Autumn days when the grass is jewelled...anyone else remember that song from Primary School?

So the weather has been fantastic, just my kind of weather, not too hot, clear skies and harvest time too!
Sorry for being a bit slack on the blog front, but some news - not quite hot off the press, but I am now a fully fledged member of the 2015/16 year one BSc Herbal Medicine cohort.   It has been a big, yet easy decision to make (if that makes sense)  to fully immerse myself in this subject, having had an interest in herbs and healing plants for such a long time - now time to really learn about it and hopefully come out the other end with a great qualification in this field!

Enough about me - what about the garden (and Rosie too) Well some serious harvesting taking place, plums, blackberries, kale & chillis mostly!

So we have Hungarian Hot Wax - foreground, a large chilli, which is great for stuffing - pick when green (mild) to red (hot) - across the spectrum the hotter they get!

The small ones are Basket of Fire (insert pun)  a fiery little devil - great for Thai food, imagine this in a dipping sauce...they are the hottest I think out of them all...

Now the other ones which are greener are from a little plant my good friend Laura gave me.  Serrano - which are fleshy...and again be good stuffed, pickled and for spicing up anything!  Thanks Laura <3

I wanted to get them off the plants as they had reached that stage... so I have dried them and blitzed them in a herb blender and we have chilli flakes for winter!  I kept some seeds in the mix for extra heat.  WARNING - chopping, processing and handling chilli is not to be taken without extreme CAUTION & CARE.  The chopping surfaces, knives, handling items were so hot  - you can feel the effects of even a tiny spot on you. Wear gloves to prevent burns!  I dried in the greenhouse and for the fleshier ones dried in a very low oven - 50 degrees for several hours - worked okish but thinking of investing in a food dehydrator.

Kale time - did I mention I love winter veg. Cavlo Nero, lightly wilted, yum.  Plums... waiting for crumble double yum. Kale really is easy to grow, plant them firmly, keep watered in dry weather to get them off to a good start.  Watch out for those caterpillars...As I planted these later summer they haven't been too bad, (I just pick them off and dispose - if you have a bird table, great bird food!) No spray here.

 

So I've been thinking about upcoming herb work... I've been picking Lemon Balm, Myrtle and Balm of Gilead to make into my own pot pourri - will be posting how I go about this in near future!

Some Autumn colour from the blueberry, gorgeous.

Oh sorry Rosie, she continues to help me in the garden.  We have a cat mint that is causing issues.  In fact we have a new cat on the block called Rocky who is very fond of it - so we have to cover it up.  He is a beautiful looking cat, but Rosie hates him - and he intimidates her.  Think word has got out about our cat drugs.  No Rosie in the picture, but a propagator cover, covering the cat mint - trying to deter the drugs baron Rocky.  However this area now cleared of runner beans and courgettes is going to be a new herb garden.  Plans being made in my head.  But a good time to do the ground work and planting of certain plants now and in spring. I'm hoping to have a medicinal,culinary, fragrant and colourful herb plot!

Berry tastic!

Bit quiet on the blogging front and a mixed year growing wise...Summer came and went - did it actually arrive...well we had some blue sky days but not many.   This year the berries and flowers have been great....not such a great year for veg....poor performances from the runner beans, courgettes and toms (which last year kept us pretty in stock and surplus for freezing and making into chutney and such like)

However blueberries, rasps, blackberries and plums are all cropping so well! You can see this was just one pick....in the kitchen ready to be made into bluberry compote, froze some and ate the others!

A great plant, pretty easy to look after and rewarding....just watch out for the blackbirds who love them!

In the garden we have Blackberry Loch Ness, this fruits on shoots put up the year before...it is a thornless variety and has large fruits...like a lot of soft fruit you need to pick it at its best, and a sure fire way is to just touch or gently pull and if it falls off in your hand it is ready to eat - if you have to tug at it to pick - leave it....the sun (hahaha) ripens and makes them even sweeter.   I love blackberries, that almost caramel smell of them as you cook them.....yum

 

Not sure if I have said before, but I am a sucker for a poorly plant....this plum tree was a bare twig, outside a discount store  - I took it in....Now it was advertised as a Victoria...it sure isn't that...maybe Marjories Seedling, but we only had two fruits last year - look at it this year!  So gardening seems to be swings and roundabouts...I won't be too sad at failures, and thankful for what we have.  Plum crumble.........

 



 

 

 







Sweet Peas, Dahlias and Cosmos oh my!

Well, I didn't want to overload the last post with pictures.  I've also been sat thinking that I don't want to appear all self indulgent and look at what I can grow with my blog.  I am no expert and love sharing gardening tips with folk, and learning from others too. Part of the condition I was diagnosed with does affect my mood and all of a sudden I can be really hyper - hence two posts in one day! But I think I just wanted to share some of what I have been up to - especially as many of my friends are all over the place, and gardening friends likewise!

