Getting a bit fruity

It's that time of year again where all the fruit is ripe at the same time so you have no idea where to start picking or just what to do with all that fruit you have.

I have several patches of fruit around the garden but my main patch is at the back of the garden by the greenhouse. It really dose get a lot of sun in this part of the garden this is why I originally chose this spot. we have two rows of raspberries two rows of strawberries a row of red, white and black currents mixed up grown as fans, Japanese whine berries growing up the back wall and finally a row of sauvignon blanc grapes.

 The currents have been under the protection of a net for the last couple of weeks as I was not taking any chances this year I lost most of the crop to the birds last year they where not getting them again.

I pealed back the netting to reveal the shiny red, white and back berries the red currents are so shiny you can almost see your face in them you can see why the birds are attracted to them so much.

After a few hours of picking and very red hands and fingers later we have several bowls full of yummy fruit. Now what to do with all this fruit some will be turned into Jam some will be frozen to use to use over the winter. The rest will be made into lots of yummy deserts over the weekend eaton mess and summer fruit pudding spring to mind.

 

Lets get sowing

There is nothing better to lift your spirits on a dull gloomy day than to sow some seeds in the greenhouse. Although it is still too early to sow most crops there is still lots that could be sown especially if you have the protection of a greenhouse even if it is not heated.

I have not heated my greenhouse for years now and have not had any problems to date yes I have to sow a bit later for some crops. But that dose not matter as the crops always catch up eventually but I have noticed that the harder you grow the plants the better they perform when you plant them out. But at this time of the year there are some crops that once I have sown them I bring them indoors and place them on the window sill to get a bit of heat. Tomatoes, chillies and aubergines all need an early start and a bit of heat to get them off to a good start so they are all put on the window ledge. but brassicas, lettuce, peas are quite happy being sown on the unheated greenhouse if it is going to get really cold I just through a bit of fleece over them for a bit of extra protection. I also start off a few pots of salad leaves, radish and first early potatoes in the greenhouse so we get some early crops before we start cropping outside. It is forecast to rain again tomorrow but hopefully the weather man will get it wrong again and we have a nice dry day so I can do a bit more outside.

From Vines to Wine

 About 10 years ago during our honeymoon we visited Three Choirs Vineyard they had some surplus vines for sale. So I decided to purchase one the one I chose was a Sauvignon Blanc variety it grew well in our old house. So when we moved to where we are now I did not want to leave it behind it had been left to scramble up the fence so was difficult to dig up. Cuttings was the only way of bringing it with us so I took several hard wood cuttings they all rooted this was 5 years ago. As soon as they where big enough to plant out in the new house I set up a frame for them to grow up. But for the last few year they have been all leaf and no fruit until this year when they where covered in lots of bunches of shiny green grapes.

So we decided that we would have to go into wine production now I have never made wine before so had not got a clue. How to get from shiny green berries to the best wine in the county (or at least that is the plan) So after many hours searching on the for recipes and £35.00 on equipment. I looked and sounded like a seasoned wine maker I now own a hydrometer and use words like oxidation and fermentation which I never would have before.



 After several hours of crushing, testing and adding sulphates and sugar we had what looks and smells like wine. I had to leave it about 10 days in the fermentation bucket testing the sugar levels several times towards the end to see if it has stopped fermenting. Once it had stopped fermenting we had to decant it into a demijohn with a air lock on to prevent any bacteria getting in the wine but any oxygen can get out. Now we just have to wait several months before we can sample our hard work and see how good or may be not so good our first attempt of making wine has been.

Self Sufficency - Saving seeds for the future.

One of the main aims of being self sufficient is being able to produce as much produce as you can and being able to produce all the resources needed to do that from your own land. So there is a continuous cycle with very little, if no input form the outside world. So to continue the vegetable garden cycle we need to produce as much of our own seeds as possible. This is not as easy as it sounds as there are many problems that you can come across such as cross pollination from similar crops.

So you need to do a bit of careful planning to prevent similar crops flowering at the same time but there are some crops that don't cross with other plants. Such as peas, beans and tomatoes there are couple of good websites that give lots of information that will help you a lot http://www.howtosaveseeds.com and http://www.realseeds.co.uk/seedsavinginfo.html . Real seeds are a great seed company not only do they only sell open pollinated seeds they are the only seed company that encourages you to save your own seeds. Instead of buying seeds from them every year and they also have some great variety's that you can not buy anywhere else.

