Horticultural

Shed of the week - the asbo shed

That's "asbo" as in short for asbestos, not anti-social behaviour order. Andrew Gordon is the unlucky keeper of this particular shed. He's convinced it is held together with the rather unpleasant substance.

"Even the floor is covered in a thick layer of cement dust and what looks like broken bits of asbestos," he writes in a recent email to this blog. Eugh ...

"And we thought allotments were healthy places," he concludes.

Indeed. Well, it's quite often not the case. Asbestos was flytipped a while back on my site, and older sheds are often home to elderly cans of all kinds of dodgy, now-banned chemicals, doors covered in lead paint and the like. And soil can be contaminated with bits of plastic, glass and much worse (hence: always wear thick gloves when clearing a new plot).

On a brighter note, the greenery on top of this shed softens the industrial look. For aesthetics, this shed gets a healthy six out of 10. For health and safety, zero.

If you want to submit your shed to shed of the week, drop me an email. I'll feature the best ones on the blog, and my absolute favourite will get a copy of my book on allotments.

Meanwhile: an article from the Guardian newspaper on the Australian men's shed movement.

Why I like Oriental Saladini

Oriental saladini ... I have to admit to buying this particular packet of seeds largely because of the way the words roll pleasingly off the tongue. (Why saladini rather than salad? Answers below please!)

Thankfully, the leaves are a success in a horticultural sense, too. It's a pretty even mix of red mustard (my favourite), mibuna, pak choi, komatsuna and mizuna. I've cut and come again a few times but am expecting to visit the plot after a bit of an absence to find that things have headed up.

Having said that, it's been a bit frosty of late and this crop is unprotected in a raised bed so I am not sure what state it'll be in.

I've still not bought, let alone planted, any autumn garlic yet, and I wonder if I am way too late ... although if I can get my hands on some bulbs I'll probably throw caution to the winds and plant a few.

Soap nuts - an experiment

A fellow new mum introduced me to soap nuts as a greener way to do your clothes washing.

I got a sample from the delightfully named In a Soapnut Shell site and tried them out - you put them in a drawstring bag or knotted sock in place of detergent and softener and chuck that in with the wash. They're the shell of a fruit (or drupe, strictly speaking) of a tree that grows in Nepal and India, containing the natural detergent saponin.

I've used them a few times and so far so good - they're fine for delicates, cost a lot less than conventional detergents (3p a wash apparently) and you can bung them on the compost heap once they've lost their efficacy in about 4-6 washes. There's no odour so if you like a bit of scent you can add a few drops of an essential oil such as lavender to the softener drawer. And I like the idea of washing my clothes with the shell of a drupe, so much more interesting than Persil and the like.

I'd like to hear from anyone else who's given them a try - how does it work long term?

A beet-er aftertaste

Tonight I roasted* the first harvest of my Yellow Intermediate Mangel beetroot (we'll call it YIM for short) - an heirloom variety sourced from the Heritage Seed Library. The first five seconds of flavour were lovely - sweet and earthy, just how a beet should be. But then this bitter aftertaste kicked in and my tastebuds rebelled.

I am not sure if that's just the way YIM tastes or if it's something to do with the growing conditions? Too much or too little water?

Also - am I right in thinking that YIM isn't actually a beetroot** at all - a member of the beet family, yes, but odn't mangel (aka mangelwurzel) usually better known as livestock feed? Unfortunately my regular beets failed to germinate so now I am left with these turkeys. If only the pigs were still being housed next door and they'd have a rare heritage treat on their trotters.

*If you haven't tried it before, do roast some beetroot, homegrown or otherwise. It's dead easy - just top and tail lightly, scrub the skin but don't remove it, and wrap in some tinfoil with olive oil and pepper. They take about half an hour in the oven and you know when they're ready because the skin will skip off easily.

**Yes, the title of this post is a terrible, terrible pun, but I couldn't resist it ...