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| This is what the kitchen garden looks like at the moment - full of flowers, but yes, there are vegetables in there somewhere! |
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| Charlotte potatoes |
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| Purple TeePee French Beans |
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| Hurst Greenshaft Peas |
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| Sungold Tomatoes |
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| various Lettuce |
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| Purple Sprouting Broccoli |
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| runner beans |
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| Courgettes |
It has been a busy week in the veg garden. Because it has been so cold outside most plants are still-in-waiting in the greenhouse but because they are putting on rapid growth I have had to do a lot of potting on.
The runner beans, for instance, are growing like crazy – so I have potted them on till it gets a little warmer – I have been caught out before with strong, cold winds that caused leaf burn – it just isn’t worth the risk and I would hate to lose them at this stage in the game.
The purple sprouting broccoli has been outside hardening off and have now been planted out into their final positions, sprinkled liberally with slug pellets and covered with netting.
Cucumbers have been planted out into large pots but they will be staying in the greenhouse and the courgettes will be staying where they are for a couple of weeks – I still have the ground to prepare for them adding manure to the planting holes to ensure a bountiful harvest – hopefully!
The peas are coming along nicely in the open ground and the ‘twiggy peasticks’ (old fuschia prunings) have been inserted for support.
The indoor toms are making good progress and I have planted out the Sungold outdoors with a polythene grow house over them for protection – the Gardeners Delight which are also going outdoors have been potted on until the risk of frost has passed.
Chard is growing in containers which have been covered with a frame and fleece till they got themselves established – seem to be doing ok and look pretty healthy.
This is the salad bar – these lettuce and salad leaf are growing in washing-up bowls which have been covered for protection at night, the first lot of Little Gem suffered with stem rot (over vigorous watering I think) so I bought some plug replacements to keep me going.
Growing rapidly in the containers, potato Charlotte – the bell jars have offered overnight protection – just one more covering with compost and we have reached the top. The potatoes in the ground have been given their first earthing up to keep them covered – I was caught out with a frost when they first appeared and one or two leaves were scorched but it doesn’t seem to have done them any harm.
So there you have it the Rosebank kitchen garden in full swing.
Yes, it’s that time of year again.
I don’t know about you but I always look forward to the first rhubarb of the season. Seeing the leaves grow bigger and bigger, pushing them aside to find the juiciest sticks and giving them a gentle tug is one of life’s simple pleasures.
I pulled a dozen sticks – which in supermarket terms is £4.50’s worth – surely it must be one of the most worthwhile crops to grow. It just keeps coming and coming – the more you pull the more you get. I know some of you have more than one type planted but I personally think one crown is enough.
I soon get fed up with the constant supply – even though I have tried many ways of eating it; rhubarb and strawberry compote; rhubarb pie; rhubarb gingerbread puddings; rhubarb and banana fool; rhubarb and ginger jam; rhubarb chutney there are plenty of different ways to use it up – you only have to take a look at Pinterest under the heading of Rhubarb to see just how many recipes there are.
I personally don’t bother forcing mine but I do try to pull the stalks before they get too big and stringy. I don’t bother freezing much either as it takes too much room up in the freezer but I do have a daily bowlful during the season – which for me is up until July – then I leave it alone, generally, to give the plant a chance to recover. I once read an article on some long-lived gentleman who said that his secret to a long life was rhubarb – so you never know – it may work for me too!
“The first ‘forced’ rhubarb, those gently tart stalks that appear in the market around Christmas time, came to prominence in the 1800’s, thanks to an ‘accident’ at Chelsea Physic Garden. The story goes that it was here in the winter of 1815, when the garden’s rhubarb patch was accidentally covered with builder’s rubble, that this particularly fine-tasting form was first discovered. The pale pink stalks that were unearthed by the gardeners in early spring were found to be extraordinarily mild and sweet, and a new kitchen ingredient was born.” ~ Nigel Slater
I’m just away now to make a rhubarb crumble for Sunday lunch – happy days!
Elaine
Well, it’s been almost six months since I posted – I guess you could say that I am a fair weather blogger as far as the kitchen garden is concerned. But I haven’t been idle – oh no – there has been lots going on in the background. Plans have been made and carried out, the raised beds have been cleared and are ready for planting and it’s all systems GO.
One bed has been planted with potatoes - Charlotte earlies and another sown with Hurst Greenshaft and Kelvedon Wonder peas. I decided to direct sow this year, trying to keep the work load down and simplify the gardening tasks. The third bed is reserved for two Courgette plants and the fourth for PSB. Anything else I want to grow will be in containers – Runner Beans, French Beans, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Lettuce, Leeks and Chard. Have you noticed that I have reduced the variety of veg that I shall be growing this year – I am only growing veg that is obviously better tasting than shop bought or more expensive to buy.
These are a few pictures of what is happening so far.
PSB, Greenhouse Toms, Sweet Peppers, Cucumbers, Courgettes, Leeks, Lettuce and French Beans.
