tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62884804527850547952024-03-06T03:15:42.747+00:00Suburban Veg Plotsuburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-27221331566186826012014-07-12T14:49:00.000+01:002014-07-12T14:49:24.275+01:00Raspberry pruning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Mid July is usually the time for pruning summer fruiting raspberries. The stems that grew last year have produced their fruit, the leaves are looking a little yellow and now is the time for a tidy up to prepare the plant for next years' fruiting.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Consigned to the compost</td></tr>
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Start by pruning to the ground all the canes that produced fruit this season. They're usually pretty easy to spot as they still bear the remains of the fruits and flowers and will be starting to turn dry and yellow. Once these are out of the way, things become a little clearer.<br />
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The plant will have already started to produce canes this year and these will be your fruit producers next summer. Retain the tallest and strongest looking ones. There will be shorter and thinner canes also, which you need to decide which to keep and which to prune out. Remove the really small ones and also anything that looks decidedly spindly. Weak looking canes will not produce fabulous berries. Focus too on allowing air to the lower stems and thin out canes where they're crowded.<br />
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Once that's done, give the plant a good water to rejuvenate it and keep to a regular (maybe weekly or fortnightly) feeding regime. The effort you put in now will pay off with next years' harvest.<br />
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-7246937510430011812014-06-12T22:21:00.001+01:002014-06-12T22:21:56.886+01:00Well hello Birmingham!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
With Saturday morning arrived the daunting job of loading up an enormous van with all of the plants (and quite a few extras) I have been growing for the past 4 months.<br />
Thankfully our approximations of number of plants and space required were pretty accurate and after a couple of hours huffing, puffing and wrestling with oversized pots, everything was assembled, tied down and secured in the back for our jaunt up the M1.<br />
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Arriving on site at the NEC, I felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation but the traffic organisation and build up processes in place made it an easy prospect and after a much shorter unloading than loading time, all our plants were lined up next to the allocated raised bed. But by that stage we didn't feel any inclination or energy to put even one pot in place.<br />
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But three days later (with the amazing help of some very valuable family volunteers), we've gone from an empty raised bed to a fully operational garden exhibit, accessorised with some beautiful garden accessories and vintage items from my Etsy shop <a href="http://embergate.etsy.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ember Gate</a></div>
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You can even see the queue of visitors building up in the background at the entrance gates.</div>
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It has to be said though – the build up was aided by the arrival of the refreshments car...</div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-88446284742058108292014-05-17T08:18:00.001+01:002014-05-17T13:59:17.265+01:00A squeeze on time and space<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you thought that all my focus on the Gardeners' World show was affecting my planting and growing for the suburban veg plot you wouldn't be far wrong.<br />
I think I've managed to keep up with some things; we have peas and broad beans planted out and flowering already, the potatoes are in and growing vigorously.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exquisite Aquadulce broad bean flowers</td></tr>
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But I've sown only one set of beetroot and carrots and the tomatoes are sulking in their very small pots in a corner of the greenhouse.<br />
It's a matter of space at the moment – the tomatoes are usually potted on into their pots or grow bags in the greenhouse by now, but that space is still needed for my plethora of chard, basil, cucumber and cucamelon plants for at least another two weeks. I spent most of yesterday moving pot after pot of lettuce out to the cold frame, which now being fully glazed is fairly slug-proof.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cold frame filled to capacity</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chard 'Bright Lights' for my Gardeners' World raised bed</td></tr>
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Thankfully, I have a lot of fruit that are perennial - from blueberry bushes to raspberry canes, tayberry plant to wild strawberries, so all of those seems to be taking good care of themselves and seem to need only water from me in order to do their thing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple cordon with lots of buds - sadly, none of them have formed fruits.<br />
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And below, raspberry and tayberry flowers respectively. I have high hopes for a good harvest from both of these in 2014.</td></tr>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-52099224351399293852014-05-02T11:06:00.001+01:002014-05-02T11:06:18.001+01:00Colour, structure and support<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On Thursday 12th June, the BBC Gardener's World Live show in Birmingham will be ready to open and my Edible Patch raised bed will be fully planted up and awaiting the view of the paying public.<br />
Overall, things seem to be on track. The broad beans have grown well and are in their final containers. I have grown the crimson-flowered variety – mainly for their vibrant flower colour and currently have 68 plants in various stages of growth. This should mean that by the time we're on site, I will be able to display plants both in flower and producing pods.<br />
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Last week, a lovely local hedgelayer, Stephen, delivered a batch of 12 hazel bean poles (9 foot tall!), which will form the basis of my 3 wigwams for climbing plants. They are being cut down to size a bit as I am allowed a maximum height of 2.5m in situ.<br />
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And supporting the climbers, I'm using a wonderful sustainable product called <a href="http://www.twool.co.uk/" target="_blank">twool</a>. This is produced from the wool of the Whitefaced Dartmoor sheep. It is used in exactly the same way as the typical jute twine that many of us use around our garden, but it is made entirely in the UK, supports the farming and preservation of this ancient sheep breed and involves 8 other British industries in its production. I recently received a selection box of twool and twool rope from Twool HQ to use in my raised bed display – and it will certainly add some colour to my display. Look out for the Twool stand at Chelsea Flower Show this month if you're attending – their new twool rope is an RHS Chelsea Garden Product of the Year finalist.<br />
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-64068528121492917612014-04-29T17:20:00.001+01:002014-04-30T18:23:25.148+01:00Designed to be eaten<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It is now just over 6 weeks until the BBC Gardeners' World Live show and my panic levels are rising slightly. I have been sowing seeds for this project since early February when I was working on the design side of things. The successful designers were due to be notified in early March, so I figured that it would be too late to start some plants at that stage, so optimistically began sowing sweet peas and other fairly hardy seeds. My greenhouse is bursting at the seams and I feel like I've been pricking out lettuce and other seedlings since the very dawn of time, but I'm optimistic that I will be able to fill the raised bed come June.</div>
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The plans below are taken from my submitted application to the RHS. As <a href="http://www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com/Content/Edible-Patches" target="_blank">Edible Patches</a> is considered an amateur category, they weren't too prescriptive about how the submission was made. Which is lucky, as my autocad drawing skills are somewhat limited. So, drawing on my knowledge of garden design plan types, I went for a 'plan view' (a bird's eye view) of what the bed would look like and two 'elevation views' – a simple sketch giving a sense of what it would like standing at each of the long sides looking across the bed. My freehand drawing skills stopped developing at age 13, so I relied on my trusty iPad and an app called Paper to put my ideas down in a visually attractive way.</div>
