185,000 Lego Bricks Later ...
We have An Instant Garden At Hampton Court Flower Show 2010
The first lego garden, complete with plants, birds, butterflies and even pirates (yep, a garden isn’t a garden is it without a pirate!!!) appeared at this year’s Hampton Court Flower Show.
I’m not sure if I like the idea of garden shows having ‘artificial’ flowers on show in their gardens. If it looked like a show garden, but made from lego, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, but the one at Hampton Court seems to have stretched the imagination rather than showing a parade of lego florals ...
We’ve had plasticine gardens at Chelsea, lego gardens at Hampton Court ... what’s next, sugar flowers at Southport???
I Know What I Did This Weekend ... What Did You Do?
What a glorious weekend ... glorious sunshine ... glorious new growth in the garden ... glorious greenhouse temperatures ... what more could you ask for as a gardener? (apart from someone to come along and do all the hard work!)
It’s Been A Busy Weekend ...
First job of the day on Saturday was to get off to Two Wests and buy some Swell Gel – in preparation for planting up the hanging baskets.
Have you used Swell Gel? It’s a bit of a weird looking substance ... but works really well in hanging baskets, containers ... pretty much anywhere your plants have restricted access to water and have to rely on you (yes, you ... unreliable you) to provide them with the water they need.
Basically, you mix the dry granules of gel into your compost as you plant up – then when you add water the granules soak up loads of water, some of which would have normally run out of the bottom of your container.
This means that the compost will stay wet (or at least damp) longer ... so keeping your plants in a healthier environment than they would have normally have, helping them to stay green and continue flowering longer through the summer.
Off To The Allotment ...
In the afternoon we went down to the allotment to do some more planting, some potting up, some tidying up ... and to check up on the temperatures in the greenhouses and poly tunnel. Over last week we constructed another glass house – just a little 6’ x 6’ aluminium greenhouse.
Even though it was second hand it’s looking pretty darn good ... we were only given the frame and some odd bits of glass so we’ve been busy cutting up more spare pieces of glass to fit and holding them in place with glazing strip and W clips. So that greenhouse is sat waiting to be occupied – we’ve got some hanging and wall mounted shelves to fit (courtesy of my old greenhouse before I moved) and then we’ll use it without benching to grow tomato plants in grow bags placed straight onto the ground.
It’s Been A Bit Potty ...
I also filled up the boot of the car with loads of plant pots, seed trays and seed tray covers not yet occupied to take to my new ‘mini’ greenhouse at home. So I’ll have even more space for planting and raising new plants ...
Soaking Up The Sun As We Rotovate ...
Sunday we’re planning to spend rotovating part of the allotment ready for planting. We’re going to prepare the ground either side of the remaining row of parsnips.
The ground is too hard for digging by hand (we tried this Friday ... and only managed two rows before we gave up!) so we’re hoping the rotovator will make lighter work of the compact soil ... I’ll let you know!
Planning The New Back Garden ...
And finally I’m getting round to choosing a fence for my back garden ... I can’t exactly do a lot of planting until I get a new fence put up! So it’s now just a case of ordering the panels and off we go!
Let’s hope this glorious, sunshiny weather stays with us ... so we can all get some time in the garden and at the allotment in the evenings after work ... and plot for another busy weekend!
I’ve seen my first ladybirds of the year this week ... on the sunniest day when I could finally take my dog for a walk without wearing my winter coat I spotted lots of bright red ladybirds basking in the mid day sun!
So I’m now hoping to benefit from all my ‘ladybird luck’ ... as ladybird myths say that the number of spots on the ladybird indicates the number of months that will be happy ones from that day forward ...
So I’m hoping to be happy until at least November ... I wonder ‘cause I saw more than one ladybird if I can keep adding up the months of luck ... I could do with all the ‘happy’ months I can get ...
What’s also lucky about ladybirds is that they have absolutely massive appetite for aphids ... in fact a single ladybird will consume an average of 5000 aphids in its lifetime! That’s a heck of a lot of pest control from such a small, innocent looking garden resident ... and requires no hard work from you ...
Simply grow some pollen rich plants in your garden, such as geraniums, coreopsis (I love coreopsis ... and they’re really easy to grow), fennel, tansy ... and even dandelions (so I’ve even got an excuse for a few weeds ...) and you’ll be creating an attractive home for any passing ladybirds.
And if you want an even easier option for getting some of these pest controllers into your garden (or your greenhouse) you can now even buy ladybirds by mail order!!
As I look out of the window, as the wind whistles down the side of the house, snow falls from the sky ... I'm wondering ... is it really the middle of March??
'Gardeners never have to listen to weather forecasts -
they know that as soon as they start work in their garden it will rain.'
[another little gem from 'The Littlest Gardening Giftbook]
I treated myself to another ‘little book’ filled with gems of gardening wisdom ... this time not on practical ways of keeping out pests but on rather stacked full of little quotes from other gardeners to read in five minutes ... but provide little chuckles for the rest of the day ...
Just a few samples to amuse ...
Annual
A plant that completes its life cycle in one season (the term season means between two and ten days) Isn’t that the truth?
Cloche
A small shelter for slugs, snails and woodlice Yes ... I’m convinced a sign goes up in the neighbourhood ‘new accommodation available ... including fresh food on tap’
Herbicide
An expensive method of watering weeds.
Perennial
Any plant that survives for more than three months.
From: A Glossary Of Gardening Terms
[by Stuart and Linda MacFarlane]
Over the past few weeks we’ve all been working hard ...
Everyone I speak to at the moment has been working hard ... at this time of year anyone who is a gardener or in the gardening industry is working hard ... if we don’t get everything sorted out now, early in the year, we won’t be able to enjoy the fruits of our labour later in the year ...
Teresa at Grow Your Own has been working hard ... do you read ‘Grow Your Own’? I really love this magazine as it’s down to earth but still inspirational (and we need inspiration when the weather is still so unpredictable ... have you heard the rumour its going to snow next week?? argh!!!!!!!!!)
And Michelle at Garden Answers is very busy ... in fact she gave me the heads up on the snow prediction ...
And I’m busy having just sent off the new Two Wests catalogue to the printers ... and finding new products, trying them out and writing about them is hard work too!
But whilst we’re all busy I think Mother Nature is busier still ... with shrubs coming into bud, blossom appearing on trees and rows of bright yellow daffodils lining peoples drives ... I think its Mother Nature that’s working the hardest ...
A book not to let your gardening pests near is ‘Bugs, Slugs & Other Invaders’ by Sarah Ford. Like your typical aphid, I was attracted by the bright colour of this little book of hints and tips on keeping the bag guys out of your garden ... and the good guys in!
It’s full of little cartoons illustrating ’50 ways to beat garden enemies’ with some little gems such as ...
Stopping ants crossing the line ...
‘Ants don’t like chalk. By drawing a simple chalk line you can create an insurmountable barrier between them and your plants.’
Keeping cats of your garden ...
‘Fed up with the neighbour’s cat using your border as a litter tray? Then it’s time for a trip to the zoo for some lion dung – that’ll keep kitty away.’
As a quick, light read, to fill five minutes on the odd rainy day, this book could provide you with some new ways of keeping your plants aphid free ... or at least it will remind you of some of those tired and tested methods that your Dad’s been using for years ...
The Propagator’s Going To Be Very Busy In The Next Few Weeks ...
If, like me, you’re running a little behind with your planting (gales, hale, frost and snow don’t seem to be conducive to getting back in the garden ...) there’s no need to worry. It’s easy to catch up as you’re still in time to plants loads of different types of seeds ... and even if there are some you’d like to have planted in February don’t worry, you still can!
New seedlings will quickly put on growth as the days get longer (and fingers crossed) the weather gets better and temperatures start to increase.
So, last weekend, between quick dashes through the mud to walk the dog when it wasn’t raining, I sorted through my packets of seeds, deciding what to plant ... So, even though my new garden may still be a bit uninspiring with its plain lawn and no plants ... I’ve now got a carpet of colour indoors, with masses of flowers on the front of various packets of seeds making me enthusiastic to get them all planted ...
Here’s just a few of those I’ve selected to plant ... starting with the ‘A’ list
Aquilegia ... I just love these as I know I’m growing a permanent resident that will provide colour all through the summer, year after year ... I’ve got a range of varieties to sow including Tower white, Nora Barlow and some McKana Hybrids ...
Astrantia ... major ... I only became aware of the beauty of these plants about five or six years ago when I saw them in show gardens ...
Anthemis ... ‘daisy’ type flowers always remind me of childhood and with the variety ‘sauce hollandaise’ sound good enough to eat ...
Asters ... mentioned last as I’m not going to plant these yet ‘cause I know they’ll catch up if I plant them a little later in the year ...
The Seeds Are Coming Out Of Hibernation ... Just Like Me!
Sorry about the weeks absence ... I’m taking after the seeds in my propagator and keeping my head down until it gets a bit warmer!
But just as the eighth seedling makes its appearance I’m back to provide you with another clue as to the identity of the seeds that have taken up residence in my windowsill propagator ...
Having set up home in my propagator I’m expecting these new little residents to be home bodies ... and although they’ve got a bit of a delicate nature I’ll be able to tell when I’m getting them down ...
Another cryptic clue ... if you’re still clueless pop back on Wednesday for another hint ...
Did No One Tell The Seeds It’s 2-3 Weeks For Delivery?
Yeh ... the appearance of the first few seedlings have proved the seed suppliers wrong ... in fact the picture shows you the first seedling which appeared after only a few days after it had been planted!!
So ... you’ve got a major clue with how the seedling looks ... well, it might not show you what it is I’m growing but at least it will help you rule out lots of the seeds I might have been growing ...
And now for the cryptic clue ... which I’m sure will trigger correct guesses straight away!
Sing along now …
“Feelings, wo-o-o feelings ...”
No ... it’s not a romantic plant I’m growing ... but it’s definitely got feelings ...
I’m racking my brains for clue four which will be available in 24 hours ...
Yeh ... I finally managed to plant my first seeds in 2007 ... and just like Carole on her ‘Grow Your Own’ programme I’m really excited to see the new seeds appearing above the surface of the compost ...
Now, I remember a few months ago everyone enjoyed my ‘mystery fruit’ entries ... so I thought I’d give you a treat and see if you can guess what I’ve been sowing!!!
And ... as if just guessing isn’t enough I’m also giving you the chance to win my propagator (well, not the one that I’m using at the moment – that would be a bit too mean ... ) rather, I’m going to get the guys at Two Wests to send the first person who can guess what I sowed in my propagator on Sunday, one of their own windowsill propagators!!
So ... now I’ve got your attention, if you’d like to take part, here’s the first clue ...
Sown on Sunday 12th February, I’m expecting to see signs of growth in the first few days of March ...
I’ll post everyone’s guesses and it’s the first person to guess correctly that wins ... and if no one gets it on this first clue ... my second clue will be posted in 24 hours ...
The ‘adelgid’ is a sap sucking insect which likes to spend its time on various conifer trees. Closely related to an aphid it is a member of the adelgidae family insects.
Included within this family is the woolly adelgid, a small, fuzzy little insect that at first glance you wouldn’t suspect could cause such damage ...
Weighing little more than a speck of dust the little woolly adelgids look like little balls of cotton wool. So when they take up residence on hemlock trees they make the tree appear as if it’s been covered in like artificial snow ...
By feeding on the sap of the tree these unassuming, cute sounding insects can kill a tree within just four years ...
So now I’ve learnt about ‘adelgids’ I’m now looking to further my education with a gardening term beginning with ‘b’ ... suggestions welcome ...
Did you know that your surname may have been used to indicate your profession ... obvious ones would be Archer, Baker, Carpenter, Fisher, Hunter, Miller, Shepherd, Smith, Wright ... so would I be right to assume people called ‘Gardener’ came from families of gardeners??
