To Book or not to Book?

Forgive me father for I have sinned.

It’s been ,well, too long , since I wrote anything on this blog.

Just like the majority of the country during the last winter, a lot of water has passed under this particular bridge since we last met.

In November of 2019 I unexpectedly lost my job. Unexpected because it was due to a company wide restructuring, not anything I’d done personally and because there had been no indication of the proposed reshuffle.

I spent the time between then and January 2020 constructively, on the garden, writing little stories on Facebook to amuse my friends and looking for work.

All of the above, however, are no excuse for my negligence here.

All I can say is, well, the steam ran out. I couldn’t maintain an interest in what I was writing here, let alone expect others to.

In short, I lost direction.

I had changed the format and content of the blog to try and revive it but it wasn’t working for me. Ultimately, although it’s a nice thoiught that others might see and enjoy this, the blog has to work for the blogger first, and it wasn’t.

I have come to a revalation whilst writing this, as it happens.

I’ve been using this as a sounding board for ideas, trying them out here as the final destination but I can simply use this as a test bed, a way of running an idea past strangers to see if it garners enough attention to warrant pursuing further.

With this in mind, I’m going to start exploring the idea of a new book. A recipe book, following on from my recipe posts but including advice aand guides for growing the ingredients. Possibly a short background, history maybe, of the main ingredient too.

It will be simple enough to do at least two of these, as I already do this on other social media.

Perhaps some little titbits of information where history isn’t that available or relevant. Links to community groups, websites for those with allergies or intolerances etcetera.

Any way, stay tuned and I’ll try to not keep you waiting so long!

Potatoes

The humble Potato, the spud. Probably the most consumed vegetable in the world. Everyone in the U.K. knows it, the majority of us eat it daily,but what do we know about it’s history,it’s origins and development, and how do we grow it at home?

Let’s have a brief and concise look (because going to any depth would be a whole website itself,and there are some out there!),and maybe try some recipes beyond chips,mash and roasties.

History

We all know it was something to do with Sir Walter Raleigh and the Spanish Armada, but what is the real story behind the carbohydrate rich mainstay?

Solanum Tuberosum, the latin name for the potato, a native crop of the Incas and the fourth largest food crop in the world, was grown by the Inca Indians in Peru between 8000 and 5000 BC.

It wasn’t until the Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru in 1536 that anyone else discovered the flavours.

From there it was another 53 years until Sir Walter introduced them as a crop in Ireland on 40,000 acres of land near Cork. It took 4 decades before the rest of Europe caught on.

Once agriculturists found they were easier to grow and cultivate than the other staple foods such as wheat and oats, and could provide the main vitamins required for 10 people per acre, they soon became the main crop and a valued part of every British meal.

How To Grow

Potatoes are probably one the first and most common crops to cultivate at home. Picture any allotment or vegetable garden and potatoes spring to mind.

Potatoes are one of those crops that is mistakenly believed to break up weedy or hard baked soils, to reduce pests and to cure all ills for first time plotholders or growers.

The error is in thinking the vegetable alone does all this, when the truth is, the labour involved in cultivation gives the results,rather than the crop itself.

Potatoes are a tuber, so a root crop and like all roots,grows beneath the soil.

Tubers are a storage organ for the plant so benefit from a good supply of manure or compost when planting.

The planting takes place approximately 12-18 cm deep and 30cm apart in rows with about 1m between rows.

Some gardeners will advise you “chit” your seed potatoes before planting. This basically means pre starting growth of the tuber in trays before planting season. There pros and cons to this but can give a head start to what will be one of the first plantings of the growing year.

 

Chitting is done by sitting the tubers in a cooll but light place until shoots start to appear. This should be short,stubby greyish green and hairy buds, not long spindly white shoots.

Too much heat and not enough light causes the long and weak shoots, so always aim for cool and light conditions.

I don’t find any advantage to chitting main crop potatoes but I try to do so with my first early seed. The crop, in my experience, isn’t any larger but time is the main benefit, starting growth in agreenhouse or well lit shed before the soil is warm enough outside.

