Looking forward to Christmas

 I hope you had a nice Christmas?  Despite it being very different this year to what we are all used to.

Instead of having family round for lunch, just the two of us and a turkey.

A nice quiet nap in the afternoon , with a walk in the fresh air.

Was it the Christmas we had hoped for? No.

Was it the Christmas we are used to? No.

Did we miss hugs and kisses? Absolutely.

But was it terrible? No, it turned out rather well in the end and there was virtually no clearing up to be done!

But despite it being better than we all feared, I am still looking forward to a more normal Christmas day 

next year.

Growing Mistletoe

 

We all have bit of Mistletoe and live in hope. However, we more than likely paid through the nose for it.

It is very easy to grow, but there is a secret to the growing.

The secret is to take the seed and leave it some where cool and dry  place till early February when it will become nice and mushy. At that point make a small cut in your apple tree and place the seed under the bark and press the bark back and wait.

Best to use about five seeds in five different place and you should get at least one growing. 

Keeping kale pest free:

To keep those nasty bugs away from your kale, you could sow flowering plants around your kale such as daisies and yarrow. The idea is that these plants will attract insect predators that will eat bugs that live on your kale.

Another idea is to under sow  red clover when you plant your kale. Doing sow will also feed the growing kale with nitrogen.

Kale and Pigeons

 Pigeons have been at my Kale.....They take out the new growth....best to put a net over them.

Harvesting kale

 Kale, in the main is a winter crop and most farmers get three crops off of one plant.

What they do is strip the plant to the top, leaving two or three leaves and a couple of months later they do the same again.

However what we do as gardeners, is pick a few leaves every now and then. Because I eat kale every day, I pick leaves every day making sure that I also remove any leaves that  are going yellow.

You can strip the plant, just like farmers do, and freeze the leaves. This is much better for the plant and you will get more of it.

 Do not cut the leaf, break the it off, this will stop disease.

Do some good this Christmas...

 Do some good this Christmas... 

Christmas doesn't need to be a festival of retail. The real spirit is to make it a time of genuine giving. So rather than tit-for-tat swapping of unwanted presents with friends, why not give time and thought to others, or donate to some good causes? Here are a few ideas...

13. Help feed the hungry for free, give to the homeless on the streets. 
     
14.  Why not agree to give to good causes in each other's name? Be it a goat to help a family, life-saving jabs for children or Christmas dinner for a homeless young person in the UK.
     
15. Foodbanks need help. Charity the Trussell Trust has forecast a huge 61% increase in foodbank demand this winter, due in part to the pandemic. There are links to find your nearest, plus how to help even if you're not flush with cash.  
     
16. Buy a toy for a child who might not get a gift. If you can afford to, why not double up on gifts, to ensure a youngster who won't get anything can get one too... 

Green Manure

 Green manure comes from plants cut down before they are ripe, smashed up with a spade and dug into the soil.

It has been said that  by doing this, it is an ideal replacement for using manure and compost. This is not the case.

Many green manures can cause nitrogen starvation when dug into the ground. This happens because the bacteria have to use the nitrogen from the soil in order to rot the green manure down.

So, not a good idea. However, there is one exception to this rule and that is to use lupins which have nitrogenous nodules on its roots. When lupins are used as green manure there is no serious nitrogen robbing. 

Protect stored crops:

 Just over a week to the shortest day of the year ,as it get colder, find a warm job to do in your garden, such as digging and tree pruning.I always start to cut up my fire wood for winter next year, certainly gets the blood flowing.

 Good idea to keep an eye on your greenhouse to make sure the heater is working. 

Insulate any outdoor water points.

 If you have a pound make sure there is an “ice hole” for the creatures that live there.

Also protect your stored food from rodents. I keep my in sacks in a old filing cabirnet.

Use Your Own Herbs

 I love using herbs, because they give me control of the flavour of my cooking. If I am cooking for children then I need a different taste than for adults. Also, I know what is in the dish rather than buying a jar of sauce which will contain fat and sugar among many other “unwanted” foods.

The herbs used in any dish will also give a hint of the dish that is presented, by its aroma.

Basil is known for Italian dishes and coriander says Indian.

Basil

Basil is a very useful herb and widely used aromatic herb. They are not hardy and do need protection to grow all the year. However, if you grow the plant in pots, you can then move it indoors in the deep mid-winter.   However, one of the most popular uses of Basil is for making the classic Pesto sauce. 