Now, ‘cause it would be boring for every gardener to have the same name ... what do you think of these for suggestions for the prefect gardeners name ...
Mr Hedges ...
Ms Katie Cane ... Bob Flowerdew ... (we love Bob Flowerdew ... but do you think he changed his name to suit his job?)
Mr Bush ... putting politics aside ...
Ms Berry ... Holly of course
Penny Royal ... if but a bit annoying ...
A Mole ... although I wouldn’t invite him to a garden party …
Ms Petal ... first name Rose
Ms Cherry Forrest ... although this sounds a bit like yoghurt …
Carol Gets To Grip With Tender Peas And Broad Beans ...
Did you see Carol on Friday evening? Or the repeat on BBC2 last night? If not you missed a real treat ...
The third programme of the BBC’s new gardening series ‘Grow Your Own Veg’ seems to grow even better and better ...
In programme three we saw Carol Klein sowing peas the old fashioned way and protecting newly sown broad beans the organic way ... using prickly holly to keep marauders at bay!
Getting The Best Peas Out Of The Gutter ...
Preparing to sow peas in her raised bed garden, we say Carol hack sawing her way through guttering...
Like most gardeners I know the value of ‘make do and mend’, recycling and getting the best value for money ... and in previous years you may have caught me doing the same. By planting your peas in lengths of guttering you’re able to plant them in one long neat row, without disturbing their roots. However, as we saw Carol struggling to get the young peas to leave the long length of guttering they were happily growing in, I’ll let you in on a little secret ...
This Year It’s Getting Easier ...
Rownaash, the makers of the famous Rootrainers (a must for any greenhouse gardener ...) in the autumn last year introduced their new ‘Rowplanter’ onto the market as the easy alternative to the traditional gutter growing ...
Instead of having to cut and drill lengths of guttering which can be unwieldy when you have to transfer your plants into your garden, these compact Rowplanters let you sow and grow a half a metre of peas (or other crop of your choice) in a small space ... And if they are anything like their rootrainers, you’ll get years and years of service from these robust little units ...
I’m off to place my order now ...
And booking my space on the settee ready for programme four when Carol is going to be growing brassicas ... can’t wait ...
With so many ‘lifestyle’ programmes on the TV it can be a bit risky to sit down to watch a new programme ... but make an exception and tune in to ‘Grow Your Own Veg’ on Friday on BBC2 ... it’s fabulous!
Carol Klein is so down to earth that you can actually see yourself growing the same plants that she is ... she makes it look easy and her enthusiasm makes you want to try growing new varieties in the garden ...
If you caught the first programme you’ll have seen her planting Jerusalem Artichokes in her potato bed ... to act as a wind break (which we later learnt wasn’t too wise ...) but more importantly to get a long lasting root crop which would produce fresh crops year after year ...
Now, I’ve neither eaten nor grown Jerusalem artichokes myself but I’m quite keen to give it a go this year ... if anyone knows how they taste, have any good recipes or advice on growing them please let me know ...
In the mean time I’ve tracked down a supply at Marshall Seeds website (I’m sure they will be inundated with orders after Friday ...) so all I need to do know is decide how many tubers to buy ... and find a spare spot at the allotment for them. Then I can start dreaming of the yummy meals I’ll be able to enjoy later in the year ... mmm
Since I moved house I’m without a greenhouse on my back garden – I’ve only still got the ones at the allotment. So whilst I’m deciding which to buy I’m finally letting the moths out of my purse to buy a propagator for my kitchen windowsill ...
Working at Two West’s I’m really lucky as I get to see what’s selling and when ... and over the past few days everyone seems to have been placing orders for our Windowsill Propagator. In the past I’ve bought two of these for my Dad who absolutely raves over them ... even though he’s got numerous larger electric propagators he seems to have a propagator on his kitchen windowsill constantly ... I think he’s trying to keep up with Mother Nature in the amount of new plants he grows ...
I think the reason the Windowsill Propagator is so..o..o.o popular is that it’s really easy to use making it virtually impossible not to succeed, even if you’re growing from seed or cuttings for the first time. There’s no messing with dials to set a temperature ... all you do is plug it in and away you go ...
When you buy one of these propagators (I’m just about to place my order) it comes complete with seven little trays and covers ... Not the cheap and nasty ones which break when you try to remove the plants, but really strong, rigid plastic ones which you can wash out and use year after year ... Plus, ‘cause the covers are strong they can have little adjustable vents in the top so you can mess around with the ventilation when the covers get ‘foggy’ with condensation ...
I know so much about the covers and trays ‘cause I’ve used these without having a propagator – just in a watertight tray on a windowsill ... and before I forget, the other good thing about the trays and covers is that they have a little notch in one side and a hole in the other – so they kind of ‘fit’ together as a unit helping to keep the heat in ...
I just love these little added extras which show you’re getting what you pay for ... I can’t afford to waste any money ...
So now I’ve placed more order, all I need to do is find the ****** box which I packed and forgot to label which had all last year’s seeds in and see what I can start planting when my propagator arrives ... any suggestions???
"A garden is never so good as it will be next year." (Thomas Cooper)
I'm imagining a gorgeous new garden in 2007 ...
inspired by some of the show gardens I saw during 2006 ...
I'm looking forward to enjoying crops of fresh, home grown fruit and vegetables ...
and I think gardeners will cheer with this little fact I've just read (courtesy of Sainsbury's Magazine January 2007) "vitamin levels of fresh fruit and vegetables start to decline when they are harvested - vitamin C levels can have every 12 hours ..." so you should be harvesting and eating soon after ...
I'm missing my old back garden ...
here a just a few of the flowers I'd like to grow in my new garden ...
“Percy the puny poinsettia
Is hanging his bloom in dismay
If they had just kept him wetta
He'd be a houseplant today
Folks liked the other plants betta
Now he's alone on the shelf
Even a plant with no uncle or aunt
Shouldn't spend Christmas Day by himself”
My new house is now graced by its first poinsettia ... let’s see how long it lasts!
Due to parental guidance (‘Dad always know best’ is my motto) Percy is placed on my hall window – where he (hopefully) will get fairly static temperatures, no cold draughts (he’s protected by my new blind) and ‘cause I’ll see him everyday ... I shouldn’t forget to water him ... lets see how he looks next week ...
Poinsettia Watch is on ... I can hear Bill Oddie weeping in misery ‘cause he didn’t think of the idea first ...
Oh! Mister Porter, what shall I do?
My tomatoes have got blossom end rot
And I don’t know what to do
Get me Alan Titchmarsh as quickly as you can,
Oh! Mister Porter, what a silly girl I am!
Yes, like many gardeners, I’ve become the victim of my own success with growing tomatoes. I think, because tomato plants are simply so..o..o easy to grow it’s at this time of year that many of us are now suffering from an absolute glut of tomatoes!
When you see the first flush of red on the plants it’s quite exciting and we eagerly await the chance to pick the first ripe tomatoes ... But now, with so many plum tomatoes, tigerella tomatoes, beef tomatoes, cherry tomatoes … blah, blah, blah ... it becomes quite a trial to think what to do with them all!!
The other unfortunate thing that can occur ... and from which we’re suffering from at the allotment ... is blossom end rot! And, I’ve got to say, I blame this on the fact that there is simply not enough to time to keep all the plants watered every single day.
Blossom End Rot occurs when the plants lack calcium. Plants suffer from lack of calcium when they are either being given insufficient water for their needs or ... and I believe this is likely to be the case for me ... intermittent watering. As the soil, compost or grow bag, dries out, the roots of the thirsty plants aren’t able to soak up the nutrients they need to produce healthy crops ...
At this point, I can point out to you, that the tomato plants we tested growing in grow pots have not been suffering ... I think because it’s easier to give them a lot of water at once (it doesn’t overflow out of the grow bag) and it’s also easy to feed them at the same time ...
The only good thing about blossom end rot is that it isn’t a disease that spreads from plant to plant ... and with so many ripe tomatoes to choose from, having to through a few to throw away isn’t so bad.
So what I’m plotting now is a more efficient way of watering them next year. Being at the allotment, where I’ve no mains water, does restrict my choices somewhat in regards to automatic watering systems.
My choices seem to be to either:
set up a watering system running from water butts (not a bad idea as it just means I can top up the butts with water rather than water each plant),
try using more grow pots rather than growing directly into grow bags (or using plant pots with their bases cut off ... which is cheaper then using grow pots but just not as efficient!)
or get a man in to do all the watering ... volunteers apply now!
Any other suggestions of how to keep my tomato plants well watered next year would be gratefully received ...
At this time of year everything is coming up roses ... or should I say ‘veg’ in the allotment ... harvest time is here! Hoorah! So many of us now can be enjoying a whole home grown meal ... and doesn’t it taste better than the ‘wishy washy’ vegetables which we buy from the supermarkets?
At the moment I’m looking forward to tucking into fresh salad, ‘a la allotment’. Over the past few weeks I’ve been enjoying the glorious flavour of freshly boiled beetroot, the courgettes are now large enough to start picking, our spring onions are the perfect size and the cucumber plants are producing a massive crop ready for harvesting ... we’ve already harvested six cucumbers with another seven waiting to be picked ... cucumber sandwiches for lunch ... yummy
So, if you haven’t grown cucumbers before here are a few reasons why you should ... and some hints and tips on growing and getting the best crops.
A Brief History ...It’s widely believed that the cucumber (cucumis sativus) originated in northern India, with evidence showing they have been cultivated for over 3,000 years.
From there, cucumbers spread throughout the world, being cultivated next in Egypt, Greece and Italy and by the 6th century AD cucumbers could be found in China.
The cucumber was probably introduced into European countries by the Romans, where records show then being cultivated in France by the 9th century, in England by the 14th century and by the 16th century evidence shows them being grown in North America.
Cucumbers are now being cultivated throughout the world, including Africa, Central and Southern America, the Caribbean, China, South East Asia, Northern and Southern India ... as well as in our allotment!
Sowing And Planting ...
We’re growing a greenhouse variety of cucumber called ‘Petita’ but you can select from varieties which can be grown in the greenhouse (as well as Petita, you’ll find Aidas, Carman and Danimas for example) or those which you can successfully grow outdoors (including varieties called Bush Champion, Burpless Tasty Green, Jazzer, Marketmore to name just a few ...). Whichever type you choose to grow, they are really easy to raise from seed ...
Sowing Indoors
Greenhouse varieties will get the best start if you use a propagator. We planted our cucumber seeds into individual pots, which we placed within our propagator in May. We were slightly late starting ... you can be planting seeds from late February if they are going to be growing within a heated greenhouse. To keep heating costs down we’re got our propagators at home (plural ... mmm ... we do raise a lot of seeds so we’ve got a couple of Windowsill Propagators, a Two Top Propagator and one of the massive Two Wests Quadruple Propagators ... and still we run out of space at peak sowing time). From there, when the plants are sturdy enough we move from the propagator onto shelving within the spare room and from there off they travel to our polytunnel at the allotment.
Growing In A Greenhouse ... or in our case, a polytunnel ...
Just like tomato plants, you can grow cucumbers up canes in a grow bag. Make sure they get enough compost for their roots by using grow pots in the grow bag ... or as we did, big pots (about 9”) with the bases cut away and ‘planted’ into the bag. This makes them easier to water and feed ... and you’ll get healthy growth from your cucumber plants if you can keep them constantly watered and feed when the first fruits start to appear. It’s A Case Of Support
Now, usually we’d provide the same supports for our cucumbers as we do our tomatoes ... i.e. strong garden canes, tying the plants in place as they grow taller. But this year we’ve tried something a little bit different, as you can see in the photos ... We’ve got our grow bag on top of wooden slats covered with 6” wide wire mesh within the polytunnel. Rather than training the plants upwards, we’ve let them grow down, through the mesh to cling onto ... in this way we’re getting fruits hanging down as they grow, easy to see and simple to harvest ...
