Gardening in autumn

I love gardening in Autumn. For me its the absolutely best time. Weeds are slow growing, grass can be cut back and stays cut back, ground is there to be prepared and you’re not having to deal with seedlings being munched by pests of various sorts.

I like having fires too, and on my allotment they are only allowed in late autumn through to the early spring. I have a problem with couch grass and bind weed on my allotment, and short of massive barrels of rainwater to sak them in until they turn into slime, I like to be able to burn them.

I particularly like that moment when, because I use a fire steel and striker, the spark finally catches and turns to a flame as you blow on to the ember, its visceral and in a small way, very exciting. Its an experience that human kind has shared for millenia now, and there are too few of those moments.

Autumn is also a time for planting and rearranging, as well as pruning and cultivating. Garlic and other over wintered things should be going in, and I’m also in the process of moving my strawberry plants to a new home, I swear that this time they wont be so over grown, not that they seem to be bothered by that – they are still fruiting!

By the way, if you’re thinking about growing garlic, make sure you do, its brilliant to grow, I reccomend Solent Wight as a great variety. I’m also trying out the idea of perennial garlic, having left some underperforming plants in the ground this summer rather than pulling them – I want to see if they will grow into self seeded clusters – I’ll keep you posted -if I remember.

This autumn has been one of the busiest I remember, we were away last week, and I started this week with a to-do list as long as my arm, but I still deliberately take time to get out in the garden, its pure therapy. Manual labour is a vital part of my personal rhythm, and if your life doesnt incporporate it in some way, I suggest you consider it. There’s a lot to be gained from hands on involvement in the earth, interaction with the elements, participation in creation.

There’s no better time than now.

Spring is coming

I was outside this afternoon and I could feel the changing season, in the air, in the soil. I’m not the only one who can feel it, the rhubarb is waking from its winter slumber, some greedy blighters are forcing it already! I’ve seen loads of crocus and other bulbs showing their faces too.

For those of us who try to grow things, that doesnt leave us much time to plant things like Shallots or Garlic, which need cold weather to function properly – the further north you are the more time you should have, but March and April will be here before you know it. They should all have been in the ground by now, but hey ho – time gets away from you.

As a kind of ritualistic acceptance of the changing season, I am going to embark on a good clean of my trusty Teva sandals – I’ve had them for years, I wear them for about 7 – 8 months a year, nearly everyday (for the rest of the year, I wear army boots – which are much older but are in perfect condition). My feet have good circulation. My sandals smell. If I cant get the suckers good and clean before spring, then it may be the year of new sandals.

I was lucky enough to see a flock of wintering waxwings the other day – beautiful birds, the sight of them reassured me that it is still winter, and there is still time to get that planting finished – just not much.

Back outside at last

It’s been a long time coming, but this afternoon, at long last I was back out on our allotment again.  Except to drop off compost I have not spent any time on the allotment since the Autumn, and it shows, I mean it really shows.

Most of the plots which are under cultivation have been freshly dug, or are at least looking tidy, mine on the other hand looks like a disaster, broken glass on my cold frame and in my greenhouse, overgrown beds, long grass everywhere, and plenty of unpromising looking mud.

But its all grist to the mill, today I put two of the beds back to rights (more or less) ready to be raked and cultivated a bit more, before they can be planted. Lots of work to do all over the plot, but I’m glad to say that in the couple of places where I placed sheets of damp proofing plast last year, in an attempt to sheet mulch them, the ground beneath the plastic is now nice and clear, and ready for cultivation.

Everywhere needs a good tidy and sort out, which it will only really get in part, I dont really want it to be too tidy if I’m honest. I like there to be room for creatures to hide and flourish, and I love the variety of bees, beetles, butterflies and bugs that pootle around there in the summer months.

And most of all I like to sit down after some work, and enjoy a hot drink. I had to relearn the art of making fire when wood is damp and newspaper in short supply, but it didnt take long.

If you dont have a garden or access to an allotment, then try and find some other outdoor space that you can spend time in, and if possible, grow things in, it is pure therapy, it helps to reharmonise you with nature, and nothing is quite as relaxing as knowing you have accomplished a job.

That’s right folks, its the first Kelly Kettle picture of the year from me, fear not, there are bound to be more. If you’re wondering, the plastic tub is what I like to think of as my tinder box, containing cotton wool, and home made char cloth. Marvellous.

 

Review: The Alternative Kitchen Garden, an A – Z

The Alternative Kitchen Garden, an A – Z by Emma Cooper.

