Aerial Roots

In this episode, we take you along with us as we get our growing site ready and plant out seedlings. We also share how we're working through a few ups and downs at the plot. Original music from Aerial Roots crew. Produced, recorded and edited by Antonia Canal & Balraj Samrai.

In this episode, join us in the backyard as we sow seeds and share our tips on caring for seedlings. Original music from Aerial Roots crew. Produced, recorded and edited by Antonia Canal & Balraj Samrai.

We're back with season two! Spring is around the corner and in this episode we share our top tips for getting organised, from choosing seeds to creating your plot plan. A step-by-step guide to get you growing this year. Original music from Aerial Roots crew. Produced, recorded and edited by Antonia Canal & Balraj Samrai.

In our last episode of season one, we update on what we've been up to during November including some final winter prep. We also share one final plot to plate recipe! Original music from Aerial Roots crew. Produced, recorded and edited by Antonia Canal & Balraj Samrai.

In the penultimate episode of season one we share an Autumn plot update, a few ideas on prepping beds for Winter and a surprise find from a crop we thought was out of the game. Original music from Aerial Roots crew. Produced, recorded and edited by Antonia Canal & Balraj Samrai.Show transcript:Balraj: Hey everyone. Thanks again for joining us at Aerial Roots.Antonia: I'm Antonia.Balraj: And I'm Balraj.Antonia: Last episode, we shared reflections on getting started at the plot, some harvest updates and an extra special breakdown of Balraj's famous kale crisps. Balraj: This episode includes an update on how our crops are doing, preparing  beds for the winter and an unexpected discovery at the plot. Antonia: So let's head down to the plot, starting with a windy evening with autumn in the air.Antonia: Right? So here we are, 25th of September 2020. Down at the plot.Balraj: Yes and the autumn equinox has come in three days agoAntonia: And Manchester, on form, it's like autumn equinox, boom, temperature drop, 15 degrees! I mean, we got that nice blast of sun, which I think the plants have been really liking. I feel like there's a ghost over there! But it's just Anita's makeshift, um, greenhouse situation. Shout out Anita!Balraj: Shout out our Equiknoxx crew as well.Antonia: Shout out our Equiknoxx family! Woop woop!Balraj: Northern hemisphere, Caribbean crew, shout out Gavsborg!  Antonia: Just cause, just cause we love you!Balraj: Shanique, Bobby, Kemmy, Jordan, full crew. But yeah, what we up to here? So we've been out on a dusky evening. Antonia:  Yeah, it's been a bit of a stealthy sesh, hasn't it? Like by almost cover of darkness.Balraj: Yeah, but you can still hear an ice cream van. Why not? Why not? It's South Manchester, you know, it feels like winter's coming, but... Antonia: But there's still room for an ice cream! Anyway, allotment. Um, well we've done some harvesting. Still enjoying the harvest season aren't we? What have we got? What's our loot today? Balraj: Well, you've just picked one of, um, a certain something, a certain root vegetable.. Antonia: Root vegetable, ummm, we've got a turnip! It's quite...it's quite petite, but you know, I'm very pleased to meet it and to later eat it. It's quite pretty, actually, because I think you can get like a world of turnips in the UK. And it's got this lovely purple colour actually.Balraj: Yeah I think we put it straight into the ground, didn't we? But maybe we're thinking perhaps we could try to do them in pots first. Antonia: And I feel like it's interesting with the root veg  because the turnip feels a bit like the beetroot, which we grew earlier in the season. And, with the beetroot, they did a similar thing, where like they had loads of lovely leaves above ground and then they'd started to like, the actual root itself was popping up, but they were a bit skinny. And with the beetroot, we like, we just sort of buried them again in the soil and they did swell up. But when we did harvest them, there was a part of me that was like, oh, maybe if we'd harvested them earlier, they would have had a slightly sweeter taste?No, no hate on the beetroot, they were still yummy. So I kind of thought, well, this time, why don't we harvest this lone turnip? It's been, it's been asking to be harvested, hasn't it? You know, you did the Instagram posts, there was the dancing turnip or whatever the hell it was doing!Balraj: It was like, go turnip go! We're rooting for you!Antonia: So, um, yeah we'll probably scran that tonight, I reckon. Balraj: Yeah, that will make a nice little side. And we've also got some beds that we've covered with some compost. Um, and we've tried to put some green manure down, which is a new thing. Antonia: Yes, so tell us, tell us Balraj, what is green manure and why are we using it? Balraj: Yeah, so green manure, still learning about this as well, but our plot WhatsApp group, Bethnal Drive WhatsApp group  say that no soil should be just completely exposed over the winter. So I think by putting down green manure, it enriches the soil and it can fix nitrogen. I think it just can make it a lot more kind of full of nutrients for when you're growing in the next year. There's a few different types you can get. We've got another