Nutrition for Soil and Me

The carrots are finished, the cabbages are finished, the kale is growing (albeit slowly) and the blackberries are few and far between now.

With everything that’s happened I haven’t had a chance to really sit down and think about planning the winter ahead. We have leeks in at the allotment, but they won’t be ready until late winter or spring. I want to get some garlic in, but as I’ve said in previous posts I think I’m going to concentrate on improving the soil for next growing season. I’ve never really bothered properly before.

We put in some manure last year, but not nearly enough. I collected just one bag full of leaves to make leafmould; this year I’ll be maximising on this free soil conditioner. My cousin’s friend owns a horse, and she is only too pleased to get rid of the manure. There’s loads of well-rotted manure waiting to be bagged up, so as soon as my back has been pummelled and clicked back into place, I’ll be down there with spade in hand. I have to do a little planning ahead though; I don’t want to put manure where I plan to sow my carrots and other root veg next year. Then there’s my seaweed extract. I’m going to give my kale plants a hit with it, as they seem to be struggling a little and not growing as fast as I’d anticipated.

I have some green manure to sow soon as well. Agricultural mustard isn’t as prolific as other green manures, and is pretty cheap. I’ll be sowing that very soon (possibly even this afternoon, if I need a break from work) and probably ordering more for the allotment. Geesh, I haven’t been down there in ages. I’m half expecting a letter and a ticking off from the town council to land on my doormat anytime soon.

Rich and I have been under a lot of stress lately, and being so knackered I’ve neglected to feed myself properly. We’re trying to buck up our ideas and try to eat a good variety and balance of meals every night, and try to be generally healthier. Nannie always said to us, “take care of yourself because there’s only one of you”. So, for the time being at least, this means two things. Firstly, I’m going out to buy a new swimming costume so we can start swimming regularly again. I do miss it, and it definitely helps me to feel less anxious and stressed. This new move to a healthier ‘routine’ also means assessing the food I eat. Generally, I eat fairly healthily, but I don’t eat a wide enough range of food. So in terms of the Smallest Smallholding, I’ve been thinking about trying to eat more in the way of greens, salads and leafy things. I love root veg, I love onions and alliums, and I love pulses and potatoes. I like broccoli and cabbage, but don’t really like salad. I think that needs to change. So I’ll try. Cucumbers are alright. Pickled gherkins are divine.  One thing I’ll never ever like though is mushrooms or raw tomatoes. Despite my mum’s protests, I shall never eat raw tomatoes. I tried, I retched, and resigned myself to the fact that I (and my sister, thinking about it) must just be an oddity in my tomato-crazed family.

So I’ve still got my tent cloche (despite it threatening to allow itself to be blown away several times over the past fortnight) to help with the germination of these winter salad leaves that I intend to incorporate into a meal. No eating a bowl of plain salad – I may aswell be feasting on cardboard as far as I’m concerned. I’m just going to have to be a bit inventive.