Wednesday, 19 September 2012
Monday, 17 September 2012
Garlic offer
Those who know me are aware that I have a bit of an obsession with garlic. This is in part, due to the fact that I love garlic, but also because I'm allergic to onion, so use garlic as a substitute in cooking.
I was fortunate to be given some unusual varieties of hardnecks several years ago, by Patrick of Bifurcated Carrots (on a visit to Oxford from The Netherlands) and have been keeping the best each year to sow again each autumn. During this period I have whittled down some of the choices from the original collection of 15 varieties (Garlic varieties 2010). One, Irkutsk, was so very very very strong (add more verys) that the flavour 1/4 of a clove in an omelet stayed in our mouths for 3 days!
Garlic Varieties 2012 (pdf)
In updating the Garlic document I have also updated the URLs for each variety that I could find, and added personal comments about growing the individual variety. I've kept the info about the garlics that I'm no longer growing in case they are of use to others. Please remember that what I like and grow, and how it grows, will be different to your experience and tastes. So for the ones I no longer grow, the reasons are specific to me.
Garlic prefers drier weather than we have had this year in the UK and I noticed that the bulbs were not as big this year compared to other years. Some varieties did better than others, ie. Persian Star and Georgia Fire did well, whereas some of the Susan Delafield bulbs rotted from all the rain (though those that did well were good).
Garlic offer
I've been asked by a couple of people if I would consider sharing some of the unusual garlic, including the lovely Dennis & Teresa from @HortusLudi. These are all Hardneck varieties. Hardneck garlic does not store as long as softneck garlic does. In my experience, hardnecks have a stronger taste, but don't store as long, whereas softnecks have a mild-medium flavour, but can store for more than 6 months.
Due to the smaller size of the bulbs this year, I have only kept the very best for each variety to plant and pass on, so I'm unable to give away whole bulbs. There are 3-4 cloves in each packet. Here is a list of those I'm making available:
Estonian Red (3 packets)
Georgia Fire (4 packets)
Music (4 packets)
Persian Star (4 packets)
Rosewood (2 packets)
Silver Rose (4 packets)
Susan Delafield (3 packets)
This offer is available to people in the UK only* (due to postage costs) and will be available on a first come first served basis. You can ask for several packets of different varieties, but note that if I get a lot of people asking, I may have to limit how many people can have, so put your choices in order of preference.
If you would like to receive some of these garlics, leave a comment below with your contact email and your garlic preferences. You can also contact me via Twitter @GwenfarsLottie.
UPDATE 18:15pm: blogger comments playing up, so if it doesn't work, email me jgp [at] cooptel.net.
Finally, I'm no expert on growing garlic, just very enthusiastic! So ask me questions if you like and I'll do my best to answer. Useful information on growing garlic in the UK can be found on the Garlic Farm (Isle of Wight) website.
*If you live in Oxford, I'd be grateful if you could pick them up direct from me.
I was fortunate to be given some unusual varieties of hardnecks several years ago, by Patrick of Bifurcated Carrots (on a visit to Oxford from The Netherlands) and have been keeping the best each year to sow again each autumn. During this period I have whittled down some of the choices from the original collection of 15 varieties (Garlic varieties 2010). One, Irkutsk, was so very very very strong (add more verys) that the flavour 1/4 of a clove in an omelet stayed in our mouths for 3 days!
Garlic drying in the sun at the allotment
Garlic Varieties 2012 (pdf)
In updating the Garlic document I have also updated the URLs for each variety that I could find, and added personal comments about growing the individual variety. I've kept the info about the garlics that I'm no longer growing in case they are of use to others. Please remember that what I like and grow, and how it grows, will be different to your experience and tastes. So for the ones I no longer grow, the reasons are specific to me.
Garlic prefers drier weather than we have had this year in the UK and I noticed that the bulbs were not as big this year compared to other years. Some varieties did better than others, ie. Persian Star and Georgia Fire did well, whereas some of the Susan Delafield bulbs rotted from all the rain (though those that did well were good).
Garlic offer
I've been asked by a couple of people if I would consider sharing some of the unusual garlic, including the lovely Dennis & Teresa from @HortusLudi. These are all Hardneck varieties. Hardneck garlic does not store as long as softneck garlic does. In my experience, hardnecks have a stronger taste, but don't store as long, whereas softnecks have a mild-medium flavour, but can store for more than 6 months.
Due to the smaller size of the bulbs this year, I have only kept the very best for each variety to plant and pass on, so I'm unable to give away whole bulbs. There are 3-4 cloves in each packet. Here is a list of those I'm making available:
Estonian Red (3 packets)
Georgia Fire (4 packets)
Music (4 packets)
Persian Star (4 packets)
Rosewood (2 packets)
Silver Rose (4 packets)
Susan Delafield (3 packets)
This offer is available to people in the UK only* (due to postage costs) and will be available on a first come first served basis. You can ask for several packets of different varieties, but note that if I get a lot of people asking, I may have to limit how many people can have, so put your choices in order of preference.