Once chitted and planted out, in a trench lined with good compost or well rotted manure and covered with soil, the first new green growth should appear above the soil within a few weeks.  These will still be at risk of late frosts, so should be covered by earthing up. This involves drawing the surrounding loose soil up around the new shoots so only the very tips show.

Keep earthing up as the tips (new leaves) grow until all risk of frost is gone. Shortly after flower buds should begin to develop. For New Potatoes, this is when you can expect to find the first and smallest tuber, if you carefully dig around the base of the plants.

If these early foragings are large enough, lift the roots with a fork, preferably a broad tined fork and by pushing the fork into the soil away from the main stem to avoid stabbing any tubers. Have a bit of a rummage around to be sure you have found all the tubers as any left behind will try to grow again next Spring. They won’t have been treated and certified free of disease, as commercial seed is, and can end up infecting your soil, meaning no crops of potatoes or related species,such as tomatoes, for many years to follow.

Storing and keeping.

Main crops potatoes can and should be stored for a long supply during the year. New potatoes don’t store as  well and are best eaten within a few days of harvest. Main crops should be left on the surface after digging for a while to set the skins. Once fully dry, they can be stored in hessian or double layered paper sacks, in a cool dark place. Regularly check for any rot as it can spread rapidly.

Recipes

Vegetable Bake (Vegetarian)

Ingredients:

1 Large Onion,chopped.

8 oz/225g Courgette,sliced.

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil.

71/2 oz/220g Can Kidney Beans,drained.

71/2 oz/220g Can Chopped Tomatoes.

2 oz/50g Pine Nuts.

1lb/450g Potatoes,peeled,sliced and par-boiled.

1 oz/25g Margarine.

1 oz/25g Flour.

1/2 Pint/300 ml Milk.

4 oz/110g Cheddar Cheese,grated.

Salt and Pepper

This recipe is from small,anonymous booklet picked up from a local charity shop, sometimes a great place to find recipe books for everything from Vegan to Gluten free to Student budget.

I’m taking a different approach to the original recipe as there are things you need to do in order so that you can assemble everything without too much fuss.

Method:

Start by peeling,slicing into discs and par boiling the potatoes.These can start to cool while you carry on with the rest.

Fry the onions and courgettes in the oil to soften them

Stir in the beans,tomatoes and pine nuts and season.

You don’t need to further cook this mix, just combine and pour into an ovenproof dish. A decent lasagne dish is perfect.

Now you can start to add the potatoes, arranging to cover the top fully.

Put the margarine,milk and cheese into a pan with the flour and stir over a medium heat to thicken.

Pour sauce over the potatoes and season.

Bake in the oven at Gas Mark 5/190c/375f for 30-40 minutes.

Although the Pine Nuts are a touch expensive, they add a delicious crunch to this dish.

Like all recipes I share, I’d love to know if you tried them, if you’ve got recipes or tips to share.

 

 

 

 

Rhubarb

Rhubarb,History,Cultivation,Recipes.



The rather surprising,colourful history of the fruit that is really a vegetable.

Rhubarb, the crumble queen.

Rhubarb is first mentioned around 2700 BC, in China , where it’s use was recorded as a medicinal plant. Rhubabrb has long been known for it’s,shall we say, ‘purgative’ properties.
 After being grown and presented as tribute to several dynastic rulers, it  eventually found its way to Europe, and the U.K., during the glorious expeditionary era of the Victorians.
It was held to such repute and of such importance in international trade, that the Chinese wanted Queen Victoria to withhold it’s supply to the rest of the globe as a means of protest during the Opium Wars.


‘Turkish’ Rhubarb seller on London Streets.

An Apothacary called Hayward ,around 1777,started growing Rhubarb to produce it as a drug from seed obtained from Russia in 1762. 
He was very successful using men dressed as Turks to sell it as ‘The Genuine Rhubarb’.
After he died, his entire plantation was left to the ancestors of the current owners, in Banbury Oxfordshire.
On a parallel course, Marco Polo discovered the plant during his travels in China,  introducing the rhizome to Italy, with plantings being recorded back as far as 1608, and in Europe some 20-30 years later. It was being utilised as a food plant from 1778. It’s main use then,as now, was in cakes,tarts and crumbles. This was thought to be a hybrid of the original Chinese variety.

