RDS Allotment Awards Photos


I got some photos of the awards winners at last! The basket of mouthwatering veg was a prop brought by the photographer and not grown by me, he also brought spades ,gloves etc.


All of the award winners, this is the first year of the awards so we are all inaugural winners!There was an award for novice gardeners,community gardens, allotment providers and experienced gardeners.Each category had 3 winners, receiving certificates and medals with the outright winner in each receiving a cheque also!
I am no longer at home in the mornings so the computer is only accessed in the evening when I have time and having a Spanish student who spends the evening on the computer has seriously curtailed my time online!I will be back to sole use of the computer after this week as he is returning home so I will have time to visit everybody again.
Gardening has also been curtailed due to the cold and frosty weather some parts of the country actually had snow yesterday! Leeks and turnips are being used and still in the ground at the allotment.I had to tussle with the leeks yesterday to get them out of the cold hard ground.
I have not been idle as I have been doing lots of baking in the evenings,cupcakes, birthday cakes,cheesecake, anything with apples and there are 2 Christmas puddings in the store cupboard.
The freezer is full with sprouts, which were blanched and frozen .I tried some of them during the week and they are as delicious as if they had been cooked fresh so Christmas veg is OK!
There are carrots and blackcurrants and tomato based pasta sauces.The allotment keeps on producing meals even after the outdoor season has finished, I probably would not have frozen anything if I had not been online to follow what other gardening bloggers were doing with their produce.
There are onions and garlic hanging in the shed which reminds me to say I have not grown any garlic this year, we have had 4 years of cossetting garlic which ended up with rust so have decided it is not worth the trouble!

Comments

Ann said…
Lovely picture of the award ceremony, Peggy. Looks like being another cold winter doesn't it, you seem to be getting it worse than we are here in the Midlands, it's frosty and cold but no snow yet. It was -4C when I got up this morning.
November 26, 2010 at 9:10 AM
Linda said…
Looks like a great event - well done!
How do you have energy to do all that baking in the evenings?
November 26, 2010 at 10:15 PM
Matron said…
Interesting to hear that your sprouts have frozen well. Perhaps the blanching is the secret. There is nothing so awful as a commercially frozen brussels sprout out of season. They are horrid!
November 27, 2010 at 8:09 AM
Anonymous said…
What an honor Peggy...you and your fellow gardeners all richly deserved your rewards for your efforts!!! Well done!!! It's lovely when produce continues into the cold months...or when you have it in the freezer for a later time. Your baking sounds yummy!
November 28, 2010 at 2:02 AM
Peggy said…
Ann, Thanks, we are in the middle of a really cold spell here and we are in the South!

Linda, Thanks, no computer so spent my time baking the student really appreciated the home baking!

Matron,some of them were beginning to open and would not have lasted to Christmas so I had nothing to lose!I blanched them by covering them with cold water with a pinch of salt and when it came to the boil just left them for a couple of minutes, then drained and ran cold water on them immediately.

Theanne, thanks having something in the freezer from the garden does extend the growing season a little.
November 29, 2010 at 8:33 PM
Kelli said…
Super photos; well done with the allotment award. And your baking sounds wonderful!
November 29, 2010 at 9:34 PM
Jo said…
Congratulations, Peggy. What an achievement and what a WONDERFUL idea to have awards. I have a great gardening story from my side but will only have time to post it next week. Thanks for your visits and kind comments on my blog. I'm also struggling to keep up my visits due to a million other things my husband is doing while we're here in South Africa. I've posted a reaction to your question (about me in my Drizabone)on my blog tomorrow and added your blog as a link. Bless you, my friend. (((Hugs))) Jo
December 1, 2010 at 10:39 AM
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