolutionary duty!
Rest of the garden:
The beautiful Crocus’s have all passed now but there are still some lovely Daffodils which look amazing despite the wind’s best efforts!
The Snakes-head Fritillary are now looking brilliant.
And the brilliantly-coloured Tulips have now started making their appearance. ☺️
Things are starting to move forward at pace now and I look forward to keeping you updated regularly on developments in The Anaesthetists Allotment.
See you next time!
Dr Doug (Douglas) McKendrick 
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