New Year

It finally feels as if Spring is on it's way and my thoughts have turned to sewing and planting. Last year I grew Maris Bard Potatoes (First Early) but was quite disappointed with them. The haulms flopped and died very early on and they didn't produce that many tubers. This year I've chosen Nicola, a second early from Taylors, which will hopefully do better. For now they are chitting in the kitchen:

I was given some seeds for Christmas, so I sowed the first of these at the week-end. I've done 3 rows of parsnips, with a row of lettuce in between. My parsnips haven't done so well the last couple of years, so I'm hoping that fresh seeds will do the trick. My the time the parsnips need the space, the lettuce will be coming to end (well that's the theory any-way)

More progress

Last weekend, Amy and I planted the rest of the seed potatoes, this time in potato bags. On Monday, I potted on the chilli seedlings - they started off looking a bit sad and I was worried I'd killed them. However, they soon picked up and are now sprouting their 1st true leaves.

I've also taken the fleece off the raised bed that was protecting the shallots and pea shoots. They are both doing nicely now, so I took the opportunity to put in the support for the peas. This year I'm trying netting stretched between bamboo canes.

Pea shoot

Shallot shoots

Harvesting (in the rain!)

After all the waiting, we're now getting quite regular veggies! Amy and I picked a couple of strawberries this week (although they got eaten before I thought about a photo!) - they were a bit soft with all the rain, but very tasty all the same.

We've had quite a few more potatoes (Kestral) - they look so colourful, but unfortunately they loose the purple when they're cooked.

Yesterday I picked the first of the peas, carrots and purple radishes (and some more spuds!).

The peas were a great success - will definitely grow some more of these.

One of the carrots had split open. I've looked into this a bit and it seems the most likely cause is too much water (especially after a drier spell). Hmmm, we have had exceptional rainfall recently so I'll blame that.

The radishes look great, but the flavour is a bit overpowering to say the least - I may have found the strongest variety! I'm now looking for recipes that use cooked radish - so far I'm thinking radish curry (Kerala style) or chutney...

Harvesting my first spuds!

I'm so excited - I dug up my 1st Kestral potatoes tonight! It was all the more exciting as you have no idea what's hiding below the surface until you start poking around. These were the first few I found, and this should be enough for 1 meal so I stopped there. I can't wait to taste them!

PS They tasted absolutely great! - served with a knob of butter and a sprinkling of freshly picked garlic chives.

Looking good

A little bit of sun yesterday and things are looking up.


The 1st potato flowers are opening, as are the lupins. 

A few strawberries are developing - I think they may need netting to prevent the birds/mice getting them.

The salad leaves I planted a couple of weeks ago are also growing well and it looks like I might get some flowers on the courgettes in the next few days.

The mange tout are looking good too - might have to pick some for tea tonight!

Busy weekend of (over-due!) sunshine

Wow! What a lovely week-end we've had! It's been such a long time since the sun shone for more than a few minutes...

I decided to take the fleece covers off the raised beds yesterday, hoping that the veg wouldn't get eaten. I was initially a bit dismayed to see a load of birds arrive. On closer inspection, they were house sparrows and goldfinches and seemed to be eating between the greenery, so I left them to it. When I went out later, I couldn't see any obvious damage, so I think they may have been eating the ants. House sparrows are supposed to be in decline (have a read here), but they seem to be thriving around here, and we even have a nest in the eaves!

Jobs I've done this weekend include:

• thinned out the red onions
• earthed up the potatoes again
• weeded
• potted on the sweetcorn and courgettes
• planted out the brussel sprouts
• lawn mowing
• clearing a very overgrown flower bed

Well I did say it was a busy weekend!

Sally Sweetcorn

The other jobs I did in Monday's sunshine (that didn't last long did it?!) were planting another 8 seed potatoes (Sante - main crop) and potting on the more tender crops.

I pricked out the chilli, pepper and aubergines that finally germinated inside (see here and here). The courgettes never did show themselves, so I've ditched them and started again - a new packet of seed, covered in vermiculite, in a propagator on the kitchen windowsill. The other disaster we had was Amy's first sowing of sweetcorn. I think both of these were too cold outside, and by the time I'd realised and brought them inside, the seeds were no longer viable. We did manage to get 1 to germinate - nicknamed "Sally"!

Sally sweetcorn

Potato bags

The seed potatoes I bought have been chitting on a window-sill and are now ready to plant. I put a few in on Easter Sunday (here) but they take up more room than I'd bargained for! As I just can bring myself to throw any away, I've bought some potato bags. With 4 seeds per bag, you gradually fill them with compost as the leaves break through. It will be interesting to see which do better - these or the ones in the bed...

Chitting Sante potatoes

Chitting potatoes

I bought some seed potatoes (Kestral and Sante) on the 12th Feb and they've been chitting on the kitchen windowsill and in the spare room...

...and this is what they look like now:

Kestral are a second early, while Sante are a main-crop potato. I wasn't really sure what I was doing when I chose them, but my local hardware store had their seed potatoes on display and I was tempted! Having read around a bit, it turns out I picked 2 very good types, with good pest and disease resistance.


The other thing I've learnt is that whereas I'm used to buying "new" or "old" potatoes, growers have 3 types:

1st Early = New potatoes, eaten small and early summer

2nd Early = New potatoes, grown larger and harvested towards the end of summer

Main-crop = "old" potatoes, harvested in the Autumn onwards and the only ones that store well.