This can be used on pasta dishes, fish or meat, pizza etc. It is an extremely versatile and easy to make sauce.

 A recipe I use for Pesto. 

1 large bunch of fresh basil leaves

125g pine nuts

125g parmesan cheese, cut into small chunks

1 clove garlic, crushed

200ml extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

squeeze of lemon juice

Method

Method

1. First off, toast the pine nuts in a pan and just toss them around until brown.

Put the cheese, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil and basil in a food mixer until they all come together. 

Add salt and pepper to taste and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

You can store this in a jar for up to a week in your fridge.

Mint Sauce

Mint sauce is a thin savoury sauce made from chopped mint, vinegar and sugar. It is traditionally served in England as an accompaniment to roast lamb. 

Ingredients:

25g/1oz fresh mint, chopped

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tbsp hot water

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

Method

This sauce could not be any easier, but makes all the difference to a lamb dish.

1.Place all the ingredients in a bowl together and leave to steep for 30 minutes to allow the mint flavour to develop. 

For a finer sauce, put all the ingredients in a blender for a few seconds.

  

Do your bit.

 We have learnt throughout this very turbulent year the value of growing plants and being in the garden.

It cannot be said enough about the great outdoors and what a life line it is to all of us. However, we are on the point of losing it if we do not take care. 

So take care and do what you can to stop climate change, it is up to each one of us.

Winter digging

 It is often voiced that:" its winter and there is nothing to do in the garden" Well that is so far from the truth because fall or early winter digging is of incalculable value to the soil.

Soil that is turned over and left to the weather is purified and sweetened by winter rains and frosts.

When double-digging or trenching soils, it must not be forgotten the greatest amount of the soils goodness is in the top layer.

In addition, the bacteria that are so beneficial are responsible for the manufactures of plant food that abounds in the top six inches of soil; therefore, it is very important to keep the topsoil on the top and the subsoil beneath it.

Something else to bear in mind: soil pests such as eel worm and wire worm hate and cannot thrive in will aired soil, the bacteria helpful to plant life only flourish in well-worked soil. These two facts alone make it very important to keep your topsoil loose at all times of the year.

When you a digging up your beds for the first year, it is advisable to trench to a depth of three "spits". A "spit" is a foot deep, it most cases this is three depths of your spade.

The subsoil does not need to be brought to the top. The best plan is to break up the sub-soil with a fork and leave it where it is.

In subsequent years, at lease a quarter of the beds should be double-dig (that is a depth of two "spits") the aim here is to double-dig every part of the beds one year in every four.

Deep digging or tillage improves all types of soil because it ensures aeration of the land to a greater depth, and in doing so gives a deeper feeding area for the crop and also discourages soil pest, encourages friendly bacteria and also helps the crop in dry weather because their roots can go deeper to find moisture.

It is also very important to dig in the growing season, because no matter how deep you dig the surface soil, it is likely to contract and creak during hot weather.

When this happens, moisture from the soil is being lost through evaporation. And it is no good just pouring water onto the surface as this does more harm than good (germinating weed seeds, being one of them)

When you water the surface, the tiny root-hairs of the crop that are on the surface will dry out and cause your crop to have a severe check that will stunt the growth of the plant. This is because the water will evaporate in the hot sunshine, leaving the root hairs at the mercy of the sun and wind.

The beat method of conserving water is to frequently stir the soil with a Dutch hoe.

By this means, the cultivator creates a fine soil surface, which conserves the moisture already contained in the soil and more freely admits the atmosphere.

When water is given to the crop, it is far better to give a good soaking and then to mulch with straw litter or leaves than to apply occasional driblets.

Now go and give your beds a good old digging.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6733979

Kale Warning

 My neighbour down on the allotment starting growing and eating a lot of kale, last summer, because he had heard it was the best thing to eat.

However, after three weeks, the veins  on his arms turned black. When he went to the doctor to find out what was going on, he was told because he was taking tablets for blood thinning he should not eat kale.

When he stopped eating kale, everything went back to normal.

I eat two leafs of kale a day with no side effects.

I am not on blood thinners. 

Kale and your Lungs

 Do you grow Kale, but not use it? A walk round my allotment site will show me that most people grow kale but very few harvest it.

I eat two to three kale leaves a day in a smoothy.

The reason I do this is to keep my lungs healthy at this time of Covid.

I have bronchitis, which means I cough a lot and live on antibiotic. I got fed up with this and researched how people look after their lungs in times gone-bye.

Apple and kale was the answer and so I started making my smoothy with one apple and kale every day.

