June 2011 Blog Posts (63)

Just over a couple of weeks since it was completed, I'm getting produce from the tunnel. Maybe I should keep a count fo what I get from it?

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I should go away more often, it's the best harvest I've had off the plot for a while.

Poking around the beetroot bed yesterday evening, I judged a few of the roots big enough to gently tease out and cook ... 

http://urbanvegpatch.blogspot.com/2011/06/beetroot-babies.html

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Some gardeners talk about their gardens being a kind of organized chaos. Seemingly haphazard plantings give an impression of natural growth just springing up of its own accord but there is far more thought goes into these things than one might imagine.

http://therecycledgardener.blogspot.com/

Hi all, Can anyone help me?

I have been a keen gardener and veg plot holder for some 20 plus years and until this year have had extremely good results with sweetcorn. After planting three varieties in different types of compost in my greenhouse I gave up and purchased some from a garden center. Is there a full proof way anyone knows of?

Would love to hear as always learning the error of my ways!

Peter

Now I get why people plant great forests of peas! They dont go very far do they?

I needed 10 times as many.

Fresh in the pod they are like sucking on liquid fructose. They never get to the kitchen!

The same goes for the broad beans. The falafel bonanza I was…

 Front garden containers

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Yesterday my new secateurs arrived!  At last, a pair of Felco no 12s are mine, ha ha hah! These are the ones with the swivelling handle, made for small hands. I'm fighting the urge to go mad pruning and snipping in the garden.  So far, I've restricted myself to snipping off brown leaves from my houseplants ... that and picking them up for a quick squeeze every time I pass them.  Daft, I know, but having had perfectly good secateurs from Wilkinson Sword (or such like) up until now, these…

Cauliflowers have always been a problem veg for us....not this year!

There's a Cauliflower 'Ere

Any idea what's doing this to the Fuschia leaves - some sort of sawfly or caterpillar or waspy thingy?

I thought that if any of you had managed to salvage some redcurrants from the blackbirds this easy redcurrant jelly might be useful for you. Especially because you can make a small amount of it.

They are so pretty as they are but I am never sure what to do with them other than stick them on top of things:

Then I found this in my ‘Sensational Preserves’ Book. It's a ‘no cook’ recipe.…

After the gale force winds we had in May I was unsure about how much of a fruit crop I would be harvesting this year. The tree fruits suffered badly from wind burn of the leaves and there was a severe thinning of the little fruitlets. But all is not lost. You’ll see from the pics that I should be having a fruity summer and autumn!!

http://therecycledgardener.blogspot.com/

Well the gods certainly smiled on Pittenweem for Open Gardens.  I spent most of Saturday afternoon in my waterproofs on my hands and knees pulling weeds out of the gravel paths (the joys of organic gardening) and clearing up yet more fallen leaves in the pouring rain, all the while asking myself ‘why?’  But on Sunday we woke to blue skies and sunshine.  

Thanks for all your encouragement; I'm glad I decided to go ahead despite my previous misgivings.

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