June In My Polytunnel

At last some pictures of how my polytunnel growing is coming along...

I'm very pleased with how the polytunnel is working out.  Nothing gets ruined by the weather, the fox can't get in because we've set up a fence for the doorway when the door is open, and I can control any insect pests much better.  The only disappointment I've had is some dwarf green beans that I sowed.  I sowed the fifteen beans that were in the packet and only four have come up.  Not sure why this has happened, they were some Kew Royal Botanic Gardens Urban Garden Collection beans so I expected them to do really well.  Today I went to the garden centre, actually I went to three before I found some, the other two had sold out, and I bought some climbing French beans.  Also bought fennel and a couple of garlic plants.  The tunnel is full now so all I have to do is wait for harvesting before I can decide what I want to put in next for overwintering.  I do recommend a polytunnel for the fair weather gardener, it is so nice to be able to do a bit of gardening when it's cold and rainy!!!



Polytunnel Progress

Graham hung around the house all day on Tuesday, waiting for the polytunnel to arrive.  It did eventually get here, at about 7.30 in the evening.  He spent Wednesday making one of the doors and is up there again today making the second door.

This is the area that is cleared ready for the tunnel....



Here are some of the components...

Here is Graham with the first door he made....

He is very enthusiastic about this polytunnel and is looking forward to gardening in it.

We saw the fox up there this morning, it was sun bathing on the soil but ran off before I could take it's picture.

Being Patient

I'm trying to be patient but it's difficult.  My polytunnel hasn't arrived yet, the company I'm buying it from said 7-10 working days before dispatch.  Well, ten days have gone by and still no word.  If I've not heard anything by Tuesday I'll have to get in touch with them.

I went up to the veg plot to take a picture of the area that is cleared ready for the tunnel but when I got up there I forgot - don't you just hate it when that happens!  I did take a picture of my rhubarb....

What on earth would eat rhubarb leaves?  Tomorrow I'll go up there and check for snails, it could be them and I wonder if eating these leaves kills them?

It's been so dry lately and I had to water my strawberries.  I transplanted them a couple of weeks ago and they are doing well, one already has a fruit forming...

I got lots of runners off the few plants I put in last year.  When I get my tunnel I'll buy some more plants for in there - when I get my tunnel!!!

The miniature cooking apple has blossom coming on it...

I always get a few apples off this tree but I did prune the top off it at the end of last year because it had bowed over and I couldn't get it to straighten up.

The miniature damson tree had loads of blossom on it this year, since I transplanted it out of its pot it has done really well.  Last year I got some fruit off it for the first time and I've had it for at least fifteen years!

A Matter of Taste

I have wondered recently if my sense of taste was disappearing, particularly when I eat vegetables.  On Sunday I managed to collect enough veg from my plot to give us a small portion each.  That's when I realised that it's not my sense of taste, it's the commercially grown vegetables that I eat most of the year.  Carrots usually taste of nothing but I eat them anyway - but - when I tasted my home grown ones the memory of what carrots should taste like came flooding back.  They were delicious, full of flavour.

It's years since I tried to grow carrots, I never had any success with them.  This year, because I now have my raised beds, I decided to try them again.  These carrots are the best I've ever grown, wish I'd sown a few more now.  The mange tout are tender and tasty, the courgettes taste like courgettes and the broccoli has flavour.  Even though I only grow enough veg to use during the summer months it is worth it.  Worth it for the taste and worth it for the enjoyment I get tending my veg plot.

This is a coconut cake that I made today.  So what, you might say.  Well, what makes it unusual for me is that as well as using desiccated coconut it contains coconut cream.  I have only ever used coconut cream in curries before now but the recipe for this cake included coconut cream in the cake and in the icing.  I'm not sure if it makes much difference to the taste but the texture of this cake is very nice.  My recipe book tends to overdo it on the icing so in future I think I'll only make half the quantity, I told myself this before but I must stick to my decision next time.

June Flowers

After a very wet week we had some beautiful weather yesterday.  I was able to get out into the garden and do a bit of work.  These pictures were taken in the part of our garden nearest to the house, it's all looking very colourful.

