“When’s it going to stop!”

“When is it going to stop!” it feels like the British obsession with talking about the weather is being well and truly fuelled by all the rain and wet we’ve had this year -the wettest June on record (that is since 1910) seems to be being followed by a pretty wet start to July as well. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18678659 While all us gardeners appreciate the value of rain to help the garden grow, once it gets this much it obviously starts to cause its own problems.

It’s a year since we got the keys to Plot107 – and its seen some real changes in the allotments in Parson Cross, of course we’ve had to say goodbye to Fay who helped so much in the early days, but now we’ve set up our own Community Garden Group with Mick as chair of the group, we are already planning various activities to try and improve the site still further such as a big tidy up of what use to be the compost pile in the bays at the top of the site, more work to make the poly tunnel or more useable space, and improvements to the communal area, including using the large containers as a shelter for when the weather is wet. There are still about 40 plots available if people are wanting one, so if your interested contact Ceri Ashton (Allotment Officer with Sheffield Council) on 01142734771.

But meanwhile, the rain continues to pour – hosepipe bans have turned into flood warnings, drainage from the plots has become a bigger issue for some more than getting water onto them, “When’s it going to stop!” is what many people affected by this very wet spell are already crying out. Life can be like that too I guess, we can seem to overwhelmed by event after event, difficulty after difficulty – at times it feels like our lives are just being flooded with problems, at times like those it’s hard to look for the glimpses of sunshine behind the clouds – at times like those the most honest thing to do is to cry out to God “When is it going to stop!” There is something of this in the bible story of Job. In the story Job goes from having everything to having nothing, in fact almost worse than nothing – so much that at one stage he says to God that he would rather be dead – certainly someone at a low point…. despite this Job keeps his faith in God, and its in those difficult and dark days that we need to keep faith, it is perhaps when we need God the most.

Here comes the sun ….

Well it looks like summers here!

A sunny day on Plot107

Time to get out the BBQ and enjoy the sunshine – or get onto the plot and make up for all those wet days

when there was nothing else we could do but watch and wait and in some cases (Gary) dig drainage channels to avoid our crops being washed away! Anyway we managed to get up to Plot 107 a couple of times this week, did some clearing and weeding (still loads more to do though) planted some more blackberries, and ironically enough after all I said about the rain before – watered the plants.

Over half term week- on Thursday 7th June, Charlie Hill (one of the artists from Knutton Road studios) will be coming to the allotments in the afternoon and working with any children and families that want to do some plant pot or pebble painting.

…. Sunshine after the rain

I think it was Elke Brooks who sang: “I want to see the sunshine after the rain…” well at least on Monday after what seems now like weeks of rainy days we did see a bit of sunshine, but sure enough come Tuesday and the supposed time for Space to Grow to be on the plot it started to rain yet again – obviously this is all great for refilling the reservoirs, and will provide the plants with plenty to drink – but it would be quite nice to see a few dry days again soon so that we can get on with planting more crops.

Amazingly (with all this rain) we’re close to the time that in Celtic times was widely know as “Beltane” which usually falls around 5th to 7th May. It marks” … the beginning of the pastoral summer season when the herds of livestock were driven out to the summer pastures and mountain grazing lands.”  It was also a time marking a time of purification and transition, heralding in the season in the hope of a good harvest later in the year.

Hopefully all this spring rain might mean a relatively decent summer – we can hope anyway. With dreams of sunny days in mind, PXI is joining with others in local church to organise a “Big Picnic in the Park” on 3rd June – it will start at 12noon and go on into the afternoon, people are invited to bring along some food or drink (no alcohol please) and share together – later we’ll hopefully play some games together: cricket, football, rounders kind of thing. If you want to come along and join us that would be great.

Meanwhile back to this month. It says in my gardening book that : “May is one of the busiest months in the kitchen garden.”

The books also suggest there’s is a lot to sow this month and with many crops you can sow one set and then a few weeks later re-sow to give you a succession of fresh vegetables at the peak of perfection.

