It’s almost two years since I started writing this blog and this will probably be the last entry. Our building application is progressing, bats notwithstanding, so we have no plans for the garden next year as building work will take priority. Although it’s quite a while since I last updated the blog – there have been various departures and arrivals of cats, hens and fish since then – it’s an opportune time to review this year’s produce.
Potatoes: Not as big a crop as we’d hoped when we dug them up in September as the slugs got there first. I then read that if you have heavy, clay soil as we do, then it is better to harvest in August before the slugs really get going in September. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Apples: Not a huge amount from out patio variety, and a bit too strong to be eaten by themselves but very flavoursome when ate with cheese. Wish I could remember what variety they are but we bought the bush yonks ago.
Gooseberries: Huge crop but tasted awful if not eaten on the day they were picked.
Raspberries: Beautiful but could do with more.
Blueberries: Early crop had a strange fishy taste when baked in muffins. Couldn’t quite understand that one.
Runnerbeans: We had a decent crop but I still can’t stand the things,
Mangetout: A success.
Peas: Beautiful but could have done with more as they went straight from pod to mouth.
Lettuce, spinach, spring onions, radishes, cucumbers: All a disappointment. Tried growing some salad under cloches but they just became sort of Eden project for slugs.
Tomatoes: Rescued at the last minute. Looked unpromising at one point but we ended up with a fairly decent crop in the end.
Chillies, jalapenos and sweet peppers: Beset by aphids even though they were grown indoors but we’re still coaxing them into production.
Leeks: Ongoing.
Calendulas, nasturtiums and herbs: The pottager was a success. The calendulas, lavender and chamomile in particular are being used to make soaps and bath bombs. Cooking with fresh parsley, basil and rosemary was a treat.
So what’s next? The garden will be pretty much left to its own devices for the coming year. When we’re reinstalled in the house, and have finished decorating, we’ll switch our attention back to the garden. We need to find a better arrangement for our poultry and would like to build raised beds to improve the range and quality of our vegetables and salad. We’d also like to keep bees. Maybe an idea for a future blog?
