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
Category: Varieties
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
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 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
Sowing early carrots in pots
Carrots do not need much warmth to start germinating and begin to grow, but it is still too early to sow into the vegetable beds. Even though they have been covered with black weed fabric, which will help the soil to warm more quickly, it will be a while yet before the soil is suitable… Continue reading Sowing early carrots in pots
First sowing in February
February is still early in the year to be sowing, but if the worst of the cold weather can be kept off the seeds and seedlings then there are many crops that can be sown now: onions and leeks; cabbages, kales and other brassicas; peas and broad beans; lettuces and other leafy vegetables such as… Continue reading First sowing in February
Planting asparagus
An asparagus bed is an investment in both time and space. It is not, perhaps, the most productive of crops for the area it occupies and as a perennial crop it occupies that space year round. It also takes time to develop. If starting from crowns, which are one year old plants, it will be… Continue reading Planting asparagus
UFO training of sweet cherries
Cherries are typically rather vigorous trees with an upright growth habit. They can therefore be challenging to develop in restricted forms suitable for the kitchen garden. A sour cherry is naturally more dwarfing than a sweet cherry and may make a reasonable fan against a wall or fence of some six feet in height. A… Continue reading UFO training of sweet cherries