In the planning you also have to take into account the fact that some are biennials and some are annuals. So they could take up space in your garden for two years where as the annual variety's grow flower and set seed in the same year. Another alternative is to grow some crops in pots that way you can move them around the garden you can also put them in the greenhouse to protect them at the beginning of the year and help them dry out at the end of the season.

I have left lots of plants in the ground this year so I have lots of my own seed to sow next year just one or two plants left to go to seed. Will produce more than enough seed for your own needs and still have lots of seed left to give or swap with your friends.

One point I have not mentioned yet is the fact that you can not save seeds of F1 hybrids, well you can but you will not get the same plant as you grew. This is due to the way they are bred to start with one other point I should make is that F1 Hybrids are not GMO'S which I hear occasionally. They are bread using natural pollination the only different is they are carefully selected and crossed in controlled conditions. This guarantees you get the same shape, size and colour every time and they also tend to harvest at the same time as well which is not what the home gardener really wants. 

Beans and peas are one of the easiest seeds to save they do not cross with other peas and beans so you can grow lots of variety's and get pure seed off them. All you need to do is leave some of the better pods to grow on the plants to mature and dry on the plant.

Dry all your seeds well after harvesting them to make sure they are completely dry then store them in paper bags/envelopes. Making sure you have labelled them with the date of harvest and store them in a dry place and depending on the variety will keep for a couple of years.

 



Preserving your produce for winter use

It is that time of year when there is more produce in the vegetable garden than you can possibly eat fresh.

It dose not matter how well you plan your garden you always end up with lots of one crop at certain times of the year. Mine at the moment is courgettes and runner beans I just cannot keep up with them and you end up being a bit fed up of eating them. So my new preserving bible is Keep it Fresh which came free from DT Brown seeds it is written by Rachel Cole. I keep this book in the kitchen now as I use it so much at this time of the year when I have so much produce coming in from the garden. I am not sure if it is still in print any more I can not find it on there website but it may be worth contacting them to see if it is still in print as it is such a good guide. I want to preserve as much as possible for use through the winter when there is limited fresh vegetables in the garden. I would not normally recommend frozen veg but the veg you freeze your self is so much better than any you can get from the supermarket.

 

 



Selfsufficient update

At the beginning of the year I set my self the challenge of going self sufficient and producing at least one piece of food every day of the year. Well how has it been going, very well especially now we are producing more than we can eat so there is lots of freezing and jamming taking place. Usually late into the night don't no why but Jam making always seems to start at about 9 o'clock at night. Probably because it is dark outside so no gardening and the girls are in bed so peace and quiet. We spent the spring building raised beds and levelling up the slope in the garden to make it much easier for us to garden. We filled them up with lots of compost, manure and soil from the levelling of the slope which has made a great growing medium for our vegetables to grow in.

One of the problem crops this year has been onions they have not performed well at all lots have gone to seed or not reached a very good size. Which is a shame as last year not one went to seed and it was the best crop I have had for a long time they also lasted until late June which is great. The other problem I have had is the peppers and aubergines just have not wanted to grow as the nights have been so cold. The other night it dropped as low as 4oC which is ridiculous for the end of July and no surprise that the more tender crops are struggling to grow.

 

But forgetting all the problems as it would be very boring if everything went well every year and gardeners do like something to moan about other than the weather. When growing your own it is always difficult to get the right balance of quantity's of each crop not having too much all at once. Yet again I have far too many courgettes than I know what to do with. The problem is I always end up with lots of good plants at the beginning of the year and never want to put them on the compost heap. But there are always lots of friends and family who are always happy to take a bag home with them.



So the challenge is going very well but to carry on the challenge on in to the autumn, winter and beyond. So we have been constantly sowing every time we clear an area a new crop is sown in that space so there is never any bare soil. which also means a constant supply of vegetables I have learnt that it is better to have lots of different vegetables in small quantity's rather than large quantity's of a few vegetables. Except vegetables that can store well such as onions, garlic, shallots etc. also there are some crops that stand well in the ground such as leeks, celery, parsnips and carrots etc. You can harvest them as you need them especially through the winter if they have a bit of protection. All in all it is has been a success and we will defiantly be carrying on with the experiment it next year.