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The plan view gives a very simplistic impression, mainly concerned with colour and texture variations between my selected crops and flowers. The plan is not to scale, so I also generalised the space taken up by each plant.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlHC_nGMLT9n1VxilxSa629D23elpjvrIQVVINGaE0kdZ4ApIMtu4ETG4ReIrQhGGZGVUoccmXgGUveAqeJTEtSH2xV8XSngTOrv_w6jRwA0uQa3_bu1I_ujHhfSPr7nD3akQKcF4DQ/s1600/plan+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlHC_nGMLT9n1VxilxSa629D23elpjvrIQVVINGaE0kdZ4ApIMtu4ETG4ReIrQhGGZGVUoccmXgGUveAqeJTEtSH2xV8XSngTOrv_w6jRwA0uQa3_bu1I_ujHhfSPr7nD3akQKcF4DQ/s1600/plan+view.jpg" height="398" width="640" /></a></div>
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In the elevation views, you can get more of a feel to the vertical structure and hierarchy of the components of the raised bed. The 3 central circles in the plan view have become wigwams up which climbers will grow. Some plants are in symmetry across a central axis, some contrast with the plant adjacent or reflect some element of the plant at the opposite side.<br />
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Lastly, this is the planting plan and plant list. Still, the space taken by each type of plant is generalised but this allows you to see what plants I am intending to use in what area of the bed.<br />
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Limnanthes
douglasii </i>(poached egg plant)</span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Broccoli
Kailan 'Kichi'</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Nasturtium
'Milkmaid'</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Kohl
Rabi 'F1 Ballot'</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Asparagus
pea</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Chard
'Bright Lights'</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Basil
'Red Rubin'</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Lettuce
'Romana Mortarella Verde D'Inverno'</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Lettuce
'Navara'</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Cucumber
'La Diva'</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Climbing
Nasturtium mixed</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Broad
Beans 'Crimson Flowered'</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Lathyrus
chloranthus</i></span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">
'Lemonade' (sweet pea)</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Cucamelon</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Purple
dwarf french beans</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Sage</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Dill
'Bouquet'</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Pea
'Golden Sweet'</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Lancashire
Lad purple podded pea</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><i>Lathyrus odoratus</i> 'Matucana' (sweet pea)</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Fennel</span></div>
</li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><i>Cerinthe
major</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> 'purpurescens'</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My selection criteria for these were:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* edible crop or companion plant with a specific benefit to edible crops</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* can be grown from seed</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* easy to grow – no specialist gardening knowledge or equipment needed</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* has an attractive merit: flower colour/shape, colourful leaves/stems, unusual variety, productive crop</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Edible Patches are designed to show how a small area can be turned over to edible crops, so I made sure that everything I chose will grow well in shallow soil or containers (as some people's small space might be a patio or balcony) and I wanted to show how quickly edibles can get from sowing to harvest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I may have to make a few small tweaks/changes to this design by the time the show comes around. My sage is an existing plant in a beautiful container, that was grown from seed a few years ago, but everything else has been sown since autumn 2013. I have plenty of back-up plants as well as a few replacements in case one variety fails, succumbs to pests or simply gives up the ghost in the next few weeks. But I hope to stick as faithfully to my original design as I can.</span></div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-51229505138202900512014-04-26T09:31:00.003+01:002014-04-26T09:31:19.161+01:00Slug patrol<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
To follow up on my previous post, I can report that I did order some nematodes a few weeks ago. Application is very easy – the contents of the packet are mixed with a specific volume of water and then you simply water the lot over your garden. I had 6 raised beds to treat and then used the remainder on specific areas of the wider garden where slugs are causing a problem. I planted out 4 echinacea plants that I raised from seed last year, and within 3 days, they were looking very nibbled and sorry for themselves. I also have an open area of a sunny bed where my dahlias will go, so that was a target area to treat also.<br />
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So far, things are looking pretty good. I planted out meteor pea seedlings a week ago and there are very few signs of any slug damage on those. The plants have really started to grow well in the recent warm weather and a couple of them are now showing flowers.<br />
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And in the greenhouse, where space is a little tight right, I've been pricking out my tomato plants. Hopefully I will have room to move these onto larger pots next month.</div>
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I am finding small slugs and snails in the greenhouse still – maybe hitchhiking in on the bottom of a pot? It's not all bad news though as the chickens are making short work of these as a breakfast treat!</div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-73600901249961166972014-04-08T15:01:00.000+01:002014-04-08T15:01:46.241+01:00In need of nematodes?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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While doing a spot of weeding the other day, in preparation for potato planting, I came across an alarming number of slug eggs in the soil. Doing a bit of internet research on the subject made for worrying reading:</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>A slug can lay 20-100 eggs several times a year</li>
<li>Slug eggs can remain dormant in soil for many years, hatching when conditions become suitable.</li>
<li>A cubic metre of garden can contain upto 200 slugs</li>
<li>Slugs are hermaphrodite (possessing both male and female reproductive organs) so can mate with any slug of the same species they come across.</li>
<li>They can also reproduce without a mate by producing eggs without the male gamete being transferred (parthenogenesis).</li>
<li>Only 5% of a slug population will be above ground at any time. The remaining 95% will be below ground, laying eggs, feeding on roots and seed sprouts, and digesting your newly emerged seedlings.</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(slug facts courtesy of <a href="http://slugoff.co.uk/">slugoff.co.uk</a>)</span> </div>
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Last year was just awful - I'd never seen such a rampage of slime-secreting leaf-eaters that ploughed through my seedlings last spring. Previous years I've not had such a big problem. They occasionally hit a particular plant – salad leaves are usually popular – but 2013 was notable for virtually nothing being safe. They worked their way through so many of my crops – they put paid to the first sowing of rocket salad and of beetroot. I sowed carrot seeds three times and had the grand total of two carrots reach true leaf stage. They took down a lot of my pea, borlotti bean and sugar snap plants when they were first planted out, they nibbled lots of the potato haulms and had a really good go at the courgette and squash plants. I feared they might have finished off my Hooligan pumpkin plant but thankfully it rallied and went on to produce a single fruit. One after one they decimated my baby nicotiniana plants. I kept some replacements in the greenhouse, but even there they didn't seem to be safe – a few nibbled leaves and even telltale trails on my 4 foot tall tomato plants. It seems there is nowhere a slug won't go for some dinner.<br />
