I have decided to plant kale again this summer after last year’s success. I had bought the kale seedlings from a garden centre in September and planted them in a raised bed. I was so amazed at how lush they were over autumn and very early spring, while happily surviving the hard winter frosts! Well, this […]
Herbs In My Garden
This summer I have herbs growing everywhere I look … in the raised beds, pots and planters! I am particularly excited by the ones I have grown from seed this year. I planted basil seeds in early spring on my window sill. Once they grew their true leaves, which pop up after the first two baby […]
Tomatoes Are Here!
Cannot believe that the weeks have gone by so quickly from when I first planted the tomato seedlings outdoors to picking my own tomatoes! Tomato seedlings that were all started from seed indoors were hardened off gradually in spring. This means that they were gradually introduced outdoors but still brought inside at night to protect […]
Pickling Cucumbers
I am harvesting so many cucumbers this summer that even after sharing with friends and neighbours, I am left with more than my family can eat! This has inspired me to preserve them this year and I have decided to make pickles. So another batch harvested this week and I am going to try my hand […]
Cobra and Dwarf Beans
In the middle of summer with all the days and nights of rain we’ve been having, there are green pickings ready for my kitchen …beans, beans and more beans!! Cobra beans have been racing up the very crude support made for them from bamboo canes and some string. They don’t seem to have minded the […]
Easy Potatoes in Containers
When my friend Phil gave me four little seed potatoes, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to grow them in my shallow raised beds as potatoes need some depth filled with good soil. My garden soil has heavy clay and it is the reason I have found raised beds such a treasure for […]
Summer Heat From Chillies
I am surrounded by chillies growing in huge numbers this summer in my kitchen garden! When I first planted the seeds earlier this year, little was I to know that these sturdy plants would happily withstand the heavy gusts and downpours that we have had this spring and early summer. As you remember, I bought […]
So Many Cucumbers!
Fresh cucumbers and so many of them from my kitchen garden this summer! So tasty and crisp, these are certainly a far cry from the ones we get all year round wrapped in plastic in supermarkets. I planted the seeds earlier this year in pots indoors and they were a delight to watch as pretty […]
My First Big Summer Harvest
This summer’s biggest harvest from my kitchen garden boasts of happy times! The peas that I planted outdoors in my raised beds from seed are looking so pretty and dare I say hidden amongst the green of the foliage. A lot of pods were popped just there and then and the sweet peas eaten on […]
Flowers in My Garden
Flowers in a garden are almost a given in summer but they are even more special when you have planted the seeds yourself! I mentioned earlier this spring that I was going to try planting nasturtiums to prevent pests from my peas and beans. Well, the nasturtium seeds were planted straight into the corners of the raised beds […]