Sowing Outdoors
For the outdoor varieties, you have the choice of starting them off indoors or you can plant them directly into the ground where they are going to grow after the threat of frost has passed. Generally cucumbers are best sown directly where they will remain, but to start off your outdoor varieties indoors you now have the opportunity of avoiding root disturbance by planting them in bio degradable pots – such as Jiffy Pots. You can plant both pots and plants directly into the soil ... no mess, no problem ... no root damage ... and they get well established quickly.
Your cucumber plants will thrive best in a well protected, sunny spot with them spaced about 18” apart. You should dig down between 8-12” into the soil before planting, enriching the soil with loads of organic matter before planting ... and keeping your plants topped up with fertilisers when the fruits start to set.
Or, you can grow your outdoor cucumbers on little ‘hills’ or mounds of soil, compost and organic matter combined. You should plant these mounds with three seeds, removing the two weaker ones when they are still seedlings.
To help outdoor cucumbers germinate successfully cover where you’ve planted with cloches - long cloches if you’re growing in rows or bell cloches for individual plants. These help raise soil temperatures and protect young plants from pests or animals.
Healthy Cucumber Crops Made Easy ...
There are basically just two rules to follow when looking after cucumber plants to ensure a healthy crop ...
DON’T let the plants run dry ... yes, I’m shouting rule one as it’s very important that you keep your cucumber plants well watered … under watering will cause you problems just as bad as those caused by under watering tomato plants. However, this doesn’t mean you can drowned your plants once a week and leave your plants standing in water and think you’ve down a good job! What you need to do is ensure the soil your plants are growing in remains moist at all times – don’t water the plants rather water the soil or compost surrounding the plants – this will encourage the shallow roots to grow strongly.
Keep the plants well fed ... we’ve been feeding our plants every time we’ve watered them ... but as long as you feed them at least every two weeks you should be OK. Use a high potash or organic feed. Whilst if you’re growing your plants outdoors ensure you keep you’re plants topped up with organic matter.
The quickest and easiest way to keep your plants in a moist compost and supply them with sufficient feed would be to use grow pots. These let you provide your plants with water – you water into the outer trough so you’re not disturbing the compost the plants are growing in. The inner trough of the grow pot is where you’re plant is growing – and this is where you’d supply the feed. Although grow pots cost more than a standard plant pot of the same size they’re made from really strong plastic which lets you use them year after year. And because they make it easier for you to keep you’re plants constantly supplied with water, they will save you time ... and we all know how precious time is when the greenhouse, polytunnel or allotment is cramped full of plants ... all wanting water every day to ensure you’ll get strong, healthy crops through the summer months.
What’s Good About Cucumbers?
I’ve always classed cucumbers as being mainly water ... but by doing a bit of research I’ve found some real health benefits to eating cucumber ...
very low in calories ... always a bonus when we’re all watching our waist lines, you’ll only find about 15 calories in 4oz of cucumber
amounts of minerals ... not packed full of minerals, but cucumber does contain small amounts of calcium, copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium and phosphorous
various vitamins ... including small amounts of vitamins C, K, A, B6
And finally ... I knew it all along, cucumber does have a high water content. This makes it really refreshing to eat in the hot summer weather.
However, much of the goodness of cucumbers can be found in the skin ... so always slice cucumber with the skin in place. By doing so you’ll be making a big difference to the vitamin contents ... vitamin A is virtually all in the skin, vitamin C will almost double if you leave the skin in place and folate will increase four fold. Eating fresh cucumber is the best way of benefiting from all these nutrients ... cooking cucumber results in virtually all the vitamins and minerals being lost, whilst pickling cucumbers also results in reducing the nutrients considerably, especially vitamin C.
It’s Not All Cucumber Sandwiches ...We all eat cucumber in our summer salads ... and if you’re posh like me, you’ll also have cucumber sandwiches (no crusts ... of course!). But did you also know you can cook cucumber (surprised me too!) ... here are just a few ideas for using up your cache of fresh cucumbers:
cool finger food - scoop out the seeds, cut into batons and fill with your favourite filling ...
added crunch – add a bit of extra texture to your couscous by adding cucumber cubes ...
classic salads – can’t be beaten, a gorgeous Greek salad with chunks of crunchy cucumber, fresh tomatoes (I love using either tiny cherry tomatoes or slices of massive beefsteak toms ...), black olives and squares of feta cheese ... yummy
healthy juice – with loads of us juicing to get our glass of vitamins and minerals, try adding cucumber to your vegetables as you fill up your juicer ...
cooked cucumber – OK, I have my reservations with this one ... but apparently you can cook them in the same way you would a marrow ... steam, boil or cook in the oven ... I’ll leave cooking cucumber for you to try ...
A Natural Aid To Beauty ...
We’ve all seen the pictures of people with slices of cucumber placed over their eyes ... so as a beauty treatment cucumber is very well known.
Using cucumber on your skin is a recommended way of keeping it white and soft ... regular use will help reduce blackheads, pimples and wrinkles! Simply grate the cucumber and apply it to your skin, leaving in place for about 20 minutes.
As a medical treatment, ‘cool’ cucumber is said to help reduce the pain of sunburn and is also a reliable natural laxative food.
As Cool As A Cucumber ...
Are you calm in a crisis? Are you relaxed when others are getting stressed? Do you remain composed in even the most stressful situations? Then you could be described as being as ‘cool as a cucumber’.
Although this phrase (well, slightly different ‘cool as a cow-cumber’) was first recorded in 1732 to describe someone lacking in romance, by the 1930’s to be as ‘cool as a cucumber’ had become a more ‘cool’ phrase ... describing a relaxed individual who isn’t worried about anything ... totally unflappable ... serene ... composed ... not me then!
My Question Of The Day Is ... What do you call a group of gardeners?
I’ve been inspired to ask this question after reading Head Burro's comments which talked about his family all being gardeners ... and it’s the same for me ... everyone a dedicated gardener!
There are lots of terms we use everyday to describe different groups of animals ...
a herd of cows
a gaggle of geese
a pride of lions
a team of horses ...
And there are some more unusual descriptions as well ...
a tower of giraffes (love it ... very descriptive)
a cackle of hyenas
a prickle of porcupines (LOL)
a murmuration of starlings ...
So, I’m wondering, is there an existing word which is used to describe a group of gardeners ... or can you think of a suitably descriptive one?
To get you started here are a few of my suggestions ...
a show of gardeners
a greenery of gardeners
a gossip of gardeners (gosh ... when gardeners get together can’t we gossip!)
a knowledge of gardeners (we all like to think we know everything ...)
an endeavour of gardeners (‘cause we’re all really trying ...)
Yes, it’s official, I truly believe that growing courgettes rank amongst some of easiest vegetables to grow at the allotment!
In fact, if asked to rank them for ease of growing I’d put the second after the humble tomato ...
So, as I wait to harvest my first fresh courgettes this week, what’s to say about this vegetable to convince you that it’s worth growing if you’ve not done so before ...
Courgette, Marrow, Squash, Zucchini ... Cucurbita pepo
Just by looking at a courgette I’d guess you’d know it’s a member of the marrow family. In fact, originally people simply harvested the young marrows … However, the varieties that we now grow have been specifically bred as courgettes … but if you don’t get round to harvesting them they will continue to grow until they reach marrow proportions.
We’ve now got a wide variety of courgettes to choose from ... they can be yellow or green, long and straight like a cucumber or round like a melon or even bottle shaped! This year we’re growing quite a large range in the allotment ...
Black Beauty – with a really dark green skin when fully grown. Golden Dawn III – as the name suggest, a very bright yellow skin distinguishes this variety. Lebanese – a bit more unusual, this courgette has a very pale green skin and is shaped more like a ‘club’ than a typical courgette. De Nice a Rond Fruit – some variety here, with a round courgette which is ready to eat when it’s about the size of a tennis ball.
These, of course, are just the varieties we’ve chosen to grow ... you’ll find loads more available from seed suppliers such as Mr Fothergills.
Depending on where you live depends what this vegetable is called …
In the UK and New Zealand it’s called a courgette – this comes from the French word ‘courgette’ used to describe this vegetable.
In America and Australia it’s called a zucchini - from the Italian word ‘zucchino’.
Or simply use the Latin name ‘cucurbita pepo’.
A Bit Of History ...
The origins of the courgette are not clear. We know that it wasn’t widely eaten in Europe until around the twentieth century … in fact in the UK it seems we only became aware of courgettes in the middle of the twentieth century. Native to America it’s thought that the first courgette plants were brought into Europe about the time of Christopher Columbus.
Growing Courgettes Is Simple ...
We grew our courgettes earlier this year in our polytunnel. We started them off in pots and when they were large enough ... and after we’d gone passed the chance of frost ... we planted them out in the allotment.
As I’ve mentioned, courgettes are really easy to grow. Their seeds are large so they’re easy to plant without overcrowding. You can start planting from around mid March in the UK. Just make a hole in the compost with your finger or a dibber and plant about 1" deep. Cover over with compost, water and for extra protection cover the pots with fleece.
We started our plants undercover as it does give them the best start, but you don’t have to. You can plant the seeds directly into the ground where they’re going to grow. In the UK you can plant this way from about mid May onwards ... although if there’s still danger of frost cover the planted area with a cloche or fleece to provide some weather protection.
You should space courgettes about 3’ apart ... so if you’re planting the seeds directly into the ground put two seeds close together every 3’ and this lets you pick the strongest to leave in place when they’re growing.
We planted our courgettes out into the allotment around the beginning of June and were now seeing the fruits almost ready to harvest. Before planting out we improved the condition of the soil by digging in some well rooted manure and we’re keeping the plants well watered. Courgettes really benefit from lots of water ... in hot, dry weather plants can need as much as 10 litres each per week to stay healthy.
Pests to look out for which can affect your courgette plants are slugs and snails ... but we’ve been fairly lucky this year and we’ve not been badly affected. In our allotment the worst pest for the courgettes has been our four legged friend who’s taken to lying on top of the plants! Luckily we’ve only lost two plants this way ... once the courgettes started to appear on the plants she stopped ... probably no longer as comfortable a bed!
Get Your Recipes Ready ... Courgettes Grow Really Quickly!
I’ve actually found it reported that if the weather conditions are correct (it’s warm and sunny) a courgette can grow from a small flower to a full sized courgette ready to pick in hours! Although, I’ve got to admit I’ve not seen that happening at the allotment this year ... even with the glorious weather we’ve been having.
Depending on the weather, in the UK we can expect to be able to harvest courgettes from June until September. Try to pick the courgettes when they’re still quite small (the smaller the courgette the stronger the flavour) ... most varieties you should aim to pick when they’re 4-8” in length.
So, as you try to keep on top of harvesting, find time to dig into your recipe books and you’ll be surprised at how many different choices you’ll find. Courgettes can be baked, grilled, steamed, stewed, roasted, stir fried, or even eaten raw.
Fancy Eating the Flowers?
You can not only eat the courgette, you can also eat the flower. Select flowers which look firm, fresh and that are only slightly open. Although you can keep them in the fridge you’re best to eat them on the day you pick them as they don’t keep well.
Unlike the courgette itself, you MUST cook the flowers before you eat them. You’ll need to remove the pistils from the flower, cut the stem close to the flower and wash and dry it before cooking.
If you’re tempted to give them a try there’s a wide variety of options for you ... try frying them in batter, bake, sauté, use in soup or the larger flowers can be stuffed.
Fruit Or Vegetable ...
Although we all think of courgettes as being a vegetable ... in fact they’re not they’re a fruit. This is because the courgette we eat is the ripened ovary of the flower. Other fruits disguised as vegetables include the tomato (we all knew that one ...), the aubergine, peppers and being closely related to the courgette (so we should have guessed these)the cucumber, pumpkin and squash.
What’s In It For You?
Courgettes provide you with a wide range of vitamins including A and C, together with folic acid and potassium. They’ve got a high water content and are low in calories – about 18 calories per 100g.
