Breaking radio silence

Wow, I can't believe we haven't posted since October, doesn't time fly! It's been relatively quiet on the plot over winter, though I'm trying to sort out the space for the greenhouse, which I've had in bits on the plot for about 3 or 4 years now, oops. I'm sorting it in between doing other jobs on the plot so it's slow progress.

Sunday was actually sunny! lots of people down on site making the most of a dry day. I've prepared the bed for some broad beans but didn't get chance to sow. If I manage to take a long lunch break from work tomorrow I might just get time, though it's always a bit of a challenge to not get dirty in my work clothes! I do keep an old coat in the shed but it tends to make a nice home for spiders. *shudder*

Have made a start at weeding round the fruit trees and bushes, hoping the birdies will help eat up any unwanted pests in the soil before mulching later in spring.  I do tend to get distracted and go from one job to another but it means you don't get too bored doing one thing for a long period. Though this is the problem with the greenhouse - next job for this is to lay out the bricks, and it's very faffy making sure they are all level. Have to do on another warm day as it gets cold crouching down not being very active.

Might try and sow some tomato seeds this week and put them on the window sill but more likely to do this next week I think. Have got the potatoes chitting in the lean-to.

Well, I was going to add a photo but this blog system has changed and isn't synching photos properly. Technology eh.

Something for nothing

I love it when you get bonus veg or fruit. A few years back I sowed pak choi as a catch crop after something else. It didn't really come to much and some ran to seed. Each year since I've had a few small pak choi plants germinate in that same bed, from the seed, which has been nice.

This year, something has really got them going! The bed had early potatoes in which I dug up quite a few weeks ago. I then weeded the bed and planted out the leeks, under enviromesh. The pak choi has loved the disturbed soil and conditions under the mesh. Excellent! 

Anya potatoes

Decided to dig up the rest of the anyas today, in case we get any rain at some point (though is unlikely at the mo). Quite pleased with the harvest, this was about 8 seed pots I think.

We've been eating lots of lovely fresh veg recently, the patty pan squashes have done really well and there are still lots of beans coming, I have dwarf french beans under the corn(which has also done well, plants are small but cobs are well sized and v yummy), runner beans in the back garden, borlotti beans which am leaving to fatten-up rather than eat the pods, and a couple of blauhilde purple climbers that are just getting going. Some of the beans at the allot are from a second sowing as the first lot got eaten-off by snails. The dry weather seemed to give the second lot a chance to get away without being bothered, though alsoy hunting down of nearby snail hotspots probably helped.

Here is tomorrows lunch with all home-grown veg including broad bean burgers. Am looking forward to it already.

Stringing onions

It's been really windy and a bit rainy this afternoon so I thought I'd have a go at stringing my onions in the shelter of the lean-to. Here's the result!

Today's harvest, very berry

We have a food swap at work tomorrow so I've had a berry- picking session. This is the second annual swap though I didn't know about the one last year. Anyway, you take along excess produce, get tokens for them and then get to choose from what other people have brought. Exciting!

I hope there is some interesting stuff!

Wind woes

It's decided to be windy today, and as a double whammy will dry-up the bit of rain we had last night plus damage leaves etc. This is my runner bean wig wam in the back garden getting buffeted around. In the background are more beans trained up the fence plus sweet peas which I let grow as perennials.

Also a pic of the onions I lifted on fri eve and brought home to dry, rather than leave on the plot to potentially get rained on.

Also the latest cucumber from the lean to. We've had four or five so far. I cheated and bought two small plants a few weeks back when I was in homebase getting some pain. I think it was only £2.50 for the pair. I do have outdoor varieties grown from seed out on the plot but they are only just starting to produce little cukes.

Potato comparison

Lou here, I dug up some pots today. The tops of the earlies had died ages ago, probably as I didn't water them much. Anyway, the early variety sharpe's express are tasty but a poor yield, possibly due to weather. The pink fir apple have done much better, the tops are dying down now. The photo shows the harvest from one pink fir apple vs 4 sharpe's express! Pink firs (left hand side) win by miles. Both are tasty, I lightly boiled then fried with balsamic vinegar and lemon juice, yum

Saskatoooon!

I forgot to say that our Saskatoon bush produced about 15 berries this year (last year only 2). I bought a plant from Johnstoa.com a few years back and although I have slightly neglected it, it has continued to grow and, yes, this year has produced some lovely tasting berries - very sweet and juicy. The plants originated from Canada I think and are used to harsh conditions.

The berries are a pretty blue-black. I meant to take a photo but we ate them to cheer me up after slicing my heel!

Two whole weeks away!

We got back yesterday from a lovely holiday in northern Spain, the first few days were spent in the  countryside of Asturia. This is the 'green' part of Spain as opposed to the more arid south, though it was still really hot there.  The reason I mention the hol is because so many people were growing their own veggies, it was so nice to see and made me miss my plot even more, the staple crops seemed to be: brassicas, onions, squashes, beans (lots!, for the traditional local dish), potatoes and tomatoes. At the local markets, many home-growers were selling their produce along with the bigger producers.

I have taken some pics of plots over there and will post them when I get them off the camera. A lot of people kept chickens too.

So we both had an extra day off work today to sort out the house and plot etc. I had a good morning down there. Unsurprisingly some things were looking frazzled after two weeks of no attention and barely any rain. The worst off are the potatoes and raspberries. I forgot to take my big watering can down so prioritised watering a few things. I have now mulched most of the potatoes which are still alive and hope they pick themselves up a bit. The rasps were mulched but I didn't water them before we left as I didn't want them to ripen whilst we were away. This was a mistake! There are now many ripe but tiny and dry rasps, they taste v sweet but there's not much to them. I hope I will still get some better quality ones though, after a good water.

The squashes are coming along well, as are the dwarf French beans inter cropped with the sweet corn. Though the corn plants are all at varying stages for some reason despite all being planted at the same time. I also picked our first courgette which was a bit over-sized but not too bad considering we were away for so long.

The plan was to go back later tonight and give it a proper water and pick fruit but I have managed to catch my heel under the back door and sliced a big chunk of skin off, yuk and ow, so am laid up on the settee, hence writing this post!!

I hope it will feel better a bit later and I can maybe go down In flip flops!!

Now, THIS is a strawberry glut