I have a lot of gardening books, and I have looked at lot of other gardening books – but I have never seen one quite like this.

Most gardening books are basically either manuals, scientific text books, or encyclopaedias, but despite a title which might lead one to think that Emma Cooper’s book falls into the latter category – in fact it needs a separate category altogether.

This charming and easy to read book is in reality a manifesto – or perhaps its a kind of love-letter. Emma has used the conceit of an A-Z as a handy way of organising some of her thoughts, taking us through a series of plants and horticultural terminology according to their rank in the alphabet.  Now if you are looking for a book which works as a kind of exhaustive garden dictionary, then this is the wrong book – it isnt intended for that purpose. Rather it pulls together an almost random group of plants or ideas under a letter heading; P for instance is for Parsley; Peas; Peat; Peppers; Permaculture; PH; Phosphorus and Potatoes, while N is for Nasturtiums; Native; Nectarine;  Nettles and Nitrogen.  It then provides a short essay on each subject, and each one is delivered in Emma’s trademark accessible and knowledgeable style. She is a very ‘friendly’ writer, her work is easy to engage with and despite her wealth of knowledge you dont ever feel as if she is talking down to you.

I really like the book, as I say, it’s easy to read and it’s interesting, but that isnt really waht sets it apare. Most importantly Emma manages to exude a love for the subject – and this is what I mean by calling it a manifesto. Really this is a book which tells us to love our gardens, our window boxes or allotments – whatever we have to grow things in.It is a book which has mud under its fingernails.

Emma is a kind of garden evangelist, spreading the good news of growing things.

I think you can spot that I really like this book – but that’s not to say I dont have any criticisms, I was not sure about at least one piece of her advice, that Comfrey can be taken internally. Everything I have ever read before warns against it, and I’m not inclined to take her advice on that (sorry!)

The other negative aspect I think is the design, I think the wrong fonts have been used, which is a shame because it detracts slightly from the appeal of the book – however this is a very subjective thing, and I am a bit nerdy about fonts and suchlike. In any case, that side of things is down to the publisher not the author, I just dont think they’ve called it quite right.

The pictures throughout the book are great, and I love the fact that this is not a coffee table book, rather its the kind of book which can go with you out into the garden or wherever you go to think about growing things.

So in sum then – buy this book if you love gardens. Buy this book for people who need to love gardens. Dont buy this book if you want a full A-Z of plants and whatnot, there are plenty of other books out there for that purpose, this is a much more interesting and unusual text. This is a delightful and inspirational manifesto of gardening lore, with lots of good ideas and helpful information, and I’m looking forward to more from Emma.

The Alternative Kitchen Garden, an A-Z by Emma Cooper is published by Permanent Publications. RRP £14.95 ISBN: 9781856230469

Emma Cooper’s blog and podcast are available here.

The fruits of my labours

It’s a lovely time in the garden at the moment (when I can get into it) – much fruiting is taking place, from redcurrants and strawberries to broad beans, garlic, onions, herbs and so on.

I was a bit at a loss to know what to do with the redcurrants, it seemed a shame to have grown a load then not have anything to do with them… so I combined them with some rhubarb and put them into muffins – the kids love ’em.  All good fibre…

I finally got fed up with spring greens hogging the sunlight, so I’ve cut the rest of them and given them away. Dont really know why I grow them… and despite the slugs’ best efforts (they wiped out dozens of seedlings in one week), some of my lettuces have survived and we are well stocked for the summer I think. Reminds me of the days of slug wars.

The strawberries are fighting it out with the borage plants, they are supposed to be best friends, although to be honest they seem like rivals to me. Borage eh… lovely plant but a really good self propagator, you should only ever need one packet of seed for those monsters. Perhaps I shouldnt have left it to self seed last year?

I’ve got about 50 bulbs of garlic drying in the greenhouse, with plenty more coming in a ‘second wave. ‘ I’ve given a load of garlic scapes out, now I have to work out with the dozen or so I have still got. Garlic flavoured salad anyone?

Broadbeans that went in last autumn are now well developed and having made it through the winter (just about) their fat little beans are now in the freezer. I put Kel to work weeding the herb bed the other day, she is a champion weeder… this particular bed has lavender, rosemary, winter savory, two types of mint and a couple of other things in it – next week I’m putting her to work on the perennials bed, which is currently looking a bit ropey given that it is somewhat swamped with weeds.