Ok then, I know you won’t believe me, but I bought a dragon in Tesco’s last week ... or should I say a Dragon Fruit. A bit on the expensive side (£1.79) this astonishing looking fruit measured about 5” and as I’ve never seen or tasted one before I was tempted ... but before I risked a taste I did a bit of research to see what I’d got myself into. Here’s what I found out ...
What’s In A Name ...
For such an unusual looking fruit being called a ‘Dragon fruit’ seems fairly acceptable.
Also known as the ‘strawberry pear’, ‘pitaya’ or ‘pitahaya’ it’s the fruit of a several species of cactus ... and once you know this it’s easy to imagine ... if you think about it lots of cactus have bright coloured flowers so why not such bright coloured fruit ...
It’s Hard To Describe ...
The dragon fruit I bought is fairly round in shape, very bright pink in colour and with very prominent ‘scales’ around it. However, you’ll find other varieties which have yellow skin ... it just depends on the variety.
When you cut through the flesh – it feels a little like cutting into the skin of a melon – you find the stark contrast of the flesh inside. In my case I was faced with an opaque white inner with dark seeds throughout ... similar to the seeds found inside a kiwi fruit. Or you could encounter a red flesh inside with the same black seeds depending on the variety.
A Few Varieties ...
There are three different varieties of dragon fruit:
Hylocereus undatus – this has a pink skin and a white flesh … so that’s what I bought. A climbing cactus, it has a red skin, triangular shaped stem and minimal number of spines.
Hylocereus polyrhizus – again a pink skin but this time when you cut into it you’d reveal a red flesh. Similar in nature to the hylocereus undatus, this variety of cactus has more spines.
Selenicereus megalanthus – in contrast this variety has a yellow skin and white flesh. The fruit are smaller than the other two varieties (which can weigh up to 1kg) and contains higher levels of sugar.
How To Eat A Dragon ...
Or should I say Dragon Fruit.
Faced with such a strange looking fruit it was a bit intimidating to think how to eat it ... did you bite into it like a apple ... eat the centre like a pomegranate ... was it best raw or cooked?
In fact you don’t eat the skin of the fruit, just the flesh from inside. I scooped out the flesh with a spoon (it scoops straight out just like scooping out sorbet) and it tasted a bit like melon or kiwi ... actually the taste is very bland considering how exciting it looks!
If you’re thinking of eating dragon fruit it’s best eaten chilled and if you don’t want to eat it on its own have it as a desert with a sorbet.
Other recommended ways of eating dragon fruit are within ice cream, or turn it into a drink by putting the flesh through a juicer or it can be fermented into a wine.
The Benefits Of Eating Dragon Fruit ...
Rich in fibre, vitamin C and minerals the dragon fruit is also low in calories ... so an all round good fruit to eat! This fruit is also rich in phytoalbumins which have antioxidant properties.
Growing Dragon Fruit ...
The cactus which dragon fruit comes from can grow anywhere between a few inches up to 20’ long (that’s for the more mature plants ...). Growing best in tropical, sub tropical or dry climates where there’s about 20-25” rain per year theses plants can cope with extremes of temperatures – from temperatures as high as 104ºF to short periods of frost. Although they don’t like being too wet (this will affect cropping) or long periods of cold weather (which can kill the plants).
These plants survive by growing on trees – they grow out of the soil and over it until they find a tree they can grow on using their aerial roots. They’re not particularly fussy about the type of soil they grow in although grow best when the soil is kept high in nutrients by adding in organic matter.
What’s quite unusual is that the ornate flowers that the plants produce only appear during the night and last only one night ... so pollination has to take place at that point to get a crop of dragon fruit. However, to counter this plants can product 4-6 crops of fruit each year.
Propagate Your Own Cactus ... And Maybe A Dragon
Ok ... so I’ve been less distressed over the cost of the fruit since I read how easy it is to grow your own cactus from the seeds found within the fruit. By simply scooping out some of the flesh and separating out the seeds you’re ready to start planting.
Simply sow in pots containing gritty potting compost, water and then enclose the whole within a polythene bag. It’s as easy as that!
You’ve then just got to be patient for about two weeks before you’ll see the seedlings starting to appear. As I’ve never grown cactus, I don’t know if this is common or not, but the seedlings have two leaves on them ... in fact these are the only leaves this plants will every produce. From this point onwards a spiny stem will begin to grow between the centre of these leaves ... with the leaves being discarded after a few months.
In theory, you should then be able to grow your own dragon fruit ... although let’s hope that they don’t grow to 20’ high!!
Where You’ll Find Dragon Fruit ...
Although grown in tropical climates, it’s unclear where these plants originated although they are native to Mexico, Central and Southern America. Now being cultivated in Southeast Asia the dragon fruit is now the leading fruit export of Vietnam.
And Finally A Legend ...
Well it had to have really ... this exotic looking fruit is crying out to having a legend so here goes ...
Thousands of years ago fire breathing dragons created the dragon fruit. During battle, when the dragons breathed fire the last thing to come out would be the fruit. If the dragon was slain the fruit would be collected and presented to the Emperor as an indication of victory and as such was a prized treasure.
Whilst the slain dragon would have been eaten by the victorious soldiers ... it being believed that if you ate the flesh of the dragon you became empowered with the dragon’s strength and ferocity.
In fact, it is said that the meat from the base of the dragon’s tail from where it was believed the dragons fire originated, was the sweetest and best tasting. It is said that the thirst for these meat is what brought about the destruction of all dragons ... or so legend goes ...
Now imagine me saying that with the same poor, cockney twang of Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins ... sorry, I’m meandered away from the point of this post which is based around growing red currants, how easy it is and why eating redcurrants are good for you. Here goes ...
A Bit Of Red Currant History
Red currants (ribes rubrum) are just one species of currant available – you can also grow black, white or pink currants.
The word ‘currant’ is relatively new – we only have records showing this word being used from around 1550. Before this time the word ‘ribes’ would have been used.
Red Currant Bushes
You shouldn’t need a lot of space in your garden if you fancy growing red currants. With each bush growing to between 5-6 ft high and wide, a healthy currant bush will produce between 3-10lbs of fruit. So you could quite happily add just a couple into your garden and still enjoy a glut of fruit during the summer.
The bushes themselves are fairly ornamental. Fast growing, these deciduous shrubs have three to five-lobed leaves in a deep blue-green colour. You can grow the bushes as standards or try growing them as cordons or fans.
Planting and Propagation
Find The Best Position
Although the leaves of the bushes are attractive, they are damaged by very strong sunlight. So when choosing where to grow your currant bushes try to find a spot where they’ll get to enjoy the morning sunshine, a little shade in the afternoon and are not restricted for air flow.
There’s not too much to worry about in regards to the type of soil you’ve got, although they do prefer heavier soils – so they’ll cope with clayey soils whereas you’d be advised to bulk up fine or sandy soils.
The reason for this is that currants like to be kept moist – so clay soil with well rotted manure incorporated (as they still need good drainage) is good whilst sandy soils dry out too quickly. One thing to watch out for is that they do NOT like alkaline or salty soil – so you’re best to check your soil for these (if you’re unsure of your soil type use a simply soil test kit to check before planting).
Planting
The roots of the currant are fairly fine, so take care when planting as they are easily damaged.
When planting you’ll need to dig a hole large enough to allow the roots of the bush to spread out – to give them the best start carefully spread out the roots in the hole you dig. Hold the bush in place whilst you fill in the hole with a mix of soil and organic matter (well rooted manure – or if that’s not available compost will do as you’re basically added nutrients into the ground). Once you’ve filled in the hole, water thoroughly and use your feet to firm down the soil (removing any trapped pockets of air and making sure the bush stays in position).
Propagation
Currants are a very simple fruit to propagate and you’ve got two ways of increasing your plant stocks:
Taking Cuttings
Just take hardwood cuttings about 12” long from the mature wood and plant into pots, leaving about 4” out of the soil. Roots will take from different places along the cutting. If you’re feeling a little cautious, dip the end of the cuttings in a hormone rooting powder or gel before planting. Keep these new cuttings protected until the following year.
Try Layering
An even simpler way of propagating currants is to simply take a low growing cane and bend onto the ground, cover over with soil and weigh down to hold in place. Once the roots start to grow strongly, simply remove from the main bush and replant. You can propagate in this way in autumn or spring.
Growing A Good Crop
Fast growing, currant bushes have a sudden flush of growth in the spring. Here are just a few tips to help you enjoy healthy crops year after year.
Keep Them Well Watered
Currant bushes need to be kept well watered. The number and size of the leaves will be reduced when water is scarce and the plants could become affected by mildew. However, although you need to water currant bushes often, because they have fine, fibrous, shallow roots you’ll be able to set up a simple drip watering system to keep them moist.
Using weeping garden hose for this type of watering is good idea, or where mains water is not available why not use a drip watering system running from your water butt – quick and easy to install either of these systems will save you time watering and will ensure your currants remain well watered.
It’s also advisable to provide your currant bushes with an annual mulch of well rotted manure or good quality compost which will both help your plants to retain moisture and suppress weeds. You should also ensure there are sufficient nutrients in the soil by applying some balanced compound fertiliser and high potash fertiliser to the surrounding ground.
Prune Every Year
The flowers – and therefore the all important fruit - on currant bushes is produced at the base of one year old wood and on the spurs of two and three year old wood. So this should help you when pruning – every autumn you should prune back the canes which are four years old. This way you’ll only have canes that are going to crop. This means, by pruning every year you’ll be increasing the crops and keep the bushes in good order.
Flowering
Currant bushes are attractive when in flower as each of there flower buds opens up to reveal up to twenty delicate flowers, all on the same 5-6” stem – technically called the ‘sprig’. Insects will pollinate the bushes, with most varieties having self-fertile flowers. Depending on the variety, the currants will ripen from 70-100 days after pollination. If you want to increase the number and size of currants you’ll get you’ll need to cut off the ends of the sprigs whilst they’re in flower.
Cropping
Red currants are ready start to ripen from mid summer (so about now). You’ll know the currants are ripe as the berries are a distinctive clear red and should be anywhere between 8-12mm in diameter.
If you’ve not collected red currants before you don’t need to pick off every berry individually – simply remove the entire cluster.
Make Sure You Get To Enjoy The Fruit
When the currants start to ripen they will be attractive to the birds as well as you. If you can make the initial investment, protect your crops with a fruit cage. 6ft high cages will completely enclose the bushes whilst leaving you space to water and harvest.
If you don’t want to make the initial investment – even though a well made cage will provide years of service – then try some forms of bird scarer – from the traditional scarecrow to the more modern methods of plastic bottle, tinfoil dishes or old CD’s strung up amongst the plants.
Nutrients
Like most fresh fruit, red currants are good for you. They contain a high amount of vitamin C, together with vitamin B, iron, phosphorus and fibre. They also have a relatively low calorie count at just 25 calories per 4oz (100g). Unfortunately, most people find the taste of red currants to tart so they tend to get used for garnishes, in preserves (jams or jellies) or cooked dishes rather than the berries being eaten raw.
Thought I’d keep you up to date with the development of the tomato mountain we’re hoping to create at the allotment ... although at the moment everything is looking a bit green.
We’ve just about got fruit on all the different varieties of tomatoes we planted – whether they’re in the greenhouse or polytunnel.
Our Plum Roma plants are showing some cute little tear drop shaped fruit, with the largest being about 2" long.
The Tumbling Toms aren’t tumbling far at the moment ‘cause their fruit is only just starting to arrive – the plants which are fruiting have tomatoes the size of peas ... and I mean petit pois!
The beefsteak tomatoes we planted are also being a little slow to show any fruit.
The good old reliable varieties – Gardeners Delight, Alicante and Ailsa Craig – are all proving why they are so popular ... with trusses of green tomatoes starting to appear on most plants.