If you would like to receive some of these garlics, leave a comment below with your contact email and your garlic preferences. You can also contact me via Twitter @GwenfarsLottie.
UPDATE 18:15pm: blogger comments playing up, so if it doesn't work, email me jgp [at] cooptel.net.
Finally, I'm no expert on growing garlic, just very enthusiastic! So ask me questions if you like and I'll do my best to answer. Useful information on growing garlic in the UK can be found on the Garlic Farm (Isle of Wight) website.
*If you live in Oxford, I'd be grateful if you could pick them up direct from me.
Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Saturday, 11 August 2012
What's flowering at Oxford Botanic Gardens
I'm rather lucky to live on the doorstep (just over 1 mile away) of Oxford Botanic Gardens, and it's great to be able to drop in and see what is currently in bloom. Here is a couple of plants whose flowers took my fancy today...
And it is always worth taking a seat to enjoy the views...
From the water garden, looking back towards Magdalen tower
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Trying to keep on top of the lottie
I'm in the rather fortunate position of having a few days off and sunny weather coinciding. A rare treat this summer of which I'm trying to make the most of the opportunity.
So today I decided it was time to pay the lottie some attention. I haven't been particularly regular this summer. Not just because of the weather, but because work comes first and I've been very busy, and then I'm tired, so garden and lottie come last. I'm really struggling with energy levels over the last few months, so have actually given up one of my part-time jobs (I had two) and am taking some time out over August & September to rest and hopefully rejuvenate, AND spend some time gardening.
I confess in the last few months I've several times thought about whether I should keep going with the lottie. I love the plot and the community, but I'm struggling to keep both home garden and lottie going. Then I read Helen's Dear John post to her lottie this morning. She too has been struggling, though has different issues to myself. Her thoughts were really helpful in making me think more seriously about what I should do.
I decided that before I think any further, I should go and visit my plot and see how I feel. So I spent a couple of hours down there checking it out and doing some work.
Like everyone else, the mix of wet and humid weather had meant a massive weed explosion on the plot. My strawberries are getting covered in couch grass, the asparagus bed (right) is looking tatty, some asparagus is ok but some has died and it needs lots of weeding. The peas (next bed to asparagus) are doing well - lots to pick, but need more staking(!). That bed also has broad beans, which I should have picked but didn't (had no time to get there the last few weeks), so the crop is going to seed. I can and will save the seeds, but it's a shame to have missed out on such a good crop of beans.
In the bed which has a mix of tomatoes, sunflowers and climbing french beans, it was crowded with all kinds of weeds. The sunflowers are looking great, and I'm going to cut a heap tomorrow to bring home, which should give some more light to the tomatoes behind them. Some of the tommies were completely destroyed by blight and I had to pull them out. Some had mild blight attacks, so I've tidied them up, cutting off any effected branches and will see how they go. I have some fruiting tomatoes, so maybe with luck they'll go red over the next few days and I'll get to eat my first tomatoes this year.
It was nice to see the climbing french beans (soissons - for drying) doing well. Last time I was at the plot they were looking like giving up, so it was a lovely surprise to see I didn't lose them all and those that remained are doing quite well.
The corn is short and though flowering, I don't expect any crops unless the next two months are warm and sunny (unlikely...). A couple of my courgette plants have managed to fight the weeds and I was able to pick a couple! Marrows of course, so will make some of VP's lovely courgette & brie soup with them. Sadly, but not surprisingly, no sign of any pumpkins yet.
The one bed doing really well, is my brassica bed with an agricultural mesh cage. This is some of the brassicas, post weeding:
Dwarf curly kale, brussel sprouts & purple sprouting broccoli. I am very pleased with the health of these plants. The benefit of not such a great summer is that brassica's love it, as I learnt from Charles Dowding's excellent Winter Vegetables book. I highly recommend this book; both very practical and incredibly inspiring.
After about 2 hours I was feeling wiped out and decided to stop and come back tomorrow. Thinking about it on the way home and when undertaking the desmellification process (having a shower..!), I realised two things. One: that I do love being at my lottie. Two: it's just too much space for me to cultivate at the moment.
So, do I give it up, or are there other options? I've decided to try other options first, and am going to see if I can find a couple of people to share the plot with me. Although still being developed, there are 3 rows with 5 beds each (the last row still in process of being made up). Under black plastic is space for a shed, small polytunnel and grass area with small open fire (that's the plan I've been working to, anyway). I could keep the strawberries (separate beds) and the row with the asparagus, and maybe I could find two people to take on the other two rows with 5 raised beds each? We could all share the future shed and polytunnel etc.
