Tag Archives: Plot

Bricks and Potatoes

Ella Montt was at Allotment Plot at MERL on 3 March. She had not visited this aspect of the Plot since January, because she had been occupied with other aspects elsewhere. The previous day there had been sun, but the day was bitterly cold, and the sky was grey. Ella Montt examined the state of the Allotment Plot, some of the bricks that formed the Brick Composter were out of position, chaotically fallen out of place. Last years remaining Brassicas were now stripped skeletons punctuating the Plot. The overwintered Broad Beans and Peas showed evidence of predator attack and the harshness of winter. Most of the Onions seemed to have survived. The Garlic was perhaps predictably looking the most productive of the overwintered vegetables.

It was time to remove weeds to the Composter, redefine the Plot and neaten the edges. Ella Montt collected gardening tools from the shed. Green Manure plants Phacelia that had been sown back in Autumn 2010 were left growing scattered across the Plot. A solitary Crocus was in bloom. Stinging Nettles seedlings existed within the Plot, but were transported to the Composter with the notion that they might establish themselves within its boundaries as a welcome addition in pest control. It was noted that Mint rhizomes were extending in different directions beyond their previous area. Further evidence of this activity will be carefully monitored.

The Brick Composter was already composed of 91 bricks so Ella Montt utilized a wheelbarrow to collect a further 29 bricks from an amount that sits stacked beside the shed. The additional bricks were piled to complete the Brick Composter, a total of 120 bricks, (the same number of bricks used by Carl Andre in Equivalent VIII).

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11th 2011, devastated and obliterated the lives of human and non human species. The water of the tsunami washed away towns, bodies, organised mechanics of the human condition, such as transport vehicles, (land or water-based), business, cultivated growth of plant life and the everyday aspect of life into non life. The shock of this realization turned into further panic due to the failing cooling systems of nuclear power plants that were affected by the power of the planet’s own vital energy system that had caused the catastrophe.

Some of the human species remained convinced that nuclear energy was essential to human ways of life on Earth, while others wished that the nuclear industry should be dismantled in favour of safer ecological systems to generate energy. Ella Montt had never liked the nuclear industry and was most concerned for those in Japan, those that had lost their lives and those that had survived, both had their lives altered in the time span of minuets or seconds as the ground shock and later as the waves swept over the land. Planet Earth is a living organism, but this can be forgotten. Everything returns to the materials of the planet from which it has animated. Atoms drift, form and flux in the atmosphere surrounding the astronomical object.

On March 17th 2011, six thousand miles away in Japan there was still a state of panic and emergency, because of the on going conditions at the nuclear power plants. (Nuclear power no thanks!) Thousands of lives were lost in the tsunami. Bodies had been washed out to sea or covered by the wreckage of the flood. The mess and mass of residue remains piled for miles along the coastline. Some of the coastline had dropped at the time of the earthquake which allowed the tsunami to then sweep further in land. The conditions of global warming v the conditions of catastrophe from nuclear energy, if the world is contaminated with radiation what good is it to anyone anyway? Energy systems can be established through other means that are more sustainable solutions and not built on fossil fuels or nuclear power.

Ella Montt mused on why humans need catastrophe in order to realize thought processes that enable change. Progress is often not a linear process. Science develops systems and systems can generate progress, but power can generate a system that is blind to the future. The future is hidden tread carefully.

The sun broke through the misty cloud haze. Ella Montt prepared to plant 15 Lady Balfour Main Crop seed Potatoes, EM adjusted the tripod and digital video camera. Eve Balfour stepped out of MERL’s library archive and walked across the garden to join Ella Montt at the Plot. EM handed EB a fork and EB started to prepare the soil. Ella Montt went to the shed to fetch a wheelbarrow and then pushed it up the path amongst the trees towards the garden’s composting area. EM shovelled some of last year’s compost in to the wheelbarrow and headed back down the wooded bank to EB. Together they carefully dug a row of eight holes and then Ella Montt placed a Potato in each earth cavity with the Potato Chits facing upwards. EB covered the Potatoes and added extra compost from the wheelbarrow making Mole Hill type mounds over each one. Ella Montt placed a seed label by each mound to mark the position. EB and EM then dug another row of seven holes and Ella Montt placed the last seven Potatoes in their respective holes. Bob Flowerdew had advised to dig holes as big as a saucepan and Ella Montt remembered this. A note was made to acquire Comfrey roots for the Plot. Comfrey is an excellent plant food for Potatoes, Tomatoes and compost. EM and EB shared Ella Montt’s thermos of plant-based tea whilst they discussed the Plot.

