HSL

Heritage Seed Library.

Just prior to Christmas the Heritage Seed Library arrived through the letter box. Once I had some quiet time, I began looking through the selections for 2010.

The catalogue has so many different varieties that I would love to try; but I had to choose six, plus 1 lucky dip.
Last year I picked mostly peas, beans and tomatoes, so this year I decided to limit 2 varieties of peas and beans.

These were my selections:
Peas:
Robinson.
It is thought to be around 80 years old. A tall, sturdy variety (2-3.5), white flowers followed by 6-10 marrow fat type,wrinkled peas in each pod.

Hugh's Huge.
This pea was donated to HSL by Michael Stanley from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, who had been growing it on his farm since the 1950's. He was orginally given the seed from Mr Robinson, also from Leicestershire who had acquired it from Scotland. A favourite amongst exhibition growers for its long,slim,slightly curved pods which have pointed tips. Extraordinarily sweet, they retain their when a little over mature or when frozen.

Beans:
District Nurse.
An elderly lady in Cardiff donated these beans to Anita Bourne's step daughter who is a district nurse. Pretty lilac flowers followed by dramatically coloured pods, green splashed with navy blue.

Major Cooks Bean.
This bean was given to HSL by Mr Luxton. It was handed down by his father who acquired the bean from Major Cook who was a colleague during Mr Luxton's work for The Commonwealth War Graves Commission in the 1920's.
Major Cook is thought to have developed the variety. Pretty purple-violet flowers followed by string less beans with fine flavour.

Onion:
Up to Date.
This variety is originally from R Brittan Seeds in Northampton and is at least 80 years old. In 1948, the Ministry of Agriculture announced its white rot resistance (MAFF Bulletin 2,1948). However, it was thought that 'Up-To-Date' was the same as Bedfordshire Champion and was discarded. Apple shaped with yellow skin, rather square shoulders and a rounded base. Good storage onion.

Squash: Chicago Warted Hubbard.
An American Heirloom variety developed by Budlang Gardens, Chicago and introduced by Vaughans Seed Store, Chicago in 1894. Trailing vines produce large (5.5-6kg) warty,wrinkled,olive green fruit with fine-grained, sweet orange flesh.

Lucky Dip:Asparagus Kale.
Listed in 'The Vegetable Garden'(Vilmorin-Andrieux 1885), this variety is reputed to be one of the tastiest kales. The violet tinged, fringed leaves are mild-flavoured and, in the spring, the young,tender flower shoots can be blanched and eaten like asparagus. Compact, hardy and very productive.


The seeds arrived two days ago and I got all my first choices!!!! Looking forward to growing these varieties and saving seed.

Onions

First Onions Sown For 2010 Harvest.

29th December 2009.

Today I have sown the following varieties of onions which will be kept indoors in a cool place.
I decided to follow the moon planting method again as I had reasonable results last year and find by following the moon planting calandar it keep me to track.

Hi Keeper - F1 Hybrid.
Good autumn variety for sowing outdoors to over winter. Sow September outdoors or March - April for spring sowings.
Harvest in June, from overwintered sowings. August to September from Spring sowings. Exhibition quality in under 4 0z class. I already have some of these onions growing on the allotment which were sown back in September.

Ailsa Craig.
Large globe shaped, straw coloured bulbs with a mild flavour. Will store for a few months. Popular variety for growing 'heavy weight' exhibition quality.

Brunswick.
Mild, yet tangy taste, red skined semi-globe type. Good long term storage.

Bedfordshire Champion.
Popular tasty variety, brown skinned, mild flavour. Long storage period.

Roja de Niort.
Red onion. Seed purchased from Lidl, never tried this variety before so will have to wait and see.

The Kelsae.
Show bench winner, exhibition onion. First introduced in the early 1950's. Record weights and exceptional flavour.

Once the seed have germinated they wil be moved to a cooler place as onions don't need to be kept warm.

Summer Flowers.

Summer Flowers.

Some of the flowers from

the back garden which did well during 2009.

Lillies:

Did well and smelt divine.

Poppies: These were very pretty. I saved seed from these for next year.

Globe Thistle:

I saved the seed head from these at the end of the summer.

After removing the seeds from the prickly seed case, I decided to see if they would germinate. I now have a full seed try of seedlings which will go to the lottie when they are ready. I like the intense shade of blue and the fact that the bees seem to like them.

Talking of bee's, this one is enjoying the nectare from the head of a Sedum.

I planted several varieties of nasturtiums,

so I had lots of different colours.

We picked some of the blooms for Jess, for her art homework which was a collage made from petals of different flowers.

Nasturtiums did well and certainly brightened up the plot.

These were the night scented stocks and marigolds that a friend sent me up from Bristol for the allotment. Thanks Judy xx

I have saved the seed for next year.

Now that I have dug up black currant, red currant bushes and raspberry canes I can now sow more flowers for next year, as I have more space. The marigolds did much better on the allotment than they did in the garden, so I will plant them at the lottie again.

The only problem with getting a lottie ..............