This rose is growing in some very poor soil at the side of our garage.  I'd forgotten that it is a miniature climbing rose, it's never done very well but this year it has really put on some growth, I think it liked the cold winter we had.  Next to it is a honeysuckle and that is looking very healthy too.  I've almost removed this honeysuckle several times because it always looked very scrawny, the cold winter suited it too.

It's Getting Warmer

This morning I went up to my veg plot to check on everything and decided that I'll have to do some serious watering up there.  The wind has swung round to the west and it feels quite warm and even a bit humid today.

This bed has cabbage and cauliflower in the centre and broad beans around the edge.  These brassicas are doing well.  In the past I've blamed slugs and snails on my poor results but have come to the conclusion that it is the wood pigeons that were doing the damage.  I keep the centre area of this bed covered with mesh and so far there is no damage.  The broad beans will need staking soon, they are starting to lean, they do have lots of flowers on them so I'm looking forward to a good few portions off my few plants.

The courgette is still in the greenhouse, I was worried about it getting nipped my frost but I think that it will be going out very soon.  It has already got a couple of courgettes forming.

This little trough contains my succulents, I thought that the cold winter had killed them all off but suddenly this plant started to flower, what a sight for sore eyes it is!

On a completely different note - I have a personal quest (or hobby) to find the answer to 'Life, The Universe And Everything' (that's meant to be a bit of a humorous way of putting it).  I've read a lot of books, asked many questions and thought a lot.  Someone once told me that I think too much, I probably do.  One author who talks a lot of sense and puts into words a lot of things that go around in my head is Dorothy Rowe.  I've read most of her books and I've met her.  When I found out that she had a blog I felt very pleased, I'd be able to keep up with what she is doing.

  Well, remember how I mentioned that the election was getting on my nerves (because all politicians are c**p).  When I visited her blog today she had written an excellent article about politicians, she put into words all that I'd tried to articulate myself and Dorothy being so well read could explain things clearly.  I'm looking forward to her new book 'Why We Lie'.

Lettuce Leaves & Bean Sprouts

I'm really pleased with the mixed lettuce seedling pot I bought at the garden centre.  It cost £1.25 and I've already had my money's worth from it.  Some is in the portable grow bag outside my backdoor and some is in the ground in my veg plot.  It's growing amazingly fast even though the weather is still cold and wet.

It's a lovely feeling that I'm already getting produce from my garden.

Another thing I'm doing that I haven't done since the 1970s is sprout some beans in a jar

A couple more days and these will be ready to use.  Doing this was very popular in the 1970s but I got out of the habit of doing it myself.  I've used Mung beans here, it amazes me that the dried beans from the supermarket are still viable.  I think it was Peggy or it might have been Nic who said one of their fellow allotment holders recommended using dried peas instead of the relatively expensive packets from the garden centre (not for sprouting, for growing).  I'm also growing Mooli radish that will be good for stir frying too but they won't be ready for a while yet.

I have been doing some sewing.  The pincushion swap with Tiny Treasures Exchange Too blog is ready to go, I just need to buy a postcard to send with it, I always forget this bit.  And I'm part way through making yet another project bag and accessories, it's always good to have a few of these made, I just never know when I'll need one!!!  Wish I'd kept count of how many I've made altogether.  The doll house miniature hutch/dresser challenge I'm supposed to be in isn't coming on so well, I can see me dropping out of this, I just can't get going with it.  Never mind, it's not often I drop out of anything.  I've got another challenge coming up soon with the Yahoo handstitching group I'm in, it's to make a decorated sewing box.

I'm feeling a bit fed up with the weather, the continual news about the election and the fact that my dog isn't very well.  He fell down stairs a couple of weeks ago and broke two of his claws off, it was really bad and since then he's just not been right, now he has a chest infection, poor old man, he's 14 and starting to feel his age.  By this time of year I've usually been to our caravan in Norfolk but with one thing and another we still haven't been.

More Veg Gardening

Today I got my tomatoes and cucumbers put into their permanent pots.  I think it will be warm enough now for them to be in my unheated greenhouse.