Sweet peas are coming into their own, I find with sweet peas they seem to sit there for ages, resenting you planting them out - and all of a sudden get over it and shoot away.....With such lovely scent and flowers I don't blame them for being a bit diva 'ish'.  They don't like root disturbance, and I grow them in longer pots to give them a long root run....they still sulked, but look what I picked today. Keep cutting your sweet peas for more flowers, feed and weed around them and you will get blooms all summer.  They can get mildew, so keep them watered and in good health to avoid.

 

 

Like a lot of things in life trends come and go. I remember in the 1990's when life was supposed to mirror a Calvin Klein Advert dahlias were relegated to the compost bin - literally.  Now they have had a resurgence, and why not!  Hell indeed why not.  They are easy to grow, come in a wide range of forms and colours, single ones provide great nectar for pollinators and I love them.  Now you may recall a few posts ago I listed what I had ordered, not all are doing so great, and a massive slug/snail attack has meant a few are sadly behind....but I'm really pleased with what has come out so far, and sure they will perform well into early autumn.

 

 

 

 

Peonies & Poppies

Not blogged for a bit, I am afraid 2015 hasn't been the most productive gardening year....BUT we are making progress.

Broad beans are filling out, runner beans in and even a courgette and squash are in!  The tulips are just coming to the end, so once these go over dahlias and cosmos will replace them.  Taking advantage of the early evening sunshine I have been planting out some more sweet peas...I am a sucker for sweet peas.

So you might recall that our back garden was a sea of concrete...one skip later and we are making some progress.  We have taken out a fair bit, put lawn seed down, just to give us more green and time to plan the next stages.....

The greenhouse as much as I love it, really isn't used to its full, so we have decided to downsize and move the location of one, and create a seating area surrounded by plants. This will be a 2016 project I think!

 

 

Ooops, I seem to have been distracted and not edited this post or published it...bit out of date now.  So poppies and peonies are amongst my favourite flowers, due to a lack of borders we have created a mixed square plot near the back of the garden, which started life out as a nursery bed for divided perennials, it has now become a little jumble of cottage garden plants.

 

The broad beans, remember the variety was The Sutton are doing really well and we had a great crop the other night, black fly seems to be a real problem this year.  I have self seeded nasturtium around which is claimed draws the black fly away from plants, plus I have garlic planted near the broad beans too.  Lot's of ladybird larvae about doing their job, and when watering I blast the plants to shift the black fly. Andrew said black fly are like fleas, and I have to agree, they suck the life sap from the plant, sapping its health making it vulnerable to disease....urrrgh enough about them.

 



I think this shows the difference - you can see the new lawn has taken, grass seed worked a treat, even though the wood pigeons loved it!  I'm not fussed about a perfect lawn, daisies, buttercups all welcome! 

 

First crop of broad beans ready to be podded, steamed and devoured! It was my turn to cook, I cheated with a M&S  £10 meal for two! But I accompanied the Sea Bass with broad beans, peas and courgettes.  Yum! Yes Sea Bass, new potatoes, two raspberry panna cottas and two bottles of  sparkling elderflower presse - check me out and check that deal out!  

 



The nursery bed has become a riot of colour!  The Elderflower at the back is lovely, think I've missed the boat for elderflower syrup, but the berries are much loved by the birds....I could always make some elderberry syrup....which is great for warding off colds!

 

 

 A peony, old fashioned double, just sublime....

 

Compost - It's magic!

I did say composting was addictive!  I love putting most of our organic waste in the compost bin. This week I have been sieving the contents of one bin and today transferred contents from another bin to aerate and turn it.  The compost I have been sieving is now a lovely friable brown material full of earth worms and goodness - this I have used for potting on plants, it will be used as a mulch and a soil improver - thus saving money on compost and it is peat free too!

I compost pretty much everything, so if you want a list here goes

• All vegetable waste, peelings and such like - chop up large bits, we even dry our avocado stones and then crush them before they go in.
• Eggshells
• Tea bags, tea leaves and coffee grounds
• Shredded Paper/newspaper and small bits of plain cardboard
• The contents of the dyson!  Yes really - it is full of organic matter
• The cat hair after grooming - please don't say yuk - Rosie will be upset!
• Garden waste - now I have a shredder even more waste goes in - you want small shreddings - apart from diseased material which should either be burnt or can go into the council brown bin, but any cut down material goes in.
• Grass clippings - again spread these out - one large load will just smother the process
• Cooked food - this does go in - very rarely do we have food waste - we avoid putting meat into the composter and bones  - but again this is rarely an issue due to our diets. Often people say avoid this due to vermin - well Rosie is our mouser, and we have sealed bins.

