Fruity Friday

I have been picking strawberries for a week or so now and there are plenty left on the plants waiting to ripen. This was this evening's pickings along with the first of the raspberries

I decided to take a slow wander around the garden to see how the rest of the fruits are coming along, so here a few photos of apples

pears

plums

cherries

redcurrants (with a few blackberries sneaking into shot)

and the surprise of the evening... cranberries

...okay, so not enough to make a jar of sauce but I'm happy all the same. Last year's attempt produced nothing.

In the Potting Shed

My potting shed is now home to my chitting potatoes; a first early, a second early and a main crop. Sharpe's Express is a new variety for me, I chose it because it was advertised as a good all-rounder.

Charlotte is a tried and tested variety which is consistent so I thought I'd stick with it.

Desiree is another new variety for me which I picked instead of Rooster this year... just thought I'd try something different.

I have also re-potted my second attempt at cranberries. These two red star plants arrived a week or so ago in 9 inch pots so I thought they could do with a bit more room... a couple of handfulls of ericaceous compost later and they are looking quite healthy in their new pots.

I have also moved the early sown tomatoes, chillis and aubergine out there.

I also started my February sowing out there with 15 sweet pepper plants; 3 each of corno rosso, ozarowska, diablo, bellboy and california wonder

I'm really hoping it's not too cold for them all.

Busy Winter Day

Now that the bulk of the Christmas festivities are over, I couldn't escape the fact that I had a bit... ok a lot of tidying up to do in the garden. So as the sun was shining (on and off), and it wasn't raining I decided to get out there and make a start on it.

So, first task was to dig up the last of the parsnips... they'll make a nice addition to today's roast dinner.

OK, they are a bit smaller than I thought they would be and not as impressive as the ones that came up on Christmas day.

But the soil is so wet I didn't even have to pull hard to get them out. I would rather eat them now than allow them to rot in the ground and I'm sure they will taste just as delicious.

Next on the list was to plant out the recently delivered cranberry plants... having looked up their soil  and growing preferences I opted for hanging baskets and made a trip to the garden centre to get some special compost. I hope they like their new surroundings.

 

 

It was also time to dispose of the sweet pepper and chilli plants that have been looking very sorry for themselves in the greenhouse... clinging on for dear life amongst the drooping foliage were these three little specimens.

I thought it was only fair that I bring them into the kitchen and give them the chance to fulfill their culinary destiny... probably a bolognese sauce.

Before the heavens opened I managed to address the leek bed. I have never been any good at thinning out... I think that if a seed makes the effort to germinate and become a seedling it is unfair to remove it just because the seedling next to it is bigger. Anyway, as a result of being too close together some of them are quite thin, but baby veg are all the rage these days.

So that's it, the last crops for this year have been gathered, and even if I say so myself, look pretty good when they're all cleaned up.

There is still a bit more to do out there... for a start I need to deconstruct and reconstruct my raised beds. If I'm brave enough I might even start sowing next week.

Gardening in December... or not.

There's not a great deal going on in the garden in December hence no postings for a little while. It has been freezing the past few days, but no actual snow...yet. I did manage to get out and tidy up my strawberry bed and plant out some new runners a couple of weeks ago. After my lack of fruit this year, someone told me that they need a bit of frost in order to produce the flowers and subsequent berries so a cold snap is not always a bad thing and I won't be protecting them so much this time around.

Parsnips also taste much better after the frost has got to them. I dug up this prize (in my opinion) specimen last weekend as a welcome addition to the roast dinner and it tasted fab.


There are still a few more in the ground waiting to be pulled up for Christmas day. We have eaten all of the frozen veg I had stored in the freezer (not very good planning... must do better next year) so the parsnips and green tomato chutney to go with the cheese board will be the only home-produce on my Christmas table.

This inludes shop-bought sauces and jellies... next year I want to be making my own. Hence the delivery of two cranberry plants this morning. They may not look like much now, sat on the windowsill in the dark, but this time next year I am hoping that they will have produced enough berries to make cranberry sauce and redcurrant jelly... I already have the recipes, just need the fruit.

So, as there's not a great deal going on in the garden in December, I spent this evening going through my seed packets, looking over last year's journal to see what I sowed and when, and planning for next year. Bring on the new season.