Salad Made Easy

Growing salad greens is one of the easiest ways we subsidise our food bill. Young, mixed salad leaves are very expensive in the supermarket and since we like to eat some salad every day, we could spend several pounds a week on bags of ready prepared salad.

I try to make sure we have a continuing supply of assorted lettuces in the raised beds and sow some different seeds every few weeks.  Currently we have some Little Gems, Webbs Wonderful and ruby red Lollo Rosso which are growing under cloches until the weather warms up again.  However, hearting lettuces take quite a while to mature and there is always the risk they will bolt if it there are extreme fluctuations in the temperature.

The knack with lettuce is to succession sow the seeds but even at fortnightly intervals they can catch up with each other.  I sometimes lift a few plants and re-plant them in the hope this will slow them up.  Another tip is to avoid digging up a lettuce when it is ready.  I just slice it off at the base, leaving some stalk slightly proud of the soil.  If you make the cut at an angle, the stalk is less likely to rot in the rain and will often re-grow into another lettuce.  Two lettuces for the price of one can’t be bad!

I also grow packets of speedy salad mixes in used grape cartons. There are a variety of mixed leaves to choose from nowadays and we like the oriental mustard varieties because they add a pungent, peppery flavour to egg sandwiches or omelettes.  I sow the seed quite densely and it germinates easily in peat-free compost.  The salad grows on quickly in the warmth of the greenhouse and are unmolested by greedy slugs.




salad leaves are best when young and tender

When a container is looking lush I bring it inside the house for ease of snipping and once cut, the greens often re-sprout which is a bonus.  We often get two or three helpings from each container and I usually have three or four containers at different stages of maturity.  When a container is used up, I tip out onto the compost heap, rinse out the grape container and fill it again with fresh compost and seed.  You can also grow salad rocket, wild rocket and coriander in the same way.  Today I sowed some Bull's Blood seed and this produces lovely, deep ruby red leaves which taste of beetroot.

Even with the cost of the seeds and compost, I reckon we save £50 a season on salad greens and they add interest and texture to salads during the spring, summer and autumn. 

Hazel Weaving for Beginners

Today I learned a new skill which is both useful and fun to do.

I volunteer at the Derby College Food Hub at Broomfield Hall and the Food Hub is supporting a Walled Garden project at Markeaton, designed by the Derby City Council/Derby City NHS b-you Team.  When the garden is up and running it will offer opportunities for local people to live more active, healthier lifestyles.  The garden is currently under construction and today a group of us built some wigwam supports for runner beans and sweet peas.

I began by creating a circular pattern with 7 straight, strong branches.  These had been obtained by pruning some over grown trees on the site but tall bamboo canes are also suitable.  They formed the uprights and when I had arranged them in a wide circle, I firmed them into the ground.   Then I gathered the ‘canes’ together, 4-6 inches from the top and secured them with garden twine.

To give the plant tendrils something to cling to, I wove three different sized hoops made from hazel rods and positioned them over the wigwam of canes.  Hazel is very versatile and when used as green wood (freshly cut) it is at its most flexible.  The pliability also increases if the rods are soaked in cold water for a few days. 

Alice demonstrated the weaving technique and it appeared straightforward.  She even showed us how to make a decorative star.  But it is never that simple, is it?  I soon discovered that despite hazel being very bendy, it does not always bend easily when placed in inexperienced hands.  There were one or two embarrassing snaps as another rod refused to yield under my pressure and it was soon apparent that a knee or thigh is a very useful piece of equipment for encouraging the wood to soften and form into neat circles.
 
However, by the end of the session I had completed a passable wigwam, not a stunner to look at but strong enough to support some plants.  I really enjoyed doing it.  I think I need more practise though because at my current rate of wigwam production, I would not have time to grow the beans...

Follow the projects at:
http://www.derby-college.ac.uk/index.php/facilities/food-hub.html
http://www.b-you.co.uk/

Hunting for Lions

Every now and then, I arm myself with a bottle of Roundup and head off into the depths of Springfield.  I usually have a successful hunt because our garden is the perfect habitat for lions – dandelions – and if I come across some bindweed, ground elder or a bramble, then that is even better.