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Having had such a mild winter, I fear for the 2014 crops already. A less than frosty winter means that the slug population has avoided the natural population control of freezing temperatures, so I may well employ the services of nematodes to keep the hungry hordes at bay. My finger is hovering over the 'Buy' button as the weather warms up and hoping that there will not be a shortage of the product as many fellow gardeners do the same.<br />
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-18894625900485628842014-03-25T17:59:00.001+00:002014-03-25T17:59:58.674+00:00Wildlife gardening<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
While I sit here typing this I am watching, despite the drizzle and cool temperatures outside, a pair of blackbirds collect moss and plant debris from the edge of my lawn with which to build a nest. Earlier, a host of house sparrows collected, first on my neighbours' hawthorn tree and then on our apple tree, loudly chattering and constantly moving from branch to branch. The local foxes have been out overnight again – this I know because my raised beds are a moonscape of hillocks and holes where they dig for who knows what. And only yesterday, a rather huge bumblebee flew heavily into the window pane looking out onto the garden. Nonplussed and unharmed, it bounced away noisily disappearing over the fence. My garden is about much more than the food and flowers I grow within in and the method by which I do this is as important as the result I work towards.<br />
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My reasons for growing organically are twofold. The first is an understanding that my garden environment is a ecosystem with populations of organisms from the bottom to the top of the food chain that naturally respond to the environmental conditions and availability of suitable foods. As the seasons pass and the weather changes and one year rolls into the next, the success or otherwise of a reproducing population will be reflected further up the food chain without the need for intervention or control by chemical means. A boom in creatures that I might consider to be pests, such as slugs, snails and aphids will be followed by an increase in their predators as they take advantage of the increase in numbers on which to feed.<br />
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My second conviction is one that we have heard lots about, particularly during the past year. That the effects of various chemical pesticides are often not fully known or understood until they begin to affect wildlife that was not the original target. For years now, new chemicals have been introduced and hailed as the next big thing, the saviour for gardeners amateur and professional, before years later they are withdrawn under the shadow of a human health scare or for some previous unknown effect on one or more wildlife populations.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A solitary bee checking out available accommodations</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frogs are a frequent spot in the suburban veg plot</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sleepy bumble bee having a snooze on an arbour</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A ladybird in metamorphosis</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZzY1ZIUfYO8liZIdNJeXD3rZkgfkJObCXpHjXrGPP0OmnFWA6s-36uq8qNuRVpp0XtLZ502THxUV7FlwvfEkaDHqISqB9FArbC0Pqfyt02DNEgvH8EuLXkZuovchhxvy9am1dnNmBA/s1600/IMG_6825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZzY1ZIUfYO8liZIdNJeXD3rZkgfkJObCXpHjXrGPP0OmnFWA6s-36uq8qNuRVpp0XtLZ502THxUV7FlwvfEkaDHqISqB9FArbC0Pqfyt02DNEgvH8EuLXkZuovchhxvy9am1dnNmBA/s1600/IMG_6825.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The unwelcome <i>Vulpes vulpes</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An introduced species – the lesser spotted lawn ruiners</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bee feasting on the nectar of Dahlia 'Bishop of Landaff'</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Possibly not taken in my garden. But given time, and a land bridge from India...</td></tr>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-86996508543694874352014-03-22T07:06:00.000+00:002014-03-22T07:28:34.256+00:00Sowing the seeds of a busy year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Such a mild winter and warm start to the year has meant that many people have started sowing earlier than usual. Beware the cold nights though – temperatures dropped to 3 or 4 Celsius around here last night. Tender plants need to be covered with fleece if outside or kept under glass.</div>
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I for one have been transporting a tray of tomato and chilli seedlings out to the greenhouse every morning and back in the house come the evening. Best not to take the risk of losing them.</div>
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In other news, the seed sowing is taking on epic proportions. Aside from a backlog of RHS seeds I've been meaning to get sown for a couple of years (let's hope they're still viable), I've also been hedging my bets by sowing lots of salad and veg seeds in case a certain project came through. And then it did.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSpww8hKht-Mwdrux9uWBj3obmIu0r0SKurIDE_jCATkaM1GlnluUJ0T7aXnEGfCUgumOyrY-Dv5MRmOcRECRAP3OjUohsjkVYXIvEv4perNpUCkpzspkLj89gT_rOcdpQgz3quftFA/s1600/photo-718526.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisSpww8hKht-Mwdrux9uWBj3obmIu0r0SKurIDE_jCATkaM1GlnluUJ0T7aXnEGfCUgumOyrY-Dv5MRmOcRECRAP3OjUohsjkVYXIvEv4perNpUCkpzspkLj89gT_rOcdpQgz3quftFA/s320/photo-718526.JPG" height="400" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5993507115217849714" width="400" /></a></div>
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So, come June this year, I will be planting out an 'Edible Patch' at none other than the Gardener's World Live Show at the NEC in Birmingham! The teaser bit is <a href="http://www.bbcgardenersworldlive.com/Content/Edible-Patches" target="_blank">here</a> on their website. Most of the other beds seem to be from allotment associations, so that sounds like they have a group of people growing the plants that will form the display. There's just lil' old me to produce mine. Hubby is lovely and supportive (and will definitely be roped in for all the heavy lifting come June) but his strengths just don't lie in seedling tending...</div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-45789114128765849912013-10-30T09:20:00.001+00:002013-10-30T09:20:40.833+00:00Outfoxed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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When we first rehomed some ex-bat chickens in 2010, there was no shortage of people telling us that we'd lose them all to foxes. Even living in a fairly suburban area you would expect there to be some foxes in the immediate vicinity. But we saw no signs of them around our garden and no sightings were reported by our neighbours. </div>
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Earlier this year however, rumours began that foxes had moved into our street: late night sightings of a family group trotting around local roads, relaxing in the sunshine on a neighbours lawn and the characteristic screaming in the dark of night. So, we weren't too surprised when they finally revealed themselves in our garden, showing a healthy fox interest in our feathery pets. </div>
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What came as a surprise was how bold them would be – no skulking around in the shadows for them, waiting for night to fall. No, they turned up, confident as anything, at all times of the day. Usually it would be the chickens who sensed them first, setting off loud squawking calls of warning and panic. Thankfully we have a very secure Eglu coop and run, which when closed up is fox-proof, so although the chickens can have some fresh air and a bit of freedom, but remain safe from physical attack.</div>
