Easy Peasy Apples

It may still be August and we are clinging onto summer with the same enthusiasm as a dog with a bone.  But September is just around the corner and the fall has already started.  I don’t mean Springfield is ablaze with orange and red leaves, but there is one tell tale sign.  Windfall apples.   The newly planted fruit trees present no challenge but the older varieties are just too tall to harvest properly (and safely), even with an apple picker on a pole.  So, the apples plummet to the ground, one by one and often in twos and threes.  I dodge them the best I can but yes, I have been attacked by these very effective missiles.

As if injury to my ‘bonce’ is not enough, the apples do need picking up every day, otherwise wasps move in permanently.  Last year was a good year for apples and this task took place over several weeks and this did not suit by back or my easily bored temperament.  I do leave quite a lot of the windfalls in the hedgerows for the wildlife to munch on but I lift those in the orchard.   I do sort them and give the better ones away and we still have some stewed apple in the freezer from last year.   But usually we have enough ‘good’ apples to give away anyway, so I barrow loads of windfalls to the compost heap. 

However, this year the task is not at all tedious or tiring.  A few weeks ago I came across an advertisement for an apple ‘pickerupper’.  (Actually it is called The Apple Wizard.)  Now, usually I avoid gadgets and this one seemed quite pricey at around £60 but the prospect of another aching back for several weeks, was a strong motivation to give it a go.  It looks strange.  There is a rugby ball shaped wire cage on the end of the pole and as you roll it round, the slight pressure opens the cage and the apples are scooped up.  I cannot say that everyone will find this piece of equipment perfect for the job, but it is perfect for the job I do.  I love it to bits and it even seems to cope with uneven terrain – where the rabbits and birds have scratted around.

The Apple Wizard has earned its place in prime position just inside the shed and I call it my apple hoover because that is just what it does.  It hoovers the apples up and when the cage is full I tip them into the barrow and carry on.  This leaves me with lots of energy to do other things.  I only wish other things included sitting on the bench and reading a book.

Sweet Sensation

There is a small window of time when sweetcorn is ready to harvest.  The first sign is that the cobs become swollen and the silky tassels turn brown and dry.  Then when you peel back the layers of protective leaves and press your thumb nail into one of golden kernels, the juice is milky rather than clear.  And from the moment you detach the cobs, the sugar content starts to decrease.  The cobs need to be eaten or frozen immediately to retain the very best flavour.  Leave them sitting around on the plant or in the veg rack and they will turn starchy and lose all their juiciness and flavour.  But catch the crop at its peak of freshness and you will never want a commercially produced cob ever again.....

At last! Carrots!

We harvested our first ever decent bunch of carrots the other day.  It may not be horticulture’s greatest achievement but after several disappointing years, it is a relief and pleasure to smell home grown, earthy carrots.  Unlike those from the supermarket, they actually taste of carrot. 

Carrots are a staple of any vegetable rack so we couldn’t give up trying.  Ironically, we do not have a problem with carrot root fly.  For us, germination has been a challenge, due we think to our cold starts to the season.  I try to sow as many vegetables as possible in modules and keep them warm in the greenhouse or cold frame until the weather improves.  But carrots don’t like being transplanted and last year it took four sowings to get any seeds going and then of course the slugs had to come along and munch half the crop before they could grow into plants.

For those that did survive, we did eventually see substantial fronds developing and they appeared to grow on quite well.  However, when the moment of truth arrived, all we found under the surface of the soil were stumpy forked specimens.  They were virtually unusable in the kitchen. 

This year has been a very different story.  We got serious with carrots!  Doc worked hard to improve the soil in the raised bed.  He removed as many stones as he could but did not add any more compost so that the soil was not too rich - which is apparently one of the causes of forking.  Also, I covered the raised beds with cloches to give the seeds extra protection.  I invested in a soil thermometer and did not dare to sow carrot seeds until the reading was above 10 C.  We waited patiently – carrot seeds can take up to 3 weeks to germinate - but we were rewarded with several rows of green shoots following the first sowing.

I kept the bed completely weed free and used organic slug pellets even though a dry summer has reduced their numbers.  And again, we waited and watched.

Whether it was the different weather factors this year or our improved good husbandry, I don’t know.  But the result is we have some Very Useful Carrots.  We don't feel smug though, we feel very humble.   The supermarket veg may be bland and unappealing but at least it's there.  Growing them ourselves has been hit and miss so we must never take a carrot for granted again.