I have a pragmatic relationship with weeds.  In an acre of garden, where there is a lot of grass, open countryside, neighbouring gardens, hedgerows AND gravel paths, we are more likely to win the premium bonds than eradicate the less than welcome plants.  As long as the weeds are manageable and don’t invade the vegetable and fruit beds, then we are fairly easy going.  It is wonderful how naturalised violas, primulas and cowslips nestle in with all kinds of weeds, some of which are quite attractive.   Most of the time the different plants sort themselves out and learn to live with each other.  I love to see the buttercups and daisies.  The trouble is though, that weeds by definition are very successful wild plants and they can take over if you give them too much slack.  I think the best thing to do is lift some and leave some. 

I can hear readers wincing at my mention of chemicals and I apologise for that because I really would like to be free of chemicals in the garden.  Dandelions have really long tap roots and unless you are able to dig the whole plant up, then even the tiniest bit of root left in the soil is perfect for a new plant.  Sometimes I need a little help.  For the ground elder and bindweed, I find that they are indestructible without chemical warfare and we have reduced these invaders over the years by repeatedly killing all signs of them.

I am mindful of the old farming saying:  ‘One year’s seeding means 7 years weeding...’  So I try to minimise the number of dandelions by grabbing any clocks whole with my fist and then drop them into a carrier bag.  I zap the parent dandelion before it gets a second chance.  However, I remember that as a child I used to search out dandelion clocks and see how far I could blow the seeds.   My mum was a very keen gardener and I don’t remember her ever telling me off for this.  Perhaps she thought that it was good that I was outside, taking notice of nature and enjoying myself.  Perhaps she did not want to put me off gardening by telling me not to mess around.  If it was part of her plan, it worked, didn’t it? 

I quite like doing a little light weeding with my trowel and a radio in my pocket for company.  Most of the tiddlers are easily lifted from the flower borders and it gives me the opportunity to get down on my kneeling mat and see what is happening at ground level.  As I work my way along the bed, I see what is doing well, what needs a bit of a tidy up and take note of any plant which needs to be moved.  It is also a good way of spotting trouble early on.   And still, after all these years I peer at an unknown plant and wonder if it is a weed or a plant.   I have probably got some prize specimens that other gardeners would have long since put in the dustbin!    

Sneaky Pulmonaria

Friday night is for armchair gardening and Doc and I have watched Gardeners World on BBC2 for decades.  It is comforting to watch other people work hard whilst we soothe away our aching limbs with a (purely medicinal) cool beer.  And if we are ever in need of inspiration, Monty Don and the team are there to give good, solid advice.

Last Friday (20th April) Carol Klein introduced us to the native lungwort, or pulmonaria, which grows in woodlands and verges.  She also met a lady who has been growing them in her Hampshire garden for over 15 years.

When Doc and I saw how easy and practical it is to grow this perennial, we wondered how we had not come across this delightful plant before.  They are one of the first spring flowering perennials to appear.  The clusters of nodding blue, pink, white, red, coral or mauve flowers attract bees and stand out well against the leaves. There are many different varieties and it is not just the flowers that are so interesting.  Some have plain green leaves, some are splattered with white and some have silver spots - hence the name ‘lungwort’, symbolising diseased lungs.  (For this reason, Doc discovered, the leaves were once used to treat pulmonary infections.)



 

These valuable plants make good trouble-free ground cover for moist shade, sitting modestly alongside the spring bulbs and hellebores. They can handle full sun too and if the leaves of taller, summer perennials provide shade for them later in the season, they are not prone to mildew.  They form manageable clumps, spread slowly and need little care.  Usefully, they can be propagated by division or by taking root cuttings.

