Tag: Peas

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers4 Comments

Just like two peas in a pod

Reclaiming Paradise

My love for growing peas crept up on me slowly. It was the flowers that caught me first and then the possibilities of pea soup, pea salad and pea and bean guacamole Last year I saved a whole lot of pea seeds to grow again I sowed them in egg boxes to avoid the mice and planted them carefully in different raise beds, with more than usually meticulous labelling to make sure I knew which was which, and prickly sticks to keep the cats off They’re all growing beautifully now. Here are the ‘Salmon Pink’ with their strange flowers, growing … Continue reading Just like two peas in a pod

Uncategorized2 Comments

Support systems

Reclaiming Paradise

For today’s #SixOnSaturday theme I took a closer look at the pea tendrils, clinging to a variety of rustic poles in my vegetable plot: As you know, I love pea plants, for their flowers and, of course for their peas, but it’s always worth taking a closer look at their clever support systems: beautiful tendrils clinging to the nearest twig. I use rather rustic poles to hold my peas up, cuttings from other parts of the garden mainly. and the peas wind their way round these as they reach for the sky. Note the bottom right picture though, where a … Continue reading Support systems

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers8 Comments

There will be peas

Reclaiming Paradise

Today has been the big pea planting day. Following last week’s runaway success with following the #SixOnSaturday gang I’ve had another go. So there will be six peas, or six pea related stories. Here goes. You’ll remember that a few weeks ago I experimented with sowing peas in egg boxes (of course you do, but if not you can find out more here). Well, that seems to have worked really well, as lots of different peas have germinated beautifully this way. Here are the ‘Salmon Pink’ peas, growing happily in their egg box 2. And here is how they look … Continue reading There will be peas

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers4 Comments

Seedlings and potatoes

Reclaiming Paradise

This weekend the vegetable growing really got going. First of all, though, please admire this amaryllis which has been sitting on the bathroom windowsill for about ten years, doing absolutely nothing. Well that’s not entirely true. It has produced green leaves every year but no flowers for a very long time. This was the year it chose to flower. We may have to wait another ten years for the next flower but I am patient. Back to the vegetables. The seedlings on my windowsill have been romping away Cucumbers, tomatoes and huge mass of out of date basil seeds which … Continue reading Seedlings and potatoes

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Recycling and reusing, Why I garden13 Comments

Sowing seeds of hope

Reclaiming Paradise

We are living in strange times. Plans are being cancelled, people are worried. Yesterday, I tried to keep a focus on the future by sowing seeds. Here are some I sowed earlier, some mixed salad leaves, in a pot in the seed palace, just germinated but ready to grow into something exciting in a few weeks: Yesterday I made a start on the more delicate seeds, sowing tomato seeds in a little propagator indoors. I’ve started with two varieties: Tigerella and San Marzano. I have some others in packets but I’ll sow a few at a time to see what … Continue reading Sowing seeds of hope

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers4 Comments

The year’s turning

Reclaiming Paradise

Plums are dripping off the trees, apples are falling on the ground. Tomatoes are beginning to ripen and we are drowning in marrows Autumn has arrived. For the first time in over twenty years there are only two of us in the house to share in all this bounty. My older son has finished his studies,  for the moment, and moved on to do voluntary work, while my younger son starts a new course away from home next week. We miss their youthful enthusiasm, mess, music and musical friends. There are still some musicians around, popping in from time to … Continue reading The year’s turning

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Why I garden5 Comments

Monsoon weather

Reclaiming Paradise

I brought the lawn mower back from the allotment last week so that we could tackle the jungle in the garden. Fortunately a small gap in this year’s monsoon enabled us to have a go at the lawn.  But the monsoon has returned, which means the lawnmower is useless and the grass just keeps growing, but I have found a solution I evicted all of these little chaps from my pea plants and set them to work on cutting the grass. Meanwhile the marrows are really enjoying all this rain: I did get a great harvest from the peas and … Continue reading Monsoon weather

Growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, Why I garden6 Comments

Not yet autumn surely

Reclaiming Paradise

This week has had some extremes of weather and the garden and wildlife have been loving it. Following last year’s heatwave induced frog invasion, the pond has again provided a haven for these little beauties during the hot early part of the week: Generally they have been very shy this year, coming out only after dark and hiding under the pond jungle the rest of the time. But on those couple of hot days they were out sitting on the lily pads, looking awesome. The heat was followed by biblical downpours which made the pond look great but no sign … Continue reading Not yet autumn surely

Cooking and eating from the garden3 Comments

Green

Reclaiming Paradise

It’s been a scorchio day here as everywhere else in the country. I went for a wander and passed an in ice cream van, selling, among other things, mint choc chip ice cream: I had been thinking about my Dad, as I often do at this time of year and now six years since we lost him. His childhood was during the Second World War, a time of rationing and few sweet treats. This led to him taking great pleasure in sharing childhood delights like ice cream with us. Ice cream in my rural childhood came in blocks from shops … Continue reading Green

Why I garden4 Comments

Lawnmower holiday

Reclaiming Paradise

There are tons of peas and beans in the garden so I made a classic green soup for lunch, with some added watercress from the pond: Earlier in the week I made a classic summer pudding: It was duly guzzled by my various visiting young people. It’s lovely to have all this wonderful fruit and vegetables but all these gluts are causing a bit of crisis at the allotment. The warm wet weather of the last few weeks has caused a massive growth spurt among the onions, strawberries, peas, beans and courgettes, which is great. But is has also caused … Continue reading Lawnmower holiday