When the boffins first started talking about global warming back in the 80s no one seemed that phased by it. This island is known for many great things but a beautiful climate is most definitely not on the list. Many Brits, ourselves included, cultivated the romantic notion of global warming turning our sceptured isle turning into a kind of Costa Del Sol giving us lots of scope to complain about being too hot, buy lots of sandals, wear questionable comedy t-shirts and have lots more BBQs.
Of course reality is now sinking in and it looks like an island paradise is not on the cards. In fact, our miserable climate is becoming even more dismal and we are experiencing rain and flooding of almost biblical proportions. This year it has rained and rained and rained. So much so that if my neighbour had started building a big boat in his garden and got a sudden interest in animal husbandry, instead of phoning the appropriate authorities as I would normally do under such circumstances, I might have asked him for a lift.... What does this mean for our garden? Well, good as freecycle is, I'm pretty sure we couldn't scrounge enough timber for an Ark so..... we need a plan!
The garden is a bog at the moment but we are hopeful that with reflection on the last two year's vegetable successes and disasters coupled with some careful planning, we can reach new heights of grow-your-own splendour. A lot has worked, and we just need to do more of that and less or the stuff that didn't...simple :-).
We ordered a seed catalogue from the Real Seed Company and started looking at what we are going to grow this year. Last year's successes included parsnips, carrots, leeks, onions, lettuce and peas...so they are all going on the list. Not so good were the more exotic crops which didn't get enough sun (tomatillos, tomatoes and peppers) so they're going on hold until we get the greenhouse up and running. I love the Real Seed Company because there is a story behind every heritage variety they sell. Here are the some of the varieties we've decided to go for this year:
The D'Eysines were lovely this year but a bit on the short side, and you have to remember we have a LOT of minions to feed, so we're going to try this variety this year.
Salad Crops: Medium Mibuna (quick and easy cut and come again) and 'Golden Frill' salad leaf and a few more from the garden centre. In addition to this we'll get some spring onions and main crop potatoes locally. If you would like to check out the Real Seed Company here is the link:
After choosing our seeds we drew up a plan of where everything is going to go. If you have been following this blog you will know that we have very clay soil which is prone to water logging. This year, the surface flooding was so bad that we lost a lot of ground level crops. However, everything in the raised beds did well as these drained sufficiently. So, this year we have decided that everything is going to be in raised beds or pots. This will mean Charlie will need to build another one and we'll have to source some more wood but it's the only way we can beat the downpours. So here is the plan for next year:
We ordered a seed catalogue from the Real Seed Company and started looking at what we are going to grow this year. Last year's successes included parsnips, carrots, leeks, onions, lettuce and peas...so they are all going on the list. Not so good were the more exotic crops which didn't get enough sun (tomatillos, tomatoes and peppers) so they're going on hold until we get the greenhouse up and running. I love the Real Seed Company because there is a story behind every heritage variety they sell. Here are the some of the varieties we've decided to go for this year:
'Baccalan de Rennes' French Variety of Spring Cabbage
Golden Chard
Striato di Napoli (Green Stripes) Courgette
Tender and True Parsnips
They did us proud this year. Very delicious and a good crop.
Giant Red Carrots
The D'Eysines were lovely this year but a bit on the short side, and you have to remember we have a LOT of minions to feed, so we're going to try this variety this year.
Giant Limousin Turnips
Chamette Dwarf Petit Pois
'Cherokee Trail of Tears' Climbing French Beans
I can't wait to grow this one. Such a beautiful name. This is the description in the catalogue:
'Simply the best bean there is. This bean was originally from the native North American Cherokee people. In 1838 they were driven out of their homelands in the state of Georgia by the US government to make room for more European settlers , a forced march known as the 'Trail of Tears'. This bean is one of their heirlooms they managed to keep with them and has been passed on from generation to generation ever since.We can see why the Cherokees valued it so much! It is incredibly prolific, cropping over a long season.
Giant Bulgarian Leeks
These should be good fun. They were described as 'humungous' in the catalogue! Worth a try.
'Sicily Giant' Big Mild Radish
Salad Crops: Medium Mibuna (quick and easy cut and come again) and 'Golden Frill' salad leaf and a few more from the garden centre. In addition to this we'll get some spring onions and main crop potatoes locally. If you would like to check out the Real Seed Company here is the link:
After choosing our seeds we drew up a plan of where everything is going to go. If you have been following this blog you will know that we have very clay soil which is prone to water logging. This year, the surface flooding was so bad that we lost a lot of ground level crops. However, everything in the raised beds did well as these drained sufficiently. So, this year we have decided that everything is going to be in raised beds or pots. This will mean Charlie will need to build another one and we'll have to source some more wood but it's the only way we can beat the downpours. So here is the plan for next year:
Everything is rotating around to deter diseases and pests from building up. At the moment the chickens have the run of the garden and they're clearing all the ground and pooping all over it, getting it ready for spring. It's very exciting and we can't wait to get started but there are still a few months of winter yet which gives us time to get on freecycle and find some wood for that bed.