Doc and I agreed that pulmonaria should go to the top of the gardening shopping list.  However, on Saturday, when I was (sadly) taking the remains of a very old, dead, climbing rose down to the bonfire heap at the bottom on the garden, I noticed some pink and blue flowers peeping out of the centre of the triangle of plants in the corner, by the beech hedge.  This area was where we used to take unidentifiable plants until we found out what they were and I am ashamed to say that we sort of forgot them.  The ‘nursery bed’ soon became overgrown with grass and weeds and hardy geraniums.

Having just seen the pulmonaria on Gardeners World I was sure I was looking at the very same plant and with a some more research, I think I have identified the plant as pulmonaria officinalis. There are characteristic coarse leaves of this old cottage plant and its flowers are simultaneously blue and pink which is really striking.  Apparently, this plant does well in grass.....

So, although it is best to divide the plant in the autumn, I decided to rescue half of the clump immediately.  I dug up a large chunk, split it and now we have half a dozen new plants sitting in the cold frame.  In less than 24 hours, I lost one plant and found a new one. Thank you Gardeners World.   Where would we gardeners be without you?

Hostas Second Time Around



I tried growing some hostas many years ago and gave up after one season because the slugs nibbled them to shreds.  However, a couple of years ago I had the idea of putting some hostas in pots, in the semi-shaded areas of the garden, although I now understand that they also do well in full sun too.  All I had to do was solve the slug problem and I would have plants which would add attractive, textural interest in different shades of green. 

Doc was sceptical because we have agreed to avoid having lots of pots and hanging baskets.  They are lovely to look at but they have to be watered and in any case, slugs can climb.  However, I thought that if I planted perennials, rather than bedding plants, in water retentive soil-like compost, then the containers would not be too labour intensive.  I had also seen copper tape advertised and there was a pile of rough, small stones behind the shed which would be perfect to make those slimy tummies uncomfortable.  I felt that if I used containers, I had a much better chance of deterring slugs and we would have some interesting groups of pots as focal points around the garden.

I used a variety of pots and placed plastic pots inside them, with about half an inch difference in size.  This does add to the expense but for terracotta pots using an inner pot as a liner reduces water evaporation and it is practical in a large garden because moving a heavy ceramic pot filled with a plant and compost, up or down a hill is a challenge.  If a plant dies, then all I need to do is life the plastic pot out and leave the decorative pot in position.
I put some crocks and stones in the base of each plastic pot, planted a hosta in a peat-free loam-type, water-retentive compost and stuck copper tape around the outside rim of the plastic pot.  Then I covered the surface of each pot with a good layer of small stones.

The results were amazingly successful, so much so I have added to my collection of hostas this year and in a few years time, when the plants are large, I can split the clumps to invigorate them and give some new plants to give away to friends and family.  The flowers are insignificant and are white or mauve, but who cares about them when the leaves are so shapely?

I think hostas are at their most beautiful when the young, new growth emerges in the spring.  Tiny cigar-shaped shoots emerge through the gravel and slowly unfurl into luscious, almost corrugated foliage.  There are over 70 varieties to keep hosta addicts satisfied with every shade of green imaginable, as well as acid-yellow, variegated varieties and my favourite, the ones which have almost blue leaves. They look gorgeous after rain, when dappled sunshine reflects off the water droplets and intensifies the green colour.

As for slugs, so far I have had no problems - touch wood.  I inspected the pots last week and although there was a slug in the base of one of the outer pots, the hosta, tucked up in the plastic pot, was was perfect.  I water them now and again, more often for those pots in sunshine, but this is not an onerous task and this leaves me more time to appreciate these lovely plants.

Sowing Parsnips

This one served 3 people!

I don’t know what we would do with our weekends if it we didn’t have a garden.  Doc thinks that scraping the dirt from under our fingernails keeps us out of mischief and he is probably right.  So, we were on the plot by 9.30 am, Saturday AND Sunday.