The greenhouse seems to have been taken over by the worlds most enormous tomato plants, apart from two rather sad looking specimens in one corner, who just dont seem to have joined in with the other on the whole ‘grow grow grow’ thing.

So all in all, things are coming along nicely, I have hopes for the potatoes, although the second earlies are looking a lot less emerald coloured than the first earlies… not sure if its because of the variety or if they are lacking something? Anyhow, I’m not too worried, que sera sera.

Oh and by the way, not sure why, but beans have been a complete failure so far this year (broad beans aside). There’s still time I suppose, even if the equinox has passed us by, I will still be planting thanks very much. Just need a bit more rain…

sorry…

I didnt quite manage to live up to my last post, and rather ridiculously have managed not a single blog for weeks.

My excuses are:
1) I’ve been busier than usual (true).
2) I’ve had nothing to say (not true, plus it’s never stopped me before).
3) I’m out of the habit (true).
4) I’ve broken all my fingers (not true).

So I DO intend to start blogging again either today or next week (I avoid computers over weekends) and will delight you with tales of story writing workshops, ongoing battles with compost gnats and slugs (not as a joint force – kind of ground troops and air force assault, you’ll be relieved to know). News of my book; related news of a new monastic gap year; comic book exhibitions and such stuff.
I really really really will start blogging again, even though whether or not I have blogged recently appears to make little impact on my day to day blog stats – sigh.

Normal service is about to recommence

Good news today, my wrist is all healed up – what a relief! I no longer have a cast on, only a rather medical looking ‘splint’ to be worn when needed.

Now I can type again, and as of tomorrow will be getting back to work (and blogging) proper. Unfortunately I now have a very long to-do list, but I’m sure I’ll get through it eventually.

At the moment I’m also awaiting the arrival of my new (second hand) bike, which is to replace my old mountain bike which doesnt seem to have healed itself over the last few weeks. The good thing is that the insurance has paid for the bike to be replaced, and because I’ve bought second hand (thanks ebay!) I’ve ended up with a better bike than I started off with. Just hope I can remember how to ride it 😉

And right now, as I type – rather gingerly it must be said – I’m taking the opportunity to listen to the Charlie Gillett tribute show that was broadcast over on Radio 3 recently. It’s a really great show, and a fulsome tribute to a wonderful broadcaster. Check it out if you have any interest in music that isn’t mainstream.

As I listen I am also looking forward to WOMAD in the summer, from where I hope to be doing some live blogging. The lineup is looking really good already, more on that some other time.

Steve and I have also been working on plans for a big exhibition of comic art work in the autumn, we’re really excited about it – more details as they emerge…

Last but not least to mention, the garden, its a wonderful time of year on the allotment, lots of greenery everywhere. I popped down to do some watering earlier and came home with cabbage, spinach, asparagus and radishes. Fortunately it seems that not all of my potatoes were too badly affected by the frost last week, so the future is looking bright for them after all – what a relief  🙂

So as of tomorrow morning its back to my portfolio of work after a four week hiatus – rather looking forward to it actually.

Plotting

I havent been at the computer for a few days, a combination of Easter tide, school holidays and pleasant weather have conspired to keep me from the keyboard. Amongst other things I have been down on the allotment once or twice, which has been very pleasant – Good Friday being the traditional time to start planting potatoes, I have managed to get my First Earlies in, Winstons in case you are interested – here they are arriving on the back of my bike…

My second Earlies (Lady Balfour) have still to go in, I had meant to have put them in already, but time has conspired against me. I’ve also been planting out the strawberries, which have taken up last year’s garlic patch, where they will be happy companions with some self seeded borage. I have cloched some of the strawberry plants in the hope that they will come into fruit a bit earlier.

Another big project has been the beginning of a wildlife pond in one corner of the plot…

At the moment the pond is rather mis-shapen, with steep plastic slopes on each side, I shall have to undermine them a bit to change that landscape. The aim is to have some fairly wild plant growth around the pond, which at the moment looks like nothing more than a large (and unaccountably rectangular) muddy puddle. As you can see, a neighbour has kindly donated a plastic duck… he also donated a few young fish, who I expect to die imminently. Either that or they will grow huge and eat any wildlife which attempt to cohabit with them… sigh.

In the background you will see some of my garlic, 56 plants in total in that bed, which are coming along nicely. Next to them is a boxed off Asparagus bed, I am keeping a close eye on it, but as yet no Asparagus is showing.

