Tag Archives: veggie garden

The Anaesthetists Allotment – 13th May 2024

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Hello again! 👋

Welcome to the this 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 10th post of 2024 in this year’s series of “The Anaesthetist’s Allotment”. It has only been one week since my last posting, but things are starting to move along very quickly now in “The Anaesthetists Allotment”. Lots has been happening over the last week.

The days continue to lengthen. The sun sets today at about 2126 (17 minutes later than last week!), and the evenings stay light until about 2330 dependant on the presence, absence, or thickness of the cloud cover.

At last there has been an improvement in our weather. Day time temperatures have even reached the low 20’s. Wow 😮!

And some sun, double wow!

And, very little rain, triple wow!!!

Ahh 🤔, but don’t be fooled dear gardeners, winter may yet return to bite us on the proverbial! Keep your eyes open!!

We have had a very special week. On Friday night, we were treated to one of the best displays of the Northern Lights (aka Aurora Borealis) for the last 20 years. Mind you, we did have to wait until after midnight for it to be dark enough for us to witness the spectacle.

I just couldn’t resist sharing a few pictures with you. These photos were taken outside our back door with an iPhone camera and have not been altered or enhanced at all.

The whole sky was a mass of rainbow colours which seemed to emanate from a “corona” directly above our heads (above right). It covered the whole 360’ vista around us. When we have been lucky enough to see the aurora previously, it has only ever been in the North. This time it was everywhere, North, East, West and even South. Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!

Enough about the weather……….

…………. And magical lights in the sky

Let’s get back to the garden then……….

In the greenhouse:

I am pleased to report that that the squash plant survivors (after my attempted genocide) are now doing well. They are all a bit behind, but hey, wouldn’t you be after a near-death experience in ICU!

I have started potting up those which will remain in the greenhouse into bigger pots and have placed them into their final positions within the greenhouse.

As they are all climbing plants, I have erected wooden scaffolds for them to climb up.

Four of the Gemsquash plants have been potted up and placed in their final places in the greenhouse.(left – top and bottom)

The four Butternut survivors are looking good (two of them on the right).

One Pumpkin survivor (right) has been potted up and placed to continue growing in the greenhouse. The other’s will be planted outside in a few weeks time.

Pumpkins were the only type of squash where we were going to be short after the genocide attempt. I managed to get a couple of pumpkins and a chilli at our local B&Q to bolster our harvests. One of the Pumpkins (right) and the Chilli (left) have been potted up to grow on in the greenhouse.

Only one Cucumber (Mini Munch) survived. It has been potted up. I traditionally use grow bags for my cucumbers and tomatoes. It does look a bit lonely in its grow-bag, but fortunately, the resowing has yielded a good germination. So, hopefully, there will be some company for it soon. In fact, the second sowing was so successful that I may have a few spare cucumber plants left over to donate to needy causes!

The second sowing of squashes in the garage has miraculously germinated those varieties of which we were very short! Those we didn’t really need didn’t germinate. How does that work?

All of these plants have developed their true (adult) leaves over the last week. So I have moved them up to the greenhouse to grow on a bit more. I am hoping to pot them up later this week.

The propagator in the garage has now done its job. It has been switched off and has entered retirement until next year.

A few Strawberries are almost ripe in the greenhouse. 😋

Veggie garden:

The Veggie Garden / Allotment is looking rather bare at the moment as shown in the wee video (left).…….

……but, most of the beds have either had seeds sown, or the wee plants from the greenhouse planted. This quite clearly shown in the “garden planner’ (right) where the red ticks indicate those already either sown or planted out.

The apple trees are in full blossom. It is almost over now, but it did attract lots of bumblebees (left) etc.

The “Fruit Cage” is also looking great (right). Lots of apple blossom here too. The strawberry beds (foreground) are looking good with lots of nice leafy growth.

Redcurrants have lots of fruit forming.(left)….

….as do the Gooseberries (right)

The Summer Cabbage (Hispi & Caraflex) have now been planted out into the Veggie Garden / Allotment, after spending a week acclimatising to the local weather in a cold frame (right).

They look tiny compared to the Spring Cabbages (Spring Hero) next to them. These have been in the Veggie Garden / Allotment all the way through winter and are now growing strongly. They are even beginning to form hearts (left). Wont be long until we are munching on these.

Beetroot (Boltardy and Burpees Golden) have now been planted out into their final positions in the raised bed. They have done their time in the cold frame and should now grow away nicely.

The Chard plants, which have spent a week in the cold frame, have also been planted out into their raised bed. (Right)

However, when I came out the next day, somebody had been feasting on my baby chard! I suspect the blackbirds, pigeons or pheasant.

A hastily erected cage should hopefully put an end to that! (Left)

The Celery plants have been planted out into their raised bed in the allotment (left).

Also in this bed are the Turnip – Golden Ball which I grew from seed from the Advent Calendar (right).

The turnips are the reason for the netting over the bed, as they are susceptible to the dreaded cabbage white butterfly!

The tomatoes, from the Advent Calendar, have now been planted out into the Veggie Garden / Allotment into their final positions.

All of this planting out has left the cold frame looking rather abandoned, with only the leeks left in it.

The Leeks are looking really good. They continue to grow on nicely. I am trying 3 varieties this year: Below Zero; Oarsman; and Autumn Mammoth. Hopefully I should get them planted out in the next week or so.

Early in the week, I noticed some compost lying on the path next to the raised bed in which I planted the pea seeds last week. (Right)

Closer inspection showed that someone had been digging up exactly where I had planted the peas (left)

Who could the thief be, I wonder?

Well, blackbirds are always digging for worms etc and make a similar mess. Must be high on the suspect list!

Pigeons? More likely to eat the greenery.

Much to our delight, we have had a young pheasant visiting our bird feeder recently. However, I did see it in the Veggie Garden / Allotment just before the incident, so maybe. He has disappeared since then, which may be a sign of guilt!

Squirrels 🐿️ would do this, but we haven’t seen a squirrel in the garden for many years, so unlikely.

So, I put a wire mesh over this area to protect it (as shown in the pictures above.……

…….and it seems to have worked, as I now have a great crop of peas sprouting (left)

I do think that the thief got away with a good number of pea seeds though, as the dug-up area is rather sparse in terms of growth compared to the rest. (Right)

Thinking back – for the last few years, my first sowing of peas has not germinated well and I have usually had to re-sow. Perhaps this thief has been here longer than I thought. He / she only got caught this year because he / she got sloppy and scattered the compost onto the path, or I would never have known!

Suspiciously, I closely inspected the other plantings in the Veggie Garden / Allotment following this criminal activity……..

….and there we go, almost undetectable, and only because I was looking closely, I noticed…..