You read a lot about composting and getting the balance right - I don't worry too much I just go with the flow - what you don't want is a sloppy sticky mess, nor do you want a dried up old heap - somewhere in between with a mix of what is termed the greens (veg fruit etc) and browns (woody stuff, and such like!) should work

I also put comfrey into the bin, I chop up the leaves roughly and mix through, it is a great activator and full of nutrients. You can do this with nettles too - as well as making great liquid feeds with both

So I sieve to get out any non compostable waste - plastic does find its way in, labels from plants and fruit - e.g. banana labels and the outer casings of tea bags, which is a lot as those who know me know I love my tea!!  Sometimes egg shell takes ages to break down  - it really needs to be crushed. 

Weed seeds are a problem - high temperatures do kill them, but I'd rather a few weeds come up now and then than not have this!  Perennial weeds are another issue, roots of dandelions and such like I don't put in our home compost but I do put these in the councils brown bin, which is collected free of charge fortnightly April to October!  We have privet hedging around the garden and large prunings of this also go in the councils bin as the evergreen leaves take ages to compost.

So here are some pics, just to show you what I have been up to!  Lovely weather for it too!

You can see some veg waste ready to go into a bin - it still amazes me this and all the other stuff turn into compost!  :)

Spring - it is officially here

The 21st of March came and went and so did a partial eclipse....The evenings are getting lighter and the sun is warming the soil.

So I have planted some broad beans - The Sutton - a dwarf variety which is suitable for windy sites - which mine is at times.  I have 12 plants in - I got these from the market, however I also have 12 seeds planted which are just sprouting - I have to get better at successional sowing to avoid gluts and then lean periods. I have grown Witikem and The Sutton before but have decided on The Sutton only for this year.

I was seriously worried about my rhubarb.  Nothing seemed to be coming up.  However I realised my mistake whilst doing some research.  I gave the site a serious mulch which can lead to crown rot....I have removed the mulch and will mulch in summer around the plant.  I have today seen the loveliest of pink just peaking through the soil - sigh of relief, I love rhubarb crumble - after years of avoiding it!

Oh Garlic has been planted - Solent Wight (as in Isle of Wight) - which suits our climate - one bulb yielded x15 cloves - each I hope to grow! This is a soft neck variety. For ages I just heard hard neck and soft neck and was unsure what it meant - each has their own characteristics - see below for soft neck characteristics.....let me know if you want some garlic folks!

Does not produce flower stalks unless stressed

It is best harvested when the foliage starts going over

It has better storage qualities than hardneck varieties

If autumn planted it will keep until mid- to late-winter

If planted in early spring softneck varieties it can be stored until mid-spring

I haven't done much else....tidying and pruning....the shredder I purchased with my birthday money has been really useful.....But to leave us on a spring note I have some scented violets in pots - I love the scent and simplicity of these dainty flowers.

 

It's not all dahlias you know!

So, I have just mentioned Lemon Verbena to a lovely friend looking for a fragrant plant.  I really hadn't come across this plant until a couple of years ago, it can look rather insignificant with yellow green leaves and very small white flowers in a hot year.  Coming from Mexico I think? Therefore it is a tender plant.  I have grown it in a pot, and bring it in the greenhouse and reduce watering in winter to keep it ticking over. It is now in its third year.

Now I am so glad I read about this when I got my very small verbena. Lemon Verbena can be exceptionally late at coming into bud, it is normal for it to look a brown twiggyness of deadness! (see below) Folks have made the mistake of bining their verbena because it looks so dead, but a sure fire way is to snap a branch and you can smell it, see some green and you know it is just waiting for warmer days - and why wouldn't you. I sure as hell would wait until its warmer before I put my best leaves out!

Now lemon verbena is a truly beautiful smell, it reminds me of lemon sherbet almost fizzing as you smell it - not like say lemon balm for example which has that household cleaner more astringent lemon smell.

So what can you do with Lemon Verbena, well you can make your own herb teas, pick the leaves fresh, add some ginger and steep.  Or you can dry the leaves for pot pourri.  I just tend to leave mine in its pot and enjoy crushing a leaf or picking a leaf as I make my way around the garden.  I think this year I will pot the verbena on and make sure it has some fresh compost and food for the year ahead.

I agree it does look dead, but have faith.  I did give it a prune to reduce the straggly bits and promote new growth - watch this space......

39 is so last year (thanks Marg and Colin for the fab card)

Well since my last post I have turned 40 (1st March) been bogged down with a really nasty cold but I have been doing some bits here and there.  I have lifted the dahlias left in the ground and they seemed healthy.  I have potted these up and taken some tubers off the parent plants and just winged it and put these in some compost.  I have done everything backwards - but I picked healthy tubers with eyes showing and just went with it. (some great videos on youtube on dahlia propagation)  As I have ordered more tubers if they all take we will be over run!  The tubers I lifted and put in dry compost and stored in the shed did not survive, they succumbed to mould, perhaps a sign there to dust with fungicide next year, but an organic one of course.  Some people treat their dahlias like annuals, as do people with tulips.....I can see the ease of doing this, but seems wasteful, and I like trying to propagate  - plants for free why not!  But with tulips I can see why some people do it, you can change your colour schemes and especially if grown in pots and don't want to lift and store them.  You can reduce the risk of disease like tulip fire and such like.