Some of the broad beans survived, and I am trying to protect them from pest attack as they are now flowering and should begin to fruit before too long. Rhubarb is springing up all over the place, and we have plenty of herbs on the go now. Seedlings are all over the house at the moment, I’m looking forward to getting them hardened off, this year I plan not to destroy them on the way to the allotment!

Permaculture Principles

If you are interested in permaculture – whether its as an approach to growing crops, or perhaps as a more general approach to life, then you will need to understand the permaculture design principles.

These are core, underlying principles which can be applied to any sphere of life, allowing us to engage with people, projects and places in a sustainable and productive way.

To get a full idea of the 12 design principles (Observe & interact; Catch & store energy; Obtain a yield; Apply self regulation & accept feedback; Use & value renewable resources & services; Produce no waste; Design from patterns to details; Integrate rather than segregate; Use small & slow solutions; Use & value diversity; Use edges & value the marginal; Creatively use and respond to change) a good starting place is this excellent site, which details the permaculture design principles, and illustrates their practical outworking.

The content of the site is based largely on the work of David Holmgren, who along with Bill Mollison (an interesting interview with him here) is credited with the co-origination of the concept of Permaculture.

I personally believe that if we were to apply these principles to a wide spectrum of our lives, particularly in the sphere of work, we would find ourselves creating more imaginative and sustainable businesses and institutions. Certainly they teach us to consume less energy, to not just accept the way things are always done, and to apply a way of thinking which works with our environment, rather than against it.

Garlic goodness and general gardening

This morning I planted the last of my garlic stock for this year. Although this was a later sowing than I had planned, I had always intended to stagger my garlic planting, having overwintered about forty plants under plastic, which I planted in early autumn. Those autumn plants are now really thriving and look very mature, while obviously the cloves I planted today havent even begun to sprout yet.

Last year we planted two bulbs worth of Solent Wight garlic, and they kept us self sufficient in garlic (we use a lot) from autumn until now. The Solent Wight stored really well and on the whole provided excellent large bulbs with plenty of flavour.

Garlic needs cold weather, without a series of cold days it will not split properly and form the proper bulbs. Hence I should really have planted my last bulb before now. But I am interested to observe the different results from the staggered plantings, whether they will all mature around the same time, or some much earlier than others – and in particular how the early and late plantings will do.

I have a number of different alliums planted now, red onions, japanese onions, shallots, and garlic. Also growing nicely are a number of cabbages, and the spinach beet which has put on considerable growth recently.

I am waiting for Easter to plant my potatoes, two early sorts, Winstons and Lady Balfour. I am not bothering with maincrop potatoes this year.

I’ve also been sorting out a nice little pumpkin patch, which is good as we have an infeasibly large amount of pumpkin seedlings on the go.

In the greenhouse I’ll be growing tomatoes and melons. Other fruit we’re expecting include: kiwi (the tree is looking quite healthy – hoorah), blue berries, we now have a few bushes of this, currants and other berries. I need to work out where best to plant my strawberries, which at the moment are all in pots. I may try them in a container rather than a bed, but if so, I shall need a couple of large containers.

Asparagus is not showing yet, but I wouldnt expect anything at this point. Rhubarb of course is coming along nicely, just need to persuade ourselves to eat the stuff, as we have about four or five healthy rhubarb plants growing in the garden.

The broad beans which I overwintered have not done well, I think I must have taken the protection away too soon – ah well, that’s a lesson learned.

The greenhouse will also be home to some cut and come again salad, and I think I’ll look for some space to get some salad outside too if possible.

The big unknown this year are my fruit trees, they did absolutely nothing last year, but then they were totally neglected. This year they have been mulched and protected from weeds, and I’m hoping that they will oblige with some fruit in return for the tlc. On the other hand, I may already have killed them off… we’ll see.

In terms of herbs I’ve got parsley of course, along with thyme and rosemary, lavender and hopefully some soapwort which is resolutley refusing to germinate at the moment. I’ll also keep some pots of basil in the greenhouse or on a window ledge. Need to check on the mint too.

The challenge this summer will be to keep things watered, if, as I have heard on the grapevine, we’re in for a hot one. I have still not managed to snag any suitable barrels for rain butts, and I refuse to pay the amount demanded in shops. Caught between a rock and a hard place really.

I’m sure this has been a fascinating post to read, sorry – feels like I’ve just done a gardening brain dump. So what’s growing well for you right now?