Particularly pleased with our first ever crop of Padron Peppers (bottom left), continuing our Mediterranean weather themed summer. And one of our favourites in the kitchen.
At this rate of climate change we’ll soon be able to supply our favourite local tapas bar!
Having pickled the first sowing of radishes, our next harvest at The Secret Acre was once again the over wintered onions and garlic.
This year’s varieties were Cristo and Iberian Wight for the garlic with Troy F1 white onions and Electric red onions. Although the results seem on a par with last year’s varieties. Continue reading
This year, one of our early harvest gluts was radishes, which all came in a rush, despite the weather.
So for the first time at The Secret Acre, Emma tried her hand at pickled radish. Continue reading
Last year we had an onion and potato harvest in September. Our white and red onions had been spring planted alongside the spuds.
This year we tried over wintering our onions along with the usual late autumn planted garlic. Continue reading
We made the rookie mistake of going on holiday in May.
So after congratulating ourselves for getting off to a good start in April, we came back to a mad frenzy of overdue planting jobs at the end of the month to try and catch up all over again. Continue reading
“A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself” – May Sarton.
Personally I like to think my life so far has fortunately been a series of triumphs set against a few disasters. But the jury is definitely still out when it comes to our new veg beds!
Certainly in this first year, there have been more triumphs than losses, which is nice. But this is probably mostly because we are still easily pleased! Continue reading
“Weed it and reap” is an old garden saying, and although we might be behind in the weeding of our new veg beds, no sooner had our first veg arrived than it seemed we were suddenly reaping a glut of veg.
Including, pleasingly, some vegetables like beetroot and cabbages, which we hadn’t tried growing before when we were container growing in our small backyard previously. Continue reading
The Veg Beds in May
Well at least (most) things are growing in this year’s first test vegetable beds.
Already we are learning lots of useful things for next year, including the undoubted benefits of more manure, lots more manure. And the sensible advice of our much more experienced neighbours to provide a good level of protection on certain crops. Continue reading
Of course the first thing the novice needs to tackle, when getting going on veg growing, is the sowing of the seed. A timeless wonder of nature explained so well in The Young Ones I seem to remember. Continue reading
So that’s decide then, we’ll make a start on this Good Life thing by getting going on the veg growing this year, and worry about getting animals next year.
Time is pressing…
“Delve in! The year’s before us. Spring’s promise fills the air” – Frederick Frye Rockwell, “Invitation” Around the Year in the Garden, 1913. Continue reading
The Secret Acre 