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The following photos were taken one morning in July, when the chickens loudly announced the presence of an unwelcome intruder in the garden. From an upstairs window, I could at first see nothing, but after a couple of seconds, saw this striking animal amble calmly out from behind the shed and sit down in the veg plot. Call me paranoid, but he/she seemed to look directly at me apparently unaffected by the commotion in the (firmly secured) chicken run only a few metres away. The fox made itself comfortable, posing for photos for upto 10 minutes, before slowly raising to standing and trotting out of sight again.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SOxtVW5xOSceNYrCWkA2cgOO90CB7gTFhMuDG-XsqW3kK0A182zHD1mGQth14A89YJrBfS_w2W0vasc33hRi9C4xEB5KEepJqNdXzhUwWHWe2kC_AllRqcgb7kNyLSiaQlvcpHxKEQ/s1600/IMG_6820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2SOxtVW5xOSceNYrCWkA2cgOO90CB7gTFhMuDG-XsqW3kK0A182zHD1mGQth14A89YJrBfS_w2W0vasc33hRi9C4xEB5KEepJqNdXzhUwWHWe2kC_AllRqcgb7kNyLSiaQlvcpHxKEQ/s640/IMG_6820.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfF-ZwhgZ35IAlVHJWafI8Fm7YocMaBymTt6FEA83ku4t3baqGNZ23SU97gVva1qvWUmqPAN5sHrt2mk2u1__B9Jp6deDEb4g3d2GhA6o-QR-vFXp87qlunSn_Y6nDDqNuKaOFMCunEA/s1600/IMG_6822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfF-ZwhgZ35IAlVHJWafI8Fm7YocMaBymTt6FEA83ku4t3baqGNZ23SU97gVva1qvWUmqPAN5sHrt2mk2u1__B9Jp6deDEb4g3d2GhA6o-QR-vFXp87qlunSn_Y6nDDqNuKaOFMCunEA/s640/IMG_6822.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpPL4gjROSzGC0fT7vfF8IX945M2W9qgmmzmdKlxw23SikhUZ_ENPFhI4mkcr5mqgoo90EmApe2KC5xdn1qWFRThlKVOX0q4s05wV8fQ3yIZkKOD_yKKcDL_GHPHmDw6eXyqGj-r6sQ/s1600/IMG_6825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpPL4gjROSzGC0fT7vfF8IX945M2W9qgmmzmdKlxw23SikhUZ_ENPFhI4mkcr5mqgoo90EmApe2KC5xdn1qWFRThlKVOX0q4s05wV8fQ3yIZkKOD_yKKcDL_GHPHmDw6eXyqGj-r6sQ/s640/IMG_6825.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Since then the (same?) fox has visited numerous times, sometimes during the night where it gets tangled up in the tall nylon fence, which keeps the chickens contained when they are allowed to free range, sometimes during the day when we have witnessed it jumping around on top of the coop and run terrorising the chickens within. It was on the second of these occasions that our little flock was badly affected. Although we know the fox can't get at them, that fact clearly isn't as obvious to a panicked chicken – especially when a snarling fox is leaping around only centimetres away. After chasing the fox away, we brought all 3 chickens inside the house to calm them and remove them from further stress, but it had all become too much for Snowflake who had what I can only guess was a heart attack as she sat in a pet carrier on the kitchen floor. Her companions were left shaken and nervous for a number of days and are only now growing back feathers they lost. I am told that this is a stress response, to simply shed feathers in the advent of an attack as it makes escape from the jaws of a predator possible – the attacker is simply left with a mouthful of feathers but no prey. We continue to allow the remaining two chickens as much freedom as safely possible, while still seeing the evidence of night-time visits of our foxy foe.</div>
suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-34341567911777731452013-10-17T07:58:00.001+01:002013-10-17T07:58:42.212+01:00Uchiki kuri <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Also known as onion squash, this lovely curcurbit finally decided to produce fruit for me this year. Just the one mind you. As a plant it takes up much less room than a butternut squash or traditional pumpkin, so I would recommend it if space is an issue. It produces the familiar long yellow flowers of the squash family, followed by a matching globular fruit, that swelled to the size of a honeydew melon. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituwBlrHGStExHRmfmS1tEahgYEyBD26CeKQFUwiALHmZTswoDk9f8uuoQUqCv4mM-beDjZDvvMNx8kZp3djeCqLe0gYnA6nxHyf4DP7sMnZBBZked8Hyr5-hG1jDrj2B5oM6gS9PX3w/s1600/Image+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituwBlrHGStExHRmfmS1tEahgYEyBD26CeKQFUwiALHmZTswoDk9f8uuoQUqCv4mM-beDjZDvvMNx8kZp3djeCqLe0gYnA6nxHyf4DP7sMnZBBZked8Hyr5-hG1jDrj2B5oM6gS9PX3w/s640/Image+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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It showed off its beautiful range of glowing colours as the skin ripened in the sun before I moved it to the greenhouse to finish the curing process in a dry environment.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9tHICz2H3jYZw_kVN-2ghruLSEQptUbODr5ypEguEfyXc41xGfxgBjvSRsk-9tQM1qL-E4kWoFKXdlUZk3lIdtoGXwwqMEN3ciSqkEeKjBvmRaH-HvfkTygVjqpYXR7_K6n7hKrsHg/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9tHICz2H3jYZw_kVN-2ghruLSEQptUbODr5ypEguEfyXc41xGfxgBjvSRsk-9tQM1qL-E4kWoFKXdlUZk3lIdtoGXwwqMEN3ciSqkEeKjBvmRaH-HvfkTygVjqpYXR7_K6n7hKrsHg/s640/Image.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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It now resides in the kitchen where I am deciding what to do with each and every 749g of it. A big roasted stuffed squash maybe? A sumptuous soup or a rich sweet risotto? A small part of me wants to just admire it rather than break the spell by cutting into it. I makes me wonder what those gardeners who grow the champion vegetables for competition feel like when the time comes to consign their prize specimens to the pot. At least I won't need a fork-lift truck when the time comes!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuTcIyfnFTp6GjSzshc-eURSYSl8ccrULYnaBbl1o032efouEQKzvt8Jt4E9TBifJkgBPVx-0_ozeknPntWENTIqoyE7F9kXKvf18RVJ8Uyq1DYLzRLfQx5HoYnZ43E20FikwoQQaIA/s1600/Image+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuuTcIyfnFTp6GjSzshc-eURSYSl8ccrULYnaBbl1o032efouEQKzvt8Jt4E9TBifJkgBPVx-0_ozeknPntWENTIqoyE7F9kXKvf18RVJ8Uyq1DYLzRLfQx5HoYnZ43E20FikwoQQaIA/s640/Image+2.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-58789189455757791142013-09-24T17:15:00.000+01:002013-09-24T17:16:16.377+01:00Hop to it<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;">It has to be said that </span><i style="text-align: left;">Humulus lupulus</i><span style="text-align: left;"> 'Aureus' is much easier to grow than it is to pronounce. Since learning of the golden hops, I now delight in spotting it in domestic gardens, public parks and even as an escapee by the side of roads bordering residential areas.</span></div>
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The almost chartreuse colour of its leaves brighten up the darkest of corners and add an early season vibrancy that contrasts well with the blossoms of spring flowering shrubs. </div>
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My plant took one season to really establish its roots before bursting into vigorous growth this year, twirling its multiple stems ever higher to clothe a metal arch that roughly divides the productive and ornamental elements of my garden.</div>
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Its virtues are not singular. As well as a visually appealing plant from spring through to the onset of winter, it provides a generous habitat to a range of insect life. Admittedly, not all these insects are desired or enhance the plant for periods of time, but such is the circle of life in a garden. Early in the season when the growth is very fresh, aphids cluster on the supple stems, drawing on the vital sugars within to drive a population explosion unmatched elsewhere in the garden. Their honeydew secretions are usually heavy, encouraging a bloom of sooty mould to develop on the leaf surfaces. If you are not a advocate of spraying to treat this, it is advisable to have a nearby plant in dramatic flower during this time with which to distract any visitors to your garden!</div>
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At around the same time, you may notice that some of the leaves undergo attack by caterpillars. In my case, this happened only on the lower leaves and the stronger the plant, the less overall impact this has as the base continues to send up increasing numbers of stems, generally disguising the less than perfect leaves with new growth. And you can take heart in the knowledge that you have provided for another generation of butterflies in your garden.</div>
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The third and final insect life I spotted on my plant was most welcome and was a direct result of the first invasion. The presence of aphids had attracted ladybirds to lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves and by early July, the plant was host to a new generation of ladybird larvae. Often mistaken for plant pests due to their somewhat ferocious, if minuscule, appearance, these carnivores will munch their way through thousands of aphids on their short journey to becoming a fully grown ladybird.</div>