Greenhouse is beginning to get full

It is at this time of year it dose not mater how much greenhouse space you have you never seem to have enough room for everything. Especially now that the weather has turned cold again can not even put stuff outside for fear of it getting wind burn during the day.

As we pot all the plants up into bigger pots we get to bursting point where there is just no more room. I can not even sow another seed so weather please hurry up and get a bit wormer so we can get planting outside.

I've just built a supermarket in my back garden

Its true I now only have to step out of my back door to get most of my weekly shopping whether it be fruit, veg, eggs it all now just a few steps away. But it is not your average supermarket there are no ready meals, so called special offers or rude check out staff who want you out of the shop as quickly as possible. The best point about the super market in my back garden is everything is free and my super market has not closed down all the small local independent shops in a 5 mile radius either. It's very green and has a virtually zero carbon foot print as all waste is composted or recycled.

Ok I am talking about my Vegetable garden but that is basically what it is and if we treated it like a supermarket we would realise that every day is a special offer.

But not only is your vegetable garden like a super market it is also like having a cash machine in your garden. Because growing your own food is like printing your own money as Ron Finley says Ron is a food growing activist from America. He started his campaign when Las Angeles council threatened him with legal action after he started growing food in front of his house on the grass verge in LA.

He has been encouraging people ever since to grow there own food in what ever space they can use whether it be a grass verge or a window box.

I would like to try and encourage as many (everyone) to grow at least some of the food they eat, I still don't know why fruit and vegetable growing is not compulsory to be taught in schools. In fact the government should have a national campaign to get everyone growing just like what happened during the war. The momentum for people to grow there own carried on way until the 60's until the modern supermarket was born. Since then as food has become on tap 24hrs a day 7 days a week and ready meals and processed food are taking up more of the shop than ingredients and fresh food. This is when the decline in people growing there own food started add in shrinking gardens on new build houses and councils selling off allotments. Only spelled disaster for anyone wanting to grow there own even if they wanted to they did not have a big enough garden to do so. So they turned even more to the super market for there food needs and before we knew it we have a generation that dose not know how to grow it's own food. We have recently had a resurgence in people wanting to grow there own mainly sparked off by the recession and several food scares but there is still a long way to go.  

But why don't the government encourage everyone to grow there own food my theory is that you can not Tax what is grown in your own back garden. But you can tax ready meals and processed food but what about everyone's health if the country eats a healthier diet of lots of highly nutrisus organic home grown produce the nation would be better off.  I'm sorry to say this but healthy people don't make money it's a bit like cigarettes the government know that they cause cancer and create a big bill for the NHS every year. But they also produce billions of pounds in tax and this out weighs what is spent making people well from the effects of cigarettes. So the government make a profit from peoples ill health it's a bit like you can not tax garden compost but you can tax a chemical fertilizer so the government never promotes organic growing as they don't make as much tax compared to conventional growing. So we all need to start a revolution and open a super market in our back garden, front gardens, balcony's and window boxes and start being responsible for the food we eat no matter how small the contribution you make. Every lettuce leaf we grow will help to a healthier life, a better environment, a better future for our children and break the chain of comersulatation of the food we need to survive.

January sowings in the Greenhouse

It's cold, wet and there is even snow on the ground but there is still lots to do in the greenhouse to keep the gardener sane. So that is where I have been for  few hours today I needed to do a bit of tidying up of the greenhouse first I haven't been in there for a while. So there was lots of pots on the benches and there was still a couple of pumpkins in there as well that where well and truly past there best.

First on the agenda was Shallots I potted up my 1" shallots into 3" pots using a mix of multi purpose mixed with top soil. These are for the village show in September so fingers crossed they grow well and we get the red card.

Now I missed the boat with the peas and beans last November so I have made a sowing in some module trays in the greenhouse. I should point out that the greenhouse is unheated so they will take a while to come through but they will be good hardy plants when they are big enough to plants out.  I also sowed some big pots with spinach, rocket, lettuce and radish so we get an early crop. I will be sowing lots of other crops carrots, beetroot etc. in big pots over the next few weeks to get lots of early crops from them.