The result: I have stopped coughing and have not felt better for years and years. 

Vitamin D from your plot

 As we enter the winter and start spending more time indoors, are you making sure that you are getting enough vitamin D as the days become shorter?

It is very important to remember how important this vitamin is. The most vital being to keep your immune system going in this time of a pandemic.

You can make sure that you are getting enough vitamin D by growing and eating :

Berries

Pumpkin

Sweet potato

Also buy and eat:

Mushrooms, Oranges, Pineapples, Fish and Eggs

Get out in the garden when every you can to catch some Rays

Effect of climate change on my plot:

 It is mid November and my Rhubarb is growing and in leaf.

This might not sound serious, but it is. Rhubarb should not start growing until late February.

Last year, my Rhubarb started growing around Christmas and went on till end of October.

Which is not right because it should be there from April till end of August.

What else is going on that we not know about?

All year round Spinach

 Latin Name

Spinach Oleracea.

History:

Unlike many plants, spinach does not come from the Mediterranean area of the world. This is because spinach does not grow well in the heat.

Spinach is first mentioned in around 230A.D. and comes from Persia.

Health benefits:

Well, first off, it's "Greens" which we all know we should eat. Full of vitamins and iron.

The best way to tell you how good it is: eat it for six months and see how much better you feel.

Soil type:

A good rich soil, well worked loam is the best. However it will grow in most soils

Place in rotation:

Spinach is part of the beetroot family and grown after Onions, Garlic and Leeks.

Variety:

I am not going to give too many varieties here. Best way to choose is to see what people around you are growing and have a look in your favorite catalogue.

It is enough to say: if you are starting out, do not get carried away and purchase too much. Buy a few and look after them properly and you will not become discouraged.

I like to grow heritage seeds and the two I use are:

Magenta Magic Orach also know as German Mountain Spinach:

I like this Spinach because it grow very early in year and gives me tender leaves that can be eaten in a salad or cooked. The trick is to pick them little and often.

The other variety that I use is:

Perpetual Spinach:

This is my winter Spinach which I sow in late August. The plant loves cold and rarely bolts and will last all winter.

Below are two varieties that I would not grow.

Bloomsdale

This deals with cold, however very likely to bolt as soon as the weather turns warm.

Lazio

A modern variety of spinach that is mainly grown for supermarkets.

Sowing:

Spinach is one of the first crops that I plant. The day that I sow Spinach seeds, is the first day of Spring for me. In a few weeks, I will be harvesting tender leaves and this is the main reason that I grow my own plants.

I sow mid February to March and again late August to mid September. This depends on the season, of course.

Planting out:

I always plant my spinach out as " plugs". In rows one foot apart and eight inches in the row. This leaves me plenty of room for my hoe.

Feed:

The better the soil, the better the plant that is grown. I am fortune enough to have good soil. My allotment plot is on the banks of the River Thames and is made up of thousands of years of silt, the only draw back is that every three or four years there are floods, luckily they are mainly in the winter months.

I feed my soil with leave mould. I get the leaves from St.Johns College Oxford: heap them up in compost bins, and turn them with a fork every six months. After eighteen months I have wonderful compost which I dig into my raised beds.

Before I plant or so any thing in the soil I scatter chicken manure that has been dried and made into little pellets for easy> I just scatter a light scattering over the soil and then rack in. Great for enhancing the soil.

You can buy this at any garden shop, around ten to fourteen pounds for ten kilo;

Growing:

This is straight forward. I hoe the bed every five days or so and if it is dry, I water.

Pest:

Spinach suffers from all the usually suspects: Cutworms,slugs,aphids, beetles, leaf miners, to name a few.

As well as the pest, you have Downy mildew. If you get this, do not grow for a year.

I had this once and transferred my Spinach growing to a very large pot far away from my growing beds and that worked for I never had trouble again.

As for the pest: I find hoeing and spraying Aloe Vera MPD mixed with water every five days does the trick. You can use other natural liquid soaps, what every takes your fancy.

Harvest

Yields:

You can expect 2-3 pounds of fresh Spinach per plant. Of course, this does depend on time of year and what type of soil the Spinach is grown in.

There is also a difference in yield according to the variety grown.

Half a cup of cooked Spinach is considered one serving.

Storage and Preserving

Your can store your Spinach in the vegetables tray of your fridge for two to three days.

Another way to store your Spinach is to blanch the leaves in boiling water for two minutes and place in a freezer bag and freeze.