• French Beans
• Runner Beans
• Beetroot
• Broccoli
• Cabbage and Cauliflowers
• Peas
• Turnips and Swedes
• Your salad crops should be sown in succession
• Lettuce and Leaves such as Rocket
• Radishes
• Spring Onions

So – as we start to look ahead to summer, whatever it might bring, here’s a short prayer to mark the changes in season:

God of winter’s cold, of clear sky and frozen river.
We praise your Holy Name

God of spring’s warmth, April showers, waking life.
We praise your Holy Name

God of summer sun, warming earth, sprouting seed.
We praise your Holy Name

God of summer pasture and mountain stream
We praise your Holy Name

God of root and shoot, of harvest to come
We praise your Holy Name

Blue Sky Thoughts

Some days, like today it seems like the best thing to do at the allotment plot is just to sit, take it easy, and enjoy the sunshine! It’s only March still yet the sunshine and record temperatures of the past few days has already prompted some male plot owners to take off their shirts and start that early pre summer tan…. will it last ….. we’ll see, but hopefully we’ll still get our share of rain to give to much needed water to everything that’s being planted.

The LEAF team making frames for the hives

Last week down at the other community allotments (LEAF) where PXI-Space to Grow runs from we were finding out all about bees, and preparing new frames for the hives that will be introduced in a few weeks.It’s amazing just how organised bees are, each with their own valued role in the hive.

Looking at the bee colony at LEAF

Just watching how they followed the Queen around cleaning out cells ready for her to lay eggs in and then to seal and cap them, whilst others kept temperatures constant in the hive by creating changing to the air flow either by creating holes in the comb structure, or by fanning the air with their wings to cool it – was an amazing and fascinating experience. We’ll be learning more about bees over the coming weeks so hopefully I’ll have more insights and photos to share with you.

At the Parson Cross plots today it was good to see what looked like more and more coming into use – hopefully we can soon set up the new allotment group and look at ways of supporting each other as we learn more and more about growing our own food, and also grow together as a community. Learning (not unlike the bees I suppose) that we are all different, with our own strengths and weaknesses – but together and in community we can manage to achieve all kinds of things.

Mustard, Mizuna and more …

With all the sunshine we’ve been having it really does feel like “Spring has sprung” from all the signs of work in the Parson cross allotments, there’ve been quite a few of us taking advantage of the weather to get out there and start the new season in earnest.

On Plot107 that’s meant further work on improving the existing beds with compost and the like, weeding and planting. The first of this years potatoes (Casablanca) have gone in (Fay tells me it may be a tad early – Good Friday being traditionally the date this far north!) but the packet said from late February to early march and the “chitting” had gone well so now they’re in and we’ll hope and pray they do well.

I’ve also planted some Mustard and Mizuna that Fay had started off in the polytunnel – now for those who (like me until this week) haven’t heard of Mizuna, here’s a link that will tell you more- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuna it describes Mizuna as; “A vigorous grower producing numerous stalks bearing dark green, deeply cut and fringed leaves. They have a fresh, crisp taste and can be used on their own or cooked with meat….Not only is it good to eat, it’s also quite decorative, with glossy, serrated, dark green leaves and narrow white stalks, looking good in flower beds and as edging.” All that sounds good to me so we’ll just see how it goes, and having just added some to my cheese and chutney sandwich this lunchtime, I must say it was quiet a nice addition.

Mustard & Mizuna on Plot107

The other “exotic” addition I’m working on at home for the plot is Yacon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yacon a plant traditionally grown in the Northern and Central Andes from Ecuador to Argentina for its crisp, sweet tasting, tuberous roots.

We are apparently due a mini heatwave this week – lets hope it lasts through to Mothers Day on Sunday – lots of opportunities to get out onto the plots and enjoy the warmth and sunshine …. but lets not complain when it starts to rain, after all there’s already warnings of the possibility of droughts and hosepipe bans in part of UK.

Being still …..

Tracks in the snow

One thing about snow is the steps you make leave their mark behind in ways that you can see easier than almost at any other time, and not our footsteps but those of all kinds of animals. So it was that on my short visit to Plot107 today (just to add some kitchen waste stuff to the compost bin really) I was able to spend some time just taking in some of the sights and sounds around me. Clearly there had been lots of visitors to the plots since the snow came this weekend – but few of them human. There was plenty of signs of birds and cats, and perhaps even a fox or two (though I’m no tracking expert!).

And then the other thing that the snow can often bring …… quiet.

I love the quiet that you can get outside, especially it seems, at times like these after snow or sometimes even after a storm – a real stillness and quiet, not silence, there were plenty of birds around singing – but a quiet that almost helps you to listen. Helps you to listen to the birds –  its a long time since I used to go birdwatching with my Dad, and again I don’t argue to be a great birdsong expert, but just sitting and listening and looking around me today I heard; Great tits, Robin, the obvious Woodpigeon and Blackbirds and even a small flock of Redpoll high in the branches. The busyness of life can sometimes dull our senses to a point we find it difficult to hear – to really sense the world around us. We tune our hearing to things we become familiar with – the things that seem to matter to us. It reminded me of a story I heard once.