variety that we've not put down yet that we're going to try. Cause I think it needs to be done by the end of the month, really? By the end of September. Antonia: Yeah before it gets cold.Balraj: I think technically the clover should have maybe been all done by the end of August. It's still starting to come through and yeah, I think you dig that over. So later in the year, you'll cut it back. So we're going to just experiment and see kinda what we can do .Antonia:  It will grow and then we'll cut it and leave the cuttings on the bed won't we? They'll decompose. And it's more, more yumminess in the mix. Balraj: Yeah, it's good vibes. And I guess it saves us messing with the bed too much. Kind of means that there's plants doing the work for us . Antonia: We squeeze...not that we squeeze, we make time to come to the allotment, but you know, we're not here all the time. We have other stuff that we want to put our time into, we're passionate about this, but we're into the solutions, which mean we don't have to spend hours and hours, and green manure feels like that doesn't it?Balraj: Yeah and I think another thing is we planted some marigolds earlier in the year and they've been really amazing at  kind of blocking some weeds on the edge of the bed, so stopping some bindweed, like in a bindweed battle, it seems like. So I think that's another thing that saves time.Antonia: Bindweed battle!Balraj: Yeah, so  shout those out. We've also put in some Japanese lettuce of some sort?Antonia:  Oh yes. I was, uh, I was trying to tell someone about this the other week. It's um, it begins with a K...we're going to find out the name of this [Komatsuna]. It's like a Japanese green, like an 'Oriental green'. I mean, this is, it's one of those things, isn't it, with the  gardening world, some of the terminology feels like, yeah, come on guys, this is the 21st century, name where you're talking about!Balraj: Yeah we want to know the specifics of the location. Antonia: It will be a lovely, green, leafy, lettuce, type. That we can eat.Balraj:  And we've also put in some rocket, a variety of rocket into one of the beds that, you know, is an autumn variety too. We have planted a few of the flowers that are meant to come in autumn also. And yeah, so we're just trying to kind of keep a few things going, you know, over this part of the year. Cause obviously things are starting to wind down a little bit, but there's still things that you can be growing. Um, and there's some radishes as well. Antonia: Yeah coming up a storm!Balraj:  Yeah. So they seem to grow really, really, um, speedily as well. And I think you can kind of keep growing them quickly, actually, like they come up within sort of a short amount of time, like three or four weeks sometimes even. So yeah, radishes, they don't need a lot, really. I don't think they need much water or sun really. They just grow.Antonia: And you've, you've heard about this star crop quite a bit, but the courgettes are still out here, still going. And we harvested some today. We got four / five courgettes. So that's been really nice, they're dreamy! I can't talk about courgettes enough, if you want to try growing something next season, even if you've just got a little bit of outdoor space, whether it's a balcony  or a little yard space, or even just on your street, I think you can stick a courgette in there.Balraj: We've got one in our garden, in a pot, actually, in our little yard and it's doing really well. It's given us a couple of courgettes already and we didn't think it was going to make it through and it's kind of just kept going really.  So I'd say yeah, definitely in a pot. Um, sadly last time you heard about the potatoes, I was really excited about them, but it turns out slugs really love potatoes and a few times I've come down and there's been slugs kind of on them in the evening. Caught them in the act! But they seem to have just completely devoured the potato plant this time of year. So. I'm going to need to try something else.  One of the plot neighbors nearby suggested maybe doing them in a bucket?Antonia:  And like Anita, our plot neighbor was like, she does them in a box. I mean, I'm like, I'm Irish, I'm Irish crew as well. So I feel like we need to up our potato game!Balraj:  Yeah but it's learning, isn't it? It's just trying stuff out and it's, you know, at the end of the day I chucked them in quick, I didn't spend too much time on them. So it's a, it's a bit sad, but. You know, you live and you learn and that's what it's about innit really?Antonia: It's like you said, I feel like I'm going to quote you from another episode, but there's collateral out here, you know, this is nature and this is how it goes sometimes. Balraj:  For sure. But I can hear that ice cream van.. is it, should we try and go get ice cream? Antonia: Let's get an ice cream!Balraj: Plot spoiler. We didn't end up getting the ice cream. But that's where we thought we were up to with the plot and we thought maybe that'd be all we'd have to share this time round. But, we made an unexpected discovery a few days later. Let's find out what it is. Antonia:  Okay. So, we have some big, big allotment news, massive news. You may have recently heard us talking about our beans, which we had much hope for. You know, there was various projects associated with the