How do they do that?

I cannot count the number of times I have planted new, inspiring plants only to find that they die,  either immediately or fade away during the winter months, never to be seen again.  I have learned the hard way that it is a good idea to choose the right plant for the right place.  It is not only good for the soul, it is necessary for the purse too.

But what about plants in the garden that grow in the most inhospitable places and despite your lack of attention, just keep on going?

Our ‘back’ door is actually on the East side of the house and there is nothing but the wall of the house, a tall boundary wall and a gravel path.  I keep an attractive hosta in a large container, pots of cyclamen and other bulbs in the spring - and little else.  There is the dustbin, of course, and it is a dark and gloomy place.  There is no soil. Oh, and I almost forgot, there are some orange Californian poppies and a beautiful pink rose......

Springfield Pride

Many gardeners are noticing that the cost of buying plants for the garden has increased.  I am no exception and with over an acre to fill, I am always trying to save money.  I propagate what I can and grow plants from seed as well as visiting plant fairs and nurseries rather than shopping in garden centres.

Last season, I was reticent about buying 3 climbing roses for a tenner at Homebase.  We had gone there to buy something else but we always have a good wander around the gardening department.

Doc suggested the roses were worth a try.  I was suspicious and concerned they may not be the best quality plants but I like a challenge and a potential bargain so we brought them home.

The roses were on the small side and I was not surprised that ‘Sunny Weeks’ died over the winter, after all it was very cold and in hindsight I don’t think I planted it in a sunny enough position. 

‘Dreamland’ has been slow to get going.  It has produced one bloom which was supposed to be deep pink but is a very vibrant red colour - I think the labelling must have gone astray.  It is a healthy plant and I think it will put on more of a show next year.  I am looking forward to someone calling round and identifying it for me.

The real winner has been ‘London Bridge’ which has grown magnificently up some trellis near the greenhouse and produced clusters of orange scented flowers which fade to pink.   There are so many flowers that at one point we could hardly see the foliage.   And the bonus is that London Bridge is clear of mildew, rust, blackspot and greenfly.

Conclusion?  Thank you Homebase!  I will be back for some more a.s.a.p.



Ginger is trying to upstage 'London Bridge'......



Round and Round the Bilberry Bushes

Last year, during a wander round the plot, a gardener friend of ours complimented us on our bilberry bushes.  “I haven’t seen bilberries in years”, he said. “They are very difficult to grow, you know.  Your acid soil is just what they like.”

Doc and I sighed simultaneously.   We vaguely knew that bilberries/whortleberries were similar to blueberries but we thought they only grew in the wild.  We thought that our eight feet row of waste high evergreen shrubs alongside the path were boring and pointless.  We had even marked them for removal if we could find a suitable replacement.   It is amazing (and embarrassing) that after seven years of gardening at Springfield, there are still plants which we have not yet identified. 

We asked our friend why we had not noticed the fruits.  He laughed.

“Well, if you don’t look, you won’t see and if you don’t net the fruits the birds and other wildlife will help themselves.”   Quite.   So we pledged to give the bushes some attention this year.
 
In early spring we observed that the bilberry bushes had dainty, sweet scented white bell shaped flowers and although they set fruits, the late May/early June harvest was very small.  The bushes are overgrown and probably in need of a good prune.  Perhaps with a bit of TLC we might be able to grow a decent crop and Doc is hoping that one day, I will present him with a pie.  This may be a little ambitious.  The fruits are very fiddly to pick.  A bilberry is smaller than a blueberry and the bushes produce single or paired berries instead of clusters.  It is more practical to harvest a few on the way down to the vegetable garden and eat them there and then.  

The bilberries are much darker in colour than blueberries and have a fuller, more intense flavour.  Despite the deep red/purple juice which stains your fingers and lips they are far superior to the Blueberry.   I am sure they have strong health giving properties but I doubt we have eaten enough to make any difference.
 
The bilberries are no longer marked for demolition.  They are neither ornamental nor overly useful for the kitchen - but they are interesting - and since they are usually found in the wild rather than in a cultivated garden, they should stay at Springfield.
 
Of course, we are now wondering what other little gems we have already dispatched to the bonfire/compost heap.  Oh dear.  We must proceed with caution.