Archive for ◊ January, 2019 ◊

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• Sunday, January 27th, 2019

Today as the wind was particularly fierce and cold on the allotment I decided instead to attend the Seedy Sunday event in Trumpington, Cambridge. It’s a fun informal seed swapping event with a few stalls  for community projects.

I picked up some elephant garlic seed, which I was quite excited about since the clove is huge and I have never grown them before. They are supposed to be delicious roasted. I decided to plant the seed straight away in a pot since it seems that they need a long growing season.

I also got some tomatillo seeds and left some salad and various tomato seeds in exchange. Finally I picked up some Fiesta corn which had been saved from a crop grown at Murray Edwards College. Apparently it is part of a seed redistribution project called Cornucopia. The corn should be very colourful hence choosing these seeds.

It feels good to pick up some seeds in preparation for spring. And I look forward to checking the packets and planning when I can start sowing seeds in February and March.

Category: Favourite Seeds  | Tags: ,  | Leave a Comment
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• Sunday, January 13th, 2019

It’s been a fairly nice Sunday morning and, since as it was warm enough, I have been able to go to the allotment to do a bit of digging. There were quite a few people doing the same, taking advantage of the dry weather to clear their plot a little bit more.

Garlic

As I was digging I noticed a lot of earth worms, which I try not to hurt as I disturb their ground. Unfortunately, there is a lot of couch grass on the plot which is very invasive so most of my effort consists in removing that weed. I also took the time to take a look at the garlic, which has grown well in autumn and which should be over-wintering nicely during the cold weather.

A little bit at a time is the best advice I can give when it comes to keeping the plot in good stead without hurting your back. And regular digging and weeding goes a long way to keep it tidy.

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• Friday, January 04th, 2019

Last week I noticed that some of my roses were still blossoming, more precisely the yellow Golden Celebration rose was in bloom. I’ve always enjoyed English roses and in particular the David Austin’s roses.

The varieties that I have enjoyed growing include Shropshire Lad, Teasing Georgia and Jude the Obscure. I used to have a beautiful crimson William Shakespeare rose in a previous garden but it doesn’t seem to be available in their catalogue anymore. It looks to me like recently they have re-focussed their selection on yellow and pink coloured-varieties as opposed to crimson.

I have heard that David Austin Senior has passed away recently, his lifetime dedicated to the perfection of roses with the most successful introduction of new varieties of spectacular Old English roses in my view. The legacy will live on and I look forward to enjoying newly planted roses in my garden such as Claire Austin and Etoile de Hollande (both climbers) this year. Something to rejoice for the summertime…

Category: Flowers, My English Garden  | Tags:  | Leave a Comment
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• Tuesday, January 01st, 2019

Today has been a fairly mild day for this time of year. In fact I have noticed a bumble bee flying in the garden and it also seems that some bulbs such as daffodils are already starting to emerge from the ground.

Red Cabbage

This morning I went to the plot and I saw that I was not the only one busy plotting there as it was a pleasant day. I set about trimming the edge of the path with my spade and weeding as I go along. This is a task that will keep me busy for a while this winter.

I harvested some red cabbage from the plot, which I slow cooked with red onion, balsamic vinegar and cranberry sauce (useful left-over from Christmas dinner). At this time of year it’s good to be able to harvest some vegetables since they are in rather short supply and cabbage is indeed a great winter crop.

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