I couldn't wait to taste my rhubarb. It has been growing about an inch a day at the moment and each day I went out to pick some, I decided to leave it one more day... till now!
This patch is 4 years old this year, and just coming into full productive adulthood. A friend gave me some crowns 4 years ago and I left them without picking any the first year, only a couple of stalks the 2nd year, and moderate picking last year. I stop picking after about June to let the plant grow and feed the crowns.
So I pulled 4 sticks today. They have to be pulled from the base and not broken off. These were cleaned, chopped and microwaved with some sugar and some orange zest. It was
fabulous! Not a hint of sour or acid flavours. Just so sweet and delicious this time of year. As the season progresses the flavour will develop more acid, but today was heaven!
My Isle of Wight garlic is going great guns too! This was the last year I was going to try growing garlic because up till now I had failures each time. I have just given them a dressing of blood, fish and bonemeal. These are good seed stock, appropriate for the British climate, and planted in Autumn to get a head start before Winter. I left them completely uncovered all Winter and this apparently, helps them develop a good bulb later on. We shall see!
I planted out the first sowing of my broad beans this week. The neighbourhood cats thought it would be funny to dig them all up last night and poo all over the patch...grrrr. This is the cleaned up version!
A double treat this lunch time because my PSB has started full production. Curious goings-on among my broccoli this year... from the same seed packet
'Rudolph' I have a couple of large heads - like calabrese.
These are much larger than I usually get with purple sprouting broccoli. On the same patch I have two white sprouting broccoli plants which will not be ready for a couple of weeks yet.
And this particular plant is a mystery to me.. look closely between the purple florets and you will see that it has little red-ish yellow knobs. I don't think they are yellow flowers breaking because they have been this colour since the small heads were developing. Every floret on this particular plant has this feature. hmmm
A mystery... anyone have any ideas! Any knowledge of plant genetics?
This patch is 4 years old this year, and just coming into full productive adulthood. A friend gave me some crowns 4 years ago and I left them without picking any the first year, only a couple of stalks the 2nd year, and moderate picking last year. I stop picking after about June to let the plant grow and feed the crowns.
So I pulled 4 sticks today. They have to be pulled from the base and not broken off. These were cleaned, chopped and microwaved with some sugar and some orange zest. It was fabulous! Not a hint of sour or acid flavours. Just so sweet and delicious this time of year. As the season progresses the flavour will develop more acid, but today was heaven!
My Isle of Wight garlic is going great guns too! This was the last year I was going to try growing garlic because up till now I had failures each time. I have just given them a dressing of blood, fish and bonemeal. These are good seed stock, appropriate for the British climate, and planted in Autumn to get a head start before Winter. I left them completely uncovered all Winter and this apparently, helps them develop a good bulb later on. We shall see!
I planted out the first sowing of my broad beans this week. The neighbourhood cats thought it would be funny to dig them all up last night and poo all over the patch...grrrr. This is the cleaned up version!
A double treat this lunch time because my PSB has started full production. Curious goings-on among my broccoli this year... from the same seed packet 'Rudolph' I have a couple of large heads - like calabrese.
These are much larger than I usually get with purple sprouting broccoli. On the same patch I have two white sprouting broccoli plants which will not be ready for a couple of weeks yet.
And this particular plant is a mystery to me.. look closely between the purple florets and you will see that it has little red-ish yellow knobs. I don't think they are yellow flowers breaking because they have been this colour since the small heads were developing. Every floret on this particular plant has this feature. hmmm
A mystery... anyone have any ideas! Any knowledge of plant genetics?