Growing vegetables all year round. January 2010 update
It’s still very cold here. There was snow yesterday and a bit more last night – just a sugar frosting. So pretty if you can stay indoors tucked up beside a glowing woodstove. The fur lined wellingtons that my mum gave me last Christmas have really come into their own this winter as they have grippy soles and don’t slip in the snow and ice. The brassicas are much sweeter since the hard frosts and the Brussels sprouts are to die for. Completely different from the ones available in the shops. Today I’m planning to pluck some of the...
read moreGarden porn
“Have you got a list of the props that you want for Christmas?” Danny’s words had me switching on the laptop in a trice. Danny calls my gardening tools props as he doesn’t really believe that I use them all. He claims that they are mostly there for show. I must admit I do have a weakness for gardening tools and equipment. And have been known to splash out on something that was never really used – like my beautiful topiary shears. One of my favourite 2009 tools is a border edger that I bought after John retired. It has a good old...
read moreEdible garden update: December 2009
When I lie in bed and hear the wind in the trees the garden doesn’t sound very inviting. But most days I spend and hour or so working in the edible part of the garden. Once I’m out there, I love it. Yesterday I spread the last 20 kilos of Rockdust soil conditioner . I ordered 60 kilos from Harrod Horticultural and have spread a kilo per square meter over the old, faded kitchen garden and 500g per square meter over the more buoyant new plot. I can’t wait to see the effect. I also found the time to spray all the fruit bushes with winter...
read moreFrost and edible garden update
“It’s going to be the hardest frost so far this year.” My Mum advised. “But we haven’t had a frost yet.” “You will tonight then.” I scuttled down to the green house to check the bubble wrap insulation was still in place. The bubble wrap conserves up to 30% of heat loss through the glass so I decided to take a chance and not light the paraffin heater. This was mainly because I haven’t had time to test out the handsome beast that I bought at the church fete. But I found the min/max thermometer in Danny’s shed – I’d...
read moreMud
Working in the vegetable patch is muddy. There is also a long grassless path straight down the lawn – this is where the Min Pin gang pounds up and down. It’s the most direct route to the mouse hole village in the pond garden. They peer into the small round front doors and sometimes try to dig out the mice. This gets them filthy in minutes. We do have a large Turtle Mat beside the back door for mud encrusted Min Pin paws. And this is where we take off our wellies. I wear rubber sailing boots for gardening. They are easier to get...
read moreStrawberries
One of the best cakes that I’ve ever tasted is my mum’s sponge cake with a wicked filling of strawberries and whipped cream. In fact when she was making this filling she discovered how to make butter with double cream and an electric whisk. So I was doubly blessed. Many varieties of strawberries with the best flavour don’t travel well. So you won’t find them in the market or supermarket. Waitrose tried stocking some old English varieties one year but the shelf life was so limited that they gave up. The great thing about growing...
read moreHow to make your own recycled biodegradable bag loader in seconds
It’s back to those pesky leaves again. The jute sacks are filled and the vegetable stall in the market is putting aside onion and carrot sacks for me to collect next week. There is now a special leaf mould composting area behind the green house. I struggled loading the bags with my leaf collectors – how on earth could I keep the mouth of the bag open? In the end I just used one collector. It was a palaver. Sitting by the pond sipping a cup of sweet tea I remembered seeing an upright bin bag at Notcutts. It contained a plastic sleeve....
read moreLeaves, leaves and more leaves
Having been tempted by the jute leaf bags (4 for a fiver at Notcutts) they were all full by the end of the afternoon. When I was searching for the greenhouse bubble wrap in the barn I spotted some chicken wire high up in the rafters which will be perfect for making the leaf mould container that Steve H suggested. The drawback of the biodegradable bags is just that – they rot down so have to be replaced each year. Tomorrow I’m going to nip into the market and see if I can score some onion bags from the veg stall. So hopefully I can...
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