When EB went back to the rest in the library archive Ella Montt planted 4 x 3 sticks of dried Bamboo at each corner of the Plot in triangular formations. It was somewhat early in the year to be assembling Climbing Bean supports, but Ella Montt had decided that the Heavy Metal CDs needed to be reinstated to the Plot to try to ward of predators. Ella Montt attached the CDs with last years blue plastic string to the Bamboo supports. The Heavy Metal CDs will swing with the breeze and create a slight disturbance around the Plot that may interfere with pigeons feeding, but will not deter any slugs. Ella Montt then applied pieces of Fragile Handle With Care packaging tape that had been saved from an incoming package.

Ella Montt was in the studio, it was March 24th 2011, two days before another March in London against government spending cuts. This March was due to be as large as the Anti War March in 2003. Ella Montt hoped it would remain peaceful. What would be the point of violence breaking out between police and protestors when police are also being cut? The police should also be marching. Ella Montt was in no mood to pussyfoot around; she slipped off her 4″ heel gold dance shoes and left them standing amongst the field of chitting Potatoes on the studio floor. EM put on her muddy earth footwear, reached for her bike helmet and reflective visibility vest and then strode down the corridor. Once outside she unlocked her bike and cycled off across the campus to go to the Allotment Plot at MERL. It was almost two weeks after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and still there was an on going nuclear crisis at Fukushima.

The weather in the South East of the UK was above normal average temperatures for the time of year. A weatherman said that the 24th March in the UK was warmer than South of Spain, but there was no suggestion that the warmth was to do with any kind of radiation cloud that had drifted 6000 miles around the planet, unlike the radiation cloud that travelled across Europe from Chernobyl disaster in 1986. The Japanese have so far been able to avoid a meltdown, but the situation may not be contained for months, meanwhile radiation continues to leak and the reactor sits dangerously close to a fault line as do others dotted around the Earth’s surface. In 1986 humans had stood outside the public house on Charlotte Road in London enjoying the exceptionally warm weather whilst sheep on Welsh mountains absorbed the radiation.

Ella Montt had arrived at the Allotment Plot at MERL, collected tools from the shed and was now forking over some unseeded parts of the Plot. EM piled more soil on to the Lady Balfour Potatoes earthing them up as a preventative against frost. There had been virtually no rain all month and the weather forecast implied rain was unlikely for almost another week. The temperature felt like May or June, but in reality it was not.

The plants that had managed to survive the winter (some had not) were starting to grow again. The Garlic was looking very good. Ella Montt prepared to plant some more Peas and Broad Beans to fill in the gaps where plants had perished or been eaten. Other seeds were in the process of germinating in pots at the fixed up greenhouse at another location.

As a bumblebee flew by Ella Montt proceeded to plant more seeds. First the overwintered row of Pea Meteor was filled in again. Followed closely by rows of Pea Kelvedon Wonder, Pea Ambassador, Pea (Edible Podded) Ezetha’s Krombek Blauschokker, and Pea (Mange-tout) Oregon Sugar Pod. Then Ella Montt planted some more Broad Bean seeds to try to fill out the broken rows of overwintered Broad Bean Supersimonia and Superaquadulce. Between the two rows of Broad Beans Ella Montt planted a row of Carrots Rothild and Autumn King, then a row of Parsnip Halblange White and a row of Leek Blue Green Winter. Beyond the Garlic, close to the Brick Composter, Ella Montt planted a mixed row of Leaf Beet Rainbow Chard and Kale Halbhoher Grun Krauser. Next to the Herbs at the other end of the Plot, Ella Montt planted a mixture of Onion Ramrod, Dill, Flat Leaved Parsley, and Coriander Santos. The final planting of the day around the Plot was a mixture of Companion Planting flowering seeds, Cosmos Cosmea, Cosmos Orange Cosmea, Borage, Pot Marigold Calendula Officinalis and Nasturtium Organic Mix. Ella Montt knew that Allotment Plot at MERL is small comparatively in size to Allotment Plot 326, but was very conscious of the need for crop rotation whilst she planted. Crop rotation means that no like for like plant should be planted in the same place as the previous year, in order to minimize disease and fertility of the soil.