…..little areas of disturbed compost where I had planted the Runner Beans at the base of each stake.

I hastily erected a protective net to keep the thief away.

Much to my delight, later in the week, the Runner Beans appeared next to their climbing poles. The thief had not stolen all of the seeds. Yesss! (Left)

However, looking closely….

….some of the beans which had germinated outside the protective netting…..

…… and been dug up by the vagabond (right)!!!!!!!

……he / she is still around

The Potatoes – Winston have just sprouted and are peeping through the soil this week.

The Rhubarb has been savaged even more severely than last week!

Do not panic, dear readers, it will regrow.

Quite quickly, in fact!

Haa! I have found where it’s gone!

Into the kitchen (Top)

…….then lovingly prepared, according to secret recipe, cooked and delicately placed into wee manikins (centre left)

……..an oat “crumble” is added on top 🤤, cooked and frozen.

……..et voila! Rhubarb Crumbles for many months to come! 😋 (centre right)

……..but there’s more!

……..my favorite! Rhubarb and Ginger jam. (Bottom)

……..Oh my! 😊

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!

The Anaesthetists Allotment – 6th May 2024

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Hello again! 👋

Welcome to the this “spring” 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 9th post of 2024 in this year’s series of “The Anaesthetist’s Allotment”. It has only been one week since my last posting, but things are starting to move along quite quickly now in “The Anaesthetists Allotment”. Lots has been happening over the last week.

The days continue to lengthen. The sun sets today at about 2109 (15 minutes later than last week!), and the evenings stay light until about 2300 dependant on the presence, absence, or thickness of the cloud cover. However, the weather remains very changeable and moody.

Last week, the “weather-man” told us that it was going to warm up. Well they were right, to an extent! The very low sub-zero temperatures have indeed gone, for the moment, anyway! It has warmed up, but to a highest temperature of 15’C – I can hear those of you outside Scotland shivering and putting on extra jerseys at that temperature 🤭 . The first couple of days it rained, heavily! Then the sun came out, but it was accompanied by quite a strong wind, which kinda took the “feels like” temperature down a peg or two. For the last day or two we have descended under a cloud, literally. The “haar” (a lovely Scottish term for a cold sea-fog) has arrived and it certainly no longer feels like spring / summer, although it remains 15’C! There is still the chance that we may get another proper cold snap, with further sub-zero temperatures. Obviously, as gardeners, that is one of our biggest fears at this time of year as it is lethal to the tender wee plants we have just grown and planted out.

Enough about the weather……….

Let’s get on with it then……….

In the greenhouse:

Two weeks ago, I had a terrible disaster in the propagator in the garage. This was where I had successfully germinated and grown all of my “squash” plants for this coming year. Unknowingly I had committed genocide by allowing too much moisture to build up inside the propagator. This led to rotting of the stems and fungus growth which killed the majority of my wee plants. 😢

Yes, I am still sulking!

But…….

There have been no more fatalities 🥳

The four Butternut survivors are looking good (left). 3 more plants have grown from the second sowing in the garage, so that should be plenty for us this year.

The four surviving pumpkins are also looking good (right) – well, apart from one of them, which still looks a bit dodgy but seems to have put out a new leaf this week. Will keep an eye on it!

Only one more pumpkin has germinated from the second sowing in the garage, so…..

I have been to the local garden centre, who had nothing. Ended up at the B&Q, who at least had a great range of veggie plants. I managed to get a couple of pumpkins and a chilli there (right) to bolster our harvests.

Only one Cucumber (Mini Munch) survived. But fortunately, 3 new plants have sprouted in the garage, so again we should be ok for cucumbers this year. The survivor looks really good and will be able to head into the grow bag soon.

The three Courgette Goldmine (yellow courgettes) which survived are also now starting to look quite good.

Fortunately the Courgette Zucchini (green courgettes) have sprouted well in the garage from the second sowing and we now have 4 seedlings coming along.

So, we should be ok for both green and yellow courgettes this year.

The six surviving Gemsquash look great and are also growing away, just fine. We have only had one more Gemsquash germinate from the second sowing in the garage. But, fortunately this should be enough for our needs this year.

In the Garage:

The second sowing of squashes in the garage is showing signs of life! At last something good is happening 😊.

There is not a hint of excess moisture and the seedlings are now starting to form their true leaves. It will not be long until they can get potted up and moved up to the greenhouse.

Those of you with very keen eyesight will have noticed that several of the planted cells have not germinated at all. This could have been a major disaster for us. But, fortunately, a higher power seems to have been smiling on us, and the seeds which germinated were those that we desperately needed. So, all will be well in the Anaesthetists Allotment this year.

Back to the greenhouse:

Potatoes (Winston)

I had planted some of these seed potatoes into grow bags in the greenhouse to give us an early potato crop. They have grown well, been topped-up with compost, and continue to look great. They have been outside the greenhouse day and night for the last week and are looking amazing.

The Celery plants have been potted up into their own individual cells and are looking amazing. They will soon be ready to plant out into the Veggie Garden / Allotment

The outdoor tomatoes, leeks, Cabbage, Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Beetroot and Chard were moved into a cold frame outside the greenhouse last weekend.

The ideas behind this is to acclimatise the plants to the cooler temperatures outside before they get planted out into the Veggie Garden / Allotment. This gives them less of a shock 😳 and apparently they do better!

The roof of the cold frame is closed at night in case the temperatures drop too much!

These plants will be planted out into their final positions in the Veggie Garden / Allotment next week.

The cold frame contains Summer Cabbage (Hispi and Caraflex); Kale (Nero di Toscana); Winter Cabbage (Tundra); Beetroot (Detroit Globe); Brussels Sprout (Maximus and Brodie); Turnip (Golden Ball); Chard (Rhubarb Leaf and Rainbow Mix); Beetroot (Burpee’s Golden and Boltardy).

The Leeks are looking really good. They continue to grow on nicely. I am trying 3 varieties this year: Below Zero; Oarsman; and Autumn Mammoth

The three lots of tomato seeds which I received in my Christmas Advent Calendar are looking good 😊. I will plant them outside in the next week or so.

The Second mini-greenhouse has been removed from the greenhouse. As has the mini-greenhouse in which the bonsais were successfully over-wintered. This gives a lot more space in the greenhouse.

The seed trays (right) planted in February are looking amazing now. The lettuce is ready for munching and the carrots will not be too much longer.

I have planted the next lot of salad leaves. They have started to sprout. (Left)

Bonsai

My bonsai have all decided that spring is here and had started growing quite vigorously. They look quite good despite their spring haircut a week ago!

They are loving being out of their cramped winter home.

My two Jacaranda Bonsai (far right) are both looking really good. They have now survived two Scottish winters! Amazing! I never would have believed it.

