organic vegetable gardening courses, growing tips and homegrown recipes.
The transformation of a seed to a plant is a true wonder of nature. The fresh food garden course includes more information about sowing seeds or you could try a Spring seed sowing session. Here are some tips if you want to start some seeds of your own in pots. Sowing in pots enables you to sow earlier in the season than outside. Some plants … [Read more...]
Peas need temperatures of at least 10 degrees C to germinate. There are lots of different varieties to try - tall and dwarf, snow peas and sugar snaps (round like a shelling-pea but with tender, edible pods). Here are some tips for success with peas. If you want more help and advice with vegetable garden, come on the fresh food garden course. … [Read more...]
I don't advise gardening in the snow. Tuck up warm and keep your powder dry for the sunny days of Spring. If your pets and other animals have plenty to eat and somewhere sheltered to wait out the blizzard then your work is done. Plan your garden, order your seeds or do some baking. … [Read more...]
Time to prune apples, pears, plums and roses if you haven't already done them. Goosegogs too. It's a beautiful warm day today, just right for those buds to start into life. I've sown some potatoes this week - probably a bit early, but as we don't get much frost, I might get away with it. And even if we get a late one, they'll just get set back a … [Read more...]
The Kings Seeds catalogue is here. You can browse and order on line but there's nothing to beat planning the next season's garden from the comfort of your armchair. This year's catalogue includes some inspiring photography from Kings Seeds' customers, including this photo of sweet peas on the cover by Bridgit Anderson. If you've looked after your … [Read more...]
a very fine plymouth barred rock hen on a sunny winter's day So you think your chooks aren’t laying well? Maybe they’re not. If it’s winter, hens have got better things to do, like planning their summer holidays and catching up on some reading. It’s no time to be raising chicks. Laying eggs is a daylight sensitive business. Commercial egg … [Read more...]
I've planted a few potatoes this week, although it's possibly too early as the shoots won't enjoy a late frost. I've mulched them with shreddings from pruning the fruit trees. We'll plant some more on the fresh food garden courses on Saturday 2 and 30 October 2010. The other opportunity to visit The Kitchen Garden is to come on the very popular … [Read more...]
The first shoots of garlic are coming through at last (planted 1 June). No sign of the elephant garlic, sown at the same time, yet. There's even the tip of an asparagus spear appearing above the mulch. The broad beans are doing well too. The seeds I sowed mid-May managed to avoid getting eaten by mice or rotting in the ground. I've mulched them … [Read more...]
Soup is a great winter lunch option - leek and potato, pumpkin or watercress are all delicious and relatively portable. They're a wonderful way to get kids to eat more vegetables, if that is your aim. I managed to scavenge a few winter salad leaves (rocket, red dandelion chicory, mibuna and a beautiful red mizuna) that the slugs and sparrows had … [Read more...]
Once your done with the top seven winter crops and more winter crops, here are six winter staples to serve stir fried, to add to soups or steam as a side dish. And then there's always coleslaw. Or pear, celery, walnut and blue cheese salad. Winter perfection. … [Read more...]
