We love the Yorkshire Dales, it’s our go-to holiday destination. Lots of things to see and places to walk. This break was in Dentdale, somewhere that we’ve been near but not actually walked around before. Dent itself is a beautiful little village. The only proble is the narrow, cobbled high street which barely has room…… Continue reading A Damp Week in the Yorkshire Dales
Category: Blog
Assisted Natural Pest Control (Harlequin Ladybirds)
I extended my vegetable bed a bit in July and took the opportunity of additional space to sow some more dwarf french beans. They’ve grown well and are extending my french bean season as they started cropping at the beginning of the month (September). However, they are becoming infested with blackfly. As you will know,…… Continue reading Assisted Natural Pest Control (Harlequin Ladybirds)
Recipe – Courgette Pickle
Unlike 2022, 2023 was not a fantastic year for cucumbers, there were as many as we needed (around 10 over the summer months) but not enough to make pickle. However, the courgettes have done well, particularly the “Tromba d’Albenga”. These are a climbing variety which grow fruit up to about one metre in length. The…… Continue reading Recipe – Courgette Pickle
Apple Harvest, Wildlife & Raspberry Pi
A mix of news in this post, some interesting and some not so interesting. Starting with the interesting. We’ve had (what seems like) an increase in the number of Red Admiral butterflies this year and, looking around the web, it seems this is a by-product of global warming (see its not all bad). Red Admiral…… Continue reading Apple Harvest, Wildlife & Raspberry Pi
2023: A Slower year for tomatoes
Every year, I try to keep a record of how my tomatoes (and other vegetable & fruit) are harvesting. Its interesting how each year is different. 2023 has been slow for tomatoes and, as I’ve said elsewhere, the tomatoes are ripening unevenly with greenback on many cultivars. So far (24th August) we’ve had around 12kg…… Continue reading 2023: A Slower year for tomatoes
How Much is Growing Your Own Worth?
We grow our own. Not on a large scale and certainly not enough to be self sufficient. Its essentially something to keep me occupied and for fun. However, I’ve always kept a record of what we harvest and tried to assign a value to that. My better half (frequently) gets cross because when there’s a…… Continue reading How Much is Growing Your Own Worth?
Tomato Seed Collection (2023)
Every year I collect tomato seeds for a number of reasons. Its simple to do and means that you only have to buy tomato seeds if you want to (my main reason to buy seeds is to increase the number of varieties I’ve grown in my effort to find the “best” range of tomatoes. Summer…… Continue reading Tomato Seed Collection (2023)
2023 – First Tomatoes
We were so excited when we finally harvested our very first batch of tomatoes this week. It was such a rewarding moment. There weren’t that many, just a handful, but it still felt like a significant accomplishment. Surprisingly, they ripened a bit earlier than we anticipated. It’s interesting how nature sometimes works in mysterious ways,…… Continue reading 2023 – First Tomatoes
Apple Blossom Time 2023
This time of year I’m always pleased to see that the trees look like they’ll produce a reasonable harvest (the optimist in me, the weather always makes a difference). Anyway, the eater is showing a good helping of blossom. The cooker is always a couple of weeks later so that is yet to come. Surprisingly,…… Continue reading Apple Blossom Time 2023
The Birds think spring is on the way
Despite the cold weather (heavy frosts for the last few days) the birds seem to think that spring isn’t that far away. The days are starting to get longer and the birds are starting to look for nesting sites with the blue tits and great tits taking a look inside the nestboxes. In the last…… Continue reading The Birds think spring is on the way