January is also a good time to sow slow growing crops such as Chilly's Peppers and Aubergines although I sowed them in the greenhouse I did move them on to the window sill. To get the heat from the house to help them germinate I will grow them on the window sill until the temps start to rise enough to put them in the greenhouse. It's always great sow a few seeds it encourages you on to get the garden ready for when the whether warms up and we can sow outside it won't be long nw.


The all year round veg

If there is one Veg that has become very fashionable in the last few years that would be Micro Veg they have become loved by Michelin star chiefs.

They also go under the name of speedy veg, sprouting seeds and several other names but what ever you call them they are all grown and eaten in the same way. You are basically eating seedlings they are packed full of nutrients and make a great salad or garnish all year round. Best of all they only take from seven days from sowing to eating depending on the variety you are growing. Where once there was only mustard and cress now there is a multitude of variety's to choose from. Broccoli, leek, alfalfa, beetroot, sunflower, basil and many more. They are all grown in the same way the only difference is the time they take from sowing to eating. To get started chose some good seeds on this occasion I have chosen Suttons seeds. Best to choose variety's that have been specially bread for sprouting as you get much more seed in your packet and also the price. Get yourself a container any shallow plastic pot/tray out of the recycling I have a tray which is split up in to several individual containers.

It had Christmas nibbles in which where very nice and instead of it going in the bin I am re using it for Micro Veg. Place about a centimetre of compost in the bottom sprinkle the seeds on top and give a little water being carefully not to over water as there is no holes for drainage. Place on a window sill and just keep an eye on the watering they will germinate within days of sowing. When they are about 3-4cm tall simply clip them off at the base give them a quick wash and you have a great salad or garnish for your table. For a constant supply sow new batches regularly I tend to just grow Micro Veg through the winter when there is very few other salad's available. They add a bit of summer to the plate which is not needed the rest of the year when salads are in plentiful supply.

Newly sowed Micro Veg

 

One of the biggest fans of Micro Veg is Raymond Blanc I was lucky enough to be able to visit Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons at the end of the summer last year. Hear they have a whole greenhouse dedicated to Micro Veg celery, beetroot, basil etc. are all grown for the kitchen. They have to make a new sowing every day to keep up with demand as several full size seed trays are needed every day. It reminds me of a propagation house except not one seedling will every grow up they are all sent off to the kitchen from 7 - 20 days depending on the variety. I don't know of any other restaurant that goes to this much trouble to get the very best produce for there table. But they are one of the best restaurants in the country they also grow about 10% of the vegetables they use in the kitchen in there own vegetable garden I am going to write a post on the veg garden soon.

Micro Veg ready for harvest

A Busy Week

Sorry I have not written anything for a while there seems to be a million and one things that need doing at the moment. With writing, work and the wife and children like to see me occasionally as well but the good news is I have managed to get a lot done out in the garden this weekend. Although the ground was frozen it did not stop me cracking on with some more of the raised beds it's taking longer than I expected. To build them as I am using them to level out the slope on the right of the plot so there has been lots of digging to get the level right.

But hopefully this weekend I should have it all sorted weather permitting it's best to get all these big jobs out of the way now at this time of the year. Because when it all starts growing there becomes even less time to get these big jobs done and I don't have much time now. I still have some stored veg there are lots of onions still in good condition and a bucket full of spuds.

There is also some leeks, kale, cabbage and lots of different salads growing in the garden. so we will still have lots to eat out of the garden for the next month at least. By then so of our new salad seedlings should be ready to pick in the greenhouse and there is always the micro veg to keep us going in fresh crop of salad's

The Chickens have started to slow down on there laying now that the cold weather has set in but there is still more than enough for us to eat. The girls have taken to trying to train the chickens so far they have got dusk to perch on there arm like a parrot. January is normally a quiet month in gardening terms the ground is normally frozen or covered in snow but this year is extremely mild making it easy to get on with lots of jobs in the garden. This would normally not be possible in a normal year but I'm so glad that it is mild as there is so much to get on with. Although we may be paying for it latter on with plagues of pests that have not been killed off by the winter frosts.