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And while they're busy hoovering the last remains of juicy greenfly from the plant, your hops plant will quietly send forth one last burst of energy that results in the most delicate of flowers appearing from wispy terminal shoots. These are the hops flowers we might recognise from the brewing process, but if you're not planning any homemade beers, you can enjoy the pendulous flowers right through the autumn as they catch the sun and slowly turn the rich buttery colour from which they earn their name. </div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-8182678565615658422013-09-22T11:52:00.002+01:002013-09-22T13:38:04.995+01:00You say tomato, I say passata<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Every year, without fail I pack my greenhouse to the rafters with tomato plants. Tomatoes are one of my least favourite foods, in fact I don't really like them at all. But I love growing them, hubby likes eating them and I like making passata to store in the freezer for winter pasta dishes.</div>
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I had some Franchi seeds (San Marzano and St Pierre) left over from a previous year and also 'rediscovered' some seed swap varieties hidden in the bottom of my overflowing tin that I had yet to try out. So I sowed 4 varieties in February – my new varieties for 2013 being Cuor di Bue (Ox Heart) and Tigerella.</div>
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Space is really an issue in my little concrete-floored greenhouse, but with a bit of grow-bag jiggery-pokery, I can shoehorn 8 plants onto my restricted floor space, leaving the staging surface clear for chilli plants and smaller plant propagules in trays. </div>
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The very late spring meant that it was early June before I moved them outside, my final planting tally being 2 each of Cuor di Bue and Tigerella and 1 each of San Marzano and St Pierre. The wonderfully warm weather in June and July brought the plants on well and they flowered strongly. But pollination seemed to be an issue for some of them (despite tapping the plants regularly to distribute pollen and leaving the greenhouse door open as often as possible). </div>
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The Cuor di Bue crop has been the largest in terms of fruit size – huge double or triple fruits with a very 'meaty' texture and few seeds.</div>
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The Tigerella crop was wave upon wave of small juicy fruits, which is continuing still well into September. According to those who have tasted them, these are the sweetest tomatoes I've grown so far.</div>
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Of my 2 Franchi varieties, St Pierre has been a moderate harvest with some nice sized fruits but San Marzano was certainly the worst. A single plant produced fewer than 10 fruits, none of which exceeded 5 or 6cm in length. Quite disappointing really, compared with other years. </div>
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But all the tomatoes have been regularly collected as they've ripened and roasted as a mixture to form the base of my pasta dishes for the months to come. Now that's how I do like to eat my tomatoes!</div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-8352731625593840512013-09-09T09:29:00.001+01:002013-09-13T14:28:45.818+01:00Redcurrant jelly - a recipe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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First watch in early spring as green leaves unfurl from what looks like a dead twig stuck in the ground. Water well if Mother Nature decides not to bother and add a suitable feed to boost production.</div>
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Step back in amazement as not only does the dead twig seem to be alive after all but by mid June it is fully clothed in leaves and adorned with racemes of tiny flowers. It cannot be denied that I've seen more colourful flowers, but they have a charm all of their berry own. (see what I did there?)</div>
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Harvest resulting berries when they have ripened to a translucent plumpness, wash thoroughly and add to a pan with water. Heat rapidly, squashing the berries with a potato masher.<br />
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Pour pan contents into a jelly bag to drain overnight. Measure volume of liquid obtained and add sugar (450g sugar per 600ml juice).<br />
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Start over a low heat, then increase heat skimming any surface scum as you go. Check for setting after reaching jam point (a quick internet search will give you this info if you're unsure). Add resulting tiny amount of jelly to a sterilised jar and once set, proudly display to anyone who passes by. Ignore husband's first comment of, 'Is that it?' </div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-3723347904039951592013-09-07T10:40:00.002+01:002013-09-07T10:40:49.209+01:00A cuckoo in the nest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A moral, if one were needed, on the importance of plant labels. (And putting them on the right plant)<br />
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I sowed my curcurbit seeds in April<span style="color: red;"> </span>and tended them carefully as any good veg gardener does. I kept them in the warm, I watered them sparingly and I talked to them kindly. I always sow more seeds than I think I'll need, just so I have replacement plants if any wither before their time. And this year I had a bumper selection of curcurbit seeds, from stripy courgettes to yellow ones, from butternut squash to acorn squash – the suburban veg plot had never seen the like of it before! Having so many different varieties also meant I'd needed to write up some new labels for the pots.<br />
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As the weeks passed, I potted up the growing plants and moved them first to the greenhouse, then to the cold frame as I prepared them for life outdoors. I had to write up more plant labels at this stage as I'd sown them 2 or 3 to a pot. Upon selecting the plants I wanted to keep, I potted up a stripy courgette for my mum (a now annual tradition) and also gave her a spare butternut squash plant to replace one that had died in her garden. My own plants were planted out into the raised beds and daily protected from the onslaught of slugs that May brought with it.<br />
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Come the middle of July, my mum mentioned that her courgette plant had started to produce fruits but her butternut squash was yet to get started. I checked on my plants and found that although there were a few male flowers opening, neither of mine had started any fruiting yet. But I couldn't shake the thought that the courgette plant looked a bit different, maybe a bit on the, I don't know, pumpkiny side...?<br />
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The next week I got a call from a very puzzled mum. Being a newbie veg grower she often rings for advice on seedlings or plant spacings, but this question was not one I was expecting. Her butternut squash plant had finally started to fruit – but it seemed to be producing a courgette!<br />
I just couldn't come up with an explanation for that – that is until the next time I was surveying the veg plot and discovered this little fella hiding under a leaf on my 'courgette' plant.<br />
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It's a good thing my mum likes courgettes.... And maybe I'll give her one of these once they've ripened.</div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-33301855448027590482013-06-13T12:58:00.002+01:002013-06-13T12:59:53.321+01:00Other people's gardens<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's said that gardeners are a friendly bunch and indeed there's something about growing plants, be they for ornament or food, that brings out the sharing aspect. Whether it's a spare tomato seedling, a cutting from a favourite hydrangea or a jar of homemade strawberry jam, gardening tends to open people up to their fellow human in a way that few other activities do.<br />
So imagine a weekend where you could head off to someone's garden, to have a look at their borders and beds, check how neat their lawn is or how tall their potato haulms are. To discuss with a friend how healthy those perennial grasses are or how disorganised that shed looks; how good the tea is or how the lemon drizzle cake is <i>almost</i> as good as your gran used to make. And to ask the garden owner themselves how do they bring on their dahlias so early in the season or what's their secret to keeping their roses blackspot free.<br />
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Well, garden blog readers of England and Wales, that weekend has arrived, and arrived with a flourish!<br />
