jonnybaker

fecundity

this year turned out to be very fecund when it came to squash at the allotment!

season of plenty

my mum always used to call this time of the year the season of plenty. we have an allotment and have been eating raspberries, strawberries, beetroot, potatoes, chard, courgettes, blueberries, gooseberries, blackcurrants, runner beans, peas... i just love the colour of these redcurrants

jammy!

"this weekend i will mostly be making jam!"

earlsfield friary

last week's church times had a 5 page section looking at new monasticism and communities engaging in mission with that sort of imagination. one of the featured stories was earlsfield friary who have worked with the local church to transfrom the church grounds into a community garden with allotments and a labyrinth. johnny sertin who is one of the founder members of the friary teaches the mission spirituality module on the pioneer course.

growzones

earth abbey is an inspired project/vision/network. here's what they say about themselves...

EarthAbbey is a movement of people helping one another to live more in tune with the earth. We work to promote

• A rich relational life between human beings
• A compassion toward the earth and its creatures
• A sense of interconnectedness of all life
• Wisdom and justice in relationships
• Human fulfilment and the nurture of the inner life
• A way of living that leaves the earth better than we found it

Our inspiration derives from Jesus of Nazareth whose life and mission was to bring about a peace which embraces all creation.  We pursue a life-affirming, creative spirtuality that is open to all. EarthAbbey is more than a website. It is a movement of people and you are invited to join.

one of the projects they are encouraging is growzones. it's a very simple idea - getting a small community group together to either develop a community garden/allotment or to develop one another's gardens to grow food. we actually do this with an allotment anyway and certainly find it easier and more fun to do in a group but it is good to see it being encouraged. there is a web site and kit to get you started if you need help. a group is starting in oxford soon...

so here we go...

into the knoockout phase of the world cup when it gets so much more exciting. can england beat germany today? we'll find out. we'd better start playing better than we have so far that's for sure. glad to see an african side make it through to the quarter finals (apologies to US readers) and have a soft spot for ghana anyway because of michael essien even though he is not playing...

the weather has been amazing here. it's that time of year when the allotment begins to pay dividends. strawberries, raspberries, spinnach, rhubarb and even the first potatoes yesterday - wonderful!

season of plenty

i don't blog about the allotment much as i figure it won't be of much interest to most readers but following our first year last year we have got our act together a bit better. this is the season of plenty - this photo is one day's gleaning of around 15 different fruit and veg. we work the allotment as a group which makes it manageable with our friend lynda taking the lead.

for my own benefit (memory) i use my blog to record things so when i look back i have a record... so this year's efforts

strawberries | raspberries | blackberries | blackcurrants | rhubarb | plums | potatoes | onions | garlic | carrots | spinnach | beetroot | parsley | tomatoes | cucumber | courgette | basil | aubergine | dwarf beans | runner beans | mange tout peas | chilli | jalapeno pepper | pepper | sweetcorn... and yet to come... cabbage | parsnip (only one successful plant this year!) | swede | leeks | squash

we normally get an organic fruit and vegetable box delivered each week but at this time of year we don't have to bother...