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Now for something completely different – The Purple Potato Project
My first early purple potatoes are ready! I wasn’t going to grow potatoes this year, as we really don’t eat very many, but when I saw the Purple Potato Project, I couldn’t resist! As I’ve said before, I am drawn to something a bit different, and I already grow so many other purple veg. They don’t actually taste any different, but they are better for you, with antioxidants in. The particular antioxidant they have is anthocyanin – known for its positive health benefits. It is purported to reduce inflammation and protect you from conditions like cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Anthocyanin is also found in red cabbage…
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The Madness of May!
May is the month when the garden seems to explode. Not only do new flowers appear everyday, but more appear during the day! When I go and open the greenhouse every morning, I have a mooch around. By the time I’m out there at lunchtime, more flowers have opened. The growing rate at this time of year is incredible! I keep toying with putting a time-lapse camera on the tomato plants. They seem to grow from hour to hour! The Edible Garden Crops we are already eating Breakfast has been zinged up now with the start of the rhubarb harvest. We simply stew it in it’s own juices, then eat…
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What’s growing in the kitchen garden
Time to catch up with the kitchen garden and what’s growing in the raised beds. Firstly the four that are rotated each year. The Roots Bed Back in the autumn I planted up half of the root bed with onion sets. I’m growing red onions for the first time this year. I do love them roasted. The other half of the bed has now been sown with the three varieties of beetroot we grow every year. Red Ace, Golden Globe and Choiggia. The Brassica Bed Two small Italian kale plants, sown last year and overwintered in the greenhouse have now gone in. With this warm weather they’ll soon be growing…
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Happy Birthday Walnut Kitchen Garden
This week, marks twelve months since I started this garden blog. Is it me or is time going faster! It’s gone by so quickly. I’ve had such an enjoyable time, writing about the garden each week. And as I have done research for a number of the topics, I’ve leaned a great deal too. To celebrate our first anniversary. I’m going to take you back through the original garden transformation series. And show you where we’re up to today. If you’d like to read any of them again, just press on the titles. Part 1 – Let’s get stuck into the garden makeover! In part one, we did nothing but strip…
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Growing Tomatoes from seed – Now is the time!
The best thing about growing your own tomatoes, is choice. There is such a wide variety of tomatoes to choose from when you grow your own. The sizes range from, tiny cherry tomatoes, pointed plum tomatoes, right the way up to large beefsteak varieties. And don’t be thinking that all tomatoes are red. They can be yellow, orange, different shades of red and even purple. Growing a variety of colours, looks great in a salad. How to choose your tomatoes The most important thing, when you are growing for yourself is flavour! This is obviously personal preference. So experiment, growing different varieties, but remember to keep records. You’ll soon build…
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Growing Potatoes
If you fancy growing potatoes, especially earlies. Then January is the month to buy your seed potatoes, and get them chitting. This involves putting them in a light, cool place to start them chitting – which is basically sprouting. The best container for this job is an egg box. It holds the potatoes in an upright position, and won’t sweat. Look at each potato and decide which side has the most ‘eyes’ on it, put this side facing upwards. Put them into your coolest room, where they will get plenty of light, but not direct sunlight. You’ll see the little chits start to develop. They are ready to be planted…
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Making Compost
Before we moved here eight years ago. We hadn’t got space for a large composting area so we bought a worm hotel. They were all the rage at the time, and we actually got on very well with it. It was remarkable how quickly the worms broke down the material. There was also an added benefit of liquid fertiliser that you drained off, it was fabulously potent stuff! We brought the worm hotel with us when we moved, and set it up straight away. We throw almost no food away, but we do like to compost all of our vegetable peelings. It served this purpose well for the first three…
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Gardening highlights of 2021
Firstly let me start by wishing you all a very happy new year. Yet again we find ourselves, not sorry to see the back of last year. Which is quite sad as life goes by so quickly, we really should be enjoying every minute! Luckily, with a love of gardening, it is easy to forget the world’s troubles. At least temporarily when you’re absorbed with the tasks in hand. Sowing, potting on, planting out and then tending to those precious plants. Not to mention all of that thinking time. Sitting looking at the borders & pots, planning what to do next. I’ve said it a million times before, but gardening…
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Crop Rotation
The main purpose for crop rotation is to prevent pests and diseases from building up to the point where they cause problems. Different crops are susceptible to different pests and diseases, so by moving them around the pests and disease specific for each group die off. The added benefit is that some vegetables actually deposit nutrients into the soil, to benefit the next group to be planted there. The best example of this is the Legume family (Peas & Beans), their roots deposit nitrogen into the soil. Some family groups grow harmoniously with others, known as companion planting. This has been shown to prevent some pests and also improve the…
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Late Autumn in the Garden – The big tidy-up
Late autumn is a strange season of conflicting emotions for me. To be honest it’s my least favourite time of the year. I know we have the spectacular colourful displays from the trees, as their leaves blaze with fiery reds, golds and coppers. And when they first drop to the ground, dry and crispy, I can’t resist the temptation to run through them kicking them up in the air. But once on the ground they become soggy and slimy! I find it rather depressing as the garden starts dying back and everywhere looks a mess! But it’s necessary! We all need a rest, even the garden. I’m much happier once…
