Prepping the garden at the start of spring

"How goes the work?" is a favourite phrase from the Farmer Duck book. Having read the book numerous times to small children, it's become a rhetorical question - a sort of milestone to judge progress - or maybe just a pat on the back - that gets asked when I've spent time working in the garden ... or elsewhere. 

The answer after yesterday's toiling in the soil, is Yes, the work is underway.  But there's still a lot to do, especially in the veg garden. 

Yes, this IS the 'veg' patch - covered in self seeded pollinator attracting flowers. 

Having spent most of last year ignoring the veg patch garden (no time, no tap, dry summer, excessive heat, dry water butts), it was all just too much overwhelm. So much easier to buy food from the shops. 

But that's missing the point, for me anyway.  The satisfaction gained from ticking off a long list of jobs to do is huge.  Plus the excitement of watching seeds become leaves become veg become something tasty. And just being outdoors, working, watching, listening - it's hard to beat, especially when the sun is shining and bees are buzzing.

So do we see the garden as hard work ... or ongoing surprise, gently unfolding? 

I guess it depends.  I'm trying to be realistic about what I can get done in the time I have.  Work/Life balance as they say.

An egg box of chitted potatoes, broad bean seeds and onion sets stared accusingly at me every time I opened my car boot (aka the travelling shed).  I'd put them there so they were available to plant whenever I had five minutes to spare. Hah! - who am I kidding! (It was definitely not a five minute job.) 

So I finally cleared my diary for a day to be spent in planting, digging (yes, I know ... No Dig, etc, but I have to break up the lumps in my clay based soil), and sowing seeds.  No distractions - well, nearly none but a small yellow breasted Great Tit popped in now again to feast on bugs.  Hard to resist standing still to watch.  

It was glorious.  

The sun peeked out occasionally, as did the rain clouds, but I was determined not to lose focus. I worked and worked and then when I knew I'd exhausted my energy levels, I worked some more - fetching a can of water and sowing a few rows of beetroot and carrots before closing the garden for the evening.

The potatoes were planted in the space where I had grown Jerusalem Artichokes.  Just to be certain, I dug over the patch again just in case any tiny moochers had escaped my previous forensic excavation. They had ...

... and all starting to sprout.  

I'm tempted to replant a fair few - this time in a raised bed so that they're more controllable. They are delicious after all! 

But I also have a small bag of Dwarf Jerusalem Artichokes given to me by Suttons at the Garden Press Event earlier this year.  These are allegedly less invasive than the ones I've grown in the past - obviously a popular choice as they're now sold out online.  Mine are now planted in a marked bed; it will be interesting to see how they grow and taste, but I'm most curious to see if they flower! 

And just in case they don't, I'm pushing a few sunflower seeds in as well. Not in the same spot though!

What's Next?  Back to the seed box, clearing weeds in the Veg Trug garden and filling those water butts as there's dry days ahead (allegedly).

It's all go! 

I'm late, I'm late ... (as the White Rabbit said)

There are buds on my Fritillaria imperialis, the tulips are flowering, violets are awash with purple scented flowers and here in London, a week of fine weather is forecast!  I’m allowing myself to believe that spring has arrived. 

It's time to get on with important gardening stuff, like sowing seeds and planting potatoes (probably should have done that already) but I haven't yet. Hence, late. Will it matter? I'm not sure.

The Spring Equinox is next weekend and so far I’ve spent more time deciding what to grow this year than actually sowing seeds.  March is usually a very busy time with a few seed packets lined up in readiness (chillies, leeks, peppers, tomatoes) but, forgive me for pointing out the obvious, weather has been up one day and then sliding back down to unfavourable weather conditions the next. Woe is the gardener (me) with no greenhouse or clear windowsills.

But never one to admit defeat, I've ordered a couple of LED lit propagators to remedy the lack of light. These are also self-watering from a water well underneath which allows seeds to soak up just enough water - how cool is that. That should prevent the over zealous watering of tiny seeds. I'm irrationally excited by this and, if anyone is interested, will monitor indoor progress of said tiny seeds.

When it's cold, grey and damp outside, with no respite in sight, it's hard to drum up the enthusiasm to get outside. It never used to bother me, I must be getting old! A whiff of sunshine however will do the trick, if only there was more of it. I'll regret writing that if we have another relentlessly scorching summer. 