Cultivation:

Plants can be grown from seed but are most commonly bought as ready grown crowns or rhizomes. The fleshy orange/yellow roots store moisture for the plant and as such it enjoys a damp situation.  In fact the name is thought to come from Rha, the ancient name for the Volger river, where it grew in the wild along the banks.
It loves a light, sunny spot and a moist but free draining soil, so avoid letting it get waterlogged during winter,as the crown will rot.
FIll a deep planting hole with a well rotted manure based compost,plant so the crown sits slightly proud and water in very well, before mulching with more of that compost.
The best way to retain moisture and feed what is a hungry plant,is to give a good mulch of well rotted manure or compost on the soil around the roots regularly, once again avoiding covering the crown itself for fear of rot.
Be selective when choosing varieties, going for a mix of early, main and late fruiting.
The crowns will produce new buds,from where a the cluster of stems will appear,each year, resulting in a crowded and less prodcutive plant in time, so division and replanting is recommended. As this also means a host of new plants each time, you’ll soon build up a large stock of crowns producing armfuls of juicy,acidic and delicious stems each Spring into Summer.

 

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The biggest risk is dry or hot weather inducing flowering. If the crown is allowed to flower fully, it will die off, having completed it’s life cycle from seed, to mature plant, to flower and back to seed.
Slugs and snails like a good succulent meal and will devastate young seedlings but only do minor damage to a well established ,strong and mature plant.
NOTE: Rhubarb is usually grown outdoors as it appreciates a good frosting each winter to stimulate growth in the depth of the roots but can be grown in pots on a patio.
You can force early,pink succlent stems by covering a well fed crown, excluding all light for about a month, before the main growth starts. justremember that this takes a heavy toll on the root system, so feed well after and leave off the harvesting for a year or two after , so it can recover.

How to harvest.

Firstly, DO NOT CUT! 
Rhubarb can be attacked by bacterial or fungal diseases if cut. Always pull rhubarb stems. Do this by sliding a thumb down the inside,concave side of the stem until it reaches the crown itself, then pull and twist in one movement. This should part the stem from the crown in one clean snap, leaving a slight leafy tag on the end of the stem, with a whitish cup. Trim the leaf close to the steam and compost it. Although leaves can be steeped in water as a spray pesticide, it’s an unknown and very toxic mix and isn’t approved by organic or inorganic authorities, so is best avoided. Composting is a much safer and better option.
Store in a cool dry and dark place and it will last for at least a week but is much better cooked and eaten sooner!

on that note..

Recipes!!

I like a crumble as much as the next person but why not branch out?
Try a cake, like this one: Moist cake

 or a favourite of mine,

 
available to see on my sister blog, There’s also a unique , reminiscent tasting Rhubarb and Custard Scone recipe there too.
Maybe you prefer a cold dessert?

have a go at Nigel Slater’s Frozen Yoghurt and Roasted rhubarb recipe.

Roast rhubarb with frozen yoghurt

Roast rhubarb, allowed to brown slightly is a delicious mixture of sweet and tart. Serve it with vanilla ice cream or frozen yoghurt. Sometimes it is good to make the frozen yoghurt from scratch, on other occasions you could use a good quality vanilla smoothie, pouring it into the ice cream machine and letting it freeze.

Ingredients

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Serves 4

400ml natural yoghurt
1 banana
Apple juice
500g young pink rhubarb
1 orange
1 tablespoon mild honey

Details

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Achieving the perfect results

1. To make the frozen yoghurt, put the yoghurt, banana and apple juice into a blender and blitz till smooth.
2. Either pour into an ice cream machine and churn till frozen, or into a plastic freezer box, then place in the freezer for about four hours, occasionally stirring the frozen edges into the middle. That way you will get a smoother result.
3. Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 6. Cut the rhubarb into short lengths about the size of a wine cork. Lay them in a shallow glass, steel or heatproof china dish (aluminium will taint the highly acidic rhubarb), squeeze over the orange juice and drizzle with the honey.
4. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, occasionally spooning the juices over the fruit. The rhubarb is done when the stalks are tender enough to crush between your fingers.
5. Divide the rhubarb between four dishes, then place a couple of scoops of frozen yoghurt on each.