Let me introduce you to the inaugural National Gardens Festival Weekend from the NGS!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFHkuLwVlrNZEwsaj4o5ptto15KQJFHncfBevsoWu2jRyNDDgh2frNKYxQFK-qpvUV3n00ehCe1X8QHg_fq7Fy8OQ7-xjuH9PO3e9VKdp6b0pxEbCmxCzj1bsCG8sHhHcmvmIrp5o1g/s1600/ngs_national_gardens_festival_weekend_logo_large_transparent.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhFHkuLwVlrNZEwsaj4o5ptto15KQJFHncfBevsoWu2jRyNDDgh2frNKYxQFK-qpvUV3n00ehCe1X8QHg_fq7Fy8OQ7-xjuH9PO3e9VKdp6b0pxEbCmxCzj1bsCG8sHhHcmvmIrp5o1g/s640/ngs_national_gardens_festival_weekend_logo_large_transparent.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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There are 800 gardens open over the weekend across England and Wales, so there's sure to be one not too far from you. From urban oases to rural idylls, allotments to artisan gardens, there is every type of garden opening covering the tiniest courtyard to the biggest landscaped parklands. And the money raised from admissions, plant sales, teas and cakes goes to national nursing and caring charities including Marie Curie Cancer Care, Macmillan, Help the Hospices, Carers Trust, The Queen's Nursing Institute and Perennial. The aim for this first-time open garden festival is to raise £500,000 over the 2 days – a tough challenge – but one that every garden lover can play their part in.</div>
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And talking of challenges, who better to take on the task of visiting gardens in 5 counties in 1 day during the Festival Weekend than Anneka Rice! </div>
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So, if that has inspired you to join in this festival of foliage, flowers and fresh cream teas, then here's the current map of where they're taking place. Click <a href="http://www.ngs.org.uk/festivalmap2013.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> to access the map on the NGS website and keep your fingers crossed for the weather!</div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-89659518916353671422013-06-11T13:27:00.002+01:002013-06-11T13:27:50.755+01:00Raspberries on the cheap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In autumn last year I picked up a couple of 'end of the line' plants from a well-known home and garden superstore. Let me just say, I don't usually buy plants from there - strimmer cord yes, all purpose filler yes, but not plants. However, when raspberry canes are on sale for 10p each, it would seem to be a bargain worth snapping up. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? They'd all die and I'll be 30p out of pocket?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt8hjEwAHSII3QrWrz2ZPL2kTJ8_d7Hx-GEtxynnhK1uPEUmhf_BkvBeoUMtKTnMLwiuqCm8JgA1pPdIUQbmRENoqn8RqMatFnl-qF1aJvWu33LUn13xydK_qAexn85CZ2SKdRHL1TQ/s1600/photo7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt8hjEwAHSII3QrWrz2ZPL2kTJ8_d7Hx-GEtxynnhK1uPEUmhf_BkvBeoUMtKTnMLwiuqCm8JgA1pPdIUQbmRENoqn8RqMatFnl-qF1aJvWu33LUn13xydK_qAexn85CZ2SKdRHL1TQ/s640/photo7.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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So, I took home my new plants and soaked the rootballs in water before potting them up and pruning back the old canes. Then I googled Raspberry 'Malling Jewel' and salivated at the idea of early season summer raspberries.</div>
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Fast forward to March/April, I patiently checked for signs of any new shoots but there were none to be seen. Eventually in mid May, they started to break through the surface, slowly yet steadily.</div>
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So, we're now heading towards the middle of June, I have my supports in place and the canes themselves are looking healthy but still only about 30cm tall with no signs of any flower buds yet. Somehow, I can't imagine that things are going to be moving so quickly that I'll still have raspberries by July...</div>
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What do we think? Is this a case of big company mislabelling/mixing up stock and what I've actually got is an autumn fruiting variety? Or has the cold, cold spring held back the growth? Or were they simply planted too late last year to start producing canes at the optimum time?</div>
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This novice raspberry grower would be grateful for all suggestions.</div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-81669399283443773262013-06-04T11:24:00.003+01:002013-06-04T11:24:33.365+01:00Cake in the sun<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It was a fabulously sunny day on Sunday here in my little corner of Hertfordshire, which made it all the more sad that I had quite a lot of horticulture revision to get done. And not the kind of revision where you can wander around the garden deadheading plants while you try to recall their Latin name and preferred growing conditions. No, it was the kind you can only really do sitting indoors at a laptop, surrounded by books containing details of pathway foundation materials (hoggin and MOT type 1, for the hardcore nerds among you) and biosecurity approaches to the storage of topsoil during garden construction.</div>
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So, this meant I couldn't get out to any NGS open gardens in order to mark Chelsea Fringe: The Bloggers' Cut – a virtual gathering brought together over at <a href="http://vegplotting.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/i-knew-you-were-coming-so-i-baked-cake.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+VegPlotting+(Veg+Plotting)" target="_blank">Veg Plotting</a>. However, I did manage to whiz up a quick cake of my own and enjoy it with a coffee sitting in my own garden. My cake choice was driven by leftovers. A jar of stem ginger really needed finishing off so I found a ginger cake recipe online which I tweaked in order to use the rhubarb cooking juices strained off while making rhubarb fool on Friday. I am nothing if not thrifty when it comes to cooking...</div>
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It was a lovely cake, though I suspect Mary Berry would pronounce it slightly underbaked. Personally, I consider perfectionism a failing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmon2xRFjwF9lQJjeHDP6suuEolPFXo2mHcuJffgHOMpxGqWehOmJWQSdj4Wt3VrwXl34J3PXqs_6b1j_G7k9qoqiwgpv_KHWIDRbLEzF4O0atdVS9IuiQM7jrF869hTpjtHf3VRzsg/s1600/Image+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmon2xRFjwF9lQJjeHDP6suuEolPFXo2mHcuJffgHOMpxGqWehOmJWQSdj4Wt3VrwXl34J3PXqs_6b1j_G7k9qoqiwgpv_KHWIDRbLEzF4O0atdVS9IuiQM7jrF869hTpjtHf3VRzsg/s640/Image+3.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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So, to share with you a little more than the green shades of the garden predominant in the photo above, here are some gorgeous flowers in full colour in my garden this weekend.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXhfkSMIjUk9EYg4KZhGQLnZozDofhBodMuFL8Bc7bC3KDOVrmAAKXAbcS4opvI3OSdhIheNeiq9TI0woW5OYQOuw4w602WfFhLsMNP_oCIzrooCj0ySnGOL8vodZALR4ZTtD4hnbtA/s1600/Image+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXhfkSMIjUk9EYg4KZhGQLnZozDofhBodMuFL8Bc7bC3KDOVrmAAKXAbcS4opvI3OSdhIheNeiq9TI0woW5OYQOuw4w602WfFhLsMNP_oCIzrooCj0ySnGOL8vodZALR4ZTtD4hnbtA/s640/Image+1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rather vibrant Dahlia 'Bishop of Landaff' that I picked up at Chelsea Flower Show</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxSioMQaUeQNltKTqp5zcHL2Yk79VBqpPR4Nj-dPyBpsEZsEqhJp8iWwa40ZxCsyR2kH6dMi8GopNfQwTDsVUD_0uej8OaZIPXjFQzrlMAsjXJGqQfcuLfYKxw43w8lwZH0jTGG4WNQ/s1600/Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqxSioMQaUeQNltKTqp5zcHL2Yk79VBqpPR4Nj-dPyBpsEZsEqhJp8iWwa40ZxCsyR2kH6dMi8GopNfQwTDsVUD_0uej8OaZIPXjFQzrlMAsjXJGqQfcuLfYKxw43w8lwZH0jTGG4WNQ/s640/Image.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Californian Lilac that seems to be invigeling its way into my favour despite me trying to cut it down for 3 years</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Self-seeded aquilegias – quite the most welcome flowers in the garden</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6OMmnR6na4ESBTpV5NEGyxYCgjg7fPSReAicDEqC9uEiHg3tBt0Snb4ez6bnNqQU8DxkYGK3BPEp2vIBOL7MUDKiXSWBP7WUh9iGNORmHNayWJmyh9sqDeGcjHyxSdGRlUATNqAacQ/s1600/Image+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6OMmnR6na4ESBTpV5NEGyxYCgjg7fPSReAicDEqC9uEiHg3tBt0Snb4ez6bnNqQU8DxkYGK3BPEp2vIBOL7MUDKiXSWBP7WUh9iGNORmHNayWJmyh9sqDeGcjHyxSdGRlUATNqAacQ/s640/Image+11.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As above, in hot pink</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-3awKoD-fUED0rNcz0kN1EqL8ZlZFEtAL09NGtvyiob65VzsrspjwRlFsFtWXtLngzUAeUdlYPjrG4754HwoBhyphenhyphenVcRukJ0rHZxgVwE0gYYyKg2dhzR9KHBM00J7IzYqsn99oMS140w/s1600/Image+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-3awKoD-fUED0rNcz0kN1EqL8ZlZFEtAL09NGtvyiob65VzsrspjwRlFsFtWXtLngzUAeUdlYPjrG4754HwoBhyphenhyphenVcRukJ0rHZxgVwE0gYYyKg2dhzR9KHBM00J7IzYqsn99oMS140w/s640/Image+14.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And possibly the latest late tulip I've ever known</td></tr>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-82217401151799527672013-05-29T20:22:00.000+01:002013-05-29T20:22:09.371+01:00Yet another Chelsea roundup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I thoroughly enjoyed the show gardens on Main Avenue and at the risk of repeating anything you've already read about them on other blogs, here's my opinion of a few of them.<br />