In the meantime though, there is food to be had from the neglected veg garden. The 4 year old Purple Sprouting Broccoli is reliably sending up tasty looking shoots and the last of the Cavolo Kale needs to be picked before it flowers. I'm wondering if the flowers are edible? No doubt I'll be nibbling a few on my next foray into the Veg Patch.  

And the Red Champagne rhubarb is looking healthy. Last year I moved it from under the apple tree where it had produced very few tiny stalks last year; it's now in a more open space and flourishing. That gives me the excuse (hardly needed) to dust down my Rhubarb Crumble cake recipe - if it's got fruit in it, it goes towards my 5-a-day, right?

Until next time, happy gardening!

Caro x

Fresh Fungi! Easily grow mushrooms at home

Review: Merryhill Mushroom kits.

Ad. Gifted mushroom kits, words are mine. 

My Dad was a helicopter pilot in the Royal Navy and, as such, had access to the airfields at Culdrose in Cornwall.  One of my earliest childhood memories is of Dad taking me and my siblings out on those airfields in the misty early mornings to forage for field mushrooms for breakfast ... 

Show me a small child who doesn't love going out with a parent on a treasure hunt! It was a weekend treat to look forward to and inspired a life long love of mushrooms and being outdoors in nature.

So when I was asked if I would trial a couple of home growing mushroom kits, the answer of course was yes.  This is how it worked out for me as a total novice - mistakes, corrections and successes. 

(Disclosure: I was sent the kits for review and have not been paid.)

A large box duly arrived from Merryhill Mushrooms a couple of weeks later.  The outer packaging had a clear instruction to 'Open Immediately', which I did. Inside were two boxes, one primed to grow Lion's Mane and the other producing the more familiar white mushroom, and a set of clear notes on setting up them up ... including starting the Lion's Mane off as soon as possible.  (Somehow I overlooked this important fact - I blame Christmas.)

Mistake number one: I gave the notes a cursory glance and popped both boxes to one side on a shelf, earmarking them as a project for the new year.  My bad, the Lion's Mane was primed and ready to grow!

This was discovered a week later when I spotted the first fruits emerging, unaided. 

Oops.

This was swiftly and easily remedied. The box just needed humidity, a constant temperature (10℃ - 20℃) and an indirect light source to thrive.   

All was easily remedied by setting the box up in the large plastic bag supplied, together with moist wads of kitchen towel to create a damp environment, and importantly, keeping those towels moist by squirting them with water twice a day - necessary to combat the occasional blast of central heating, even though my flat is usually around 17℃.

Mistake number two:  To my way of thinking, humidity is created when a space is warm and damp. I couldn't stop the plastic bag from flopping inwards over the mushrooms so used small paper clips to create a canopy around but away from the box sides. I have since learned from watching Ben of GrowVeg YouTube channel that he used chopsticks to hold his bag up; wish I'd thought of that.  

Wrong!

I still had to regularly pull the plastic upright and away from the mushrooms (important that the bag is kept clear) so discarded my Heath Robinson tactics after learning from Merryhill's customer service team that the mushrooms need a fresh exchange of air to thrive, ie. keep the bag open at the top! 

Some of the mushrooms had started to develop a pinkish coral like texture. Again, Customer Service proved helpful in reassuring me that this was probably due to lower light levels and that the fruits were still perfectly edible. 

Success! 

From then on, it was easy.  

The mushroom box was moved to a slightly brighter position, the bag was kept upright and open above the level of the box, the kitchen towels were kept damp - and away from the sides of the box - and beautiful 'lion's mane' teeth grew.  

I'm holding these upside down and probably should have picked them a bit sooner.
The slight yellowing is my fault because of earlier mistakes. 

Within a few short weeks I was able to carefully lift off a big handful of mushroom. Lion's Mane has quite a meaty texture and absorbs flavour really well.  MerryHill recommend cooking slices with butter and garlic; I fried mine with olive oil and soy sauce which proved very tasty! 

Storage:

Any mushrooms not used straightaway can be stored in a paper bag in the fridge for up to a week. Alternatively, they can be dried in a dehydrator or very low oven and stored in an airtight jar for future use. 

Benefits:

As if taste wasn't reason enough to eat Lion's Mane, this fungi is reputed to boost brain power, memory, mood, mental health, immune system, support heart health and is anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Wow. 

