the weather

Heavens Above! What is going on? In recent times we have had the driest autumn on record, the driest winter, the coldest April and now the wettest too. How about the hottest summer next please. It really makes life rather difficult for anyone trying to grow anything at all. I read some garden articles in early spring listing plants suitable for drought as this is what we were all expecting then, hose pipe bans spreading across the country like wild fire and then it starts and we are all relieved to have at last a shower and then another….. and another …..But this onslaught and absolute deluge of rain that we have been subjected to over the last few weeks is just all too much. Maybe an article on damp gardens is called for now.

It is pretty miserable working out in this kind of weather and sometimes if it’s persistent enough one just has to give up. I have pretty good waterproofs in the form of fishermans salopettes,  wellies,  a coat and an assortment of hats, (shorts and a sun hat in the car too, just in case, yeah right!!!). It is not a pretty sight! 

Even some of the field workers have had their hours cut as no planting can be done because it’s impossible to get the tractors and planters on to the ground. Things are not happy!

box to grow

Veg and heb  box to grow customers have had their plants for a month now and hopefully  have manages to plant them up. Nothing has grown much this last month because its been unusually cold and very wet. My courgettes have copped it…just couldn’t cope, simply drowned and my other seedlings are sat there not growing and looking rather sodden and sorry for themselves . All you can really do is keep checking for slugs and snails who come out in troops in this weather. If really keen you could cover the plants with cloches to try and keep some rain off them and also raise the temperature a bit. We could all do with some sunshine to make the plants grow.

flower box to grow

The Flower Box To Grow is my baby in some ways as growing cut flowers is my speciality so riverford have used me to select the plants and varieties that come in this grow your own kit. I have grown organic cut flowers in a field I rent from riverford over the last four years. The Kit will provide you with flowers to cut and enjoy in a vase through out the summer and well into the autumn.  The flowers are all traditional English country flowers such as cornflowers, bells of Ireland, love in a mist, sunflowers, snapdragons and so on….take a look and be tempted.  The kit comes with 54 seedlings and two packets of seeds and is extremely good value for money and obviously I highly recommend it.

in the garden

What with all the rain perennials have pretty much doubled in size over the last few weeks and have been really enjoy this long awaited drink. I am lucky enough to work in some really beautiful garden in the local area and to cheer you all up and possibly inspire you I will show you some photos of some of these.

This garden is partly walled and formally planted with fastigiated yews and lots of shaped box and box hedging. It sits quite high on a hill and has lovely views across the valley. With in the formality it is planted quite loosely with loads of old fashioned roses, geraniums, day lilies and so on.

We let campion, forget me not, sweet rocket and valerian officianalis seed freely and then cull when necessary. This makes it look very natural and also fills gaps creating ground cover and hence suppresses growth of unwanted weeds.    

forget me nots

symphytum ibericum  comfrey

This is a low growing comfrey and a useful ground cover plant too

This is a taller comfrey useful for making a liquid feed  and  great for composting as it encourages the rapid breakdown of other materials  you put in your heap and its also very pretty.   

Symphytum x uplandicum   Russian comfrey

I love this combination of bright yellow Kerria japonica and a bright red Rhododendron behind. Very cheerful indeed.      

Continual rainfall such as we are experiencing at present brings its own set of problems, however. At this time of year we would be frantically planting, fleeceing, brushweeding and hoeing our lettuce, spinach, summer greens and so on; but not now. The fields are simply too wet to cultivate and a short break in the weather is little help as they need a minimum of 2-3 days (sometimes more depending on the soil) to dry out enough to work.

Fortunately for our staff there has been plenty to do in the polytunnels: Manuring, putting up supports for tomatoes, and plenty of hand planting. But as this begins to draw to a close we can forsee a few quiet weeks ahead whilst we wait for the crops we have to come on and pray for a break in the weather.

On the up side our wet garlic is looking good; this was planted as individual cloves that we broke up from whole bulbs in late October and early November. The two varieties we grow are Germidor and Messidrome as they produce large cloves: and usually the larger the clove you plant, the larger the wet garlic you produce.

So a mixed spring so far. To quote the philosopher from Morecombe, “bring me sunshine…”

Meet Paul Babcock. Paul grows our organic new potatoes on his farm in Cornwall, just one mile from the sea, within view of St Michael’s Mount.

Paul’s family have been there since 1958 and he has been growing organically for seven years. He also owns a pub locally, where  he sells his vegetables and meat.