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Firstly, the M&G Centenary garden 'Windows through Time' by Roger Platts. Probably winner of the 'show garden I could most live with'. Beautiful plantings with a great variety of textures. Described in the accompanying brochure as: 'a garden designed to capture what every visitor to Chelsea, whether in 1913 or 2013, would love to take home with them.' Roger easily achieved this by including what seemed to be every single plant in existence in the garden. I've never seen such a plant list – it covers 5 pages of the brochure. Loads of fabulous specimens though, from huge foxglove spires, to spreading Cornus kousa in flower, and the world's favourite daisy: Erigeron karvinskianus. Not pictured below, but there was a drift of what looked like Achillea 'Moonshine' towards the front of the garden. A bit acid for me, if I'm honest. It was possibly a replacement as the printed plant list showed Achillea 'Summerwine', which I couldn't see at all. A special mention has to go to the M&G bag – so capacious, I got a second one to carry all my plant swag home on the Saturday.<br />
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On to the B&Q/Sentebale 'Forget-Me-Not' garden by Jinny Blom, otherwise known as 'Prince Harry's Garden'. A tranquil affair overall with some lovely lumpy planting of Leptinella squalida 'Platts Black', Selaginella helvetica, and pale blue Forget-me-nots in flower. The willow pollards lining one side added a lovely structural, yet airy feel, and gave me the sense of open landscape rather than enclosed garden. Cool grey curving steps led up to what looked like Stoke's missing pottery kiln and the less said about the clay ashtray in the middle, the better. It reminded me of the waltzers, back when the fair came to the village common every Easter and all the 5th year girls tried to get off with the bloke in charge of the bumper cars.</div>
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The Delancey East Village Garden by Michael Balston and Marie-Louise Agius was a wonderful representation of public planting inspired by the redevelopment of the Olympic Park into residential areas. While the plant choices themselves aren't my particular cup of garden tea (Zantedeschias and rhododendrons), I loved the shapes and spaces they'd created and think that the stepped watercourse could be recreated in even the most modest suburban garden.</div>
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The Telegraph garden by Christopher Bradley-Hole: I so want to like this garden and indeed feel that I may be judged harshly by the gardening elite for not doing so. It is elegant, considered, in proportion, well-planned and expertly constructed – all the things a good garden should be. But it includes monastic cloisters (who doesn't have those?) and the whole premise of the garden is that it is to be viewed from that cloistered area. Yes, that's right, from the bit that the general public can't gain access to. And Christopher, you complained about the Best in Show being awarded to the Australians. Whatever balanced way you do that and however validated your points are by others in the gardening media, it's always going to sound like sour grapes. On the plus side you did include Tulipa sprengeri, even if you did make me search for them.</div>
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So finally, to the Arthritis Research Garden designed by Chris Beardshaw. Simply beautiful. A very personal and heartfelt design and a well deserved People's Choice Winner.</div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-82360509943088022972013-05-20T10:17:00.002+01:002013-05-20T10:17:40.426+01:00It's that Chelsea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Yes, it's here again. Love it or hate it, The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is going to be filling the tv schedules, newspapers and websites, your twitter feed, instagram and most gardening blogs you care to read for the next 7 days. Whether you're an avid attendee, lapping up the show gardens, zipping round the Great Pavilion and downing Pimms as fast as the rain falls or a conscientious objector wincing at the sight of celebs on Press Day who probably wouldn't know one end of a trowel from another and tut-tutting at the sheer cost of it all in these times of national austerity – it's happening whether you like it or not.</div>
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I will happily admit I fall into the former category. A relative newcomer (my first Chelsea was 2010), I love the mass coming together of all things horticultural: from new garden plants to new gardening products, concept gardens to heirloom seeds.</div>
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I was at the Chelsea site on Saturday morning and managed to take a few snaps on the whistlestop tour we were given. Needless to say it looked like the world's biggest hi-vis vest convention...</div>
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This was how Stoke-on-Trent's Transformation garden was looking. I wonder if the cement mixer will be part of the final display?</div>
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On the left in the next picture is, I think, Scape Design's After The Fire garden in the Fresh category. The concept from this French designer is the dramatic regeneration after forest fires in Mediterranean areas.</div>
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Here's a sneaky top half preview of the sculpture commissioned by the RHS for the occasion of the 100 year centenary of the Chelsea Flower Show. This was created by Marc Quinn famed for his 'Alison Lapper pregnant' piece that featured on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square and more recently as an inflatable installation as the finale to the Paralympic Games opening ceremony.</div>
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Work was going well down at the Cloudy Bay Discovery Garden. Phew, they'll be needing a nice chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc after all that heavy work.</div>
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Almost cut off on the left is the concept studio structure in rusted corten steel of the Trailfinders Australian garden - but the focus of this pic was really the champagne tent in the middle. *notes location for future reference*</div>
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And finally the Great Pavilion, which was a hive of buzzing activity, forklift trucks and shouting. This will be my home for 3 days this week where I'll be an RHS 'Showmaker', helping visitors navigate to their favourite nursery exhibit, find that desirable new plant or simply direct them to the nearest toilets!<br />
If you're heading to Chelsea this week, I hope you have a fabulous day!<br />
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-39071020433765573882013-05-15T15:38:00.003+01:002013-05-15T15:38:57.227+01:00Tulips on parade and under review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, they were a long time coming, but finally my tulips flowered! This year is my first for spring bulbs and I'm so pleased with them that I'll definitely be planting them again come the winter. The photos below are all from bulbs very kindly supplied gratis to me by <a href="http://www.spaldingbulb.co.uk/" target="_blank">Spalding Bulbs</a> in return for blogging about them. They were all planted into pots in late November and you can read that post <a href="http://suburbanvegplot.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/tulips-on-twitter.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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I found they really needed no special care over the winter, save for the occasional picking out of little weeds that grew through the gravel mulch and by February, they'd all started to peek out at the surface.<br />