beans. The structure, the trellis, the trellis not being finished, the structure falling down, the structure falling down several times, Raj finding a way to prop it up, using various branches. We get to, we get to mid-September and we  think, you know, the bean plant is doing its thing, but we're not going to get any beans. We kind of like ,we'd accepted that hadn't we? Balraj:  Yeah we thought that might be the case. Antonia:  And yet today, this momentous day... I can just see like loads of bats, can you see those two bats? I'm getting distracted. Um, today what happened today Raj, tell the people. Balraj:  Well we needed some veg, cause we were running a little bit low and we had the idea that maybe we could go to the plot and harvest some bits and pieces maybe from here, some radishes and some courgette and kale. See what we could find and lo and behold.Antonia: BEANS! Beans baby! We got beans!Balraj:  Beans! All types, all sizes, shapes!Antonia:  Some huge beans. Some small beans. Various slugs, having a good old munch, the slugs have known for time!Balraj: Yeah, they must have known about it, but they've been hidden in there. I don't know. You were just tasting them weren't you, straight off?Antonia: I was just eating them. I was very excited. Not the slugs! Balraj:  But the beans, and how did they taste? Antonia:  They tasted good. They tasted sweet. Nice crunch. Ah, I'm thrilled man, I'm so pleased!Balraj: So another crop's come good really. Beans. Antonia: Beans. And we will be munching them tonight. Balraj: That was a pleasant and tasty surprise. Goes to show that you can't really predict or fully know what's going to happen with your green ventures.So as always as well, if you've got any questions, please feel free to message us, comment on the insta  @aerialrootsmcr. Thanks for everyone following so far. Or drop us a line at aerialrootsmcr@gmail.com. Antonia:  We've got one more episode of the season to come. And, we're going to share another plot to plate moment, so make sure you tune in. Balraj:  And we'll see you next time.

Some handy plot tips for sowing on a budget, harvest and yield updates as well as a spot of kitchen action with Chef Samrai! Original music from Aerial Roots crew. Produced, recorded and edited by Antonia Canal & Balraj Samrai.Show transcript:Antonia: Hey everyone. Thanks again for joining us at Aerial Roots.Balraj: I'm Balraj.Antonia: And I'm AntoniaBalraj: On the last episode we shared what we've been up to at the plot, and how some of our crops are getting along. Antonia: This episode includes some of our latest planting, reflections on getting started with an allotment, plus some yield and kitchen action. Balraj: All right, let's get into it, starting with a recent arrival at the plot, a well known root vegetable.We put in some really, really late potatoes, like literally, as late as you can.Antonia:  Bal's dead proud of these potatoes!Balraj:  Yeah. Cause they're coming up and the plants are there and I mean, we might be able to dig these up maybe November, December time, perhaps. I mean, they were those kind of potatoes where they looked like they were growing already, you know, without any soil. We got them from the garden cetnre, and they actually gave them away for free. So shout out Hulme garden center!Antonia: Shout out Hulme Garden Centre - big up, big up! Balraj: Some garden centres will sometimes do that, I think, when there's things that are just going to go to rot and it's late in the season. They might just discount things or give them away. So I guess that's a tip, if you're a little bit low on cash money. Cause we've not been spending a lot, have we? Money-wise, we're trying to keep it to what we can really afford.Antonia: Yeah, that's the advice we got from Ev at the plot. Big up Ev who does loads of stuff for the allotment society and everyone growing out here. But he was like, don't spend loads of money on it, cause you could just throw so much money at this. Like we could've spent ,theoretically, hundreds of pounds. Not that we would have!Balraj: Hmm thousands though even maybeAntonia: Yeah loads and actually we've been kind of trying to make use of what was already here. And making use of the generosity of other growers who've given us plants. And then we've invested  in a few things, like the hose, big up the hose! Balraj: Yeah and also some kale protection, but we we're looking at it weren't we and we were just looking for a few simple tools and you're looking for like a hose, some kale protection, some seeds.Antonia: And I mean, when we started out, Emily who is our great friend and was the link to the plot, she was just letting us into her shed to use her tools, so for the first four months we hadn't even bought a single  tool, had we? We had some gloves. Literally, that was it, the gloves and the keys to the allotment and the watering can that came with our house!Balraj: Yeah true. I think like with a lot of activities, it's like this, you know, if you've got other hobbies, it's not worth buying the stuff before you need it, figure out what you really really could use. Antonia:  Hope some of those tips and tricks were useful. Balraj: Yeah, it feels good to share our experience on getting started  with a plot and how little you really need to get stuck in. Antonia: If you've got any