This is Paul’s tractor, which he uses to harvest his organic new potatoes.

The high light levels and mild temperatures make Paul’s land ideal for growing new potatoes. The farm is above slate, which means it is free draining and has warmer soil. This rainy season has been particularly good for the potatoes, which you can order from Riverford.

We’ve got new season asparagus and rhubarb coming through in the vegboxes, but when the weather’s this wet we still feel like a bit of comfort food. There’s been much talk of roast dinners and cake on the menu chez Riverford staff (we talk a lot about food in the office, understandably). We’ve got two new recipes for our seasonal favourites that’ll give you a bit of a springtime cuddle in a bowl. If you’re up for a bit of baking on a wet Sunday afternoon, try our gingerbread with rhubarb and orange fool. For a quick midweek dinner, asparagus and bacon linguine fits the bill. Fifteen minutes max, from fridge to plate. Squashed herbs are optional.

Kirsty

kohl rabi

cabbage

Rainbow Chard

mustard

beetroot

lettuce

spring onions

parsley

coriander

rocket

tomato

courgette

Unfortunately I couldn’t find a cucumber plant to photograph and they do look very similar to courgette but… the cucumber was sent out in a pot and the courgettes were a block.

The italian parsley also may get confused with the coriander but easily worked out by giving the leaves a gentle squeeze and having a good sniff. Coriander has a quite distinctive smell that’s quite different to the odour of parsley. 

I hope this will be of use to those of you who are having problems and just to reassure you Riverford have taken on board that this is an issue and are working on finding a good solution for future boxes to grow.

The first Boxes to Grow have been dispatched from Wash and will be being delivered over the next two weeks to customers up and down the country. Today I will give you some extra advice and tips on planting out and caring for your seedlings.

Box To Grow Welcome
I want to thank our growers first who have really come up trumps this year with the most fantastic quality seedlings and plants for our veg and herb boxes to grow. I am proud to say we have developed a really good growing kit.
When your box arrives you will find inside full instructions on how to care for your seedlings right from the start and how to then get on with the task of planting them out and growing them on. Below I am going to list the most important things to bear in mind. Please feel free to use me as support and leave comments and questions on my gardening blog.

Frost Protection.
In the veg and herb  boxes to grow there are tomatoes , courgettes and cucumber and coriander seedlings that are all quite tender so need extra care for the next few weeks or more. Basically these plants need to be protected from frost, wind and cold temperatures generally. If you have no option but to plant them out it would be wise to cover with a cloche or make a little greenhouse recycling a large plastic water bottle, or at the very least cover with  horticultural fleece. In the past I have put individual cardboard boxes over such plants at night. Do not forget to uncover first thing in the morning though!  I would tend to plant into a pot with some compost and grow them on a bit on a window sill if I didn’t have a greenhouse.

Snow
If you live in one of the areas that have been hit with snow then it will be impossible to plant out your seedlings until it is has thawed. Make sure to take the seedlings out of the box and stand upright in a seed tray or cut the box down so that the plants don’t get leggy searching for light. Place the seedlings in a polytunnel, greenhouse, conservatory or window sill. Basically they need light and protection from freezing weather for the moment and ideally shouldn’t be put anywhere too warm either. The plants shouldn’t need watering but if look at all wilted or dry then do water gently with a watering can.

Planting
Follow the instructions provided with the kits.
The Cabbages, beetroot, rainbow chard and the kohl rabi in the veg kits can be planted quite deeply however make sure  the other seedlings and lettuce particularly are planted level with the ground and not at all below the surface.

Watering and fleece
Be sure to gently water in your plants after planting them in the ground and check for slugs and snails before ideally covering with horticultural fleece. Fleece will help protect against frosts and cold temperatures and give your plants a head start generally. Remove the fleece carefully every few days for watering as required. Once the weather has warmed up the fleece can be removed. Keep an eye on the weather and check your plants regularly.

Weeding
Keeping your plot, planters or pots free of weeds is important for the success of your vegetable growing. Use a hoe if appropriate to your situation and hand weed around the seedlings themselves.

Patience
Your seedlings will take a few days to adjust and recover from their hike over dales, down and up hills and so on. Look after them tenderly and give them the best chance of success. Speak to them nicely and before you know it they will start doubling in size over and over so do pay attention to the suggested planting distances to. Good luck!