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Firstly the White Triumphator tulips – these were planted in an existing container of black lily grass and as planned they look very dramatic as a colour contrast. About 70% of the bulbs came up from those planted. They are said to grow to 60cm tall and did look a little lanky and floppy in my pot. That could have been because they weren't planted quite as deeply as recommended – due to the difficulties trying to interplant them into a shallow pot of dense plants. The flowers are very elegant in shape and I am planning to thin out the grass and add a few more of the bulbs in the wintertime.<br />
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Parrot tulips have never been a particular favourite of mine but these ones may have changed my mind somewhat. I don't really like to see them in the ground as I think they look 'too cultivated' in a garden situation. But in pots I am happier to see them as part of a seasonal display. These are a compact height, flowered as a mix of white, red, yellow and purple and seem to be very popular with the bees!</div>
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And finally the Darwin hybrids – in a mix of yellow and red. 60cm of perfectly formed tulip with the classic bowl-shaped flower. About as perfect as nature (with man's intervention) can produce. Despite their relative tall stature, these have stood up well to the high winds of late.</div>
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There was a 4th variety in my package – Candy Kisses – but these I potted up and gave to a friend so I will have to check these out on my next visit.</div>
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Although I am not commenting on pricing of the bulbs or delivery charges, I can summarise that as far as delivery packaging and quality of bulbs received go I think Spalding score highly on all counts. I know some gardeners prefer to buy their tulips as single variety or colours but if I was looking for a mixture for a pot, I think I'd certainly pay their website a visit.</div>
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My bulb care instructions from now on are to deadhead them as they go over and give a liquid feed once a week for a month. I'm undecided between leaving them in the pots to flower again next year or emptying them out, drying the bulbs carefully and potting up again in winter. Does anyone have any recommendations on that front? Please though, no suggestions for planting them in the ground – I have no available space that the chickens do not have access to so they wouldn't stay in the ground for very long...</div>
suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-62260074331248439232013-05-06T18:12:00.000+01:002013-05-06T18:12:15.000+01:00No shortage of blossom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Is it just me or has anyone else got blossom-overloaded cherry trees? This is a 3 year old Maynard Mini Stem cherry in a pot, from which we had 3 cherries in year 1, none in year 2, and so far, this is year 3...<br />
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If pollination is successful, will I really have this many cherries?? If so, I feel a rather large cherry clafoutis coming on sometime in early July.</div>
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-122704265531236982013-05-01T11:26:00.000+01:002013-05-01T11:26:24.942+01:00Where potatoes and peas are planted out<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So the spring that we've been waiting for through a cold and frosty March and a chilly and wet April has finally arrived. My Apache potatoes were planted out a week ago – over a month past their planned planting date. The extra time chitting indoors did mean that the shoots were particularly well developed by the time they went in the ground. Apache potatoes are maincrop types so should be ready for harvest 18–20 weeks after planting. That will give me an August harvest for these and they should be good for storing for a while as well.<br />
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I've been taking advantage of the nicer weather this last week by hardening off my peas that were germinated in pots in the greenhouse. I'm growing Kelevedon Wonder and Meteor peas this year, both of which are early varieties. I have, however, already lost the labels off a couple of the pots so the peas are being planted out together. I wonder if I'll see any difference in the plants or flowers as they develop? My pea harvest in the early part of 2012 was fantastic – I froze lots of bags and used them in risottos over the winter. I'm really hopeful they do well for me again this year.<br />
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-87595049364316329642013-04-23T15:02:00.004+01:002013-04-23T15:02:47.971+01:00Gardens galore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It started off just like any typical Tuesday...<br />
Today seems to be turning out to be a particularly good day. At breakfast-time I managed not to burn my toasted hot cross bun (yes, I know Easter has passed but I still have a stash of them in the freezer). I then logged onto the RHS Qualifications site to find out that not only were the February exam results out a few days early but that I'd passed both of mine with commendation. (Incredibly pleased face). And finally the postman knocked with a parcel that turned out to be a copy of a beautiful book – The Gardens of England: Treasures of the National Gardens Scheme.<br />
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This book covers the 86 years that the National Gardens Scheme has been in existence through descriptions and histories of gardens that first opened for the charity from the 1920s through to the millennium. Some of the gardens still open for the NGS, while others are long gone, razed to the ground in times of economic hardship for the families who owned them.<br />
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A few of you may know that I am an avid supporter of the NGS and contribute in a voluntary capacity on the publicity side for Hertfordshire. Through this contact I was asked to help out with some early picture research for this book, which entailed searching through NGS-held images at head office as well as spending a few days in a dusty basement trawling through ancient bound copies of Country Life magazine to find photos of the gardens at the time of their first open days. I attended the launch of this book just last week at an event at the Garden Museum, where the chapter contributors along with publishers, NGS colleagues and some of the garden owners came together to celebrate its publication.<br />
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It is available through the publisher's own website <a href="http://www.merrellpublishers.com/?9781858946023" target="_blank">here</a> and from branches of Waterstones throughout the UK. If you're looking for a new coffee table garden book for yourself or as a gift for a garden enthusiast friend or relative, I can highly recommend it – and as a portion of the profits are being donated to the NGS I hope you don't mind this shameless plug.</div>
suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6288480452785054795.post-16874223148654431082013-04-22T08:24:00.001+01:002013-04-22T08:24:47.170+01:00The importance of a good plan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I will happily confess to being one of those gardening types with a planting plan. It helps me keep track of where my crops are grown each year, serving as a rough guide for rotating crops the following year. It acts as a historic record of what I've chosen to grow year by year and documents my changing tastes and preferences. Additionally it serves as a space planner, letting me see what crops I have room for each season and what might need to be kept in pots or in the greenhouse. But the most important thing about a planting plan is that you appreciate it is subject to change. And change mine did when in February my brassicas came under attack from the local wood pigeon population. Here's my updated winter plan:<br />
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But after annoyance and frustration I came to the view that it has opened up possibilities for the spring season. I have areas of raised bed that are now empty and available for early planting - whereas the brassicas would have remained until June, preventing me from replanting in those areas. Silver linings and all that. It means I can sow more varieties of summer and winter squash than I had first planned – which is good, given the surprise seed packets I found last week...<br />
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suburban veg gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08546041205509607893noreply@blogger.com12