There Will be Fruit

I realise it’s only March (well, April nearly) but my Blackcurrant bushes and Red and White currant bushes are flowering – big time! The flowers are so teeny-tiny that I only noticed them this evening when I was making my 6pm sweep of the garden. The Blackcurrant flowers (top) are all hairy and cute, packed […]

Over-wintered Kale & Spinach

Just a quickie to share with you my harvest this evening. I’m really loving these light evenings now and spent a good half hour pottering around the garden tonight. In my basket went some Kale and some New Zealand Spinach. Both crops have been growing over winter and have sprung back into life over the […]

Tulips; The Perfect Kitchen Garden Flower

I picked the first of my tulips this afternoon. I have a bank of them growing along the left hand side of mtp. I love tulips. They’re just so crisp and fresh. I love the way that they’re quite firm to the touch and stand bolt upright. I love the way sometimes their colour doesn’t […]

The Only Rhubarb Recipe I Like

Okay so I’m the first to admit it, I’m not the biggest fan of Rhubarb. It’s sort of tangy and makes me make a funny face when I taste it. At least that’s what I used to think before under gardener decided that he would make some of Jamie’s recipes and chose the ‘Speedy Rhubarb […]

Come on Bees, Requesting Back Up

Today, I did some pollinating. My Peach tree is in full flower, with not a single bee in sight. So I did the only thing I could do in the circumstances and got out my paint-brush for a spot of hand pollination. It was quite relaxing really, dusting the pollen from the stamen to the […]

Transplanting Cabbages

I don’t know what it is with Brassicas but I always sow too many of them. Maybe, I’m just hedging my bets because I tend to lose a lot of plants each year, either to slugs, caterpillars or mealy bugs. Or maybe my hand just slips when I’m sowing, I’m not sure. All I know […]

Sowing and Saving Sweet Pea Seed

Whoah! I just realised there’s a lot of ‘S’s in that title – but anyway… Today, I sowed my Sweet Peas. I planted them at the same time last year and they seemed to do very well. I’m planting three varieties, Blue Ripple, High Scent and Rose Pearl, with a fourth pot of mixed saved […]

Broadbeans: Which Ones to Sow and Which to Throw

I recently sowed some Broadbeans. While doing some research I found out a few things that I didn’t know before now. I learned last year that you should soak them overnight before sowing. Which I did. However, once soaked, previously I would have thrown the lot in the ground. But now I know that some […]

Release the Secret Weapon

Better late than never. I finally managed to get some manure dug into the garden this weekend. Ah – that’s better. I just love the smell of well-rotted manure. It smells so sweet and earthy. The whole garden has been taken over by manure smells, it’s great!