Burrrrrr....its cold here! The weather has gone south on us and garden work is something that I have to do when the weather allows. At the moment I have horizontal rain and there is a pervasive coldness. Although the wind is south-westerly, it is none-the-less uncomfortable. Even as I sit here now, my nose, ears and fingertips have gone cold. Tap-tap-tap.... Looking down I see Roos, my little devil disguised as a cat. She taps my arm with her paw when she has something to say, or wants something. What she is saying now is that I am waffling--straying with my conversation. Tch! The cheek! Well what I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted was that the weather here has been quite bad lately, but I have managed to do a few things in the allotments. I had to work in-between showers and visits from gardening neighbours...but some important tasks were completed, taking the plots closer to the finish line that we here call, winterklaar--or "winter-ready". The list of chores: Replenish the bird-feeders Min-till and cover the last plots in the New Garden Harvest one patch of leeks Harvest all of the remaining parsnips Clean the greenhouse glass An ambitious plan to be sure,but these things must be done. To begin with I simply refilled the food containers for the birdies, so that they could eat in peace while I worked. Bird feeders--CHECK! The most distasteful job for me was the proper cleaning of the greenhouse. Normally not a big or unpleasant job, but this time all the glass, structures and walkway in the house had to be thickly sprayed with Formalin. I know that many British gardners do this as a matter of routine each year, but I do not; however, this season my toms had a sort of sickness that looked like blight, but the plants never did die and none of the fruits were 'sick'--just brown spots on the leaves. I do not want to have to deal with this again next year, so a serious disinfecting program had to be carried out. Period. I am sorry that I didn't let someone take pictures of me now. I must have looked a sight with the big thick jackets, a hat and a faded kufiyyah folded in half and wrapped around my face. I looked like a bandito. The intense odor of the formalin was such that I could only stay in that greenhouse a minute or two before having to step back out into the wind. First I did the back. then the sides....then I went in, closed the door and sprayed the inside of the front and door. Next it was the bench and poles...and finally the ceiling. All this in one minute episodes. Once that was done, then I did the entire outside. Good grief what a smell. Well, now it was time for a break. Pfffft! It was nice to be able to breathe normally again. After washing out the sprayer and my hands as the tea water boiled...I started thinking of harvesting. I also thought about the Bell pepper plants and tomato plants that I had just pulled up and out of the greenhouse, and I thought that i would show you what the roots of the toms looked like. Here is the one plant standing straight up like it grew. The reason that I am showing this is to demonstrate why I plant my toms the way that I do-- I let them become very leggy as I transplant them from container to container on my window sill...removing leaves as I go. Finally it is time to plant them out in the greenhouse. I then strip off all the leaves but the top two and lie the bare-stemmed plant horizontally in a trench in the soil...the root ball slightly lower than the stem. Many of my fellow gardners here openly tell me that I'm mad and that it won't work. Well, here you can easily see that there are many roots along the shaft of what was once bare stem. The philosophy is that the plant will produce more superficial roots. Why is this important? It is important to me because the scientists have proven that the tomato plant feeds from these "hairy" surface roots (warmth is more important for them than it is for the deeper ones). They are the ones that take up nutrients. ...and what about the thicker and longer roots that go deeper? What is their purpose then? The purpose of the deeper roots is to take up moisture. You see, there are two different types of roots on the tom plant that have two different functions. It helps me to know the plants inside out...to know all about a particular plant in terms of what they do and how they do it. To know what they need. Once a person understands this clearly, then he can adapt his growing techniques to give the plants the best possible opportunity to produce for a maximum harvest. I'm drifting again. Please excuse me. One of the two remaining plots of leeks had to come out. They are small this year for some reason. Time for another break---and Netty dropped by so we had some tew and bikkies. I hear what you are saying--"Any excuse, Sjoerd". hahaha. I know, I know--you do not hear me denying anything. We watched the birds and chatted about this and that and then she had to get back to work herself. It was then time to lift the parsnips. Normally, I just get right to it and get the job over with...but today I wanted to take some pics...the spoil was actually too wet for the job and it clung to the roots terribly, so they had to be carefully lifted to avoid breaking off the roots. Here you can see a couple backs exposed. An extraction. This specimen is just right for me. Personally I like to see them larger, but I have learned the hard way that being too greedy and always going for bigger ones leads to disappointment in terms if canker and flesh consistency issues. So out they come in a smaller form. Here they are, lined-up on the top of the neighbour's hedge to dry after a thorough washing. A close-up of these little jewels. They are fairly uniform and perfect for blanching and freezing-in. Some of the roots seem curved a bit, but that is because they got that way soaking in a bucket of water prior to being brushed clean. Time for another pause. Yeah, I like my pauses--a rested worker is a hard worker. Well, the last job of the day in the fading hours of light was to min-till the empty beds and cover them with borage and the green foliage of the lifted plants as well as some daylily and iris leaves from over in the old flower garden. Once home, the work continued... the leeks had to be washed again and then chopped and frozen-in. Of course the parsnips had to be curther cleaned, cut and blanched beforee being bagged for freezing. I sliced and cut them in little chunks, then it was into the boiling water for three minutes. When the work was finally done, it was a question of ordering food or making something. There was still a leek casserole mix in the cabinet, so that was what it was--made with all ingredients from the garden. it was delicious. There was alot to do and the weather was bad, but the work must go on...and I still have a number of things to do before calling it "a wrap".