Whatever you do with it, do try to grow at least one crown in your plot, garden or allotment, as once settled it will be a friend for years to come.

Moving On And Stumbling Up.

It’s been a while since I last updated this blog and there are various reasons why.

I could cite workload, family commitments and any number of other outside influences , but the fact is, I already document my gardening life via the more instantanious forms of social media. I tweet, I post to Instagram and I have a dedicated page on Facebook. With these I can respond immediately , I can post events live and I can get responses to those posts and events as they happen. Gardening may seem on the surface to be a slow, naturally laid back activity, and it is, but it’s recent surge in popularity can be largely put down to social media, with many beginner growers now writing for national publications, guesting on radio shows and reporting from the biggest trade and domestic shows.

I know and fully enjoy the number of garden bloggers still putting in the hours and doing it really well and really successfully, but know how much they put in and I struggle to do that, alongside the other media. I could cut out the others and concentrate on this blog. but finding the time and making note of all the things I want to write about is difficult with my lifestyle.

But take heart, one of the things that have been preoccupying me is baking, well, cooking in general. I’ve been running a second, seperate but connected blog where I post recipes.

Recipes, unlike gardening, is fairly independent of time. With the special occassions like Esater and Christmas aside, most things can be posted at any time, without concern.

If \i post a blog telling people how to sow pumpkin seeds, they need to be able to read it before it’s too late to sow, likewise you need to know about winter lawn care in winter, not midsummer.

A recipe for polenta cake can be useful any time, white chocolate cookies are never out of season a vegan birthday feast is an all year round requirement.

I’ve been thinking long and hard about this situation.

I still enjoy sharing my experiences with growing food, more so than flowers, but I also relish sharing new ideals for recipes that are different, appealing to those who have intolerance issues, are vegetarian , vegan or just want something new to try.

An increrasing amount of those recipes ahve been utilising what I’ve been harvesting. Ways to use up the allotment surplus, novel ways to incorporate home grown produce that the family will lap up.

After due consideration, knowing the demand for information on growing techniques and the amount of feedback I get for the recipes, I have come to a decision.

Moving Forward.

I will be incorporating my social media elements regarding how to grow certain individual crops with recipes for that particular crop.

I’ll retain my social media presence but will abandon this blog, for the forseeable future. I started it such a long time ago and it’s been through a lot of different guises, so I never know when I may want to ressurect it.

It feels like an old pullover that isn’t broken or out of shape, but just doesn’t fit with your current wardrobe. You ‘ll keep it hidden away for sentimental reasons, in the hope it will come back into fashion again one day.

So, in conclusion, look out for a change to If you Tolerate This , where I post recipes. I’ll be adding the new grow to eat element very soon.

A Not really the end but…Review of 2018

I am not one for letting the calendar dictate the growing seasons, but, every year bloggers across the globe pump out their Reviews, so ,despite knowing that nature ignores our plans at any opportunity, I’m going to call time on the last 12 months.

My memory isn’t the greatest so I’m going to use my Facebook page as a guide. That’s where most of my posts go, along with my Instagram (Westongreenman) and Twitter.

Overall, it wasn’t a terrible year. It wasn’t spectacular either but I had no major disasters so I’m not complaining.

It’s easy to think we started with a thick blanket of snow, but that didn’t come until the end of February , start of March.

The year actually started with my announcement regarding weight loss. My own, not the allotment! I was determined to drop two stones in weight , from 18 to 16, for health reasons.

I did it. I hadn’t set any time goals but it was realised within 3 months. I may have struggled maintaining that during the last month due to bad weather and good food, but I’ll be back to my best size by February.

My first real allotment based post was about Rhubarb, digging up, splitting and replanting the best bits. I also experimented, because that’s what I like, and potted a small root up. I had decided to try forcing a piece in the greenhouse at home.

I covered the pot with an upturned bucket and within a couple of months I had a single stalk of dark pink ,juicy sweetness. I only had the one stalk, but it proved a point.

 

 

 

It was around the same time I braved the loppers and pruned the pears tree and apple trees. I say brave but I had little choice, the pear was getting too tall to pick from and would have become even more of a problem next year had it been left.

