Under The Weather

I don't think this will be a long of scintillating entry this week. I have come down with a heavy cold & feel rough at times. I've done copious amounts of drugs (anti-snot medicines and pain killers, nothing illegal!) but they only take the edge off it!

Looking quite bare now

Before I was struck down I popped over the allotment to do some clearing & check on the progress of the veg for Christmas Dinner. I still needed to pull up the old sweetcorn plants and all remaining runner beans with their supports. I could have done a lot more weeding but things were very muddy so It would have been quite heavy work. Among the beans which I pulled up were the very pathetic number of Czar beans which were meant to be my butter bean supply for next year. There were not even enough to plant a crop for next year. I think the weather was just too bad for this seemingly fussy bean to cope. Oh well, back to buying them in the supermarket. Last year I used that wide green netting stuff to support the beans, its horrible isn’t it! Dreadful stuff to work with and not biodegradable but it was convenient and cheap at the time. I forgot that in the back of the shed are two rose arches which I had intended to use to make a bean tunnel, using long canes between them to make the horizontal supports. Next year then.

The green manures are showing some signs of frost damage, they really need cutting down and then rotavating in but I didn’t have the big strimmer with me, couldn't find it when I looked in the shed. Never mind they wont run away and if we should get another cold snap the frost will probably kill them off.

mostly green manure

The leeks for Christmas very from pencil thin to leek sized. I pulled up a couple of parsnips – one very long and thin, the other slightly more parsnip shaped goodness knows what the rest will be like. Ah well, they will all be cooked up on the day and I'm sure the flavours will be good.

The poor old fruit cage will definitely need a new covering, the current one of fine green mesh is suffering in the bad weather. I crawled into the fruit cage to cut down the raspberries, which I didn't root because I've got quite a lot already. However I did cut down my lone blackcurrrant stem and chopped it into pieces then popped them into the soil. With a a bit of luck they will all take and I'll have a set of free bushes (I think the parent was a freebie too).

My last job was to clear the weeds away from the base of the two fruit trees, one wonky plum tree (its few branches were all on one side) and one sad russet, then I gave them a sackful of organic compost to feed them in the coming year.

The sad little russet

Now the sofa & box of tissues are calling so I'll wish you a Happy Christmas and a Joyful New Year. :)

Container Thoughts

12 /12/12 Keeping it contained

Rip Van Winkle

Sarah's Pink

Outside the back-door there are two stone troughs which have been home to a variety of bulbs and annuals. Last year they were joined by two pedestal planters which have also hosted an assortment of bulbs and annuals all with varying degrees of success. Last summer I had a mixture of fuchsias (as always) trailing pansies and Red Nicotiana in the pedestal planters and an assortment of herbs in the stone troughs. Now that most things have died down it is time to think about next year's plants. The back door faces south but gets shade form a huge old Escallonia Macrantha for some of the morning, this will suit herbs well. Having the herbs right outside the door was really useful so I plan to properly fill the troughs and planters with the ones I use most. There are parsley, chives and lots of lemon thyme remaining so I shall increase the parsley (justly known as the king of herbs) but the lemon thyme needs moving and labelling. I made a lovely mushroom risotto and cut some thyme to add a bit more flavour – lemon flavour – it was certainly an acquired taste! To these I shall add in some common thyme, mint, oregano, coriander and maybe rosemary. Hopefully there will be space for some basil too.