I also thought that a kit would be an intriguing present for a curious child as it's quite fun to watch the mushrooms grow .. so, educational with a sense of anticipation, just the sort of thing I'd have given my (now adult) son in his formative years. 

Recycle:

And when the last fruit has been harvested, what to do with the compost?  Recycle it! Fellow mushroom growers on YouTube tell of breaking the blocks up and burying lumps of spent compost in their garden soil or raised beds.  It boosts the health of the soil and may even produce more mushrooms in the months ahead. 

So, to summarise:

• Easy to grow. Pay attention to setting up the kit for ambient light, moisture and temperature.
• The kits don't take up much room.
• Everything you need is in the box except for a spray bottle. 
• Lion's Mane has excellent health benefits. 
• Just in case, there's a helpful and friendly customer service via email or phone.
• It's a good way to try unusual mushrooms like Oyster, Shiitake or Lion's Mane.
• Would make a useful and fun gift for both adults and (supervised) children.
• A fun way to watch mushrooms grow!
• And a bonus boost for your soil or compost heap if you have a garden.

My kit was supplied by Merryhill Mushrooms who are a family-run business based in Sussex, UK. 

https://www.merryhill-mushrooms.co.uk/ 

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PS. British chef Jamie Oliver made a delicious looking autumnal curry using his home-grown mushrooms, some from MerryHill mushroom kits.  Watch from 15 minutes into the programme on the link below. 

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/jamie-what-to-eat-this-week/on-demand/74532-003

Reset! The garden awakes and so do I

What a difference a day makes! The first thing I do every morning (even before coffee) is to look out of the window at the sky and my garden area below.  

Just a basin of bulbs popping up

Yesterday it was predictably another day of grey skies and rain. Today, the garden seemed to sparkle under the early morning weak sun. Hurrah!

The sky shows promise of a good dry day ahead, perhaps even a hint of sun. Days like this lift my mood instantly - the potential to get things done and, even now in early February, there are seeds to sow (sweet peas, chillies, peas for balcony pots) and beds to mulch ready for this year's veg and flower seeds.

But first, I have to apologise for neglecting this blog and, in part, the gardens.  I had every intention of returning to a regular writing schedule last year but, as you can see, it didn't happen. There were just too many distractions in the real world not least of which was a neighbour who wanted my* garden cleared of plants and shrubs so that he could sit on a bench in the sunshine.  All this despite him having a south facing balcony.  

(* garden areas here are allocated to any tenant who wants to look after them so, strictly speaking, not my garden but land belonging to the housing association who have allowed me to take responsibility for it.)

The garden in question was one I have been custodian of during the past eighteen years. I have dug, chopped, reclaimed, redesigned and planted. It has plants brought back from my mother's garden after she died ... so, no, I was not going to let it go easily and stated my case.  The garden is now firmly back under my control. Whew.  (Sorry but, wow, that felt good getting that off my chest!)

It's the start of a new season but allow me a brief look back over last year. 

There were far too many failures in the veg garden - newly planted peas and kale were munched, tomatoes didn't ripen in time or were hit by blight, herbs languished, carrots didn't plump up ... shall I go on? And I spent most of my time helping others in their gardens to the detriment of my own spaces. And, yes, I did get totally sidetracked by flowers while my planted veg were decimated by heat, drought, slugs or just sheer neglect. 

But, as they say in Moominland ...

My gardening mantra

So ... slug defences at the ready (beer traps not pellets), seed box sorted (fresh seeds only), and compost bought.  Weeds have been tackled on a regular basis, perennials like gooseberries and roses have been pruned, strawberries have been tidied, lots of self seeded plants (foxgloves, calendula, forget-me-nots) are gradually being transplanted or ruthlessly cleared to make space for future veg.  

I still have to sort out my Hotbin composter; that was another sadly neglected area last year and any compost left in there is likely to be anaerobic now and too acidic.  But it's definitely worth saving; in the past (yes this has happened more than once, oops), I've spread the compost out on top of one of the beds and then tickled it in after a few days with no disastrous results.  In fact, I've read elsewhere that plants such as squash thrive on it.  Sounds exciting!

So, whether you're new to this blog or a returning reader, will you join me on my journey this year? 

Caro x