2010 successes - home garden

Well, 2010 is not over yet, but we're transitioning into the colder autumnal darkness. Worth marking what were the successes and failures in the summer garden this year.


Upside down tomatoes - not prolific, but no blight. They are starting to ripen now. Yummy!
Courgettes doing great. Onions and shallots were fab - all harvested, dried and stored.
Some potatoes that self seeded produced a huge crop in a raised bed, and the spuds in pots yielded reasonably.
Garlic got rust, but it seems to be fine - lots stored, and lots saved for planting more in a month or so - will plant loads of hard neck garlic.

Sunflowers in a pot are great - just about to bloom. The cherries ripened, and were very small and tasty in September. No Damsoms. No pears - a few apples on one of the trees.

Lettuces did great in window boxes until July.
Beetroot didn't do so well. Carrots were a dead loss. Sunflowers in the front bed were decimated by slugs when they were several feet tall. Also wasps were harvesting cellulose from other sunflowers and weakened the stem, so the wind blew them over.

We saw lots of butterflies, bees and other bugs in the garden - which was great, the long hard winter would have decimated them. We will leave our teasel to provide homes for them again this year.

The tall beans are getting decimated by the wind - as always - but some nice borlottis growing there.

I have planted a lot of daikon and corn salad for the winter - and the leeks seem to be doing well. Have planted spinach also, it has germinated and is thriving in seed trays.

The home garden was neglected a little in favour of the allotment, and I have left a lot of leeks to go to see to save seed - they have now occupied the same area for > 12 months, so a good weeding is in order. The seeds don't seem to be turning into the small black seeds that I would expect - anyone know anything about saving leek seeds?

Busy weekend

Yesterday was a frenzy of seed planting - mostly flowers. Calendula, sunflowers, french marigold, foxgloves, poppies...

The tomatoes are needing to be repotted, so that was done, and got a lot of runner beans started.

At the allotment yesterday - planted the rest of the spuds, and onions and shallots. All the flowers are in too - so the cutting garden should be producing in a month or so - fingers crossed.

Today was back with the class, we put in loads of autumn fruiting raspberries - probably need a few summer ones, strawberries and blackcurrants. Sowed some carrots seeds on top of the sheet mulch, and put some sticks round the broad beans to support them. It's starting to look like something - must take some photos for here..

Getting an allotment

I'm very excited about this spring - normally I'm restricted as to what and how much I can plant, as we have a suburban garden. But this year I'll be getting an allotment at Lough Owel Organic Farm - It's just out the road from us, and it's where I grew up, so we spend a lot of time out there anyhow with my mother.

The ground has been beautifully prepared by my brothers pigs - see below - and we'll be getting things planted just as soon at the ground warms up. So I can go crazy with Brassicas, potaotes, beans - the things I normally hold back on for want of space. Yippee!

Check out his site and tell me what you think - I created it!

Planting Broad beans

 

It's a bit later than last year, but inspired by the sunshine, and the fact that I start teaching soon, and with the help of my trusty undergardeners, who are on a half day from school, we have the broad beans planted. We have ignored the planting dates on the pachets, and planted Aquadulce Claudia, and the Sutton - both varieties did well from a Jan 1st sowing last year.

I soaked the broad bean seeds overnight - this will accelerate the germination. And it's so promising to see them plump up. And tried to organise my seeds (see my tiny plot for a good method), and found lots of other broad bean varieties. So I think I'll be planting a lot more of these over the coming weeks. They are a great early cropper, and you can eat the tips, the tiny seed pods before they fill out, and the seeds - so the more the better. And popping them open to see them nestled in their downy pods in a great job for all the family.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all - I have been away from this blog a good bit lately - making crafty things and baking - some results on my other blog.

However, now that the nights are getting shorter, and the days are lengthening somewhat, it's time once again to turn back to the garden. Maybe I'll just be sorting my seeds, and starting some broad beans inside, and harvesting a few leeks, but summers a coming - and we have been waiting since 2006.

November Harvest

Lovely afternoon, so had a bit of a go in the garden. Harvested the last of the Borlotti beans and the runner beans - not as bad a yield as last year, but not great either. The French beans at the front which went in in July were a fiasco, though - maybe one pod per plant.

Have taken out all of the corn - it's really not a great use of space - will leave it out next year. Kevin Harmon has beautiful corn for sale in the latter part of the summer - that will satisfy my yen for fresh corn.

Harvested the last of the ildi and millifleur cherry tomatoes - the upside down hanging tomatoes seem less susceptible to the frost.

Preparing beds for garlic - it seems like I need another bed :-)

Finally, cooked some of the beans and slowly braised some kale & beet leaves in garlic and olive oil - blended all with salt, pepper , a little creme fraiche for a yummy dip.

August Harvesting

Just to note what is doing well in the garden at the minute, and what we are enjoying at the table.

Potatoes: Lots dug, and waiting to be used, lots more still in pots.
Courgettes: Producing steadily, but not in glut amounts. The round ones are especially good.
Squash - a few uchiki kuri, a crookneck, Anna Hubbard.
Runner beans: Keeping on top of them so far.
Dwarf French: Sharing with the slugs
Lettuce: Bitter and running to seed
Beetroot: Lovely and big - leaves yummy, roots mostly going into chocolate brownies
Onions: mostly harvested, eating lots
Shallotts: I have 1kg in a string bag for storage - don't think they will last too long, though.
Tomatoes:Lots of green ones - just a few ripening.
White turnips - pulled some today for my mother - await her verdict. I fancy them pickled....
Artichokes are still producing a bit, but the novelty has worn off. We are letting a few flower for the beautiful colour, and maybe the seeds will be viable.

Blueberries ripeing, and a few raspberies.

A little sunshine would go a long way...I suspect I might have a glut of something then...

My strategy on the onions and shallotts is to eat away at them,and have leeks and bunching onions for when they are all gone.

I'm trying not to buy any fruit or veg - so that part of the fridge is strangely empty. I think I'll have to crack and buy some carrots - they are miserable this year.