Even experienced gardeners have failures
September 2012
I always say: “If Monty Don has difficulties growing vegetables, than I can be lucky if I can grow anything at all!”
I think we all agree that it has been pretty cold and wet this summer, so growing fruit and vegetables hasn’t been the easiest of things. However there were some successes; the currants and gooseberries have been growing well, so I made lots of jam (around 40 jars!) and there is also a gooseberry wine on the go.
Actually gooseberry wine (or ‘the goose, the berry and the ugly’ as we called it) is a very tasty white wine and almost indistinguishable from a good hock.
What never fails are my swedes and turnips. I grow Purple Top Milan swedes and they always perform well, no matter what the weather throws at them.
I have now started digging up my early maincrop potatoes, which is Remarka, and that one has yielded some nice potatoes.
Just as well I quite like neeps and tatties!
The rest of the veg is just slow, slow, slow: the cabbage heads have just started forming, the sprouts are only about one foot high and the (runner) beans are just starting to flower.
So, fingers crossed we will get an Indian Summer!