Growing
Comedy Carrot
Wednesday 24 September, 2008
After an absence of probably several weeks, if not months, here I am back to lend some class and gravitas to the website. In the shape of a comedy vegetable.
I know it's puerile, but it made me laugh.
To quote from Blackadder:
Percy: ...we came across a turnip that was exactly the same shape...as a thingy!
Edmund: ...a "thingy."
Tomatoes
Sunday 13 July, 2008
We had our first tomatoes yesterday - a few little "Sungold". Delicious!
Raspberries
Wednesday 9 July, 2008
I've said here before that if I could only grow one fruit, it would be raspberries - and now it's raspberry picking time, I haven't changed my mind.
I was on picking duty yesterday evening - it's really Dan's job but he was away on business- the sun was shining, the raspberries were plump and tasty, the ones damaged by birds were being shared with the hens, who were chooking about my feet, and all was right with the world.
Once I'd finished, I made a few pounds of raspberry jam. Now, my record with raspberry jam is not one to be proud of. Last year, I think I over boiled it (because I was too impatient to let it cool enough to check the set properly) so the jam is like toffee - tasty, but a real jaw breaker. This time, I stuck to the recipe and waited for a bit longer to check the set and it was OK first time. The result - jam-textured jam!! It will still give you dental caries, but it will leave existing filling in your mouth!
Clackmannanshire Horticultural Society Show 2008
Sunday 22 June, 2008
The above show will take place on Saturday 13th September 2008 in Devonvale Hall, Tillicoultry. It is open to the public from 1pm until 4.30pm. The hall is opposite Sterling Mills and next to Sterling Furniture Warehouse - so if you fancy some retail therapy, you can combine it with a visit to the show.
There are classes for vegetables, flowers and plants, craft, baking and preserves, floral art and photography. There are special classes for children and teenagers and I'm hoping that some of our schools might take part, since some now have vegetable gardens.
Read more on Clackmannanshire Horticultural Society Show 2008
Weeding for Britain
Saturday 14 June, 2008
It's been very warm and sunny here, with short spells of rain - ideal growing conditions, yes. But weeds like it too! Today, we peeled back the net from the brassica bed and spent a merry half hour weeding. Actually, it was quite satisfying, so we did the carrots and the parsnips as well. Then we sowed some runner beans, since the first lot seem to have failed, then some dwarf French Beans as well, since there was a space and we don't have many beans in this year.
Our little patio
Monday 19 May, 2008
We have a little patio area under the kitchen window; it faces south east. As well as a slabbed area, there's a bed about this by that. Last year, I had my "Three Sisters" bed there; this year, we've planted potatoes, with lettuce in between the ridges, eight tomato plants and a courgette. Plus a clump of catmint for Cassius.
What's happening in the vegetable garden?
Sunday 20 April, 2008
Well, quite a lot, really. The weather has been really dry - cold and sunny and very windy.
We've got all our potatoes in - Red Duke of York and Desiree, and Mayan Gold, because I'm a sucker for marketing. We've a few seed potatoes left, but we might find a home for them yet.
Garlic, shallots (Longor and Mikor) and onions (Hercules) are all in, along with a couple of rows of spring onions (White Lisbon) that Dan found lurking in the shed. Leeks (Bandit and Hannibal) are outside in a tray and will be planted out when they are pencil sized. It's a rotten tray (an old cat litter tray) that they are in with no drainage (but it's nice and deep) so we have to keep an eye out for both drought and waterlogging, which is what happened last year and we had no leeks at all.
March at TAS video
Saturday 22 March, 2008
Messing around with my camera today I did a quick tour of what we're growing at the moment. It was very windy, so sorry for the rubbish sound at the start!
More of these to come, we'll work on the quality...
March at TAS from The Accidental Smallholder on Vimeo.
Another March, another season starts
Sunday 9 March, 2008
It must be a sign of old age. March seems to have come around quicker than ever, and the garden's already coming to life and reminding us that there's lots to be done. We got into the garden for a couple of hours this morning, before the torrential rain came on on, and it was lovely to be out and doing productive stuff again. Although we have pottered over the winter, it's never the same as doing something that has an end product.
I got our tomatoes sown today - Sungold, Gardener's Delight, Sungella and Tamina - and our leeks - Hannibal and Bandit. I added a few articles about growing tomatoes to the site, and plan to do the same with a few of the more popular veg we grow. As the season progresses we'll aim to add more.
Seed sowing
Saturday 5 January, 2008
The weather has been rather horrible here for the last few days (weeks?). I don't mind the cold, but cold, horizontal rain is just too much. However, this afternoon, I was having a wee doze in front of the fire and feeling fed-up when - the sun came out. It was a pretty watery affair but there was definitely some blue sky.
So on went the wellies and off I went to get Smokey. His field is a mudbath so I like to give him a treat by letting him on to our field for a wee while - so he can move about without the perpetual sound of squishing. Anyway, this made him all frisky - that and having his rug off - and he has a good blast around, bucking and carrying on. It's not hard to see how horses mess up the grass real quick - there are holes the sheep could fall down!