Whilst Ella Montt was planting she noticed the Mint rhizome had extended out of the Plot and in to the grass of the lawn. This was somewhat of a surprise and an unintentionally thought process. Perhaps on the next visit an attempt will be made to revert this rhizome back in to the boundaries of the Plot. Ella Montt was aware that Mint rhizomes were growing within the Plot, but would need to consult Deleuze and Guattari about removing plant structures that drifted outside of the Plot to see if they needed to be reinstated within the Plot.

At Allotment 326 on Tuesday 22nd, earlier in the week, Ella Montt had planted 15 Madeleine First Early Potatoes that had been chitted in the studio and then EM had carried on digging. Ella Montt had much to do at Allotment Plot 326; there was a never-ending task to try to destroy the rhizomatic growth of the brambles at the Plot. There was also a constant urgency looming over Ella Montt that if a fence was not applied to Allotment Plot 326, rabbits would eat any other vegetable that would be planted at the Plot. Luckily at the moment the rabbits were keeping the encroaching grass well trimmed. Ella Montt was not aware of rabbits existing in the garden at MERL.

Fruit Trees

At Allotment Plot 326 on January 14th 2011, Ella Montt planted some fruit bushes and trees. The temperature on that day was almost balmy. In the designated planting area the ground was dug to try to remove any bramble roots. Holes were then excavated and the roots of the trees and bushes were grounded and firmly covered with soil. The trees planted were Apple Cevaal, Cherry Summer Sun, and Plum Victoria, all on small root stock. The bushes planted were 2 Jostaberry, 1 Gooseberry Pax and 1 Blackcurrant Ben Sarek. Also re-planted was a Strawberry Plant and some Raspberry Canes that had been found on the Plot.

After several hours of labour, Ella Montt was hurrying to finish her work. The sky was darkening and a clap of thunder sounded over head. Then the rain came, falling heavily on the young trees, the newly cultivated soil and the worker Ella Montt.

On the 25th January, Ella Montt returned to the Plot to find bark had been eaten from trees. When the trees arrived they came with a warning that Rabbits may attack them by eating their bark. Ella had been too busy to return to the Plot before now and was sorry that she had neglected the trees. A bag of old netting sat in the Shed, Ella collected it and searched the Plot for anything she could use to prop the net up with. She found some old bamboo canes, sticks from the old Apple tree and pieces of wooden bed frame. With this assemblage of material Ella Montt created a barrier that she hoped the Rabbits could not invade. Ella wrapped biodegradable plastic around the damaged bark on the trees to protect them.

Ella Montt returned to the Plot on 28th January to check on the trees. It seemed so far there had been no new invaders. The rest of the Plot still needs to be dug over, brambles roots removed and fences put into place to try to protect the plants that Ella Montt wants to try to grow there as part of the Plot. It is very much an experimental growing area.

Parsnips and Mint

25/11/2010 – Ella Montt headed from the University to the Allotment Plot at MERL by bike. Optimistic bright sunshine earlier in the morning had given way to a blanket of dull grey cloud and the temperature plummeted, making the bike ride far from exhilarating, as the sharpness of the cold hit the body in motion. Ella Montt extracted the garden fork and her fairtrade gardening gloves from the shed, then crossed the grass to the Allotment Plot. Observation of the Brassicas that are being steadily eaten by wildlife, prompted Ella to return to the shed to collect an amount of horticultural fleece that had been stored there since last winter. The fleece was stretched across the Brassicas and the newly sprouted Broadbeans, to aid the plants protection from the wildlife and elemental forces. Bricks that had been collected from the pile by the shed were situated to hold the fleece in position. Ella’s nose dripped in the cold.

Plot with Fleece

Ella started to dig some Parsnips with the fork, then she remarked to Captain Swing that all the Parsnips should perhaps be removed from the soil, because their foliage was dying down and the ground may soon become too frozen to dig if the snow that had been predicted, arrived in the course of the next week. Ella feeling slightly lot mental dug up the rest of the Parsnips that would be stored until needed for consumption. As the root vegetables were dug, Ella came across traveling rhizomatic root shoots runners from the Mint plants. Some Mint root shoots had been removed on a previous occasion and taken to Allotment 326 to propagate new Mint plants. Ella decided to leave the newly discovered rhizomes to show to Deleuze later, she left them to grow across the Allotment Plot. Each traveling Mint rhizome was punctuated regularly with tiny Mint seedlings with their own root systems developing joined to the main plant runner. Ella was fascinated by this, because it was a visual production that could be left as a mapping of plant intention, each potential new plant joined to the whole plant origin and would spread at the plant’s will, or if Ella intervened with her human objective and separated the Mint seedlings from the original plant, she could propagate more plants from their new root systems. Ella was still thinking about the Mint plant later. She hoped that both Deleuze and Guattari would be as pleased that this particular rhizome was growing through her Plot. Captain Swing commented that on an energetic level the Mint plants intention emphasized a connection between one Allotment Plot and another that Ella had already strengthened by transporting part of the plant’s rhizome from Allotment Plot at MERL to Allotment Plot 326.

