Ignoring the tomatoes for a while (they’re growing strongly and beginning to set fruit), I’m looking at how everything else is doing. Lots of plants are in the process of strengthening, growing and beginning to set fruit & vegetables but the harvest is a bit slow. Some of the difficulty is down to the weather…… Continue reading Mid June Harvest (19th June 2021)
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Weird Flowers and the Effect of a late spring
Yes, its a Foxglove I was wandering around the garden this morning when I saw this. I asked my “expert” what it was and was pointed at a page on the Kew Gardens website (kew.org) from January 2016. It turns out its an example of “terminal peloria” a well known but infrequent spontaneous genetic mutation…… Continue reading Weird Flowers and the Effect of a late spring
June 2021: Garden Flowering
Whilst most of my posts are about the fruit and vegetables in the garden, at the moment the flowers are also doing well. Our garden is a “spring and early summer “ garden because the trees shade everything and dry out the clay soil during summer. So now is one of the best times with…… Continue reading June 2021: Garden Flowering
Home Gardening – June 2021 Update
Despite the cold and wet May, the tomatoes are all planted up unto their final containers. I haven’t done as many different varieties this year (not really sure why) nor have I as many plants as usual. However, a good mix of indeterminate (cordon) and determinate (bush) will see enough tomatoes for the year (unless…… Continue reading Home Gardening – June 2021 Update
Growing Fruit & Vegetables at Home – 7th May 2021
Although there are lots of things I have written about before, I’m going to treat this as a start-up. As I said I have a spreadsheet, it consists of three parts: Calendar:which lists what I’ve sown, transplanted, and harvested by date. All years are concatenated so I can see everything I’ve done in previous years;Harvest:…… Continue reading Growing Fruit & Vegetables at Home – 7th May 2021
Grey Squirrel Wars begin for 2021
I may have talked about this before but its something that gets to me regularly. Our garden backs on to a copse of trees and includes a large oak of its own (120+ years old according to the girth measurements). There are obvious advantages to this type of garden, lots of varied wildlife being one.…… Continue reading Grey Squirrel Wars begin for 2021
Recipe: Simple Rhubarb Crumble
To be honest, this is more about being pleased that the fruit and vegetable season is starting as it is a recipe. Rhubarb is the first of the fruits from our garden and (at least we find) comes twice, once in spring and then again in late summer. In neither case do we force the…… Continue reading Recipe: Simple Rhubarb Crumble
Tomato Sowing – 2021 & Cleaning the Greenhouses
Spring has sprung, the clocks have gone forward and the weather is warming up, my tomatoes have been sown and are beginning to show themselves. As usual, I have sown a mixture of ones I like, ones I haven’t grown before, and some to refresh my seedbank. Selecting the seeds for this last group is…… Continue reading Tomato Sowing – 2021 & Cleaning the Greenhouses
Recipe: Fish Pie (with tomatoes & Vegetables)
A simple to make, tasty fish pie recipe which links to our tomato and vegetable growing theme. As always, our recipes seem to be more Vegetables with … as we add extra vegetables compared to the original source. Adding Creme Fraiche makes the pie moist without spoiling the flavour. Ingredients (for 2) 500g mashed potatoes1…… Continue reading Recipe: Fish Pie (with tomatoes & Vegetables)
Big Garden Birdwatch 2021
Like many people in the UK I did the “Big Garden Birdwatch” last weekend watching out for birds in the garden. For whatever reason, this year was a “bad year” with the total list of birds being: Great TitWoodpigeonCrow I’m convinced that the birds know that its Garden Birdwatch weekend and hide away because in…… Continue reading Big Garden Birdwatch 2021