Alexander’s Fig Bonsai (left) looks lovely. It is starting to get some real character now.

My Juniper Bonsai (right) is also looking great. I designed it in a “Windswept” style and am still trying to decide whether to remove the left main branch or not.

Veggie garden:

It’s time to get the Watering System set up.

The pipes and controllers have been stored in the garage (right) over winter to prevent frost damage.

Batteries are inserted into the controllers. All the bits are linked up and connected to the mains water supply (left) and WiFi.

Each pot in the greenhouse has a feed to it. (Right)

There are two sprinklers which cover the whole of the Veggie Garden / Allotment.(left)

The controller’s are connected to WiFi……..

……. And the whole lot is controlled from an app on my phone! (Right)

Technology is wonderful!

Two of the raised beds in the Veggie Garden / Allotment have been weeded this morning. Where do all these weeds come from? They have then been hoe’d vigorously and a nice thick layer of manure added to the top.

These are now ready for me to plant out the brassicas (cabbages, Kale, and Brussels Sprout which are currently hardening off in the cold frame outside the greenhouse. I will get them planted out during this coming week.

And, that’s them with their netting on. All ready for the assault of the dreaded cabbage fly. More about that pest later in the season!

Similarly, the remainder of raised bed into which I had sown the Beetroot – Boltary (red) and Burpees Golden (yellow) seeds a week ago, has also been weeded, hoe’d and mulched with manure. All ready for the first sowing of the beetroot to be planted out this week. They are currently also in the cold frame.

The rest of the bed for the Spinach has also been prepared, as above. Again these plants will be planted out from the cold frame to their final position next week.

The apple trees have finally decided to bless us with their full blossom. It is beautiful, but particularly so in the twilight, when the blossom seems to shine.

Pink apple blossom for the “cooker’s” (right).

And, white apple blossom for the “eater’s” (left)

The Rhubarb has been savaged!

Haa! I have found where it’s gone!

Into the kitchen (Top)

…….then lovingly prepared according to secret recipe, cooked and delicately placed into wee manikins (centre)

……..an oat “crumble” is added on top 🤤

……..into the oven 🤤 😋

……….et voila!

My Rhubarb Crumble is ready! My favorite!

……..It was absolutely wonderful, as expected 😋

Rest of the garden:

Sweet Peas – planted and ready to climb up the wall hopefully to produce a spectacular burst of colour in summer.

Pansies and Petunias starting to provide some spring colour.

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!

The Anaesthetists Allotment – 30th April 2024

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Hello again! 👋

Welcome to the this “spring” 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 eighth post of 2024 in this year’s series of “The Anaesthetist’s Allotment”. It has only been one week since my last posting, but things are starting to move along quite quickly now in “The Anaesthetists Allotment”. Lots has been happening over the last week. However, I really need to feed back to you after my attempted genocide of the entire squash population, and provide you with an update on that situation.

The days continue to lengthen. The sun sets today at about 2055 (15 minutes later than last week!), and the evenings stay light until about 2230 dependant on the presence, absence, or thickness of the cloud cover. However, the weather remains very changeable and moody. It has been near zero for most of the last week and falls of snow continue on the nearby hills and mountains. The short nights are still going sub-zero every night, which can be lethal for tiny plants! There has also been lots of rain and wind. Apart from the lengthening days, one would hardly dare to call it spring!!!!! The “weather-man” tells me that it will warm up from tomorrow. Yeah right! I will believe when I see it! Don’t get excited, mind, it is only going to get to 15’C! Although this may be classed as warm in Scotland, many other places would class this as winter temperatures!!! And will there be any sun???? I bet it will be rain and wind to go with the slightly warmer temperatures! I think I am starting to become a Doubting Thomas! Come on! Where’s the proper Spring, for goodness sake!

Sooooo……….

Let’s get on with it then……….

In the greenhouse:

Last week, I described the disaster with my squashes which had germinated well in my propagator in the garage. I thought all was well with them as they had looked lovely and green. However, last week, when I went to take them out of the propagator to pot them up: Disaster!

The moisture in the propagator, which I had noticed the week before, and negligently done nothing about, had caused the stems of the young plants to rot, and fungus to grow which further attacked the young seedlings. Several of the plants were irretrevably damaged and dead. ☠️ 😢

So, making the best of a bad thing, whilst struggling to see through my tears, I potted up what I could and moved them into the mini-greenhouse (far left).

🤔 RIP! 🪦

There have been further non-survivors during the week!

It is so sad 😞. Normally, this area within the mini-greenhouse is jam-packed full of little “squash” plants after they have been potted up for the first time. This year, the stark gaps are clearly obvious. It looks like a war zone!

(Right) Pumpkins, butternuts and cucumbers – well what’s left anyway! They look horrible, but, believe me, they look better than last week! 🤞

(Left) Gemsquash – again, horrible compared to normal, but they do look better than last week 🤞

In the Garage:

We have some new growth from the seeds I planted last weekend after the disaster. At last something good is happening 😊. Perhaps, I may not have to rely on the Garden Centre entirely for salvation!

They are detailed below:

Please rest assured that I am keeping the lid partially open and there is not a hint of excess moisture anywhere to be found! I have learnt my lesson – hopefully I will remember next year! 🙊

Casualty Count:

In both the greenhouse and Garage:

Cucumber (Mini Munch):

(Only one probable survivor!) ☠️ 😢

2 new plants have grown in the garage, so that should do us for this year! Phew!

Courgette (Zucchini): A green courgette

(No survivors!) ☠️ 😢

4 more plants have grown in the greenhouse. Again that should do us for this year!

Courgette (Goldmine): a yellow / golden variety of courgette

(All 3 have survived!) 🥳 😊

Pumpkin (Wicked):

(No survivors!) ☠️ 😢

1 more plant has grown in the greenhouse.

Pumpkin (Jack of all Trades):

(Only three survivors!) ☠️ 😢

That gives a total of only 4 Pumpkin plants for this year. We may struggle for pumpkins this year as I would normally have 6 or so plants. I have also run out of seeds. May have to buy a couple of seedlings at the garden centre, if they have any!

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”.

(Only six survivors!) ☠️ 😢

1 more plant has grown in the greenhouse. Again that should do us for this year, might be one plant short outside, but should be ok.

Butternut (Walnut) and (Hunter): I

(Only four survivors!) ☠️ 😢

3 more plants have grown in the greenhouse. Again that should do us for this year! I have only been able to get decent butternut crops inside the greenhouse in previous years – I think the growing season outside is too short here.

Back to the greenhouse:

The three lots of tomato seeds which I received in my Christmas Advent Calendar are looking good 😊.