A Navajo “indian” visited a big city one day and he walked with his city friend amongst the busy cars and hustle and bustle of life – until he stopped and said to his friend ; “Listen a grasshopper!” His friend who had heard nothing said “How did you hear that over all this noise and bustle?” The Navajo replied “We always hear the things that matter to us” and with that he dropped a coin to the floor, immediately passers by stopped and looked behind them to see if it was their coin they had dropped.

Plot107 in the February snow

Lets all be still and listen for the important things in life.

“Be still and know that I am God ….” (Psalm 46.10)

The ground will grow many good crops

Yellow courgettes, squash and spinach from Plot107

After a couple of weeks away from the plot I was a bit apprehensive as to what I might find when I got there today – would the weeds have returned victoriously to mock all the weeding we’d done to get on top of them – would the fox or cat or whatever has been digging up our plot have taken the chance to develop a whole series of holes?

But glad to say all my fears were needless – yes there were some weeds of course but nothing too bad – and there were no holes at all which is great news – but better still was the harvest that was waiting even though today is the start of November! The picture on the right shows the wonderful squash, the yellow courgettes, and spinach that I brought home today.

Other allotmenteers were just as impressed by the rich pickings on their plots, lovely potatoes from Fays plot and the sweetest fresh garden peas from Garys – what a teat to go with the beautiful sunshine we’ve enjoyed today as well. Fay challenged me to find a verse to fit today – so here it is:

The LORD will give us many good things.

The ground will grow many good crops.

Psalm 85.12

Fays potatoes and Garys peas

Whilst I was away there’s been a few additions and changes to the site as well. A new portaloo has arrived much to the relief of many of us, a new standpipe has been put in and the whole water system revamped, so that next year getting water should hopefully be a lot less difficult, the poly tunnel is being reinforced and re-skinned, and finally today we have new neighbours on Plot 108 with the arrival of Chaucer school – so a big welcome to them. Its really encouraging to see new families and new groups coming onto the allotments all the time – the allotments are more than just a place we can all come and grow food (great though that is) they are a place we can come and enjoy being a community, a space to enjoy, a space to grow.

Our Indian Summer

The weather this last week has been simply amazing, the press have reported it as an “Indian Summer”, now I always thought that phrase was all about days of the British Empire and made me think of wealthy men and women in white suits and dresses, lounging around those fancy colonial buildings you see in Agatha Christie films and the like …… but I’m wrong apparently.

According to the BBC an Indian Summer is more to do with the native American Indians of the Eastern states who relied on a late burst of summer the like of which we’ve had this week to bring in their harvests. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15127159

A courgette flower reflects the sunshine of our "Indian Summer"

so it just goes to show you never stop learning as my Dad (who is by the way 90 years old now) always tells me.

Whatever, the blue skies and hot weather made it a perfect time for just sitting around on the plot and taking in just how much is now growing, the potatoes are well underway, and the courgette plants are looking great – although the fruits are still very small this year the flowers in their beautiful yellows were a great reflection of the glorious sunshine around us …. a wonderful day to be thankful for.

A very windy morning ….

Carlingford potatoes coming through

One of the things about being on the allotment is how much more you really notice the changes in weather and seasons. If we were thrown in any doubt about the arrival of autumn by some warm days recently todays high winds (the left over remnants of hurricane Katia I’m told) have removed any last doubts ….. autumn is on us folks!

That being said, there’s still new life growing even in these blustery days, the potatoes we planted are now already coming through (both the Carlingford and the Maris Peer) so I’m thinking we might soon be  needing to earth them up a bit as it says in the guide books. All being well there’ll be a plate of potatoes straight from the allotment to go with Christmas dinner!

I think potatoes are interesting in that on the surface we get to see these new shoots as they grow into large leafy plants with delicate little flower heads but meanwhile the real work is going on underground, unseen, as the potato tubers swell and grow into a crop of wonderful potatoes ready for the kitchen. It makes me think about my own faith journey and about how God sometimes operates “above ground” making changes in us that are obvious and that all can see, but at other times the growth goes deep down inside us, as we learn to become more patient, kind, more caring, forgiving and filled with love. It’s not always immediately visible, but just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean its not there ….. think about those potatoes.