Whilst our Tigerella tomatoes are looking a bit more interesting with their stripy fruit showing on some plants.
Our Tomato Mountain
So, although I’ve no tomatoes to pick as yet, things are looking good for the next few weeks.
To give you a vague impression of the tomato mountain we anticipate we’ve got a 6’ x 8’ greenhouse full of plants growing in grow bags.
Whilst our 10’ x 30’ tunnel has virtually one side dedicated to tomato plants growing their way to the top.
And, of course, we’ve got some hanging baskets (still in the polytunnel) full of tumbling toms.
Grow Pots Growing Strong
You might also be pleased to know that the tomato plants we’re growing in the grow pots rather than directly into grow bags are still racing ahead of the other plants potted up around the same time ... so I’m hoping they’ll prove to have bumper crops as well ... only the scales will tell ...
A Few Words Of Inspiration
And now a few words from Mr John Denver, in anticipation of all the culinary delights heading towards me in the form of home grown tomatoes ...
"Put 'em in a salad, put 'em in a stew
You can make your own tomatoe juice
You can eat 'em with eggs, eat 'em with gravy
You can eat 'em with beans, pinto or navy
Put 'em on the side, put 'em in the middle
Home grown tomatoes on a hot cake griddle
Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What would life be like without home grown tomatoes ..."
Like many berries, raspberries are best eaten within a few days of being picked ... so now is the best time to get you’re fill of these gorgeous, red berries.
Although methods of modern cultivation, transport and preserving techniques let you buy ‘fresh’ raspberries virtually all year round, it always seems nicer – and it’s also much cheaper - if you eat raspberries when they are naturally in season. In the UK that’s just about now ... so if you haven’t got raspberry canes in your garden or allotment this is the best time to find you local ‘pick your own’ and get picking ...
What Makes A Raspberry A Raspberry?
The Shape
We think of raspberries as ‘berries’, but in botanical terms, raspberries are an ‘aggregate fruit’, each raspberry being made up of lots of little ‘drupelets’ formed around a central core.
Unlike when you pick a blackberry and the core remains within the fruit, when you pick a ripe raspberry, the core is left behind and all you get are the juicy ‘druplets’ forming the distinctive raspberry shape around a hollow core. This means that every part of the raspberry you pay for is edible! Natural value for money!
The Taste
With a distinctive, melt in mouth texture, raspberries aren’t as sweet as a strawberry but rather have a slight ‘tartness’ whilst still being sweet enough to eat without sugar.
The Colour
Although the most common variety of raspberries (rubius idaeus) is a pinkish-red colour, there are a wide variety of raspberries available in different colours.
Other popular raspberries are black and yellow. Whilst other, less common, varieties are purple, orange and white in colour.
Why We Should Love Raspberries ...
What did the raspberry say to the blueberry?
"I love you berry, berry much!"
And this is actually what we should be saying to raspberries ... they are really healthy.
Rich In Vitamin C
As you stuff yourself full of fresh raspberries you could be helping your skin. The high levels of vitamin C in raspberries aid collagen to form which is necessary for healthy, young skin. But to get at these high levels of vitamin C you should eat the raspberries as soon as possible after they have been picked. High In Fibre
500g of raspberries will provide about 20-30g of fibre which is half the recommended daily amount of fibre for adults. Low In Calories
Wow ... something that tastes good and is low in calories! You get just ten calories from ten raspberries (19g) ... so you can get stuck in without any guilt. Contain Ellagic Acid
Ok ... I didn’t know what ellagic acid did either ... but it’s very cool. A natural plant compound, ellagic acid is an anti-carcinogenic compound (a cancer-preventing compound). This acid neutralises the carcinogen PAH which is found in cigarette smoke and research it to have anti-cancer effects. Lutein Included
Raspberries contain lutein which is important for healthy vision – research has shown that by eating three or more portions of fruit a day will help us to retain our eyesight as we get older.
These are just a few of the reasons to eat raspberries – they are also a valuable source of iron, folate, potassium, calcium and vitamin A.
Have Raspberries Always Been Around?
Not forever, but raspberries have been around for a very, very long time ... dating back to prehistoric times.
However these were wild raspberries and it wasn’t until 1548 that we have accounts of raspberries being cultivated – written about in an English herbal ... so another fruit valued for its healthy aspects before its taste.
And it wasn’t until the 19th century that we saw raspberries being grown throughout Europe and North America when new varieties were developed and cultivated.
Picking Strawberries Is A Healthy Way To While Away The Hours ...
I spent a productive few hours on Saturday morning at our local ‘Pick Your Own’ filling punnets full of strawberries ...
I not only felt healthy walking up and down the strawberry field I also know I’m heading towards a healthy dessert ...
Although not SO healthy when I add the freshly picked strawberries to the Hagen-Das vanilla ice cream (could be worse ... I could just be complimenting the ice cream with hot chocolate sauce ... mmm ... maybe it should be strawberries, hot chocolate sauce and ice cream ...).
What Makes A Strawberry A Strawberry?
With over 600 different varieties of strawberries available, each different in taste, texture and size, strawberries are still easy to recognise with their distinctive:
• red flesh – although this is no longer strictly true; there are some more unusual varieties with yellow or white flesh
• yellow seeds covering the surface of the berry – there can be as many as 200 seeds in every strawberry
• small cap of green leaves.
P.S. the photo shows the strawberries I picked ... gorgeous eh?
Why Are Strawberries Healthy?
Strawberries "rank as one of the world’s healthiest foods" according to the dietician Nigel Denby. He says they can "legitimately claim to be heart protective, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory, all rolled into one".
• heart protective – with high levels of fibre, strawberries help to reduce the risk of heart disease.
• anti-cancer - strawberries are a rich source of phenols (especially anthocyanins and ellagitannius) that are powerful cancer-busting antioxidants.
• anti-inflammatory – the phenols in strawberries also help reduce the activity of the enzyme cyclo-oxygenase that can cause inflammation when over active.
Strawberries are also healthy as they contain:
Omega-3 fatty acids – we’ve all been made conscious over the past few years of the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, the building blocks of brain tissue.
Vitamin C – traditionally we think of oranges as being a rich source of vitamin C but in fact just eight strawberries contain more vitamin C than one orange!
Vitamins B5, B6 and K – a rich source of all these vitamins.
Manganese, iodine, potassium, folate, riboflavin and copper – I don’t know why these are good for me ... but apparently they are!
And, strawberries are low in calories – you can happily scoff 100g of strawberries knowing that’s only 50 calories.
So ..o .o I don’t feel too bad about overindulging in strawberries this weekend ...
Strawberries Are The Most Popular Berries In The World
Yes, it’s true ... strawberries are the most popular berries in the world.
Strawberries have been in cultivation since BC. Highly prized by the Romans, they fell out of favour after the fall of Rome and only re-emerged as a popular fruit in the Middle Ages when people believed they had medicinal properties.
However, we might not have been as keen on the strawberries in the middle ages – they weren’t as sweet as the varieties we are familiar with. This is when they were cultivated from European varieties whereas we are more familiar with strawberries that are a hybrid of these European strawberries and the larger American strawberries.
These hybrid strawberries appeared in the 18th century in France. They were the result of some strawberry plants native to Chile and Peru being planted in France. These became cross pollinated by some North American strawberry plants, resulting in the larger, sweeter and juicier fruit we are more familiar with.
Do you think we found the king of strawberries? He’s got a fabulous crown ... shame it wasn’t gold ...
A Few Facts About Strawberries Strawberries and Wimbledon seem to go hand in hand – and why not, when about three tonnes of berries will be eaten throughout the tournament.
A few theories on the name ...Does the name strawberry come from the Old English ‘streawberige’? A combination of ‘streaw’ meaning straw and ‘berige’ meaning berry.
Or
Do we call strawberries ‘strawberries’ because of the Anglo-Saxons? Where ‘streabergen’ was a combination of ‘strew’ meaning spread around and ‘bergen’ meaning berry or fruit.
Size matters with strawberries – medium sized fruits are fuller of flavour than the larger ones.
So our plan of finding the biggest strawberry in the field wasn’t a good idea ... the photo shows one of the biggest strawberries we could find.
When Greenhouse Girl went to the allotment today to make the first harvest of beetroot for 2006 she saw that someone had been there before her.
"Somebody has been eating my beetroot" said Greenhouse Girl.
And then she saw a little black rabbit with his face amongst the beetroot munching away ... he’d obviously been reading Greenhouse Girl’s blog and knew that this weekend the beetroot would be ready to harvest ...
Although Greenhouse Girl wanted to meet the rabbit, the rabbit didn’t want to meet Greenhouse Girl ... and with all those juicy vitamins from the beetroot giving him bags of energy he want fast as can be through the allotment and disappeared down his escape route at the edge of the potato rows ...
The End ... although I’m sure he’ll be back for another instalment (or should I say meal?) ...
Pale Pinks to Vibrant Tones ... Every Shade Of Pink Is Available In The Garden
Red To Pink
Do you remember at school learning to make different colours by mixing paints together? I felt so clever mixing red and yellow to make orange, less inventive when mixing loads of colours together to make sludgy brown ... but do you also recall making shades of colour by adding white or black to coloured paint?
Basically, pink is a light shade of red … so in paint terms you can mix red and white together to make a shade of pink. This means there are loads of different shades of pink ... and I think you’ll find a plant or flower in every single shade!
Pink Is A New Colour
It’s odd to think that ‘pink’ wouldn’t have been known by William Shakespeare ... in fact the word ‘pink’ was first used back in the 17th century to describe the light red flowers of Dianthus plants, or ‘pinks’ which have a distinctive ‘pinked’ edge to their petals that look as if they have been cut using pinking shears.
I’ve let you down here, as I haven’t got any Pinks growing in my garden ... although my parents have got some carnations growing in their garden which were grown from some cuttings taken from flowers I received when I was sweet sixteen … so you could call these ‘mine’.
I’ve also seen some show stopping pinks at the Hampton Court Flower Show this year. The British National Carnation Society had a stand in one of the flower marquees displaying a range of pinks including border carnations, malmaisons and perpetual flowering carnations. If you’re a pink enthusiast why not visit carnations.org.uk where you’ll find a wealth of information about all aspects of the flowers.
Pink Psychology
OK ... like most everything these days, colours have their meanings as well ... and pink is no exception. Closely related to red (the colour of love), pink is the most romantic colour.
However, unlike red which is a stimulating colour, pink has a calming or ‘tranquilizing’ effect. So for a relaxing, romantic garden, plants and flowers in pale shades of pink would be perfect.
This means the Tree Mallows (lavatera / malvaceae) in my garden could be the perfect shrub in a romantic garden. Growing very quickly, for new gardens they are a quick way of introducing a lot of colour into the garden year after year.
I added these Tree Mallows into my garden over 7 years ago – with the plants being a single, weak looking stem of about 12” high. They are now ‘giants’ in the garden towering well over 5’ in height and add a burst of colour from around June.
Lets Talk Pink
Are you ‘tickled pink’ by my weblog? Hopefully you are ‘cause then you’re happy ... bit of an old fashioned phrase I think? Another term I’ve come across is ‘in the pink’ meaning healthy ... but I’d never heard of that before.
In regards to words which we use to describe different shades of pink ... here are a few I’m sure you’ll recognise ...
Hot pink
This certainly applies to some of the petunias (petunia hybrida) we’ve got filling our hanging baskets this year ... you could also call them shocking pink!
Fuschia
Goes without saying we all know about this shade of pink ... and the plants of the same name.
Rose
I don’t know why we associate rose with pink, especially with so many colours of roses available to choose from ... but apparently we do! As you can see I’ve got a red rose which has massive blooms ... I’ve also got a white rose which I bought at the same time but this has smaller blooms and seems to suffer from more disease.
I bought both rose bushes at half price about 5 years ago ... bargain plants can often be real little troopers in the garden if you make sure they are healthy before you buy them!