Most of these will be potted on before they are planted out – waiting for the last frosts.
It’s good to be back in the swing of things again isn’t it and I hope we all have a successful veg growing season.
To see what is happening in the flower garden pop over to the latest post on Rosebank Ramblings
Parsley seeds – saved from my own plants – sown a couple of weeks ago – have sprung into life.
Elsewhere – everything vulnerable has been cloched as the weathermen predicted frost – it never happened.
The weather is still incredible for the time of year – encouraging growth. Even the stump of a tomato plant has started re-growing.
Thinking ahead to next year and an early crop – I sowed broad beans – which have now mostly germinated. I will soon plant out and cloche them to help protect against the worst of winter – who knows, they may even survive. Ever looking forward.
Last Sunday I dug my first Parsnip. It was pretty much perfect. I had high hopes for the rest of the row. This Sunday – my hopes were dashed. Parsnip after parsnip was stunted and multi-rooted. After several pullings I finally came upon normality.
Did you apply manure to the bed – I hear you ask – NO – is the answer. The soil was friable – no hard pan to make the roots divide – so what went wrong – and why?
I have no idea – have you?
Behold – my indoor Herbary. Basil, Parsley, Chives and Thyme. Brought indoors to thrive in the warmth over winter. A convenience – definitely – who wants to trudge to the top of the garden during a snowstorm – not me. And they look pretty good on the window sill too.
A Robin sat in the plum tree watching me work in the veg patch on Sunday – singing for all he was worth. I whistled back at him, trying to mimic his song – he laughed in the face of my pathetic attempt and flew off. Oh well you can’t win ‘em all.
I set myself the task of clearing the courgettes and planting out the cavolo nero kale. Let me tell you – those courgette plants are vicious brutes when you are working amongst the leaves and stems – my arms were cut to ribbons.
I left one plant in as it was on the edge of the bed and not in the way.
The bed cleared of weeds, refreshed with compost and kale planted, pelleted against slugs and snails and netted against pigeons and badgers.
Job done.
Beetroot seedlings have been planted in the spare troughs and broad beans sown in the greenhouse.
Now all I have to do is wait for everything to mature and enjoy the fruits of my labours. Maybe I’ll pull a couple of parsnips this weekend – see how they are faring.
Well, another month bites the dust – and what a month. Best September for a long time don’t you agree. I have been trying to get everything in order before the weather turns nasty – which it is bound to do – no matter how much we don’t want it too. But there is still a lot to do and only so many daylight hours to do it in – but I’ll get there somehow.
The cabbages that just survived the slug attacks
Trouble is, everything is still growing and producing, so there hasn’t been a chance to get the beds cleared and replanted – so I have been using the troughs as a sort of holding area. The courgettes are still going bananas, as are the summer squash, and even though I am sick of the sight of them I haven’t the heart to pull them out when they look so healthy – I’m just going to have to wait for the first frosts.
Summer squash propped up by a crate so I could get down the path
I have pulled up all the bean plants now, and kept the big bulgy beans for next years seed of both the runners and the French beans. The parsnip foliage has grown so lush that it is swamping everything else – so next year I am going to have a good think about where to put them – possibly in bottomless florists buckets as they worked well last year, and keep them in the now defunct flower border, even though it is possibly a bit too shady for them – we’ll see. It’s all a bit of a juggling act.
One psb plant dwarfing the short curly kale
More psb plants in the border that desperately needs the forget-me-nots weeded out
The psb plants weren’t touched by the cabbage whites this year for some reason so they are growing big and strong, the kale which was kept under cover looks pretty healthy too, a bit shorter than normal but that’s probably because I didn’t plant them till late. Just waiting for space to put the black kale in once the courgettes have finished.
Parsnips, leeks, chard, spinach and spindly cabbages
The leeks are looking a bit pathetic but they were transplanted late as well, there’s always time for them to catch up. And that’s about it – the winter onions are sprouting nicely, but the cabbages suffered from slugs, even though they were covered and pelleted, hopefully they’ll make a full recovery and begin to heart up a bit.
Cold frame with florists buckets of beetroot, carrot, chard and spinach
Troughs with winter onions, the last of the French beans and rainbow chard – the beans will be pulled and replaced with something else, not quite sure what yet.
I still have a few outdoor Sungold to pick but they are almost over – I never thought I would be saying that it has been a great year for tomatoes!
So, that’s my September roundup – not bad considering it hasn’t rained properly for weeks. How does your garden grow?
Processing garden produce into winter preserves is a time-consuming business. This week it has been the turn of windfall apples, the last of the cherry tomatoes, and an over-abundance of courgettes.
The last of the Cherry tomatoes turned into pasta sauce
Windfall apples turned into apple sauce
Rose hips ready to be turned into syrup
Patty pan squashes and courgettes cooked and pureed ready to be turned into soups.
That’s it now – no more – I am quite happy with what I have achieved this autumn in preparation for winter. And may I say that if I don’t see a courgette ever again it will be too soon.