questions about this or anything else allotment wise, feel free to message us or comment on Insta @aerialrootsmcr, you can also drop us a line at aerialrootsmcr@gmail.com. Now we're going to share a little slice of Balraj's recent yield glow up after a bumper harvest.You've just returned home from a solo allotment trip. And I was just commenting on the fact that you're glowing. You're actually, I feel like you're just emanating this green energy. Tell us about your little trip today. Balraj: Yeah, I went over cause I haven't been for about a week and a half, there's been quite heavy rain. It's been quite blustery. So I was quite eager to get down there cause last time we were there, the courgettes were looking really good and the kale and the beans. And yeah, it just looked great! I mean, I was so surprised, but then also not surprised at the same time, because I knew that this is a peak time, but, you know, I could see as I got to the plot that the courgette plants were just... Antonia: So like, as, as you were approaching, you saw the courgette plants and you were like, I've hit the courgette gold rush!Balraj: Yeah. I just could see how huge they were, you know, and I was just, yeah, it was quite kind of a powerful thing, I think. Cause you know, we'd sort of started these plants off from, from seed at home. You know, even when we first took on the plot, we were sort of in two minds, but to be in this place where you're sort of  struggling to fit the yield in your bag on the way home is.. it's quite a nice look! So yeah, what I saw was huge, huge courgettes, the green ones just had gone massive and then some really nice gold ones as well. So both looking really, really great in their own way. And yeah, I kind of saved it till last, so I did some weeding and just tidying up, planted some radish, just general kind of like bits and pieces around the plot. Cause I think the weeds, as well as the plants  have had  a little bit of a party as well. Yeah. So I just kinda cut them back a little bit, but yeah, it was just a great, great yield. But I'm going to have to say, cause we get a bit of a fruit and vegetable box from McCall's organics, shout out Kaz, and we just, we ain't going to need any courgettes for a while I  think!!Antonia: We're sorted, we're sorted on the courgettes front!Balraj: Yeah, sorted for garlic, sorted for courgettes as well now I think.. Antonia: Ah, that was nice. It's one of the great things about this time of year, enjoying the harvest, feeling all the good work you put in earlier in the year.Balraj: But the next best thing to harvesting has gotta be cooking up! Those plots to plate moments. Antonia: Mmm yeah and one of our fave things to cook up is Balraj's famous kale crisps, and you're going to get the exclusive breakdown. Enjoy.Balraj: Okay. Kale crisps. So I've got my kale, allotment fresh. I'm gonna soak it in water because we've actually been getting a little bit of white fly, nothing too crazy. But it's good to soak it just in case, you know, we don't want to be getting that extra, extra protein! Just in case there's any bits and pieces. Then dry that off.What I tend to try and do is actually use some scissors to cut the leaves from the stem, cause sometimes the stem can be a little bit, kind of tough and maybe not as appetising.Okay, so we've got some nice crips laid out. If you've got a wire rack, it's amazing for it, but if not, don't worry. Just use a regular pan. I'm just gonna put the oven on as well to around 180℃ or so, our oven is very, very powerful, but sometimes 200℃ on a fan oven might be cool. You need to experiment really with what works, I guess, in each case, just to get it right. What I tend to do is then lay them on the wire rack, if you do have it, or straight onto a baking tray. Add some olive oil. I like using some organic olive oil, this is from Infinity Foods, shout out to Eighth Day on that! Then I'm going to just do a little bit of seasoning, there's some black pepper going on there. Then we use a little bit of salt, we like using Maldon, kind of coarse sea salt, grinding that up nice. Yeah and then it just needs to go in the oven. So you do need to experiment with this. Our oven is quite powerful really, so I only put it in for four minutes, but it may be a little bit longer. One of the main things though, you just want them to be nice and crispy. You can usually smell it cooking, so kind of keep nearby, don't go off too far!And I'd say, once they're done, I tend to open the door, turn the oven off and then allow the kale to cool. You might need to put it on a lower shelf. I usually do it on the top shelf. And as the oven cools down, sometimes I even close the oven with the kale crisps in, depending on how done they are, cause that really just helps the final crispness at the end there. They might burn or there might be a bit more floppy, but still probably quite tasty!Antonia: Yeah, you can have a floppy kale crisp. It's still  kale seasoned and covered in olive oil. What's not to like!Balraj: Hope you're able to try out your own kale crisps  at home. Big fave of mine. If you've got any fave kale recipes of your own, we'd love to hear them and maybe try them out too. Antonia: We're gonna feature some more plot plate moments, so do you keep tuning in, Balraj: And we'll see you next time!