You are always so busy Sjoerd, that I think it's OK to take a lot of breaks My leeks were small this year too.
Another good post Sjoerd, I liked your info about tomatoes. I have chilly rain now too. I'd love to drop by to share a cuppa tea! ( I developed my tea drinking habit after a visit to England in 1980)
Yes NETTY--I do spenmd alot of time in the gardens, but then--it's my hobby and I enjoy my time there so much. Intereting that your leeks were small as well. Thanks so much, KAY--Glad you liked the tomato spiel--I sorta got carried away there. Drinking hot is is a good thing to do, I maintain. hahaha. I can't imagine a day without it. Even when I travel, I take it with me along with a water-heating coil.
Thanks very much, Frank. Oh man, I have plans for those bad boys. It is so nice to have those available for use from time to time. I have a serious weakness for them.
Glad that there is no winter here but I don't mind some snow here though!! Those leeks looks real good!! I must start to google for some leek seeds ... still haven't done it. Can I have some of the leek casserole? I can smell it from here .... hmmm yum yum!! The weather is kind of a bad here too with rain coming down during farming time. Couldn't get much done. Great tomato tips and I'll sure to do that if I were to plant them .... maybe next year.
I don't think I'll make any weather comments. You've done well, Sjoerd, and your little breaks are well deserved.
KK--You are most welcome to some of the leek casserole. It is quite tasty. Sorry to hear about all the rain there. Glad you liked the tom tips. Thanks loads, DROOPY--I know all about the value of taking breaks. heh heh heh.
Nice posting Sjoerd. Now you can enjoy the fruits of your labor or in your case... vegetables. Interesting info on the tomatos. I strip the leaves off but planted them vertical nor horizontal, I will try your method next year. I just pulled the last of mine out this weekend.
Thanks for this post. All of the pictures actually loaded this time. Dial up is for the birds, really. I grew parsnips when we lived in Wisconsin but I'm not sure it is cool enough here. I haven't tried leeks. You sure work hard for your food. I bet that makes it taste extra fine. I have to say that either the days are growing shorter or I'm getting slower because I wouldn't get half so much done as you do. dooley
Hi GAIL--Thanks for reading theis posting. I think that 98% of all rom growers plant them vertically. There is nothing at all wrong with that of course. I just do it differently based on the way my brain works. hahaha. I am a big believer in making the ground that I plant the toms in very rich and I feed them frequently during the season, alternating the food with plain water. Ach, growing toms can be as simple or complicated as you wanna make it. It looks like we pulled-up our plants at about the same time. You are welcome, DOOLS--I agree with you about dial-up. I used to have it, but use the compi so much that it was actually more expensive to use dial-up than it was to have a cable subscription. For a flat fee, I can use the internet as much as I like withoug having to count minutes. I had to calculate it precise and exactly though, to know for sure. So yes--dial-up is for the birds...Tweet-tweet, baby. I am pretty sure that it is too hot and dry there to grow parsnips, although if you could create a microcosm of ideal conditions, it might work. As for the work--it's not how long one works, it's how intensively one works when he does work. I tend to have a sort of single-mindedly sort of concentrated way of doing it. I often do not hear birds sing, trains go by or people calling my name whenI am up to my elbows in soil. hahaha---a blessing or a curse.
You are one busy bee. The weather here has been rotten, so I haven't had a chance to get to the plot for more than 5 minutes at a time as everytime the sunshines, I have to go to work in other peoples gardens! Your leeks and 'snips look fab. Mine will both be small this year as they went in late in the season, but small and perfectly formed is better than big and tough. I have a few days off looming as my birthday is on the horizon, so fingers crossed I will get to the plot and catch up with the autumn jobs.
Thanks loads, EJ--You're the busy bee hahaha. ..and doing work for someone else to boot! I shall cross my fingers for you too that you will have some time for your own lottie. Don't you wish that you could save some of allthis water for next summer? I'll bet your ditch down at the bottom of your lottie is full of water now. Keep your wellies and rain gear on.
I like this post alot Sjoerd -- wow, you sure did get a lot done! The parsnips put me in mind of beef stew... I may need to make a pot for myself. The tomato root info is really interesting. Though you've explained it before, seeing the root system makes it really clear. It's been beautiful here the past few days, warm, clear, sunny... but today is dreary and overcast and it's about to rain. Missed my chance to clean up the yard!
