Out in the garden this morning in the rain, little grizzle about picking in the cold and wet, until I remembered – no visit to the supermarket after work, no trying to find parking close enough to avoid getting drenched, no queues of tired and grumpy people. Just this lovely quiet of a misty morning with trees all sparkling with raindrops and happy frogs calling.
If I can keep the routine going, I can harvest a dozen or so carrots pretty well most weeks of the year.
I’ve learned, if I lose a variety, the best insurance is a fellow gardener who has kept the gene line going.
Onions and garlic are pretty well the only fresh foods that I regularly eat out of season.
I’ve planted a tray of Telephone peas, one of Oregon Dwarf Snow Peas, one of Diggers Climbing Snow Peas, and one of Aquadulce Broad Beans. The Aquadulce were chosen because they are an early variety, and this far north our broad bean season is short.
I thought I might share this little trick with you, because it took me a ridiculously long time to think of it. It’s such a simple little trick, but it saves so many failures.
t’s one of the things I like about the lunar planting calendar, that it pushes me to rescue my gardening from the “things that can be put off for a week or so” pile. And that, in turn means I’m tempted to cook with what is fresh and green and gorgeous out of the garden and the packaged and frozen supermarket shortcuts are no competition.
Isn’t sex an amazing thing? That chromosomes split and crossover to create a totally new and unique being? Not once, but every single time, so that every single life is totally unique. Which means that, when I find a good variety, that works well in my microclimate and is resilient in the context of the little ecosystem that is my garden, I try very hard to remember to save seed.
Today I found an errant garlic that escaped harvesting last year, and has decided all of its own accord that it is garlic planting time. Nice to have a vegetable agreeing with me!
Today, along with the usual round of mixed carrots and spring onions, and half a dozen beetroot seedlings, I’m planting garlic. Lots of garlic.