Plot

Harvest on 25/11/2010: Parsnips Halblange White = 3lb 11oz = 1.7Kg, Leeks Almera = 5oz = 140g.

Overnight Frost

On the morning of 21st October 2010, an overnight frost had killed the Bean and Squash plants at Allotment Plot at MERL, leaving the remaining Squash Green Hokkadio vulnerable to elemental forces. The Squash seemed to be intact and was harvested, it had not met its maximum growth capacity because it had grown to late in the season, but it was not to be abandoned to decompose on the Plot.

The Bamboo canes that were still standing in pyramid formations, were stripped of their frost bitten Climbing Bean residue, dismantled and deposited in the shed. The Bean plant residue was roughly cut up and laid in the brick compost area. Ella Montt decided to raise the height of the bricks by one layer so that they would accommodate more compost. Yellowed leaves from the Mulberry tree next to the Plot were gathered from the ground where they had fallen, placed into the compost area covering the Bean plants residue and left to mulch down.

Allotment Plot CompostAllotment Plot Autumn

The next action was that of harvesting, because there had been a frost Ella Montt deemed it appropriate that the first Parsnips would be dug. In the space that the Carrot harvest generated more Pea Meteor were planted. The harvest consisted of: Squash Green Hokkadio = 1lb 1oz = 480g; Mixed Herbs = Chives, Mint, Sage and Marjarom = 2oz = 40g; Leek Almera = 2oz = 40g ; Parsnip Halblange White = 6oz = 180g; Carrot Amsterdam Forcing 8oz = 240g.

Carrots Leeks and Parsnips 1Carrots Leeks and Parsnips

Later that same day, 21/10/2010, a journey to Allotment Plot 326 happened. Ella Montt commenced digging again in an effort to clear more soil, attempting to banish more roots of the Bramble plants. As daylight started to fade Ella Montt’s digging reached the other side of the plot. Contemplating the Plot, Ella Montt has decided in order to try to thwart the Brambles, land based wildlife and other persistent plants, who are not particularly welcome in the overall scheme of the Plot, that it will be necessary to dig the perimeter of the Plot in preparation for fencing. Whilst bio diversity is encouraged in organic growing, certain creatures become over zealous when Plants of their liking start to grow. This fact has already been noted on the Plot at MERL when the Brassicas have suffered Pigeon attack. The act of fencing in of Plot 326, will be an attempt to try to deter hungry wildlife from foraging and allow the planted vegetation a chance to grow to harvesting potential. Given time constraints, Ella Montt expects it will be some weeks before fencing commences. Ella Montt would like to emphasis the fact that fencing the Plot in is not based on Speciesism and that wildlife will coexist on and around the Plot with the Plot, the act of fencing is merely an attempt to stop the wildlife eating everything that Ella Montt attempts to grow. The wildlife have their own strategies for survival and will no doubt find a way to breach the fence if they are so inclined.

Ella Montt planted another row of Spinach Giant Winter, then Garlic (1) Elephant = 3 cloves, Garlic (2) Dukat = 17 cloves, Garlic (3) Sprint = 32 cloves, Garlic (4) Thermidrome 16 cloves, followed by 1 row of Broad Beans Supersimonia and 1 row of Broad Beans Super Aquadule.

Allotment Plot Overwinter 1Allotment Plot Overwinter 2

Planting to Overwinter

At Ella Montt’s Allotment Plot at MERL on the 15th October 2010 it was a perfect Autumn day, the leaves were gently falling from the trees in the garden (and along the foot/cycle path journey route). The Mulberry tree leaves, next to the Allotment Plot, had mostly turned to yellow. The Cosmos Cosmea‘s pink petals seemed like patches of faded summer colour amongst the Autumn rusting hues. It has not rained significantly in so many days, the soil looked dry, but moisture exists below the surface. More flower seeds were collected. Ella Montt harvested the Climbing Beans that were ready to be picked and removed some more of the plants that had finished producing. Carrots were dug. The Beetroot never grew to their potential. Digging with a garden fork commenced to redefine some of the Plots edges and also to dig in lightly some of the Fenugreek as a green manure. Any unwanted plant residue from the Plot was added to the brick lined compost area.

