My Tiny Plot

The first planting of mtp (season 2) is done - ie the garlic is in. I managed to find a patch that had been dug over, added plenty of compost (as Monty suggested) and the garlic bulbs went in. The bulbs are from my own store of garlic that we grew last year. I’ve heard mixed reports about using your own home grown garlic bulbs. Some say that it’s a great idea and that over time you will be able to grow your own strain of garlic which is pretty much immune to anything mtp can throw at it. Others say that it’s a bad idea as your own garlic may not be virus free and could weaken over time. Well I’ll take my chance - and if it doesn’t work out then I’ll buy new bulbs next year. I did find a great link while rummaging through my gardening magazines for the Garlic Farm, which looks like a great place to buy unusual bulbs (see link to the right) - however it’s a bit too expensive for me right now as I’m planning to buy 10 new raspberry canes and a mini polytunnel for my winter lettuce. All of which means that the mtp moneybox is empty right now!

It was time to tidy up the herb garden, as it was getting out of control. I trimmed the lavender back, discovered two Thyme bushes underneath a gigantic Parsley triffid and snipped the Sage back into a ball again. I hacked down the Chives too, which I’m not sure is the right thing to do (anyone know?). So the herb garden is looking quite cared for again. I potted up some of the triffid and took it home for the kitchen. Then I composted half of what was left and left a small clump in the ground to see what it can do before the frosts come. I have some mint too which is looking a bit rusty. I think I’ll leave it in and replace it next year. I tend to use the same herbs most of the time; thyme, basil, rosemary, chives, parsley, corriander, sage (sometimes) and bay (as we have a tree at home). Anyone have any ideas on unusual (and useful) herbs I can grow next year? The most exotic thing I use right now is Juniper Berries to make cider gravy with sausage and mash (yum). I have lots of dried stuff at home but you can’t beat that fresh, snipped from the garden smell can you?

Look at the wee cauliflower! To be honest I thought the Cauliflowers I put in were a non-starter. The seeds I sowed directly in the soil came up all gangly and long (I sowed them too near to each other). And as a result they looked a bit sickly and came in for every virus and pest under the sun. I sowed some at home in the propogator and they faired a little better. But all had their roots munched by evil grubs and showed minor infestations of Cabbage white catepillar at various intervals. So you’re with me when I didn’t expect much from them? But when we came back from holiday three of the cauliflowers showed white curds, two of them are quite bit (enough for a decent sized Cauliflower cheese bake for two!) and this is the runt of the litter. As he’s so vertically challenged I thought I’d make an internet star of him instead. He’s barely a floret! It will be a shame to eat him (but eat him we will)…

It’s been a bit quiet around mtp these last few weeks as we’ve been on holiday (the undergardener and I). South of France, very nice, I won’t sicken you with the details. But we came back to find a lovely, daddy-sized compost bin waiting for us outside our front door. Complete with kitchen ‘caddie’ (as they call them) and leaflet explaining all about composting. Of course we’ve been composting all year however we’ve been making do with a tiny bin that we inherited from our neighbour and the kitchen recycling hasn’t been to the level that we would feel happy with (due to the lack of a kitchen caddie - of course!). But now we’re all kitted up and ready to go up a recycling gear. We’ve already filled the caddy with coffee grounds (hmm…maybe we drink too much coffee???). But anyway the other nice surprise is that our Arctic King Lettuce seedlings (free with GYO mag) are up and ready to be transplanted to the cold frame. As the name suggests they are winter hardy however I’m planning to do some in the cold frame and some out on the plot - that way we might have some lettuce earlier than the ‘April - May’ it says on the packet. What on earth did people eat in the winter round these parts?