Anyway pic below of some of the tubers I lifted from the dahlia border. They look healthy and have survived the frost!

My new dahlia tubers have arrived, need some more compost to pot up in the 3 litre pots.
Bit of a puzzle last year I planted some Hill Crest Royal tubers, they came up and were lovely plants but they were very different to the ones I thought I had ordered.  Well it appears several people have mentioned this and the lovely lady at Sarah Raven has sent me three more tubers as replacement this year.

The dahlia in the foreground is my Hillcrest Royal.  For info the dark red ball dahlia behind is Jowey Mirelle.

Compare this with the Hillcrest Royal one advertised - I really do think I got different tubers!

Sarah Raven you minx

Right, so I have been naughty and been on that Sarah Raven website again.....

Just in case my dahlias don't survive the winter I thought I would get some tubers ordered as back up - It may well be year of the dahlia if everything survives.....some will need good homes so watch this space!

I have decided on a mix again, so here are the pics of what I have ordered - let me know if you have a favourite. Obviously growing them will be the next challenge!

Swan Lake

 Blue Bayou

 Edge of Joy

 Shanty

Rain Rain Go Away

What a day weather wise.... but the perfect afternoon to pour over seed catalogues with a cup of tea.  We braved the hell that was Ikea this morning, so now I can dream about what I am going to grow this year.

So dahlias are a definate,  I only properly tried them last year and fell in love, if only they were perfumed I think I would have my ultimate plant!

I had some tubers of a variety called Bishops children, I grew these from seed in 2013 and they survived the mild winter of 2013/14.  I potted these up and put in the greenhouse and took cuttings off them - wow I am so glad I did, amazing little plants and great for the pollinators being a single.

I took this photo of Bishops Children in late summer, you take pot luck when sowing the seeds, but that is half the fun, a colour range of orange/red and pinks came up for me!

Where have we been?

Crikey it is 2015 and no posts for such a long time....
I won't bore you with the gory details but the past year or so have been somewhat turbulent.  Now I am really striving to get my health back on track and what better way to do it than get 'mucky' in the garden.

So what has prompted this decision to get blogging, well a few things. I miss writing, along with gardening it seems to help my mood, I've been motivated by watching the recent allotment challenge, which I did have an interview for, but obviously black cat and I failed to make a good enough impression for BBC 2  :(    However the well deserved winner has been posting online and got me thinking about the veg plot again.

2014 wasn't a wash out, by no means we had a productive year in the garden with a mix of flowers and veg - I will post some pics.

2015 has already come around.....I had a productive day a few weeks ago, pruning the autumn raspberries and spreading some muck. We made the mistake of answering an ad in the paper offering free horse manure. Well let me start again....Andrew answered the ad, and after a long day at work I came home to a drive way with a ton of muck to barrow and shift to the back! We did it and we have let it mulch down to a sweet friable loveliness of goodness. I have spread some on the rhubard too. I have some big plans for 2015, but time, money and health dictate... If we get the same as we did last year in produce I will be happy. 

Raspberry and rhubarb bed..... The plum tree in the background, an unknown variety, misold as Victoria but I think is Marjorie's Seedling.  I took pity on it it was in a bargain bin unloved!  I'm a sucker for a plant on sale. I wouldn't recommend buying sick or ailing plants, you want one in the best possible condition but I took pity on this.  The card around it is to stop black cat from scratching it.  The posts of hazel are for the blackberry Loch Ness, very productive in 2014, still some in the freezer, great for smoothies! 

Autumn rasps need pruning in Jan/Feb they fruit on new wood, the blackberry fruits on the wood put up in the summer, so I pruned out the wood that fruited on this and left the one that hasn't - confused - I was!

Just an early 2014 post of the small recycled pond we made and aliums and apricot foxgloves  - I love the changing colours in the garden, fresh and green in spring, matching the pinks and blues and pastels - then late summer the greens fade and age working with the hotter colours so well. The small tree is cherry Stella - a self fertile eating variety - we had some, the blackbird had most!

  

Oh, black cat, she has of course been guardian of the plot, but there is a new cat on the block, a rather handsome Norweigan Forest Cat called Rocky. We have had a few turf disputes, but Rosie seems fine, but always happier when we are in the garden together!

Rosie always manages to find a cosy comfortable spot, usually whilst I am working away! 

Bye for now and more soon