I will plant them outside when the weather warms up a bit more. To get them ready for that, I will put them into a cold frame (see below).

Potatos (Winston)

I had planted some of these seed potatoes into grow bags in the greenhouse to give us an early potato crop. They have grown well, been topped-up with compost, and continue to look great. (Right)

Today is supposed to be the start of some warmer weather, so that’s the potato’s outside the greenhouse now!(left). I hope the weather-man is correct!

The poor celery seeds were one of the biggest casualties of the warm period we had just before we got back from holiday in March.

The little celery plants have now been potted up into their own individual cells and are looking amazing, especially considering their ordeal.

This celery is a first for me 😊. Looking forward to seeing how this goes! Thank goodness disaster has been avoided!

Second mini-greenhouse

This contains Summer Cabbage (Hispi and Caraflex); Kale (Nero di Toscana); Winter Cabbage (Tundra); Beetroot (Detroit Globe); Brussels Sprout (Maximus and Brodie); Turnip (Golden Ball); Chard (Rhubarb Leaf and Rainbow Mix); Beetroot (Burpee’s Golden and Boltardy). It has been unheated and is allowing these plants to gradually acclimatise to our temperatures. They will be moved into the cold frame soon (see below).

Again three weeks ago, I started the summer planting of Leeks. They have all sprouted and are already looking really good. They continue to grow on nicely.

I am trying 3 varieties this year: Below Zero; Oarsman; and Autumn Mammoth

The outdoor tomatoes, leeks, Cabbage, Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Beetroot and Chard have today been moved into a cold frame outside the greenhouse.

The ideas behind this is to acclimatise the plants to the cooler temperatures outside before they get planted out into the Veggie Garden / Allotment. This gives them less of a shock 😳 and apparently they do better!

The roof of the cold frame is closed at night in case the temperatures drop too much!

These plants will be planted out into their final positions next week.

The seed trays (left) planted in February are looking amazing now. The lettuce is ready for munching and the carrots will not be too much longer.

I have planted the next lot of salad leaves. They have started to sprout. (Right)

Last week, we had the first flower from my silver anniversary rose. We now have 3 roses. Beautiful 😍!

This rose has now been potted up into a larger pot ready to move outside soon.

Bonsai

My bonsai have all decided that spring is here and had started growing quite vigorously. I took them out this week and gave them a spring haircut!

They are looking good. It will soon be time to pack away their winter home (the mini-greenhouse) and move them out into the greenhouse itself.

Veggie garden:

The spinach (Perpetual Spinach) sown directly into the soil has now sprouted. This will give us a later harvest, which will follow on from the Spinach and Chard started in the greenhouse. These greenhouse grown early-croppers will be planted out into this same bed next week.

Runner beans (St George) have been sown next to their support stakes which have been tied together in a “wigwam” for strength.

A nice thick layer of manure has been added on top for food.

Peas (Early Onward): The first crop of peas has been sown directly into their location in the Veggie Garden / Allotment. A frame has been erected for them to grow up.

A second planting will be sown on the other side of the bed in about a month’s time. This will hopefully give us a nice harvest of peas over a longer period.

Beetroot – Boltary (red) and Burpees Golden (yellow) have been sown directly into the soil in the Veggie Garden / Allotment. (Left)

These sowings have been covered with a nice thick layer of manure which should provide some fantastic food for the plants as they grow.

This direct sowing should give a second harvest which will follow on after those plants which have been started in the greenhouse and are currently growing away nicely. These will be planted out into this same bed next week.

Right: The Onions (Rhumba) seem to have settled in nicely after having been planted out. They are looking good.

Left: Garlic (Solent Wight & “Granny’s”) are both looking good after sprouting during the depths of winter

A UK TV program and magazine, “Gardener’s World”, suggested that if I grow carrots together with onions or garlic and in very short rows, it will reduce the chances of carrot fly infestation. Carrot Fly has destroyed virtually every crop of carrots I have ever planted in my garden. It is a nightmare! To the extent that I had given up on growing carrots entirely. After reading this advice, I thought that I would give it one last go. So, I have planted some very short rows (one foot maximum) of Carrot Sugarsnax in between the rows of garlic and onions. I kinda feel like a sucker for punishment, but who knows, maybe this time! I must be the eternal optimist!

I use an on-line Garden Planner to plan which crops go into which raised bed every year. The main point of this is to ensure a good crop rotation, thereby ensuring that the same type of crop is not planted year after year on the same soil. Theoretically this will reduce diseases etc. My crop rotation means that there is usually 3 to 4 years between similar crops being planted in a raised bed.

I have ticked off the crops which have already been planted / sown in the Veggie Garden / Allotment. As you can see, the vast majority of the crops are now in. Those which are not ticked are in the greenhouse and will be planted out after the risk of frost is over.

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!

The Anaesthetists Allotment – 30th April 2023

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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!

Hello again!

Well it’s been a couple of week’s since my last update. I must admit to being a bit disappointed that I was not snowed under with a deluge of enquiries from my millions of loyal fans as to why there was no edition last week. Well to be honest, there was not even one enquiry!!!!! I suppose I have to be grateful that there was no applause either. I guess that it was a good thing that I could not hear all of the sighs of relief!

Hello hello hello
is anybody out there?
does anybody hear me?
Is anyone at home?

“Pink Floyd, The Wall”

I have two weeks of leave. So, predictably, the lovely weather of late disappears on the very first day of my leave. The temperatures have dropped dramatically and everyday has had some form of severe wind, rain, hail, sleet or snow. Most of the time it has been the majority of these all at once or alternating at very frequent intervals. Ahh 🙄, Scotland at it’s very best, in spring!

The first week:

Understandably, sub zero temperatures and frost are not a gardener’s best friends. Tiny, fragile seedlings are very vulnerable to such conditions. So the best plan of action is to batten down the hatches, keep the greenhouse door closed, heating on, and weather the storm!

So I guess you will understand when I say that nothing much happened in the garden in that first week – hence the lack of a report back!

I did manage to brave the weather conditions for a couple of hours during the week.

I erected a couple of ‘wigwam’ support structures for my runner beans (in the left picture). I have sown the seeds as well, in the hope that the ground was warm and that they will germinate. Hmm 🤨.. We’ll see!

With a similar theory in mind, I have sown the second planting of broad beans directly into the allotment bed (picture on the right). I am so confident in these germinating that I have even erected the support canes for them 🫣

Similarly, I have erected a frame with netting for my peas to climb up. The peas have also been planted. Fingers crossed 🤞.

The superstructure of the pea frame has been reinforced with a horizontal cross bar, which seems to prevent the weight of the peas from causing the whole thing to droop, sag and fall over.