Boxes to grow

Veg, Herb and cut flower gardening kits

April is nearly here and deliveries of our vegetable and herb boxes to grow will be going out imminently, cut flower kits a bit later.  It’s not too late to order one as we have a few left. I don’t want to bang on too much about it but these kits are great value and a fabulous way to  kick start  your gardens in one fail swoop. No decisions on what to grow or where to get it all from. We have used our experts to select good tried and tested varieties to give you the best chance of success and comprehensive advice on how to plant and grow these are also included in the boxes. I will also be supporting you with my gardening blogs and here to answer your queries.  

If you have already ordered one remember to do the recommended site preparation we have on our website.

March in the garden

 I have taken some photos of some plants I love that are flowering now. Its good practice to keep your eyes open  when out and about and observe good companion plantings around you and maybe think of incorporating these into your garden spaces to improve what you already have. In the foreground a red Camelia, clematis armandii climbing through a tree and in the background a magnolia tree. 

A close up of Clematis armandii. You can grow this evergreen climber up a wall,trellis,fence or through a tree. It has lovely glossy foliage its quite happy planted in more shady positions.

Hellebores are an absolute favorite of mine.  

Once big enough they can be split after flowering and replanted to increase your stock. I have done this in this little woodland area over the years and it really looks a picture at this time of year with the under planted periwinkle and primroses in flower too. 

This white double Hellebore is particularly pretty and looks great with Euphorbia as a backdrop 

Jobs in the garden

WEEDING This is the time of year to have a jolly good ‘spring clean’ in your gardens. Perennial plants are just beginning to grow again. Before things get too tall its an ideal time to really get in there and give your beds a jolly good weed. I have problems in a fair few gardens with perennial weed such as bind weed, couch grass and ground elder.  Gardening organically I would not use weed killers as they are detrimental to the wildlife in our gardens and leave nasty deposits in the soil too. Keeping these nasty weeds at bay is the answer. If you’re feeling thorough, this might mean digging up a perennial clump and teasing the roots of the said weed out and replanting the clump. Remember…DO NOT put these weeds in your compost heaps.

 DIVIDING up over crowded perennial clumps can be done now. Dig out the clump and put a sharp spade blade through the centre of the clump to cut it in half or more if necessary.

COMPOST  I have a rather tired body, being rather ancient doesn’t help and nor does the kind of work I have been doing the last few weeks emptying a fair few compost heaps in various gardens in the area. It is quite satisfying though to see what you have produced from simply garden waste.

This is great stuff to spread on to your beds, around the plants and lightly fork in. It will improve the soil and act as a mulch helping the soil to retain moisture. As a lot of us are already being threatened with hose pipe bans this is pretty essential.

In My Next Gardening Blog

As my seedlings are not ready for transplanting yet I will leave this till next time possibly with a video clip…heres hoping!

Guy Watson, Wash Farm, Devon

Three acres of broad beans were sown in January and, hungry crows allowing, they should be ready in mid-June. We’ve covered the crop with mesh to help protect the emerging seedlings and warm the soil a little, so fingers crossed we get a decent harvest. Spring greens and purple sprouting broccoli have done well despite a little early flushing due to the mild weather. Meanwhile, our new polytunnel has earned its keep so far by easily meeting the planned yields for our winter salad leaves. The gentle start to the winter certainly helped. The final salad crops have been sown inside, after which they’ll move outside to clear the way for spring onions, tomatoes, mini cucumbers and French beans.

Nigel Venni, Sacrewell Farm, Cambridgeshire

After a good season of winter crops including leeks, cabbages, kale and spring greens, it’s turnaround time for Nigel. Two acres of garlic were planted before Christmas, which will be harvested in May as the Mediterranean-inspired wet garlic. Broad beans, Batavia and Little Gem lettuces will follow, as well as spinach. The farm has nearly four acres of wild bird seed plots too, and this winter brought visitors including corn buntings, grey partridge, lapwings, fieldfares, red kites and barn owls.

Peter + Jo-ann Richardson, Home Farm, North Yorkshire

After the mildest winter for several years, it’s been an almost seamless transition into the spring planting season for Peter. Broad beans went in back in February, to be followed by new plantings every few weeks to keep the supply coming. Novella, the first of his potatoes (easily the biggest crop on the farm) will go in during March, as will the early carrots for harvesting as bunches in June or July. This year Peter also hopes to try out Pink Fir Apple potatoes; fantastic to eat, but a devil to grow organically.

