Tuesday, 15 February 2011

Back to Basics

crow

I had a horrible shock today. I knew I was late making my order for seed potatoes but when I arrived at alanromans.com it was too late for several of the varieties I had hoped to buy; sold out. Paul managed to track down his favourite Ambo on Tucker's Seeds and also some BF15 so it wasn't entirely a disaster, we haven't been able to get those for ages, but still a wake up call. Time is passing and nothing is happening here.

So I thought I'd better try and re-orient myself into the right mind set. Taking out the old Complete Book of Self Sufficiency by John Seymour (now in a newer edition than my copy, first published in 1976), I settled down to read all about it, again.

It strikes me that this is something that will repay reading, even now. I thought I knew the book back to front, had taken everything from it that I could but now see new information, different nuggets of wisdom and enduring advice that seems absolutely in tune with the principles that I hold dear.

It was by no means the first book on self sufficiency I tried but it was comprehensive and well presented, a one stop manual that was very welcome and I took what I needed from it, ignoring some aspects altogether. Since then there have been many more books, television programmes, internet articles and blogs and I have changed too. It seemed to have been superseded. Coming back to it again after 10 years break I find I'm looking for new insights and the book doesn't fail me. They were here all along. A wonderful smallholder's manual, timeless.

I'm going to look more closely at his advice for grain growing. Having failed spectacularly with crops from foreign parts it seems more sensible to learn to grow some local staples well, and when I can do that, start to preserve and extend the old varieties of them.

Some of the seeds planted in January have come up. Bedfordshire Champion onion seedling in modules are looking o.k. with little damping off and there's a healthy pot of globe artichokes ready for pricking out soon.

This year I'm hoping we'll have a greenhouse which means tomatoes and chilli peppers will have a longer, more productive season. Those seeds need to be started soon.

That naughty cat will be pleased (and so will his brother and sister) when we get back to France. They've just about exhausted the mouse supply around here.

Tuesday, 1 February 2011

A time of lists

cyclamen

I planted some seeds about a week ago. They haven't come up yet. This is hardly surprising but I'm all for instant gratification. The quickest way to get a plant fix is to buy some.

Although these scented cyclamen are very pretty they are grown by the trade in vast quantities as disposable ornaments. That said, I've managed to keep the odd plant for a few years in the cool of the kitchen window sill. They are tenacious little beasts and make up for their untidiness with a touching effort of new flowers each winter. Sadly they're not hardy enough to grow outside, the hardy species aren't as brightly coloured or as nicely perfumed.

The weather (and my location) still impedes progress with the vegetable patches for the time being. All I can do is plan and make lists. I have lists of seeds still to buy, a list of seed potatoes that really needs some action, a list of calls to make for help with the garden in Newport Pagnell which has degenerated into an amenity site landscape in just a few months. Any volunteers for that? And I also need to make a list for these plants.

fruit plants

For my birthday last year I was given money towards starting a fruit garden. I ordered a whole regiment of plants from Buckingham Nurseries in November. Unfortunately, the rotten winter slowed everything down and the plants didn't arrive here until after I'd left for France. So they've had to be potted up for now, not ideal and much more difficult to transport when the time comes but at least they shouldn't suffer too much of a check when they're planted out.

The trouble is that I shall forget the varieties almost immediately and my documentation skills aren't great so I'm going to list them here for safekeeping.

5 Strawberry, Cambridge Favourite
5 Strawberry, Aromel
1 Blueberry, Herbert pot grown to add to the one already in place
1 Kiwi Fruit, Jenny (Chinese Gooseberry) I'm hoping this will fertilise the Hayward
2 Elaeagnus ebbingei 8-12ins pot grown the start of the Forest garden...
1 Blackcurrant, Wellington XXX
1 Blackcurrant, Ben Connan
1 Raspberry, Autumn Bliss (Pack of 5)
1 Raspberry, Octavia (Pack of 5)
1 Raspberry, Polka (Pack of 5)
1 Gooseberry, Hinnomaki Yellow
1 Gooseberry, Whinham's Industry
1 Red Currant, Redstart - 2 year
1 White Currant, White Versailles
1 Tayberry, Buckingham

Now all I need to do is make a list of deer fencing.

Thursday, 27 January 2011

Shameless plugs



It seems a lot of people are trying to get around the spam protection and use this blog to promote their own advertising sites. If I spot you I will delete you... and if I don't delete you and you're a phony then don't think you've put one over on me, you're just too pathetic for me to bother with.

Now, to business! Living the French dream is something that catches the imagination of a lot of people. To fuel your fantasies further here are a couple of properties being sold by a friend. The picture above shows a house near Vire in Calvados, a couple of hours drive from the ferries. There are 5 buildings: a habitable cottage (pictured), cottage 2 to renovate, cottage 3, a charming but dilapidated old colombage house and a hangar. All located around a central green. Total area of 2.4 hectares (6 acres) land with an apple orchard, pear, cherry and walnut trees. 3 wells, spring, pond and a veg garden. 130,000€

Or, if that doesn't rock your boat how about;



This one is further south. The house is a former stone cottage and barn in the Brenne national park. The roof and external walls have been repaired or renewed. There’s an acre of land with a pond. It’s on top of a hill, and has magnificent views down a wooded valley.

The cottage has been opened out into a 35m2 big farmhouse kitchen, with a big old fireplace. Above the kitchen is a 17.5m2 mezzanine floor.