We're back! Hear the latest plot tricks and crop updates from recent summer sessions. Original music from Aerial Roots crew. Produced, recorded and edited by Antonia Canal & Balraj Samrai.Show Transcript:Balraj: Welcome back to Aerial Roots.Antonia: I'm AntoniaBalraj: And I'm BalrajAntonia: Last time we gave you a tour of our plot. This time, we're going to jump into some sessions we did in July and August. Balraj: Sounds great. Let's get over to the plot!Okay. It is 2nd of July, 2020Antonia: YepBalraj:  Up at the plot, up at Bethnal Drive. Antonia: First session of July. Balraj: YesAntonia: Made itBalraj: And, what have we  been up to today?Antonia: So today's big and exciting and special mission was planting out the kale! Woo! Balraj: Yes, they're out! Antonia: It's the kale's big day to join the allotment, get into its growing spot. Yeah, it's looking good. It's looking happy.Balraj: Hmmm,  kind of put it down. What is, what's the process here that I'm looking at? Antonia: So, so there's, there's a lot, there's a lot going on to look at. So we, um, well, this bed as with many of the beds at our plot was covered , we'd sort of done some weeding, covered it, let it cook, added some compost, let it cook some more, and we'd since added some courgettes to one half, but the other half was still covered.So we uncovered and discovered a world of insects! Balraj: Yeah, we've displaced some more arachnids, I'm sorry about that. Antonia: Yeah. We apologise to the spider community. We hope you find new prosperous lives. Balraj: Yeah new settlement nearby, but you know some might stick around, some might stick around and help with some of the bugs, maybe, that might try and get to it.Antonia: Some bugs good, some bugs bad. So we uncovered, did a little bit of weeding didn't we? Balraj: Yeah. Antonia: And then, then what did we do?Balraj: We have put some eggshells down actually, did a bit of fertilizing with the seaweed fertilizer. Shout out the Shropshire seaweed fertilizer again. And there's also the structure that's been put around it, so.Antonia: Yes Balraj: Do you want to describe the structure for a bit. Antonia: Yeah so kale is really delicious. As many of us know, um, as does much of the bird population know. So we've we've we ordered this, um, crop protection. It's nice, actually. It's um, it's made of aluminium. That's the main sort of structure of it. And then we ordered up this black netting. Bird netting, there was like a plethora of nettings you could get, of various grades. We just went for basic bird netting. Um, we assembled, assembled this on site  and we've just sort of placed it over the kale and yeah, they're they're in their new home. Balraj: Yeah. Antonia: Yeah, so that was the big job today wasn't it, oh but there was other exciting news.Balraj: With the garlic. Yeah. So garlic is looking ready to be pulled up. I've pulled one up today. So I'm going to go home and try and, um, hang that up. Cause I think it needs a little bit of time hanging up. Um, I think it's a few weeks and I think it needs to be about five degrees, five to 10 degrees where you hang it up as well.So I'm going to try that out as well. Um, but yeah, it started to die on the leaves. They're going quite yellow. So. It's kind of garlic season which is cool. Antonia: Yeah. And the garlic you pulled up looks proper, looks real proper, smelt great.Balraj:  And otherwise things are looking good. You know, beetroot is looking goodAntonia: Beetroot's  thriving. Balraj: Beetroot's thrivingAntonia: Thriving out hereBalraj: Beans are coming up.Antonia: Yeah, exciting next project will be trying to cobble together some kind of structure for the beans. Listen out for an update on the bean structure. Balraj: And courgettes have settled okay, they've not been annihilated. So it's, it's a good evening. Antonia: Yeah. And it is, uh, is just to like set the scene a bit. It's actually after 10pm  we're at the plot, it's been like what has felt like the first clear evening all week.And it is absolutely beautiful out here. It's really peaceful and just, you can hear the birds and it's very still, and it's just like the expanse of sky when you're out here. Just makes me feel like so good. I think I come for the sky and stay for the plants. Balraj: Yeah. Shout out our neighbors as well. Who've been supplying some tunes as well. Keeping us going. Antonia: Some serious selections going down, bit of Dave, bit of Stormzy. Balraj: Yeah, Burna Boy. It 's been fun. It's been fun. Antonia: Yeah. I think  that's a wrap for us tonight. So that's where we were at in early July Balraj: Since then we've harvested beetroot, harvested garlic, and generally our crops have been thriving.Antonia: So let's forward to a session we did in August and you can hear how it's all going.Okay. So we're back at the plot. Balraj: Yeah. Yeah. We're here. Antonia: You've had a bit of a few solo trips recently. Haven't you? Balraj: Yeah. Yeah. I've been coming down on summer evenings Antonia: Enjoying enjoying August vibes. Balraj: Mm. There's this beautiful sunset I can see kind of around tonight. Antonia: So for the listeners, this is us at the plot, half eight in the evening. Um, we're in the midst of the 30 degree weather that's finally reached Manchester. Balraj: So August time, second week of AugustAntonia: That's partly why we thought we'd come tonight,  isn't it? Cause it would be cooler. And also, cause we need to give the crops a bit of love. They're not used to these extreme conditions, but they're thriving. You said that everything looks bigger even since two days ago. Right? Balraj: Yeah so things are really sort of growing fast and they're getting a lot of sun. I mean, I