During the evening I have been sorting through my seeds getting rid of all the old out of date seeds. Putting to one side all the seeds I am going to sow this year and everything else I will be swapping at Northampton's Seedy Saturday. This is a great new event taking place at The Looking Glass theatre right in the centre of Northampton bringing together gardeners and food lovers to swap seeds and generally get seedy. It is being run by a new group Fruitful Abundance this group has been set up to try and reduce food waste in Northampton it is also trying to get as many people growing there own and generally living a more healthier lifestyle. Would be great to see some of you there it is taking place on the 14th Feb 11am - 4pm.


First five days of self sufficency

Well it's been 5 days now since I started the challenge to produce at least one piece of food every day of the year. The 1st started with 3 lovely fresh eggs off our hens you can not beat your own fresh eggs freshly layed in the morning. Day two it was all about the onion you can not beat a home made onion bargee to go with a good curry and the onion was also used in the curry. Day three we turned to the store cupboard for the jam we made at the end of last summer from our raspberry's already looking forward to this summers harvest of raspberry's. Day four was a lovely omelette from our eggs two eggs beaten up with a pinch of slat, pepper and a splash of milk yummy. Day 5 we have turned to the salad patch for the last bit of rocket as the chickens managed to eat the rest to go in my sandwich. I am also going to knock up a batch of scotch pancakes or drop scones as some people like to call them they are lovely still warm straight from the pan dripping in butter.

There has been lots of activity in the garden too lots to prepare for the coming year as I need to get the maximum form every square foot. If I am to be able to feed myself with something everyday of the year. Part of the garden is on a slight slope so I have been making some raised beds. This is to try and level out the soil there will be two beds one above the other. This will make growing much easier as a level surface is always easier to work with than a slop. I should point out that all the wood that I am using is all recycled out of skips the boards are marine ply wood that was used as hording on a building site. They just put it all in skips when the project is finished as they have no use for it else where. The other project I have been working on is fitting a cold frame to the end of my other new raised bed.

The cold frame lid is an old shower door that came out of another skip the bed is just built around it. This will be great to start off early salads use as a melon pit in the summer and then fill it back up with winter salads in the autumn when the melons have finished. I am terrible for sticking my head in a skip but it always amazes me what useful stuff people do put in them and at the end of the day why pay for wood when you can get it for free. I did not quite get to finish it so I will put the last through screws in today and then I need to sow a few early crops in pots in the greenhouse.



The Start of a New Year

As we say good bye to 2014 we enter 2015 and the challenge begins a year to become as self sufficient as possible.

The main Vegetable Garden

The main challenge to produce at least one piece of food every day of the year whether it be from the garden, foraged the wild or from stored produce. I wrote about the challenge back in July but it's not just about the produce it's about living a more sustainable life reducing waste recycling more. Some things will just not be possible as we rent our house changing our heating system etc. to be more efficient. But we will do our best where we can to make our lives a little bit more sustainable and self sufficient in what we us. We will be making regular blogs about our challenge through out the year so do come back and see how we are getting on. You can also keep up to date with on a daily basis over on our facebook page and there is also twitter @pottingshed1. Is anyone else set them selves a challenge for 2015 we would love to hear about it. 

Growing The Seeds For The Future - Self Sufficiency

As part of going self sufficient next year one thing I am going to have to start doing is trying to produce as much seed as I can. Now I am by no means going to be able to produce all the seeds in all the variety's that I will need this will be impossible. The space it would take to producing all this seed we also have the problem with cross pollinating.

 But if we can produce some of the more easier variety's then we could save a pound or two over the year. I have saved lots of peas and beans through the summer as well as cucumber, tomatoes and several other vegetables in varying quantity's. So I have made a good start to being partly self sufficient in seeds next summer one veg we do grow in large quantity's is onions. So i have selected four of the best 'Red baron' onions as well as the best of my 'Kelsea' onions that I grew this summer. I potted them up in the greenhouse one bulb per 3lt pot in multi purpose compost. Growing them on in pots helps with two things the first is I can move them around the greenhouse as they grow and also place them outside during the summer. But one of the main reasons is if you suffer from white rot in your soil you can use clean soil to grow on your new stock disease free. Oh there is a third reason as the seed begins to ripen if the whether turns wet you can pick them up and pop them in the dry of your greenhouse.