My reason for buying one red and one white rose ... the story of ‘Rose Red and Rose White’ ... I remember reading my Ladybird book of this story over and over and over again (must be a romantic at heart then!).
You’ll see from the photo opposite that our runner beans look picture perfect ...
Just teasing, this photos from BBC website and is what we’d like our runner beans to look like ... I’m afraid the reality is somewhat different ...
Runner Beans Early June
As you can see, we’ve got a long row of runner beans ... although some gardeners say you should plant in blocks to increase pollination we’ve stuck to a double row as we do every year. Although, this year we have only planted on one side of the allotment where usually we would grow to separate rows of beans, one on either side of the allotment ... I think we must be getting a bit bored with constant boiled beans in early autumn!
Support Through The Years
You can also see we’ve got the type of supports for our beans that Chelsea show gardens dream of ... nice old rustic looking supports which I suppose some company is flogging for an unbelievable price!
Ours, I think have been handed down from Noah ... or at least from Granddad ... they seem so old. But they still supply adequate; strong support as the beans (hopefully) soar towards the sky ... helped on by a bit of trusty old binder twine ...
Beans In Bloom
Here’s a close up of some of the beans after about four weeks in the ground. As you can see, we’re starting to get a few blooms ... Runner beans have very pretty flowers which makes them very suitable for growing in your back garden even if it’s in view of the house.
Many people now will grow a few beans in pots which can be successful as long as you remember to keep they well watered and provide them with as space for their roots to grow as possible – you’d need to use containers at least 18” deep.
Beans Need Lots Of Water
Talking about keeping beans well watered, our crop is taking longer to grow at the moment and we can only put this down to lack of water. Like many vegetable plants, runner beans relay heavily on a good, steady supply of water to produce a strong, healthy crop of beans.
Although they are getting the required amount of sunshine and have been planted in a ... relatively ... sheltered position near to our polytunnel ... they still need plenty of water. Ideally they should be getting 5-9 litres of water per square metre now that we’re seeing the first set of flowers. I can feel the muscles straining at just the thought of carrying all that water from butt to bean row ... oh, why can’t it rain at night and be sunny during the day???
As you can see from the photo, my dreams of freshly picked beetroot are almost at an end! I spotted this first beetroot plant almost ready to pick on Thursday last week ...
So I’m thinking another 7 days and I’ll risk picking the first few plants to see how big they are ... yummy!!
That's why I’m now plotting to find a new recipe to try ... any suggestions will be great fully received ...
Pumpkin Seed and Beetroot Salad
In my search today for a new recipe I came across this simple salad recipe on the Geest website. It uses fresh beetroot, roasted ... not only does it look good, it sounds gorgeous!
It also means that if the beetroot I pick is still a little on the small side, it won’t matter ... it’s just a shame I haven’t got any tomatoes ready to pick yet ... although if the sunshine holds up this week I might be able to pick a few (although not of the plum variety ... recipes are there to be adapted I always think ...).
Here’s The Recipe ...
Prepare the beetroot:
4 baby beetroot – freshly picked from the allotment is always best
1 tsp olive oil
Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Peel the beetroot, cut into quarters then place on a roasting tray. Sprinkle with the olive oil, ensuring the beetroot is coated as well as possible. Season with salt and pepper. Then cover with tin foil and roast in the oven till tender (about 30 minutes).
Prepare the dressing:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar – yummy ... I love any recipe which includes balsamic vinegar
½ tsp clear honey
Put all the ingredients into a boil and whisk together. Then season with salt and pepper.
Prepare the salad:
1 red onion – yes, I can feel the tears already
100g baby plum tomatoes – or any small tomatoes – fingers crossed some will have ripened in time
1 (120g) bag herb salad leaves
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
Wash and dry the salad leaves n place into a bowl. Add the onion (finely sliced), tomatoes cut into bite size pieces (halves or quarters) and the pumpkin seeds.
When the beetroot is ready add to the salad bowl with the dressing and mix well.
Then you’re ready to arrange onto plates ready to serve straight away ... I think I’ll serve mine with some goats cheese and crusty bread ... mmmmm
Does anyone remember the adverts for Jolly Green Giant Sweetcorn? And the song ... sing along now ...
"Good things from the garden,
Garden in the valley,
Valley of the jolly – Ho, Ho, Ho – Green Giant."
Actually, I didn’t remember the song either ...… but like most people just remember the “Ho, Ho, Ho – Green Giant” which was the only vocabulary of the Jolly Green Giant first introduced back in 1925! (doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun ...)
In fact, according to Advertising Age magazine, the Jolly Green Giant is the third most recognizable advertising character of the century’s ton ten ad icons, following behind Ronald McDonald and the Marlboro Man ... at least JGG is advertising something relatively healthy!!!
JGG On A Small Scale
I’m not actually growing sweet corn on such a grand scale as the Green Giant Company, but I have got a small section of the allotment full of new sweetcorn plants ... mmmm I can smell the melted butter over the corn on the cob already!
These plants were started off in seed trays in April and when large enough transplanted into pots and kept in the greenhouse. Another recommended way of growing sweetcorn is to start them off using Rootrainers – this means that their roots aren’t disturbed when you plant them out – and whereas I potted the young plants into pots about a month before planting out, it is possible to sow the sweetcorn in the rootrainers and let them grow there until they are large enough to plant out.
Block Planting Is Best
Growers also advocate growing sweetcorn in blocks – rather than long, single rows. This is because sweetcorn is wind / air pollinated – so planting in blocks increases the chance of successful pollination. I planted the sweetcorn into theallotment in June (so they were safe from frost) and as you can see, in a block of rows fitting between the polytunnel and runner beans. You might also note the dry soil ... this is ‘cause I took the picture last week when we’d had a few days of glorious sunshine, our water butts are empty and we’re struggling to get the water from the well ... so water is in short supply!
What’s Good About Sweetcorn
I don’t know about you, but I think like most home grown vegetables, corn on the cob fresh from the allotment tastes totally different from that from the supermarket ... especially tinned sweetcorn!
Not only tasting good, sweetcorn is a good source of folate, provides more starch and calories than many vegetables and is high in fibre, iron and potassium.
For those of us worried about aging (and aren’t we all ... especially with all the TV advertising for anti wrinkle cream and younger looking skin ...) sweetcorn helps protect against age-related macular degeneration ... so what are you waiting for?
The Best Way Of Eating Sweetcorn
Well ... I like it best when it’s been cooked in the oven in tinfoil, with butter melting over the top. Eating a full corn on the cob is a messy business (only to be done in the safety of one’s own home or in the company of good friends ...) but a wonderful reward of flavour!
It All Comes Back To Mood Foods
Just like beetroot, research indicates fresh corn can be used to enhance your mood when cooked with lime. Lime helps to boost the otherwise low levels of B3 / niacin which is known to be play an important role in maintaining good moods ... I can only assume, therefore, that as harvest time comes around and I’ve got access to fresh beetroot and corn on the cob, I’m going to be a very happy chap!
For years I’ve been trying to convince my Dad that using Grow Pots makes growing tomatoes so much easier ... they not only let you provide your tomato plants with more water (they are notoriously greedy ... just like me!) they also mean it’s quicker to give them water in the first place – as we all know watering into a grow bag often means watering the surface below!
Not only do they help with the watering, but because grow pots have an inner and outer ring, you can plant your tomatoes in more compost than just that in the grow bag (not a bad thing) whilst you can also use this inner pot to give your plants some much needed food as they start to produce their fruit.
Convincing Dad Is Hard Work
But, as most daughters find, it’s hard to convince Dad’s to try anything new ... so this year I took the easy way out and gave him three grow pots FREE (like me, my Dad loves the word FREE!!) and asked him to see for himself if they actually improve the growth of his tomato plants.
The Proof Is In The Height
At the moment we’re only part way through our ‘trial’ but hopefully you can see from the picture opposite that at least one of the tomato plants potted in a grow pot is far out growing those around it (I guess by about 6 inches).
Are We Cynical?
The cynical amongst you might say ... this is a different variety than the others ... this was a stronger plant from the start … this tomato plant germinated earlier than the rest ... etc etc etc. As yet we’re still very early in the trial and the proof is more in the amount of tomatoes we get from each plant more than how high they grow ... I’ll keep you posted ...
In The Mean Time
If any of you have used Grow Pots (or are using them this year) let me know whether you think they are useful and worth buying ...
A Quick Up Date On Getting The Water Out Of Our Well ...
As you know from my previous post (Watering The Allotment From A Well) I’ve not the bravest person around the well at our allotment but this week I dared life and limb (or in fact convinced someone else to risk plunging down the well ...) to get you a picture ...
The water at the bottom is about 8 feet down from the top of the well ... just a few weeks it was only 4 feet from the top but the few drier weeks that we’ve had have meant not only have our water butts been emptied of water the well has also started to loose it’s water back into the ground ...
As you’ll see from the photo, the sides of the well are built from stone ... although the picture seems to imply it’s flat on one side that’s just ‘cause we left half the well covered when we took the picture. It’s actually a bottle shape, round at the top going straight down, but ‘belling’ out in the bottom.
We’re still in the process of getting the water out of the well ... although we looked at Draper pumps from Bradshaws; these would have needed lowering into the bottom of the well to work. Whereas, Two Wests have the Professional Pump, that is strong enough to lift the water out of the well and can be kept at the surface (seems a better plan as you wouldn’t want to have to climb down a well to get back a pump if it got stuck!)
Although HB suggested a solar pump, these tend to not be as powerful and we needed a pump which would lift water at least 10 metres. However, we still haven’t succeeded as although we’ve tried the pump connected to a generator, we haven’t got the right size of hose to connect to the pump to lift the water out (it needs to be at least ¾” and we’ve only got ½”) ... so I’m off to get some ¾” hose from Two Wests next week ... so the saga continues ...
But More Importantly ... How To Get The Water Out?
"Ding Dong bell, Water's in the well ..."
We’re luckier than many in that our family allotment has its own well. This was a constant point of interest – and fear – as a child when I could stand near (but not too close) to the edge of the well as my Dad drew water up in a bucket.
Our well isn’t a fancy one – not the safe, wishing well type – but is simply covered by a couple of large flag stones, which when lifted away reveal the well. My problem as a child was that I daren’t stand on the stones as I thought I’d wake the troll who lived down there (oh ... the imagination of a child ... unfortunately - for my boss - it’s never left me ...).
As my Dad is now a Granddad in his sixties, he’s looking for an easier way of getting at the water … drawing up enough water in a bucket to supply all the vegetables in the allotment isn’t easy. So I’m after a pump which we can connect to a generator, draw up the water (about 10 metres from the bottom of the well) ... job done.
One of my colleagues at Bradshaws is suggesting a Draper high pressure pump ... and at just £109.95 I think it’s a small price to pay to keep our veg well watered (unintentional pun!!) and my Dad’s back from giving out ... I’ll let you know if it works.
Quick Question ... what do you think to me making a few £££ on the side and selling ‘Greenhouse Girl’s Bottled Well Water’ ... the easy way to keep your plants well watered this summer ???? Any takers?
Finally, the excuse I’ve been looking for ... when I’m working in the garden, pulling up the weeds, planting out new annuals or simply picking flowers I can actually say I’m keeping fit.
Apparently (I’m guessing it depends on how much effort you put in ... I tend to weed sat on my bottom, doing more sun gathering than pulling up weeds) you’re burning up calories as you garden. If you don’t believe me, here are a few examples:
Mowing the lawn with your electric mower – 205 calories
Digging – 170 calories
Weeding – 153 calories
Picking fruit or veg (not off the supermarket shelf!) – 102 calories
These figures are based on you spending about 30 minutes in the garden (and most of us have that amount of time to spare ...).
A South African Sundew Plant Arrives On My Windowsill ...
I came across this little plant in my local supermarket and fell in love with this little foreigner ...
