Karma really does have a sense of humour. Every time I get a bit too puffed up with smug smallholding pride, out comes her little pin ready to deflate me. We had some friends from London visiting this weekend and amongst the other home-grown delights we planned to serve them I thought we could throw […]
We have a new project on the horizon. It’s not absolutely certain yet but we’re pretty sure we’re going ahead. All will be revealed anon but until then I thought I’d show you what that means for the garden. The squash and pumpkin vines were so lousy with blight that they looked just dreadful and […]
We’ve always been big fans of county shows and try to attend a couple every year. To be completely honest, our local on in Lambeth isn’t usually on the list, but I’ve always wanted to try my hand at a vegetable competition so I thought we’d try it. Pulling Yellowstone, Purple haze and resistafly carrots […]
Shamefully puny beetroots Last week I thought that I’d be enormously smug and plan a lovely afternoon of cooking with my toddler son. He’s always so happy when he’s perched on his tiny stepladder with his little apron on, cracking eggs or stirring things and tasting everything within reach. What could complete this middle class […]
Planting out seedlings, as long as they’re relatively robust, is something that even young children can get involved in. At two years old GarlicBoy already loves raking the soil smooth and watering it with his little watering can before using a dibbler to make holes and gently lower the seedlings inside and coving them with […]
Hurrah! A new toy! Or is it…? There must be a way in. Plotting. Waiting. Bit more plotting. Imagine, for a moment, that you are a cat. A fluffy cat, one of a pair, confident in your status as adored object in a house largely ruled by the whims and caprices of small creatures. Now […]
An empty raised bed awaiting seeds is a yawning gulf of temptation to me, one that begs to be filled with any manner of plants. The problem is that when space is limited and the year is still too young to allow for the planting out of seedlings as per the carefully crafted urban garden […]