In the middle of the bed I have used an old scaffolding plank as a walkway. This will separate the early planting (this one) and the second planting which I will sow in about 4 to 6 weeks to try to give us a succession of pea harvests. The “walkway” will also allow access to the insides of the rows of peas without having to walk on the soil and compacting it, thereby maintaining my no-dig soil structure and philosophy.

The Rhubarb is growing away nicely. I’m looking forward to that first delicious crumble. Rhubarb crumble is one of my favourites! 😋

But look at the triphid growing up out of the middle of it. This is a rhubarb flower. As with most vegetables, if a plant is allowed to flower, if feels that it has done it’s duty in life (reproduced) and dies. The secret is to not let the plant flower and it will keep beavering away as before. So this flower spike must be cut out ASAP to keep the plant producing well. Done ✅

The second week:

I have moved most of my brassicas (cabbages, Brussels sprouts, etc) into the cold frame to harden off. This is basically a process of allowing the plant to acclimatise to the colder weather outside, so that when they are planted out into the allotment they continue growing away strongly. I have never done this before. I have always just planted them directly out from the greenhouse into the veggie garden / allotment. I must admit that the plants always do seem to get a bit of a shock and take a few weeks before moving on again. It will be interesting to see if this cold frame malarkey makes any difference!

On the right hand side of the picture, are the first sowing of broccoli, which you have followed from their rather sick looking arrival several weeks ago. In front of them are the broad beans which I sowed some time back in the greenhouse. They are both now looking fantastic and have been in the cold frame for over a week, so are ready to plant out into the veggie garden / allotment.

I prepared the raised beds by weeding, hoeing and then adding a layer of compost as a mulch over the top. The broccoli were planted out into this at, I hope, appropriately spaced distances. They were then tied to support stakes to protect them from our rather substantial winds.

A cage of netting is then added (right). This has two purposes. Right now, it will keep the pigeons, and other birds, away from the lovely green food, which they can’t resist, particularly at this time of year when there is not much about! But, more importantly, it will protect them from the cabbage white butterfly, one of my pet hates, which lays its eggs on cabbages – hence the name. These eggs hatch into an army of caterpillars which can, and do, devastate a crop of brassicas. So it is essential to protect them with a fine mesh netting like this one.

The broad beans have also grown well and are even developing their first flowers (top).

They are also planted out into well prepared beds and supported with stakes from the wind (bottom).

Inside the greenhouse – this weekend:

Thursday 27th April

The second planting of broccoli plug plants have now arrived in the post. They look almost as bad as the first lot did when they arrived. I have potted them up into a tray and they will, I am sure, take off in no time and be looking nice and healthy.

Saturday 29th April

The Squash: Courgettes (Yellow and Green), Butternut, Gemsquash and Pumpkins, are all taking off like triphids in the nice warm greenhouse. Some of them already need potting up. That will be Sunday’s job!

The Casablanca potatoes are about to flower. They are “Earlies” so do produce a crop sooner, but wow 😯! I’ve never had flowers this early before! Theoretically, I could start harvesting new potatoes as soon as they flower, but I might just leave them a bit longer to get a wee bit bigger! Hmm 🤔, maybe not!

Sunday 30th April

It’s potting-up day in the greenhouse!

The Tomatoes (Gardeners Delight) are planted out into grow bags. I have used these top-planting pots for a number of years now. They make a nice neat hole in the grow bag, add an extra depth of soil to help with growing, and have a watering section which encourages root growth and reduces the chances of the plant’s stems and roots becoming too wet and rotting.

I’m busy setting up my irrigation system in the greenhouse. You can see the pipes and drip feeders going into the watering areas of the pots. It is not yet connected up as it’s still quite cold, especially at night. This risks the pipes outside the greenhouse freezing up at night and bursting. I will wait until it is a bit warmer before connecting it all up. Maybe next week 🤞!

The Cucumbers (Mini Munch) have also been planted out into grow bags using the same system. They are looking fabulous!

In previous years, I have had problems with rodents (mice) biting trough the stems of my cucumber plants soon after planting them into the grow bags. This year, I have allowed the young plants to grow a bit more before planting them out. 🤞

The Squashes which are staying in the greenhouse to grow are potted up and placed into their final positions within the greenhouse. Trellis is erected for them to grow up and irrigation system is installed, but not yet connected.

Gemsquash (Little Gem) – top left

Butternut (Walnut), a new variety I’m trying this year, top right.

Butternut (Walnut), yes again! Two reasons: Butternuts do not tend to grow well outside here in the North of Scotland, so I grow them all inside. And, secondly, the other variety which I usually grow has failed to germinate this year 😬. To the right of the butternut, in the corner, is Pumpkin (Jack of all Trades). I have done well with Pumpkins outside in previous years. So I have planned for the vast majority of them to be outside this year, keeping more of my precious greenhouse space for the butternut. Hope I don’t regret this decision.

Butternut (Walnut), yes again! For the same reasons as above! Bottom right.

In the Garage

Unfortunately, no further plants have sprouted, despite my best efforts. 😔

So I have nothing to report from this area. I shall be moving those few plants left here up to the greenhouse in the next couple of days to be planted up into bigger pots. This area will then be closed down until next year.

See you next time!

The Anaesthetists Allotment – 15th April 2023

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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!

Hello again! Welcome to this week’s update

Firstly, in the Greenhouse:

Thursday 14th April 2023

As the iconic Inspector John Rebus would say “There’s been a murrdurr”!

I have been practising the dark, or enlightened (depending on your way of looking at it), art of Artificial Selection which is similar to Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection but there’s nothing natural about. It’s all about me murdering the smaller, weaker-looking plants so as to leave only one, the strongest, plant per cell. This allows them to grow on strongly.

These are the Brussels sprout, summer cabbages, winter cabbages, chard and perpetual spinach. The top photo is pre-thinning. The bottom photo shows the trays after the murder.

The Murder – chapter two

These are the beetroot plants which have been similarly thinned out in the bottom photo.

Remember those squashes which I have been growing in the garage? Well, they were rapidly out-growing their heated and well-lit home in the greenhouse (photo on the left). They were in dire need of being separated and then potted-up into bigger pots to allow them to grow on.

So, a painstaking task was undertaken and the vast majority of the squashes were split up and repotted into larger pots. They were then re-located into a mini-greenhouse within the main greenhouse.

This was not only a painstaking but painful 🤕 task! The tedious processes of thinning and repotting had me bent over a workbench for ages. When I came to the end of it my neck was stuck. Completely frozen and immovable. Bent forward like the hunchback of Notradame, I could not extend it to look up, or look to the left or to the right. After a while, I had to revert to anaesthetist mode and took a large dose of paracetamol and ibuprofen, followed a wee while later by one of the best painkillers around, alcohol, in the form of a couple of glasses of wine! An hour or so later and the neck had relaxed back to it’s usual grumpy self (I am never going to fix that!).