I’m still at the phrase book stage of learning the language of my new windowsill resident ... he only speaks pigeon English as his instructions indicate:
“CARE: This bogplant prefers much light. Place the pot in a saucer with much water.”
I was impressed with his ‘bug’ catching abilities as he caught loads of little black flies as he travelled around the supermarket in my trolley (although this did make me wonder where the little black bugs were coming from ...) on his sticky looking leaves ...
And I’m expecting great things as he's got a long single ‘stem’ in its centre (about 6cm tall) which looks like it may become a flower ...
But, as I’m notorious with my house plants for over watering, any advice would be appreciated or I may never see Drosera Aliciae in flower ...
As you’ll see the beetroot we planted earlier this year is still growing strong ...
I’m really looking forward to when it’s ready to pick and the distinctive red stained hands as I boil, peel and grate my why through pounds of beetroot ...
As I was wandering the web looking for new beetroot recipes (a bit of pre crop anticipation) I fell upon this wonderful site packed full of beetroot facts and figures ... makes me think whatever subject you’re looking for someone will have created a site dedicated to it!
Lovebeetroot.co.uk is packed full of useful (and useless) information all packed together in a site that is a feast to the eyes ...
Did you know that the red pigment in beetroot is used to colour strawberry jam?
That the Victorians used beetroot to dye their hair (no blue rinses then)?
That you can make wine (similar to port) using beetroot?
This is the first year we’re trying some varieties of ‘Tumbling Tomatoes’ planted in hanging baskets. We’ve always been reluctant to grow these trailing tomatoes as they are so much more expensive than the usual varieties (greenhouse girl v penny pincher) ...
But last year one of our local garden centres was selling off their seeds half price so we took the opportunity and got a packet of both the red and yellow cherry tomatoes.
As you’ll see we’ve potted up a number of hanging baskets in the polytunnel, where we’ll keep them warm and well watered ... rather than putting them outside and letting them suffer the unpredictable Yorkshire weather ...
Having the baskets resting on wooden slats also makes me think we should get some crop bars fitted into the top of our polytunnel ...
I think this a job for the Autumn when we’ll have time to order and fit them unlike now when all our time is spent keeping on top of the watering and weeding ...
My friend found these perfect little (they’re about 1cm wide) seed pods on her garden this week. Each has already shed its’ seed and is now an empty shell ... but from what plant we wondered?
And then we started waxing lyrical on their beautiful shape ... that the plant must have perfected these aerodynamic seed pods to distribute its’ seeds far and wide (which makes me think it’s probably a weed).
So, if you know my John Doe could you please let me know ... before we find a seed pod in tact and start cultivating some sort of triffid ...
Does Anyone Know What’s Happening With My Tomato Plant?
You’ll see in the picture that some of my tomato plants are acting rather strangely (no, they won’t be nominated for an Oscar this year…). What’s happening is that they’re getting a flower in the very centre – so stopping any further upward growth.
It’s a new type of tomato for me ‘Costoluto Fiorentino’, so I’m not sure if it’s growing as it should … or if I’ve got a rogue element amongst my plants ... an alien in the midst so to speak?
Any advice you could share would be gratefully received ...
Tomatoes are so.o..o easy to grow, it seems we often forget this when we start planting. In our enthusiasm for fresh, home grown tomatoes (unlike their watery cousins growing on the supermarket shelves) we plant like we’ve never planted before … so end up with so many tomato plants we could literally supply our own canning factory!
As you’ll see we’ve just got a few (ha) potted up, waiting to be transferred into their own grow bags (I imagine tomatoes see the grow bag as their own little ‘heaven’). As well as growing in grow bags in the greenhouse, we’ll also be having them fill one side of the polytunnel and still have some to plant out in the allotment (the equivalent of tomato ‘hell’ I guess – where they suffer the harsh British weather) which will supply the fruit for green tomato chutney at the end of the year (gosh, I bet we’ve still got a jar left from last year … better eat that up quick).
You Say To-may-to and I Say To-mah-to ...
With so many varieties to select from, this year we’re growing the stable ‘Gardeners Delight’, the more traditional ‘Red Pear’ and the beautiful sounding (and tasting) ‘Golden Sunrise’ as well as Plum Roma and Tigerella.
So, with my taste buds watering I’m looking forward to those ‘salad’ days of freshly picked tomatoes bursting with flavour ...
‘It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.’ Lewis Grizzard
If We Could Grow Rainbows, How Happy We Would Be ...
I’ve just spent a lovely bank holiday afternoon at Lea Gardens, near Matlock in Derbyshire. Started in 1935 by John Marsden-Smedley, these gardens cover an area of about 4 acres and are covered by a massive collection of rhododendrons, azaleas, kalmias as when as many different types of alpines, acers and many other really interesting plants.
Now ‘run’ by Peter and Nancy Tye, Lea Gardens are the perfect example of managing to retain a family run business rather than a commercial concern. Although you have to pay (£3.50) to enter the gardens, it is like walking around someone’s back garden (but on a grand scale).
The gardens are planted so that you can meander around the gardens, along narrow pathways and woodland areas and fall upon beautiful displays of colour around ever corner. With tiny Rhododendrons offering ground cover to massive blooms growing on Rhododendrons of ‘tree like’ proportions.
Not only are you astounded by the range of sizes and styles of blooms, what is also astonishing is the inexhaustible range of colours ... from bridal whites and palest pinks through to vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. It certainly seems as if a ‘rainbow’ of colours is growing from the ground ...
As you can see, we’ve been busy planting beetroot recently. One of the easiest vegetables to grow, we started ours off in our polytunnel – it germinates really easily (it only needs to be kept above 7º C for healthy growth).
Once growing, we’ve hardened off the plants by standing them outside the tunnel for a couple of weeks. And, whilst the weather has held off, we’ve finally managed to get them planted out into the allotment – beautiful, straight, weed free rows (although I guess it’s just a matter of time before the weeds move back in!).
Beetroot is one of my favourite summer vegetables ... I much prefer fresh beetroot over the traditional jars of beetroot in vinegar (which generally graced our dining table for the traditional Christmas salad). Freshly boiled beetroot is one of the most distinctive flavours of the summer – if a little messy to achieve.
Cooking Beetroot
Although it only takes about 20-50 minutes to boil (depending on its’ size) you need to watch out for those ‘beetroot’ splashes. Before adding to the pan, simply remove as much of the top leaves as possible – but leave some of the stalk in place as this helps retain its flavour. Once boiled – test that it’s soft using a skewer, fork or sharp knife – drain away the water and allow to cool. You’ll then be able to easily ‘rub’ away the outer skin under cold water … then it’s ready to eat.
Beetroot Makes A Come Back
Back in fashion, beetroot can now be found gracing the plates of fashionable restaurants. But beetroot has allows been in favour, in fact we can trace its roots back to 400BC …
When beetroot leaves were used as bandages.
The Greeks prized beetroot for its medicinal qualities – it was used to treat fevers, skin problems and digestive complaints.
It was the Romans who began eating beetroot in salad dishes with oil, vinegar and mustard.
In the 16th century its’ medicinal qualities were again praised, when it was used as a ‘blood builder’.
Whilst in Victorian times beetroot was known as the ‘blood turnip’.
Why Is Beetroot Healthy?
Declared by health experts as a ‘superfood’, you can eat beetroot with a clear conscience because it’s:
Virtually fat free – there are only 36 calories per 100g
Rich in iron – good for tiredness and anaemia
Rich in folic acid
A good source of vitamins (A, B and C) and minerals (calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium)
High in fibre
And it has antioxidant properties.
Does Beetroot Make Us Happy?Recent research has declared beetroot a ‘mood’ food. Betaine found in beetroot is known to help us relax and make us feel good. Whilst recent press coverage has labelled it as a ‘sexy’ vegetable – containing high levels of the mineral boron which is thought to affect the production of sex hormones.
OK, I give up … since all the publicity over hose pipe bans all we seem to get is rain, rain and more rain.
If you wait for a dry spot, by the time you’ve donned your coat it’s started raining again. So my question is, if you want to be in the garden but can’t ‘cause of the rain, what do you do instead? Or are you so hardy that you just put on your galoshes and carry on gardening?
‘The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.’ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
OMG, innocently stepped out into my garden this evening to feed my rabbits (Honey & Sweetie) and couldn’t get to them for the wall of ‘green growth’ blocking my path ...
Am I sleeping beauty ... did I fall asleep last night and sleep for a hundred years? And if so where’s my prince?
As he didn’t appear, I’ve spent the last half hour pruning my way to the rabbit shed and filling my green bin with the results! The plant which put on the mass of growth I hear you ask? Well, it’s an evergreen clematis (an armandii variety if I recall correctly), the first plant I every bought for my garden.
I pruned it quite strongly last year and this seems to have given it a massive boost of energy this year ... but it looks beautiful when it’s in full flower so I’ll let it off all the hard work it’s causing me at the moment!
When Does Rain Stop Gardening...
Well, in my case rain stopped play yesterday as I drove home, desperately trying to see the other cars on the motorway through all the spray!
Got home to get wet through just dashing from the car to the house ... no way was I going to go into the garden (or even greenhouse) ...
But I’m sure more dedicated gardeners than I were out, togged up in wet weather gear and ploughing on (so to speak ...).
“Whether the weather be fine, Whether the weather be not, Whether the weather be cold, Whether the weather be hot, We'll weather the weather, Whatever the whether, Whether we like it or not”
I’ve recently been told two different bits of advice, and I’d like to know what you think ...
My sister tells me that her roses flourish due to being fed a constant supply of coffee grounds (and take it from me, my sister can drink a lot of coffee ...).
Our call centre manager at Two Wests tells me that the way to grow good, strong sunflowers is to feed them with tea!
So, I’ve somewhat of a dilemma ... I don’t drink tea or coffee, so should I be adding PG Tips and filter coffee to my weekly shop to give a caffeine fix to my plants or should I just ‘let them drink water’ (echoes of Marie Antoinette) ...
Cambridge Boffins Say Gardening Is Good For You ...
I’ve known it all along ... but now Cambridge research is backing me up! It is good to garden and here are the reasons why:
Exercise ... in my case much needed but at least being in the garden (I don't mean sat at the patio table with a martini) doing some gardening lets you get some gentle exercise
Fresh air ... obviously depends on your location (and if it’s barbeque season!) but at least you’re outside and not sat in front of the TV
Better diet ... if you grow your own fruit or veg (always tastes better than the supermarket spoils)
But best of all ‘exposure to plants helps reduce stress levels, increases concentration and productivity and improves mood.’ Based on this statement shouldn’t I be sat in my garden working rather than my desk??? I’ll let my MD decide!
I can’t remember when gardening has been in the news for so long. I’ve been abroad for two weeks, yet headlines are still appearing about how we’ll cope with hosepipe bans in place! This is especially ironic when I’ve just followed a massive water leak along the road in a local village ... the amount of water simply running down the road I’m sure would have kept my garden in water for the weekend!
Anyway, if you can get past your anger at water companies letting water simply drain away, the HTA is offering some straight forward advice to help you ‘water wisely’ ...
I’ll not send you to their website as when you try to get hold of the information it’s a bit of a mind field of IT popup boxes, but here’s a brief summary:
Water Less Often
Reduce the number of times you’ll need to water by using the following:
Water-retaining gel ... this may look strange when it’s in your compost but it’s really useful (I always use it in my hanging baskets to keep the compost damp)
Manual watering systems ... I’m guessing here they mean systems that you have to fill up, so control the amount of water you give your plants so water isn’t being supplied constantly
Soil reservoirs
Break the crust ... I’ve read that if you dampen the top of the soil first, then come back after about half an hour and then water it soaks in better
Add organic matter
Mulch ... helps stop the soil drying out
Let the grass grow longer ... and don’t cut it as short
Provide shelter for your plants ... so they’re not in full sun (OK, one has to say not everything can be in the shade can it?)
