I have always admired people with allotments, they are very hard work, and I know that I do not have the time or help to grow my food on that scale. Ironic really as I work on plots for clients, and although I enjoy working with the edibles in my spare time, alone (I can be quite grumpy), the thought of my own large area of mess to cope with in the few hours my Felco's leave my hand would be too much. Growing veg in my garden proves to me that I do not need a large area to grow food, it has it's advantages too. I can usually spot problems quickly and can be extremely lazy with my evenings pottering in my veg patch with my PJ's on. I love my herbaceous border and random plants too much to convert the whole of my garden to food. So I grow enough for me to eat and over the years got better at only growing what I am going to eat.
The glut of strawberries (Fragaria ananassa 'Marshmello') which grow in a small thin bed one metre by four metres have thoroughly enjoyed the April, glad something in my garden did. I made the effort this year to feed when flowering (nettle feed), and in the winter I added a peat free soil conditioner with some horse manure. Not a lot of effort put in but a big return made, well in jam.
Rather enjoyed making 10 jars of strawberry jam from my little patch even if my kitchen did look like a set used in the Saw movies. Not many ingredients, so why is it such a messy task? And the exciting thing! Yes they are still more to come, more jam. It's either jam or Eton Mess, which I must add I never thought I would be sick of. I have proved myself wrong.
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