My neck was not the only thing that was sore. The poor wee plants do not like having their roots pulled and split apart and then being repotted into new, presumably cold, soil. A short while after planting, they were looking dreadful. The leaves had all wilted and they looked like they were about to give up the ghost.

Fear not! I have seen this before! They will recover, he says with bravado! So no paracetamol or wine for these poor plants.

Friday 15th April 2023

Ooh 😲! They are strong. The squashes which looked like they were about to be gathered by the grim reaper yesterday have, as predicted, fully recovered. They are looking great now. Whew 😅!

The brassicas (cabbages, Brussels sprouts etc,) are also looking good after witnessing the murder and narrowly surviving themselves.

You know, I can almost imagine that they’ve grown a fair bit, even in a day!

The Beetroot have also survived their ordeal and are looking great. Have they also grown? You blink and you miss it!

One of my favourite flowers is the Rhodesian national flower, the Flame Lily, or to give it’s botanical name Gloriosa Superba ‘Rothschildiana’. Perhaps as a Zimbabwean (Rhodesian) I am biased, but it is beautiful!

I ordered and planted a single bulb of this plant four years ago. It flowered beautifully the first year. To my great surprise, it has re-emerged year after year since then despite my best efforts at neglecting it.

I have obtained another couple of bulbs of this fabulous lily. Planted today (left). 🤞

In the Garage

Some of the squashes were still too small to pot up, because they have yet to develop their true leaves. Others have not even bothered to germinate – will they ever????

I probably have enough of most of them, with those that I have planted out already, but the Pumpkin Wicked has not germinated well for some reason, and will leave me a bit short for my needs. So I pop an extra couple of seeds into the cells, and all of these bad boys go back into the heated and disco-lit propagator in the garage. Let’s hope for some progress here!

In the Veggie Garden (Allotment)

No further activity in the actual veggie garden / allotment this week. If I am to be honest, I’ve run out of time 😬!

However, there is nothing to report on the potatoes which were planted last week. No signs of any growth yet, not that I’d expect any!

The onions are looking good 😊. No bird damage 😁.

It’s a busy, but exciting, time for veggie growers. Lots happening!

See you next time!

The Anaesthetists Allotment – 10th April 2023

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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!

Hello again! Welcome to this week’s update

Firstly, in the Greenhouse:

The early potatoes (Casablanca) in the growbags continue to grow really well and are looking very healthy indeed.

I’m now starting to give them some “outside time” during the day when the weather is not too cold or windy. They still need go back in every night.

The Casablanca Picasso potatoes in the growbag are now starting to get going.

The herbs in the greenhouse are also looking really good. We have mint, parsley and chives. They have already been added to salads and the mint, of course, so special with Easter lamb.

Strawberries in the greenhouse are also way ahead of the ones in the garden and have many more flowers this week. Might have some delicious strawberries soon!😋

A week makes all the difference!

Two weeks ago, I showed the photo at the left top of seed trays in which I had sown various seeds.

In these seed trays, we have: Beetroot (Boltardy = red and Burpees Golden = yellow) and some peas (Early Onward) to, hopefully give us an early crop of peas.

Last week, I showed the bottom picture above of the miracle of germination. This week, on the right, the wee plants are starting to develop their true leaves. Once they have the true leaves, hopefully later this week, I will thin them out to leave only the strongest in each cell. This will allow them to grow on strongly ready to plant out into the garden later when the frosts have gone. Natural Selection 🤔 ! It is not a job I enjoy, as you feel kind-of like a three way cross between Darwin, the Creator and the Yorkshire Ripper💀! It seems such a shame after all the effort they have put into germinating. The wee plants which are murdered are not wasted and can be added to salads as delicious micro-veg.

Again most of the Brassicas have moved on well during this week.

The Brussels Sprout (Marathon) and summer cabbage (Caraflex) are both looking great, with most starting to develop their true leaves. They will also be ready for thinning out later this week. The winter cabbage (Tundra) is a bit slower – but has now started to sprout 😁

In this seed tray, to the right, there is also a row of Chard (Bright Lights) and a row of Perpetual Spinach.

The bowl of Spicy Lettuce which I sowed last week has sprouted 😁

The Broccoli plugs I received in the post two weeks ago were looking really grubby when I potted them up on arrival (left). They are now looking fantastic (right).

So much so, that I have set up a couple of cold frames outside and moved the young broccoli into them to harden off for a couple of weeks before planting them out into the veggie garden. Hopefully this will allow them to transition gently and not get a very rude shock when planted out. This is a new experiment again this year. Will be good to see if it makes a difference.

I order my Tomato plants, Gardiner’s Delight, from online retailers as grafted plants. They arrived on Saturday in the post, looking not too bad after being dumped through the letter-box in the front door.

They were planted out immediately and will take off quite quickly. They will be ready for planting out into their final position in grow-bags in the greenhouse after a week or two.

In the Garage

Yes! In the garage……

………. because I have run out of space and electrical outlets in the greenhouse, I am trying an experiment this year.

I have sown all of my squashes etc in their propagator in the garage. I would normally put the propagator in the greenhouse. But, because it is dark in the garage, I have added special plant lighting to the top of the propagator. Here goes: 🤞

It is working! 😂🤣 Give that man a star ⭐️! Most of these squashes are developing their true leaves as well. They are all looking really healthy. So much so that I have had to raise the mini-greenhouse roof with the lights on it – hence the wooden slats at each end. It’s called improvisation! Fairly soon, I will have to repot these seedlings into bigger pots to allow them to continue to grow. When that repotting happens, they will have to relocate to the greenhouse for more space. I’d better make a plan in the greenhouse as there’s not much room left in there.

In the Veggie Garden (Allotment)

Potatoes – Two varieties Casablanca and Picasso, same varieties as in the grow-bags in the greenhouse, have been chitting in the greenhouse since late January. Chitting is a process of forcing the seed potatoes to start growing early indoors, or in my case, the greenhouse. Keeping them in a light dry area encourages those seed potatoes to start putting out sprouts and gives them a head-start when it comes to the potato growing season.

As you can see, these potatoes have super little green shoots and are ready to be planted out

In last week’s blog, I described how I had prepared the beds for the potatoes.

This week, I have now cut holes in the garden fabric, appropriately spaced (I hope), and use my trusty potato planting tool to make a hole and drop the potato into the hole, preferably with the majority of the shoots facing upwards. This is easier said than done, as the seed potatoes seem to have a mind of their own and flip over no matter how hard you try!

Three beds of tatties planted.