thought that it might be a little bit drier than it actually is, but underneath the soil, I think, cause we've actually had some rain quite a lot in July, such a wet month underneath the sun, um, underneath the soil there kind of feels quite Antonia: Yeah, we think it rained last night, didn't it? But they're going to get another dose of water, cause we have our newest piece of equipment to test out, don't we? Balraj: Yeah. We have a hose. Antonia: Presenting the hose!Balraj: Yeah,  just assembled it. So that's kind of a new, um, yeah, moving up in the world, like we just saw one of the  plot, uh, kind of main staysAntonia: One of the OGs and they were like, wow you've got a hose, you're  moving up in the allotment world!Balraj: I think it's a good sign that we just got one of those nods, you know like when you walk past someone and they just give you that kind of nod, yeah he clocked it. And again if you're coming here on the evening, you know, I guess it's, we've maybe got the bug a little bit or maybe I have, cause I think it's the third time within a week now.Antonia:  Yeah you've been getting that allotment joy.  Balraj: But I  think  what  I've learned is, I think that kind of, you know, May / June time  is a really, really, um, key time it seems like, because I think if you put the work in there, now things are established, you know, a friend of ours was saying, yeah, they reckon that things would probably be fine. You know, they'd probably last. So these courgettes I'm looking at, in front of us. Antonia: So if we weren't to come, you think the courgettes would just do their own thing now? More or less?Balraj: I think they'd survive. I think they would just cause they're, you know.Antonia: I mean the courgettes look ready to take over the world. I've not seen them for maybe two weeks and they've got to have like quadrupled in size. Balraj: They look like they want to escape the bed now. Antonia: They proper,  the cool  thing about courgettes is like, you start them off in their seeds and they kind of like, from seed to the first seedling happens quite quick. And you can already tell they're kind of little monster vibes cause they're super big and they've just popped out of this seed. But then they're like, they're a cute little plant and they're just doing their thing on your window sill and you plant them out, month goes by, it's got to have been just a month, month and a half. And now it's like this tentacled  massive leafed, amazing plant. It's incredible really, cause we grew these from seed as well. So we've literally seen them like that whole journey, isn't itBalraj: Yeah which is amazing. And I think I remember looking over at one of our neighbors plots here and thinking those courgettes look huge. And actually now ours don't actually look so small in comparison. They're looking kind of like they're on the way, like maybe like about half the size those are now. So, um, you know, we're doing alright and the kales are looking big, um, just need to make sure the caterpillars and slugs don't destroy thoseAntonia: And potential mole, FYI ,tip from our friend thinks that there could be a mole burrowing underneath the protection to get to the kale. You know kale is big across the animal kingdom  it would seem Balraj: Yeah, it's true. Especially the little ones. And then we've got the beans. The beans are looking like they're straight out of Jack and the Beanstalk now, which is good. They're all on one side. Antonia: Yeah I made all this effort to build a whole structure. And they're just all like clambering to one section. To be fair I was a bit, I was a bit lax on the trellis, the jute homemade trellis, which I enjoyed, but is a little bit painstaking and I dragged my feet and now all the beans are clinging to one corner of the structure. But it's fine. Balraj: The trellis making as seen on, probably seen on the Insta stories. There's a little highlight there.Antonia: If you're not following us on insta you're missing out!Balraj: But you might have also seen, we planted a few trees too.  So we planted a gooseberry and tayberry tree. So they're looking quite cool now.Antonia: I have a  question, are they trees? Cause you refer to them as trees. Is that the term?Balraj: Hmm they're  maybe more fruit bushes aren't they?Antonia: I mean, I quite like that you call them trees, but they're our, they're  trees to us. Balraj: Yeah, they're trees to us. And I think, yeah, I  like that they're  trees and I think, you know, we were talking about dedications weren't we as well for the trees, which could be nice.Antonia: Yes. Yeah. We're dedicating the tayberry aren't we?Balraj:  Yeah. That's right. I'm going to dedicate that to my granddad, who passed away. Uh, the last of, sort of late in July, actually. So that's going to be a little dedication cause that was planted by me and my mum. So that feels kind of real.Antonia:  Pa, was like into his gardening wasn't he? Balraj: Yeah. So he's into um,  back in the farms, back in the fields and kind of kept doing a lot of planting and  plotting when he moved over to the UK as well and kept a little patch going. Um, and even in their house until he was quite old, he used to enjoy  growing methi  and, and looking after um fuschia and things as well .So we've actually got a little bit of a fuschia plant that's from my grandparents' house as well. So yeah. So that'll be cool if that makes it and survives. Yeah. Antonia: So that's us and our recent plot anticsBalraj: remember, you can keep up to date with us on the Insta @AerialRootsMcr. We'd just love to hear from you. Any questions, ideas, tips, please reach out Antonia: And we'll see you next time.Balraj: Keep it green.