The apples just needed thinning to encourage a good frame-work. I can attest to the results of the pruning, we had a good crop of both fruits and the apples were a little larger than the last year, but that was its first crop.

February saw the new potatoes set for chitting. There is still some debate regarding the efficiency of this practice but the general feeling is, it helps get an early start on the first tubers but the lates don’t really benefit. I don’t grow main crop potatoes so I chit. Varieties?

Rocket and Pentland Javelin. A relatively new and an old reliable variety. Results were mixed but a lot of that was due to space issues, weather and timing for planting.

March saw sharp frosts and special offers. Snow fell and garlic grew. The weather kept us all from doing anything other than plan and sow indoors. Luckily, seeds were plentiful as most of the gardening magazines were giving them away in bundles. Keep that in mind this year too.

If we get more of the white stuff, remember to do what I did last year, get some covers down. Once the worst had melted away I put mini tunnel cloches out on as many beds as I could, to dry and warm the soil in preparation. Some of that preparation was digging and lining a hole for my first Fig tree, something I’ve been after since I first tasted one fresh from the tree at Uphill Manor.

April became much of the same. More seeds and by now some results. Butternut and tomatoes popping through. After the snows of March we had the rains of April. Showers maybe but enough on already sodden soil to cause issues. Clay soil like mine doesn’t drain well, which is why I grow in beds and follow the no dig system. April also saw the first harvest of rhubarb. Earlier than expected and very welcome.

In fact, looking back, April was quite the busiest month so far. Potatoes started in bags at home, Polytunnel construction finished and plenty of new life starting in the seed trays.

May and June seem like a million years ago now but they were the start of the migration of plants and seed from home to the plot. Support frames were constructed for the beans and peas sown at the same time. Tomatoes potted on and more seeds sown. The tunnel was getting closer to full with raised beds and compost going in.

The movement went the other direction too, with the first strawberries coming home, at least the ones that didn’t get eaten on site!

It was time for the cardboard revolution to start gaining pace with grass clippings and compost piling on top.  No dig is the way forward!

July was time for the garden at home to get a bit of an upgrade. Gravel mulch laid over a weed membrane fitted around the existing shrubs. As a late tip, try putting the weed cover down first, then planting through. Fitting it all around well established plants is a nightmare best avoided.

The allotment was in full flow by then, with the longer ays and brilliant weather.The first summer fruits were coming in strong and the squash were going out. The tomatoes were by now starting to fill out and they brought some surprises themselves.

That was labelled as Indigo Blue, a medium to cherry sized dark purple !

Anyway, that was a rough round up of the first half of 2018.

I’ll work on the second half next!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November Remembered.

 

November was an odd companion.

Weather through the month was so varied it was hard to really tell what season it was most days.

The rain falling meant the temperature was too high for frost, the clouds stopped the sun from  making things too hot.  

Progress outside was and remains slow. The garden slows down naturally this time of year, the season of preparation. Preparing for winter, for hibernation. 

Everything doesn’t stop though, it just happens out of sight, below the protective blanket of the soil. Bulbs, seeds, roots. All working away at building up for the big rush in Spring.

Meanwhile, under the protective cover of the polytunnel, seedlings are growing, slowly but surely. Carrots and Turnips are producing their first true leaves, a sign that dangerous risky period of first establishment has been successful. Lettuces and Beetroot are not far behind.

The peas are not faring so well however. The few that germinated looked healthy and even vigorous but, something nibbled the tops off. Oddly, they only cut through them and left the stalks on the surface.

 Outside, the grass is still growing fast and strong. I’ve resolved to deal with it in the next season. How is yet to be decided.

Mowing isn’t practical due to layout,accessibility and infrequency of visits. When the time allows, the weather doesn’t.  

Lifting the turf and covering with something practical is the next option. Weed membrane would be the base layer with any option. Chopped bark is one possible topping. The positives are tidiness and drainage. Negatively, it also provides good cover for slugs and snails. its liable to blow away during dry spells and walking on it with wet or muddy boots will add three inches of bark to your height. Worst of all, unless you can get a free supply from a friendly tree surgeon, it’s an expensive option.