Lottie Update.

The only problem with getting a lottie is that I haven't had time to post regular updates!

What a summer, the weather was ok, most of our time was spent at the lottie digging, weeding, laying paths, marking out, building raise

d beds, planting and putting in the new shed.

It has been hard graft but it has been worth it. The lottie is starting to take shape and I should be able to have a full growing season next year. All the beds (with the exception of 3) have been dug through the Autumn, alpaca manure has been added and covered with black polythene for the winter.

Although I didn't get the lottie until the end of June we managed to grow carrots, purple sprouting broccoli, winter cabbage, beetroot, and chard. We have met a lot of the plot holders who have been very friendly and welcoming.

All the strawberries have been transplanted to the lottie and we built a fruit cage (21ft x6ft) which has black currants, red currants, loganberry, raspberries, and tayberries growing inside.

The picture on the left was taken whist we were building it, it is a wooden frame, the roof is covered in strong pea netting and the sides in scaffolder's net.

I have planted three varieties of Rhubarb: Timberley, Red Champagne, Victoria, and at the start of December managed to plant the bare rooted fruit trees that I ordered back in the summer. We have planted: Victoria plum, Opal, Pear: Beth, Apples: Bramley, Bountiful, Bleinham Orange, and Discovery. All trees are M9 root stocks. I am hoping to pick up a few more trees in the spring when the supermarkets have their offers on. We have planted three gooseberry bushes - green, yellow and red. The Goji bush has been planted towards the front of the lottie.

In October we build a leaf mould bin from wire mesh and stakes. We managed to collect a trailer load of leaves and the bin is half full, will have to get more for next year. The compost bin that we built is not completed yet but is usable. I want to modify the front so it has doors on it, which are the width of the wheel barrow. The bin is made from recycled pallets and has two bays.

In September we visited a factory which gives away free recycled wood. We managed to get a trailer load of wood which we have used to make raised beds down the other side of the path.

We have built an asparagus bed which has been planted along side the herb bed. I have planted Comfrey bocking 14 in a block leaving plenty of room for it to grow, this will be used across the plot as liquid fertilizer.

Blueberries have been planted in their own bed with special acid compost. We also managed to grow our first pumpkin!! It was one of the small varieties called Baby Bear. We used it to make soup. I was very proud of this little pumpkin as it was the first produce off the lottie.

We have planted broad beans as a direct sowing at the lottie. I tried these once before and didn't like them so picked a different variety to try. We ended up with Bunyards Exhibition. All the seeds germinated are about 2-3 inches high, and I have a few spares at home. I may risk another sowing later in the spring .

At the end of the summer I sowed some onions which I wanted to over winter on the lottie along side some Japanese onion sets that I picked up in wilko. At the start of the year I had ordered sets from a reputable company which let me down by sending mouldy onion sets, I threw them in not really expecting much from them, a lot of the onions were ok, but they didn't reach a good size. So I decided that from now on apart from the Japanese overwintering sets that I would try my own onions grown from seed. I planted a couple of varieties Hi keeper and one other that I have forgotten the name of. These onions grew very well and have been transplanted out on to the lottie, they have put on suitable growth before the weather started to change so I will see how I get on with these. I am planning to do another sowing of onions this week which I will keep indoors until they have germinated and then they will be moved to the utility room as its a bit cooler in there.

We have had a great time getting the lottie ready and I am looking forward to starting a new growing season.

We still have lots to learn and it may not all be successful but here's hoping. Thanks for reading

Pea : Big Ben

Big Ben.

Type of Seed: Smooth, Green.

Type of Pod: Long and rounded

History: Unknown

Description: This is a very tall variety of pea which will grow to over six foot tall and requires support. I grew these peas in March and they had started to produce flowers and form peas in May. They are strong and sturdy plants which produce large white flowers, like the name of this variety everything about it is big!

They are quite prolific and produce pods containing 8 to 9 large peas. They taste like a marrowfat pea and are definately worth growing.

I would try this variety again and will save the seed.

Home Front.

The weather has been non stop rain this morning so time for an update.

These are the pictures of the hanging baskets that I planted up during May, they have put on a lot of growth and I'm really pleased with them.

They don't take much time to keep them in tip top condition, just a weekly feed and some dead heading.

Hopefully they will continue to flower throughout the rest of the summer.

So far things are going to plan and we have been harvesting lots of veg, no where near as much as I would like but now we have the lottie we are hoping to turn this around for next year.

These are some of thee views around the back garden, I have managed to pack as much in as we could.

Turnip's and Pea's have done particularly well. We had a huge crop from Ezeta's Krombek Blauwschokker. Clarkes Beltony Blue also did well.

Tomatoes.

The early tomatoe experiment has been showing dividends, so far we have harvested sun gold, stupice, balconi red. There are lots more to come as the plants are layden with fruit. I am hoping to make some spaghetti sauce with some of the harvest.

