Still harvesting, tomatoes, courgettes and blackberries

Today

Jam

First attempt at Blackberry jam, recipe chosen at random from the billion or so on the Internet http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11750/angelas-flexible-jam-recipe

Interesting that empty jam jars cost almost as much as full pots of (cheapish) jam.

Jam tastes great, but probably won't last long enough to end up as Christmas gifts.

Tomatoes ripening nicely

Better this year than last.  Loads of tomatoes on 4 plants (growing a little wilder than I had originally planned) and starting to ripen nicely.

Pimientos De Padron: First sightings

Not sure how many of these I'm going to get but here are the first to be picked.  Not exactly sure why I chose to photograph them on the back of a ukulele but it does give a sense of scale - of course only if you know how big a ukulele is!

Watering plants in the rain

More than a little odd to have to go to the allotment in the middle of days of torrential rain to water plants in the greenhouse.

I'm sure that such products exist but I am going to design a water-collection-distribution system that won't flood plants but keep them nicely watered automatically.  Some day...

Pimiento Padron

Coming on strongly.  Buds starting to appear!  I've got about 10 plants looking good and another 10 not so good.

I reckon I might get enough peppers for 2 meals easily.

Tulips

Not so many but starting to flower here and there

Courgettes for 2016

The courgette seeds I planted in pots have done incredibly well so I've decided to get them in the ground.  I know that the slugs are going to have a great time (field day?) attacking them but, fingers crossed, a couple may get through.

I put a few of the copper rings around them but I know that the slugs just laugh at them.  May buy some of the slug pellets - organic ones of course, as if they makes any difference.

Splitting Artichokes

The artichoke bush is getting a bit big and probably a bit old so I decided to have a go at splitting it.

Youtube, 'the Google' and numerous books I own, all advised the same thing - take a sharp spade and drive down through the roots of a side shoot.  Looked easy but I was a bit worried that I only managed to get some small roots after 'driving down'.  Maybe I'm just not aggressive enough.


Anyway, planted the 3 'cuttings' and hoped for the best. . . and they seem to have taken!

Not sure I particularly like artichokes but the plants are nice and Ive got plenty of room.

Pimento de Pad on progress

Starting to worry that they weren't going to show as they were so far from home, but here they come! Cool at only 2 cm high

The sweet pea factory

I still can't quite decide what vegetables to grow this year, and it's getting a bit late to be still faffing about.

However, sweet peas are a must and I have some growing nicely on a coldish window sill.  Probable move them all to the greenhouse in a while but it's still a bit cold up here in t'North.

Pimento de Padron

La pasada semana en Madrid compré un paqueta  de Pimiento de Padron . . .Last week in Madrid I bought a packet of Padron a Pepper seeds to see if they will work in England's 'sun'.  Looking forward to grilling them for tapas and to see if we get the random super-hot one.

Here we go again - Year 4

Lots of rain at his time of the year but managed to get things sorted out a bit.  Reglazed 4 sheets in the greenhouse - 3 after the door blew off!

Now planning what to grow this year.

Garlic planting

Last post of 2015 (but only added in 2016).  Garlic planted with help from Elisa.  30 cloves in 4 rows, and for the first time using cloves from last year's harvest.  Might try and plant a few more when it dries up again.

Will we ever have to buy garlic again?