Friday 15 November 2013

Autumn slow down is upon us

sunset 13-12-13 NP

One year the mould will be broken and it will be the start of many in which my gardening tasks carry on all around the year, changing a little in detail but otherwise providing work, exercise and vegetables continuously.

This year is not that first year. Everything has come to a halt and apart from a few treasured chillies and my hope that the rodents and deer haven't finished off the Peruvian roots nothing much is happening horticulturally and the pressures of other obligations are filling my time. So nothing to blog about and no inclination to do it really, except that I miss my opportunity to state my piece once in a while.

I'm thinking seriously about cropping plans for next year. I'd like to grow more peas and beans, indeed these are such easy vegetables I don't really understand the failures of the last couple of years but the deer certainly have played their part in the downfall. Fencing is a problem which needs to be solved.

What I don't need to do is buy more vegetable seeds, even without the need to study economy the sheer bulk of unplanted material in my seed boxes is embarrassing and even rather sad, lovely potential draining away with every month passing.

The other bit of garden design I'm still pondering is the creation of a prairie patch with late blooming flowers to provide more butterfly and bee foods. I found a nice wild flower and grass seed merchant, Emorsgate , and I think I'll put together an order for some of the things we are lacking which would enhance our environment at the farm, things like meadowsweet and yarrow (both of which I thought we had but couldn't find last summer) and some mulleins which I have started before but don't seem to self seed very successfully. That should satisfy my shopping gene.


Friday 1 November 2013

Seed swap list now live!

The title says it all really.

Go to the Seed Swap page to see what I'm currently offering and the terms of the exchanges.

If you have seeds or plants to swap and you'd like me to list them on my page then send me a link and I'll include it there for you.