2024 - The Allotment Review
As we come to the end of the 2024 growing season, it's time to look back and see what's been good and bad. To help bring this post together, I spent some time listing what had been grown or harvested from the plot in 2024. Only when all the crop varieties were written down did I fully appreciate what a great year it's been. Over 34 Different varieties of fruits and vegetables no less.
Sweet Pepper - Cubanelle 2/5
Squash - Uchiki Kuri 4/5
Cucamelon - Mexican Gherkin 3/5
Pea -Hurst Green Shaft 4/5
Spring Onion - Snowqueen F1 4/5
I've decided to go through the list and give a mark out of 5 for each crop. I've marked according to the outcome of the crop so it's important to understand that it's not really a reflection of the specific varieties that have been grown. More so, a reflection on my timings and methods I've used. Without further ado, let's get this review of 2024 kicked off...
Beetroot - Cylindra 4/5
A good solid crop for this year. We haven't pickled as much as we did last year, instead just enjoying it grated raw or just boiled and sliced. We had several sowings through the year, but the last crop eventually succumbed to mice. Cylindra is our variety of choice because of its taste and uniformity of size, making consistent cooking easier.
Tomato - Cocktail Crush 3/5
The tomatoes this year were OK. We had plenty of fruit, but I thought these were a bush variety. As it turned out, they needed a lot more support that I gave them originally. We lost a reasonable amount to slugs and I do wonder if perhaps I put them out a little too soon. Maybe for 2025, I will delay sowings a little bit, and put the plants out a few weeks later.
This may be a little harsh given that it was my first proper attempt at growing peppers. They were grown in quad grows in the tunnel and while plenty of fruit did appear and ripen, sizes were disappointing. Plus, I think I had a major mix up in amongst the peppers so it was hard to tell what was a chilli pepper and what was a hot pepper. Next year, I'll be simplifying my approach.
Hot Pepper - Numex Sandia 4/5
I'm much happier with the results of these plants. Plenty of fruit of a good size. It became obvious that the smaller peppers were not as hot as the larger ones. We have frozen much of these and given away a whole lot more. Again, grown in quad grows under cover.
Leek - Musselburgh 4/5
The leek crop did well this year. I learned from the previous year that as soon as rust shows up, that it's best to harvest, even if some of them are still a little small. Also, compared to last year, there was very little evidence of allium leaf minor, if any. Also, the crop have frozen very well and so though the whole crop were harvested within a week or so, nothing went to waste, and we are still enjoying them at the end of the year. This year, we also bordered the bed with African Marigolds.
French Bean - Amethyst, Faraday and Annabel 2/5
These started well undercover and individually sown, but I think I got caught out with the weather and I ended up putting them out too early. Plus, when the weather did warm, they got attacked by blackfly and ants. From there, they never really recovered. They eventually did crop, but growth was stunted and yield was low. An attempted late sowing to try and salvage a second crop also failed. It's a shame as previous years, Annabel had been one of the strongest crops on the plot.
Kale - Nero di Toscana 3/5
We started off with 4 plants which all started well. However, caterpillars and slugs soon got on them and two were chewed back to their stalks. Two other plants cropped quite well but also eventually succumbed. In the future, they need to be kept under fine mesh to try and protect them during the warmer weather.
The first time growing this variety, and it was a good success. The fruits were relatively small compared to other squashes grown in the past, but they have stored well and tasted very good. Certainly one to be on the list for future years.
Squash - Sunshine F1 4/5
Very similar in appearance to Uchiki Kuri, and again a good success. Also stores well and will keep us going through the rest of the winter months.
Cauliflower - Tirza and All Year Round 3/5
Cauliflower has apparently always been tough to grow on our allotment site. People have sporadic levels of club root, but with a handful of lime mixed with fresh compost put into a hole when transplanting, the plants have faired well. However, only about two thirds eventually formed heads and the latest sowings fell victim to late season caterpillars. Still, the crops that were harvested were fantastic and it won't deter us from continuing to grow them.
