#NABLOMPOMO: Little drops of sunshine
Monthly Archives: November 2015
#NABLOPOMO: So so Soft fruit
I had high hopes for the raspberries this year. Newly planted-well, autumn-the canes had been plugged in for a while and i had though they were established well enough to produce fruit. I was wrong. The canes did precious little, and didn’t actually produce a single fruit. On the other hand, the autumn fruiting ones were altogether a bit confused and fruited through the summer.
The black and red currants were also newly planted. They are all two years old, which would suggest that they would start to fruit. There was a few little beads of red and purple. And that was more than I actually expected, as the plants are still young and only fruit on wood that is older than two years old. I do hope that in the coming years that these start to develop more fully.
Gooseberries. These are also young plants. I spent ages last year, plugging in plants to fruit in coming years. Again, the gooseberries weren’t expected to crop a great deal. The 200 or so grams were however enough to form the basis of jam.
#NABLOPOMO: Diwali and the armistice
Today it is both Diwali and Armisitice day. With one, the nation pauses at eleven AM to remember those who have fallen in conflict. The other, a festival of light celebrating the triumph of good over bad.
Divas, lamps, lanterns and candles are also lit to guide home loved ones, family and friends. With the armistice, we consider those that may not be coming home. It is for them that the candles, divas and lamps burn that bit brighter.
#NABLOPOMO: Bruno, what to do with him?
My Bruno is the one on the left. The other two have gone to loving homes, with the middle one having met it’s soupy and curried end.
But what to do with mine?
In the past, we have curried, and souped. We’re not really a sweet pudding family, so I am not sure about making a pie. And we don’t tend to turn him into a lantern.
Think I need to find some additional recipes.
#NABLOPOMO: That book, abroad #plantpottales
Playing a bit of catch up with NaBloPoMo, it’s hard being a couple of days out of sync. This time last year, I wrote about how I might write a book. Frequent readers will know that I did, and it is available in both ebook and print.
The book, like me, is born in Britain. It’s subject matter is an allotment in the middle of England. Not Middle earth, middle of England. Britain has a thriving gardening community, that is incredibly diverse. From the amateur allotmenteers like me, to the more seasoned and professional Gods of Horticulture.
So when it goes to the US, that is something beyond my original aspirations. Serendipity books and more have agreed to stock a handful of copies, and that is pretty damned amazing.
Then there are the reviews:
Not bad are they? It was incredibly scary writing and then publishing. There was certainly a sensation of having sliced off a bit of your soul and sent it out into the universe. So it is very, very, very encouraging when people buy the book and review it. Tells me what they have got out of something that I am very proud of having created.
If you read it, even the sample, then please share it. Review it, put it onto your Goodreads thingy.
Most of all, enjoy it.
#NABLOPOMO: Colour burst
It’s miserable outside, and there is a distinct absence of colour. Over the summer and indeed the last few years, the plot roses have come into their own. The bushes are becoming more established, and this has meant that we’ve had an abundance of blooms to sit upon the kitchen window sill.
I have a combination of posh roses, roses that I know the name of; as well as lost label roses that are nameless. In the middle of the plot, I have William Shakespeare 2000. A beautiful bloom that I got for birthday eighteen months ago. At some stage I will add Anne Boleyn to the plot. There is just something about having roses on the plot. The colour and the scent add a great deal of character to the plot that is otherwise used mainly to grow fruit and vegetables.
#NABLOPOMO: When Bruno the pumpkin met Bhuaji
Remember that green pumpkin above, the little green one?
Well, I have that to my aunt. It had turned orange over the last few weeks and she was ready turn it into something edible. So today as an early diwali present, she handed me these.
Seeds. I had asked her to save them for me. The plan, as with all bruno seeds, is to save them, dry them; and send them to loving homes for next year. The seeds were in one hand, in the other was a tupperware box of pumpkin soup. So two presents, for the price of one.
Bruno, one of three, has come full circle. From being a seedling, to a heavy vine, from which we harvested a fruit. To curried and souped, with his seeds now drying.
Bruno, one of three, you actualised your potential.
#NABLOPOMO: Colouring with Horticultural tendencies
I like colouring. Over the last week, I have spent lots of time after work, colouring as a wind down activity.
I have spent two days working with the students that I support and using colouring as a mindfulness activity. For some, it was rather novel; they had never coloured before. For others, it was a throw back to their childhoods. There were even those, who really didn’t like the experience. Good feedback, for the latter; for future reference.
I did actually confess to them, that whilst I was just over thirty; I enjoyed colouring. Brandishing my copy of ‘The Secret Garden’, I flicked through the pages that I have coloured to date and modelled, if you like, what a possible result might be for them. Modelling is good, success criteria, if you like, of what students might achieve. This is what all teachers are supposed to do! Model a successful outcome for their students to aim for.
That however, was not my only aim. I was also asking them to experience mindfulness. To sit, reflect, and be aware of their own processes. This was how I started my sessions, as the aim, the objectives if you like, again, this what we are supposed to do in starting our lessons! Sorry, I know it’s odd. How can I address this as a lesson? Such is the world of teachers, everything has to be organised as such.
I found it a really valuable experience. Students were able to say how they felt it, there were a number who did enjoy it and wanted to do it again. A few, but not many; would not want to do it again.
We shall see, it might just happen again.
#NABLOPOMO: leaf mold, natures soil improver
With the leaves falling and autumn kicking in. It is very easy to get annoyed with the litter of golden leaves that form in small mounds on the pathways and roads.
Over the last few years I have been using nature’s refuse to fill the dozen or so raised beds on the plot. Whilst is not particularly full of nutrients, it does have it’s uses. I use it as filler so I don’t have to spend a small fortune on multi-purpose compost as the levels of raised beds decrease over time. Leaves are dumped to decay over the autumn and winter months, and then in the spring, I cover with multipurpose compost.
Leaves are gathered up Dad and put into gardening bags. Dragged down to the plot, these the fill the beds along with any other organic material such as grass cuttings. I have in past, put thirteen or so bags into a one tonne builders bag. This over the course of eight months has then decayed down into a soil like consistency. As mentioned above, there is very little nutritional value. Leaf mold is therefore best used to improve the structure of soil and bulk it out.
One year I used one builders bag in a raised bed that was planted up with marrows and courgettes. I can safely say, that the plants grew exponentially, because of the decaying material.
#NABLOPOMO: Garlic Planting part two @TheGarlicFarm
The second batch of garlic is from The Garlic Farm. This summers crop was by far one of best I have had had, so for me having them again was really a good way of trying to replicate that success for next year. Hopefully it will be just as successful. I was really surprised, and impressed, by the size of the bulbs that cropped. Also there is a real and definite difference in the flavour and strength of home grown garlic compared to that bought in the supermarkets.
I have chosen the garlic lovers collection from them this year. This batch of garlic contains:
- Red Dontesk
- Tuscany wight
- picardy wight (I had to resist saying ‘make it so’ as i planted this one)
- Vallelado wight
- early purple wight (we’ve had this one before)
- Provence wight
- Solent wight
This batch has been sunk into two raised beds. I had thought that I had too much garlic. As though such a thing might be possible! The worry had been that there wasn’t space. Turns our there was enough space and more. I have saved the elephant garlic to share with my aunty, for some reason it bolted on my plot this year.
At least now all of the autumn garlic has been planted. May be, just maybe, I might try a spring batch.
horticultural 'obbit 