Bowl of Beans (Version 2 ) 14.11.08

Welcome back to Reads Retreat , Our guide to growing veg in Raised Beds.

I only managed to find half an hour spare today, but in that time i did manage to harvest the remainder of the Climbing French Beans (v. Blue Lake) which are now ready for stringing up to dry. Hope to get this done in the morning! Piccy to follow!

Sorry about the picture quality here ! This is my crop ( hahaha) of Raspberries, grown on the cane i brought from Wilkinson's earlier in the year. I would have taken a better photo, but my enthusiasm got the better of me and i ate them!
Hey ho, I'll be transplanting these to the lottie soon, and hope for better results next year! For the officianados amongst you, the variety on the pack read: Rasberry!!!!! Thats nearly as good as the other fruit cane i got from there: Blackcurrent !


Thats about it for now. Hoping to spend some time on Plot 81 over the next couple of days, and will share some more pics with you all. Till then,

TTFN

String of Beans 13.11.08

Welcome back to Reads Retreat - our guide to Growing your own veg in Raised Beds.
With so many jobs to get done on the plot, it's often a case of "Where shall i start " . Yesterday I managed to clear the runner bean wigwam away. Before this however, i harvested these bean pods for seeds to use next year. In the past I have usually dried them out by laying on some old newspaper (the pods, not me! ) , but read recently this idea of stringing them up. This method should ensure good air circulation around the pods, and help to prevent any mould from forming. Also, as the pods dry out ( and you can shake the beans in the pods ) they can simply be removed from the pods and placed in an airtight container, ready for use next spring. I thought this was a great idea, and thought I'd share the idea with you all too. I will do the same over the next couple of days as I complete the same task on the climbing french beans. All we now need is a modicum of dry weather, and of course some time!

I'll be in touch again soon!

TTFN.

90 Years of Rememberance 11.11.2008

Armistice Day is upon us again. Save a prayer for those who died, those who remember, and those that will never forget.

TTFN.

Time to start tidying up! 10.11.08

Welcome back once again to Reads Retreat, our guide to growing your own veg in Raised Beds.
The home plot beds are in a bit of a mixed state right now, with some veg slowly but surely going to seed, whilst others are still yearning the warmth of the sun to reach their full potential.
I must admit that it has been a bit hectic here for the last few weeks, and the veg growing side of life has taken a bit of a back seat! We had a couple of weeks of being rather ill - sadly missing mum's 21st birthday bash, but luckily managed to spend a few days with her last week. Now we find ourselves in monsoon season ( how long will it last ? ) and are eagerly awaiting a break in the weather. First job on the list will be to take down the runner and french bean wigwams. We have had some great crops of beans this year, and managed also to give plenty away to friends and work colleagues. To me, this is all part of the fun of growing your own. The runner beans now left on the plants will be picked and put inside to dry out, providing seed for next years sowing, whilst the climbing french beans will just be removed to the compost pile. I save the former as the seeds originate from my late Grandad's garden - whom this blog is dedicated to, whilst the latter are so cheap to buy it makes less sense to save. Mind you, when it comes down to it, I'll probably end up saving some anyway!!!
With the canes removed, the plants will be cut down at ground level, leaving the nitrogen rich roots in the ground to rot down over the winter. These can then be dug in next spring, providing valuable nutrients for the next crop in the rotation.

Pop back tomorrow to see what else is going on !

TTFN

Basket of Fire ! 09.11.08

Finally....... Welcome back to Reads Retreat - "Our guide to growing your own veg in Raised Beds", for what i hope will now be regular updates! You don't know how much we've missed having the internet connected at home. Lucky for me I have these blogs, otherwise would have lost all my garden pics from the last couple of years.
We have installed a brand new copy of windows, and an awful lot of data has been lost forever, but thankfully a lot of it is also safe and sound on flash drives!
I've been wanting to show some pics from the plot, and thought I'd start you all off on this basket of fire. It's my first year of growing Chili's, but this basket of Cayenne peppers have grown and still are growing beyond what I expected. This pic was taken yesterday afternoon, just after I harvested half a dozen fruits to send to D&K. As you can see, there's still a good few more to harvest, and they taste delish.

Dotted around the garden and the raised beds, there's a good few Chard plants. I grew 2 varieties this year: Zilver and Rainbow. Both are performing well, and at this time of year are providing some welcome colour. It's a strange ish taste at first, but we now find it a lovely addition to many dishes.
In the foreground are some lettuce ( v. unknown ) that I bought on my recent visit to the Victoriana nursery in Challock, Kent. They seem to be beating the slugs and putting on great growth. Cant wait to eat them !

Elsewhere on the plot:


My late sowing of Beetroot (v.Boltardy) are still putting on good growth, and are still swelling up. Not quite big enough to harvest just yet, but in the absence of any severe frost / cold snaps, they are still growing on well.
It was a bit of an experimental sowing, simply to use up some spare ground. Ok, it was Matron's idea / advice - so thanks for that. I must admit though, that the sight of empty soil ( after lifting the onions ) was a good time to try something like this.


There's still a fair bit to update you all on, but I'm a tad tired now - I've been up since 0430 this morning, so I'm gonna sign off for now. Don't worry though, there will be plenty more updates this week!

By the way, Secret Squirrel and I are tying the knot: 24th January 2009 at 2.00pm! Cant wait.

Take care all - see you soon.

TTFN