A new planting for us. I'd read a lot about them, and people enjoying them in summer salads. Out of only a handful of plants, we grew two on. One outside in a large pot, and one under cover in a large pot. The outdoor plant was much more successful and cropped very well. The plant undercover produced almost no fruit at all. It also provided a nice snack while working on the plot. One plant is enough to provide us for the season.
Sweetcorn - Early Bird F1 5/5
Undoubtedly the star of the growing season. Interplanted amongst the squash, the leftover seed from last year performed very well indeed. After the disappointment of last years harvest, this was a last minute decision to go with. Every stem produced two good size cobs at least, and they have frozen well. Black fly was not issue this year at all. And to think I nearly threw away the old seed after last years results!
It's been a good reliable crop again this year. Both the early sowings made in gutters and left undercover, and the direct sowings have germinated and performed very well. The only downside this year was a period of high wind blew down the support structure of the rows and so stunted the growth of about one third of the plants. Nevertheless, the harvest was successful across the rest of the rows and it will be left on the growing list for next season.
These have provided a good and consistent harvest throughout the year, rotating sowings over 3 troughs, starting undercover back in early spring. They have been clean and well developed at harvest meaning that we haven't had to pester the supermarkets at all during the year. This method of growing is going to become a staple on the allotment in future years.
Parsnip - White Gem 5/5
The second 5/5 crop from 2024. At the start of the year, people were telling me that their germination had failed totally and they always struggled with parsnip. For the small patch we grew, we have had completely the opposite experience. Germination has been excellent and the roots harvested so far have been excellent, large and straight. There's no reason not to continue growing this variety in future years.
Radish - Cherry Bell 4/5
Very good germination and very easy to grow. But we only harvested a small portion of them as the reality is that we just don't eat enough of them meaning that they will probably be dropped for future years.
Potato - Charlotte 3/5
The first of 3 potato varieties grown this year. We grew this as an early variety and as with all our potatoes, it was grown in large tubs. It performed well, but yield was quite low and the potatoes were probably a little smaller than I was expecting.
Potato - Cara 3/5
The second variety for this year, grown as a main crop potato. I've never grown this variety before, but other people I have heard, have grown this type for years. Excellent on the dinner plate for roast and mash, they are a really nice potato. This years harvest was OK yield wise, but the potatoes never really got to a large size, hence the mark. Some of them were also a little bit scabby at harvest, but that was probably more to do with the compost mix they were grown in.
I'd be more than happy to give them another go though.
Spinach - Matador and Red Vein 1/5
I'd be more than happy to give them another go though.
Potato - Red Duke of York 1/5
Usually, we have grown this variety as a first or second early. This year, I spotted it being sold as a late season variety to be harvested in time for Christmas. I thought we would give them a go. Germination was fine, and they started to grow as expected, producing plenty of green healthy growth, but suddenly over the course of 2 weeks, all growth died back, leaving bare soil. When the tubs were turned over, there were a handful of very small potatoes. The experiment was a failure and probably not worth trying to repeat outdoors again.
Carrot - Autumn King 2 and Early Nantes 5/5
The next harvest earning full marks in my review of the year. Growing these varieties in a bath tub has been a revelation. While a couple of late harvest roots were showing tiny signs of slug damage, overall the roots have been straight and large. Though scoring 5/5 this year, I expect it's more to do with the technique rather than the variety which means that I'll be looking to see what other varieties can be grown in the future.
Carrot - Topweight 1/5
Again, a score that's harsh and reflective not of the variety, but more like my incompetence. I sowed a couple of rows of these at the end of the bath tub about halfway through the season. While they germinated well, the growth of the neighbouring plants soon blocked out all light to the newly germinated seeds meaning they totally failed. I'll still give this variety another go in the future though.
Carrot - Paris Market 3/5
Advertised as a late season variety, I thought I'd give it a go, so after harvesting the Early Nantes variety, I sowed a couple of rows in it's place. They have germinated very well, but are slow growing. So far, we have taken a small harvest of the larger roots which are a little smaller that a golf ball. But, hopefully the remaining roots will continue to develop and allow us to harvest through to the end of the year.