Cosmos CosmeaNext to the Cosmos Cosmea

In the spaces that had opened up on the Plot Ella Montt planted an amount of seeds to overwinter. Next to the recently germinated Carrots which are close to the compost area four types of Garlic were planted; 2 cloves x Elephant Garlic (1), followed by 8 cloves x Dukat Garlic (2), then 16 cloves x Sprint Garlic (3) and then 14 cloves x Thermidrome Garlic (4). Next two rows of Onions Swift were planted, 2 x 13 = 26 sets. Broad Bean (1) Supersimonia x 16 beans were planted near to the Brassicas and then an adjacent row of Broadbean (2) Super Aquadulce x 16 beans. Where the Carrots had been dug Pea Meteor were planted in a concentrated amount (50 approximately), as the rest of the carrots are dug more Peas will be planted.

Planting GarlicPlanting Elephant Garlic Clove

The days harvest: Lettuce Marvel of the Four Seasons = 2oz = 60g; Carrots Amsterdam Forcing = 1lb 2oz = 500g; Climbing Beans = 3oz = 80g; Runner Beans Blue Lake 7oz = 200g; Runner Beans Painted Lady = 7oz = 200g.

Compost at the Plot

On the 7th October 2010 at Allotment Plot at MERL in the Autumn sunshine, it was time to harvest and remove the Sweetcorn form the Plot. The corn ears were collected and the canes were cut leaving the roots in the soil to decompose. The Sunflowers seed heads were cut off and saved then plants cut down. Other seeds were collected from the Borage, Pot Marigold and Mint (the seeds were later laid out to dry in Ella Montt’s studio). The Dwarf Beans Royalty were removed from the Plot. One pyramid of Bamboo canes was disconnected from the others and removed from the Plot, the pyramid had supported Blauhide and Blue Lake Climbing Beans; these were cut down. The vacated areas of the Plot were gently forked over, leaving the roots of the cut down plants intact so that they will return any possible nutrients to the soil. The earth was easy to manipulate. The plant remainders that had been removed were left to one side of the Plot.

Allotment 7/10/10allotment167

Bricks were collected in a wheelbarrow from a pile across the garden. The bricks were arranged in a rectangular form of a raised bed where the Sweetcorn had previously been growing. The discarded Sweetcorn, Sunflower and Climbing Bean Plants were chopped up and placed into the raised bed to decompose back to the soil. Compost was also collected from across the garden and a thin layer was applied to the plant mixture in the raised bed. This raised bed will now act as a compost facility on the Plot. Any plant removed from the Plot will be composted there.

Bricks for the Plot

The harvest for the day was as follows: 14 ears of Sweetcorn = 1lb 5oz = 600g; Courgette Soleil F1 = 2oz = 60g; Climbing Beans Blauhide = 3oz = 80g and Blue Lake = 3oz = 80g; Runner Beans Painted Lady = 110z = 340g.

Bricks on Plot

Thirty Days Have September

Thirty days have September… on 30/09/2010 at the Allotment Plot at MERL the clouds sat over the garden, but they were not as heavy and low as the three preceding days and there was a faint chance that sun could break through later or it could rain or both (both). The month of October loomed peeping and edging closer as every minute passed. The end of one growing season and the start of a new growing season looms, the over wintering will begin. A need to make space for this action in the limited Plot area is becoming more necessary as the days pass. The Climbing Beans leaves are starting to look like they have endured chilling over night temperatures as the autumnal hours of daylight diminish. It feels like it will be an early winter, but the weather is unpredictable and warmth can seep back when it is least expected yet yearned for.

Allotment September

In a week when it is announced in the media that one in five plant species are in danger of extinction through human activity an underlying fact is emphasized that plant life is the basis of all life on Earth. The Cosmos Cosmea blooms attracting insects for late pollination, where other flowering plants have faded with the last remaining days of summer. Late in the season the Squash plants are determined to sustain a chance of production.

Squash baby

Harvest commences: Dwarf Beans Royalty 1.5oz = 40g; Rainbow Chard = 3oz =75g; Kale Pentland Brig = 1oz = 30g; Climbing French Beans Blue Lake = 5oz = 140g; and Blauhide = 1.5oz = 40g; Runner Beans = 9oz = 260g; Herbs, Parsley, Sage, Marjoram, Basil and Mint.

