Just a quickie now. Having a fun holiday in Washington DC and the surrounding Virginia countryside. Yesterday I went to Mount Vernon which was the home of George Washington himself. I was thrilled to learn that he was a keen gardener, farmer and veggie grower and that even back then in the 18th century he was a pioneer in organic gardening and was very much interested in soil fertility. So much so that he wrote long letters from the battlefield back to his staff on what to sow and demanding updates on his farm. George Washington had a "dung depository" built on his farm to stack manure as he found this improved the soil - clever guy!
Photographs to follow.
PS. I liberated some seeds from his garden! ssshhhhhh!
Fecundity
Ah! the wonders of food hanging from plants and trees, just ready to eat! I went to a local orchard this week and bought some apples. Freshly picked in season, these apples were not just apples, they were APPLES!To those of you who have never grown your own anything - please please, give it a try!
Last pickings
The last few weeks have been very mild here in West London. Today it was about 66F. I still have some sweet potato plants yet to be dug, they have been excellent! I have about a dozen Sungold cherry tomatoes left to eat and 3 or 4 "crystal lemon" cucumbers from the greenhouse, along with a small cucumber.
I picked the rest of my aubergines, indoor and out - there were about a dozen in all and they were made into a moussaka today. There are still a few beetroot yet to be picked, and some golden ball turnips.
I planted out some winter lettuce seedlings both indoors and out, let's see which ones the slugs prefer eh? Leeks are going great guns - have eaten a couple of them, taste divine. Swiss chard is a lifesaver - still going strong.
I await the harvest of my scorzonera in a few weeks' time. Hard to describe, they are related to salsify and taste somewhat like a parsnip or a Jerusalem artichoke. Real gourmet food.
I picked the rest of my aubergines, indoor and out - there were about a dozen in all and they were made into a moussaka today. There are still a few beetroot yet to be picked, and some golden ball turnips.
I planted out some winter lettuce seedlings both indoors and out, let's see which ones the slugs prefer eh? Leeks are going great guns - have eaten a couple of them, taste divine. Swiss chard is a lifesaver - still going strong.
I await the harvest of my scorzonera in a few weeks' time. Hard to describe, they are related to salsify and taste somewhat like a parsnip or a Jerusalem artichoke. Real gourmet food.
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