Boxing Day - What are you doing?

Well Christmas has been and gone, now there's just all the wrapping to clear away, and all the spare food to eat. I had a brilliant day yesterday though, everyone had stuff to do, modelling, sorting, playing yugio cards, watching DVDs, while I'm not sure what I did.
My planning for Christmas Dinner was masterclass though. With the frequency of my Lyrica moments increasing ( I told them I just needed to add Yorkshire pudding mix on top of the trifle, instead of the anticipated angel delight and cream!), I wrote a detailed time plan, like I used to have to do at school. I said we would be sitting down to diner at 3pm, and it was on the table with 2 minutes to spare.
It was a shame the sprouts had not grown bigger, even with 5 minutes in the steamer they were a little overdone, and the parsnips came to nought. Still I could have served up frozen green beans, and done some roast pumpkin, if there would have been any space on the plate. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll be picking sprouts and the kale will have put a bit of a spurt on too. I did harvest 3 celeriac for me, no one else likes them.
Today the sun is shining and the sun is out, but I'm a bit stuck in as Matt is sleeping downstairs, and I can't get out of the back door. If I can step over him quietly and retrieve a pair of shoes, I could perhaps go out of the front door and round. Today I intend planting chillies and maybe some early tomaotoes, even though I said I wouldn't. I'm also intend to clear out the greenhouse now the snow put paid to to tomatoes, and investigate the damage in the garden.

Typical, now people are awake, it's pouring hard. I started cutting back the dead tomatoes in the greenhouse, and it looks like the amarylis bulb that I'd had on it's side to dry out, is fine. The lowest reading on the thermometer was 2C. Problem is, I need to keep putting the stuff in the compost heap, and it's not pleasant. Thinking of amarylis, I've got my freebie one to pot up too, courtesy of T&M, but disappointingly my cut price carnations from them have developed a bad case of mouldy water. The flowers look fine, so I need to see what I can salvage.

I had kept some new compost indoors so it wasn't icy cold, so I filled 12 washed 3 inch pots, watered them with warm water, and put them in the electric propagator. I have sown 2 seeds each of Chocolate Habenero, Red Scotch Bonnet, Hot Lemon, Naga Morich and Dorset Naga. The first 4 are from my own saved seeds, hand pollinated from plants grown inside. The latter two, which I have to admit I thought were the same until a bit of research revealed the Dorset Naga was bred from the Naga Morich, are from a member of the Grapevine forum. I have a number of other varieties, but I will see how these go.

Christmas Fete

I haven't posted anything for ages, which is really bad of me, but just wanted to say we had a really succesful day today at the Christmas Fete organised by Amanda. The Garden Club made over £50 from homemade chutney, gingerbread tree decorations, grow you own kits and other donated items. The hyacinths planted back in October went really well, all sold! I hope the buyers enjoy their flowers when they come.
It is getting colder now, but the weather has been very mild up until now, so I have still been picking tomatoes from plants that are almost a year old, planted 27th December! I am planning on planting my chillies soon. I have been given some Naga Morich, supposedly the hottest chillies found, so I'll be letting you all know next year, if I survive!
The allotment garden is doing well, although the weeds are growing too. I have broad beans, kale, spring cabbage, garlic, Japanese onions, celeriac and Brussel sprouts there at the moment. I have also got a compost bins set up, and I hope Chris and Florence are making use of it for their vegetable waste. The Christmmas break is coming up, so I hope to get the chance to 'prune' the mahonia, down to half size, which will give me more growing room.
We have had loads of rain which has meant getting the garden tidied at home has been a bit delayed, but I did have a look to see how the parsnips had grown. Very disappointing, we won't have any for Christmas this year. Sowing in the loo rolls doesn't seem to have worked too well compared to the direct sowing last year. I have eaten a couple of the celeriac, not as big as in the shops, but very tasty. The beetroot are doing well too, I freeze the leaves to go in curries if I'm not planning one soon after harvesting the beets.

The end or the beginning?