These four pots will stay in the greenhouse (terrible picture and the plants are healthier than they look here, there is no damage to any leaves, think it is my photography).  There are three Roma tomatoes and one cucumber.  I've set them up with string under the pots that stretches up to a cross-piece, this way I can twist the plants around the string as they grow, my favourite way of training tomatoes.  I've never grown cucumbers in the greenhouse before so that will be interesting to watch.

These cherry tomatoes are in the window boxes.  I'm a bit worried that one window sill won't be sunny enough so I might have to change my mind about where to put it.  I think I'll probably put a fuchsia in the middle of each of these boxes.

I've got my lettuce in this grow bag so that I can have it near my back door, that way I can easily crop it when I need it.  The bag is quite deep and the only fault with it is that it could do with being a bit more rigid at the sides, it tends to bulge out a bit where the compost slips down and doesn't look as tidy as I would like.

I've sown some radish seeds up in the veg plot between the slower growing crops and I've sown some basil seeds in a half seed tray in the house.  If it's a really hot summer I will have the basil outside the back door because I love the perfume it gives off in the heat but if it's a cool summer I'll have it in the greenhouse.

Talking of the greenhouse - it tends to end up like a shed, with lots of things stored in it so that will need sorting out in case I decide on more greenhouse veg.

The lovely weather makes a huge difference to how I live my life, being able to have the back door open without freezing to death is a real pleasure.

Up At The Veg Plot

What a gorgeous day it's been, sunny, warm and still.  The temperature is 14C (57F) but it always feels a degree or two warmer up at my veg plot.  We live on top of a hill so it does tend to be quite breezy except for in the veg plot, it's surrounded by trees and hedges so it's nice and protected.

I used to have this damson tree in a big tub, it's one of those especially bred for small gardens.  A couple of years ago I decided it needed to go into the ground because it didn't look very healthy and always ended up with some sort of pest that made the leaves sticky.  Also, it never fruited.  This year it is smothered in blossom, I've never seen it like this before.  When I was a girl I lived in Shropshire and there seemed to be damson trees growing everywhere so I think wanting a damson of my own was a bit of nostalgia.

Sorry about the terrible picture but I'm no photographer.

Behind the damson is a Ribes, this is looking very healthy as well this year, loads of blossom on it.

The camellia is almost over now but that has flowered well too.

It does make me wonder if the harsh winter we had is prefered by a lot of our plants and trees.

Onion and beetroot bed

This is what Graham came up with to prevent the fox getting into my raised beds.  Even though I had covered the beds with the white mesh they were still getting into them at the ends.  I like having foxes in the garden so would rather go to the trouble of protecting my things from them than getting rid of them - they have as much right to live here as I do.

Volcanoes and Other Stuff

The fragility of modern life has once again been exposed.  The Icelandic volcano has disrupted all air traffic in our country.  It is also a bit of a coincidence that the prevailing wind has been from the north/north east.  Even in the depths of winter we mostly get a westerly wind (in my opinion).  So, the ash from the volcano has been swept our way.  We keep being told by politicians that globalisation is here and that we all depend on each other.  That is until something like this happens.  Apart from people not being able to travel we will soon be experiencing 'shortages'.  A lot of our food comes in by air and we have come to accept this and expect it.  Many of us worry about this and we have been proved right.  The agriculture in this country has been dwindling since the end of WWII, farmers have even been paid to not grow anything, to diversify and, I imagine, to lose the skills of previous generations.  It's been wonderful to have all the cheap and, sometimes exotic, fruit and vegetables that we never used to be able to buy.  It only takes a disaster like we are experiencing, to bring it home to us how unrealistic this is.

The Internet is another example.  I often imagine what could happen if we lost it for some reason, for some natural disaster that we can't even imagine yet.  A lot of friendships have been forged globally.  Yes, we could still keep in touch by 'snail mail' but that would also depend, largely,on air travel.  How much mail is stacking up while our aircraft are grounded?

Not only would these two scenarios affect our country, they would affect the 'global' economy.  No more imports/exports to and from far flung places, no more easy travel to tourist areas, no more quick travel on business and, in the case of the Internet, no more global shopping.