Lysimachia

Viola

The front of the house faces due west so it gets the sun nearly all afternoon which makes it perfect for some of the most dazzling summer flowers. The old butler sink by the front door was filled with yellow and orange Nemisia last summer, a really good buy because they flowered all summer long with no fiddly dead heading. Height was added by pot marigolds, which also collapsed so added width too. This old sink is a bit of a problem though. It is a haven for slugs and snails who love to live in its drainage holes so they have been filled with gravel to try and keep the pests out. There is no shortage of garden centres and nurseries round here but there seems to be a shortage of inspiration when it comes to ready to plant annuals. Tried and tested plants are one thing but Geraniums, Lobelia and Petunias however pretty are not really my idea of exciting. Having looked through my rather old copies Dr Hessayan's flower and bedding plant books for some different ideas I have currently decided to grow a Canary Creeper on the trellis at the back, Portulaca to cover the sides and probably Californian Poppies for the middle. I am also tempted by the bright colours of Annual Chrysanthemum Carinatum (Court Jester) or Gazanias so these could go in some of the other containers which will soften the edge of the deck.

Anagallis 'Sky Lover'

Sanvitalia

Caliobrachoa

Scaveola

My final thoughts go to the hanging baskets. Last year saw one with a magnificent Nepeta and a Lysimachia 'Midnight Sun' by the back door, until I went on holiday and somebody didn’t water it so I came home to a very dead basket. The baskets at the front never really got growing. They had trailing geraniums, lobelia, violas and fuchsias but nothing flourished. So what will it be? I have a passion for Fuchsias but the very sunny spot at the front won't suit them, they'd be better at the side where there is some shade for part of the day. That is also a good spot for Begonia Pendula, very pretty but still not that unusual. A whizz through online seed and plant sellers has given me Bidens 'Gold Star' or 'Golden Goddess', Anagallis 'Skylover', Scaveola, Sanvitalia 'Aztec gold' or Caliobrachoa in an assortment of colours.

Forward Planning

There is wind and rain lashing the windows so I have decided to make plans for next years vegetable planting. I keep all my notes from the previous year in an old school exercise book and the allotment plans on computer. Looking back at my notes for the past years cropping it was a moderately successful year despite the appalling weather. The big successes were the Emperor Runner Beans, Cobra French Beans, Bunyards Broad Beans, and Cannelini Dwarf French beans. Average crops from the Rainbow Carrots, Raspberries, Strawberries, Purple Kale, Coco Noir Dwarf black beans and assorted onions. The potatoes had a terrible time with blight hitting the main crop of Maris Piper although the earlies of Swift, Belle De Fontenay and Pentland Javelin were harvested before it got a hold. Despite these successes there were a few disasters namely the Ambassador Peas which germinated but grew very poorly. My special Czar Runner Beans which I grew for drying as Butter beans, were very poor, nothing worth cropping at all. I also tried growing sweetcorn just for fun. Well it grew to about three feet tall and some cobs set but nothing worth cropping. I may try them again next year if there is room. Once again I failed to get any life out of the soya beans, I need an electric propagator. Goodness only knows what happened to all the spinach I planted!

With those results in mind I have started planning next years crops. I plan to try some new varieties as well as new vegetables. I attempt to work the allotment in a three crop rotation but I can't resist bargain plants so sometimes I end up with things out of place. I currently have some end of season strawberries waiting for a home, along with the other strawberries which I rescued and heeled in at the end of the season. I think I need to extend the fruit cage which currently has strawberries, raspberries and blueberries in it. It needs sorting out so it only houses one variety of fruit. Then I'll need to find a home for the raspberries & blueberries as well as adding in gooseberries and blackcurrants.

I will also need to find room for Bright Lights Chard and Salsify which I have never grown or eaten before. Although the Bunyards Broad Beans were very successful I want to try Karmazyn and Red Epicure for variety. I shall return to Purple Haze Carrots because they look great in salads and I will also sow Eskimo and Amsterdam Forcing. Last season I didn't manage to grow any squashes so I will try one of those Squash variety packs because I love all the flavours and textures. I have looked a many different varieties of potato, predominantly blight resistant ones but I have also seen specially chosen variety packs for allotments or heritage collections. Still there is plenty of time to decide! I have also seen there is a trend for growing potatoes late in the season to have fresh on Christmas Day. If I can get the seed potatoes I shall definitely be growing a bagful of these. I wonder if there is anything else I can grow for Christmas?!