Having had a little bit of time to myself, literaly no one wanted to be near me in case I had swine flu, I pondered a very deep question. Were we coming to the end of the growing season, or was it really the beginning? I came to the conclusion there is no end, everything just goes round in one circle. Amazing eh?
Anyway, the reason I was thinking about this was on 18th Oct I spent a whole morning at the allotment garden, where I planted my overwintering onions, garlic, some savoy cabbage plants and some cavalo nero kale plants. I also cleared away the last of the beans and pulled up the sticks. The plants are a bit small, but in the week they have been out they have really put on a spurt. It is so wet and mild the weed seeds are growing great guns.
I was feeling very wobbly, so I didn't do much when I went up there this week so far. I did plant 24 aqua dulce claudia broad beans to overwinter, and that was enough for me! I think the garden is much more sheltered than here in Iwade, so I reckon they have a good chance of doing well.
While it is still mild I am going to move my rhubarb, and have a go at relocating some of the rogue raspberry canes. The rhubarb hasn't done well where it is, so I'll split it, one bit for the allotment, and another bit for the driveway garden.
Last night I sorted out my seed box, I think I've enough to plant the whole of Iwade! I do seem to have lost some seeds though, so I'll have to have a search and replace them if they can't be found as they are some of my favourites. of course, maybe I passed them on to someone else. I am doing some swaps for some sugar pie pumpkins and some martock broad beans, a good way of obtaining seeds of thinks you wouldn't have thought of giving a go.

Rain at last

Why is rain like buses, you wait ages then get loads? I suppose it hasn't been quite like than, but life gets in the way of the gardening, so on Thursday I couldn't get to the allotment garden because I had to cover an after school session for a sick collegue, then yesterday, what was supposed to be a quick trip out turned into an all day jaunt. Today, all set to get started, and it's raining again!

I've got the small compost bin delivered to the allotment garden, now I want to clear the ground and get it ready for next year. I've decided, after a season's growing, that the original bit earmarked for the compost bin is too valuable, as it gets a lot of sun. There is a space between the massive mahonia and another shrub, that is in shade almost all the time. Not much good for growing, and not a place you would put a compost bin in a normal garden, but as I'm going for utility not aesthetically pleasing design, that won't matter.

The beans are almost finished, so I'll get these up, although the roots are left in the ground to rot and provide nitrogen for the plants next year. Bean and peas are both good at fixing nitrogen in the soil. I think the cabbage stalks can stay a bit, I've no immediate need for the ground, and the small cabbages and leaves they are still producing are useful. I want to get the onion sets in now, I'm going to put them where I had the pumpkins, it is a nice sunny spot, and they should be virtually over before I want to put chillies and peppers there next year. My own garden is too shady for these outdoors.

Hopefully over the winter months I'll be able to get more of the well rotted manure from my brother, though it doesn't help he's put a load of hay bales on top of it at the moment. (It is in a rather derilect shed, but still pretty waterproof)

In my own garden I want to dig up my flower bed in the back, add a lot of my homemade compost, and plant in the daffodil bulbs I saved from my pots, and the allotment garden. The wisteria I planted when we first moved in never did take properly, it was an expensive plant, so very dissapointing, but I'm going to remove the unsightly stump, to make way for something else. The beans will come up, and i think I'll move growing these to the allotment garden too. I didn't get as many off them as at the allotment, so it makes sense to give the space to something else. The rhubarb is going to get lifted and moved too. There isn't enough space where it is, and it is too shady. The stalks were very drawn, which I know happens artificially if you blanch it, but it isn't good for the plant under normal conditions.

The celeriac is going great guns at the allotment garden and in the recycling bin pot at home, but those in the veg patch are very small. I would put it down to watering, but as Chris turned the water off at the allotment garden just when I needed it, they didn't get as much as I would have given them. I keep removing a few leaves as they split in two around the root, as you are advised to do. I think it is too make sure the root can swell evenly and is not constricted by the leaf stalks.

Well it's 8am, I've finished my tea, so I'll go see what its doing outside. I'll report back later to say if I managed to get any of the stuff done that I wanted to.