Gravel or chippings is never going to be a free supply. The cost will always be an issue as I’ve yet to meet a local quarry supplying chippings to allotments free of charge. The drainage would be top of the list. It won’t blow away. It will still stick to muddy boots but if the paths to the plot aren’t muddy,and they won’t be, this isn’t really that much of an issue with either option.  Price will be the big question. Gravel would require less topping up.  Bark should be cheaper. 

The third potential option would be more permanent but initially more expensive solution: Paving slabs.

The forth and most unlikely option is a range of unusual things. Straw, sand, shredded paper or even crushed sea shells. All are problematic in supply and the straw and paper are very likely to rot down if they don’t blow away first. 

As I say, I’ll need to think long and hard about it. 

Another month, Another catch-up.

Well, its been a while again. It seems, although social media is a more immediate media, blogging in its own right appears to be a much more infrequent and premeditated practice.

The slight amount of effort required to pull a smart phone from your pocket/bag compared to finding your laptop,plugging it in because the battery is probably flat and then actually typing up a blog is part of the problem.

I could just become a modern, hipster friendly blogger and leave my computer set up and charged at all times but I have small humans who visit regularly and love tech, so maybe not.

Anyway, frequency aside, it’s a catch up of what’s been going on since…well, June I think!

The first thing that is noticeable from the photograph above is , I have a new camera ,new phone. Not entirely by choice but by default. My HTC just decided to stop working. No warning, no wobbles just black screen one day that never recovered.

That means I’ve been taking quite a few pictures.

Which in turn means I’m going to post a few on here.

I’ll try to add an explanation behind each one but I’ve tried to keep it garden related.

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The Hydrangea are coming into their own as the temperatures drop, the autumn colours of russets and purples are giving way to the fiery reds and oranges, the flowers are becoming hips or dry seed pods and the garden is taking on its winter wardrobe again.

I sowed some late salads in the form of oriental greens and all season lettuces, plus a risky sowing of beetroot, around august. The lettuce have survived the worst of the pests and the beetroot have already given me enough roots for sandwiches and salads for not only myself but also my dear Father-in-Law, a lovely man who relishes a beetroot sandwich.

The Chinese cabbages are starting to heart up but the mustard went to seed pretty quickly. Despite this, I just nipped the flowers off and I’m still picking lots of leaves from them. The Mizuna is a glorious success, handfuls of these peppery finely cut leaves are filling the fridge. 

In the polytunnel I’ve decided to risk a few salads under cover. I moved three veg trugs from home to the tunnel and sowed a selection of veg/salads in them to see what works.

So far the Purple Top Milan turnips have popped up like weeds, with the Chard and Egyptian Beetroot following shortly. The Peppers from earlier in the year are still hanging on so they’ll stay.

I’ve decided to risk Peas, both in a border and in a window box, both in the tunnel. If the window box residents pop up, I’ll plant them outside if it’s not frosty. The ones in the bed may well just serve as shoots,as will the boxed ones if the temperature drops too low. That’s no great problem though, I like pea shoots!

I caved to my love of fruit on the plot and added another Pear tree. The long story is that I tried a fruit from a friends tree. It was a revelation and , by its shape and size, and of course, it’s flavour, I knew it wasn’t the same as my boring by comparison Conference Pear.

It turned out to be a Doyenne Du Comice, an ancient French variety that dates back to at least the 1880’s.

So I didn’t have to look far to find one, as I’d seen them for sale at The Range.

It’s now in a big hole in well drained but moisture retentative soil, packed with garden compost , topped with a membrane cover to keep the weeds at bay while it establishes.

Having spent a cold afternoon cutting back limbs that have grown and spread over the joint path between my neighbour and I, I made sure this was planted so that the side with the least growth was facing the plot next door.

To find the space I could either have moved a few randfom strawberries to fit it n with the existing framework of trees or through caution to the wind and plant wherever a clear spot presented itself. I’ve seen strawberries grown in tunnels, in fact commercially it’s the norm , so they went and the tree joined the grid of nine other mixed fruit trees.

Coincidently there were nine strawberry plants to relocate.

Fate?

Serendipity?

