'How does your garden grow?'


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Not a miniature whisky but a rather fat carrot! some stuff in the garden has done very well this year.

 

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One of our cherry trees which was planted 60+ years ago, the first photo is in a book we have about the first occupants of our house, Harry Freckleton and his wife who had a photographic studio on Mar

First runners of the year some salt butter and a baked spud lovely jubbly  

That's on my to do list  nonna, chilli jam, apple and sage jelly. Just finished a batch of plum and ginger chutney. My family love them for the winter months and they make good Christmas pre

Wow what a carrot, try making carrot cake with it. Took the eldest dog a walk down the road this afternoon as we had workmen in so it was to keep her out of the way. On our way back I was looking in the open drains and saw  about 6 big tomato plants complete with small very ripe tomatoes on them.  No doubt some  one who doesnt know any better will pick them. The grapes are nearly all ready for the vendemmia, so the roads for the next few weeks will be filled with tractors and trailers full of grapes. The air smells like a cantina.

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Just as nonna says, the vendange (same as vendemmia) is starting in full here. There will be huge influxes of itinerant workers flooding the place - quite a lot of posh, thick English school leavers in their 'gap' year who think they will have a dead easy time and be continuously intoxicated. It ain't like that, folks!! As advice to anyone who's thinking of being a vendangeur/euse, it's damned hard work and very long hours!

Despite what Google would have you think, most if not all, grapes are picked by hand here.

 

On the subject of tomato plants, when I was young there was a sewage works down Wigwam Lane, Hucknall where, every year, there would be tomatoes growing on the filter beds. The workers would carefully lift the plants (with a good amount of adherent 'soil') and replant them in a small plot at the side of the works. The resulting tomatoes were free for anyone to take - and they were VERY good to eat.

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10 hours ago, jonab said:

Just as nonna says, the vendange (same as vendemmia) is starting in full here. There will be huge influxes of itinerant workers flooding the place - quite a lot of posh, thick English school leavers in their 'gap' year who think they will have a dead easy time and be continuously intoxicated. It ain't like that, folks!! As advice to anyone who's thinking of being a vendangeur/euse, it's damned hard work and very long hours!

Despite what Google would have you think, most if not all, grapes are picked by hand here.

 

 

Correct Jonab, its not easy especially in this heat and humidity. To be intoxicated in this heat can be fatal or at least have a murderous headache. All our grapes are hand picked from Moscato to Barbera, 

We are surrounded by vine yards so that means there are also loads of wasps and calabrone ( hornets) Another thing for those extra hands they will have to watch out because lots of producers take on illegal workers and the fines are huge.

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Despite it being late September, there are still some bees about.  Here's one sitting on the centre of a sunflower, the other day:

 

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Hardly any ladybirds in the far north this year, Ian. I saw one Great Yellow bumblebee which was duly registered with the bee conservation trust.  The great yellow is Britain's rarest mainland bumblebee. Now found only on the Scottish Isles and a few pockets along the far north coast, this bee is a welcome sight in the garden.  Saw none last year and four the year before.  this is not much of a picture but it was the best I cold do, given that the bee was up in the roof of the polytunnel. I eventually managed to rescue it from its prison and set it free outside.

 

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They just seem to have appeared in the last three weeks, I started the seeds off on some damp kitchen tissue in the kitchen window, when the shoots were about an inch high I transplanted them into my little re cycled aerosol can tops until they were well established then into the prepared ground in the raised bed in the greenhouse,only water them every three days.

 

Rog

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Dry some of mine then put them in a jar with some olive oil and a few of their seeds leave them for some time to infuse the oil, nice drizzled over some hassleback potato's while roasting or drizzled onto pork steaks before putting them on the griddle

 

Rog

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There is a commonly held myth that it is the seeds in chillies that makes them hot. The truth is that it is the pith that forms the internal ribs of the fruit that holds most of the capaisin, not the seeds. :)

 

 

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We've always grown chillies but this year we put them into containers, We have 6 different varieties. As this year has been extremely hot occasionally I forgot to water them so they are drying out naturally . Sweeping around where they are( our neighbors have a huge pine tree that to my mind is dying but they say no and the pine needles are making such a mess) I noticed that the chilies are quite dry so think I will collect them and finish the process. Temperature has gone right down, the humidity is still with us so don't think the chilliest will be very happy to finish drying outside. 

Probably make some chili jam again. The green chutneys I made last year ( or the year before) are long finished.

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That's on my to do list  nonna, chilli jam, apple and sage jelly. Just finished a batch

of plum and ginger chutney. My family love them for the winter months and

they make good Christmas presents for the neighbours.  

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That sounds like a good present.   I wish someone would give us a present like that instead of chocolates and biscuits.  I love those but would prefer someone to do a bit of gardening for us

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A few years ago a cousin who lives in France presented me with a lovely hamper of French goodies. When he returned home I presented him with a hamper of all my preserves ( a jar or bottle of each)  I appreciated this and so did he and his wife. At the moment I'm trying to use up all my jam, its about the only things I have now as this year I havent preserved anything. Not long ago I had 56 jars of apricot, peach, fig and cherry , also some marmalade, so it takes some getting through and you cant live on bread and jam and jam tarts can you?

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Back from another holiday last night, and this morning, I noticed that I'd some rhododendrons in full bloom. This second showing is most unusual, and looks beautiful, but it only means I'll get less blooms in spring. No worries, I'll just enjoy the current spectacle.

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What makes you think you'll get less blooms in spring,perhaps the plants have stored enough energy from our very warm dry summer

 

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The ones in Stapleford woods haven't had a second bloom though

 

Rog

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