Cabbage - Mammoth Red Rock 3/5
My timings for this crop have been a little out. I was anticipating harvest towards the end of the year, but it proved to grow and be ready for harvest much quicker than anticipated. Out of only 4 or 5 plants grown on in the bed, I only harvested 2. One was given away and the other taken home, cooked and eaten or frozen. The remaining plants fell to pests.
Spinach - Matador and Red Vein 1/5
Probably the most disappointing out of this years crops. Direct sowing of both varieties failed with poor germination, and those that did germinate were obliterated by pests of some sort. I may try it again next year as some sort of filler crop, but we didn't even get the chance to taste any this year.
Garlic - Elephant 4/5
A delayed success from 2023 season. We only planted 4 bulbs of elephant garlic, and they were left from the previous year, where for some reason, the bulbs hadn't fully developed and split. I was told that if I re-planted them the following winter, they would come on. That's exactly what they did, and though the four bulbs did grow and fully develop, the only reason I haven't given 5/5 is because they were a little small. Still very pleased with it though!
Onions (Sets) - Radar, Electric and Snowball 2/5
It was recommended that we try growing onion sets this year. Partly because an online retailer had a good deal on and partly because of the suggested better success rate in growth and development, not to mention an earlier harvest. In then end, we were left disappointed. While the onion sets themselves for all varieties performed well to start off, they quickly bolted before the bulbs had chance to form and swell to a decent size. We ended up having to harvest early, and found many of them unusable. The remaining bulbs had to be used quickly as they also started to rot from the inside quickly too. Next season, we will be going back to onions grown from seed as they've been much more successful in the past.
Purple Sprouting - Red Fire 5/5
This crop wintered well over 2023/2024 and in early spring gave a prolific crop and quality heads. We harvested as much as we could, freezing a great deal of it, though we had to be quick. It would often go to seed quickly. It was one of the first crops off the plot for 2024, and though not on the planner for 2025, I'll definitely consider bringing it back further down the line.
And the rest...
Through the growing season, we have also grown plenty of lettuce, both cut and come again, and some heads. In the end, we stuck with the cut and come again methods. Solid and reliable, we have had consistent harvests from late spring, through the year. We've found that sowing a single tray every 3 to 4 weeks has been enough to keep us in salad leaves for most of the year. The heads of lettuce grown in the ground all came to maturity at the same time, so we had a massive glut, and a lot of it went to the slugs. A solid 4/5 for lettuces save for one tray which really didn't germinate well in the end and had to be re-sown.
Occasionally, we have also bought some plug plants to fill in gaps. Particularly cabbages (savoy and pointed). They grew alright, but didn't get consumed. Reliable plug plants from a trusted source still deserve a 4/5 but next time, I'll fill in with something we will actually consume!
Earlier in the year, we were also given a butternut squash plant which was grown in a large pot as we had no other room for it. It produced a single fruit, probably because it didn't have enough room. 2/5
Another offering given to us by our allotment neighbours were two different types of chilli. A Jalapeno and Fiery Tongue. Both grew, developed and cropped well giving us a big glut of chilli. 4/5 for the plants, particularly the Fiery Tongue. 1/5 for me being prepared enough to know what to do with a big glut of chilli peppers other than to freeze them.
Finally, when it looked like we might have been one pepper plant short, I bought a chilli pepper called Purple Gusto. It grew to a good size, but the fruits were small, often no bigger than a thumbnail. Later in the season, some of the fruits developed bigger before ripening. We harvest and froze some. 3/5 is what I'm giving it because the end product was quite small.
There we go. A condensed 2024 review of what we've grown. I still can't believe we have actually grown so many different things. This number will probably increase next year as we have more beds to grow in. Plans are already under way for 2025 and will be the subject of another post in the not too distant future. Until next time, happy growing!