My back has now ceased complaining and is now on strike full-time.

The next day………………

…………………..when my back has recovered somewhat

It’s time for the onions. The onion sets were planted in the greenhouse a few weeks ago. They have all germinated nicely and are now growing strongly and need to be planted out.

This is the onion bed after winter (left). Not too bad, a few weeds etc.

After a full hand-weed, then a good hoe-ing, a layer of compost is added to the surface.

The bed is now ready for planting – this is the no-dig-technique (right). Good for my potato-knackered-back!

The young onion plants have developed a really good root system and are ready to be planted out.

And that’s all of the onions planted out into their final position in the raised bed (right).

And, yes, the back is complaining much better again!

Carrots – Amsterdam Forcing.

I have always had major problems with carrot fly in my veggie garden / allotment. These nasty little devils can, and do, destroy a carrot crop entirely. I have tried everything – mesh fences, mesh netting, timing the planting correctly, even nematodes!

Last year I tried an experiment and planted some carrots between the rows of onions in the hope that the smell of the onions would reduce the ability of the carrot fly to hunt out my carrots. It worked! Ok, I must admit that, in addition, I regularly sprayed the carrots with nematodes, but we had lots of lovely carrots last year.

So here we go again.

I am laying tape sown with carrot seeds into drills between the onion rows. The seed tapes is a very convenient way to plant seeds. I tend to be very heavy handed when I am sowing seeds. This is bad news, especially for carrots, because it means that the young seedlings have to be thinned out once they have germinated. The young plants don’t like being pulled out and emit a strong carrot odour which attracts the carrot flies in immense numbers. Carrot tape spaces the seeds correctly and means they don’t need thinning out.

So there we are: Onions and carrots planted ✅

Protective netting over the top to keep the birds away. Blackbirds seem to think that if I’ve been digging, they should too. To be fair, they are probably after all of disturbed worms, bugs etc. Only problem is that the little *******s dig up half my wee plants and leave them lying, and dying, on top of the soil. Hence the net! Keep off ✋!

It’s a busy, but exciting, time for veggie growers. Lots happening!

See you next time!

The Anaesthetists Allotment – 2nd April 2023

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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!

So that’s me back from a week away at work.

Before I left last weekend, I had sown the vast majority of my various crops for this year and some of them were just starting to sprout. This is a very delicate stage of the plants life, as even a day or two of extreme heat or cold, or too much (or too little) water can murder these delicate little plants and kill an entire crop. This would mean having to start from scratch all over again and re-sow all of the seeds. Yes, I have to admit, this has happened a few times in previous years and can set back the growing schedule by a few weeks or more. Much grumpiness then ensues. When you live in the far North of Scotland and have ridiculously short growing season this delay can be the difference between a crop not ripening before the first frosts and a complete failure of harvest. I had left my entire crop in the care of “The Boss”, along with suitable instructions as to the required care. So, I think you might be able to understand that it was with some trepidation that I went outside on my return to see how my “wee plants” were doing (or not!). I think that I have to clarify here, for the sake of my health, that the trepidation was not related in any way to the abilities of “The Boss” but rather to the potential of a crop failure!! 😉 😜

I am delighted to report that all is well, perhaps even better than I could have kept it (No – “The Boss” did not instruct me to write that! 😂🤣) – maybe I should retire from gardening as well! Ah! – that has just been vetoed by the Security Council!

So, a wee tour and update then!

Firstly, in the Greenhouse:

The early potatoes (Casablanca) in the growbags are coming along really well and looking very healthy indeed.

This is a new variety which I am trying this year, as for some reason I could not get hold of our favourite (Winston) seed potato – I presume there has been a problem with the production process this year, disease or some other such disaster!

According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Casablanca is a new, multi-purpose first early potato with a smooth white skin, shallow eyes and a creamy flesh. It is a handsome potato, that is rapidly becoming the exhibitors favourite, while chefs are lapping it up because it is a dream to chip, bake or boil. It shows an excellent resistance to blackleg and it has been said that it can produce an edible crop just 62 days after planting.

The RHS has awarded Casablanca the prestigious “RHS Award of Garden Merit (RHS AGM)”.

The Casablanca are certainly miles ahead of the other variety of potato I am growing this year, Picasso.

This is also in a grow bag in the greenhouse and was planted at exactly the same time as the Casablanca.

Picasso has also been awarded the RHS AGM. An impressive, improved variety derived from older Cara variety. It is a main-crop potato with a yellow skin, prominent red eyes (hence the name) good common scab resistance and suitable for long term storage. It produces huge yields of waxy fleshed tubers with good all round disease and drought resistance making it a garden and allotment favourite. A versatile variety in the kitchen,particularly for baking and mashing.

The onion sets continue to grow nicely and will be ready to plant out into the garden in the next couple of weeks.

Strawberries in the greenhouse are also way ahead of the ones in the garden. Looking really healthy and even some flowers already. Might have some delicious strawberries soon!😋

Microveg is looking brilliant and tasting just as good. We will be having some of this for lunch!

A week makes all the difference!

Last week, I showed the photo at the top of seed trays in which I had sown various seeds.

This week, the miracle of nature has happened. They are alive! Seedlings have sprouted from bare soil. It never ceases to amaze me!

In these seed trays, we have: Beetroot (Boltardy = red and Burpees Golden = yellow) and some peas (Early Onward) to, hopefully give us an early crop of peas. I will plant further successional showings of peas directly into the garden to hopefully give us a longer cropping season.

Again most of the Brassicas have sprouted during this week.

The Brussels Sprout (Marathon) and summer cabbage (Caraflex) are both looking great. The winter cabbage (Tundra) is a bit slower – hopefully within the next few days 🤞

In this seed tray, to the right, there is also a row of Chard (Bright Lights) and a row of Perpetual Spinach. Both of these have germinated well 😁

The two pots with Leeks (Musselburgh and Below Zero) have grown on nicely since last week and are looking much stronger.

Today, I’ve sown a bowl of Spicy Lettuce to continue the succession of salad leaves

In the Garage

Yes! In the garage……

………. because I have run out of space and electrical outlets in the greenhouse, I am trying an experiment this year.

I have sown all of my squashes etc in their propagator in the garage. I would normally put the propagator in the greenhouse. Because it is dark in the garage, I have added special plant lighting to the top of the propagator. Here goes: 🤞

So 10 days on, and the magic is happening. Most have sprouted and are looking great. My only concern is that they are perhaps a bit on the leggy side. This might indicate a lack of light, however they are a good strong green colour which I think counters this argument. I will watch them closely 👀 🕵️‍♂️ 🔎

In the Veggie Garden (Allotment)

Garlic – I promised you a photo last week, so here you are. Two different varieties, all looking good. Super-granny (my mum) and Super-Nanny (Helen’s mum) both love their garlic and this is their bed in the Allotment – tended to by me, of course!

