There's something very real about this photo. It's far removed from the glossy shots you see in 'foodie' magazines. A little bit blurred even. It's a 'just-come-home-from-the-allotment-and-put-things-on-the-table-tired-now-but-happy' sort of a photograph. I like to help other growers along - so this is definitely a 'you-can-do-it-too' sort of picture.And there's another thing I'm proud of. This digital snap does NOT illustrate a glut. We've grown just enough broccoli and courgettes (two or three plants) to have some for our evening meals, without getting fed up with them, and without wasting anything.
These were low maintenance plants. Once I'd raised the broccoli in biodegradable pots at home I just planted them out - threw them in with a net over the top, held down at the sides with bricks. I really didn't pay them much attention after that. I can't even remember weeding them. And people say brassicas are really difficult to grow...?
As for the courgettes - it was the same story with them too (didn't need the nets though). No doubt the rain helped. There I was at the beginning of June - worrying about how I was going to water the plot, and in the end - I hardly needed to.
Even if we don't eat these vegetables today (and I don't make it down to the allotment every day - I'm there once or twice a week at the moment) - these vegetables will still be much fresher than the ones we could have bought in the supermarket.
Here's another blurry photograph:
In this one, you can see roughly how big the head of broccoli is by comparing it to the size of my (largish) hand. That's another thing about organic growing. Some people will tell you organically grown fruit and veg always turns out to be smaller than 'conventionally' grown veg. Don't believe a word of it.