I do worry about all this and what better way to take my mind off these worries than a bit of gardening, baking and crafting :)

At the moment I'm enjoying my dolls house miniature hobby.

A good friend I have made (because of the Internet!) sent me a little tea set that I have glued into this corner cupboard/hutch.  Rather than have these tiny things put away and waiting for the ideal opportunity to do something with them (which never seems to come) I'm using them and enjoying the results.

I went to this website and admired all the fab things this person has made.  She also gives instructions on how to make stuff and I couldn't resist having a go at her cakes

It really was fun making this chocolate and cherry cake!

Garden Report  The foxes are still having fun leaping around all over my raised beds.  Today I'm spending time up there coming up with ideas for stopping them getting under the netting I've got covering the beds.  So far I've planted cauliflower, cabbage, beetroot, onions, broad beans, peas and potatoes.  We could do with some rain, the soil seems very dry and I might have to water today.  The weather is a bit warmer today and it's nice and sunny.  The wind is from the west.

A Beautiful Day

It's been an absolutely gorgeous day.  The temperature at 7.30 this morning was 46F (7C) and now, at 5.30 in the afternoon, it's a warm, sunny, 60F (16C).  Yesterday I went to Timmermans Garden Centre and bought some veg plants to supplement the ones I'm growing from seed.  I decided on cherry tomatoes as I've got three Roma plants from seed that are coming on well.

I chose Totem and Tumbling Tom Red.  There was a Black Cherry tomato that I was tempted to get but managed to resist.  These plants will go into the window boxes I have just outside my kitchen.  They are as much for fun as for harvesting.

The fox had been having a good time in my veg plot.  The garden fleece that I'd used to cover the onions and potatoes that I'd planted was ripped to shreds.  Last year he didn't seem to bother with anything covered in fleece so I'm wondering if it is the same fox or one of the offspring.  Because of this problem I came up with an alternative that will, hopefully, keep off the fox and keep out any insects when I start planting up my other veg.

It's a fine mesh that is a lot more sturdy than the fleece and designed for keeping out insects.  I'll have to come up with something better for the ends but as long as I can keep the fox off until things grow enough to deter him I think it will be ok.  The fox did sneak past on the other side of the hedge while I was working up there.

The daffodils are out everywhere now, I don't seem to have as many in the garden as I thought I had though.

Well, I finished my second week of jury duty and I'm glad it's over.  I didn't get to actually sit on a jury so I count the time I was there as a total waste.  The good thing was that I only had to attend for a day and a half altogether but, because it was during two weeks, I couldn't settle to much at all the rest of the time.

I was just about to ask if anyone knows why I haven't got a spell check on blogger, then I noticed that there is a spell check on the IE toolbar - for goodness sake, why didn't I look there before?

An Unproductive Week

This week has been wasted, hardly anything done at all because I've felt so tired and I don't know why.  I did get two more Ohio Star blocks made and some more cut out.

This is more the look I want and I'm pleased with how the colours go together.  I kept waiting for this tiredness to go off but it hasn't so far, I could have got more blocks sewn up if it had.

I did a bit of baking and made an apple and cinnamon cake, no picture because it's about all eaten.  In my quest for a cake suitable for a diabetic I tried a cookie recipe.  They don't look much like cookies to me, they tasted more like a scone and my friend tried one with low fat spread and said they were acceptable but I think she was just being kind!  They had no fat in them and the granulated sweetener.

There is a bit of cheerfulness in the garden

Miniature daffodils

Primulas that I took out of the vegetable plot and just roughly stuck in this tub, they are doing well

I love the colour of this pulmanaria.

No gardening got done again, it's been quite a wet week, we have had intermittent sunshine though.  My broadbean seedlings are now outside in the mini greenhouse and my tomato seedlings are doing well but are a bit stalky.

I hope I recover from this tiredness soon, next week is going to be a bit of a challenge.  I have to be out of the house by 8 am on Monday and I'll probably be away every day for the rest of the week.  I haven't had to do this for several years and I'm not looking forward to it!!!