Hints:

Not a good idea to cook in aluminum pans because the Spinach will pick up an acid taste and turn grey. Which is not a good look on your dinner plate?

Spinach is good to add to soups and salads, also makes a great topping with poached eggs, fish, chicken breast.

Microwave:

Strangely, you can cook Spinach in a microwave: place in a dish for three minutes.

An Aside:

The artists during the Medieval times took the color green from pigments of Spinach. They used this to make paint or ink. So next time you are in an art gallery, have a lick at the green!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9924712

How to use Manures

 It is a good idea, at this time of year to dig some animal manure into your beds.The reason is that the animal manure contains the three essentials: nitrates, potash, and phosphates.

Pig and cow manures are invaluable on light soil because it conserves moisture.

Horse manure, on the other hand, is indispensable for heavy type soils because it will supply food and assists drainage by breaking up the soil particles.

Chicken and other poultry manure is very valuable when used in a dry state, but do not forget that the material is at least six times stronger than any other type of animal manure.

A good way to measure out manure is one barrowful to the rod. A rod, by the way is a land measurement: a unit of length equal to 5.5 yards, 5.0292 meters.

On heavy land, it is good to try to add decayed vegetable matter, and wood ashes, as these will help to sweeten the soil.

As well as animal manure, it is a good idea to drill some green manures. The best time to do this is August or September.

The purpose of this is to keep the soil covered if you are not growing a crop and to dig the green manure crop into the soil later on in the year to supply humus to your raised bed.

White mustard is a good green manure to use on light soil but you must make sure that you dig it into the soil well before it flowers.

Rape is another very useful green manure to use, but this crop, like mustard should be dug in during November or December.

For digging in the soil during February or March, crimson clover, winter tares or rye are all very useful. Old fashion crops, I know, but they are still the best to my mind.

Far greater use might be made of these green manures, especially in cases where the land is otherwise bare through the winter months.

Clear glasshouse soil.

 If you have a small glasshouse or polly that you have been growing tomatoes in for a few seasons, now is the time to move the sol out and change in for some outside soil fro one of your beds.

The reason is that you do not want a build up of any sort of  soil disease. I dug down about a foot.

Wash down your glass with a liquid soap.

Now is also a good time to set rat traps, as the beast are moving around and looking for winter shelter. I have caught 8 this month.

Thomas Jefferson

 Thomas Jefferson, as well as being a great statesman, was also one of the greatest gardeners of the time.

He was a man who wrote everything that he every did, down in note books. If you want to know anything about growing...just look him upon the internet.

He had a 2 acre garden that is 1,000 feet long and 90 feet wide. It is still there and you can go and take a look.

Truly amazing, I have seen it. In this garden he grow 330 varieties of vegetables. He was most famous for his peas, on the subject of which he has written reams.

You do not have to grow that many varieties, just grow what you would eat and now is the time to sit down on a rainy day and do some garden "thinking".

Dealing with wasp:

Wasp do not not make good companies when you are working. I had a a nest of them in one of my beds and had to avoid working on it the whole summer long. 

However, the good news is that they never use the same site two years running. All of the wasp die off in the Autumn, except the queen wasp.

So I cleaned my shed out and found two queens, which I removed, saying myself a lot of trouble next summer.

The queen is about an inch long, so easy to spot, best take a look in your shed. They like to hide in the corners.

England is in "lock-down" for the next month We know how important simply “getting outdoors” is to all of us – in terms of both our mental and physical health – Even if your are in lockdown for a month, Mr Gove says to make use of your garden and allotment, so get down there and breath some air

Whoever you are, wherever you are – I wish you all the best in these challenging times. 

A better frame of mind

 What do you do in the garden when you are out there, doing this or that, which leaves your mind free to wonder, so to speak.

I find it does help to have somthing ready to hand to occupy your mind and what better way to spend a few minuets counting your blessings. A sort of Examination of Consciousness, so to speak.

Center yourself in silence and recall your day with an open spirit. Notice the emotions and thoughts that arise within you and review the days events. Let your mind settle on the good ones and count your blessings as you work...it beats dwelling on the events and news. You will leave your garden in a better frame of mind.

How not to pick apples in lock-down

There was a lady who was picking her apples off her tree, and doing very well with a good crop. However, to get the last of the apples off the top of the tree, a ladder was needed.

There  was a pair of small step ladders in the garage, so the lady went to fetch them. It was differcult to get the ladders to the garden because of the tiwst and turns of the path, with doorways and high walls etc.