I use a similar method for root crops such as beetroot, carrots, parsnips etc. but you will need bigger pots to take the shape of the roots. Put about three roots per pot making sure they are not touching to prevent rot and grow on the same as the onions they will flower the following summer. Only put one variety to seed each year to prevent cross pollination between the variety's for more information there is a great website to get more info http://www.howtosaveseeds.com/ .



It's Been a Very Beany Weekend

I managed to get out in the garden this weekend which i have not been able to the last couple of weekends. Now Saturday was not a good start to the weekend as it rained most of the day and when it wasn't raining the ground sodden. So Saturday became a right off now Sunday was a completely different day the day started off with the sun shining through the curtains (i don't get up too early on a Sunday). There is always lots to tidy up at this time of the year whether it's leaves or cutting back those perennials or in my case Beans. My runner beans are well and truly over now and the frost we had last week finally finished them off they where looking very sad for themselves. But before i get rid of them there where lots of dry pods full of beans as part of my bid to go self sufficient next year part of that is to produce a lot of my own seed. 

So i have been saving lots of seed this year from various vegetables in particular peas and beans as they are great for the the home seed saver. As most are in breeders which basically means they pollinate themselves before the flowers open but this is not true with runner beans. They can cross pollinate with other runner beans but there are many self fertile variety's now coming on to the market. I have got lots of french beans and runner beans drying in the greenhouse i spent a good few hours shelling them all ready to store away till the spring when we start the growing season again. 

But we don't have to wait till the spring to do a bit of bean sowing November is an ideal time to sow Broad beans to over winter in the outdoors. I managed to get a row of The Sutton in, this is a small podded variety and also dose not grow as tall like other variety's i must admit that i am not a huge fan of broad beans but do insist on growing a row every winter.

Apple Day

Today was spent at Wilson's orchard Apple day in Northampton.Wilson's orchard is run by South Court Environmental who are a local community group who run and maintain several sites across Northampton.

Wilson's Orchard is an orchard filled with old Bramley apples trees well over 70 years old the orchard itself is maintained for the wildlife more than for the fruit. But that dose not mean that they are not producing lots of great apples because they are the trees are left grow old gracefully. The trees are a haven for the local wild life when a tree or branch falls off it's just left for nature to do it's stuff. But today was about the apples the orchard produce and what a great day it turned out to be the sun was shining and i did not even need a coat.

Now i have never been to Wilson's orchard before and of it was not for the directions i would never have found it. Having weaved my way through a modern housing estate it was the last place you would expect to find a orchard but step through the gate and you soon forget that you are in suburbia.

In the centre of the orchard a press had been set up and there where several people busy at work chopping, crushing and squashing apples. To produce some of the best apple juice for miles it's surprising how many apples you need to produce a jug of apple juice. But apples where not in short supply every where you looked there where apples great big Bramley's you had to be careful not to slip on the odd rotten on on the ground.

There was lots going on tours of the orchard, apply talks and lots of juicing going on was a great afternoon looking forward to another apply day next October.

Getting Squashed

It's that time of year again when the squash and pumpkin harvest comes in from the garden. It's been a good year for Squashes and Pumpkins they just wanted to grow and did not get any mildew till late on in the season. All i had to do was keep them watered and they just romped away particularly the Pumpkins they seemed to grow before your eyes. Like blowing up a balloon although some of them did pop and rot into a soupy mess but luckily they did not all go that way.

Gourds growing over the arch

I grew a lot of gourds this year over our pergola probably too many judging by the harvest we got off them. But they do make great decorations around the house and garden and if dried will last for many years. They can be painted as ornaments and in some African country they use them to eat out off instead of plates they are the ultimate disposable plate.

Gourds and squashes drying in greenhouse.

They are a great vegetable for the self sufficient gardener as they will last months if stored well and can be turned into many dishes from soups to pies. Keep them frost free and dry leave a slight gap between each fruit so that if one dose rot it wont spread to the others. Fingers crossed they will last till way into the spring when we should have some new crops in the garden to eat and we don't have to eat out of the store.