Diabetic Cake

I have a friend who is diabetic and loves baking.  She will often bring cake to my house for Graham, who loves her sponge cakes with buttercream.  I always feel a bit sorry that she can't enjoy a piece of cake when she visits me so I thought I'd try to bake a sugar free cake, then I could offer her a piece with her cup of tea instead of the boring digestive biscuit she usually has.

This cake is orange flavoured, I used the boiled, pureed whole orange idea that I'd used for a non-diabetic cake I'd made recently.  Anyway, I just took the cake out of the oven and, so far, it looks good.  It rose beautifully but is rather pale (apart from one area, my oven is terrible for an uneven heat).  The paleness won't matter as I intend to cover the top with a low fat soft cheese, diabetic suitable, icing.  The sweetener I used was Canderel, I used this in particular because my brother was instrumental in developing this sweeter (the clever old thing!).  Later I will ice the cake and try it then tomorrow I'll report on the taste and texture.  If I think it is ok I'll put the recipe here in case anyone wants to try it.

Garden Report

I spent another morning in the garden.  The weather was so warm I actually took my jacket off today.  I now have five raised beds and it still leaves plenty of areas where I will be able to place tubs and pots.  I'm growing a few things from seed but next week I'll go to a local nursery where I buy my vegetable plants and see what they've got for sale.  It's still a bit early for a lot of things but last year I had success protecting the plants I put in early by using garden fleece around the bed.  Last year I only planted the big raised bed and one row of beans in another bed due to the situation with Graham's health.

Sewing Kit

Do you remember towards the end of last year I asked if anyone wanted to do a swap with me?  Well, one of the emails I had was from Marion saying she would like to have a swap.  As it was, by then, rather near to Christmas, we decided that we would wait until the new year before swapping.  This is what I received from Marion

A fabulous sewing kit

This is what it contained, how generous is that, I love the teacup pincushion.

The interior of the bag has compartments for everything.  I was so excited to receive this sewing kit - thank you Marion, I love it.

Garden Report

I spent another morning in the garden.  Another raised bed was refurbished and I pruned quite a bit off a contorted willow.  I didn't realise this tree would grow so big and now I want to poll the top of it or it will become a nuisance and start to block our driveway.  This has happened with several other so-called 'small trees' I've had, they get massive and take up loads more space than I expect.  My broad beans, that I sowed on the window sill, are sprouting well and should be ready to go outside soon during the daytime to harden off.  When they are off the window sill I'll be able to sow something else to give it a good start.

Sour Dough Mk II

The Mk II version of my sour dough bread looks much better than the Mk I.  I didn't add extra water than recommended to the dough and left it quite dry.  It rose beautifully overnight and I used a bread tin to bake it in.  I also baked it at a higher temperature and for ten minutes longer.  Plus, I put a bowl of water in the oven to provide a more moist environment.  It did split along one end but I think that was caused by the way I'd folded it.  Next week I'll try another technique for the proving that is used at River Cottage.

I spent another morning in my vegetable garden.  The weather was lovely, even better than yesterday as there was no wind.  A robin joined us for a few minutes, he found a few insects in the soil we'd turned over.  I put the manure and some pelleted chicken manure onto the new bed, cleared the big raised bed and marked out another bed ready for making tomorrow.  I've covered the new bed with the black plastic, for two reasons really, to suppress weeds and to also stop the foxes digging holes in it.  I did notice that a fox has started to dig a tunnel under our garage!

Preparing For Spring

The weather is getting much better and I was able to get up to my vegetable plot yesterday and DH helped me to dig out an old shrub and prepare the ground for another raised bed.  He didn't have enough timber in his garage so he went and bought some.  Today we finished making the new bed and also went garden shopping.

The boots I usually wear had to be thrown away a couple of years ago so today I bought myself some Wellingtons.  I wanted black ones but nowadays it seems you can only get green or startlingly, bright coloured ones, I went for green as you can see.

Instead of going to a nearby stables to buy manure I bought a bag from the garden centre, it's easier for us to do this even if it is a bit more expensive.

I tried to find a roll of black plastic to use as a covering for the raised beds but the only sort I could see was the type you use under gravel so I just went for a roll of black plastic waste bags.