The barn contains a 10.5m2 bathroom, a 28m2 (unfinished) salon and two bedrooms (10.5m2 and 28m2). There’s another 42m2 of the barn that’s currently used as a full-height workshop, but which could easily be converted to two floors of bedrooms/living rooms. If you click on the picture it will take you to more pictures. This one is a little more expensive (but has better weather) at 145,000€

Buying property in France is relatively easy. Fees are paid by the purchaser and the transaction is usually handled by a single Notaire who acts for both parties.

If either of these properties interest you and you're seriously considering a purchase then please contact delanghe.steve[replace with at sign]wanadoo.fr who will tell you everything you need to know.

Monday, 24 January 2011

My Dreams are Seedy



It might look like I never write blog entries any more, but I do. It's just getting them from my head to web always seems like such hard work.

Anyway, at the moment my thought are often composed of fantasies about the growing season ahead and the seeds I plan to use to create it. My chosen main seed supplier this year is Chiltern Seeds. They are a very well established company and I have used their catalogues as learning material for more years than I can remember, whether I care to or not. This year they happen to have a number of my favourite reliable varieties in their vegetable section and this will form a backbone of an order which will undoubtedly grow in oddness and magnificence when I actually come to write it. Having finally lost our old cardoons to the winter I will be buying more seeds of them, along with burdock and sea kale.

Of course, I've also started gathering seeds in other ways. The Heritage seed library selection arrived a couple of days ago and I'm thrilled to have been lucky enough to receive some more Irish Preans. We really enjoyed the handful of pods we managed to harvest last year before the deer got them so this year I will be growing them in the protected back garden patch with due diligence.

The local garden centre was having a half price sale of seeds as well, so I have stocked up with stuff from Suttons and T&M via that route. Nothing exotic of course, but chard, onions, more asparagus and artichoke seeds to extend our beds of those and wild flower seeds.

As usual I will spend more money and end up with far more seed than I need, but it's such fun. Are you planning any special growing treats for yourself this summer?

Tuesday, 11 January 2011

Rather good



It's a funny thing, depression. I've been fretting and miserable because all logic indicated that this season's oca was a write off. Now I've had a chance to actually look at it, it's really not too bad at all. Plenty for replanting has survived and even sufficient to have some to eat, which is what it's all about after all.

Not a long entry today, I'm in mid journey and the net book is hopeless for image manipulations or long typing exercises but I had to put up something about this happier state as soon as possible. The picture shows all four colours of oca; even some of the 'rose pink' that I was sent from another enthusiast last year have come through, some Chinese artichokes, again a crop I had despaired of and one tuber from the Hopniss. There are more on the plant but I've just taken one for security which can be used to increase stocks if all goes well.

I've also managed to plant some garlic at last and have hopes my poor old car will make the journey back to Newport Pagnell successfully. What a relief...

Thursday, 30 December 2010

Inspiration for the Winter months

butt

2010 hasn't been the best of years. Since returning from France at the beginning of November for the holidays it's been hard to find anything of note to be joyful about. The weather has been grimly cold, one ambition after another has been thwarted and I haven't been able to find any hope in my usual lifelines of seeds or plans for the garden. Frankly I'm at the bottom of a very deep well of despond.

I came across this book while doing the xmas shopping on Amazon and immediately added it to my own wish list! It was very good to receive it at our delayed family festive gathering.




And it's been a welcome reminder of the warmer seasons. Patrick Barkham has accurately captured the sights and smells of the countryside and the hopes and trials of the pursuit of butterflies. His book has transported me back to happier times, promised that the sun will return and with it has given me hope that there is something good to look forward to.

It's not a learned treatise, not really a text book of butterflies, sometimes rambling but the geeky quirky premise of tracking down all the native British butterflies in the course of a year is carried off with chatty aplomb. It includes useful snippets about food plants and habitats, some biological facts I had no idea about, for example that some butterflies make their own scent; smelling like flowers to attract mates, and some history of the butterfly collectors, a bizarre collection of eccentrics who have set the tone of butterfly conservationists to this day.

My only real criticism is that the pictures aren't great. There are a few plates of standard identification examples which are pitifully small (and look a bit blurry to my tired eyes) and another few pages of the author's own photos. I know I shouldn't be harsh, it's exceptionally hard to get butterflies to pose for beauty shots but these aren't great photos, more snapshots of the expedition, useful for historical reference but not enough for lust. No matter, there are many many photos on the internet and it's easy enough to find sharper images of anything that catches your imagination.

So after months of despair I feel like I'm emerging from my chrysalis at last, letting my wings dry and expand and with them regaining some ambitions for the year to come. We have Marsh fritillaries in the Forest, I may even have seen them but never tried hard enough to get a proper identification. It's time to learn to distinguish the various white butterflies and name them in our records. There are Purple Emperors to track down and numerous little brown jobs that remain tantalisingly elusive. I may yet have a plan.

Tuesday, 7 December 2010

Cold

ice leaves 2

It will be little surprise to anyone to learn that we've been having a bit of weather recently. More particularly, very cold weather.

Plans to head back to France for a late autumn clear up, garlic planting and car rescue have been put on hold indefinitely. Harvest of the oca has been abandoned. It's really all rather depressing.

It probably won't surprise anyone that I'm not going to participate in any seed sharing this year. Hopefully things will get back to normal in 2011 - I certainly hope so.

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for subjects they'd like to read a blog on, I'd be very grateful for the inspiration.