The spinach, matzuma and pak choi seedlings are up, and I plan to leave them uncovered until next month if the weather holds a bit. then I'll put the plastic cover on. The home saved white beetroot seeds that I tested for germination have all come up, so I'll be putting in some of those for greens. I wonder if I put the plastic cold frame over them it will keep them warm enough to keep growing? I'll consider where to put these, probably at the allotment garden, although I will soon only be able to get there at weekends, it will be too dark after work.

Now 10.45. I've popped to the allotment garden, picked some beans and 4 small cabbage for dinner. I'm still picking caterpillars off the sprouts, but 2 plants seem to be growing small buttons, so hopefully we'll get some sprouts this year. I sited the compost bin, and decided the mahonia, which is about 12ft tall if not more, is a health and safety risk. One of the lower branches will need to be pruned, I almost caught my eye on it, thank goodness I wear glasses. I didn't stay long, because I had some help to move the finished compost bin in the garden. 3 barrow loads have been piled onto the driveway garden, and I've a lot to move into the flower patch, in order to put the bin back in place. I've a whole bag of blackberry prunings from last week and shredded paper to put in, as well as some fermented bokashi. It should get everything going in there. Just having a cuppa, than back to it.

7.30 in the evening. I managed to move all the compost from the bin, and set it up again, but the ground for my flower border was so hard the clods of clay were coming up in bits bigger than a grapefuit, and I couldn't break them up. I couldn't plant my bulbs, I think I need more rain! It has only penetrated the top couple of inches.

I had to tidy up then, and go to see my Mum, but Vicky came too, and we stopped off at a good place for chestnuts. In about 15 minutes we'd picked up half a carrier bag full, and they aren't all down yet, so hopefully we'll get back next week. For immediate eating we remove the tough outer skin, then put them on a skewer and roast over the gas burner for a few seconds. The thin, bitter inner skin chars and dries, so it is easy to remove.

I also tried steaming some with the potatoes for dinner. I left them to cool, then cut in half, scooped out the inside and pushed it through the sieve to remove any stray bits of skin. This seems to have worked, I have crumbly cooked chestnut, which can go in other dishes to make a vegetarian meal. I now have to find some tasty recipies, and steam a load more chestnuts!

Pumpkins and Stuff

I can't believe it's so long since I posted, but things have been very hectic in life, and it's impossible to keep up sometimes. Going back to school after the summer always seems harsh, so little time left over for gardening, and marking is always lurking in the background.

Anyway, back to gardening. On Thursday, Oct 1st, I decided to harvest George, Fred and Sam. Wow, best pumpkins I've ever grown (but this is only my second time :)). George weighed in at 10.5kg, with the twins at 5.5kg and 6.5kg. I lost track of who was who out of them. They are currently decorating my kitchen windowsill, along with a marrow and eight butternut squash ranging between 400g and 1.5kg. I still have one at the allotment garden, as it was a late grower, and I'm giving it a bit more time to mature. The problem is, they look so good there, and I get a thrill everytime I see them, so it will be a wrench to eat them. I'm not going to carve one for Halloween I think, it seems such a waste.

We still haven't had any rain, although the days are often cloudy and gloomy. It is forecast for today, which is typical as it's Saturday. Last week I started sorting out my Patio Gro tubs. A lot had old ompost in, which had dried out completely. I wet it down, enriched it with dried poultry manure, and sowed some spinach, pak choi and mitzuma. I can put the cover on if the weather turns colder. I also got my hyacinth bulbs planted, and hopefully some of the others in the garden club will collect today. I did intend to deliver, but time ran away with me. I've just got them on the patio, covered with an old large plant pot to keep the light out. Hopefully this will be cold enough, I haven't anywhere else to put them.

Uni Time Again!

Today I'm feeling a bit low, and getting up enthusiasm seems to be hard. Matt went back up to Hull today, and I know I'll miss him like crazy, even though I did everything I could to help him get back up there. I've just read about the problems with the student loans coming through as well. With 2 of them off, it will be hard to keep them financed for too long, so hopefully they will not be affected. Dan will probably be OK as he is a returning student, but typically he's still got money, so it wouldn't affect him so much anyway. Matt, who is flat broke except for what we can manage, has been out of the system for a year, so I'm not sure whether he comes under the LEA or Student Finance England. He will hopefully be OK if its the former, not too optimistic if it's the latter.