Bigger pots ... so more compost, so it doesn’t dry out as quickly
There’s lots more advice out there so I’m sure our gardens won’t turn in to barren deserts if we’re careful and spend a little more time planning our watering ...
Finally, ‘The Apprentice’ on BBC2 is worthwhile (I say this as it makes me cringe to watch it so I hardly ever do ... watching people embarrass themselves is about as scary as the Cybermen from Dr Who) ...
Being on my hols at the time I haven’t actually seen the episode but I’m reliably informed that they featured the Nucan petrol canister … related (of course) to the Nucan Watering Can with its’ unique push-button control system ... which ensures there are no spills as you water.
Although you won’t believe it ... and you can’t tell from the picture, but this can actually does deliver. Unlike most watering cans, where you can loose half the contents as you carry it down the garden, a simply little ‘button’ in the handle stops water leaking from the spout ... so simple it’s almost unbelievable no one invented it earlier!
We sometimes think that the English invented gardening ... we think back to our parents or grandparents gardens and remember typical English gardens ... roses ... perfectly green lawns ... vegetable plots …
But wherever you go in the world, you’ll always find dedicated gardeners ... each with their own distinctive style ...
In Switzerland gardens seem to be crammed full of plants ...
I don’t think I’ve every seen a ‘minimalist’ garden, where gravel often predominates over greenery. Rather, most seem to be typical ‘country’ gardens that appear to have simply appeared over time but have really been cultivated by dedicated gardens, cleverly selecting plants, shrubs and trees to provide year round interest.
At this time of year gardens sport splashes of bright yellow daffodils and vibrant red tulips contrasting well with pastel patches of primroses. Brilliant white magnolia blooms provide perfect backdrops to all the evergreens that give structure to the gardens all year round.
Most Swiss gardeners also seems to be thinking of their taste buds as they plan their gardens ... in many gardens you’ll find a corner dedicated to raising fresh, tasty vegetables ... it makes me look forward to returning to my garden, even with the weeds that await me ...
P.S. Still no sign of the gorgeous Swiss guys I was promised ...
Gardening
Of course, this is a passion otherwise I wouldn’t spend my working life selling gardening equipment and then the weekend in the garden! Now, enjoying working in the garden could be classed as a virtue, I think? It keeps me healthy (or relatively so) and I feel good as I pull out all the weeds ... I’m one with nature ... hom ...
So now I think I can counter this virtue with a vice ...
Chocolate
I admit it, I’m a chocoholic. I don’t think I can go a day without indulging in at least one piece of chocolate ... so should I be going to chocoholics anonymous I wonder?? No ... I don’t think so ... I certainly need that rush of sugar at least once a day just to keep me sane…
So, all I need now is a way of combining both ... does anyone know if Willy Wonka needs a new worker in his factory? I could mow the sugar lawn or trim the chocolate trees ... mmm
It’s A Long Way To Go For A Good Garden Centre ...
A few weeks ago I was bemoaning the fact that the garden centres near my home were becoming more like shopping centres ... cards ... toys ... pet food ... café’s were leaving very little room for plants ...
In Switzerland it’s like a gardener’s paradise. Garden centres which actually sell plants! It’s almost unbelievable ... what a shame I can’t stuff my suitcase full of all the plant’s I’ve been unable to find locally.
Could I suggest that some of the UK garden centre owners look abroad for inspiration ... I’d be happy to do a bit of market research ... just tell me where to go (but please be polite).
I’ve spent the afternoon at the circus ... acrobats, performing horses, elephants that can sit on command and lamas that can race at the speed of light ...
Now, I’ve seen tubs of specialist ‘organic’ fertiliser from the Zoo or ‘Zoo Poo’. An expensive way of helping my plants to grow and I’m not convinced it works any better than good, old fashioned horse manure. Does anyone know?
But I’ve never seen ‘Circus Poo’ ... I think I’ve spotted a gap in the market ...
I’m sure the circus would be glad to hand it over for free ... my potatoes might grow enormous with some ‘organic’ fertiliser from an elephant ... what do you think?
We’ll after I’ve got mine anyway! Get your hands on a copy of Garden News this week and you’ll get two packets of seeds FREE.
Solid Gold In the Garden
For those of you who like to fill your garden with colour there’s a pack of Tagetes ‘Instant Gold’. Tagetes are so...o.o easy to grow that you’re virtually guaranteed success – but you’ll need to sow them as soon as you get your hands on the seeds ‘cause they should be planted by the end of April at the latest. When they’re ready to plant out into your garden, my advice is to plant them in large groups – the flowers on them are fairly small so I think they look best in groups to provide solid patches of colour ...
One For The Taste Buds
And if flowers aren’t your thing, Garden News are also giving away Aubergine seeds. I’ve got to admit that I’ve never grown aubergines, so now I’ve got free seeds I’ll certainly have a go. Now, I assume Garden News know what they’re doing – the seed packet says sow between January-March but I’m hoping sowing them in April shouldn’t be a problem. I’m planning to grow them in a grow bag – just like I grow my tomatoes, using grow pots to give them extra compost and making it easier for me to water them.
But if you’ve grown aubergines before and can offer me any advice please do ...
Just returned from a very unsuccessful trip to one of my local garden centres. You may ask, why unsuccessful? Hadn’t they got the seeds I needed or the plant I wanted to buy? Well, I’d not planned my trip around either of these purchases ... my sole purpose in this venture out was to purchase a christening present.
And hence my question, Garden Centre or Gift Shop?
So many of the garden centres today give so much space to coffee shops, birthday cards, books, soft toys, pet food (and if you’re really lucky the animals themselves!) that they have little space ... or it appears time to sell any of the things you’d expect to find – seeds, plants, shrubs, trees, compost but to name a few.
I’m all for a nice day out and adding a coffee shop is all well and good – I like to have a sit down and a huge slab of chocolate cake to take away the pain of parting with so much money on plants I often could have grown from seed – but some garden centres have now gone so far down the line of selling other things that it’s hard to find any plants at all!
However, I did try to take advantage of this trend towards less gardening products and more gifts by going to a specific garden centre which I knew stocked a massive range of expensive children’s gifts – definite christening gift fodder. But, on arrival I found that the range had been reduced – had they introduced more plants? Extended their range of seeds? Oh no, too sensible ... they’d simply replaced the children’s toys with Easter trinkets ... fine if I needed an egg shaped glass but no good for my needs.
So I’m now searching the World Wide Web for a suitable gift ...
And my question to you is are there any good garden centres left where you can buy healthy plants or get the seeds you need for your vegetable plot? Or do you prefer to buy your gifts at garden centres and your plants from supermarkets?
As you get to know me you’ll realise that I’m one for the bargains! If I go in a shop and they’ve got a reduced section I’m there first. That’s not to say I’m mean ... if there’s something I need I’ll pay any money to get it. But I certainly like a bargain ...
Buying plants doesn’t escape my bargain buying bug and today I managed to spot a good deal. Doing my weekly shop in Sainsburys and meandering around their flowers and plants section, they’d got some reduced climbing roses ... just £1.99!
Having been stung with poor plants from supermarkets before, I then stood and unwrapped the rose from its packaging to find healthy new growth on a fairly sturdy stem.
So into the trolley it went and I’m now the proud owner of a new, white climbing rose...Oh, the joys of a successful bargain!
The past few weeks all I’ve been hearing about are the hose pipe bans predicted for the summer months. This seems especially ironic when I'm I driving to work through the rain .... so I’m off to harness what’s being offered from the sky by installing a water butt in my garden.
Mindful of Ian Paul’s clever calculations on watering my petunias using bottled water I’d rather be spending my £40 now on a water butt, than £500 later on watering my flowers for just one hour!
No, this doesn’t mean that I drive along the M1 with my car window down throwing out seeds or bulbs! What it means is that I’ve always got a gardening magazine in the car, so when I get stuck in a traffic jam that’s going nowhere I can pull on my handbrake, skim through my magazine and dream about being in the garden.
Working at Two Wests I’ve access to loads of gardening magazines, but I’m still tempted when I’m shopping to buy the latest edition. At the moment this is Gardens Monthly.
So, when the traffic ground to a holt this morning I settled down to some quick reading, rather than stressing about being late for work. Three things caught my eye (I have to be quick ‘cause the traffic does move every ten minutes or so):
“In the Garden: a Collection of Gardening Wisdom” - I love to read when the weather prevents me getting into the garden and this looks to be a real gem. In fact, interspersed throughout the magazine are quotes taken from the book. My favourite so far is
‘A good gardener always plants three seeds – one for the grubs, one for the weather, and one for himself’
C Collins
A full page advert from ‘Gripple’ promoting their Garden Trellis Kit. I first came across Gripple in 2003 (I think at Gardeners World Live) and we included their product in our 2004 catalogue. A really smart idea it let’s you install a very strong plant support into your garden to support all sorts of climbing plants. And you don’t need the strength of ten men to get the support wire really tight!
Finally I saw the Malvern Spring Gardening Show advertised. Even though I’m stuck in the traffic in the pouring rain this advert instantly reminded me of the hot day in May a couple of years ago when I drove down to Malvern. So I’m now going to book a day of work and buy my ticket for this years show ....
A Money Tree – a plant to relieve all my financial problems?
On Gardeners Question Time ealier this month (I'm a busy girl so late letting you know this 'little gem') Anne Swithenbank chose the Money Tree as her plant of the week ... and so would I if its claims are to be believed!
It’s said that by rubbing the leaves of this succulent plant all your financial problems will be sorted ... but if they aren’t you’ll still have a lovely house plant to admire.
If anyone has had any luck with this plant let me know .... and I'll be off to buy a truck load and retire early!
My first memory of working in the garden is when I was about 4 or 5 years old. My brother, sister and I each had a small 'garden' within our Granddad's allotment. Three little gardens, surrounded by a small stone wall. I don't remember what I grew - in fact I'm sure my Dad and Granddad probably made sure everything survived - but I do remember the competitiveness of wanting a better garden than my siblings. I progressed to having a greenhouse when I was about 7 years old. A lovely, old fashioned greenhouse - much like we have to pay thousands for today - a wooden greenhouse on top of a small brick wall. I used to fill it with different varieties of fuchsias and experiment with taking cuttings.
At the same time that I was nursing fuchsia cuttings, my brother started to grow sweetpeas and chrysanthemums for show. In my early teens our family visited virtually all the local flower shows throughout the summer and autumn months. The dedication of the show gardener knows no end - I remember late nights of plants being selected and early mornings (and I mean early, about 3.00am) when the flowers would be taken to the show ground and petals perfectly arranged.
There's then a huge gapping gap of no gardening - as I went off to university and then found gainful employment. It wasn't until about nine years ago when I started work at Two Wests that I began to return to gardening again. I filled the windows of my flat with troughs full of flowers and when I bought my first house I had the joy of transforming a builder’s site into my own little garden. Months were spent plotting what I would grow and where before putting the first plant in place. Six years later I'm faced with a garden overflowing with trees, shrubs and flowers! I've even managed to squeeze in a greenhouse so I can raise my annuals from seed and have tasty greenhouse grown tomatoes in late summer.
So now it's a case of maintaining my garden and making small changes to get the best from the space. As we all know, keeping a garden in tip top condition can be a full time job.... and as I've got a full time job, work in the garden has to be fitted in around my free time. Rather than being simply a chore, a necessity to keep the weeds under control, working in my garden is a joy - even though it can be hard work! This is why I think I'm a gardener. I'm not an expert gardener by any means but I'm like lots of other gardeners. I'm fulfilled when my cuttings take, when the first snowdrop appears in the garden and in the summer when I can sit out surrounded by the fragrance of fresh flowers. I'm learning all the time, everyone has advice when if comes to gardening whether it's from my friends, from watching a gardening programme on TV or reading a gardening magazine, every year brings new plants to try, new ways of growing and new tools to test.