A warm welcome to the Aerial Roots Podcast from show co-hosts Antonia & Balraj featuring a summer solstice weekend tour of the plot. Original music from Aerial Roots crew. Produced, recorded and edited by Balraj Samrai & Antonia CanalShow Transcript: Antonia: Hi everyone. My name's Antonia. Balraj: My name's Balraj  Antonia: Welcome to the aerial roots podcast series one, episode one big big, thanks for tuning in. If you want to get interactive with aerial roots now or in the future, we're at @aerialrootsMCR on Insta. do message us, comments, questions, give us some signal we'd love to hear from youBalraj: so we wanted to start this podcast, share our green fingered schemes and happenings and adventures. And, you know, just give you a sense of what it's like to be able to, you know, grow fruit and veg because we've been fortunate enough to really, to get an allotment plot near where we live in South Manchester for the last nine months.We're learning as we go, and, we thought it'd be good to share these experiences with you. Antonia: So a little bit of fact, checking for the record an allotment is a plot of land made available for individual, non-commercial gardening, or growing of food plants. So sadly we can't use our plot to get filthy rich, but we can use it to feed ourselves and share some fun stories. In other parts of the world an allotment is sometimes called a community garden or personal veg patch. We rent our allotment plot from our local council for a small amount of money per year. It's actually really surprisingly affordable. If you are based in the UK, you can sign up and join a waiting list to try and get a plot near to where you live.Balraj: We know you're eager to get down to the plot. So today we're going to give you a little bit of a whistle stop tour. Tell you about what we've been up to, what jobs we've got, you know, what we're growing over there currently. So yeah, let's get over to the plot. Aerial Roots episode one.Antonia: So here we are at the plot, 20th of June, summer solstice, longest day. Balraj: Bethnal Drive. Antonia: Bethnal Drive. I think we're the only people on Bethnal drive today. Um, I'm sure we'll see some more heads later and we're just trying to figure out what to focus on today aren't we?Balraj: Yeah. Just looking around we've got. Some garlic that needs weeding a little bit starting to get a little bit yellow on the edges. I don't know what that means. I think it may mean that its starting to kind of approach. Yeah. Antonia: Cause you were saying when it goes Brown. Balraj: Yeah. When the, when the stems go fully Brown, uh, I think it's towards the end of summer and then it's maybe time to get it picked and then we need to dry out. Antonia: The Garlic's a real success story. Isn't it of our plot? It's the first thing we planted, isn't it? Yeah. Balraj: Yeah, it was actually, uh, just put it in quickly, just in winter, just before the end of the year. Antonia: And didn't think too much about it. I can be a bit of the over planner and I was like, it's not in the plan. No, actually it's been such a motivator. Hasn't it. To see it thriving. Have something growing each time you come feels good, doesn't it? Balraj: Yeah. Yeah, sure. Antonia: Cause how long we had this plot for now Balraj: Had it since September. So that is maybe nine months now. Nine, ten months. Antonia: So coming up to a, not far off our year anniversary of the plot. So we got the garlic, What else we got?Balraj: Got some strawberries that, are, in probably the wrong place to where they should be there they're in a shady place. Antonia: They get a bit of sun but they also get quite a bit shade which yeah, Balraj: So we've got quite a few green strawberries that we hope will turn red.Antonia: If not we will be pioneering some green strawberry recipes. I'm sure you can make Chutney out of Green strawberries.Balraj: The first time transplant plant. Somebody gave us some kind fellow plot member gave us. Um, so I think it's a good look. There's something coming and there's been some flowers on there. Um, so if you cut the flowers and the fruit comes from the flowers. Antonia: Yeh they've not been unproductive there are there have been flowers.There are fruit coming, so, that's cool.Balraj: And we've also got beetrootsAntonia: I feel very invested in the beetroot. They, we, we started to beetroot off from seed at home on the recommendation of someone I work with an old hand in this allotment game, he was like, don't listen to the seed packets start it off at home.And they really thrived. Didn't they, those beetroot seedlings, they were very like elegant and beautiful and big and, um, put our poor little kale seedlings to shame quite quickly, I think. our Kale have some, you know, self-esteem issues, but now we've transplanted the beetroot and, and they're happy. I mean, a few of them haven't really survived the transplant.Balraj: There's always collateral in this gameAntonia: But we've got one, two. I'd say we've got one, two, three, four, five, very strong beetroots. And then one, two, three middling beetroots that might still come through and we planted some seeds directly into the ground. Balraj: Seeds are coming up as well. Yeah, I think it's good seed packet.Antonia: And then here, we've got our..Balraj: Beans, I sometimes call them peas, Antonia: Which will produce peas, you know, like green beans, French beans. Balraj: So in a few of those coming up, which is cool. Antonia: Yeah. Two of them popping up and we've actually got, uh, four rows of them. So we should, Oh, he's another one look Balraj: Trying to unfold. Yeah. So there's one as well.And there's another one over there and over there because the twine kind of marks it. Antonia: The weather's actually been really kind to the plot this week. Hasn't it? Oh, that's a plane going overhead. You can tell we're in South Manchester. Balraj: Yeah. Manchester airport. Not too far away. Yeah.Antonia: But this week has been. Loads of rain, loads of sun, it's been warm. I think that it's made everything very happy. Hasn't it? Balraj: Yeah. Almost a bit too much rain, but I think it's just on the right side of it now. Antonia: The soil actually looks lovely. love it when it gets this deep dark color, I think.Balraj: Cause it's remained fairly mild, like, you know, kind of 15 ish. Yeah. Today, today kind of up to 20, hopefully. Should be a good look and trying to think of what else we're sorting today...  Antonia: We also have the marigoldsBalraj: Yep marigolds planted from seed. Seeds bought from unicorn. Unicorn Manchester, and they are starting to flower because we have some in our garden as well that we have put in pots that have come out out today.There's one of the plot now here that is almost kind of about half open now. Isn't it? That it's just trying to bloom. Yeah. Which is a big success. Antonia: Yeah. I think we're hoping that. Cause we, we, this is our, this is the first plot that we've just looked after ourselves. Isn't it? But we've previously helped at our friend's plot and they had like an amazing, like, spread of marigolds didn't they?And I think hopefully they'll self seed and spread and that'd be really exciting Balraj: And they can be edible as well, can't they? In salads and stuff in the summer as well. Antonia: And they, um, what do they, they give something to the soil. Don't they give nitrogen. I think that goes when you do have nitrogen. Yeah. That's one of the reasons people plant them.Balraj: It's good to have some flowers on the plot I think some of the people in the plots have got amazing flowers that are out now now, bit jealous of some of them, Antonia: We get, we get a lot of motivation from other people's plots, but it's great. It's a real, real community vibes. isn't it? Yeah. Great. Well, shall we, shall we crack on? Balraj: Oh, and lastly, there's a bit of card to put down isn't there as well. Antonia: Oh yes. The jobs today is weeding, putting card down and that's the main stuff. Isn't it? Cause we, yeah, we putting the card down because, um, we're still kind of like managing the plot aren't we? And we're trying not to, we're try not to be too ambitious with that growing all over the place.But by putting the card down, it means we can kind of get things cooking can't we? Balraj: And it means we, some of the weeds, cause we've got quite a big space. There's some of the weeds are trying to go a little bit. Yeah. They're getting excited. Um, and it just means we can keep them in the control a bit and stop the weeds spreading into like too far into where we're growing things too.So, yeah. Yeah. Antonia: And it should be like, you know, when we're starting to get growing like later in the year or next year, These beds that are covered we'll uncover them to find some nice rotted down weeds and soil ready to go. Balraj: And it's a balance though, isn't it? Cause we want to make sure that there's a, there's a resident frog around somewhere who I seem to see every weekWe have a pond as well. So we just need to make sure there's a bit of space for the frog to kind of do his thing too. Cause you know, we need that kind bit of biodiversity. Antonia: Yeah. We were chatting about  that earlier today, weren't we that it's nice to keep it, keep it a little bit wild. Yeah. Balraj: Should we get crackin? Antonia: Let's do it.So there you go. First taste of the plot, as we said before, we'd really love to hear from you. If you have any questions or things you'd like us to cover on this podcast, do you get in touch. Balraj: Yes. If you want to get in touch, remember the Insta @aerialrootsMCR. You know, make sure you get interactive, want to hear from you, you know, want to see what you've been up to yourselves, what you growing and yeah, let's see you next time.Thanks for tuning in. Antonia: Bye!