Hello
Thanks for your comments on my butter making efforts.
Is it something I said? I lost a couple of followers this week, surely butter making isn't that controversial! However I am pleased to welcome Laura to the follower bar. Hello Laura!
I have started picking peas this week and am pleased that my pea plans (!) seem to be working, ensuring fresh peas for some months yet. Mind you I think peas freeze particularly well and am hoping to put some down for winter too. Here are the peas that I am growing this year.
Firstly Kelevdon Wonder. I am picking these now. I notice that a few mange tout peas have found their way in among the two rows. I have no idea how they got there, but am happy with their appearance. I have used sycamore twigs to support these.
Pictured here are Alderman peas these are a very tall pea, with quite a lengthy cropping season. This year I have strung baling twine across bean poles, next year I shall go back to using netting as the stringing has been quite time consuming. These peas are still growing and look as though will make 6 to 7 foot.
The third pea is Sakura. this is a marrowfat pea that is grown commercially. I hope that you can see that they are self supporting, which is essential if you are growing acres of the things, and are ready more or less all at once, making them perfect for freezing or drying for the winter. I will do both.
I thought I would share my, rabbit - pidgeon- cabbage white butterfly deterrrent. David made this for me last year. It is a glassless greenhouse, cobbled together with bits and pieces of old greenhouses. Last year David covered it with chicken wire to keep the rabbits off the peas in the paddock garden. This year we have moved it to the top garden and covered the whole thing with fine plastic netting. I have planted brussel sprouts in here. This way I can stake the brussels and let them grow as tall as they like (In the past the plants have often been weighed down by netting) and get in to tend to them with no problem.
My final picture is of some of blackberry flowers. We have several yards of blackberries around the holding and it looks like it is going to be a bumper year. I am planning on making plenty of jellies and wine, as it also looks as though there will be plenty of damsons and apples too.
I have just finished "Hovel in the Hills" a book about life on a remote Welsh hill farm, I thought life was tough for us when we moved. Next to these folk we had a walk in the park! I am looking forward to reading the next two books.
All for now folks
back soon
Gillx
Golly Frugal, how height makes a difference. Here at almost seven hundred feet asl our peas are only just in flower. We dug our first little turnips this morning and are having them for lunch and we picked the first bowl of raspberries this morning but they are very sour I have to say.
ReplyDeleteThat greenhouse idea is brilliant. Pity our old greenhouse was completely destroyed early this year in a horrendous gale.
Just asked David and apparently we are 285ft above sea level. I start my peas off in guttering in the cold frame, which makes them a little earlier.
DeleteOur raspberries aren't too sweet either, but the strawbs are good, though few in number
I gave up on peas several years ago after the children left home. we sometimes grew 4 or 5 beds but it was often too dry here and a bag of frozen is cheaper!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like Hovel. Enjoy Garden
just started Garden and keep having a crafty look at Kitchen, which is deffo inspiring me for a post.
DeleteYou are right that frozen is cheaper, but the children will eat them raw when they won't eat them cooked and the halms are popular with rabbits and pigs alike!
Popping over to say hello and thanks for commenting on my blog. I grew Alderman peas one year, and they did well. I like the idea of the self-supporting ones (saves a lot of work) and will recommend those to our eldest daughter, who is sharing an allotment with friends and suddenly a Very Keen Gardener!
ReplyDeleteI think it looks a great year for blackberries here too, and I've lots of Damsons on my tree. Just need to have a good year with Elderberries (so far so good, lots of blossom) and Sloes - esp. the latter as there were NONE here last year.
I love your tidy garden and the moveable glassless greenhouse. Great idea! I have never had a greenhouse (sulk) but I do have one of those green Wyevale polytunnels now which I thoroughly enjoy.
hey there. Nice to hear from you.
DeleteMy garden is any thing but tidy. I guess I must have caught it from a good angle.Our greenhouse is four greenhouses put together, each of them given to us by people who no longer wanted them. Will take a pic soon
Gill
I've heard of that book and others have said it's good.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to have loads of blackberries about this year as well. We have one on the patio that must be a cultivated variety (although not planted by us) as it has huge blackberries every year. I'll propergate it and put some in the hedge I think! Disapointed with my mange toute this year as they seem a little stringy.
I don't think there has been enough rain for mange tout tis year . I find that fast growtyh is needed to ensure the pods are tender and non-stringy.
ReplyDeleteWe have put blackberries all over our holding. The bees love the flowers and we like the fruit. Unfortunately so do the sheep, but they can only reach so far!