Doc spent Saturday demolishing the old summer house.  Much of it was rotten and it only needed a gentle push to bring it down.  The rest of his weekend was then taken up with sorting the pile of wood, roofing felt and glass.  He chopped some of the timber up for kindling and created a spectacular bonfire with the rest.   We now have large gap in the rhododendrons and potential for spending serious money on a replacement.   Oh heck.

On Saturday, top of the list I shoved into my jeans pocket, was ‘sowing the parsnips’.  The traditional time to start sowing root vegetables is in late winter but since we have cold winters here, I wait until spring.  However, if it is particularly cold I sometimes have to re-sow in late April or even early May.  Anyway, despite the current cold snap, I decided to get the job done because I will be busy with other things next weekend and I figured that if I cover the bed with a sheet of fleece, this would help keep the beds a little warmer.  It worked last year, anyway.

The best advice for sowing parsnips (and carrots) is to resist the temptation to use up left over seed from the previous year.  Seed does not keep well and when I buy mine, I always store it in the fridge.   There are several good varieties but I always grow Gladiator which delivers on taste and size.  It is also resistant to parsnip canker which is good if you are leaving parsnips standing over the winter.  Doc is convinced that parsnips taste better if the parsnips have been well frosted, though he has great difficulty lifting them out of hard, cold soil in January!

We work to a raised bed system for vegetables so we never have to dig.  Doc spreads on lots of our homemade, sieved compost in the winter and the worms then have plenty of time to pull it down and digest it.  Parsnips like light soil, rather than heavy clay so it can take years of composting to develop the optimum quality of soil – but it is worth the effort.  Crop rotation is also important.  There is no need for complicated regimes.  If you have plenty of space just try not to grow the same crop in the same place every year.

In the spring I lightly fork through a spade’s depth or so of soil and remove any stones.   When a parsnip seed germinates, it sends down a long tap root and if it meets a stone, it will fork and the result is an entertaining but difficult to prepare vegetable.    I make shallow drills of 2cm (¾in) deep, water them lightly and then station sow 3 seeds every 20 cm (8 inches).  When there are little seedlings, with a pair of true leaves I thin the row down to one per station.  Oh how I dislike throwing perfectly good plants on the compost heap.
 
Technically, the rows should be quite far apart, up to 30-45 cm (12-18 in) but since we have good quality soil in our raised beds, we have good crops with 23 cm ( 9) inch spacing.   I always mark the rows with plant labels to make spotting any weeds easier.  Usually, the labels are old and pre-used, much to the amusement of any visitors who comment that I have funny looking courgettes......

I don’t succession sow parsnips because they stand well in winter and we can lift them when we need them.  However, I tend to sow carrots every few weeks because they don’t stand in the ground for very long.   
After sowing, I cover the bed with fleece to keep the seeds warm and every couple of days I peek under the fleece to see if the bed is dry.  I find germination is more successful if the bed is kept on the damp side. 

Germination takes up to 21 days and once it this is achieved, parsnips are very easy to look after.  We water them once a week and remove any weeds which will compete for moisture and nourishment.  Sometimes I fertilise the soil, sometimes I don’t.   I try not to over-fertilise the soil as it can increase the acidity over time.  In fact, since most vegetables need neutral to alkaline soil, it is a good idea to lime the soil every 4 years.

Slugs can be a pest to any vegetable and we use biological control (nematodes) to help keep the numbers down.  Carrot fly can affect parsnips as well as carrots but thankfully, that is not a problem for us.  However, you can erect a barrier around the bed to shield the crop from this annoying low-flying insect.

Some gardeners do not grow parsnips because they are in the ground for 6-10 months and if space is limited then this is understandable.  However, if you do have space, they are well worth the developing the patience for.  By midsummer the bed is covered with thick unruly foliage but it is underneath the soil where the real action takes place.  Lifting the first parsnip is one of our most pleasant garden rituals.  If we are lucky, by the end of the autumn we are presented with long, knobbly, earthy-smelling roots and within the space of an hour we can enjoy a caramelised, almost fragrantly sweet, roasted parsnip on our plate.   They are delicious and I can't wait!