Well, in the event, the camera decided to focus on the bluebottle instead of the rather magnificent Hornet-Mimicking Hoverfly.
Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Oh Mollusk
Anthocyanin must be disagreeable to their tastebuds. I have noticed that cabbage whites are less likely to lay their eggs on purple cabbage, but I put that down to camouflage...
... on reflection, my mother also much preferred green grapes to purple.
Thursday, November 09, 2023
It's a Wrap
Summer is done. Time to plan for next year and dream about the bounteous pest-free crops that I'm going to grow. I'm cutting the hedging back to allow more sunlight in and I've hired a chipper/shredder to help with pre-digestion.
The stars this year were broad beans, courgettes and aubergines. French beans did fine, tomatoes meh and squash very disappointing. Leeks looked splendid until about 3 weeks ago when the allium leaf miners started shredding them. I have pulled them all up, squashed all the bugs I could find and used what was usable. I'll skip a year and try to design some protective cover for future crops...
Saturday, August 26, 2023
Friday, August 18, 2023
Friday, May 12, 2023
It's May
But nobody told the weatherman. It's been a slow cool spring, but at least there's been some rain and everything is green and lush. The night-time temperature is hovering around 7°this week so I'm keeping tomato plants in the greenhouse for a while yet.
The broad beans I sowed late November are blooming and look splendid...
Friday, April 14, 2023
Mr. Stag
I planted out 10 asparagus crowns today in a trench along one side of the 'hugelkultur'.
And whilst doing so I unearthed (and reburied) a massive stag beetle. Maybe because I usually see female ones, this one seemed particularly enormous. Was he a wee grub when I entombed the dead wood six years ago? Anyway, I'm hoping he wasn't too discombobulated by the experience ...
Thursday, April 06, 2023
Progress Report
Seeds sown March 12th growing on in the greenhouse. Cabbage Savoy 'Violacea di Verona', 'Rodynda', 'Green Acre', Lettuce 'Devil's Tongue' and 'Radichetta', Mustard 'Red Frills', Beetroot 'Formanova' and 'Touchstone Gold', Celeriac 'Giant Prague' and Swede 'Best of All' and Leeks 'Monstrueux de Carentan' in the background ...
Meanwhile indoors, peppers and aubergines (sown on same date) have developed true leaves. Tomatoes and cucumbers sown last week have germinated. Still waiting for courgettes to show up...
Saturday, November 05, 2022
Monday, October 24, 2022
Sweet Potatoes Rousted from their Bed
My experiment on the greenhouse this year - meh. I guess they needed a longer season, but then, as they don't store as well as potatoes, and we have to eat them up sharpish ... mayhaps it's as well there isn't a heap. Lots of little squiggles that I suppose would have fattened up if the weather were to stay warm for another month. And they have been slightly neglected in the water department since the hosepipe ban ...
Thursday, October 20, 2022
Sunset
Now at 6:00p.m. End of day and end of a dismal summer with no rain. Big rethink for next year - more drought proof crops, more perennials, more mulching and ...
Thursday, September 01, 2022
Resurrection!
I didn't think they would survive the drought, but only a few days after last Wednesday's rain life began to emerge ...
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Meet Sydney
My faithful (as long as there is seed) friend through this long dry miserable summer. If you struggle to see the resemblance between the non-feathered terrestrial bi-ped Sydney Greenstreet and this wood pigeon, imagine him (the actor) with a monocle.
Saturday, June 05, 2021
First Fruiting
It's not all bad news. Plants that I held back in the greenhouse are happy and even the outdoor tomatoes are looking as if they may survive/recover. Now that we have warm sunny weather everything is fluffing out with considerable exuberance. I've planted out three types of corn today - already a foot high - sweet Swiss and Mezdi and Rainbow popcorn.
Thursday, May 27, 2021
Monday, January 25, 2021
Monday, January 11, 2021
Monday, November 23, 2020
Room Mate
This little brimstone has taken up winter quarters in the greenhouse. I tried putting him out, but when he just sat and stared for a day and a half I brought him back into warmer environs.
Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Naked Seed
Sowed broad beans 'Aquadulce Longpod' yesterday and continued garden clear-up in sunny 16°. Also liberated the seed from 'Lady Godiva' squash. Not a very impressive take at 2/3 of a pint ...
Monday, November 02, 2020
Sunday, October 25, 2020
Saturday, October 17, 2020
Will You Walk Into My Parlour...
Thursday, October 08, 2020
Luffa
Monday, October 05, 2020
Squash 2020
I put a question mark beside Zucca Mantovana because it doesn't look like what it oughta. It's either a sport or some mis-labelling has occurred somewhere. Not exactly a bumper year but I'm blaming lack of rain for all ills this year. Scabby potatoes, stunted beets that ran to flower, tiny miserable corn cobs, ...
Monday, September 07, 2020
Friday, August 28, 2020
Helianthus annuus 'Titan'
Friday, August 21, 2020
Pickled
Yesterday I dealt with some of my cucumber overload - 5 x 1 litre jars of sweet and sour ...
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Doldrums
"Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean."
And as days of pandemic inspired incarceration have stretched to weary weeks and now six months, I feel ever more kinship with the ancient mariner and more and more strongly that we have indeed, collectively, shot the albatross.
The Richard Burton/John Neville reading of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner happily showed up on ResonanceFM's 'Voices on Record' about a decade ago and is still available as a podcast! I grew up with the Gustave Dore illustrated text - a facsimile edition that my mother gave me for a teen birthday. But scouting around now I see that there is another take by the wonderful Hunt Emerson. In fact I have just ordered two T-shirts, one for me and one for him indoors.