After a couple of warmish days at the beginning of the week, there is a definite cooler breeze about this morning again. I could really do with some rain though. It seems to have been dry for so long, and the runner beans never did get off their starting blocks. The leaves are now turning a bit crispy, and what beans there are look stunted. The climbing french beans, cobra and fasold, have both done well, and there still seems to be flowers coming, so as long as the frosts hold off for a few more weeks I should get some more of those. Having just checked the first frost dates, it's estimated to be mid-November for Chatham, which is the closest to me I could find. It will be interesting to see just when it does come.

The tomatoes in the allotment garden succumbed to blight, so I've now got several kgs of green ones in the freezer awaiting the chutney process. Such a shame, these would have been Vicky's favourite yellow ones. I don't seem to have done too well with those this year in the greenhouse. The plants don't produce as many as the Tigerella ones.

I must get the Nemasys watered into my pots to kill any vine weevil larvae. I found they worked well last year, I had very little damage to the camellias this summer and I didn't lose any fuschias. Using the biological control is better for me than the chemical one, as I don't need to worry so much about where I plant my edible stuff. The chemical is not safe for use around food crops. The only problem is, the soil needs to be moist beforehand and up to 2 weeks afterwards. I haven't got much water in the butts at the moment, and this has been reserved for the most essential plants. Having just checked, the nematodes remain viable until the 29th, so I could do it next weekend!

Nights are drawing in

It was only the other day I was reading a post from a gardener in Scotland about the nights drawing in, and the weather turning chilly in the mornings. This morning the spider's webs were across the path, and a cold wind was blowing along Gillingham High Street, not to mention the fact that it's virtually dark at 8pm now. I noticed how quickly the courgettes have come to an end too. 2 weeks ago they all looked healthy and I was inundated with fruit, yesterday when I went to the allotment garden all the Cavili plants have succumbed to powdery mildew, although the green courgette (either Parthenon or Black Beauty, the label was lost) still looks quite healthy. Whether I will get more fruit I don't know, there are no more flowers. The marketmore cucumbers looked a bit the worse for wear too.

Vicky has named the pumpkins, George is the largest, with twins Fred and Sam almost half his size. The plants still look quite healthy, although of course, they will set no more fruit. The butternut squash plants have set several now, the largest is on the self sown one from the bokashi bin, closely followed by the unnamed seed from Wilkingsons. Both the Hunter plants look pretty sick, with no squash set so far, so I think it is a bit late for these now.

The cabbage white and hawkmoth caterpillars managed to see off the cauliflowers, we didn't get anything from these, but there are still a couple of cabbages in the fridge, which I cut before the caterpillars totally ruined them. I still keep picking them off the sprouts in the hopes I will actually manage to keep them at bay until the weather turns cold enough to stop them. Typically, now the summer holidays are virtually at an end, there is so much to do in the garden. I need to clear out the finished plants and get a compost bin set up in the allotment garden. I bought some Japanese overwintering onions today, £2 for 50 from Wilkingsons, although it is a bit early to plant them yet. I also got some Cobra climbing french beans as these have done phenominally well this year, as well as some kohl rabi and some courgettes which are supposed to show some resistance to powdery mildew, all at 75% off. I saved over £5 on seeds I would have been buying next year anyway, and no postage or packing. I was in town anyway.

I have enough jam made now to keep us going for a couple of years I think, (golden plum, scotch bonnet and plum, chocolate habanero and plum, blackberry, blackcurrant, marrow and apricot, raspberry and a blackberry and blackcurrant mixture) as well as 2 plum based chutneys and a cucumber relish. I think I spoiled the second chutney though by adding some blackberries to it, an idea I'd seen in another recipe. Unfortunately the seeds have cooked very hard, which has made it a bit unpleasant to eat, although the flavour's rather nice. I do still need to make an apple and tomato based chilli jam though, as Daniel is not so keen on the hot plum.