While I was at it I bought a few seeds too, chantenay carrot, boltardy beetroot (my favourite to grow) and marketmore cucumber.  For growing in the greenhouse I decided on the tubs of bell pepper and chilli pepper (Poblana, a mild variety).

Because my vegetable plot is quite small I thought I'd try some vertical growing.  I've used this sort of hanging planter to grow flowers in before but never to grow vegetables, apart from the miniature tomatoes that I grow in hanging baskets.  The Flower Pouches includes everything you need, the planter, feed, moisture gel and a gadget for easy watering.  The Hanging Flower Pouch is just the planters so I bought a packet of Nutrigel to go in it.  Then I saw the Reusable Growbags - what a good idea, just like a little raised bed type of thing, this will be very useful.

Apart from the manure, I bought everything from Wilkinson's and I only spent £20, not a bad bit of shopping I think.

This year I'm not going to let the weather put me off being in the garden.  I know last year was a bit different what with Graham being ill.  I intend to spend as much time as I can out there, tending to my plot and to not get carried away with craft activities in the house.  Being outside after spending so much time indoors this winter will do me good, I'm sure I need the vitamin D.

Mother's Day

I've had a lovely card, a beautiful bunch of flowers and a box of Black Magic chocolates from my son.  And from my husband I want some help to get my veg plot organised.  Is that too much to ask???  I've been growing my own veg for about 25 years, it's something I enjoy very much but, because of my 'bad back', I have difficulty these days and need a bit of help.  My DH and I have different ideas about what a veg plot should look like.  To me it is a piece of ground where I grow veg.  To him it is an area that is totally organised and good looking.  To me it looks good if there are lots of veg growing, it doesn't matter if there are no straight lines, the veg still tastes like veg.  You get the idea I'm sure - we have a difference of opinion so nothing gets done.  I wait and wait for that bit of help.  Half an hour a day for a couple of weeks would be great, that's all I want for Mother's Day.

So, a bit of nagging was in order today.  I'm not usually a nag but I felt entitled to complain as it is 'my day' today.  He's just left the house to check if he's got the timber edging and the plant pots I want to use.  I know he's got them but he still has to check.  I'll go up there in about ten minutes to see if it's all out of his garage (which is full of really good stuff) and ready for me to use.  I'm not allowed in his garage, I might move something!!!

Wish me luck, I've got to get a move on with this or I'll be too late again this year to have a really good crop of the things I want to grow.

Winter Flowers

The back of my house faces north west, so after about the time the clocks go back it doesn't get any sunlight.  To give a bit of cheerfulness out there I like to have some winter flowering plants in the window boxes.  I have tried winter flowering pansies but never had any luck with them, after a while they just stop flowering.  Last year I thought I would try cyclamen and they did incredibly well and flowered from November until the summer.  I decided on the pink coloured ones to give brightness and these are what I've got again this year.  Outside the kitchen window is a bright pink.

Outside the dining room window is this very pale pink, almost white.  They both have the lovely darker edge to them.  They really are a sight for sore eyes.  There are three in each window box and have masses of flowers on them and loads of buds.  I've never had any luck keeping them from one year to the next so I buy new plants each year.  I'm not sure if they are an outdoor variety but, because I put them out before the cold weather really starts, they seem to cope well with all temperatures.

Winter Flowering Jasmine

This scrawny looking climber is in a pot and is growing up the fence outside my back door, what I like to call my back door patio area.  All summer it just looks like bare twigs with maybe a few small, pointed leaves on it.  Then suddenly it will start to flower.  One day there is nothing then I'll look outside and it has these beautiful, bright yellow, flowers on it.  It will keep flowering right up until the rest of the garden starts to wake up and it will go back to sleep again.

We thought we'd try begonias in the hanging baskets and window boxes this year.

Yes, the flowers were spectacular but the leaves soon ended up a tattered mess.  I think this was because of the torrential rain that we kept getting, it battered these poor plants and spoiled the look of the baskets.  Most years we have fuchsias in our baskets, tubs and troughs but we do like to have a bit of a change.  Each time we get to the end of a summer when we haven't used fuchsias we always say that next summer we'll go back to fuchsias.