Finally, as it’s the season of terrible ghouls and horrific monsters, we come to my grandchildren.

No, not them, the pumpkins I grew and we carved.

I can happily admit, I did most of the work, from growing to scooping out and even burningmy fingers lighting, but they drew the pictures on them for me to cut . They are only 5 and 3 after all.

 

 

 

 

Squashed!

I’ve been trying my hand at growing some of a range of vegetables that have been fast gaining popularity,the squashes.

Squash are from the species Cucurbita and are mainly known as pumpkins,butternut or courgettes. Commonly large courgettes are mistaken for Vegetable marrows but they are technically a different plant.

I’m growing a few Jack O’Lantern pumpkins for carving and hopefully eating,a few yellow courgettes and a singular butternut. I’m also trying a second attempt at a heritage variety, Cornell’s Bush Delicata.

From the top working down are the first early shots of the following: Two Jack O’Lanterns amongst the Sweetcorn, a small Delicata with three runner beans and two Jacks with a yellow courgette beneath a dual row of Runner Beans.

The Polytunnel contains,amongst other things, another yellow courgette, a Jack O’Lantern in a tub and a small Butternut. In fact, there is another squash but it has been so slow to start I can’t really identify if it is a butter nut or not. I’m not pinning much hope on it.

Anyway, the ones that are doing well are looking like we might have a store cupboard full by Autumn.

So far it’s only been courgettes but the pumpkins are producing small fruits and the Butternut is showing embryonic fruits on the female flower stems.

I’m sure from looking at the fruits from the courgettes that I have two different varieties. I’ll have to go back through my records to see if that’s the case. Either way, I’m getting lots of yellow courgettes.

 

Hit The Gravel And Go!

This week we took delivery of two large/jumbo sacks of 20 mm gravel, for the purpose of covering our side border at the front of the house.

We had previously covered the front border quite successfully and wanted to continue along the side to complete the job. We didn’t do it all in one hit simply because the cost was prohibitive at the time. The timing here was vital as I’d already booked two weeks off work and this was one of the main jobs I had planned.

We ordered the materials from a local trade supplier a few days before and I had purchased a roll of heavy duty weed control membrane before winter, as the money was available and we had formulated a plan by then. Membrane doesn’t go off so it was worth getting it while the price was right and funds were available.

Putting down the membrane meant removing any pernicious weeds and old stumps first.

That itself was a challenge as the stump I had my eye on was from a still live Hawthorn, complete with deadly needle sharp thorns.

Now, sensible people would use heavy, thick gloves and long thick sleeves when doing this, but then I’m never one to make a job easy on myself,so several stabs and swear words later it was out and I could begin laying down the ground cover.

Once again, planning would have said put down your ground cover first then add plants afterwards but we have established shrubs already so I had to work around those. We could have dug them out, covered and replanted but as it has been one of the hottest, driest in a long time, with a prevailing drying wind, I didn’t want to risk losing any plants.

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Now, the problem I didn’t anticipate was the location of the sacks. Directly in front of my huge Hebe bush. Now, I LOVE my Hebes and so do the insects. Hoverflies,butterflies, bees and wasps. I don’t know which one took offence to a great big sweaty human standing and shovelling gravel right where they wanted to fly but I felt a sting and caught something tangled in my chest hair within twenty minutes of starting!

One application of anti bug spray (citronella) later and the job was on again.

Three bottles of water, two cans of lager and several rest breaks later it was …well, started at least. I managed to empty the first bag within the first day but knew I was wavering by about 3:30 pm and decided to give my back a break.

As I’ve said, and been reminded, I’ve got two weeks off. I don’t need to damage myself doing it all in one go, so, after a long soak in the bath, I’ve set my sights on finishing it this week, rather than immediately.

I mean , I’ve still got the greenhouse, allotment, polytunnel and a social life to handle as well!

Be Water wise..

Oh  it’s hot and dry at last.

 

But we’ll get the doom prophets and the naysayers who’ll bemoan the weather.

I’m going to ignore the subject of whether the weather is good or bad for us and just stick to the fact that it is warm, it has been a bit arid, and we need to adopt certain measures to deal with it.

