Today I will mostly be growing

One of my New Years resolutions was to learn how to cook with the vegetables I grow. I am a complete novice at cooking and usually I would just cut and steam them with a meat or fish dish, very nice but not very creative.

So today I harvested some carrots (Autumn King 2 variety) and decided to put my plan into action to make soup. I had already bought the 1 litre soup n sauce bags (heavy gauge, zip seal and gussetted so they stand up on their own) from Lakeland.

Easy Carrot Soup

Serves 1 - Heres what you need: (more…)

Its the beginning of the new year so what better time to plan and buy vegetable seeds, fruit and potatoes that I will be sowing and growing in my 3 back garden plots in 2008.

Heres a quick run down of what I will mostly be sowing this year:-

• Beetroot boltardy,
• Broccoli tenderstem green,
• Brussel Sprouts genus f1,
• Cabbage resolution savoy (winter),
• Cabbage tundra f1 (winter),
• Cabbage golden acre (summer),
• Calabrese ironman f1,
• Carrot amsterdam forcing 3 (spring/summer),
• Carrot james scarlet intermediate (summer),
• Carrot autumn king 2 (autumn/winter),
• Cucumber green fingers f1 (to be grown in mini greenhouse)

(more…)

This week I will mostly be harvesting yet more runner beans! and plenty of tomato’s.

My tomato plants dispite looking very dishevelled because I have occassionally forgotten to water them are still producing a harvest of red and yellow fruit.

My Maris Peer xmas potatoes have loved the recent warm weather and have shot up above the pot with just 3 weeks of growth. I have now earthed them up with compost to the top of the pots.

Crops Progress

• Mini Leeks - 10 weeks growth and growing strong as they are protected behind the chicory. Estimated Harvest Date: 27 Oct after 15 weeks growth.
• Chicory - 10 weeks with lots of leaf growth and no slugs!…. yet. Estimated Harvest Date: 13 Oct after 13 weeks.
• First sowing of Autumn King 2 Carrots - 10 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 13 Oct after 13 weeks.
• Second sowing of Autumn King 2 Carrots - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 17 Nov after 13 weeks.
• Turnip (Atlantic) - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 27 Oct after 8-10 weeks.
• Pak Choi - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: 17 Nov after 13 weeks.
• Cabbage - Advantage (spring greens) - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: December after 20 weeks.
• Cabbage - Spring Hero - 3 weeks growth. Estimated Harvest Date: April/May 2008

Reminder of Cold Weather on the way.

After watching BBC1’s Countryfile on Sunday I saw the temperatures over the UK would be tumbling this week which reminded me to buy some fleece. I bought some Horticultural Fleece for the vegetable plot and my potato buckets 3m x 6m for £5.28 incl P&P from Ebay seller ‘All Seasons Gardener’.

Below are the Week 23 picture updates of my 3 vegetable plots.

I have treated myself to some gardening books from the Book People website. This is a great discounted book site and recommended. Click this link to view gardening books from the Book People.

The books will help me with a course I am doing with Learning Curve (a distance learning provider) - RHS Level 2 Certificate in Horticulture. For more Info on RHS Courses, Click on this link.