Pumpkin Harvest

Time for a bit of late season sowing - Self Sufficiency

Although the leaves are starting to fall it dose not mean that the growing season is over just yet. There are still lots that can be sown in the garden at this time of the year to give a good autumn and spring harvest.

Now we will need to give some of the crops some protection from the weather either in the form of a cloche or fleece. A polytunnel would be the ideal situation but i don't have the luxury of one of them so a cloche it will have to be.

September is a great time to so seeds as the soil is still warm from all the summer sun (yes we did get some this year) and in a normal year we would have some rain to help them along not this year though. My intital plan was to sow a whole raised bed dedicated to all the winter crops this idea has been put on hold as i have not built the bed yet so plan B it is. Fill up any gaps i have left i the raised beds i did build and the rest in the open borders and some in pots that can be brought in the greenhouse when the worst of the weather hits. This way their (fingers crossed) should be something to pick in even the worst weather conditions. From the pots in the greenhouse a window ledge will be just as good if you have not got a greenhouse. What are we going to sow well it's mainly leafy salad crops that we can pick at through the winter months. It is also a good time to sow one last crop of green manure i am planting Phacelia from T&M which should over winter keeping any weeds suppressed. Phacelia is very good for adding humus to the soil and is good on poor dry soils which is ideal fro the bed where i intend to grow it. This will be dug in during the spring leaving enough time for it to rot down before needing to replant the bed.The green manure is just scattered over the bed, raked in and given a water.

Making drill for some Raddish

All the other seeds we will just make a drill with the how and thinly sow with the exception of the Lettuce as i prefer to so in module trays and then plant out. This is so i have some to plant in pots and the rest takes it's chance under the cloches.

Seeds sowed today where.

Lettuce 'winter density' from Suttons
Spinach 'Bordeux f1' from T&M
Spinach 'Perpetual' from Mr Fothergills
Land cress 'American' from Suttons
Mizuna from Mr Fothergills
Raddish 'bacchus f1 from T&M
Raddish 'French breakfast 3' from Aldi
Rocket 'Cultivated' from Moles
Lambs Lettuce 'Valeriana' from Franch
Pea 'Douce de Provence' from Suttons 

This will not be the last of the sowing for this year we still have Broad beans and another sowing of Peas. These will be sown in November to over winter so we have a (fingers crossed) good harvest in the spring. We will also be starting on the micro veg soon although they can be grown all year round. I do prefer to save them for the winter months when there is not a lot else to pick at and you also get to keep sowing seeds which is the best bit.

Self Sufficient - Lots of Sowing

It's been another busy week trying to get the garden ready for the self sufficient challenge there has been lots of sowing taking place. We have also put in a fourth raised bed made out of recycled materials i am hopping to have enough recycled wood left to be able to build another 3-4 raised beds. Of course it is also dependent on how much soil and compost available to fill them up with. 

Seed packets laid out

We have sowed a mixture of crops salads for late summer and autumn, Brassicas to crop from autumn to spring and over wintering onions.

Veg we have sown in raised beds

Spinach America - Franchi Seeds

Lettuce Mix - T&M seeds

Mizuna - Mr Fothergills seeds

Red Mustard - Own saved seed

Raddish French Breakfast 3 - Aldi

Rocket Cultivated - Moles seeds

Rocket Wild Fire - T&M seeds

Land Cress American - Suttons seeds

Lambs Lettuce verte de cambrai - Franchi seeds

Parsley gigante de napoli - Franchi seeds

Kale dwarf green curled - Mr Fothergills seeds

Cauliflower all year round -  Mr Fothergills seeds

Cabbage savoy January king 3 - T&M seeds

Cabbage April spring -  T&M seeds

Broccoli autumn spear - Suttons seeds

Cauliflower romanesco precoce - Franchi seeds

Chard Rhubarb -  Franchi seeds

Leek Pennine F1- T&M seeds

Leek gigante d inverno 2 - Franchi seeds

Onion Japanese senshyu -  Suttons seeds

Raddish Seedlings 5 days old 

 Thanks to the good warm weather lots of the salad seeds where poking there heads through the soil within a matter of days. So fingers crossed we will be picking some salads from the new beds soon.