However, the lady managed it only to find that when she got to the tree; she had picked up her ironing board instead of her ladders!  

 

onions

 The idea of sowing onion seeds in August is a very good one, because it is a known fact that seeds sown at this time of year are not affected by onion fly.

However it is not always possible to do so because some land might be exposed to cold north or easterly winds which will prevent the seeds from taking off.

There will be, of cause some sites that are fortunate enough to have fairly light soil and some protection from the cold wind.

The main advantage of this is that the onion is more resultant to disease and the bulbs are larger.

Many growers sow in drills nine inches apart, however you will find that it is better to sow at twelve inches or more apart. The reason is that it is easier to use the every important hoe, in the wider row. Make sure that you do not sow deeper than half an inch.

The most important thing to do and remember, is to use the hoe frequently. This give you healthy and strong growth of the seedling during September and October. Slightly thin the seedlings in order to avoid the danger of having your crop becoming bottle-necked in the following summer.

Summer Treatment of Onions:

Here we will be looking at the transplanting of seedlings from August-sown beds, and also those coming from January sowing under glass.

As far as the preparation of the soil is concerned, all that has been said about this applies in this case. Apart from the fact that more space will be needed between the rows. You must allow at least eighteen inches in between the rows and ten inches from plant to plant in the row itself.

Seedlings that have over wintered can now be moved to a permanent site. This can be done as early as March. Do not transplant seedlings that are growing under glass until the soil as warmed up; that is until the danger of frost has past. Plant them firmly but not too deep.

During the summer feed the rows with a liquid manure however do not continue this after late July, the reason is that plants fed after that time will not keep well in the store.

Continue hoeing, but make sure you do not disturb the roots of the plant. Good onions grow in firm soil ( do not hoe too deep ) and by hoeing you secure a loose surface tilth which will act as a mulching to conserve moisture.

When the crop is approaching maturity, turn the tops over. by doing this you will direct energy from the roots into increasing the size of the onion rather than developing useless top growth.

Harvesting Your Onions.

A common mistake is to leave the onions in the soil when they have finished growing. If you do this, a secondary growth will start and the onions will not store well.

Lift the crop carefully and spread then in the sun for a few weeks so that they can thoroughly dry and ripen. Then take them to a dry, airy and light place, lay them on trays and use them as you need them.

You may of noticed that I made no mention of varieties. My advice is to grow what your neighbours grow because onions are funny things and do not like moving from north to south.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10286467

Protecting Your lettuce from the weather..

Where you live in the world will depend on what sort of weather you will have.

Rain

Snow

Hail

Sun

Wind

Each of the above will bring their own joys, which you can do something about for the most part.

I use horticultural fleeces and netting over all of my crops and find that for the most part that will allow me to produce lettuce all the year round.

I also have a small polly tunnel and cold frame for winter lettuce. These are very useful because at some point we always get snow or frost here in the UK.

Last winter, my plot was plot was flooded for 73 days. I still grow lettuce. I had sowed some seeds in containers (really big ones) and kept these on a plant bench 4 feet off the ground, only trouble was getting to them for the flood was 25 inches deep.

I have noticed that pest and diseases are far worse on crops and gardens that are not looked after.

One of the secrets of plant protection is to have healthy soil that is well prepared and plants with vigour.

 The big guys that want your Lettuce.

As well as bugs and disease, your lettuce may well be troubled with larger animals.

The number of large animals that are after your crops will depend on where in the world you live.

Here in the UK we have a small range of animal pests;

Rabbits

Squirrels

Birds

Foxes

Cats

Dogs

Deer

Badgers

Mice and all such furry creatures.

It is only the rabbit, mice, and the deer that are going to eat your lettuce. The rest of them will root around, jump on, or dig up your crop.

To protect your lettuce is straightforward with these pests. A good fence or barrier of some sort will do the job of keeping them out.

Smaller mammals can be trapped and if the dog is yours then it is up to you to train the beast.

If you have a cat then there is nothing you can do about it…just live with it. 

A word here about cats and dogs as a health risk.

There are two parasites affecting dogs and cats that can affect humans.

Worms and a parasite called Toxopasma gondii. The risk is low but best is not to let faeces lay about your garden; remove it to a safe place.

As we know, birds are not kept out with fences, however if you have trouble with them; use netting. In the main, birds will always go for a yellow colour in preference to any thing else. 

Therefore, if you grow many yellow flowers in your garden they will feed off them and not bother your lettuce.