Potato beds for 2023

So today, I prepared three 2.4 x 1.2 meter raised beds for the potato crop to be planted into for this coming year.

The photos in the top row shows the beds after winter. Still looking pretty good. Some moss, a few weeds, slightly compacted but OK.

I use the no-dig method for my veggie growing because it is less work and better for my back 😂🤣. Well yes, but also, apparently you get better crops this way and it’s better for the soil.

So, just a light hoeing of the superficial layer to aerate, get rid of weeds etc and we have pictures in the second row.

I then put a layer of black weed-control fabric over the soil. This serves three purposes: it looks neat; it reduces weed growth, and probably most important at this stage, it warms the soil. Now, being the North of Scotland with frequent severe winds, the fabric is stapled to the wood of the raised beds and large pegs are driven through it into the ground – I really don’t fancy chasing off down the road after a billowing tent of fabric.

The potato’s are chitting in the greenhouse (see last week’s blog). I hope to get them planted out into the beds in a week or two.

Strawberry beds in the “fruit cage”

In the top picture are the over-wintered strawberry beds. It’s all looking rather tatty with all the dead leaves etc. I find it’s best to clear away all of these dead leaves etc before the new leaves get going. This allows better aeration of the plants and fruit and hopefully better crops with less fungal rotting.

I have also added a good layer of compost / mulch this year as our crops were dwindling over the last year or two despite adding some new plants – I think due to depleted soil. The mulch will serve two purposes. Obviously 🙄 it will feed the plants, but it has also acted as a good medium for the strawberry runners to root into at the end of last year. So helpfully we will also get a good number of young fresh vigorous plants coming through to provide us with better crops as the older ones fail. This seems to happen to plants in a similar manner to humans as they age!

And finally – couldn’t resist! Just outside the Veggie Garden!

Daffs! Magnificent!

It’s a busy, but exciting, time for veggie growers. Lots happening!

See you next time!

The Anaesthetist’s Allotment – Catch-up for 2023

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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!

Yesterday, I started a blog to update progress (hopefully!) with the events on my home allotment. I promised to keep you up to date with happenings on a regular basis.

I have, however, realised that yesterday was not the beginning of this year’s crops and that plenty has been happening prior to now. So, I am adding another post today to let you know what is already happening in my veggie saga.

These are spring cabbages called Spring Hero. They were sown in summer last year. They were planted out into the Allotment in October and have been in the ground right through the worst of winter. The netting cover is to protect them from birds etc. They are now starting to grow nicely.

Garlic bulbs were also sown directly into the ground in October. There are two varieties and both have now sprouted and are looking good. Sorry, no picture 😳!

This is what the allotment looks like at the moment – pretty barren, yes, agreed, but wait a month or two……..

The spring cabbages, mentioned above, are at the bottom right of the picture and the shallots (from yesterday’s blog) are on the very mid-left. Just to the right of the shallots are leeks from last year, behind this, at the very back, last year’s winter cabbages, and to the right of that Brussels sprout also from last year and still producing crops.

In the very far right corner are the garlic plants.

The big cage to the right is the fruit cage. In here are: red currents, black currents, raspberries, blackberries (Brambles if you live in Scotland), green gooseberries, red gooseberries, apples (3 varieties) and strawberries (2 beds).

Seeds have been sown within the last few days:

– Beetroot: Golden & Red (Boltardy)

– Peas (Early Onward)

– Brussels Sprout

– Summer cabbage (Caraflex – this is a new variety which Im trying this year after the success of Puma last year. It’s a pointy type of cabbage!)

– Winter cabbage (Tundra – an old favourite!)

– Chard Bright lights – very similar to spinach, but brightly coloured!

– Perpetual Spinach – cut and come again spinach. Nyum! Your😋

– Broad Beans – “ The Sutton”. Delicious if picked young

Two varieties of leeks:

– Musselburgh – an old favorite

– Below Zero – a later cropping leek – had good success over the last year or two!

Onion sets have started sprouting in the greenhouse

Potatoes have started sprouting in the greenhouse. These “ Casablanca” are a new variety this year. They have already had an additional layer of compost added. Looking good!

Potatoes 🥔 (Casablanca & Picasso) chitting in the greenhouse. This chitting process was started in early February. They will be planted out into the garden when the soil warms up a bit.

And in a mini- greenhouse within the main greenhouse, my bonsai. they are kept at higher than 15’C and have additional lighting.

There are two types of bonsai here:

– a fig (Ficus) in the foreground

– two Jacaranda bonsai – still very young and early in their training. I fully expected that they would not survive the winter, but my efforts with the mini-greenhouse, heating and lighting has, so far, worked and they are looking great with new shoots appearing. Wow 😮!

The Gas Man’s Allotment 2023 – 25th March

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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!

We have fairly large veggie garden / allotment. Being in the far North of Scotland, the weather plays a huge role and the growing season is short.

I have already started with a good deal of my sowing under glass in the greenhouse, but decided today that it might be quite fun to produce a regular blog to keep those interested up to date on the progress (hopefully) of our veggies.

So here’s what happened today:

Shallots

One of the first crops to get planted out into the veggie garden is shallots. This year, I’m growing the Jermour variety. I planted the sets in February in the greenhouse and by the 11th March they had sprouted nicely.

Today the shallots were planted out into their raised bed in the veggie garden. Snow is expected tomorrow, but no bother, they are hardy and will not be troubled by a wee bit of cold!

Some birds, especially blackbirds, have a habit of searching for worms under freshly worked soil, and especially if new seedlings have been planted. This can be devastating for newly planted seedlings before they can have a chance to anchor themselves fully with a good root system.

So my newly planted shallots get a protective covering to protect them from the birds – oh all right, and a wee bit of protection from the weather as well!

Broccoli

My mail order of Broccoli (Calabrese) Marathon arrived yesterday. I potted them up today. Yes, they look horrible, but give them a week or so, and they will have perked up and will grow on nicely. I will keep you posted on their progress.

Harvest

Yes, I’m still harvesting last year’s crops. These are Picasso potatoes and the last two carrots (Sugarsnax). There were also a couple of handfuls of Brussels Sprout, but I forgot to take a picture of them – I will get better!

Next week

I’m away off to work tomorrow for the week, leaving my newly planted and sprouted seeds and seedlings in the care of a fairer hand. I am sure they will be safe 🤔😊

I will give a fuller description of what I have planted already in the greenhouse and hopefully we will have some germination happening. I still find it amazing to see the barren looking seeds start to sprout and produce such wonderful life from “nothing”.