As gardeners, growers of edibles and ornamentals, we are used to compromise. Pruning things to restrict growth, changing soil to suit and more are all par for this particular course we choose to play.

Water is a luxury we can be forgiven for taking for granted.  It’s always available. At home it’s at the end of a hose pipe, just the twist of a tap away.

At the plot, if you are lucky as I am, it’s from a trough, a cattle trough with a cistern. Mains water direct to your plants via a dipped watering can. At worst, it’s a water butt collecting rain water from a shed or greenhouse roof. I’ve read of plot holders who share a small number of taps with a large site, suffering low pressure and queues, those who transport large containers of water by car to their remote plots.

However you get your water, we will all at some point find there simply isn’t enough.

Let’s have a look at ways of conserving what we do have, using less and providing ways in which we can reduce the demand for it.

1. Look at the ways you waste water. Change them. Stop leaving the tap or hose running, Put the plug in when you shower and then use the water collected for plants. Soaps and detergent s in general won’t do too much harm but if in doubt, dilute it further and don’t use for anything you grow to eat.
2. Reduce the water you lose from the garden itself after or during watering. Evaporation is a big water loser. Mulch after watering, direct water to a point, at the stem or directly to the roots via pipe or empty pot sunk to root level. Avoid leaving a wet or damp surface as it will wick water away from the soil as it evaporates from the surface.
3. Grow plants that are less thirsty or lose less through their leaves (transpiration). Grow plants to increase the deep roots, so avoid watering little and often or on the soil surface. This creates short, shallow roots which cannot source water easily from the soil and rely entirely on you. Giving a good drenching when planting, watering to the roots as described and watering less frequently. Make the plants delve deeper to find the water table.
4. It may sound obvious but don’t water when it as at the hottest point of the day. Warm the water. It sounds daft but imagine spending the day on a hot, sunny beach then being soaked in ice cold water. Fill the watering can then leave it near to the plants you will be watering so it can acclimatise.
5. Make a sponge out of your soil. Add lots of soil conditioners that hold water and release it slowly, deep down at the roots. Lots of what garden advisors and professionals call humus. Material that has broken down naturally and is fibrous and light when dry. Rotted stable or farm manure, composted kitchen and garden waste (compost) or leaf mould from rotted or decayed leaves. Try to avoid materials that dry out and are hard to re-wet, such as peat or coir.
6. Before you water, check if the plants actually need it. Stick a finger deep into the soil and check if it is damp. If it is, don’t water. If the leaves are drooping and limp, wait until it is cooler later in the day and check again. Sometimes it is heat, not thirst that is the problem.
7. Use shade to reduce the temperature and water loss. Try planting to provide natural shade, see if the plants will grow in partial shade. A surprising number of vegetables will.
8. My pet hate, stop watering your lawn! An established lawn will have a complex root system designed to survive almost anything we throw at it, including prolonged drought. Stop cutting it too short and let it go brown, even yellow.
9. Reuse household water. We get all our household water from one source. Mains water, treated and purified for drinking, is the same water used to flush toilets, wash clothes and cars, fill radiators and heating systems. We only need purified water for eating and drinking purposes. Try to reuse as much water as possible and let nothing go down the plug hole to join sewer water.
10. Finally, if you’re a keen grower at home you will probably have at least a lawn, possibly borders too to the front of your home. Far beneath that will be natural water courses which carry water draining through the soil layers to reservoirs, rivers, lakes and other natural water points. Replacing your lawn or soil with tarmac or concrete means rain water will run off to gutters and soakaways, to go directly into sewers along with toilet waste, rainwater running off roofs and out of baths. When we see images of bone dry reservoirs and a few months later horrendous floods, this is why. If you must have a driveway, use a fast draining material that allows the rain water to drain through into the soil and away naturally.

 

Not all of these tips will apply to you and your world but share them, change the people and the environment around you.

Get water wise.

 

Heavy mulch over moisture retentive soil.

Water pots and pipes, directing water to the roots and not the surface/

Cardboard, then grass clippings and compost to hold water deep at root level.

Deep down beneath the mulch, the new potatoes were cool and damp and growing really happily, despite never having been watered, other than by rainfall.