malmesbury 2nd potato day 2010

Hi we held our 2nd potato day this weekend the weather held off for a change we had over 50 variety's available all sold by the tuber. over 300 people attended the day taffy tattie was on hand to answer every ones potato and veg questions we also had a local nursery a jam seller from south wales and wiltshire wildlife trust giving a home composting demonstration as well as lots of home made fair trade tea and cake for everyone a good day was had by all already planning next years potato day.

SORRY

SORRY i have not had time to do veg of the week and tip of the week. i have been flat out organising this weekends potato day i will resume normal service next week in the mean time please find below some pics of a private garden i manage in the Cotswold's. the garden is currently 25 acers and dates back to the 10th century we are currently restoring the garden. hope you like it all the pics where taken this week in the fresh snow on Wednesday i will post more pics later on through the season

THE BIG MELT

Went to bed with the garden looking like this



and woke up with he garden completely free of snow the rain cleared it all up over night. the children where very surprised and disappointed to be confronted with a green garden again. there dose not appear to be a lot of damage to plants the grass is a bit yellower but it will soon green up again when(if) we get a bit of sun sine on it. although i don't think it will be long before we get more snow it's forecast for next Wednesday lets hope they got it wrong.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Purple plum in flower, looking forward to the spring now

igloo mark 2

the snow only just started to melt from when it snowed last week another 4" fell last night. still it gave us another opportunity to improve on our igloo building skills. this time it was bigger and better you can fit 6 children in this one.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

SWEET CORN AT SUNSET

TIP OF THE WEEK

In this cold weather it is a great time to get in the shed and clean your tools sow they are all Sharpe, clean and in working order for the coming season.
Start by getting a wire brush and brush any soil that is on the metal work. this will also get rid of any rust if they have been left wet or have got damp in your shed over winter. next is to get a flat file so that you can re sharpen the edges of your tools particularly spades, hows etc. where you need a good sharp edge to cut through the weeds and soil. finally give the medal work a good oil.
If have wooden handles get a pieces of wire wool give the rub down and then re oil them with either linseed oil or teak oil.

VEG OF THE WEEK

I am going and try write about a different veg every week starting with the A's - Z's and as many letters as possible in between so hear goes with the letter A


A is for Artichoke

some people love them more people seam to hate them i must admit i am not a big fan my self.
there are several types of vegetables that we call artichoke but are completely different. they are from the family compositae with the exception of Chinese artichokes which are in the family labiatae these are very hard to get hold of.
the most popular of the artichokes being the globe artichoke where the unopened flower is eaten. next is the Jerusalem artichoke where the tuber is consumed much like potatoes are and lastly. Chinese artichokes which are still a bit of a novelty and you will find them hard to come by eaten in the same way as Jerusalem artichokes.



globe artichokes (cynara cardunculus)

there are no known wild globe artichokes they are believed to have been developed from cardoons or cynara syriaca which are found in the Mediterranean area. they have been cultivated for many years and are believed to have come to Britain by the Romans. where they became the food of choice for the kings and queens and are still classed as a bit of a delicacy today. original artichokes where raised by division of established plants now there are many seed raised varieties with larger heads fewer spines and can also fruit in the same year as sown
sow seeds February - April in good compost when germinated in a greenhouse or window sill prick out into 3" (9cm) pots grow on when the pot is filled with root harden off and plant out April - may in well prepared soil which has had a good amount of manure or compost added space 1m apart as they do get big and grow fast once they get there roots down give at least 1.5 - 2m between rows harvest flower bud between July - September dependent on variety and when you sowed in Autumn cut plants down to ground and mulch with compost or manure.

jerusalum artichoke (helianithus tuberosus)

they are native to north America and related to the sunflower they where introduced to Britain via Holland. and are a very hardy crop there knobbly tubers and are good for diabetics.
plant tubers February - march 15cm deep 30cm apart and 1m between the rows in well prepared soil. plant to the edge of your veg garden as they can grow up to 2m tall good for a summer wind break cut down foliage when frosted harvest December - January.

next week Asparagus

britain covered in snow from space

this is what britain looked like today from space. no where escaped from the snow by the looks of it

winter wonderland

country come to a stand still planes not flying, trains not running, people unable to drive there cars. shops striped bare of food no oil has not run out it's just snowed. looks good though and have had great fun playing with the children in the snow. we even managed to build an igloo big enough to sit in.

ground still frozen solid its a bit frustrating as i have tons of digging to do never mind its warmer inside