I like this idea as it would reduce how much space I have to cultivate myself, but not have to give up on having a lottie entirely. I think it would be fun to share the plot too. I love growing veggies, and though I can grow some at home, it's a smaller north facing garden (apart from the south-facing front garden) and there is limits to what I can grow there. I'm thinking particularly of heritage (in general) potatoes, brassicas (which need lots of room), plus carrots and parsnips and extra legumes.
So, that's where the thought process has got me so far. I need to check with lottie committee sharing would be ok - I think it should be but don't want to assume. Of course, whether I could find people to share with me is another matter. What do you think? If you are in Oxford, do you want to share Gwenfar's Lottie with me?
Gwenfar's Lottie - producing food, but massively over run with weeds...
So today I decided it was time to pay the lottie some attention. I haven't been particularly regular this summer. Not just because of the weather, but because work comes first and I've been very busy, and then I'm tired, so garden and lottie come last. I'm really struggling with energy levels over the last few months, so have actually given up one of my part-time jobs (I had two) and am taking some time out over August & September to rest and hopefully rejuvenate, AND spend some time gardening.
I confess in the last few months I've several times thought about whether I should keep going with the lottie. I love the plot and the community, but I'm struggling to keep both home garden and lottie going. Then I read Helen's Dear John post to her lottie this morning. She too has been struggling, though has different issues to myself. Her thoughts were really helpful in making me think more seriously about what I should do.
I decided that before I think any further, I should go and visit my plot and see how I feel. So I spent a couple of hours down there checking it out and doing some work.
hummmm
Like everyone else, the mix of wet and humid weather had meant a massive weed explosion on the plot. My strawberries are getting covered in couch grass, the asparagus bed (right) is looking tatty, some asparagus is ok but some has died and it needs lots of weeding. The peas (next bed to asparagus) are doing well - lots to pick, but need more staking(!). That bed also has broad beans, which I should have picked but didn't (had no time to get there the last few weeks), so the crop is going to seed. I can and will save the seeds, but it's a shame to have missed out on such a good crop of beans.
Tomato, sunflower & french bean bed
In the bed which has a mix of tomatoes, sunflowers and climbing french beans, it was crowded with all kinds of weeds. The sunflowers are looking great, and I'm going to cut a heap tomorrow to bring home, which should give some more light to the tomatoes behind them. Some of the tommies were completely destroyed by blight and I had to pull them out. Some had mild blight attacks, so I've tidied them up, cutting off any effected branches and will see how they go. I have some fruiting tomatoes, so maybe with luck they'll go red over the next few days and I'll get to eat my first tomatoes this year.
It was nice to see the climbing french beans (soissons - for drying) doing well. Last time I was at the plot they were looking like giving up, so it was a lovely surprise to see I didn't lose them all and those that remained are doing quite well.
Pumpkins, courgettes & sweetcorn bed
The corn is short and though flowering, I don't expect any crops unless the next two months are warm and sunny (unlikely...). A couple of my courgette plants have managed to fight the weeds and I was able to pick a couple! Marrows of course, so will make some of VP's lovely courgette & brie soup with them. Sadly, but not surprisingly, no sign of any pumpkins yet.
The one bed doing really well, is my brassica bed with an agricultural mesh cage. This is some of the brassicas, post weeding:
Dwarf curly kale, brussel sprouts & purple sprouting broccoli. I am very pleased with the health of these plants. The benefit of not such a great summer is that brassica's love it, as I learnt from Charles Dowding's excellent Winter Vegetables book. I highly recommend this book; both very practical and incredibly inspiring.
After about 2 hours I was feeling wiped out and decided to stop and come back tomorrow. Thinking about it on the way home and when undertaking the desmellification process (having a shower..!), I realised two things. One: that I do love being at my lottie. Two: it's just too much space for me to cultivate at the moment.
So, do I give it up, or are there other options? I've decided to try other options first, and am going to see if I can find a couple of people to share the plot with me. Although still being developed, there are 3 rows with 5 beds each (the last row still in process of being made up). Under black plastic is space for a shed, small polytunnel and grass area with small open fire (that's the plan I've been working to, anyway). I could keep the strawberries (separate beds) and the row with the asparagus, and maybe I could find two people to take on the other two rows with 5 raised beds each? We could all share the future shed and polytunnel etc.
I like this idea as it would reduce how much space I have to cultivate myself, but not have to give up on having a lottie entirely. I think it would be fun to share the plot too. I love growing veggies, and though I can grow some at home, it's a smaller north facing garden (apart from the south-facing front garden) and there is limits to what I can grow there. I'm thinking particularly of heritage (in general) potatoes, brassicas (which need lots of room), plus carrots and parsnips and extra legumes.
Share the plot with me?
So, that's where the thought process has got me so far. I need to check with lottie committee sharing would be ok - I think it should be but don't want to assume. Of course, whether I could find people to share with me is another matter. What do you think? If you are in Oxford, do you want to share Gwenfar's Lottie with me?
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