Chris Wakefield, Upper Norton Farm, Hampshire

The spring onions that Chris and his team planted in the polytunnels during November got off to a great start, thanks to the mild conditions. The crop should yield a very healthy 25,000 bunches around two weeks ahead of outdoor-grown plantings in March. Butterhead lettuce also went in during early January, and once those crops are cleared, the herb season recommences. Coriander, parsley and basil will be nurtured in the warmth of the polytunnels, while sage, thyme, rosemary and oregano will grow outside. There will also be a new crop of mint, after some culinary testing!

Guy Watson, Le Boutinard, France

Our autumn-sown carrots are doing well, putting us on track to have them ready in April to plug the supply gap before the UK crop is ready. Meanwhile our spinach is struggling; poor germination followed by some fairly extensive frost damage have taken their toll. Thankfully the Batavia lettuces are looking good under their mini-tunnels, and we are busy planning in chilli peppers, squash and 25 acres of sweetcorn, possibly to include a multicoloured variety. After experimenting with Cape gooseberries and tomatillos back in Devon last year we’re giving both crops a go here in France this summer, as well as the locally popular Mogette beans, for drying and relishing in winter stews.

One of the nice things about purple sprouting broccoli is the way that varietal names all tend to reflect the red/purple nature of the crop. We have been slowly munching through Rudolf and Red spear since mid-November and although they are now over, Red Head is in full swing, Mendocino started last week and we picked the first of the Cardinal crop on Sunday. Next up will be Claret followed by some Late Purple in April. Peak production is approaching fast and by early April we could be picking four tonnes a week at our farm in Devon alone.

Each crop will be picked over several times. The first time through is usually quite light, where we take out the primaries (the main head at the top of the plant). This encourages growth in the secondary shoots that grow up the sides of the stalk: these are the more familiar spears that look (and cook) much like asparagus. I personally love PSB – it is one of my seasonal benchmarks – but it’s back breaking work to pick and by late April most pickers have purple spots dancing before their eyes and are praying for the final pick to come.

Every field comes with its own challenges and our main PSB field is no exception. Called ‘Racecourse’, it is slap bang in the middle of a former horse racing track. Races have been held here since 1883 but the course closed in 1960 and is just used for occasional point-to-pointing nowadays; and the next race is on Sunday. The upshot of this is that we won’t be able to pick anything from that field for a couple of days prior to the race as it is readied for action: fences going up, facilities set up for bookies and punters, and so on. So the field gets a couple of days rest and we will have a look at it on Monday to see how much of our crop has been trashed by stampeding horses…

Back in the eighties, my first job was working in a French-style restaurant making steak tartare to serve to paunchy gentlemen in loose ties. There were lots of rum babas, a few too many black Russians and lots of hollering by the wonderful chef (RIP). I survived on avocados and marie-rose sauce. The memory prompted a little laugh this week while watching Masterchef when the actress Amanda Steadman said she ate avocadoes for days on the trot when she first tasted them as they were such a revelation.

It reminded me there are variations of a recipe on websites and in cook books, a curiosity that had to be tried to prove its madness or genius. Chocolate avocado mousse. Dairy and processed sugar free, surely it couldn’t be right? Cacao and avocado were considered as stimulants by the ancient South American tribes, so I guess the combination comes from there. They were in some of the boxes this week, so if you haven’t made anything sensible with yours yet and they’ve turned a little ripe, give it a go and let us know what you think.

It had mixed reactions here, varying from ‘love it’ to ‘chocolate + hand cream’ and it definitely had the consistency of ganache rather than a proper mousse. I think it depends on your hippy rating as to how much you like it. I’d still make guacamole any day of the week, but here it is:

chocolate + avocado mousse

Serve with very thinly sliced pineapple, oranges or pink grapefruit. This makes about 5-6 ice cream scoops, so depending on how greedy you are, serves 2-4. It is quite rich, so one scoop is enough.

Ingredients

• 2 ripe avocados
• 25g good cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp honey or agave syrup
• a few drops vanilla extract
• 1-2 tbsp cold water

Instructions

Cut the avocado in half lengthways and remove the stone. Scoop out the flesh with a teaspoon and put in a blender or food processor. Add the cocoa, honey or syrup and vanilla. Blitz until smooth. Add just enough water and blitz again until you have a smooth and creamy mixture. Taste, adding a touch more syrup or honey if needed.

I also made another pudding this week, chocolate beetroot mousse. Try that one if you fancy doing some baking this week, or for Mother’s day.