Chitting potatoes

Yes, you have to say it carefully ;)

I am currently in the process of chitting potatoes (putting them in a light place to get shoots so they grow faster when they go into the ground). They are happily sitting in an egg carton on the window sill and have some nice sprouts on them.


I decided not to go for expensive seed potatoes from a catalogue like last year which ended up being slug food. Ok, to be honest it was mainly the leaves - still got a few potatoes out of them but not enough to justify spending a lot of money on them. So instead I used a few potatoes from the ones I bought from the supermarket, a variety called "Anya". I know, I know, you are not supposed to do that. They are supposed to certified disease-free, from a reputable dealer. But this way I end up with as few as I want to plant, for a fraction of the price, even if it comes to nothing. I'll treat it as an experiment and plant them in the large pot I used last year (although that proved to be an easy and juicy target for the slugs) instead of the ground. Anyway they are hopefully going in around mid-March, perhaps even a bit earlier if the weather decides to warm up.

Tidying up and first shoots

Walking through the garden taking stock. Some semi-hardy plants like my Solanum alba have dropped some leaves after the deep cold. I also wonder if my Fuchsias grown against a sheltered wall have survived. Hope that they will perk up again.


I have decided that I just can't keep up anymore with the ivy growing up my wall which was initially planted to hide an ugly downpipe. So I cut it off to wither away and dug most of the roots out. I am thinking of growing a jasmine instead which is much easier to handle and will also provide a nice scent, or go with another Solanum.


I only noticed a week or so ago that the huge sycamore tree in my neighbour's garden has been pruned. Most of the branches are gone with only two big ones remaining - one of them still is a bit over my garden but very high up. I'm not sure if they'll take it all down or leave it like that but it's already a big improvement in terms of light. I gathered together the trimmings that fell into my garden so I should have plenty of kindling and a few logs when they are dried out.

Browsing through another gardening catalogue I came across two things that piqued my interest: first, curly kale. I always liked to eat it but have never grown it. Second, grafted tomatoes (a tasty variety grafted on to a vigorous root stock). Who knew such a thing existed! I will stick to normal seeds though.



In final news, I have spotted garlic shoots (along with shoots of the hyacinths and daffodils). It's nice to see something growing in this cold and damp season.

Dead of winter

Lots of snow this year and cold too. At least next growing season there should be fewer snails and slugs (hopefully).

The garden is mostly shut down. I left some white beetroot leaves out there, not sure if they survive or will be any good. Raspberry canes have been cut down. Plenty of material from guinea pig cage cleaning is being dumped on the beds. The ornamentals look a bit bedraggled but that is to be expected in early January (especially as there are some where frost-hardiness is doubtful; at least I managed to bring my pelargoniums inside).

I still need to go through the seeds which I ordered and that have arrived (rhubarb will arrive for planting in March). There are some items in there which I may be able to start off early inside. I am also contemplating getting a cheap greenhouse, which means I can move things (like tomatoes) outside much earlier. This year I am going to try the individual growing medium, having not had much success with the toilet roll method and also the normal seed trays.

Still haven't had a chance to build myself a better compost bin - lack of light/time and surplus of snow has been against me. As soon as it warms up a little bit I shall try though.

Probably not much happening for the rest of January...

just-in-time planting: garlic

Today I planted Lautrec Wight garlic - due to go in by the end of November as it is an autumn-planting garlic. It called for a soil that won't get water-logged, and I chose three different sites to spread the cloves around: one near the bay tree and herbs (gritty soil), one underneath the sycamore which is hopefully going to be taken down soon (also gritty), and one near the wall of the house (probably on the poor side).

All in all I planted one and a half bulbs, having given half a bulb away, which still left me with about 16 cloves - each of which should grow into one whole bulb. Even with an enormous failure rate I should be able to fend off Dracula easily...

Seed and plant list

After much deliberation I have come up with my order for what to grow next year, going back to old favourites like rocket and marigolds, trying new things like Turks Turban squash, and yes - tomatoes from seed (I fall for them every year, maybe this is the year it'll work out).

I tried to only order from one place but some varieties seemed a lot cheaper or more interesting "on the other side". So here it is, my list, including some flowers as well.

Thompson & Morgan

• Pantheon Bean (supposed to be really good on bad soil and in crappy weather)
  
• Mixed Patty Pan squash
  
• Turks Turban Squash (pretty if they work out)
  
• Patula Nana Single Legion of Honour marigolds (old variety, prolific)
  
• Purple Moldovan Wight Garlic (hardneck variety)
  
• Jack Flash Silene (not sure about it, may come off the list at the last minute)
  

Marshalls

• Crystal Lemon Cucumber (liked them when I grew them in Portland)
  
• Super Marmande Tomatoes (grew Marmande one year in London and they turned out well as I remember so super should be even better, right?)
  
• Chantenay Red Core 2 carrots (growing carrots on clay...hmmm)
  
• Oakleaf Oakley Rocket (can't grow enough of the stuff...)
  
• Rhubarb Duo Pack Stockbridge Arrow and Victoria (crumble! yay! eventually...)

I'll probably also grow the white beetroot again (still have some seeds left I think) but wasn't too impressed with the rest of the stuff. Order is going in soon as the garlic should be planted by the end of November.

Lost and found

The sky cleared and I took the opportunity to clean up the garden, in readiness for shutting it down for winter. I am still leaving the tomatoes out in the vain hope of some ripening before the first frost. The raspberries are nearly finished too and I need to read up on when I am supposed to cut the canes back. Gave up on the beans.

As I was clearing the patty pan away I found a few that are just ready for a stir-fry and a larger, weird-shaped, yellow thing. Also a stray cucumber and some very green tomatoes, which are now nestling next to a banana in the kitchen.


The thyme has gone a bit crazy. Since I loathe running out after dark and into spiderwebs just to get a sprig or two of herbs, I am going to try drying it. The oregano didn't grow as big but I think it got a bit smothered by the thyme.


With everything put onto the garden compost heap and the canes put away, it suddenly looks empty. Plenty of space now though to put my home-grown guinea pig compost down! Soon, planning for next year.

Full of beans

I have been wondering about the right time to harvest my beans. My usual first reference (Pears Encyclopedia of Gardening: Fruit and Vegetables, Roy Genders (ed.)) is not much help on this matter, only giving a reference to haricot beans: "These are grown chiefly for their beans, which should be dried, first by allowing the pods to hang until the weather loses its summer look [...]". This would have been mid-July then (mind you, this is also the book that attributes the decline of growing jerusalem artichokes to the shortage of kitchen staff willing to clean them). I decided to harvest some and see what they look like, the rest I will leave on to ripen a bit more. Also gathered more tomatoes and raspberries.



A slightly puzzling development on the patty pan front - some are looking like patty pans, some of them have the ridges of a patty pan but are more round and green like a zucchini. I think, since they are open-pollinated, I am getting a cross-breed.



Flowers in the garden are providing plenty of pleasure. The solanum 'Alba' is so pretty along the fence and in the back of the garden the cyclamen are popping through the woodruff. If the sun is out, it's a lovely time of year.