Well, my partner has been working hard in the garden as all that rain then sun has started things off like crazy...things in the veggie gardens, that is. Here are a few pics showing the progress. The spuds in the new garden are surprizing to see for me. They have just gone absolutely wild all of a sudden and are beginning to bloom. The broad beans are all harvested and frozen-in now so the plants are down. Chopped and left to decompose where they grew. One row of Perpetual Spinach will go in there and the rest will be green manure. Runner bean 'Sunset' are blooming and they haven't even reached the tops of the wigwams! Moving over to the "Old Garden" now--Purslane for my M-I-L and 'Climbing' Courgettes are finally beginning to do something. We ate the first courgette along with Swiss Chard this evening in a veggie stirfry with meat and rice. It was lovely. Reina Victoria plums are swelling. It has been raining so much that I haven't had to give them much water. I am well chuffed. In the greenhouse, the toms are swelling here and there. We are removing lots of the leaves and tying them in now as things are beginning to get serious. I have not forgotten you, SOJ. The "ghost of the garden" makes an appearance when this foto was taken from the back of the greenhouse, outside.
Your garden is looking fabulous Sjoerd. I can't get over the size of those potato plants! I like the "ghost of the garden" photo too! What's the story behind that?
Everything is looking good, Sjoerd. I can't believe the size of those plums! Ours are just tiny, green specks.
Ohhh holy smokes!!! Your garden is my heaven right now,, Mine is still getting manured. we don't plant everything for another week or so yet... just a few things have gone in. Ohhh you are going to have some awesome potatoes,,, i love it when i look out and see mine like that...be awhile for that yet. Your toms,, even green, i am envious,, i seen relishes, chutneys, picked green tomatoes,, and geez they haven't even got red yet,,,lol. Your beans look great,,mine are just getting ready to go in the ground,,thats why i been working my bee-hind off at Selnes.. See,,,these are some of my farmer beans or fava. I have others sugar snap peas or salad peas also but no pic. Hope you don't mind the pic.
Good grief those potatoes have certainly come on!!! Potato flowers are so lovely but, strangely, hardly anyone ever looks at them properly. You're going to have a bumper crop this year Sjoerd. I think you're going to need a guide to find your way around in the greenhouse. So when those tomatoes are ripe just give us a shout and I'm sure you'll get plenty of volunteers for the job.
NETTY: The story behind the "ghost" foto is that my bride was taking that piccy and it is the reflection of her necklace in the window. Amazing that her face or clothing didn't show. It made for a very unusual foto, I thought. The necklace is a very old family heirloom from her grandmother. It is a style called "Zeeuws knoopje". There is a white Astrantia that we call by the same name, because the flower somewhat resembles the jewelry piece. The style originated when the Spanish occupied our country and it is further said that the style came from Salamanca. I have been there and seen their rosette-like jewlry, typical to their city and area, and I must say, there is a remarkable similarity. These old things are really sought-after in the antique shops. I sometimes help guests who come and visit us to find them, because as one guest said, "Once you've seen and held one, you just FËËËL the quality and history...and must buy one". hahahaha,. This style exists in the form of broches, neckless hangers, rings, earrings, etc. My mum and aunt have and wear these to this day. BIITA: Those fava beans are what we call, Tuinbonen, or "Broad beans". Those are the ones that just got chopped down in the "New Garden". Delicious with bacon fat bits. Well, I hope that I will have some awsome potatos, but until they are in the crates, I hold my breath because Phytophthera is an everpresent danger here in our wet froggy-land. But at the moment they look like a great wooly green blanket over the ground...looking very encouraging. It's way too soon for redening of the toms, but hopefully they will stay healthy long enough to be harvested. Both types are "blight tolerant" and usually make it before getting sick. The bush form were de-foliated and contained yesterday, hopefully today the cordon-type will receive the same treatmant; however, they must be tied-in instead. We like planting low marigolds below but away from the rootballs as much as possible in order to deter pests. I didn't do that last year because of shortageof space, and was inundated with aphids. As for the beans...I showed the runner beans, which are indeed looking terrific. I did not show the climbing French beans. The cold and moisture has kept them stunted...and the slugs got into a few of them as well. Darn beasts! Soooo, you've been working your "bee-hind" off eh? well, don't do that, cos you'll have only bones to sit on and that could sting. Thanks folks for your interest and very nice comments. It's always so nice to hear.
O, it's all looking wonderful with you! Everything looks so advanced compared to here; fantastic effort and enjoy the fruits of your labour! Delicious!
Wow! Reminds me of all the wonderful things that came out of my Dads garden, when he was alive. Everything looks awesome! And yes, those potatoe flowers are really pretty. Everytime I read one of yours posts I want to stop on by for dinner. Pat yourself on the back and later when you've harvested more, you can just pat yourself again. Thanks for sharing.
Sjoerd I alway love to read yor blogs always so informative and your plant are looking so good and mine are just burned up .
OH NO, Glenda!!! Say it ain´t so. Can you give them more water and mulch on top of that, or is it too late. I am very sorry to hear this news cos you have been posting some lovely pics. I hopë that you didn´t mean ´burned-up´ literally. You´ve got me all worried for you now.
Put me to shame again Sjoerd. Your allotments look amazing. I adore plums and don't grow any which is a shame. My spuds are also in flower at last, I still have 2 weeks before I can start digging my earlies - well I was rather late getting them in. And my broadies have just started getting the beans so I am still wayyyyyyyy behind you guys. Looks fab, you both must be chuffed, and knackered!
ha ha ha...you can say that again, EJ. Whew! I'm a bit surprized that we're ahead of you there, though. Usually you folks there are somewhat ahead of us. Most of my taters are earlies, and I hope to dig them up very soon. Perhaps within a week. I began digging them up a bit too early last year, so I want to let them go longer this year and see if they will be any larger. The Harliquins really had a phenominal amout of tubers on the roots. I hope that will be the same this year again. The others that I'm growing I have not tried before, so my curiosity is really eating at me now. Thanks for your nice compliments. They're almost as nice as a new spud on the supper table.