I think I would definitely sow tomatoes earlier as I did this year, I don't know if I would start to sow earlier than February though, as I did have a distinct lack of space before I could start moving the plants into the greenhouse. Next year I think I will do a few varieties of tomatoes along with the chili's which need a long season. Some of the chilis that were sown in february have started to produce fruit, currently we have Purple Jal's, Cveta, Chili Pyramid, Apache and Orangina . Something nasty (slug, I think) decided to have a munch on my lemon drop plant which is now starting to make a recovery! All the chili plants have been moved out of the greenhouse and are now on the patio, they don't seem any worse for wear but it has continually rained since so may have to move them back in temporarily.

Courgettes have produced a huge crop and if you blink you miss them and they turn into marrows.

The picture on the left is De Nice a fruit round, it should have been harvested when it was small sort of golf ball size instead I got a cricket ball! Golden Zucchini is just starting to produce fruit so looking forward to trying these.

We have harvested : Radish, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cucumber, Courgettes, Strawberries, Cabbage, Kale, Peas, Mange Tout, French Beans with more to come.

Onions are still growing away, some of the red baron have started to bolt so will lift these and use first as they will not store well. The white onions seem to be doing the best. I am going to over winter onions this year for planting out on the lottie. I also managed to get a selection of shallots that I am holding on to for growing through the winter. The garlic that was sown earlier in the year is still in the ground as its not ready but the supermarket experiment produced a crop but rather on the small size. I'm going to keep some of the cloves to plant again in the autumn to see if they can be improved upon.

Next year I am hoping to be able to grow more flowers from seed to fill in the gaps in the back garden as I will be digging raspberries and blackcurrant bushes up to go to the lottie so can plan abit of a revamp.

And finally, my beautiful sweet peas, we have been picking them every few days, the fragrance is fantastic and they certainly brighten up a room and let you know that summer is here even if it is still raining.

Allotment News!!!!

I have been lucky enough to secure an allotment after a six month wait. This came as a lovely surprise as I have been growing lots of veggies at home and collecting bits and bobs for when I got one. I received the letter on the 18th of June. We managed to get our first choice in terms of site, which is only a 10 minute walk from where we live.
The site only has 42 plots in total and is situated on a south facing slope. Our plot is situated at the bottom of the slope and is second from last in the row. The plot is in full sun and hasn't been cultivated for some time.

We viewed the plot the same afternoon as we received the letter and went in to sign the tenancy on the Saturday morning. The plot had been overgrown with couch grass, bindweed, brambles etc but the Council has cleared and sprayed the plot, as the previous plot holder was allowed to have seven plots and created what she saw as a nature reserve, this unfortunately was allowed and she didn't cultivate any of the plots but dumped her rubbish on them.

The soil is heavy clay and very compacted, and requires lots of weeding and digging. Due to the recent dry and sunny weather the surface is as hard as nails and is tough to dig, but we have made a start.

We started by digging out a lot of dock leaves and racking the weeds and debris off the plot, took away about 10 black bags of rubbish. Because the soil was sun baked and hard, we hired a cultivator for a day to break the ground ready for laying out and digging.

This is a picture of my OH cultivating the plot. Over the last few weeks we have managed to get a load of carpet off cuts which we have used to cover the banks to either side of the plot after we had cut them down. We also sourced some lengths of wood which we have used to mark out and make a central path; which was covered with weed suppressing membrane and covered in wood chippings.

We brought a new shed to go on the plot which had to be laid on concrete as part of the tenancy, so we got the slabs and started to level the ground, unfortunately we had not finished before we got the call to say they wanted to deliver the shed, so it was a mad dash to get this completed and take delivery of the shed. We erected the shed the same evening as it was delivered and finally got home about 9pm. Since then we have put in one water butt and put up an off strip of guttering we manged to pick up. We have built a compost bin from old pallets courtesy of my Dad. Gradually the plot is starting to take shape and looks like an allotment.

We have started to dig and weed one side and have started to lay out the beds with carpet paths in between. The left hand side of the plot will be home to most of the fruit, we have planted gooseberry bushes, rhubarb, black currant bushes, tay berry and logan berry bushes so far. We have erected the posts for where we are planning to grow summer and autumn varieties of raspberries.

I have used a few of the beds on this side for cabbages and purple sprouting broccoli. The right hand side will be used to grow spuds next year with other beds for roots and beans. Looking forward to sitting down in the winter months and planning what will go where as before its been a case of just cramming things in. I have some raspberry canes and a black currant bush that I will be digging up in the autumn which will go to the lottie along with a plum tree which is growing in a large pot. I am also hoping to source some bare rooted fruit trees over the next few months which I can plant out in the winter months.

Now that we have marked out and started planting the fruit area, we will be building a raised bed for the strawberries which I have at home in the flower planter, they produced a good crop this year for a small amount of plants. They have started to produce runners so hopefully we will have even more for next year.

The fruit area will be caged off at a later date as I have noted that pigeons frequent the site and hide in the trees at the end of the slope.

I have directly sowed beetroot, carrots and turnips - so lets see how they do.

Lots to do and plenty of plans to make, exciting isn't it.