Our first sowing in March covered dill, in pots for the kitchen and cells for planting out into the kitchen garden, brassicas – kale, calabrese, cauliflower, and broccoli – and broad beans.
Planting bare root strawberries
I have mixed feelings towards the strawberry. I rarely enjoy processed strawberries – such as in jams, compotes, cheesecake, and so on. Fresh strawberries vary greatly. Not so many years ago one would struggle to find a strawberry in the greengrocer or supermarket that had much flavour, at least according to my taste. Things have… Continue reading Planting bare root strawberries
Pollinating and protecting peach blossom
I have written before about the process of hand pollinating peaches. Peaches flower early in the year, at a time when few pollinating insects are about, and as ours are grown under cover it is even less likely that insects will find them. To secure a crop, these need to be pollinated by hand –… Continue reading Pollinating and protecting peach blossom
Planting and pruning fruit bushes
Work on our new fruit cage continues with the planting of various fruit bushes: currants, gooseberries, and a Japanese wineberry. Although we do not have as much space in the new cage, we have chosen some of our favourites of the soft fruit to grow here whilst dropping some of those that we were less… Continue reading Planting and pruning fruit bushes
Planting stone fruits for fan training
Following the renovations to our kitchen garden we have new lengths of east facing and north facing fence. Boundary walls or fences are ideal for planting trained fruit, providing a harvest whilst taking up little space. If walls are available they offer further advantages, warming up during the day and slowly releasing stored heat during… Continue reading Planting stone fruits for fan training
Last sowing of February
February is still early in the new gardening season but it is always nice to set a mixture of seed and try to get a head start on things, and, if a little protection can be offered – from propagators, cold frames, greenhouses or polytunnels, for example – then often these early sowings will succeed… Continue reading Last sowing of February
Winter pruning of cordon apples and pears
Cordons of the pome fruits are typically pruned twice per season; first in summer and then in winter. The end of February or perhaps the first week or so of March offer the last opportunity to get this done before bud break. It is not, though, a bad time to prune as cuts are likely… Continue reading Winter pruning of cordon apples and pears
Second sowing in February
Sowing continued today with a couple of the more tricky seeds – parsley and celeriac – along with some leeks and lettuce. Parsley is somewhat erratic in germination. Although it does not mind the cold, it will germinate better in warm conditions. We sowed four small pots with plenty of seed to allow for failures… Continue reading Second sowing in February
Planting early potatoes in pots
A few weeks ago we put some first early potatoes to chit – Home Guard and Arran Pilot. It is early yet for planting potatoes and we have not started with those destined for outdoors, but we always try an early planting in the greenhouse and aim to produce our first potatoes by the end of… Continue reading Planting early potatoes in pots
Planting blueberries
Just before Christmas we started to stock our new fruit cage with soft fruit, planting four varieties of raspberry. We have since added five sweet cherries that we are planning to train in something like the UFO (Upright Fruiting Offshoots) method. This week we continued the process by planting five young blueberry bushes. Blueberries favour… Continue reading Planting blueberries