Cosmos Cosmea & Insect

Raining on the Plot

On 23rd September 2010 autumnal weather had taken a firm grip and it was raining on the Plot at MERL. The Sweetcorn still looked healthy, but it will need to stay put on the Plot for a few more weeks if it is to be of any substance. Sadly the previous months of consistent dry weather had taken their toll on the Kale Red Russian Curled plants. The plants no longer had the ability to produce leafy foliage so they were uprooted from the soil. The displaced plants were left to compost themselves back to the soil from whence they came. The Courgettes Soleil F1 were still growing slowly without visible harassment and so were left to continue their life span as part of the Plot. A Squash that was formed a few weeks ago is suspended in the air, its plumping action in full force, it sits beside the fruitless flowering Aubergine, fruitless in two ways the first because it has not born fruit and the second underlining its fruitlessness (unsuccessful). The new carrots are germinating.

Squash & Sqaush Flower

A flurry of activity happened when Ella Montt decided to uproot the blighting Tomatoes from the Plot. The plants, which considering the length of time they endured before they could be planted out because of the cold spring, have up until now produced well. A sense of relief was felt as the plants were allowed to relax into the compost box across the garden. Some say that blighted tomato plants should never enter a compost system, but these plants were not inflicted to a worst degree and will not affect future plantings in the garden. Next the Onions Red Baron were dug out from the Plot, their growth had not been successful again attributed to lack of water in drought like conditions. They will however be saved to be replanted next year on Plot 326 in a further experiment in growing. Space is slowly opening up to plant the over wintering vegetables.

Space on the Plot

Harvesting commenced: Climbing Beans French Beans Blauhide =1oz = 20g and Blue Lake = 6.5oz = 180g; Tomatoes = 2lb7oz = 1.5kg; Runner Beans = 13oz = 400g.

Energetic Force Field

16/09/2010 in the garden at MERL at the Allotment Plot, Ella Montt harvested a small Squash that had unfortunately been attacked by something with teeth. Glistening trails were detected as the evidence of slug and snail activity, this kind of activity has been thankfully minimal, presumably because of the dry weather conditions this growing year. The Sweetcorn need to accelerate their growth in order to be edible if not their destiny will be compost material. Cosmos Cosmea pink will continue to flower for the next few weeks, the white Cosmos’s life force has faded as has the Sunflowers, the latter is concentrating its energetic capacity in seed generation. The Leeks are growing, but slender, beans continue to be prolific and reach for the sky. It was decided that two small Soleil F1 Courgettes would be left to survive another week on the Plot to maximize their growth, will they be attacked or will their energetic force field hold and not be penetrated, only time will tell. The temperature of the days and nights are dropping, the evenings are getting darker, the angle of the sun is shifting, Autumn is on its way. Green Manure seeds Phacelia Tanacetifolia were scattered on the Plot (to be dug in before flowering, some flowers can be left to attract biodiversity). SweetcornCosmea 2

Harvesting commenced: Tomatoes = 1lb4oz = 560g; Kale Pentland Brig 1oz = 40g; Squash Green Hokkadio = 4oz = 100g; Dwarf Bean Royalty = 1oz = 40g; Runner Beans = 12oz = 340g; Climbing French Beans Blue Lake = 12oz = 340g and Blauhide 2oz = 50g.

The complication of Fine Art Practice Based PhD research should not be under estimated.

Slender Leeks

Cosmos Cosmea

The weather conditions on 09/09/2010 at Ella Montt’s Plot in MERL’s garden were favourable for early September, neither too hot nor too cold; there was a mixture of sun and clouds in the sky. Both white and pink Cosmos Cosmea were flowering. Ella Montt wonders if the structures of the Cosmos flowers are universally judged to be beautiful or if it is herself that critiques these flowers in such a way?

Cosmos Cosmea

The Pepper plant’s life energy is fading. It is up rooted from the Plot. In contrast the Aubergine plant appears healthy, but still bearing no fruit.  A few of the Squash plants are fruiting but too late in the growing season for substantial growth, they will need water and sunshine to accelerate their plumping.

Squash Fruit

The days harvesting commenced: Courgette Soleil F1 = 2oz = 40grams; 3 Dwarf Beans Royalty = 1oz = 20g; Rainbow Chard = 1.5oz = 30g; Kale Pentland Brig = 3oz = 60g; Kale Red Russian Curled = 1oz = 20g; Tomatoes = 1lb4oz = 600g; Cucumber = 2oz = 40g; French Climbing Beans Blue Lake = 1lb4oz = 600g and Blauhide 1.5oz = 30g; Runner Beans = 7oz = 200g.